As News 6’s Mike DeForest told you earlier this year, the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) filed documents March 26 in the Florida Supreme Court recommending a public reprimand for Ninth Circuit Judge John Jordan, who serves in Orange and Osceola counties.

Jordan had agreed to the reprimand and admitted his conduct violated the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct.

But on Thursday, in a unanimous decision, the Florida Supreme Court announced that it was rejecting the JQC’s recommendation and ordered the matter go back to a disciplinary hearing panel for a final resolution.

The court did not give a reason for its decision.

Jordan presided over a July 2025 plea hearing involving a 33-year-old Black female defendant in a felony battery case who was eligible to complete 30 hours of community service.

While discussing how to fulfill that requirement, Jordan turned to the defendant and her great-uncle, who is also Black, according to the records.

“(Do) you own any land where I could have her work it for 30 hours?” Jordan asked, according to the transcript included in the JQC’s findings.

After the great-uncle laughed, Jordan continued.

“All my family’s farming. They’d love me out there,” Jordan said, according to the records. “You ever chopped cotton before? You know what that is? You take a hoe and you knock out the weeds. That’ll straighten you up real quick doing that stuff.”

Jordan later told the JQC panel that he comes from a farming background and spent summers as a youth working his relatives’ farm fields in Texas.

The circuit court judge said this was the first and only time he had ever inquired whether a defendant had “chopped cotton.”

Jordan claimed he failed to consider how his comments could be interpreted in light of the historically demeaning stereotype associating Black people with picking cotton, records show.

In a separate incident in April 2025, Jordan reportedly became impatient with two public defenders during jury selection for an aggravated battery case

“How much time do you need? Can I get you something to eat? Something to drink?” Jordan sarcastically asked, according to the transcripts.

When the defenders complained they were being rushed and treated unfairly, Jordan — in a raised voice captured on the trial’s audio recording — ordered them to be quiet three times.

“Shut up,” Jordan said.

“That is rude,” responded one of the public defenders.

“Shut up,” Jordan repeated.

“No. That is very rude,” the public defender replied.

“Shut up. I’m not going to listen to two people arguing. I’ll listen to one. Okay?” Jordan responded, according to the records.

One of the public defenders subsequently moved for a mistrial and sought to have Jordan disqualified, citing his behavior. Jordan immediately denied both motions.

The confrontation continued when the public defender described Jordan’s unprofessional tone on the record later that day.

“Okay. So, your sarcastic remark is noted. And that’s not how it went down, but I understand what is going on. I’m declaring a mistrial and we’ll get another judge for you,” Jordan said, according to the documents.

“No. I’m done. I’m not going to deal with this pettiness like this,” he added, ending the proceedings.

Discussion

At 1000 AM CDT (1500 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Bertha was located near latitude 29.6 North, longitude 93.2 West. Bertha is moving toward the west near 10 mph (17 km/h) and this motion with some increase in forward speed is expected during the next day or so. On the forecast track, the center of Bertha will move near or along the Louisiana and upper Texas coasts during the next several hours, and then move inland over Texas this evening.

Maximum sustained winds remain near 45 mph (75 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is expected today, and Bertha is forecast to maintain tropical storm intensity until it reaches the upper Texas coast later today. The system is expected to dissipate inland over Texas late tonight or Friday.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 160 miles (260 km) from the center.

The minimum central pressure based on data from the Air Force Reserve reconnaissance aircraft is 1004 mb (29.65 inches).

Watches and Warnings

CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:

The Tropical Storm Warning east of Morgan City, Louisiana has been discontinued.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for, * The Gulf Coast from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Sargent, Texas

A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, in this case within 24 hours.

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

Land Hazards

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

WIND: Tropical storm conditions will continue spreading across portions of the northern and northwestern Gulf Coast within the warning area through today.

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

Port Bolivar, TX to Port Fourchon, LA, 1-2 ft

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

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

RAINFALL: Bertha is expected to produce total rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches with isolated totals to 6 inches through Thursday night along Texas Gulf Coast and South Texas. This rainfall may produce isolated flash flooding, especially in urban areas.

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

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

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

She was scared, sure. But more than that, she was brought to tears.

“I thought I’d be a bit more petrified, but I was enamored. I was in awe. It was witnessing nature,” she says. “You can’t put it into words the emotions and the feelings that you experience.”

Viewers can watch Rei Ami's experience with sharks while off the Korean Peninsula when Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” kicks off Sunday.

Twenty new, hourlong shows leap deep into the world of the ancient predators, from a record-setting dive attempt into shark-infested waters to trying to find out what triggers giant bull sharks to confront humans.

“Growing up, I always watched ‘Shark Week,’” says Rei Ami. “You see those epic commercials, with the great white jumping out and eating the chum and the tuna. That’s ingrained in my brain forever.”

Actor-comedian Ken Jeong joins her to start the week off with the show “K-Pop Shark Heroes” on Sunday. But while she went on two cage dives and two free dives with hammerheads and reef sharks and bull sharks, he preferred to stay out of the water.

“I’m more of the Christopher Nolan of the shark ‘Odyssey’ — just overseeing it,” Jeong jokes. “Just overlooking everything. High and dry. That’s when I do my best work.”

It’s a shark-a-thon

The seven nights of new shows ends Aug. 1 with a look at how great whites are moving further up the East Coast and an examination of how thresher sharks use their tails to stun and kill prey.

One highlight is watching high diver Molly Carlson leap 50 feet (15 meters) from a helicopter into a Plexiglas cage in the ocean surrounded by circling reef sharks. She's OK with jumping from enormous heights, but sharks terrify her.

“There was zero chances of me ever swimming with sharks. This was just not on my radar,” she says. “That’s always been my thing, and so for me to be invited to be on ‘Shark Week,’ I was like 'Why me?'”

Viewers will see Carlson, who has been frank about her struggles with anxiety, overcome her lifelong fear of sharks. Carlson hopes she can motivate others.

“If I can inspire that next 16-year-old girl who wants to just hide in her room and never come out because she’s scared of so many things, then I’m absolutely going to find a way to do this,” she says. “You’re allowed to be scared and do it anyways. And so I think that was the big purpose behind this project for me.”

This year’s highlights also include an attempt to locate a rumored 15-foot (4-meter) mako off the coast of Southern California, which would make it the largest ever documented.

Marine biologist Kendyl Berna, a “Shark Week” veteran who co-founded the ecology group Beyond the Reef, says her team of scientists were betting on the fact that a marine heat wave has made mako prey in those waters abundant, allowing the sharks to get bigger.

“Sharks are the cockroaches of the sea because they’ve been around for 450 million years. They’re older than dinosaurs, they’re older than trees. Sharks have just been around, but the form that they’re taking constantly changes,” she says.

‘Shark Week’ is fun but also educational

“Shark Week” has become a key part of the summer holiday TV schedule, a place where humans safe on land can see ancient apex predators unnervingly glide into view and snap open their jaws, fueling nightmares.

As always, there is a deep respect for the creatures and strong science beneath the amusing titles, sharky puns, dramatic music and racy titles like “Chum Island: Catching a Killer” and “Sharkzilla Takes New York.”

“While ‘Shark Week’ is very entertaining and thrilling, it is at the core very educational. And I think there’s still so much misinformation regarding sharks and how they behave,” says Rei Ami.

“Through these episodes, people can understand, there’s really no reason to fear them, you know? And I hope that message gets received.”

Discovery’s “Shark Week” has a rival — National Geographic’s “SharkFest,” which also has hours of sharky content. And there's Amazon Studios’ new movie “The Devil’s Mouth,” which has bull sharks terrorizing college students in a flooded cave system.

“Shark Week” also has practical advice about what to do when you find yourself face-to-snout with a shark, a rising concern from Korea to Brooklyn as interactions increase. The advice is clear: Stop splashing.

“It’s even more imperative that humans know how to act and react in a situation when they are in the waters and they see a shark,” says Rei Ami. “It would really, I think, help the public to understand how these apex predators work and behave.”

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This story has been updated to delete an incorrect reference to a K-pop song in the show being sung by Rei Ami.

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This story was first published on July 22, 2026. It was updated on July 23, 2026, to fix a misspelled name in the correction note at the bottom of the story. It is Rei Ami, not Rei Amy.

The police chief said the officer who fired the fatal shots Wednesday had been injured by the knife, and that another officer was hurt. None of the four officers who were detaining the man wore body cameras, but passersby recorded the confrontation on video, and accused the officers of overreacting.

A crowd soon converged on the intersection, marching and bringing signs and flowers to a candlelight vigil near the spot where blood spilled from the man. Some chanted “Arrest the cops!” and marched to the state Capitol, where they took the stage at a summer concert series, demanding the name of the officer and that he be held accountable. The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra canceled the show.

Some remained through the night at the shooting scene as police closed the surrounding blocks to traffic.

“I don't plan to leave anytime soon because it's important to hold this space,” said Ben Weger, pastor of Stoughton United Methodist Church, who planted his chair near where someone wrote “Sacred Ground” in chalk amid the flowers. Other messages included, “We saw the videos” and “no fascist police.”

“His life mattered,” the governor said in an online post. “We will continue to keep the loved ones and family of the individual who was killed in our hearts and prayers.”

Police urge people to remain calm as they release few details

“I want to take a moment to honestly and sincerely offer my heartfelt sympathies to his family for this loss,” Madison Police Chief John Patterson said at a news conference Wednesday. He said the man killed was in his 30s. Police didn’t release his name.

Patterson urged caution in reading too much from the cellphone videos circulating on social media. He stressed that none of them show the perspective of the officers, and said additional video that hasn't been released is being reviewed.

The officer who was injured by the knife and fired his weapon is a veteran of the force, the chief said. He and the three other responding officers will be placed on administrative leave pending an independent investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation.

Patterson said police were responding to calls that someone was attempting to enter parked vehicles, and the suspect fled on a bike before the officers surrounded him. He either fell off his bike or was taken off his bike, and one of the four officers deployed a taser but failed to control him, Patterson said.

In the videos circulating online, the man can be seen standing before he's brought to his knees as the officers struggle to force him into a prone position. Then he falls quickly to the pavement after what sounds like three gunshots and stops moving as the officers handcuff him behind his back. Arriving officers then escort one of the officers a short distance away.

A neighborhood now accustomed to police shootings

The shooting happened in the middle of an intersection in the popular Marquette neighborhood, which is lined with restaurants, bars, shops and homes less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the state Capitol. The bystander videos show numerous cars at the scene, with people watching and commenting as it unfolded.

Residents who dealt with two other police killings within the same few blocks expressed their frustration on Thursday.

“It’s really unbearable,” said Sabrina Thompson, who was crying at the impromptu memorial. “You can’t describe it.”

In 2015, a white police officer shot and killed Tony Robinson, who was biracial, on the same street. Large protests followed, but the district attorney filed no charges, determining the officer was justified. In 2012, Paul Heenan, a white musician, was fatally shot after he had been drinking and mistakenly entered his neighbor's house. That officer was exonerated as well.

The chief acknowledged that the neighborhood “has experienced a lot of trauma” as he opened his news conference.

"I ask that everyone in our community please keep this particular neighborhood and the historical trauma, including today, in mind, and please take a moment to reflect and offer some support to one another,” the chief said.

Questions about race swiftly emerge

The race of the officer who fired his gun on Wednesday and that of the man he killed were not released by police.

But Black advocacy groups in Madison quickly spoke out against the crime and said they believe the man was Black.

“Another Black man is dead on a Madison street, and our community watched him die before we even knew his name,” said Brandi Grayson, the head of the Madison-based Black community advocacy group Urban Triage. “That is the cruelty of state violence.”

And now it's a talking point in the governor's race

The shooting quickly infused itself into the race for governor, with voting already under way in the Aug. 11 primary.

“I am horrified and devastated,” posted Francesca Hong, a Democrat running for governor who showed up at the scene just a few blocks from her campaign office.

Another Democratic candidate, County Executive David Crowley, said while the details must become public, “these reports are painfully reminiscent of the tragedies we have witnessed in Kenosha, Minneapolis, and far too many communities across our country.”

The Republican candidate, Rep. Tom Tiffany, called on his rivals to let the state investigation “establish the facts without politicians rushing to judgment or stoking division” in a statement that also said he would "work to end revolving-door criminal justice policies.”

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This story has been updated to correct a surname: it's Sabrina Thompson, not Thompsen.

The outbreak included 72 people as of Wednesday.

The Food and Drug Administration has not yet identified which products are linked to the illnesses. Officials also have not said where the cases are located. The Associated Press has asked the FDA for more information.

Federal officials earlier this week said they remained focused on lettuce from Taylor Farms as the source of a separate, multistate outbreak. The company last week announced it was recalling iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico.

Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that infects food that has come into contact with human feces, most commonly when produce is irrigated or washed with contaminated water. When ingested, the parasite causes intestinal illness marked by “frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Federal and state health authorities have been investigating separate clusters of cyclospora illnesses, including the one traced to Taylor Farms.

Food safety tips include washing hands with soap and water after using the bathroom and before handling food. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers don’t kill cyclospora, but soap and water are highly effective at doing so.

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

The 214-208 vote requiring congressional approval for the war came just before the Senate narrowly rejected a similar resolution, 47-49. Though the votes forced by Democrats are largely symbolic, they are meant as a signal to the Republican president that his support on Capitol Hill is chipping away as the war drags on and lawmakers in both parties have questioned his administration’s endgame.

The war has had “no clear mission, no strategy, no end goal,” said Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat who led the resolution on the House floor.

The House resolution passed after a handful of Republicans voted with Democrats to end the war. But the vast majority of Republicans in both chambers voted to back the war and cede congressional war powers to Trump.

Joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes launched the war in late February. A tenuous ceasefire deal was reached in April, but Trump declared the ceasefire was “over” earlier this month.

Trump has insisted that continued U.S. attacks against Iran do not mean a return to war or long-term action. After the first House vote to halt the war in early June, he posted on social media that it was “unpatriotic” and “meaningless.”

A statement of administration policy issued by the White House on Thursday noted that the resolutions don't have the force of law and encouraged lawmakers to vote against them.

“The President has the Constitutional authority to defend the United States and our citizens from the danger posed by the Iranian regime,” the policy statement said. “This requires the ability to act decisively to ensure it never obtains a nuclear weapon.”

Continued American airstrikes are occurring even as diplomatic efforts show little public sign of progress and officials on both sides have dug in on the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global energy that remains largely closed. The unpopular war threatens further worldwide economic disruption and is sending fuel prices up ahead of midterm U.S. elections this fall.

“We are in this new escalatory phase where Americans have been killed, and Americans are experiencing the rising costs — I think it’s important that people be held accountable,” said Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat who led the Senate effort on Thursday. “And this is a very unpopular war.”

Most Republicans vote to cede congressional powers

As the House debated the resolution Wednesday evening, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., read out names of 18 service members killed since the war began.

“To belittle this mission is to belittle and demean the very service these members gave their life for,” Mast said. “Their sacrifice was not meaningless. This operation is bringing reckoning for the hundreds of times Iran has attacked and killed people of the United States of America.”

The top Democrat on the panel, New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, said that presidents are supposed to make the case to Congress.

The service members who died made the ultimate sacrifice for “an illegal unauthorized war that the American people don’t want,” Meeks said.

Democrats said they would continue to force Republicans to vote on the issue.

“If Donald Trump won’t listen to the people and end this war then Congress must,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Trump is watching Iran votes closely

Republicans on both sides of the Capitol know that voting against the war can have a political cost, even as many of them have privately questioned the Trump administration’s handling of the conflict.

In his post after the June House vote, Trump called the four Republicans who voted with Democrats “GRANDSTANDERS!” and said they should be “ashamed of themselves.”

“They would rather have our Country fail than give me another, of many, victories,” he said.

When the Senate passed a war powers resolution on Iran for the first time in June, Trump called the four Republicans who voted for it “losers" and then reprimanded them at a Senate GOP luncheon that he attended the next day.

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of the Republicans who had voted with Democrats, said afterward that he had clashed with Trump over the issue. He said he told Trump directly that he needed to give more details to the public about the conflict.

“This was supposed to last four weeks. It’s lasted four months,” said Cassidy, who had just lost reelection in a primary after Trump endorsed one of his opponents. “Our original objectives have not been achieved.”

Trump argued back, Cassidy later told reporters, and he told the president that he wouldn’t change his vote until he got a briefing. The White House later relented, giving Cassidy a one-on-one meeting, and the Louisiana Republican changed his vote in a late-night do-over vote before the Senate left for a two-week recess.

Cassidy voted against the resolution again on Thursday.

Polling finds Americans disapprove of the war

Most Americans disapprove of the way Trump is handling the situation with Iran, according to recent polling. A Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted in July found that few Americans think the war in Iran has been worth fighting, and most aren’t confident that the U.S. military action in Iran and negotiations to end the war will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Only about two-thirds of Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the situation in Iran, according to the poll. Most Republicans, about 6 in 10, think the war has been worth fighting and are confident that the military action and ensuing negotiations will prevent Iran from development nuclear weapons, but a sizable share — about one-third — are unconvinced.

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Associated Press writers Steven Sloan and Amelia Thomson DeVeaux contributed to this report.

Vance Boelter, 59, was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus 40 years in prison after pleading guilty in June to the six counts related to the killings of House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and the shootings of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.

Fellow lawmakers and survivors of the shooting spoke earlier in the hearing, describing the lasting fear and physical harm that Boelter caused.

Boelter pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty; instead, he agreed to the maximum sentence he could be issued short of the death penalty. Mark Hortman’s father and siblings voiced their anger that he would not face the death penalty.

Wearing orange prison garb and shackled at the ankles, Boelter sat extremely still, never looking at the survivors and family members as they read their victim impact statements.

Victims and survivors describe the impact of the attacks

In court Thursday, Sen. Hoffman said he and his family are constantly reminded of the extraordinary violence of that night, even in the mundane details of day-to-day life. He said they don't receive mail at home anymore, they installed solid steel doors, and that they have changed how they do everyday tasks because of their injuries.

“The defendant looked me in the eyes and pulled the trigger. The defendant looked at my wife and chose to do the same,” Hoffman said. "My wife and I now live with injuries. We live with our bodies remembering the gunfire.”

Yvette Hoffman said she has been too traumatized to work since the attack in their home, and that she sees a therapist weekly.

“I fought him, your Honor, with everything I had. And I finally got him out of our home. I will never forget looking down and watching my blood slowly stream down that white washing machine as I felt myself sinking to the floor,” she said, barely holding back tears as she spoke. "We always have an escape plan now. This isn’t how people should live.”

Boelter admitted in court in June that he spent months identifying and stalking his targets, before driving to their homes in the middle of the night, disguised as a police officer, with the intention of killing them. The killings sparked the largest police search in state history.

Democratic State Rep. Kristin Bahner was one of two other legislators whose homes Boelter visited that night, but she and her family were on vacation. Bahner said the shootings had left her shaken.

“I could not fathom why I was spared and (Hortman) was not,” she said. ”You failed because I carry her with me. In my mind and in my heart, she guides me.”

The proposed sentence sparks fury

Mark Hortman's parents and siblings spoke of their anger Thursday, both at the man who killed him and of the justice system.

“It will not offer me peace of mind that he will have room and board provided for the rest of his life, paid for by my tax dollars,” said Lisa Hortman Bean, Mark's sister.

Melissa Hortman's mother and father, and the Hortman's children changed the tone of the statements when they spoke Thursday, remembering them as attentive, loving parents and grandparents and people who impacted thousands of lives.

“It is impossible to realize the damage that has been done not only to our family, but to our society,” said Melissa's father Harold Haluptzok, who repeatedly referred to her as his ”little girl."

"I wish the perpetrator would have sat down and talked to Melissa about his political positions... if only he did that before he decided to kill them,” Haluptzok added.

Boelter pretended to be a police officer to gain access

Boelter went to Hortman's home, wearing a tactical uniform and mask, about 3:30 a.m. on June 14, 2025. He rang the doorbell while shouting he was a police officer doing a welfare check, according to court documents.

Mark Hortman answered the door. Boelter gave him a fake name and badge number before requesting he summon Melissa Hortman to the door as well. He shot Mark Hortman multiple times before pushing into the house and shooting the lawmaker as she fled upstairs. Melissa and Mark Hortman were killed.

Boelter had already visited the Hoffmans' home that night, shooting and critically injuring the senator and his wife, according to police and court documents. Court documents said Boelter also went to two other lawmakers' houses that night. In one instance, no one answered the door, and in the other, Boelter was spooked when a police officer approached him in his car believing he was another officer.

Boelter also faces state charges, including two counts of murder, four counts of attempted murder, impersonating a police officer and animal cruelty. The Hortman family’s golden retriever was gravely injured in the shootings and had to be euthanized. Hoffman and his family filed a personal injury lawsuit against Boelter in April.

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Lauer reported from Philadelphia.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier joined Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood, Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young, and Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly to discuss Operation Ice Breaker.

“Operation Ice Breaker II is a testament to the relentless work of our detectives and the strength of our partnerships,” said Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young. “Drug trafficking fuels violence, addiction, and other crimes that impact the quality of life in our community. By dismantling this organization, we have made Daytona Beach a safer place and sent a clear message that those who choose to traffic illegal narcotics here will be held accountable.”

The investigation took place between the fall of 2025 and June 30, 2026, targeting distribution networks trafficking in fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and other controlled substances.

The networks operated in Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns, Marion and Orange counties, according to law enforcement.

The Daytona Beach Police Department and the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office were the arresting agencies.

“This work is never done, but thanks to a relentless approach and a lot of great teamwork, Volusia County is better off today with another set of scumbag drug dealers locked up,” said Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood. “Behind bars, they’re no longer merchants of death in our community.”

Additional arrests are expected as the investigation continues.

The S&P 500 sank 1.3% and is heading toward its first back-to-back weekly loss since March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 537 points, or 1%, as of 12:50 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.2% lower.

Stocks fell under the pressure of rising oil prices, which raise costs for businesses and erode their customers’ ability to spend. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, jumped 7.1% to $100.74.

It earlier touched the highest price since May for the most actively traded Brent contract in the market. The cause: attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. That threatens another avenue that oil companies use to move their crude from the Middle East to customers worldwide, along with the Strait of Hormuz.

Underscoring the importance of the sea route for the economy, President Donald Trump threatened “major military punishment” against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are backed by Iran, if they keep attacking ships.

It was just a few weeks ago that Brent had dropped below $72 per barrel, roughly back to where it was before the United States and Israel attacked Iran to begin their war, on hopes that the Strait of Hormuz would fully reopen to oil tankers.

The jumps in oil prices are threatening to worsen inflation, just when it had begun to decelerate by more than economists expected. That in turn could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates, which would slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

The European Central Bank held its main interest rates steady at its meeting Thursday. But traders are banking on a nearly 38% chance the Fed will hike the federal funds rate at its meeting next week. That's up from the nearly 12% probability seen a week ago, according to data from CME Group.

An increase by the Fed would be the first since 2023.

Higher oil prices pushed the yield of the 10-year Treasury up to 4.70% from 4.67% late Wednesday and from just 3.97% before the war with Iran began. That’s a significant increase, and it’s already brought long-term U.S. mortgage rates to their highest levels in nearly a year.

Gasoline prices tend to rise with oil prices, and a gallon of regular costs an average of $4.09 across the United States, according to AAA. That’s still below highs of roughly $4.56 in May, but it was at just $3.93 a month ago.

On Wall Street, stocks of companies with big fuel bills fell to sharp losses on worries about higher expenses.

American Airlines fell 8.4% even though it reported a much bigger profit for the spring than analysts expected, something that usually sends a stock’s price higher. It raised airfares, which helped it offset its higher fuel prices, during the latest quarter.

Southwest Airlines lost 4.4%, even though it also reported better profit and revenue than analysts expected. It wrung more profit out of each $1 of its revenue during the spring, even with higher fuel prices.

One of the heaviest weights on the U.S. stock market was Tesla, which tumbled 14% after Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle company reported a weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Because it’s one of the largest stocks in the S&P 500 by market value, its stock has more influence on the index than nearly every other.

One of the few that’s larger is Alphabet, and its stock fell 6.7% even though the parent company of Google delivered stronger profit and revenue than analysts expected.

Investors seemed to focus instead on how much Alphabet said it’s set to spend on artificial-intelligence investments. Alphabet raised its forecast for capital spending over the full year after its investments last quarter doubled to nearly $45 billion from a year earlier.

CEO Sundar Pichai said AI helped its cloud revenue growth accelerate to 82% last quarter, but unease nevertheless remains about whether all the money going into AI will pay off in terms of productivity and profits.

Such worries have been shaking the AI industry broadly in recent weeks, leading to big swings for the overall stock market.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell sharply in Europe as oil prices jumped. France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.6% for one of the larger losses.

Indexes in Asia were stronger earlier in the day, and South Korea’s Kospi jumped 4.4%.

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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

Anthony Guglielmi, a Secret Service spokesperson, said the security-team member faces an internal investigation and potential criminal inquiry over allegations involving compromised “operational and information security.”

“While we will not comment on the specifics of this matter, one principle is unequivocal: any conduct that potentially threatens the safety of a protectee will not be tolerated,” Guglielmi said in a statement.

The agency did not identify the person under investigation.

The Secret Service said the investigation is tied to a report from MS NOW last week saying that some Secret Service agents had privately expressed frustration over last-minute travel requests from Vance and his family.

Vance’s office referred questions to the Secret Service.

Vance and his wife, Usha, live in the vice president's residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory along with their young children.

On Sunday, the couple welcomed their fourth child, Alec Neel Vance, the first baby born to a sitting vice president in more than 150 years. He's joined by older siblings Ewan, 9; Vivek, 6; and Mirabel, 4.

British barrister Karim Khan has been accused of sexual misconduct with a female aide, as outlined by The Associated Press in a series of stories, allegations which he has steadfastly denied.

The saga has dragged on for more than two years and has had profound implications for the global tribunal, which is already under enormous pressure. Earlier this month, the United States, which has long criticized the court, announced a campaign aimed at dismantling the 24-year-old institution.

The 56-year-old Khan was formally removed from his duties at the ICC in June after the executive committee of the court’s oversight body found he had committed “serious breach of duty and serious misconduct” by engaging in a “sexual relationship ... (that) escalated over time” and tried to prevent the woman from pursuing her allegations, according to documents seen by The Associated Press. Khan disputes those findings.

Khan faces an unprecedented removal vote

Now his future lies in the hands of the 125 nations who make up the court's oversight body, the Assembly of States Parties, who are holding a special session in New York. It will culminate in a vote where a majority would need to support a resolution to oust him.

Khan will not be present at the closed-door meeting, as he is barred from entering the United States after being sanctioned by the Trump administration over the court’s investigation into Israeli officials for the military's conduct in the conflict in Gaza.

His lawyers have complained about his absence at the meeting. “We know of no court or tribunal in any proper and fair legal system that bars a person facing the gravest professional sanction from being heard,” Tayab Ali and Sareta Ashraph wrote in a letter to the ASP seen by the AP.

He goes into the vote banned from practicing law in his home country of the United Kingdom after being suspended by the British Bar Standards Board pending their own investigation into the allegations against him.

The outcome of the vote, which is secret, is unclear. The court’s host state of the Netherlands will vote for his removal, the country’s foreign minister Tom Berendsen wrote in a letter to parliament. The Netherlands is the only country to have publicly announced its position.

The Gaza investigation complicates the case

The allegations have become entwined with the court’s investigation into the war in Gaza. “Political considerations have been folded into this, especially as it is the first time a prosecutor has pursued warrants against a western ally,” Iva Vukusic, a researcher at Utrecht University who has been following the process, told the AP.

The court issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity. That decision sparked considerable backlash, including multiple rounds of sanctions against Khan and other court staff by the Trump administration.

A divided court faces an uncertain future

The lengthy and complicated process has created huge divisions at the court at a time when the institution already is under tremendous strain. “There has been splintering over how the court has handled this,” Lucy Gaynor, a historian of international criminal tribunals at the University of Amsterdam, told the AP.

In April, a group of staff members within the prosecutor’s office sent a letter to the oversight body expressing serious concerns about Khan’s potential return, writing that his “leadership has been materially diminished.”

Last week, a group of Palestinian organizations issued a public letter expressing concerns about the investigation, including accusing the executive committee of “unwarranted political interference” and “subverting the disciplinary process.”

Should Khan be removed, his replacement will have to be elected later. His office is currently being run by his two deputy prosecutors.

Vukusic said that regardless of the outcome, “the court is going to walk away bruised and battered and wounded and less able to face the greater threats.”

Panthers head coach Dave Canales said he does not know the extent of the injury. He said Scourton will have an MRI exam.

“I don't want to speculate,” Canales said. “I'm hoping for the best.”

Scourton, a second-round draft pick in 2024 out of Texas A&M, went down on a wet field late in practice during team drills. Players immediately gathered around him on one knee.

Scourton held his hand over his face as he was led into an awaiting cart.

As he was leaving the field, the cart stopped and Canales and every player on the roster individually walked over to hug Scourton before he was taken to the training room.

“They care about each other,” Canales said. “Whenever you’re in a group of people doing something hard together, it has a way of creating a special bond. Between all the workouts and going through a full season and an offseason and all that, it means something to the guys. I’m proud of that.”

Scourton had an outstanding rookie season for the Panthers, playing in 17 games with eight starts. He finished the season with 47 tackles, five sacks and nine quarterback hits while developing into a key starter for the NFL's 15th-ranked defense.

Scourton appeared to be engaged in a block with an offensive lineman at the time of the injury.

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young was near the play at the time, but said he did not see what happened.

He praised Scourton for how quickly he has developed into a leader on defense.

“It's been really cool to see him come into his own," Young said. “He has a super-high motor, has great energy. He's fun to be around. He turns into that different competitor when he's on the field. We feel that during practice. He has raised the level of (intensity at) practice many times. We don't know anything yet (on the injury), but we're just praying for him.”

Canales said the team had enough players to go without Scourton if the injury is bad.

“We've got depth,” Canales said. “That's why we keep bringing in guys. ... If it comes to that (a serious injury) we have guys that we trust.”

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

It was the 33-year-old Carapaz’s first stage win at this year’s race and second overall. He was not chased down by Pogacar because he is not considered a threat to win the Tour, and is in 10th spot.

“This is a wonderful victory,” Carapaz said. “I dedicate it to my family.”

After moving ahead about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the summit, Carapaz raced clear. He patted each side of his head as he approached the finish line, and was 45 seconds ahead of Swiss rider Mauro Schmid and American Matteo Jorgenson.

“It’s been a special day. It took a lot of hard work,” said Carapaz, who failed to win with a similar breakaway earlier in this year’s race. “This is the most rewarding thing for me, knowing that the work I put in has paid off.”

Pogacar is chasing a third straight Tour title and fifth overall. The Slovenian star rolled over the line in a large group containing his closest rival Remco Evenepoel and Pogacar’s UAE Emirates XRG teammate Isaac Del Toro.

There was no change overall as Pogacar maintained his lead of 4 minutes, 32 seconds over the Belgian time trial star Evenepoel, the winner of two stages at this year's race, and 6:51 over the 22-year-old Mexican Del Toro in third overall.

Thursday's stage was the first of three straight days of Alpine climbs.

The 185-kilometer (115-mile) trek featured an early Category 1 climb — the second-hardest category — up Côte d'Engins, before ending with a Cat. 1 ascent to the Orcières-Merlette ski station.

After going over Engins, Jorgenson was in a small group at the front. They were then joined by Carapaz with Pogacar's yellow jersey group clearly hanging back.

“I think nobody would really commit,” said Pogacar, who has won four stages at this year's race.

Carapaz's stage could have ended when he had a near miss with a fan stood in the road, just swerving around him in time.

Heading into the final climb up Orcières-Merlette, Jorgenson and Schmid could not respond when Carapaz, who won the 2019 Giro d’Italia, attacked.

“This final climb was tough and suited my strengths well,” said Carapaz, whose other Tour stage win came in 2024. “This was a hard-fought victory, but just as tough as the first one. It gets harder every year to win here.”

Tough climbs ahead

Friday's 19th stage ends with a HC climb (the hardest category) up L'Alpe d’Huez, an iconic Tour climb and among the most famed in cycling.

Saturday's 20th and penultimate stage is brutal and could be epic. It features three HC climbs — Col de la Croix de Fer, Col du Galibier and Col de Sarenne — and one Cat. 1 climb up Col du Télégraphe, before a hilly finish to L'Alpe d'Huez.

The race ends Sunday on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. ___

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

In a release, police said the incident happened shortly before noon near the railroad tracks at Eleanor Avenue.

Afterward, the teen was airlifted to an Orlando medical facility, the release shows.

Investigators added that based on the preliminary investigation, the incident appears to be accidental.

No additional information has been provided at this time.

Alberto Barbera, the festival's artistic director, unveiled the lineup Thursday for the 83rd edition of the festival, the first of many in a busy fall film season that culminates in the Hollywood awards showdown. Like the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, the selection is lighter on Hollywood studio films than in years past.

“Wild Horse Nine,” starring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as CIA agents in Chile before the 1973 coup, is among the higher-profile titles playing in competition. It will play alongside “Primetime,” in which Pattinson stars as “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen. The broader slate has anticipated documentaries like Alex Gibney's “Musk,” a sweeping portrait of the billionaire, and Julia Loktev’s “My Undesirable Friends: Part II — Exile,” which follows Russian independent journalists after they leave the country. Similar to the first part, it runs 355 minutes.

The festival's main competition includes a diverse array of international and American films, like Werner Herzog’s “Bucking Fastard,” in which sisters Rooney and Kate Mara play identical twins.

Also on the program are Florian Zeller’s thriller “Bunker,” with Bardem and Cruz playing a married couple, Lee Chang-dong’s “Possible Love,” Stéphane Brizé’s “A Good Little Soldier” and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Look Back,” a coming-of-age story about two girls who dream of being manga artists. Casey Affleck will be in competition for the first time with “Company,” starring Nick Nolte and Ben Mendelsohn. Nanni Moretti also returns for the first time since 1989.

Notable documentary premieres out of competition include “Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger,” Barbara Kopple’s “Union Town,” Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin's “Everest: The Other Side,” Luca Guadagnino’s seven-hour Bernardo Bertolucci film “Joie de Vivre,” Wim Wenders' look at architect Peter Zumthor, Russell Crowe’s autobiographical musical concert movie, “What Love Builds,” and Laura Poitras’s short about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis, “They're Here,” which she co-directed with Rachel Lauren Mueller.

Barbera said he expects Noel and Liam Gallagher to attend on behalf of the Oasis film, which was directed by Steven Knight and will be in theaters on Sept. 11.

The festival is set to open on Sept. 2 with Danny Boyle’s “Ink,” an adaptation of James Graham’s stage play which dramatizes the rise of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. “Ink” is also playing in the main competition and in the running for awards such as the Golden Lion, a prize that is decided upon by a jury led this year by filmmaker and actor Maggie Gyllenhaal. Other jurors include filmmakers like Kaouther Ben Hania, Johnnie To and Shahrbanoo Sadat, and composer Daniel Blumberg.

Gyllenhaal has a film playing as well: a Marilyn Monroe-inspired short, “Flesh Impact,” in which Dakota Johnson and Ellen Burstyn “give body and voice to the myth of Marilyn,” Barbera said. The 93-year-old Burstyn will also get a lifetime achievement award from the festival.

Venice has in the last 15 years proved a desirable launching pad for Oscar hopefuls, even if not everything breaks through. Last year’s edition had plenty of star power in the lineup, with Julia Roberts, George Clooney and Dwayne Johnson movies among the splashy premieres. But the glow of the festival moment was short-lived: The films, “After the Hunt,” “Jay Kelly” and “The Smashing Machine,” were neither triumphant with audiences in theaters (“Jay Kelly” was a Netflix release) nor with awards voters.

Still, there’s usually a best picture nominee in the slate: Last year there were two in “Frankenstein” and “Bugonia.”

This year won’t be bereft of a Clooney moment either: The Venice regular is getting a lifetime achievement award.

Should the trend continue, it would push the annual homicide rate to the lowest levels in over a century once final numbers are released at the end of the year.

The report, released Thursday, tracked 13 crimes and recorded drops in nine of those categories, including carjackings, residential burglary and aggravated assaults. There was a small jump in shoplifting, domestic violence incidents, sexual assaults and drug offenses over the same period between 2025 and 2026, the report showed.

Experts say the broadly positive changes are exceeding expectations, improving on baseline crime rates from before 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought historic surges in violence.

Democrats and Republicans across the country have tried to capitalize on the positive developments during a competitive midterm election year. But the trends documented in the report carry through in cities with leadership across the political spectrum.

That suggests the most significant factors contributing to the improvements are taking place nationwide and are not specific to a single local public safety measure, said Adam Gelb, the president and CEO of the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank for criminal justice policy and research.

“Murder and other crime rates are falling across the map in cities with different political leadership, different housing and economic conditions, different policing and prosecution and violence reduction strategies and different levels of federal enforcement activity,” Gelb said.

The council collects data from police departments and other law enforcement sources. Some of the report categories include data from as many as 36 cities, while others include fewer cities in their totals because of tracking gaps or differences in definitions for specific crimes.

Notably, Gelb said that a significant number of violent crimes were less deadly: There was a 23% drop in the lethality of the crimes committed, which is measured by the share of serious violent crime that is fatal.

Many of the non-violent crimes tracked in the report also saw declines, including a 13% drop in residential burglaries year over year and a 50% drop in burglaries compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. At the same time, reported shoplifting bucked the trends of other property crimes, showing a 5% increase. And while there was a small increase in drug offenses, those were still lower than pre-pandemic levels.

Roughly a third of the 30 sampled cities defied average homicide rate declines across the country, recording an increase in deadly violence from the first half of 2025 to the same period in 2026. That includes Norfolk, Virginia, which saw a 64% increase in homicides, and San Francisco, which saw a 55% increase. The number of cities that saw a longer-term increase was far smaller: Only Norfolk, Austin, Pittsburgh and Minneapolis experienced more homicides in 2026 than in the same period in 2019.

There are many factors that could impact why a location sees increases or decreases in certain crimes when another doesn't, according to John Roman, director of the Center on Public Safety and Justice at the National Opinion Research Center from the University of Chicago.

Roman said that conservative politicians affiliated with President Donald Trump will point to intensified immigration crackdowns and the deployment of the National Guard in cities like Los Angeles and Memphis, whereas liberal politicians might point to former Democratic President Joe Biden's public safety legislation that strengthened background checks on firearm sales.

But ultimately, Roman said, the best explanations transcend specific administrations. That ranges from decreased drug usage and therefore fewer purchases from illegal markets, which are often linked to violence, to an influx of federal funding for localities after the pandemic that was spent on social programming.

Those programs, Roman said, often funded jobs like teachers and social workers who primarily work with “young people who are the highest risk of violence and victimization.”

While both Gelb and Roman concurred that there wasn't a single reason, Gelb said the outcomes should be studied for future insights and celebrated.

“This is one of the most significant public safety developments in decades. It means lives are being saved, families are spared trauma and communities are regaining stability,” Gelb said.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits in the week ending July 18 declined by 22,000 to 187,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That's the fewest number of weekly applications since the week ending Sept. 6, 1969, according to Labor Department data.

It's also well below the 215,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.

Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the U.S. job market.

Despite surging oil prices resulting from the U.S.'s military attack on Iran, the American job market remains healthy and layoffs historically low. However, analysts say a prolonged war and higher than normal energy costs could eventually chip away at that, forcing companies to reduce costs by lowering head counts.

“The economic crisis caused by the energy supply shock is not over yet,” said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Trading. “But the labor market has yet to show any sign of wear and tear from the surge in oil prices.”

The price for a barrel of U.S. crude surged nearly 5% early Thursday to more than $91. That's the highest level in about six weeks. Gas prices in the U.S. are also back up above $4 a gallon on average. That not only squeezes consumers' budgets, but also hits businesses hard, especially those which are heavily dependent on fuel.

In its expansive June jobs report earlier this month, the government reported that employers pulled back on hiring, adding only 57,000 jobs. That’s less than half the previous month’s total and a sign that companies remain cautious about adding to their head counts. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% from 4.3% in May, though that decline is mostly because many out-of-work people gave up looking for jobs and were no longer counted as unemployed.

June’s tepid hiring comes after a relative surge in job gains the previous three months, countering concerns that the war in Iran could trip up an already wobbly labor market.

Weekly jobless aid applications have stabilized in a range mostly between 200,000 and 250,000 since the U.S. economy emerged from the pandemic recession. However, hiring began slowing about two years ago and tapered further in 2025 due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, his purge of the federal workforce and the lingering effects of high interest rates meant to control inflation.

Among the companies that have trimmed their workforce recently are Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks and Walmart.

Earlier this month Microsoft said it was cutting 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of its global workforce, including a large number of workers at its Xbox video game business.

Thursday’s layoffs data showed that the four-week moving average of weekly jobless claims, which adjusts for volatility, fell by 7,250 to 207,500.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending July 11 was down by 2,000 to just under 1.8 million, also a historically healthy figure.

Weary of Caballero's routine of waiting to acknowledge the pitcher just before the pitch clock reaches eight seconds, MLB told umpires Wednesday his regimen amounted to deception.

Plate umpire Quinn Wolcott charged Caballero with a pitch-clock violation in the sixth inning that led to a strikeout and the ejection of hitting coach James Rowson as New York lost a doubleheader opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 in 10 innings.

“I’ve seen other guys do some other things and they don’t call anything on them,” Caballero said. “They’re just picking on me.”

Caballero was acquired from Tampa Bay last July 31 and Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledged his thoughts on the utilityman spun 180 degrees with the swap.

“He’s one of those guys I would yell at from the dugout,” Boone said Wednesday morning. “He was a pest and I didn’t like it. Now I like him because he's a good player and he's on our side. But, yeah, we've had a laugh about that.”

During a June 14 game at Toronto, Caballero twice was deliberate in raising his head until eight seconds remained on the pitch clock, leading to a warning by plate umpire Steven Jaschinsk. That prompted a delay of more than two minutes while Caballero, Jaschinski, Boone and crew chief John Tumpane discussed the situation.

Benches and bullpens cleared at the end of the eighth inning during Monday night's series opener when Pirates reliever Dennis Santana yelled at Caballero for taking too long to get ready in the batter’s box. Then on Wednesday, Wolcott charged Caballero with a violation in the sixth inning while the batter faced Carmen Mlodzinski with the Yankees trailing 2-0. After a delay of 2 1/2 minutes, Cabellero took a called third strike that stranded a runner.

“He’s not allowed to do an inordinate amount of time looking down, trying to get the pitcher to cause a violation,” Wolcott told a pool reporter. “There’s no other hitter that gets in the box, takes the amount of the time that Caballero does while looking down, not making eye contact with the pitcher. Obviously it’s caused a lot of problems in the past. It’s not going to be allowed anymore.”

MLB adopted the pitch clock for the 2023 season in an effort to cut game times. It has been 15 seconds with no runners and 18 seconds with runners since 2024.

In cracking down on Caballero, MLB cited a provision in its Pace of Game Procedures that states: “Conduct by batters designed to deceive a pitcher into beginning their windup or coming to the set position in violation of these regulations shall be considered circumvention."

Crew chief Adrian Johnson said the series opener skirmish caused MLB to take action.

“It’s not allowed anymore. It was the cause of a bench-clearing situation on Monday night. Major League Baseball stepped in, and they wanted enforced,” crew chief Adrian Johnson said. “We were instructed not to warn him. We were instructed to violate him.”

Boone said MLB didn't inform the Yankees before the game of the change in stance.

“It's embarrassing,” he said.

Based on previous conversations with MLB, Boone instructed Caballero to “make sure you’re looking up at nine so that you are alert by eight.”

“He actually said that they were making new rules today and it’s on me because I was deceiving or something like that to the pitcher, which doesn’t make sense,” Caballero said. “I don’t know, maybe my English is so bad that I don’t understand, but deceiving kind of means that you’re trying to trick someone and I’m not trying to trick someone because I do the same thing over and over. You can check my last 50 at-bats and see if I do it the same or not, or check maybe 100 at-bats or 150.”

MLB issued a memo in 2023 warning batters not to keep a foot out of the batter's box, which Willson Contreras called “the Willson rule.”

Caballero claims he is being singled out.

“For everyone, it is eight seconds. For me was nine," he said. "But now they just don’t want me to do my routine so it’s kind of like tricky for me because it’s the way that I get settled, the way that I try to approach my at-bats.”

Caballero is concerned about giving pitchers control of the timing of pitches.

“If I get in the box and they have 16, 17 seconds left, they can hold the ball on me all that time and I’d be tied up," he said.

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

Bertha was located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Galveston, Texas, late Thursday morning as it crept westward, the National Hurricane Center said. Still packing sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph), it was expected to remain a tropical storm until moving onshore later in the day.

No deaths or significant damage have been reported since Bertha formed Monday in the Gulf of Mexico south of the Florida Panhandle. The storm triggered some coastal flooding as its center first struck land Wednesday in Louisiana southwest of New Orleans, but its heaviest rains stayed over the Gulf waters.

A tropical storm warning remained in effect Thursday along the Gulf Coast from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Sargent, Texas. The hurricane center said Bertha could still cause up to 2 feet (0.6 meters) of storm surge along the coast and trigger isolated flash flooding from heavy rains in coastal and south Texas.

Forecasters expected the storm to weaken rapidly after moving onshore and dissipate over inland Texas by Friday.

As the storm approached Louisiana on Wednesday, children splashed in the floodwaters as onlookers watched the surge at the Lake Pontchartrain estuary. Residents mowed their lawns even as streets filled up with water.

Tropical storm force winds extended felt as far as 160 miles (260 kilometers) from the storm's center, the hurricane center said.

Strong gales earlier in the week knocked over a Waffle House sign onto a car in Panama City Beach, Florida. Heavy surf and the threat of rip tides had prompted warnings at Gulf Coast beaches for swimmers to stay out of the water.

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

In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto churned far from land Thursday. The hurricane was more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph).

The hurricane center said swells generated by Fausto could cause life-threatening surf and rip tides in parts of southern California.

___

Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.

In a post on social media, the Republican president said the deal does not allow for enrichment of uranium. Nonproliferation experts have raised concerns that the deal fails to include guardrails to prevent enrichment of uranium to weapons-grade levels.

Trump's post said the agreement “will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.” He added that the U.S. “is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities.”

The Saudis have made clear that normalizing relations with Israel would first require the establishment of a clear path for Palestinian statehood. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the idea of Palestinian statehood as being untenable for his country's security.

The Saudi Embassy in Washington declined to comment Thursday on Trump's assertion that the deal will require the kingdom to join the accords.

Netanyahu’s office in a statement applauded the prospect of Saudi Arabia joining the accords as a “historic leap forward for peace in the Middle East.” The statement made no mention of the deal to bolster Saudi's civil nuclear program.

President has sought to build on the 2020 accords

Trump has sought to build on the 2020 agreements, which expanded the number of Arab and Muslim-majority nations with diplomatic ties with Israel. Saudi Arabia is the most important Arab power in the Middle East, and Trump believes the kingdom joining the accords is critical to establishing long-term stability in the region.

The new nuclear deal announced Wednesday is expected to last 30 years and involve U.S. firms in the program’s development. It could allow for the building of a uranium-enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia following a joint U.S.-Saudi study, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The agreement is to be submitted to Congress for review, according to the U.S. and Saudi governments.

The agreement does not include the International Atomic Energy Agency’s “additional protocol,” which would allow for more monitoring, inspections and verification, according to a second person familiar with the decision.

The oil-rich kingdom’s Energy Ministry on Wednesday said the agreement bolsters “efforts to diversify energy sources, advance cutting-edge technologies, and expand opportunities for cooperation and investment in ways that serve the mutual interests of the two friendly countries.”

Enrichment is not an automatic path to a nuclear weapon — a nation also must master other steps, including the use of synchronized high explosives, for instance. But it does open the door to weaponization, which has fueled concerns over Iran’s program.

Administration says deal is good for US firms

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Thursday in Manila that the agreement would make certain that Saudi Arabia works with American companies instead of “competitors” to build its civil nuclear program. China, South Korea, France and Russia are among alternative partners that Riyadh could look to.

“We’re not the only show in town, but we’re the best show in town,” Rubio said. “We want to make sure that it’s our companies they’re picking.”

Trump has talked up his push to extend the Abraham Accords — which also formalized commercial ties between Israel and some Arab and Muslim-majority nations — as key to his plan for bringing long-term stability to the Middle East. But the aftermath of Israel's war in Gaza and the nearly 5-month-old U.S. and Israel war against Iran have complicated Trump's push to expand the accords.

The agreements have proven unpopular among the public in certain signatory countries such as Morocco and Bahrain, sparking widespread protests.

Still, the Trump administration remains optimistic that an agreement with Saudi Arabia on joining the accords can be sealed by the end of Trump’s second term.

Deal faces early scrutiny from Congress, Israel and nuclear experts

The White House and Saudi Arabia have not made public the text of the nuclear cooperation agreement, known as a “123 agreement,” alongside what the Trump administration described as a “bilateral safeguards agreement” that was signed Wednesday by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman.

But it already faces scrutiny from Congress, some Israeli officials and nuclear experts.

As details of the deal emerged Wednesday, opposition on Capitol Hill and elsewhere began to snowball, with Republicans and Democrats both questioning the wisdom of the agreement. In addition, conservative commentators who have generally supported Trump’s polices asked why the president would give Saudi Arabia such a deal without getting anything in return.

Then on Thursday, Trump abruptly announced that the deal is entirely contingent on the Saudis joining the accords.

During a briefing with reporters, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not directly address whether the Saudis have agreed to sign onto the Abraham Accords as part of the deal.

Instead, Leavitt stressed that Trump has been consistent in pushing for the Saudis to join the accords during the two nations' discussions about a civil nuclear deal.

“It will eventually, hopefully, be finalized with the condition that the president spoke about this morning,” Leavitt said.

The United Arab Emirates, a neighbor to Saudi Arabia, signed a 123 agreement with the U.S. to build its Barakah nuclear power plant with South Korean assistance. But the UAE did so without seeking enrichment, something nonproliferation experts have held up as the “gold standard” for nations wanting atomic power.

Rubio, as a Republican senator representing Florida, backed a bipartisan 2018 proposal that called for requiring Congress to approve any 123 agreement with Saudi Arabia. The bill was reintroduced by a group of Democratic lawmakers in March but has not passed into law.

Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, cosponsored with Rubio the 2018 bill that would have required approval from Congress for a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia. He said he “misses Sen. Rubio,” arguing that Secretary Rubio appears to take a different position.

“I hope that Sen. Rubio will return to us and insist that Congress approve any agreement,” Sherman said Wednesday at a meeting of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

___

Price reported from Manila, Philippines. Associated Press writers Sam Metz in Jerusalem and Matthew Daly, Seung Min Kim and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, referred Smith to the Justice Department for possible prosecution related to closed-door testimony about whether he had obtained records of lawmakers while investigating Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss.

The referral, sent Wednesday, centers on a December 2025 exchange in which Smith was asked about subpoenas that prosecutors had issued for the toll records of some Republican lawmakers as part of the investigation. Toll records show the time, date, length of call and phone numbers involved but do not reveal the content of the communication.

“Did the toll records that you requested from the senators, did they include the content of the phone calls?” Smith was asked.

“No,” he said. He again answered no when asked whether the toll records he had requested included the content of text messages.

Jordan, in his referral, says that answer was misleading in light of newly released records from Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa showing that Smith had obtained the contents of 44 lawmakers' text messages in a separate subpoena to the National Archives and Records Administration that sought the communications of various Trump advisers and aides.

“The responses provided by Mr. Smith gave the impression that neither Mr. Smith nor his team had access to the content of Members’ privileged text messages. We now know this to be false,” Jordan wrote.

He said a false statement under the law can encompasses instances in which “the witness provides a half-truth or excludes information necessary to make statements accurate.”

In a letter to Jordan and Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Smith's lawyers called his answers “unimpeachably truthful” and noted that he was responding explicitly to questions about toll records, which did not include the contents of any text messages.

“The toll record subpoenas that were the focus of those questions did not call for the content of text messages," wrote Smith's lawyers, Peter Koski and Lanny Breuer. “The questions and answers preceding and following these exchanges also make clear that the focus of the question was on the toll records subpoenas. Notably, the referral letter does not contest the truthfulness of Mr. Smith's answers.”

Raskin said in his own statement that House Republicans had “embarrassed themselves” with the referral and that Smith answered accurately when asked if the toll records subpoenas sought the content of lawmakers' communications. He said Republicans were faulting Smith for not volunteering information he was not asked.

"Wishing that you had asked different questions while you had the opportunity to examine a witness is not a proper basis for a referral of a witness for criminal prosecution. Congressional Republicans never asked Jack Smith about presidential records. Not during his 9-hour closed-door testimony or his 4-hour public hearing," Raskin wrote.

A criminal referral to the Justice Department from Congress or any other party has no legal authority and does not compel prosecutors to act. But the department under the Trump administration has proved to be eager to investigate and in some cases prosecute foes of the president. Smith is certainly one such adversary, with Trump having called him “deranged” and urging his prosecution.

“During his testimony, Mr. Smith provided truthful, responsive answers and candidly discussed his work as Special Counsel,” Smith's lawyers wrote. “This referral reflects a chilling eagerness to weaponize the justice system by attacking a career, nonpartisan public servant who faithfully and fearlessly performed his duties by following the facts and the law.”

The Justice Department in a statement Wednesday night confirmed receipt of the referral and said it “will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct.”

Smith charged Trump with conspiring to undo the election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden and with hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after his first term in the White House. Smith abandoned both prosecutions after Trump's election win in November 2024, citing longstanding Justice Department opinions that say sitting presidents cannot face federal indictment.

Smith resigned from the Justice Department in early 2025, 10 days before Trump was inaugurated again.

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Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.

The club record fee for City eclipses the 100 million pounds ($139 million) it paid for Jack Grealish in 2021 and is among the biggest ever in the Premier League.

The 23-year-old Anderson has signed a five-year contract.

“City are one of the biggest clubs in the world and the squad they have is amazing — so strong in every position. As soon as I knew they wanted me, I was absolutely determined to make this move happen," Anderson said. “As a footballer, you want to test yourself at the highest level. Being at City means I have that opportunity."

Anderson is the first major signing by City since iconic manager Pep Guardiola stepped down at the end of last season. A new era is beginning under former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.

“Elliot is one of the outstanding young midfield talents in world football right now. He offers energy, outstanding work rate and an exceptional range of passing," said City director of football Hugo Viana. "His improvement in recent years has been really impressive and underlines his desire to be the best player he can be.

“At just 23, there is plenty of opportunity for development over the coming years and we feel he can become a complete midfielder. Manchester City is the best place for him to develop his game and keep improving, we are glad that he sees things the same way as we do."

Anderson began his career at Newcastle and joined Forest in 2024 where he went on to break into the England squad.

He was a key member of Thomas Tuchel's England squad that won bronze at the World Cup.

“As soon as I arrive in Manchester after a break, I will be doing everything I can to establish myself in the City team," he said. “It’s a club built to win trophies and compete at the very top of the game. That is exciting for any footballer."

England forward Morgan Rogers completed a move to Chelsea earlier this week for a reported British transfer record of 117 million pounds.

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

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

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.58% from 6.55% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.74%.

Higher mortgage rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting homebuyers’ purchasing power. As rates rise, that can lead prospective home shoppers to delay buying a home, one reason U.S. home sales have been sluggish this year.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers refinancing a home loan, also rose this week. That average rate increased to 5.96% from 5.93% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.87%, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

Rates have been mostly rising this year as the conflict in Iran has driven crude oil prices sharply higher, stoking expectations of hotter inflation. That’s pushed up long-term bond yields relative to where they were before the conflict began in late February, causing mortgage rates to trend higher.

The 10-year Treasury yield was 4.7% at midday Thursday on the bond market, up from 4.57% a week ago. It was just 3.97% in late February, before the war broke out.

Rising oil prices as violence escalates in Iran are threatening to worsen inflation, just as it had begun to decelerate by more than economists expected. That in turn could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates.

The central bank doesn’t set mortgage rates, but its decisions to raise or lower its short-term rate are watched closely by bond investors and can ultimately affect the yield on 10-year Treasurys.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now the highest it’s been since Aug. 21, when it was at 6.58%. As recently as late February, the average rate dropped slightly below 6% for the first time since late 2022.

While average long-term mortgage rates remain lower than they were at this time last year, their upward trajectory has weighed on home sales this year.

The prize-winning author recalled feeling what he thought was a punch under his chin, not realizing at first that he was being stabbed.

Then “I was on the stage, lying down, with an enormous pool of blood all around me,” Rushdie testified. “It was an enormous and expansive lake of blood.”

A Buffalo federal court jury watched Rushdie fixedly as he testified — and at one point removed his glasses to show his unseeing right eye — at Hadi Matar's terrorism trial. He has pleaded not guilty.

Matar already was convicted of a state-level attempted murder charge in the 2022 attack at a cultural institution where Rushdie was poised to speak about threats to writers and artists. Federal prosecutors claim Matar was acting on such a threat — an Iranian leader's 1989 call for Rushdie's death because of his novel “The Satanic Verses.”

“I can’t say what his ambitions or his aim was, but the wounds were dispersed across my body,” Rushdie testified.

Rushdie, 79, was composed and straightforward during little more than an hour on the witness stand. He outlined the attack — which blinded him in one eye, damaged his liver and severed nerves in his arm — and his lengthy work to relearn daily tasks afterward. He described the stabbing and recovery previously during Matar’s earlier trial, in a memoir and in interviews with The Associated Press and other outlets.

Matar, 28, looked down at the defense table as Rushdie began testifying. Matar at times rested his hand on his chin and sometimes turned to speak to his lawyer, but not toward the witness stand, though the defendant did watch the author walk out a door. Rushdie glanced at Matar fleetingly, if at all.

Matar's attorneys have argued that prosecutors can't prove his intent or mindset at the time of the attack — a key element in their claim that it was an act of terrorism motivated by allegiance to Iran's government and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.

When Matar’s lawyer asked whether Rushdie believed the defendant had ties to terrorism, the author replied: “I had no knowledge, but I had my suspicions.”

Matar faces charges that include engaging in an act of transnational terrorism. Currently serving a 25-year state prison sentence, he faces a potential life sentence if convicted in the federal case.

Iran’s late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued the 1989 fatwa, or religious edict, calling for Rushdie to be killed over “The Satanic Verses,” which includes a dream sequence about Islam’s Prophet Muhammad that some Muslims considered blasphemous. The novel sparked often-violent protests against Rushdie, who was born into a Muslim family, and the fatwa drove him into hiding for years.

Barone, the defense lawyer, asked Rushdie Thursday whether he had anticipated blowback from the book.

“Probably, but I don’t believe the book to be on trial here. I believe someone else is on trial,” Rushdie said. At Barone's request, the judge struck the comment from the court transcript.

Prosecutors say Matar was animated partly by comments that a former Hezbollah leader, the late Hassan Nasrallah, made about Rushdie and the fatwa in 2006. The U.S.-born Matar also holds citizenship in Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based, and Matar's mother has said a 2018 trip there left him moody and withdrawn.

Matar started researching Rushdie in 2020 and eventually wrote to himself, “We need to kill him ASAP,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lynch said in an opening statement Wednesday. He said Matar cast the killing as part of what he considered a jihad, or holy war.

Matar's New Jersey bedroom and electronics held photos and other material showing his regard for Hezbollah, and he carried a fake driver's license with a name similar to that of a Hezbollah figure, said Lynch. The U.S. government designates Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

Matar declined to testify at his state court trial but may do so at the federal trial, Barone said outside court Thursday.

Rushdie was born in India, raised in Britain and is now a U.S. citizen. He won the Booker Prize in 1981 for his novel “Midnight’s Children.” His most recent work is “The Eleventh Hour,” a book of short stories and novellas published last year.

Iran's government denied involvement in the 2022 stabbing, but its Foreign Ministry's then-spokesperson suggested Rushdie invited trouble by insulting Islam. Hezbollah's Nasrallah did not comment on the attack.

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Peltz reported from New York.

The move, which officials say is being driven by increased security threats and harassment concerns, comes amid a host of other restrictions on press access largely driven by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The restrictions, which include a policy that reporters must be accompanied by an official escort on Pentagon grounds, are themselves playing out against a backdrop of escalating tension between President Donald Trump and media outlets whose content or reporting practices anger him.

All public-facing information ordered removed

Last Thursday, the Navy’s top spokesman, Rear Admiral John Robinson, released a policy that mandated the sea service remove all public-facing information about its commanding officers. Capt. Candice Tresch, a spokeswoman for the Chief of Naval Personnel, said the office had decided to expand the policy to deny access to any sailor’s service information, in the interest of equality.

Tresch told The Associated Press that the Navy would still confirm whether someone is a sailor, but only if it deems the request “of high public interest,” and no other details would be offered until the undefined threat has passed.

Information about sailors' service history, such as units they’ve been assigned and awards they’ve earned — information the Navy says it will now withhold — is critical in providing information and context when service members are involved in major news events. It is also information that a constellation of federal laws and Pentagon policies say should be made available on request.

The Pentagon’s governing document on its privacy program notes that information like a service member’s rank, duty assignments, awards, and service status is categorized as information “that is normally releasable” and “may be disclosed without a clearly unwarranted invasion of their personal privacy.”

However, Tresch, in an emailed statement, said they will now only release these details if the sailor is “a public figure or extenuating circumstances exist.” These are terms that the Navy can define for itself, and early indications suggest the sea service is not inclined to use these exemptions.

First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams noted that the Navy’s new policy could make reporting on wounded or injured sailors much more challenging. “That effort at suppression of speech is flatly inconsistent with the First Amendment,” Abrams said.

He said the policy seemed “an obvious effort to limit information, however newsworthy, that might lead to questions about public policy decisions … there is no reason to think that this is anything less than an effort to prevent ‘bad’ press about the conduct of the administration with respect to our service people.”

New policy cited after incident last week

The Navy cited the new policy last week after the AP requested the biography of a pilot with the Blue Angels, the Navy's demonstration squadron, following a controversial maneuver over a crowded beach. Robinson’s office refused to provide the pilot’s biography despite the fact that his name, photo, and other service details were posted on the official Blue Angels website. Tresch did provide a copy of the biography personally after the AP began inquiring about the policy.

Robinson’s office did not respond to questions about the Chief of Naval Personnel’s broadening of his policy.

The restrictions are just the latest in a series of moves that the military has taken to restrict access to information. Last month, the military asked Congress for the ability to withhold certain types of unclassified records from the public.

The legislative proposal, first reported by CBS, would create a new section of federal law that would allow the defense secretary to exempt certain “controlled unclassified information,” or CUI, from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

Transparency advocates, and even the Pentagon’s own internal watchdog, have described the term CUI as inconsistently applied and overused. Critics have argued that it is arbitrarily used to keep embarrassing information from being made public.

Last year, the Pentagon attempted to impose major restrictions on journalists working inside the Pentagon, which, in turn, led most news outlets to turn in their access badges and walk out rather than agree to the new rules. The policy is now being litigated in federal court.

This summer, the Pentagon went a step further and declared that its press office was now a classified space inaccessible to journalists.

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This story has been updated to correct the name of the Chief of Naval Personnel spokeswoman, Capt. Candice Tresch, not Thresh.

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Noveck reported from New York.

The Dodgers edged the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 last October to become the first repeat champions in a quarter century. Trump feted the team in the White House East Room in April 2025 to mark their 2024 World Series championship

Sports teams visiting Trump at the White House have sometimes been a source of controversy dating to his first term. That includes 2018, when the president rescinded an invitation to the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles after many players suggested they might skip such a trip.

This time, Dodgers star right fielder Mookie Betts isn't coming, saying he prefers to spend what is a scheduled day off for the team with his family — even though he did come for the 2025 visit. The team's manager, Dave Roberts, suggested that the trip is more about winning than politics.

“My company line, my personal line, is, I hope that we get this invitation every year because that’s the goal, to win a championship, to get this invitation to the White House,” Roberts said Friday.

The Dodgers originally considered coming to the White House this past April during a series with the Washington Nationals, but a crowded early season schedule didn’t permit that. Instead, they’re in the nation’s capital during the off-day between a just-completed series at the Philadelphia Phillies and Friday’s opener against the New York Mets in Queens.

Championship baseball teams have been coming to the White House since 1869, when President Ulysses S. Grant hosted the Cincinnati Red Stockings. They were the first fully professional team to visit the White House and went undefeated that season, though the World Series wasn’t established in its modern form until 1903.

Since the Dodgers' visit last year, Trump has revamped the Rose Garden and added a patio area reminiscent of his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Trump, a baseball fan and New York native, has for years been closely associated with the New York Yankees, whose late, longtime owner George Steinbrenner was a close friend. But the president singled out the New York Mets at a rally in Georgia on Wednesday, when he praised the ownership of the local Atlanta Braves and slammed the Mets for their sky-high payroll and losing record.

Trump was joined on stage during that event by former Braves manager Brian Snitker, and Mike Plant, president and CEO of the Braves Development Company.

“I like baseball,” Trump said before adding, ”You know, the Mets have the highest salary in baseball, and they lose all the time. And I’m like, maybe we can steal this guy.”

“There are teams like that, where they never go down,” Trump said. “Then you have other teams — ‘We’re rebuilding.’ They’ve been rebuilding for years. I don’t want to mention teams ’cause I know all the owners. They’re all friends of mine.”

The deal to create the nation's first transcontinental railroad has been divisive within the industry because it would concentrate so much market power in the hands of one company that would control more than 40% of all rail traffic and reduce the number of major freight railroads in the United States down to five. BNSF, CPKC and CSX railroads all strongly oppose the merger, but now Canadian National said it will support it after winning concessions from Union Pacific.

The U.S. Surface Transportation Board is just beginning to review the proposed $85 billion merger, but it has demanded more information from the railroads by the end of the month before it will move forward. Shippers have also lined up on both sides of the deal with some excited about the promises of faster cross-country deliveries while other companies mainly in the chemical and agriculture industries worry about the possibility of higher rates and service problems.

UP CEO Jim Vena said he believes these agreements with Canadian National will address many of the competitive concerns with the merger because CN will gain permission to be able to serve any customers that will see significantly reduced shipping options after the merger. And CN will take over Norfolk Southern's ownership of smaller railroads in St. Louis and Kansas City to ensure the merged railroad will never control the majority of those operations.

“This is truly more compelling today than we ever looked at it before,” Vena said Thursday as he discussed Union Pacific's second-quarter earnings. “We think we have a strong case.”

Canadian National will also gain access to tracks between St. Louis and Kansas City where there was the most overlap between UP and NS, and CN will be able to use a key rail yard in Kansas City that will help that railroad compete better for business to and from Mexico. Union Pacific will get the ability to move more traffic around the congested tracks in Chicago.

“As the rail industry considers significant structural change, it is essential that customers continue to benefit from meaningful competition and choice,” CN President and CEO Tracy Robinson said.

Norfolk Southern CEO Mark George said that demand for rail shipping is up right now across much of the economy. That started after the Iran war began but became more widespread through the spring. But he said that if gas prices remain high long enough, it could hurt the consumer and the growth in shipping volume that both NS and UP reported Thursday could reverse.

The Surface Transportation Board will review the merger under a tough new standard it adopted in 2001 after a series of disastrous rail mergers in the 1990s that led to shipment delays of weeks or even months. These untested rules require any merger of the six largest railroads to be in the public interest and show that it will enhance competition. When the Surface Transportation Board approved the first major rail merger in more than two decades three years ago, it used a less stringent standard allowing Canadian Pacific’s $31 billion acquisition of Kansas City Southern.

Vena remains optimistic the deal will get approved.

“The merger is going to close. It’s just too compelling for the country, but it would be a mistake for this deal not to close,” Vena said.

But critics have said the merger seems designed more to benefit Wall Street investors than the companies that rely on the railroads to ship their products and deliver the raw materials they need.

The president first announced the pledge with leading AI and tech companies in March, but that initial commitment has done little to comfort voters who are already grappling with affordability issues as they worry about competing for electricity, water and land with tech companies controlled by billionaires. It's unclear, with electricity demand already growing, whether consumers would see genuine savings.

Trump described the pledge several months ago as “PR help" at a time when the broader social contract is being rewritten by AI, a technology that is evolving so quickly in its capabilities that governments are struggling over how to provide insight. He plans to discuss the expansion of the pledge at the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday.

“The president is ensuring the American people are never left footing the bill so private companies can benefit," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters before the president's remarks.

The White House said that nearly 200 additional stakeholders, including utilities, data center developers and governors, have committed to the pledge. The pledge would cover 80% of all power delivered to U.S. households and businesses.

A slowdown in data center construction could derail what has been one of the dominant drivers of U.S. economic growth, in addition to possibly ceding the U.S. edge in cultivating the technology to China and create national security risks.

But AI's increasing ability to perform basic tasks — such as driving, analyzing spreadsheets and writing software — also potentially threatens millions of jobs. That has created mounting public resistance as tech companies concentrate historic levels of wealth in the hands of a select group of tycoons.

The increased electricity demand could cause monthly utility bills to rise by 15% to 40% by 2030, according to a recent analysis by ICF, a consulting and technology services company.

Opposition to data centers has spiraled into a bipartisan issue. Voters are worried about the environmental impact, use of AI in schools and the prospect of data centers making their communities more expensive and less livable. Data center companies say their facilities help to generate tax revenues for school districts and reduce property tax burdens for homeowners.

The opposition has spread into the Republican stronghold of rural Texas and led to frustration with Gov. Greg Abbott, who is now among the 23 Republican governors who signed Trump’s nonbinding pledge.

Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for Texas governor, has been using the issue to challenge Abbott before the November election.

“They are owned by the richest men in the world,” she said of data centers. “We’re all footing the bill. There are no rules. It is the Wild West of data centers.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, signed an order to ban construction of large server warehouses in her state for a year. In May, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed a law that he said would prevent utilities from passing along energy costs from data centers to residential and small-business customers.

In an interview with The Associated Press last month, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, whose computer chips are enabling the AI revolution, said America’s weakness is a lack of power generation for further developing the technology.

Google, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, xAI, OpenAI and Amazon are among the companies that have already committed to the Trump administration’s “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” that consumers will not shoulder the cost of the data center build-out.

Studio Ghibli Fest, the long-running theatrical revivals of Ghibli movies, has taken on a special meaning for her, her 3-year-old daughter and her mother, Araceli. Every year, they go to see each Ghibli rerelease in theaters.

“Right when she sees the opening Totoro logo, she screams ‘Totoro!’” VanCleave, 34, says of her daughter. “Everyone in the theater started laughing, and I was like, ‘Oh, gosh, sorry.’”

Though the family discovered the Ghibli movies on HBO Max, the outings to their favorite theater in Austin, Texas, became a tradition. Earlier this month, when they went (again) to see Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 anime classic, “My Neighbor Totoro,” they wore matching Totoro jammies.

“It’s been our thing,” says VanCleave. “Us three girls together.”

The passionate fandom Ghibli tends to inspire is well-documented. Yet the consistency of the Japanese animation studio’s films in theaters — years, even decades after their release — is without parallel in movies. Every year, longtime Ghibli fans as well as new, little ones, flock to cinemas.

Sporadically dated from June through October, Ghibli Fest has been running for a decade. Movies like “My Neighbor Totoro,” “Spirited Away” and “Ponyo” have become not occasional rereleases but practically theatrical mainstays. Ghibli Fest is more like an ongoing movie marathon: cinema's answer to Bob Dylan's Never Ending Tour.

And, remarkably, it keeps growing. When GKids, the North American distributor for Ghibli, and Fathom Entertainment launched Ghibli Fest in 2017, its five titles accounted for $5 million in ticket sales. But the festival’s biggest box-office years have been the last three — all after Ghibli titles became easy to stream on HBO Max in 2020.

“I’d be lying if I thought the program when we conceived it would be going as long as it has,” says Dave Jesteadt, GKids president. “It does defy conventional wisdom. We keep waiting for the year that people tire of going to the films, but that’s not what’s happening. Every single year, we see records being set. The grosses are going up, not down.”

Ghibli expands its footprint

The biggest year for Ghibli Fest was 2024, when 14 movies accounted for $16.4 million in sales. Last year, eight movies grossed $10.6 million. This year, both “Ponyo” and “My Neighbor Totoro” have already played for popular five-day stints.

Shannah Miller, vice president of marketing for Fathom, a company owned by the country's top theater chains, has watched demand keep expanding.

“When we started, I think our theatrical footprint was about 640 locations,” Miller says. “This year, we’re crossing over 1,100 locations. We started with two, maybe three playdates for a particular title, but due to fan demand, we have five-day runs for some titles.”

When GKids first got Ghibli library in 2011, the Japanese studio emphasized how important theatrical was to them. First GKids hosted retrospectives, mostly in major markets and at arthouses. But Ghibli Fest moved the movies into multiplexes where a new generation of kids might stop before a cardboard cutout of Kiki (from “Kiki’s Delivery Service”) or No Face (from “Spirited Away”) and wonder if there might be animated movie worlds beyond Disney.

“One of the worst things that can happen to classics is that they’re perceived as classics and kept in amber,” says Jesteadt. “We wanted to move to a nationwide celebration that really treated these as equivalent to any new Hollywood film.”

While North America moviegoing is up more than 10% this year, theaters have learned over the last decade that they can’t always depend on a steady stream of new Hollywood releases. There tend to be soft spots in the schedule, and early weekdays are always slow, anyhow.

Older movies have, increasingly, filled in the gaps. Ghibli Fest, though, predates more recent repertory trends. And the long-term effects have paid dividends, helping foster new Ghibli lovers. While an earlier generation might have been introduced first through Miyazaki’s 2001 masterpiece “Spirited Away,” GKids now sees younger moviegoers indoctrinated by “Ponyo” or “Howl’s Moving Castle.”

“When we introduced the catalog to streaming in 2020 for the first time, we thought, ‘OK, surely, this is maybe the moment,’” says Jesteadt. “But if anything, that just brought in a new audience that wanted to see these films in theaters for the first time.”

‘More fun than HBO Max’

This year’s fest continues with “Tales of Earthsea” (Aug. 8, 10), “Only Yesterday” (Aug. 9, 11), the 40th anniversary of the first Ghibli release, 1986’s “Castle in the Sky” (Aug. 22-26), a 4K remastered “Princess Mononoke” (Sept. 26-30) and finally a 25th anniversary for “Spirited Away” (Oct. 17-21).

While some of these movies are revived in other countries, Ghibli Fest is so far a strictly U.S.-based phenomenon.

“We are equally in awe of and proud of what we’re building and the opportunity to celebrate instead of all the doom and gloom, ‘Is theater dead?’ conversations,” Miller says. “We have a different story to tell with Studio Ghibli.”

Studio Ghibli is such a cultural powerhouse that there are countless opportunities to reconnect with its stories. The Academy Museum is hosting a new “Ponyo” exhibit. The composer Joe Hisaishi is touring the music of many of the films, including a seven-night residency at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in August.

But the movies, themselves, on the big screen, are the eternal flames of Ghibli. The screenings are places for Ghibli fans, new and old, to congregate and immerse themselves in the natural splendor of the films.

Angela Lector, 27, has attended “Howl’s Moving Castle” dressed as its hero, Sophie, and met Japanese film students at a showing of “Princess Mononoke,” a favorite from when she was a kid.

“Being in the theater is so much more fun than being on HBO Max,” says Lector. “Being in your home, you can make your own popcorn and cuddle up with your dog. But being in the theater you can actually talk to people you don’t know about the movie.”

Ghibli fans’ only gripes are usually that the festival doesn’t feature more deep cuts from the library. Lector would love to see 1984’s” pre-Ghibli “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” brought back.

“The Ghibli films are timeless. There’s something for everyone in them,” Lector says. “Everything feels human. No one is too powerful or too small.”

That can go for audience members, too. VanCleave recently noticed a classmate of her daughter’s wearing a bow like Kiki's.

“I saw her mom and asked about it. We got to talking, and she also had watched Ghibli movies at home,” VanCleave says. “So, we invited her to ‘Ponyo,’ and it was her first movie theater experience. It was cute. The two 3-year-olds shared a recliner.”

Road closures are happening along sections of Jitway Avenue and Hughey Street as four phases of the eight-part drainage improvement project are in progress.

Rondalin Washington lives nearby and said she’s looking forward to completion of the work to help with flooding in the neighborhood.

“It’s almost like a river, like a small little river out in front or a pond that was out in front of the house,” Washington said. “I guess they’re doing what they need to do to get it done.”

The current work includes installation of drainage pipes, construction of a drainage pond near the Midway Community Center, and additional infrastructure improvements.

In 2018, residents went straight to the Seminole County Commission to voice their concerns over the flooding problems.

The action sparked a conversation with county leaders that got the ball rolling toward the beginning steps of the project

Through advocacy and action, easements were acquired from property owners for construction to begin.

The total cost of the project has grown to $33.5 million. It is being paid for with both federal and state grants, along with county funds from the sales tax.

Each of the phases that are currently under construction is expected to be completed by early 2027.

The four remaining parts of the project are each in the right-of-way acquisition phase.

For more details on the Midway Drainage Improvement Project, visit www.seminolecountyfl.gov/midway.

The Houthis have threatened to shut down another key trade route, with the world economy already reeling from Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran and the U.S. have meanwhile stepped up their attacks as they vie for control of the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas transited in peacetime, setting off a scramble for alternative routes.

As the U.S. carried out a 12th night of strikes across Iran, President Donald Trump threatened “major military punishment” against the Houthis if their attacks on ships continue.

“If they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves,” Trump wrote on social media.

As the rhetoric escalated, so did the economic fallout. The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, spiked more than 6% Thursday, to about $100 a barrel. That is the highest level since May, before the two sides reached a preliminary peace agreement last month that has since collapsed.

Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi of Iraq, which has close ties to both the U.S. and Iran, was in Tehran on Thursday to call for peace and dialogue, and he promised not to allow Iraqi territory to be used for attacks on Iran, his office said. Al-Zaidi met with Trump earlier this month in Washington.

An Arab diplomat said Gulf states are increasingly pessimistic about finding an off-ramp. The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, said regional countries like Pakistan and Turkey continue to push for de-escalation.

Houthi attacks are a ‘double whammy’ on oil shipments

The Houthis' SABA news agency said the rebels had struck two tankers, the Encelia and the Layla, in the Red Sea, leading to fires on both. There were no reports of casualties.

It was their first reported attack on a vessel since they announced a blockade of Saudi-linked shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait earlier this week in retaliation for the kingdom’s blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on the international airport in Yemen’s rebel-held capital, Sanaa.

Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is a vital shipping chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Around 12% of the world’s trade, including a fourth of global container traffic, passes through there, moving between Europe and Asia via Egypt’s Suez Canal.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported an attack set the Encelia ablaze overnight in the Red Sea. It did not mention the Layla.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, UKMTO, said it received a report of a tanker being struck by “an unknown projectile” 130 kilometers (80 miles) southwest of Al Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia, in the Red Sea.

The Houthi attacks put at risk oil shipments from Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port on the Red Sea and present a “double whammy” on top of the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, said maritime data and analysis firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Saudi Arabia has diverted millions of barrels a day of oil exports to Yanbu via an overland pipeline as the war has bottled up the Persian Gulf.

The Houthi threats “raises questions on the viability of this route,” Lloyd’s said in slides accompanying an online webinar Thursday.

The rebels say they are blockading Saudi Arabia, but during their announced blockade of Israel, at the height of the war in Gaza, they targeted many vessels with little or no connection to that conflict, disrupting global trade.

Both sides dig in over Strait of Hormuz

Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and potentially charge fees in the Strait of Hormuz, which was open to all and toll-free before the war. It has attacked ships using a route through the strait that is overseen by U.S. forces and intended to be outside Tehran’s control.

In response to Iran’s attacks, the U.S. began the widening campaign of strikes across Iran and restored a naval blockade of Iran's ports.

The war of words has also escalated. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would adopt an “eye for an eye” policy on U.S. strikes against its infrastructure. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio retorted that Trump's policy is “a head for an eye.”

“The price will continue to get higher every single night until they come to their senses,” Rubio told reporters while traveling in the Philippines for a regional summit.

Iranian state media reported that U.S. missiles struck locations overnight near the cities of Ahvaz, Ramshir and Andimeshk in western Iran, and two people were killed in a U.S. missile strike in the town of Shalamcheh on the Iraqi border.

U.S. Central Command said its strikes were designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters,” as the Americans push to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz and restore the flow of international shipping.

Iran has responded to U.S. attacks by targeting energy infrastructure and desalination plants providing drinking water in parched neighboring Gulf countries.

Jordan said its military had intercepted three missiles early Thursday, with a fourth falling in an empty area, while six drones were intercepted Wednesday night. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry posted on X that sirens had sounded and urged the public to remain calm and head to a safe area.

Kuwait's military said that drones had attacked its border crossing with Iraq, causing damage but no casualties. That attack may have been in response to the U.S. strike on the Iran-Iraq border crossing.

Polls have shown the war is unpopular among Americans, a fact reflected in the narrow passage Thursday of a resolution in the U.S. House to halt the war. Though a handful of Republicans crossed party lines to support the measure, the vote remained largely symbolic.

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Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece, and Binkley from Washington. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan; Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Michelle L. Price and Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad, Iraq, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

The deal, which includes a full no-movement clause, was announced by the Blackhawks on Thursday.

Kane, 37, became one of the NHL's most dynamic players while spending his first 15-plus seasons in Chicago, helping the Blackhawks win three Stanley Cup championships. He ranks among the franchise's career leaders with 446 goals, 779 assists and 1,225 points.

“Day in and day out for 16 seasons, Patrick captivated the city of Chicago with his dazzling skill, creating some of the most memorable moments in Blackhawks history as he helped bring our storied franchise back to the pinnacle of our sport,” general manager Kyle Davidson said in a release. “He’s shown on countless occasions that he knows what it takes to win at the highest levels."

The addition of Kane adds another offensive presence to a lineup that will begin the season without Connor Bedard, who had surgery on his left shoulder on July 8. Kane likely will play with Bedard when the 21-year-old center returns to the ice.

The rebuilding Blackhawks went 29-39-14 last season, an 11-point improvement on the previous season. The team has finished No. 31 in the NHL each of the past three years.

Chicago is looking for its first postseason appearance since the NHL used an expanded playoff format after the 2020 season was affected by the pandemic.

Kane isn't same player he was during his first stint with the Blackhawks. But he had 16 goals and 41 assists in 67 games with the Detroit Red Wings last season. He has recorded at least 50 points in 18 of his 19 seasons.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft passed Mike Modano in January for the most NHL points by a player born in the United States. He has 508 career goals — fourth on the U.S. list — and 1,400 points in 1,369 regular-season games.

Kane was one of Chicago's biggest stars during the best stretch in franchise history, winning the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. The Blackhawks also made it to the Western Conference Final in 2014, losing to the Los Angeles Kings in an epic seven-game series.

Kane, who won the 2016 Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, was traded to the New York Rangers in February 2023. The Blackhawks then won the draft lottery and took Bedard with the No. 1 overall pick that same year. As reports swirled about the possibility of Kane returning to Chicago, Bedard openly embraced the idea.

“I can’t imagine his first game back at the (United Center), the reaction he’d get and how much juice that would bring to not only our team but our fans, as well,” Bedard said Monday. “That would be incredible to play with him and learn from him. Hopefully he decides to come back.”

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

Local authorities said the fire in a forest near the town of Lège-Cap Ferret, southwest of Bordeaux, spread over more than 31 square kilometers (12 square miles), though no injuries have been reported.

The prefect, or head of the surrounding Gironde region, Sophie Brocas, said some 700 firefighters have been deployed, including forces sent from the Paris region. The fire came within 300 meters (980 feet) of the first homes in Lège, and water bombers were being used.

Later in the day, the prefect's office said the wildfire had not yet been brought under control but remained contained to the north of Lège.

More than 10,000 people, including tourists staying at holiday camps and campgrounds, were moved to safety overnight, along with more than 1,000 residents living in residential areas along the forest edge. Authorities later evacuated the village of Claouey, including residents staying at several campsites, as a precautionary measure. Brocas said the evacuation involved 8,800 people.

Several municipalities have opened reception and respite centers for evacuees, the prefecture said.

Southern Europe has seen multiple large fires this summer. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires.

Following a succession of heat waves that started even before the summer, wildfires have raged across France, devastating large swaths of land amid record temperatures and dry weather. Plants and vegetation are under severe water stress, adding to the danger of fires.

According to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, more than 12,500 wildfires have broken out since the beginning of the year, and almost 44,000 hectares have already burned.

Wildfires in Spain and Italy

Elsewhere in Europe, wildfires continued to rage across Sicily on Thursday, a day after a firefighter was killed during operations to put out a blaze in Caltanissetta, the national fire department said.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella sent a note of condolences to the family and colleagues of the firefighter, Alessandro Marchì, who was a department head.

In Spain, firefighters battled multiple blazes amid a heat wave with the worst temperatures expected to reach 44 C (111 F) in the southeast. A fire near Alcalá de Henares near Madrid caused the high-speed train service between the capital and Barcelona to be briefly suspended Thursday.

Meanwhile, firefighters in the province of Guadalajara continued to extinguish a week-old fire that is the second-largest on record for the country with 320 square kilometers (123 square miles) burned. Other fires raged across central Spain, including one near Toledo that destroyed some 20 homes and triggered evacuations.

The deal was announced Thursday by general manager Don Waddell, who said "Jet is a high-character, talented and athletic goaltender who has become an important part of our hockey club. Our intent always was to get a deal done to ensure he remains a Blue Jacket and we are thrilled that we were able to do so.”

The 25-year-old Greaves finished 26-19-9 with a 2.60 goals-against average last season to become the fifth goaltender in franchise history to win 25 games in a season. He had two shutouts in 55 games. His .908 save percentage tied for sixth among NHL goaltenders.

In 76 career appearances, Greaves has a 36-28-11 record with a .913 save percentage and four shutouts. He made his NHL debut at the end of the 2022-23 season.

Greaves is a native of Cambridge, Ontario who made his international debut for Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Championships in Switzerland. He finished 6-2 in the tournament to tie for third in wins.

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

It hopes to announce the new Italy coach within the week, with the Azzurri still reeling after failing for a third straight time to qualify for the World Cup.

Former Italy and AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini was named as the federation’s new technical director at the start of the month and was present at a meeting with the Serie A clubs on Thursday, along with new FIGC president Giovanni Malagò and special advisor Leonardo.

“Honestly, today we can’t give news about what’s happening. You’ve identified one of our targets,” Maldini said when asked about Guardiola in a news conference after the meeting.

“We can’t hide that we also talked with Carlo Ancelotti before talking with Pep. Honestly, it seemed right to start with the best in the world, to see their general availability.”

Guardiola left Man City at the end of last season, bringing to a close a trophy-laden, 10-year spell in which he established City as a force in Europe and changed the face of English soccer.

The 55-year-old Guardiola has won 35 major titles across his coaching career including at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Maldini and Leonardo spent three days in Barcelona recently to speak with Guardiola about taking the Italy job.

“The best thing would be to announce the new coach this week, but even more to wait for the person we really want,” Maldini said. “So there’s urgency, but not so much inside us.”

Ancelotti signed a contract extension with Brazil in May through to the 2030 World Cup. But the five-time world champion just had one of its worst ever performances on soccer’s biggest stage as it was eliminated in the round of 16 after a 2-1 loss to Norway.

The 67-year-old Ancelotti has won league titles in Italy, England, France, Spain and Germany. He is also the only coach to have won the Champions League five times.

Four-time champion Italy missed out on a third straight World Cup after a playoff loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in March, prompting the resignations of FIGC president Gabriele Gravina and coach Gennaro Gattuso.

Gattuso had taken over from the fired Luciano Spalletti only the previous June with the squad already flailing following a defeat at Norway in its opening qualifier.

Former Italy coaches Roberto Mancini — who led the Azzurri to the European Championship in 2021 — and Antonio Conte are also among the favorites to take charge of the national team. Andrea Pirlo, who helped Italy to the World Cup in 2006 as a player, is also reportedly in contention.

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

The lightning-rod LSU coach took his turn Thursday at SEC Media Days, where he ate up more than 16 of his 25 minutes behind the mic delivering an opening statement that included the revelation that he's given up social media.

He then fielded four questions, the last of which was whether he felt he got a bad rap for his much-discussed and widely criticized move from Ole Miss to LSU at the end of last season. That transaction made him the namesake for part of a Senate bill that would forbid in-season moves from school to school.

Without getting into what people thought of him, he said he did think the rule could be helpful.

“I guess (so), in that I hope that some way for future coaches, they’re not put in that situation,” Kiffin said. “In the NFL, you’re never put in that situation because of the calendar and because of the rules of movement within seasons. I do hope for future people that’s fixed so that you’re not in that same predicament.”

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Scott Gardner, 33, originally faced a first-degree murder charge, but as part of a plea deal, the charge was reduced to second-degree murder. On Thursday, he was sentenced to 42 years in prison.

Gardner is accused of leaving his son, Sebastian, in a truck for more than three hours on June 6, 2025, while he got a haircut and then spent nearly three hours drinking at Hanky Panky’s Lounge, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

Medical personnel estimated Sebastian’s body temperature reached 111 degrees. Gardner did not call 911 until he drove home, deputies said.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Gardner later returned to the bar with his mother after Sebastian was pronounced dead.

Gardner also initially provided several false accounts of what happened that day.

Artemis: A Celebration of Exploration runs Friday through Sunday and features collector’s Artemis II crew trading cards available while supplies last.

The event showcases the innovation, people and legacy behind NASA’s Artemis Program. Along with the trading cards, attendees can pose for a photo with a life-sized zero-G indicator from Artemis II, Rise, and hear directly from Artemis Program subject matter experts.

Those experts will offer firsthand insights into lunar exploration, mission preparation and the technology powering deep-space travel. Visitors are encouraged to check the Journey to Mars schedule outside the attraction for presentation times.

The Artemis II mission marks a major milestone in NASA’s efforts to return humans to the moon — and eventually send them to Mars. The trading cards feature the Artemis II crew, giving space fans a collectible connection to that historic mission.

The central bank for the 21 countries that use the euro currency left its benchmark rate unchanged at 2.25% following a quarter-point hike at its previous meeting June 11. That increase was aimed at dampening the impact on consumer prices from higher oil prices due to the US-Iran war and subsequent interruption of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Analysts say the bank may simply be taking a pause to gather more information amid swings in oil prices, which fell after announcement of a ceasefire but then rose again when the ceasefire agreement collapsed and fighting resumed. Economists are pointing toward the bank's Sept. 10 meeting as a possibility for another rate increase.

“Uncertainty remains high and the full inflationary impact of the energy shock has yet to play out," ECB President Christine Lagarde said at a post-decision news conference. "We are therefore closely monitoring the intensity and duration of the shock, as well as its indirect and second round effects...the longer energy prices stay high, the more likely they are to drive up broader inflation.”

Lagarde said the bank is making decisions meeting by meeting based on incoming data and has not committed to any particular path for rates.

Lagarde also faced a question about whether she would commit to serving out her full, eight-year term which ends in October 2027.

Asked for a “yes or no” response, she said: “You know, I hate to be boxed in in any particular circumstances."

She added that “you are not going to see the back of me before 2027” and that “when there clouds on the horizon, the captain stays on the ship, and this captain is staying on this ship as long as there are clouds on the horizon.”

Rate hikes combat inflation by raising the cost of credit for buying things, from new houses to new factories. That cools demand for goods and eases pressure on prices. Inflation in the eurozone ran at an annual 2.8% in June, down from 3.2% in May.

International benchmark Brent crude rose to $100 Thursday, the first time in two months, after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, potentially widening the conflict in and around Iran.

Brent spiked 7% after Iranian-backed Houthis launched the attacks near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, raising doubts about Saudi Arabia’s ability to ship oil through the Red Sea instead of the Strait of Hormuz.

A judge signed the order on Thursday, citing Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.134(b)(2). The state had not filed charges by the 63rd day following the defendant’s arrest, nor did prosecutors file anything to demonstrate good cause for an extension.

Bill Kapri — known professionally as Kodak Black — was arrested May 6 on a felony charge of trafficking MDMA following a months-long investigation. Under Florida law, prosecutors had 60 days from the date of arrest to file formal charges. The rapper’s legal team filed the 63-day motion July 21, giving the state formal notice. The state did not respond.

The case stems from a November 2025 incident at the Children’s Safety Village on Fairvilla Road in Orlando. Orange County deputies responding to calls about gunshots located two vehicles and, after detecting the smell of burnt cannabis, searched them. Inside a pink bag, investigators found what appeared to be MDMA.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the pink bag matches one visible on Kapri’s Instagram account. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed the substance was MDMA and in a trafficking amount, with a lab report returned April 17.

At a May bond hearing, a judge set bond at $75,000, citing Kapri’s 12 prior felony convictions. Kapri later bonded out.

Wednesday’s ruling does not mean charges cannot be filed in the future. It means Kapri is no longer subject to any bail or pretrial release conditions connected to the May arrest.

News 6 received the following statement from the state attorney’s office:

“This is an active and ongoing case and we have no information to release at this time.”

Ninth Judicial Circuit Court for Orange County

The investment coincides with the team announcing it has reached a long-term extension on a stadium naming rights deal Thursday with Bank of America.

The additional investment in the 30-year-old downtown stadium brings the total cost of renovations to $1.3 billion.

The project is expected to be completed by 2030.

The Panthers released new stadium renderings highlighting enhancements and a broader vision of what is referred to as the new “Charlotte corridor,” which includes a 4,400-seat music venue designed to help make the city a more attractive year-round weekend destination.

“The long-term extension with Bank of America reflects the strength of our partnership and our shared commitment to the Carolinas,” Tepper, the owner and chairman of Tepper Sports & Entertainment (TSE), said in a release. “For over three decades, Bank of America Stadium has helped create lasting memories for our fans and we’re excited for them to see what’s ahead. Our goal is to create experiences that enhance the passion and energy of the region while transforming this corridor into a weekend destination for world-class sports, entertainment and community events.”

Bank of America Stadium is currently home to the Major League Soccer’s Charlotte FC, as well as the Panthers.

It regularly hosts concerts as well as the Atlantic Coast Conference football championship, the Duke's Mayo Bowl and, most recently, a soccer match between the United States and Senegal which served as a precursor to the World Cup.

So, what about a first-ever Super Bowl in Charlotte?

When asked directly if the Panthers are considering submitting a bid to host a first-ever Super Bowl in Charlotte, team president and TSE CEO Kristi Coleman replied, “We would love to get a Super Bowl. ... I think doing projects like this help you get it. It for sure helps your resume.”

Of course, there are other factors that go into ultimately landing the NFL’s biggest event, including number of hotels and other infrastructure.

“Does this guarantee (a Super Bowl)? No. But does this help? Yes,” Coleman said.

Who is paying for the additional renovations?

The additional renovations are privately funded with no additional taxpayer money required.

TSE will pay for any overage costs and ongoing maintenance associated with the project.

The city of Charlotte originally contributed $650 million to the project in 2024 with TSE adding the additional $150 million, bringing the original cost of stadium renovations to $800 million after Tepper decided to remain in the stadium rather than build a new one.

What's going to be new at the stadium?

The entire stadium and its surroundings are being reimagined.

Renderings released Thursday showcase expanded indoor-outdoor gathering spaces across all levels, a 500-level social patio with sweeping views of Uptown Charlotte. There will also be larger and more dynamic scoreboards and displays and improved audio.

Seating options have been upgraded with premium offerings including technology designed to create a more connected and personalized experience.

When finished, the entire exterior of the stadium will look completely different to Panthers fans with a fresh, modern, open-air look that includes a signature illuminated crown for the Queen City skyline.

The black metal gates that surround portions of the stadium will be removed, creating a more welcoming park-style setting.

The renderings also include expanded retail and food and beverage options, increased restroom capacity, and flexible event spaces that will support game days while serving community, corporate and other special events during the offseason.

Included in what Panthers officials now call the “corridor” is the new entertainment venue outside of the North gate.

The goal: Making Charlotte a weekend destination

Coleman said the goal of everyone involved has been to bring Tepper’s vision to life.

Over the past few years the Panthers have brought some of the team’s fans to opposing cities to see what they like about other stadiums. They have also listened to suggestions and criticisms from existing permanent seat license holders about the game day experience in Charlotte.

“Our fans from Raleigh or Charleston and other places would say ‘we want this to be a weekend destination, not just for Sundays,’” Coleman said.

The need for music was high on the fans' wish list, Coleman said.

Such was the impetus for the building of the entertainment venue that will host 80 to 100 concerts and events during the year, as well as provide enhanced hospitality on NFL game days.

“So now people can come on a Friday and go to a concert, go to a soccer match on Saturday and then stay for a Panthers game on Sunday,” Coleman said. “That was really the vision.”

Coleman said the renovations have something everyone throughout the stadium can benefit from whether sitting in the lower bowl, upper bowl or luxury suites.

“I'm so excited that every fan will experience something different," Coleman said.

Charlotte Mayor Rob Harrington called the project an investment in Charlotte’s future “preserving an iconic venue, enhancing the fan experience, and ensuring Bank of America Stadium continues to create unforgettable memories while giving visitors countless reasons to return to our city for years to come.”

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

It was the latest major crackdown on Big Tech by Brussels, which has led the world in reining in some of the world’s largest companies from Silicon Valley to Beijing.

It has done so despite the risk of incurring the wrath of President Donald Trump, who has lashed out at the 27-nation bloc’s digital regulations amid a broader campaign against Europe: imposing high tariffs, making threats to seize Greenland from Denmark by force, and rattling trust within the NATO military alliance.

In the past, Trump has threatened retaliation if American tech companies are penalized.

Google had recently lost its appeal of a $4.5 billion antitrust fine imposed by the EU for throttling competition and reducing consumer choice through the dominance of its mobile Android operating system.

The European Commission, the bloc's executive branch and highest antitrust enforcer, said it was acting in the interest of consumers after an investigation of Google.

“The best products should succeed because they’re better, not because they’re owned by the company running the search engine. And European consumers have a right to be told by app developers where to sign up to the best offers, even when the app store owner does not get a cut,” said Teresa Ribera, the commission's Executive Vice President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition.

Google’s President of Global Affairs Kent Walker blasted the fine as “product degradation driven by a small group of self-serving complainants” that will have a negative impact on European businesses and consumers.

He said that the EU’s Digital Markets Act forces Google “to strip away real-time search features Europeans love — like instant pricing and direct availability for hotels, flights, and restaurants — and dismantle safety protections on Google Play.”

The EU describes the world’s seven tech giants — Amazon, Apple, Google parent Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and TikTok owner ByteDance — as “gatekeepers” that control access for consumers.

“In the EU, businesses have the right to compete fairly. Gatekeepers have the obligation to ensure a level playing field and consumers the right to choose for cheaper alternative offers,” European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said. Alphabet reported $403 billion in revenue in 2025.

Rubio, who held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in the Philippine capital, alluded to how U.S.-mediated talks have stalled. He called them “unsuccessful or at least unfruitful” in the past but insisted that President Donald Trump was committed to the work “if conditions and factors have changed to make that possible.”

“That’s been the challenge — an end that both sides can accept," Rubio told reporters. "We’ve tried and we’ll continue to try to see if we can, you know, find a middle ground that brings this about. And we’re prepared to play that role if the opportunity presents itself.”

Rubio met Lavrov and several other leaders, including China's foreign minister, on the sidelines of an annual gathering by foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Manila.

America's top diplomat said the U.S. is focused on Asia even as it steps up fighting with Iran, seeks a pathway to end Russia's war in Ukraine and pressures the Cuban government to make changes.

ASEAN talks focused on international conflicts

Three days of closed-door talks that started Tuesday have centered on the escalating fighting in the Middle East and tensions in the South China Sea, where a new clash flared Thursday.

“There’s always going to be a concern that America is so focused on one place that it can’t focus on another,” Rubio said. But he noted that the U.S. remains “engaged in Asia every single day,” citing strong partnerships and economic ties across the region.

After meeting with Rubio, Lavrov largely ignored questions from reporters. The Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow said he emphasized to Rubio “the unacceptability of further arming” Ukraine and accused European countries of pursuing Russia’s “strategic defeat.”

Lavrov reiterated Russia’s readiness for “a political and diplomatic resolution of the conflict” and commitment to agreements reached at a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump in Alaska last year, the Russian ministry said.

But Rubio said “we’ll have to find new suggestions and new ideas” that are acceptable to both sides. There has been no change to Washington’s military support for Ukraine, with weapons being purchased by NATO allies and transferred to the war-ravaged country, he said.

Separately on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that his priority is finding a way to get back to negotiations.

U.S. efforts to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war have been overshadowed by the outbreak of the Iran war earlier this year. Renewed strikes by Washington and Tehran have been intensifying after an interim ceasefire deal collapsed.

“The price will continue to get higher every single night until they come to their senses,” Rubio said. He insisted Tehran is “begging” for talks but Trump does not see the use in responding because “Iran is clearly not ready to make a deal, at least not one they’re willing to live by.”

Trump has warned Iran that the U.S. will destroy one Iranian bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded by saying the country’s defense doctrine was an “eye for an eye.”

“The president’s policy is a head for an eye,” Rubio said. “They will pay a very heavy price for the things they’re doing.”

China defends maritime military actions

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong renewed her country's alarm over the Chinese navy’s recent test-launch of a missile from a nuclear-powered submarine in the region, saying the lack of notification to the Philippines and Pacific nations where the missile flew over and landed was destabilizing.

“It comes in the context of a rapid military build-up of China’s nuclear arsenal without the transparency or reassurance the region expects,” Wong told a university forum in Manila on Thursday. “This is why Australia has described the test as provocative and destabilizing.”

China has defended its actions, saying the launch was part of annual exercises and that it gave countries in the area appropriate notice in advance.

Rubio met Wednesday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and said they discussed a new altercation this week between Chinese and Filipino forces in a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety. Rubio called the incident “escalatory.”

“Those need to be managed very carefully, because obviously, a conflict — be it economic or otherwise — between the U.S. and China would have a dramatic global impact,” Rubio said.

He also said they talked a lot about Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s planned trip in September, noting he believes Xi will have a “very positive visit when he comes to Washington.”

In Beijing, the Chinese coast guard said it took necessary measures, including monitoring and blocking, to drive away two Philippine ships that disregarded repeated warnings from the Chinese side in a fresh confrontation Thursday. China said its operations were professional and lawful and urged the Philippines to stop its provocative actions infringing on Chinese territory.

The Philippine coast guard, however, said the two fishing vessels were harassed while bringing fuel aid to Filipino fishermen in the Scarborough shoal. It said a Chinese coast guard ship tried to spray one vessel with a powerful water cannon but missed, calling these “illegal, coercive and aggressive actions.”

The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized China’s assertive actions in the South China Sea to the disadvantage of smaller claimant countries like the Philippines, Washington’s oldest treaty ally in Asia. Taiwan and ASEAN members Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have also been involved in the often-tense territorial standoffs.

ASEAN aims to conclude yearslong negotiations with China on a proposed non-aggression pact by this year, according to a draft of a joint communiqué seen by The Associated Press. The code of conduct aims to prevent a major conflict in the disputed waters, a key global trade route, that could draw in the United States.

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Associated Press journalists Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, Haruka Nuga in Bangkok and Fu Ting in Washington contributed to this report.

The Norway soccer federation said Thursday its board of directors will consider filing the complaint at its next meeting, likely on Aug. 6.

“We need our leader in FIFA to say that this was an error,” Norwegian federation president Lise Klaveness told London daily The Times in an interview published Thursday.

After Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a one-game ban for Balogun’s red-card tackle against Bosnia-Herzegovina was deferred so he could play against Belgium with a quarterfinals place at stake.

Belgium beat the U.S. 4-1 after a chaotic 36 hours at the World Cup. The Belgium players were seemingly fired up by one of the all-time controversies in tournament history.

Trump called the referee’s red card for Balogun after video review a “horrible” call and took credit for getting FIFA to review what should routinely have been a one-game ban.

“We all know that this verdict was influenced from external forces and did not have the proper process,” Klaveness told The Times of the FIFA ruling that was unprecedented in the past 60 years at World Cups.

“When you bend a rule like this, you’re on a slippery slope that will put the whole game at risk,” said the former Women’s World Cup player for Norway, who is an elected member of European soccer body UEFA’s executive committee.

Soccer's conscience

Klaveness is a lawyer and judge who has positioned the Norwegian federation as a conscience in world soccer since her election in 2022.

“It is a worry for the game when you compromise fundamental rules of the game,” she said Thursday about not enforcing Balogun's ban.

Norway previously joined a London-based NGO’s complaint to the FIFA ethics committee alleging Infantino breached a statutory duty of political neutrality, including by creating a peace prize to award to Trump at the World Cup draw in December.

The close personal and political ties between Trump and Infantino include the U.S. president believing the soccer official could be a good pick as next secretary general of the United Nations, the New York Post reported this week.

Olympics complaint

The human rights NGO, FairSquare, also has filed an ethics complaint about the Balogun incident to the International Olympic Committee, where Infantino is an elected member, about breaching its rules on political neutrality.

FIFA and the IOC rarely acknowledge or provide updates on potential cases before their ethics bodies.

The independence of FIFA’s process to handle complaints alleging unethical conduct has been questioned since the lead investigator and judge both were replaced in 2017, in the second year of Infantino’s presidency.

FIFA has yet to publish documents explaining how its disciplinary judges reached verdicts about Balogun or other World Cup players.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and AP World Cup coverage

But with barely three months until November's contest, the perceived threat to rural life, ranchland and dwindling water supplies could become a defining issue for her long-shot challenge to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, dividing conservative rural areas that have traditionally served as a counterweight to Democrats' urban strongholds.

The backlash to energy-guzzling server warehouses is also shaping other statewide campaigns from Arizona to Ohio to New York, and even giving Democrats a glimmer of hope in Texas, where Republicans have dominated for three decades.

“There is this little issue that I recently started hearing about that I wanted to tell you about, in case you don’t know,” Hinojosa quipped to a Democratic Party-organized crowd of about 160 seated on fold-out chairs at an Amarillo social club in Texas' panhandle. “It’s this issue of data centers.”

The crowd booed, and she went on: “They are owned by the richest men in the world. We’re all footing the bill. There are no rules. It is the wild west of data centers.”

The fast growth of massive data centers has already upended races for local offices across the country, often uniting conservatives and liberals in revolting against projects in their midst.

People don't like the secrecy surrounding the projects or the prospect of air, noise, water and light pollution. They fear electric bills going up, wells going dry and losing open space, farmland or forest.

Now the ripple effects have spread to top-of-the-ticket races, where incumbents and challengers are trying to show that they hear an angry electorate.

In Ohio, Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown aired a television advertisement attacking Republican U.S. Sen. John Husted as the "face of data centers in Ohio" as people gather signatures for a statewide referendum to outright ban their construction.

In Wisconsin, a Democratic candidate for governor, Francesca Hong, is pledging to “tax the rich, fund our schools and stop AI data centers” as she campaigns for her party's nomination in a crowded primary.

In Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro is facing heat from some voters who feel like he's been too welcoming to tech behemoths. Sam Burleigh, a Democrat whose rural community is fighting off data center projects, accused Shapiro of “allowing these data centers to come in and take over acres and acres of prime farmland.”

Texas is fertile ground for data centers

Any political unrest may be felt most acutely in Texas.

The state is poised to overtake northern Virginia as the largest global data center market by 2030, according to a report by commercial real estate giant JLL. It has lots of land, lots of energy and a friendly regulatory environment under Republican leadership.

In rural west Texas and its panhandle, gargantuan data centers are under construction, including one near Amarillo touted as the world's largest. Some come with designs for natural gas-fired turbines to power them.

Rumors are flying about others popping up — Google, which is building four data centers in northwest Texas, sponsored moderated conversations with officials and business elite in Lubbock and Amarillo in recent weeks — and it is sowing an outcry across small cities, tiny towns and sprawling ranches where people vote overwhelmingly Republican.

Google says its investments are advancing American innovation, fortifying cybersecurity and boosting energy capacity, while President Donald Trump has made data centers a top priority to help the U.S. compete against China for AI superiority.

But tech giants and developers can be secretive about their plans, making it impossible to know what will be built or what sort of pollution they'll create, critics say. Some worry that data centers will destroy rural Texas' low cost of living and sully sunsets and sweeping views that stretch toward the horizon.

Others say construction and an influx of workers are already causing havoc for ranchers and towns, driving up rents, snapping up farmland, illuminating the night sky, clogging roads and turning parts of rural Texas into industrial zones.

Opposition crosses a partisan divide

Democrats are prominent among the data center critics, but so are Republicans, including Texas' sitting agriculture commissioner, Sid Miller. They say there are many more Republicans who are quieter because they fear publicly opposing their governor and party.

“They're upset with Greg Abbott,” said Suzanne Bellsnyder, a former Republican activist from Spearman who writes a syndicated column that advocates for rural Texas. “Whether that translates into voting against him, I don't know.”

Abbott has aggressively advocated for big projects in Texas and, in November, he helped make Google's announcement of a $40 billion investment there, saying “Texas is the epicenter of AI development.”

Compounding that, Texas counties don't have zoning authority — precisely the local land planning authority that communities around the country are increasingly using to fight off data centers.

Abbott seems to recognize that data centers are dividing his base. In recent weeks, he ordered regulators to take steps to ensure Texans weren't paying higher electricity bills because of data centers and promised to push a legislative agenda next year to impose regulations on data centers.

At an East Texas campaign stop, Abbott said that includes taking away the state's billion-dollar-plus-per-year tax break and preventing data centers from being built in “rural Texas neighborhoods.”

Hinojosa and others derided Abbott's words about “rural Texas neighborhoods” as meaningless — "doublespeak that makes no sense to anyone," Hinojosa said — and lacking urgency or seriousness.

“Now we have this gold rush of data centers in our communities," Hinojosa said in an interview, adding that “people want a say, and I think that’s fair.”

As governor, she said she'd block a permit for a data center if it wasn't a good deal for Texans or residents hadn't gotten a say in the matter.

Abbott tries to soothe concerns

Abbott's campaign season turnabout on data centers doesn't seem to have soothed many.

Of great concern is the prospect that data centers will consume massive amounts of water and worsen drought conditions for ranchers and farmers in a state where water shortages already crippled the sugar cane industry.

“Oh, I guarantee you, it's on everybody's mind,” said Giles Dalby, a cattle rancher and a Republican county commissioner in west Texas.

Dalby, who raises Angus and Brangus cattle on ranchland that's been in his family for 125 years, pointed to fast-growing cities where water authorities have had to go to greater lengths to procure water, including the “water wars” between San Antonio and ranchers several years ago.

Texas is increasingly steamrolling over landowner rights in the quest for public water, Dalby said, and that could mean that data centers get in line ahead of ranchers when shortages or rationing worsen.

Clayton Tucker, a rancher and the Democratic nominee for state agriculture commissioner, said his campaign events are consumed by talk of data centers. It doesn't matter whether he's meeting with Democrats or Republicans.

“This is the most cross-partisan issue I’ve ever seen in my life,” Tucker said.

Meanwhile, protest groups are springing up, including one in Lubbock that is led by Republicans. The founders, Stephen Sanders and Hallie Bertrand, like some other Republican opponents of data centers, say it's possible or even certain they won't vote for Abbott, although they may not necessarily vote for Hinojosa.

There is still time for Abbott to push through major legislation before the election and “be a hero,” Sanders said.

The big question is whether enough rural voters will turn against Abbott to give Hinojosa a shot. It’s hard to tell, Bertrand said, especially when some know nothing about the issue.

“They'll just hit that button, Republican all the way down,” Bertrand said. "But I think it’s a step towards something that we have not seen in Texas in a long time, with people on the right switching to the left. Or scooting a little closer to the middle, maybe."

___

Follow Marc Levy at http://twitter.com/timelywriter

Meanwhile, two shootings in Maine and Houston over the span of a week have led to fierce criticism that there’s not enough oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration agents since Trump launched the crackdown after retaking office, and in the Maine shooting, family members of the officer who opened fire say he had a history of violent behavior and never should have been given a badge and gun.

Here's the latest:

Rubio says effort to end war in Ukraine needs new ideas

The Trump administration is poised to help end the “senseless war” in Ukraine but Rubio acknowledged there’s no quick path to a deal.

After holding talks in Manila with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, Rubio told reporters that diplomacy will require sustained effort and new ideas.

Rubio alluded to how U.S.-mediated talks have stalled, calling them “unsuccessful or at least unfruitful” in the past but insisted that President Trump was committed to the work “if conditions and factors have changed to make that possible.”

“That’s been the challenge — an end that both sides can accept. And we’ve tried and we’ll continue to try to see if we can, you know, find a middle ground that brings this about. And we’re prepared to play that role if the opportunity presents itself,” Rubio said.

Rubio strikes darker tone about renewed fighting with Iran

“The price will continue to get higher every single night until they come to their senses,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters while traveling in the Philippines.

He insisted Iran is “begging” for a deal but Trump “doesn’t see a lot of utility in responding to their overtures at this point, because, frankly, Iran is clearly not ready to make a deal, at least not one they’re willing to to live by.”

A day earlier. he said the U.S. was open to diplomacy.

Trump on Wednesday warned Iran that the U.S. will destroy one Iranian bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded by saying the country’s defense doctrine was an “eye for an eye.”

“The president’s policy is a head for an eye,” Rubio said. “They will pay a very heavy price for the things they’re doing.”

Trump says Saudi nuclear pact requires kingdom to normalize Israel relations through Abraham Accords

In a post on social media, the Republican president said the deal doesn’t allow for enrichment of uranium. Nonproliferation experts have raised concerns that the deal fails to include guardrails to prevent enrichment of uranium to weapons-grade levels.

Trump’s post said the agreement “will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.” He added that “The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities.”

Trump has sought to build on the 2020 agreements, which expanded the number of Arab states with diplomatic ties with Israel.

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House Republicans adopt $95 billion package for the Iran war and Trump’s priorities

The House adopted a Republican-only $95 billion budget proposal Wednesday, a long-shot effort to fund the Iran war and other White House priorities over objections from Democrats and a few GOP holdouts in a final push before the midterm elections.

House Republicans were divided over the plan, with conservatives wary because there are no offsetting budget cuts. But Speaker Mike Johnson plunged ahead, viewing the go-it-alone process as the best chance to usher Trump’s priorities through the split Congress, despite skepticism in the Senate.

The vote tally was 216-214, with two Republicans and one independent joining Democrats in opposition.

Democrats argued the money should be spent at home, particularly on efforts to lower costs for Americans.

Congress is at a standstill over the U.S. war against Iran — unable to stop Trump’s military strikes, but not having authorized the use of American military force — and politically torn over having to provide billions of taxpayer dollars to pay for it. Most Americans disapprove of Trump’s Iran strategy, according to a recent AP-NORC poll.

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Democrats press ICE on oversight, say 1 officer referred for discipline over use of force

One Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has been referred for discipline over a use-of-force incident since the beginning of the Trump administration, said Democratic members of the House Homeland Security Committee after a briefing with ICE officials Wednesday about body cameras, vehicle stops and training.

The closed-door briefing for committee members comes in the wake of two shootings in which ICE officers shot and killed two immigrants they were trying to arrest, raising concerns over the agency’s tactics at a time that it's ratcheting up its arrests.

The shootings in Maine and Houston over the span of a week have led to fierce criticism that there’s not enough oversight of the agency key to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration agents since Trump launched the crackdown after retaking office, and in the Maine shooting, family members of the ICE officer who opened fire say he had a history of violent behavior and never should have been given a badge and gun.

▶ Read more

India’s “Cockroach” protests began more than a month ago over alleged leaks in some of the country’s most competitive entrance exams for medical colleges and government jobs. The movement has since expanded beyond exam grievances, drawing professionals and families while channeling broader frustration.

Thursday’s demonstrations at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site in New Delhi, followed overnight clashes in which police used tear gas and batons to disperse crowds, the second such confrontation this week.

On Monday, thousands of protesters had defied restrictions and marched toward Parliament before police broke up the demonstration with tear gas and batons.

Protesters regrouped by Thursday morning, returning to the protest site despite roadblocks, while authorities suspended Delhi Metro services at 16 stations across central New Delhi in an effort to limit access to the demonstrations.

Modi tries to contain protest fallout

The issue of exam leaks has become a powerful symbol of frustration for millions of young Indians. Protesters are demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, examination system reforms and compensation for families of students who died by suicide after exam paper leaks.

Facing mounting pressure, Modi addressed the issue publicly for the first time Thursday, announcing fast-track courts to handle examination paper leak cases. Fast-track courts are special courts created to speed up cases in India’s notoriously slow justice system.

“Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth!,” Modi wrote on X.

The announcement failed to calm protesters, who said Modi was not addressing their demands for accountability and reform.

“Rather than providing solution which is convenient for him, he should work toward a solution which is convenient for the nation and set an example,” law student Daksh Bhargava said.

Cockroach party stays true to satirical origins

Leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party, which launched the protest movement, said they would not end the demonstrations until the education minister resigned. Staying true to the movement’s tongue-in-cheek style, its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, responded by posting a meme of Pradhan captioned, “Hi, my name is Nothing.”

The Cockroach movement began as online satire campaign in May and moved to the streets in June through smaller protests across cities. It gained momentum after prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk joined the demonstration and began a hunger strike that has lasted more than three weeks. Police forcibly transferred Wangchuk to a hospital over the weekend.

Protests reflect rising youth anger

For many young Indians, the protests have become one of the few visible expressions of dissent in a country where demonstrations against Modi’s government have led to a broader crackdown on activists, opposition figures and public protests.

The movement’s rapid growth beyond student groups reflects wider frustration among young Indians and echoes a broader trend across South Asia, where young people have driven anti-government movements in recent years.

The movement also has gained a following among Indians of all ages over concerns about government accountability, unemployment and economic opportunity.

Opposition parties have backed the protests, using the issue to challenge the government in Parliament. Demonstrations and solidarity events have been held in other Indian cities, reflecting how the movement has spread beyond the capital.

India has one of the world’s youngest populations, with millions entering a labor market that has struggled to create enough secure, well-paying jobs. Despite years of rapid economic growth, many young people say their prospects have not improved.

As one of the country’s largest voting blocs, India’s youth could also become an increasingly important political force ahead of future elections.

Multiple agencies had made sustained and coordinated rescue efforts in the four days since a gas explosion ripped through the tunnel. Following the recovery of all the missing employees, teams carried out a final inspection of the tunnel, the state government of Sikkim said in a statement.

The blast occurred Monday at the 500-megawatt Teesta Hydroelectric Project about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the state capital Gangtok in the Himalayan state.

A buildup of methane gas triggered the explosion, trapping dozens of workers underground. Rescue efforts were hampered by the toxic gas inside, officials said.

The government said it formed a high-level committee to investigate the disaster and recommend safeguards against to prevent such accidents in the future.

Construction accidents are not uncommon in India, where rapid infrastructure growth often collides with fragile geology, construction lapses, extreme weather and safety standards.

The Teesta River basin, where the hydropower project is being built, lies in a seismically active region marked by young, fragile rock formations riddled with fractures and underground pockets that can trap ancient gases. Seismic activity and unpredictable underground conditions make tunnel projects especially risky in the region, according to experts.

A February explosion in a coal mine in neighboring Meghalaya state killed 18 workers. A tunnel section collapsed in 2023 in northern Uttarakhand state, trapping 41 workers for 17 days before they were rescued.

Officers were called to Plaza del Sol on Vine Street and North Hoagland Boulevard just before 11 p.m. When they arrived, they found a person behind the Ross store. That person was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers blocked off much of the parking lot for several hours as they investigated. Evidence markers were visible on the ground, and officers moved in and out of the building throughout the night. Video from the scene shows the large police response that remained in place for hours before the scene was cleared.

The age and gender of the person found have not been released.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

If you’ve considered bike commuting but assumed you needed expensive gear and to be in excellent physical shape, or worried about arriving at work disheveled or smelly, there are ways to overcome those hurdles. Cycling can be a healthy, enjoyable and affordable way to a job site, especially at a time of elevated gasoline prices.

“It’s such a great, practical invention that I became enamored with as a little kid, and I find it just as valuable as a 72-year-old,” Roper, owner of the Hopleaf Bar and restaurant, said.

Below, experienced cyclists and bike safety advocates share tips on how to get started and arrive safely at your destination while still looking reasonably workplace-presentable.

You don't have to buy fancy equipment to commute by bike

Some cyclists splash out on pricey gear such as foldable bikes, premium padded shorts and waterproof bags. Specialty cycling equipment can be fun, but you can spend less and still have a great ride. If you don't want to purchase a bicycle, consider a bike-sharing program that rents two-wheelers for short rides.

Natalie Frank, 22, didn't have extra cash when she graduated from college and landed a job as a software engineer in the Boston office of technology company Topsort. She asked her friends if anyone had a bicycle they no longer wanted, and a free road bike was hers a few weeks later.

If the tires need air, she fills them using free pumps located in city parks.

“My commute costs zero dollars. That’s crazy,” Frank said.

Wash up and switch outfits to look presentable after a ride

Many cyclists reach their workplaces a few minutes early to freshen up and change into work clothes. Some bike commuters leave a spare set at their desks. Like many others, Frank carries clothing in a backpack along with her laptop.

Ellie Dannenberg, 37, a University of Denver math professor, commutes in gym clothes and carries a work outfit in panniers, which are storage bags and baskets that attach to a bicycle. She stashes a pair of work shoes in her office.

“Investing in pannier bags is a really great thing to do, especially for the commute to work when you probably don’t want to show up super sweaty,” Dannenberg said. “Backpacks are heavy, they’re more uncomfortable, and then you end up with a sweaty back when you get there.”

On Denver's wetter days, Dannenberg wears rain pants and a waterproof jacket that fits over her helmet.

Some office buildings have showers for washing up, but many don't. Keeping body wipes, rinse-free cleanser or deodorant at work can help you feel polished.

Use helmets and positioning to protect yourself on roads

Cyclists and safety advocates strongly recommend wearing a helmet to protect your head in case of a crash. Wearing bright colors or reflective vests and attaching lights and reflectors to the bicycle improves visibility.

Roper wears a yellow-green helmet and has front and rear lights that flash. “You really can't fail to see me,” he said.

To ensure you’re seen when traveling on smaller roads without bike lanes, ride in the middle of the lane, and if you’re at a stop light, go to the front of the traffic, Dannenberg suggested.

Watch out for black ice in the winter. “If you’re running late and there’s ice on the road, it’s worth it to slow down around the corners,” Dannenberg added.

The League of American Bicyclists has videos on its website covering traffic safety and hand signals, which cyclists can use to communicate when they’re turning or stopping.

New riders may want to find a biking companion who can point out safer, less congested routes.

“It’s nice to have a buddy if you know someone who’s commuting by bike in the vicinity that you’re going,” said Alison Dewey, education director at The League of American Bicyclists. “Maybe the most enjoyable route is just going another half-mile in this direction and getting on a trail instead of a more direct way. Someone who’s more experienced might know that.”

Some riders prefer electric bikes with a pedal-assist feature that provides a boost when they want to keep pace with traffic. After stopping at intersections, e-bikes help cyclists get going again, Dewey said.

Watch out for obstacles and swinging car doors to stay safe

When riding next to parked cars, leave space between yourself and those vehicles so you don't get “doored” — a common cycling collision that happens when someone opens a car door in a moving rider's path.

The League of American Bicyclists recommends staying four feet away from parked cars, even if it means positioning yourself outside of a marked bike lane. “It’s more important to be out of the ‘door zone’ than to be in the bike lane,” Dewey said.

Scan parked cars to see if anyone's inside, and if you notice a driver or passenger, move over, because you don't want to be next to that door when it opens, Dewey said.

If you do get into a crash with a car, call the police, gather information to identify the driver and don't hesitate to get medical treatment, advised Daniel Flanzig, a lawyer who is board president of the New York Bicycling Coalition, a nonprofit which advocates for bicycle-friendly policies.

“Be vigilant when you’re riding,” he said. “Things can come at you as a cyclist. Whether it’s a car or a pothole or a road defect, there’s a lot of hazards out there that we have to keep our head on the swivel for.”

Savor the exhilaration of riding outside

Starting the day with outdoor exercise helps many riders show up to work refreshed and energized.

“Biking is genuinely probably one of the best parts of my day. I get to listen to music. I get to be by myself. I get to think,” Frank said. “Biking feels like it’s reclaiming some of the autonomy of my day, like the joy and whimsy of moving around, especially in the city."

Dewey, 52, enjoys views of the Potomac River as she pedals 16 miles to work.

“It brings me a lot of happiness to just ride,” Dewey said. “Being outside is just always good for my emotional health. And honestly, I like being under my own power.”

___

Share your stories and questions about workplace wellness at cbussewitz@ap.org. Follow AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health at https://apnews.com/hub/be-well

Thursday

A much drier air mass has moved into Central Florida, limiting shower and thunderstorm development Thursday. Aside from a few isolated coastal showers early this morning and a stray inland storm later this afternoon, most communities will stay dry.

Highs will reach the low 90s along the coast, while much of the I-4 corridor warms into the mid to upper 90s. Heat index values will still top 100 to 105 degrees.

Friday

Moisture begins returning Friday, bringing scattered (30-40%) afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms back to much of Central Florida. The highest rain chances will be from the Orlando metro southward, while areas farther north may stay a little drier.

A few stronger storms could produce frequent lightning, wind gusts over 40 mph, and locally heavy downpours.

Weekend outlook

The forecast calls for a return to a more typical Florida summer pattern this weekend as winds shift out of the southwest and deeper tropical moisture spreads across the state.

Scattered to numerous afternoon and evening thunderstorms (40-50%) are expected Saturday through early next week, with the greatest coverage likely from Orlando southward and along the east coast during the late afternoon and evening as sea breezes collide.

While rain chances increase, the heat isn’t going anywhere. High temperatures will remain in the low to mid 90s for most locations, with parts of the interior climbing into the upper 90s Saturday. Heat index values could approach Heat Advisory levels in some areas, especially inland.

The event, held at Lake Buena Vista High School, was organized by CareerSource Central Florida and Orange County Commissioner Nicole Wilson. It was initially planned for displaced Spirit employees but later expanded to include anyone struggling to find work.

Anya Alexandrova, who spent six years with the airline, said she still carries her Spirit lanyard and badge on her purse as a reminder of the job she did not expect to lose.

“We had an amazing team and I miss them all,” Alexandrova said.

Alexandrova said the loss became real when she arrived at work and saw flights canceled across the terminals.

“Walking into every terminal and seeing that every flight was canceled — it was terrifying,” she said.

Despite the abrupt layoffs, Alexandrova said events like the job fair have helped her feel supported.

“Things like this, events like this … you feel the support,” she said.

Wilson said the goal is to help people regain stability and connect with employers as they work to rebuild after a sudden disruption to their income.

“We want to make sure that we can still attain that for people’s quality of life, for their future reliability on a paycheck,” Wilson said.

Employers and organizations set up booths in the school cafeteria, where attendees exchanged resumes, asked questions and, in some cases, interviewed on the spot.

For Alexandrova, the job fair represented a step toward what she hopes is a fresh start.

For more information on CareerSource job fairs, click here.

The attack announced this week by OpenAI, which blamed rogue AI models, underscored the blistering growth in the technology’s capabilities. For many, it also added urgency to questions about whether and how it can be prevented from causing mayhem on a bigger scale, with more serious consequences.

In what OpenAI called an “unprecedented” episode, the company said its advanced AI models used stolen credentials to break into the servers of an AI startup. It started in what was supposed to be a “highly isolated” testing environment, with reduced guardrails, before the AI agent found its way onto the internet.

But the disclosure brought a told-you-so moment for researchers who have called for a slowdown of AI development and warned for years that the technology could pose existential risks to humanity. In its wake, experts have called for improved testing by the AI companies and more dialogue between the U.S. and China to come up with shared solutions.

“I think we’ve got to take this as a warning shot to not make them smarter, and that probably is going to require global collaboration,” said Nate Soares, co-author of the 2025 book “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies.”

The hack could pressure companies to improve containment

If a model can decide to do something unethical, illegal or harmful on its own, what — if anything — can humans do to prevent it from doing so?

OpenAI said it had tasked the AI models involved with pursuing “advanced exploitation using complex attack paths” to test cyber capabilities, but the technology went to unexpected lengths. It apparently decided on its own to target Hugging Face, a well-known AI development hub and marketplace, to obtain information it needed to carry out a task.

Zahra Timsah, the co-founder and CEO of governance platform i-GENTIC AI, said she expects the incident to increase pressure on OpenAI and its competitors to complete rigorous testing and explore containment more thoroughly before AI systems are made accessible to the public.

Monitoring an agent’s behavior after the fact, as OpenAI is now doing with its investigation, is no longer enough, she said. “It’s like having a seat belt, air bags, brakes, everything in the car. It should be there before the car starts driving,” Timsah said.

The disclosure comes amid heightened concerns about the cybersecurity capabilities of powerful models. In June, President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to a month before their public release.

Other experts see the event as a sign of AI's growing pains

Some experts say the hack is part of the trial and error that comes with improving cybersecurity capabilities and is no cause for panic.

“We’ve been dealing with people creating cybersecurity attacks for as long as the internet has existed. And one of the interesting properties of these language models is that the same capabilities that make them able to perform cybersecurity attacks also allow them to do cybersecurity threat analysis and make cybersecurity defenses,” said John Thickstun, an assistant professor of computer science at Cornell University who studies methods that control the behavior of AI models.

The disclosure has raised skepticism from those who say it advantages OpenAI to make its technology seem scarier. Given that humans at OpenAI had decided to turn off some safeguards for the test, some have argued the outcome should not have been terribly surprising.

Thickstun noted the disclosure plays into the need of OpenAI, a startup working toward a Wall Street debut, to raise money.

“The story that they’ve been consistently telling over the lifetime of this company is a story about how dangerous their models are, which their investors read as a story of how powerful their language models are,” he said.

The disclosure renews calls for more regulation

The hack renewed calls in some corners for increased regulations and oversight of AI companies.

U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat, wrote on social media: “We need regular mandatory independent safety testing and oversight, mandatory disclosure of security incidents, and international cooperation to keep people safe from absolute disaster.”

Soares, director of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, said the U.S. will need to open talks with its biggest AI competitor, China, something he thinks is not as outlandish as it might have seemed even a year ago. China’s leader Xi Jinping warned at a conference just last week of the need to keep AI from evading human control. And after an early aversion to regulating AI, Trump’s administration has grown more restrictive at reining in cybersecurity risks.

“A lot can change when the national security community starts to notice that they have a serious threat,” Soares said. “Will this wake them up? Hopefully. I’m not sure. If this doesn’t, maybe the next incident will.”

AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio said on social media the episode is deeply concerning and should serve as a “wake-up call.”

“Continuing on the current trajectory of AI development will likely lead to an increase in concrete cases of autonomous cyberattacks as well as other high-risk incidents of misaligned and dangerous AI behavior,” said Bengio, a professor at the University of Montreal. “We urgently need to take action to prevent these situations, rather than attempting to clean up the damage after the fact.”

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office announced on Thursday that Teresa Capps Martyn has been found safe.

PREVIOUS STORY:

Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies are searching for a missing woman who was last seen in the early morning hours Wednesday in Dunnellon.

Teresa Capps Martyn was last seen at approximately 4:30 a.m. on July 22 in the 5100 block of SW Azalea Court in Dunnellon, where witnesses reported she was yelling for help.

Vehicle Found Abandoned in Rainbow Park Estates

Deputies later located Martyn’s vehicle abandoned on the side of the road in the Rainbow Park Estates area. Her phone and wallet were still inside the vehicle.

A spokesperson for the MCSO told News 6 that it’s possible she was intoxicated or under the influence when she got out of her car.

Deputies also confirmed that Martyn was last spotted at a Circle K located at SW 60th Ave. and W. Highway 40 around 7:40 a.m. She left that location on foot.

Martyn was last seen wearing a red crop top, a white skirt, and red-and-black Jordan sneakers. Investigators note that one of her shoes was found near the location where she was last seen — she may be wearing only one shoe or may be barefoot.

Call 911 With Any Information

Anyone who has seen Teresa Capps Martyn or has information about her whereabouts is asked to call 911 immediately.

A News 6 investigation found one Orlando woman paid $125 to a third-party website, only to receive the same PDF available for free on the official U.S. government site.

Alex needed to renew her passport before a Caribbean trip. She typed “passport renewal” into a search engine and clicked the first link that appeared, a sponsored result for a site called uspassportandvisa.org, believing she was on an official government page.

“I was wanting to take a trip this month to the Caribbean for the summer,” Alex said.

Alex filled out her application directly on the uspassportandvisa.org website. When she finished, the site emailed her a PDF of the completed form — the same form she could have downloaded and filled out herself for free at the official U.S. government site. She still had to submit the application to the State Department on her own. She only realized her mistake when she checked her credit card statement.

“When I went on my bank statement, this is what appeared — Easy Form Filler,” Alex said. “That’s not even a government official site.”

Alex contacted the site and received a refund.

In response to her complaints, uspassportandvisa.org states its role is to ensure applications are accurate and ready for submission to the U.S. Department of State. However, the site does not submit the application to the State Department on the user’s behalf.

The site also posts a disclaimer at the top of its webpage stating it is a privately owned organization not associated with any government agency.

But Better Business Bureau CEO Holly Salmons says most people miss it, especially when using a phone.

“They believed that they were on a government site,” Salmons said. “They believed they were completing the standard traditional process. And it wasn’t until they had submitted their information and given the money that they realized really all they were getting back in return was a completed form, that they then had to still process and submit themselves.”

Salmons says sponsored search results are a key part of the problem. When a result says “sponsored” at the top of a search page, that is paid ad placement, not an endorsement by the search engine.

“It can be really tempting to just go to a search engine, plug it in and click and go,” Salmons said. “But consumers should note that those sponsored results at the top of the page — that is essentially a paid ad.”

Domain records show uspassportandvisa.org launched in January of last year. Since then, the Better Business Bureau has logged more than 700 complaints against the site.

Salmons warns the risks go beyond losing money.

“Not only are these people not getting what they expect, they’re giving money, they’re giving very personal information to who knows who,” she said. “Consumers reported feeling very afraid or unassured about what’s going to happen now that my information is out there.”

She also notes that some consumers’ credit cards flagged the transaction as fraudulent before the consumer even realized what happened, providing a layer of protection that debit cards and payment apps do not offer.

“Even though the money may not be gone, even though the transaction may not have gone through, there is currency assigned to the value of our personal information,” Salmons said. “Where that information is going to go, how it’s going to be traded or sold, is unclear.”

The BBB is also tracking a broader trend: more copycat sites are appearing.

“If it works, there are going to be copycats,” Salmons said. “We want consumers to be aware, especially when doing a search online, to really inspect the search results.”

Ryan Dooley, Acting Managing Director for Passport Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, says there is one official website for passport services: travel.state.gov.

“That is the only official website for passport-related information,” Dooley said. “All the forms are on that site, they can be downloaded, filled out, and brought into one of our passport application acceptance facilities.”

Dooley says the State Department anticipates processing more than 23 million passport applications this year. For first-time applicants, the process starts at a local passport acceptance facility, such as a post office or clerk of court, where applicants bring their DS-11 application, passport photo, proof of citizenship, and valid ID. Routine processing takes four to six weeks; expedited processing takes two to three weeks.

Adults renewing a passport can use the State Department’s online renewal system at travel.state.gov, which allows applicants to take their own photo using a laptop or smartphone.

Dooley says third-party sites charging fees for forms is a known issue.

“Those companies charge a fee for the same service that we can provide you without that additional fee,” he said. “We want to make sure that all Americans reach our services directly.”

For travelers in Central Florida with urgent travel needs — typically defined as travel within a matter of days — the current option is to make an appointment at the Miami Passport Agency.

That is about to change. Dooley announced that the State Department plans to open an official passport agency in Orlando. The agency is expected to open in the fall of 2027, just north of the Orlando International Airport.

“Those citizens in the Orlando area who have urgent travel will no longer have to go to Miami for an urgent passport,” Dooley said. “We know that South Florida is a growing population and we’re really happy to be able to eventually open that passport agency to help your viewers.”

Both the State Department and the BBB stress the same bottom line: the passport application and renewal form process is free of charge. You will pay government fees to obtain or renew a passport, but there is no cost to download, complete, or submit the application form itself.

Salmons recommends completing the process on a laptop or desktop — not a phone — so you can clearly inspect the site’s address bar and look for red flags before submitting any personal information.

“Prevention is really the measure,” Salmons said, “because it’s unclear what’s going to happen once you hit submit.”

The official U.S. State Department passport website is travel.state.gov.

Travelers can also contact the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778 for assistance.

The French Football Federation said in a statement on Thursday that its president Philippe Diallo will name the coach at a news conference at the headquarters in Paris.

The 54-year-old Zidane has not coached since leaving Real Madrid in 2021. The midfield great coached Madrid to three straight Champions League titles from 2016-18.

Deschamps was in charge of France for 14 years and stepped down after the World Cup, where Les Bleus lost in the semifinals to Spain.

France won the World Cup under Deschamps in 2018 and lost the final on penalties in 2022. Les Bleus also lost the European Championship final on home soil in 2016.

Zinedine was France's playmaker when it won the 1998 World Cup, scoring twice in the final in a 3-0 win against Brazil, and starred two years later when France won the European Championship. He won the men’s Ballon d’Or in 1998.

Zidane played 108 games for France scoring 31 goals, including a deft Panenka-style penalty in the 2006 World Cup final, which Les Bleus lost after he was sent off in extra time for headbutting Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the chest.

France's next games are away to Turkey in the Nations League on Sept. 25, followed by a match in Belgium three days later. France then faces Italy at the Stade de France on Oct. 2.

___

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

Shah, an emergency physician, will face Republican Jay Feely, a former NFL kicker who was endorsed by President Donald Trump in his primary, in the fall. Before becoming political opponents, Feely and Shah were part of the same team — the New York Jets. Shah was a doctor on the sidelines, while Feely was the kicker.

The DCCC backed Marlene Galán-Woods, a former Republican who switched parties at the beginning of Trump’s first term.

The competition for the 1st Congressional District, an affluent area that includes northeast Phoenix, Scottsdale, Fountain Hills and Paradise Valley, is expected to help determine control of the U.S. House. Although Republicans hold a voter registration advantage, the district has shifted toward the center over the last decade.

The seat is open because Republican Rep. David Schweikert ran for governor, losing to Rep. Andy Biggs in the GOP primary on Tuesday.

The DCCC's decision to endorse Galán-Woods, a former television journalist in Phoenix, puzzled local Democrats because there was little ideological difference between her and Shah. Both are moderates, and the race was not a proxy fight in the party's deepening feud between progressives and centrists.

“Our victory in this primary was a grassroots victory where Arizona voters made their voices heard,” Shah said Wednesday night in a statement that did not address the DCCC snub. “Now, it’s my job to earn the support of every voter in this district.”

Rep. Suzan DelBene, the DCCC Chair, issued a statement calling Feely an “extremist” and saying Shah “will always put his community first,” but did not address the controversy surrounding the support for Galán-Woods.

The National Republican Congressional Committee quickly released a digital ad Wednesday attacking Shah, labeling him a socialist and tying him to progressives in Congress.

“I’m a political outsider committed to delivering results,” Feely said in a statement.

The race was in some ways a replay of 2024, when Shah narrowly won in a crowded primary field that included Galán-Woods and lost in the general election. The DCCC did not endorse in the primary that year but backed Shah in the general.

The DCCC announced its support for Galán-Woods in May, when it added her to a list of candidates it was supporting in Republican-controlled districts. At the time, DelBene talked up Galán-Woods' experience in broadcast journalism but said nothing about Shah.

“I wasn’t exactly my party’s pick,” Shah told supporters Tuesday night. “And I was willing to stand up to that establishment. And that’s what the voters of this district want.”

Still, he has said he would work with the DCCC if nominated. He will need support from the party and its donors to win what's likely to be a tough race in a district Trump carried narrowly in 2024. Former Democratic President Joe Biden won the district in 2020 even as Schweikert was reelected.

Antiestablishment fervor has spooked congressional leaders, who fear that swing voters will see some insurgent candidates as too extreme and squander Democrats’ opportunity to take advantage of Trump’s unpopularity.

Last month progressive Randy Villegas beat a DCCC-backed candidate for a top battleground district in California's Central Valley. And similarly in Maine, Matt Dunlap defeated a more moderate rival backed by the party.

DCCC support generally brings an influx of money and staffing, both from the party itself and from the donors and interest groups that take its cues. But establishment support has been a turnoff for some voters.

“The Democratic Party needs to grow up and wake up,” said Maria Liong, a 24-year-old medical student who volunteered for Shah’s campaign. “They need to realize that they want candidates who listen to their people.”

In the GOP primary, Feely defeated Joseph Chaplik, a former state lawmaker popular with grassroots activists, for the party's nomination. He was in the NFL with seven teams over 14 seasons, including with the Arizona Cardinals from 2010 to 2013. He became an NFL broadcaster after retiring in 2014.

Feely and Shah overlapped on the Jets during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, when Shah worked home games as an airway management physician, according to his campaign. Every NFL game has an airway management doctor on the sideline to intubate and resuscitate a catastrophically injured player.

“It’s an old relationship,” Feely said of Shah on Tuesday night, before it was clear which Democrat he would face in November. “But whoever it is, I want to do this the right way. I want to run this the right way.”

___

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Rep. Suzan DelBene’s last name on first reference, from DeBene.

___

Associated Press writers Jacques Billeaud and Wufei Yu contributed.

In all, 14 eateries were told to shut down — at least temporarily.

Per health inspection records, these closures stemmed from problems with pests, storage issues, and time/temperature violations for certain foods, among various other concerns.

However, nearly all of the affected restaurants were ultimately allowed to reopen upon meeting inspection standards.

The full list of Central Florida eateries forced to close between July 13 - 19 is as follows:

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS

• 2 Hermanos Tacos & Burrito — 451 E. Altamonte Drive
• • Closed on July 15
  • • Five dead roaches found on premises
    • Over 20 live roaches found on premises
  • Met inspection standards on July 17

CLEARWATER

• Nautical Brews Pizza — 2481 N. McMullen Booth Road
• • Closed on July 15
  • • Two dead roaches found on the floor beneath the triple sink
    • Over 120 rodent droppings found on premises
    • Dishmachine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength
  • Met inspection standards on July 17

CLERMONT

• Crooked Spoon Gastropub — 200 Citrus Tower Blvd.
• • Closed on July 15
  • • Five dead roaches found on premises
    • Four live roaches found in dry storage beneath canned dry goods rack (operator was aware and had pest control come by)
    • Nine roach droppings found beneath canned dry goods shelf
    • Time violations for sweet onion jam, SoCo wing sauce, and bourbon cream
  • Met inspection standards on July 17
• Papa John’s Pizza — 4420 S. Hwy. 27
• • Closed on July 15
  • • Two dead roaches found in control device in hot water heater closet
    • One dead mouse found in trap in hot water heater closet
    • Twenty rodent droppings found in hot water heater closet
  • Follow-up inspection required as of July 16

EDGEWATER

• Jan & Lib’s Hi-Tops Lounge — 319 N. Ridgewood Ave.
• • Closed on July 13
  • • Steaks kept over beer in walk-in cooler
    • Nearly 40 rodent droppings found on premises
  • Met inspection standards on July 14

LADY LAKE

• Latin Flavors Bar and Grill — 13769 N. US Hwy. 441
• • Closed on July 14
  • • Over 80 dead roaches found on premises, along with one egg sac
    • Eight live roaches found on premises
    • Roach excrement found in white freezer gasket and hinge
    • Time/temperature violations for cooked pork, refried beans, and cooked rice
  • Met inspection standards on July 16

MELBOURNE

• Las Comays Lonchera (Food Truck) — 5559 N. Wickham Road
• • Closed on July 14
  • • Establishment operating with no potable running water
    • Time/temperature violations for pasta salad; salsa; cut melon; cooked rice; cooked pork; and cooked black beans
  • Met inspection standards on July 16

ORLANDO

• Uncle Dieu’s (Food Truck) — 9318 E. Colonial Drive
• • Closed on July 16
  • • Two dead roaches found on premises
    • Eight live roaches found on premises
    • Time/temperature violations for shell eggs and sliced American cheese
    • Glass cleaner stored next to soy sauce and stove
    • Raw shell eggs stored over sliced cheese in cooler
    • Owner touched green onions with bare hands
    • Leak from potable water tank creating standing water beneath the tank, leaking to the ground
    • Metal stem-type thermometer soiled
  • Met inspection standards on July 18

SANFORD

• Colorado’s Prime Steak — 3863 S. Orlando Drive
• • Closed on July 16
  • • Three dead roaches found on premises
    • Seventeen live roaches found on premises
    • Operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license
  • Met inspection standards on July 17
• Mel’s Family Diner — 3221 S. Orlando Drive
• • Closed on July 15
  • • Seventeen rodent droppings found on premises
    • Rodent chew marks spotted on two potatoes inside potato bag
    • Operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license
    • Dishmachine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength
    • Vacuum breaker missing at hose bib
  • Follow-up inspection required as of July 16

ST. PETERSBURG

• Hungry Howie’s Pizza and Subs — 6570 Central Ave.
• • Closed on July 16
  • • One dead roach found on premises
    • Eight rodent droppings found on premises (operator was aware of rodent issue; trap were set and an exterminator was hired)
    • Operator handled cellphone and continued engaging in food preparation without changing gloves and washing hands
  • Met inspection standards on July 17

TAMPA

• Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar — 4006 W. Hillsborough Ave.
• • Closed on July 14
  • • Five dead roaches found on premises
    • Thirteen live roaches found on premises, including five stuck in glue traps
  • Met inspection standards on July 15
• Farandulero Pizzeria (Food Truck) — 9743 W. Hillsborough Ave.
• • Closed on July 16
  • • Over 20 dead roaches found on premises
    • Over 100 live roaches found on premises, primarily inside cabinet beneath three-compartment sink
    • Roach droppings and four roach eggs found inside cabinet beneath three-compartment sink
    • Nine live fly-like insects found inside food truck
    • Two bags of tamales stored inside nonfood-grade shopping bags in reach-in cooler
  • Facility remained closed as of July 21
• NY NY Pizza — 1512 E. 7 Ave.
• • Closed on July 16
  • • One live fly at front service counter
    • Fifteen rodent droppings found on premises, primarily on floor behind fountain drink station
    • Time/temperature violation for pizzas with no time marking
    • Quaternary ammonium sanitizer not at proper minimum strength for manual warewashing
  • Met inspection standards on July 17

This includes several proposals for amendments to the state constitution.

Many of these proposals involved property tax reform — a major focus of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

[RELATED: DeSantis discusses ‘Save Our Homes’ property tax plan]

One such amendment from a special session managed to garner approval from lawmakers, sending it to the ballot in November. It will need at least 60% support from voters during the general election to take effect.

But around 30 other proposals died in the Legislature this year, meaning that voters won’t get the chance to consider them.

The full list of these failed amendments is as follows:

HJR 11F — Homestead Exemptions

House Joint Resolution 11F would have increased the state’s homestead exemption from non-school property taxes, though not from certain local add-on taxes.

The amendment would also mandate the creation of a trust fund to replace funding lost as a result of this increased homestead exemption.

In addition, the amendment would prohibit local governments from reducing their public safety funding.

HJR 23D — State Reapportionment

House Joint Resolution 23D came about during the redistricting special session this year, and it would have changed how redistricting is performed.

For example, the bill would create three independent redistricting commissions and increase the number of legislative districts in the state.

HJR 27 — Local Term Limits

House Joint Resolution 27 would have set up term limits of 12 consecutive years for county commissioners and school board members.

After that 12-year limit, prospective candidates would have to wait four more years before running again.

HJR 201 — Eliminating Property Taxes

House Joint Resolution 201 would have established a homestead exemption for all non-school property taxes.

In addition, the amendment would prohibit local governments from reducing their law enforcement funding.

HJR 203 — Phased-Out Property Taxes

House Joint Resolution 203 would have increased the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes by $100,000 per year for 10 years.

Afterward, the amendment would make all homestead properties exempt from non-school property taxes beginning on Jan. 1, 2037.

In addition, the amendment would prohibit local governments from reducing their law enforcement funding.

HJR 205 — Property Tax Exemptions (Seniors)

House Joint Resolution 205 would exempt residents ages 65 and over from paying non-school taxes on their homes.

In addition, the amendment would prohibit local governments from reducing their law enforcement funding.

HJR 207 — Property Tax Exemptions (25%)

House Joint Resolution 207 would have applied a homestead exemption for non-school property taxes equal to 25% of the remaining assessed value after applying existing exemptions.

In addition, the amendment would prohibit local governments from reducing their law enforcement funding.

HJR 209 — Insured Home Exemptions

House Joint Resolution 209 would have increased homestead exemptions for non-school property taxes.

Under current law, the property tax exemptions are imposed as follows:

Instead of the $50,000 - $75,000 exemption range, though, HJR 209 would extend it to $25,000 - $200,000.

However, this only applies if the property is subject to a comprehensive homeowners insurance policy.

In addition, the amendment would prohibit local governments from reducing their funding for law enforcement, firefighters and first responders.

HJR 211 — Accrued Tax Benefits

House Joint Resolution 211 would have allowed the full value of the accrued benefit from special limitations on homestead property tax assessments to be transferred to a new homestead for non-school levies.

In addition, the amendment would prohibit local governments from reducing their law enforcement funding.

HJR 213 — Assessment Limits

House Joint Resolution 213 would have limited homestead assessment increases for non-school property taxes to once every three years.

The proposal also limits assessment increases for non-homestead properties to 15% once every three years.

In addition, the amendment would prohibit local governments from reducing their law enforcement funding.

SJR 270 — Property Tax Exemptions (Seniors)

Senate Joint Resolution 270 would have exempted residents ages 65 and over from paying non-school taxes on their homes.

This exemption applies to homes owned and maintained as a permanent residence for at least five years, with a household income of $350,000 or less (adjusted annually for inflation).

SJR 274 — Property Tax Exemptions (Long-Term)

Senate Joint Resolution 274 would have prevented the assessed value of properties from going up.

This prohibition would apply to properties that have been owned and lived in for at least 20 years.

The proposal would also grant properties an extra homestead tax exemption equal to 50% of their assessed values (not including school district levies) if they’ve been owned and lived in as a primary residence for at least 30 years.

SJR 278 — Assessed Value Limits (Homes)

Senate Joint Resolution 278 would have limited the assessed values of certain homes in the state.

More specifically, the proposal would apply to new homestead properties established after a change of ownership that had an assessed value of under $500,000 in the preceding year.

Under this amendment, the assessed value of such a property could not be raised by over 150% in a given year for property taxes.

SJR 282 — Assessed Value Limits (Businesses)

Senate Joint Resolution 282 would have limited the assessed value of real property used for commercial purposes by small businesses.

More specifically, the proposal would prevent the assessed value from rising by over 3% or the CPI percentage change — whichever is lower.

SJR 550 — Tangible Personal Property

Senate Joint Resolution 550 would have prohibited counties, school districts and municipalities from levying property taxes on tangible personal property.

An identical bill was filed in the House, though that one also died.

HJR 583 — Religious Expression

House Joint Resolution 583 sought to protect students’ and staff’s religious expression in Florida schools.

This includes the expression of religious beliefs in schoolwork, attire, prayer, activities, moments of silence and opening remarks at high school championship contests.

One of the main provisions in the amendment says that all first-period teachers must set aside 1-2 minutes daily for a moment of silence.

An identical bill was filed in the Senate, though that one also died.

HJR 619 — State Reapportionment

House Joint Resolution 619 would have revised the Florida reapportionment process by creating three independent redistricting commissions: one each for the House, Senate and congressional districts.

Each of these three commissions would be responsible for coming up with a reapportionment map, which the state Legislature must choose between.

A similar bill was filed in the Senate, though that one also died.

HJR 787 — Local Taxing Ban

House Joint Resolution 787 would have taken away the ability of counties and school districts to levy property taxes.

If approved, another bill associated with this proposal — HB 791 — would take effect at the same time as HJR 787.

HB 791 would impose a 5% transaction fee for all real estate sales, aimed at helping counties make up for any funding lost due to property tax cuts.

HJR 793 — Housing Inheritance

House Joint Resolution 793 provides that a transfer of homestead property by inheritance is not considered a change of ownership when it comes to homestead property assessment.

If approved, another bill associated with this proposal — HB 795 — would take effect at the same time as HJR 787.

HB 795 would clarify that upon the death of a homeowner, this transfer is considered between the owner and another who makes the property his/her homestead within one year.

An identical bill was filed in the Senate, though that one also died.

HJR 903 — Non-Homestead Valuations

House Joint Resolution 903 would have reduced the maximum percentage that the assessed value of non-homestead properties may be increased annually, from 10% to 3%.

HJR 947 — Reorganizing Government

House Joint Resolution 947 would have moved the seat of government from Tallahassee to within 100 miles of the population center of the state by 2043.

It also makes several other changes regarding the Legislature, including:

• Setting lawmaker salaries to the state’s median household income
• Establishes independent redistricting commissions to generate maps
• Expands the Legislature by tying the number of Senate and House districts to population, rather than fixed chamber sizes
• Authorizes recall elections for statewide officers and members of the Legislature

SJR 1364 — Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Senate Joint Resolution 1364 would have revised the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s composition.

Under this proposal, the new standards for the FWC would be as follows:

• There must be nine qualified members, instead of just seven
• At least one commissioner must be a full-time resident of one of the five regional administrative divisions established by the FWC
• At least three commissioners must also have:
• • A postgraduate degree in the field of conservation, biology or wildlife management
  • Direct experience in fish/wildlife conservation or management

The amendment also set up a new schedule for implementing the revised membership of the FWC.

SJR 1406 — Constitutional Amendments

Senate Joint Resolution 1406 would have changed the number of voters needed to approve a constitutional amendment.

While Florida law currently requires 60% of voter approval for an amendment to pass, SJR 1406 would lower that threshold to a simple majority.

HJR 1411 — Lowered Property Values

House Joint Resolution 1411 would have prohibited any additional increases in the assessed value of properties in the state if the just valuation of such a property has gone down since the previous assessment.

This refers to homestead and non-homestead properties that are subject to the current 3% and 10% assessment limitations, respectively.

A similar bill was filed in the Senate, though that one also died.

HJR 1527 — Emergency Powers

House Joint Resolution 1527 refers to situations where the governor declares a state of emergency.

Under this amendment, if a state of emergency is required to be extended beyond 60 days, the governor may do so only if the Legislature authorizes it.

An identical bill was filed in the Senate, though that one also died.

About 10 attackers opened fire and threw pipe bombs at soldiers at a security check point near a residential area in Narathiwat province Wednesday evening before fleeing, according to the regional Internal Security Operations Command. It said six civilians were injured during the attack, including a 10-year-old boy who remains hospitalized in stable condition.

Photos released by authorities showed a group identified as the attackers, dressed in black clothing and hats and riding on the back of a black pickup truck. Security officials said the truck was later found abandoned and set on fire about 21 kilometers (13 miles) away from the scene.

They said the attackers had stolen three AK-47 rifles, three bullet proof vests and three mobile phones from the soldiers, who were members of the country's paramilitary Ranger force, which operates as an auxiliary to the regular army and is usually deployed in border regions.

Narathiwat, along with Yala and Pattani, are Thailand’s southernmost provinces and are the only ones with Muslim majorities in the predominantly Buddhist nation. Since 2004, the provinces have been the site of a Muslim separatist insurgency that killed thousands.

Muslim residents have long complained of being treated like second-class citizens in Thailand, and separatist movements have been periodically active for decades. Heavy-handed crackdowns have fueled the discontent. Fighting continues to this day, but at a lower level.

The Internal Security Operations Command Region 4, which oversees security operations in southern Thailand, vowed in a Facebook post to “expedite the investigation and search for the perpetrators with the best efforts.”

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul condemned the attack, saying it was a “terrorist attack that clearly aimed at killing government officials, and a serious threat to national security,” according to government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek.

Footage aired by public broadcaster Thai PBS showed homes and properties of residents nearby were also damaged. One home had damage to its roof, windows and doors, while a motorcycle parked outside the house was destroyed. Another home had bullet holes scattered across its metal front gate.

Speaking at a health summit in Ghana on Wednesday, Dr. Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said 1,031 deaths have been confirmed.

“These are people dying. They are dying because we don’t have vaccines, we don’t have medicine, we don’t have funding,” he added.

The latest update from Congo’s Ministry of Health showed that as of Monday, 2,473 cases had been recorded in the latest outbreak. At least 737 patients were in isolation or hospitalized, it said.

The outbreak, which was declared on May 15, is unlike most previous Ebola outbreaks because the Bundibugyo virus responsible for it has no approved vaccines or treatments. It has also killed more people at a faster rate than any outbreak on record, including the 2013-2016 outbreak that is considered the worst on record with over 11,000 deaths out of at least 28,000 cases. That outbreak took about eight months from the first case to reach 1,000 deaths.

Conflict and community resistance are complicating the response

The World Health Organization has said the true scale of the outbreak could be ⁠two to four times larger than official figures indicate. Some communities at its epicenter also remain difficult to reach, mainly because of fighting involving rebel groups.

Ebola is rare, but highly contagious and can be contracted through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. It can cause severe illness and is often fatal.

Officials have warned that 80% of new cases have emerged outside known chains of transmission, a sign the outbreak is spreading faster than health officials can track it even as they step up their response in Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, and four other provinces where cases have been recorded.

Community resistance to Ebola teams, particularly those carrying out safe burials, has also hampered the response. Robert Ndjalonga, head of civil protection in Ituri province, said some communities have refused to allow burial teams to operate because they prefer traditional burials, increasing the risk of further transmission.

“The biggest challenge remains resistance from or outright refusal by some communities to accept response teams," Ndjalonga said. "On several occasions, burial teams have had to be escorted by security forces to ensure that safe and dignified burials could be carried out without incident.”

Shortages of burial supplies have delayed responses to reported deaths, while some affected health zones still lack operational burial teams, Ndjalonga said.

Attacks on health facilities and response teams have also forced front-line workers and aid groups out of some areas. Some health workers have gone on strike, saying they haven’t been paid since the outbreak started.

A member of a team carrying out safe Ebola burials was recently injured when assailants threw stones at the team’s vehicle following a burial in Bunia last week, according to provincial civil protection authorities.

The attack highlighted the challenges facing the response in eastern Congo. In Ituri’s Irumu territory, the local military administrator recently described Ebola as a greater threat than the Islamic State-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces insurgency and urged residents to support, rather than attack, health workers.

Containment efforts are faltering

A humanitarian worker involved in the response, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, cited poor coordination between response agencies, delays in transferring patients to treatment centers and waits of more than four days for some Ebola test results.

“At times, it’s unclear who is doing what and where,” the worker said.

The delays have led some patients to leave health facilities before they can be diagnosed, increasing the risk of further transmission, the worker said.

Africa CDC head Kaseya called for intensified efforts to slow the outbreak on the first day of the health summit in Ghana Tuesday.

“If we do not stop this outbreak today, it could become one of the worst Ebola outbreaks the world has ever documented,” Kaseya said.

Less than 9% of the contacts of confirmed patients who are expected to be traced are currently being monitored, far below the level needed to contain the outbreak, according to Africa CDC. More than 60% of deaths are occurring in the community before patients can receive care.

Pierre Akilimali, the Ebola response incident manager at the National Public Health Institute of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said the high number of community deaths suggests many infections are not being detected or isolated in time, allowing the virus to continue spreading.

Experts warn of a worsening crisis

Last month, researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used computer modeling to estimate how the outbreak could evolve. In a worst-case scenario, they said it could approach the scale of the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic.

“There’s never been an Ebola outbreak that started with so many cases because it was so late to be identified,” said Trish Newport, emergency program manager for Doctors Without Borders, who has been working in Congo.

“It’s like the outbreak is outrunning the response,” Newport said.

University of Pittsburgh epidemiologist Dr. Jean Nachega, who is advising African health authorities, said he does not expect the outbreak to reach the CDC’s worst-case scenario but cautioned that the challenges remain “huge.”

___

Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Constant Same Bagalwa in Bunia, Congo, Mike Stobbe in New York and Naa Adorkor Cudjoe in Accra, Ghana, contributed.

The handover took place late Wednesday during a meeting with FBI Director Kash Patel at Prabowo’s residence in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Patel arrived in Jakarta shortly after talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet concerning joint efforts to combat international online scam operations that cheat victims out of billions of dollars annually.

The exchange underscored growing cooperation between Indonesia and the U.S. in recovering stolen cultural heritage and returning the items to the country of origin, Indonesia Culture Minister Fadli Zon said.

The artifacts from Papua are part of the cultural heritage of the Dani and Asmat tribes and Lake Sentani communities. They were repatriated through cooperation between Indonesia’s Culture Ministry and the FBI after provenance research established the objects had been smuggled out of Indonesia, Zon said.

“These are very valuable objects because this repatriation process is part of our effort to restore our cultural sovereignty,” Zon said, adding that the artifacts will be displayed at Indonesia’s National Museum.

Images from Indonesia's Presidential Secretariat show several polished stone ax heads and ceremonial objects traditionally associated with Papuan societies.

Traditional Papuan stone axes were more than utilitarian tools. Among highland communities such as the Dani, they historically served as symbols of wealth and status, were exchanged in marriage and ceremonial transactions and were often passed down as treasured ancestral heirlooms, the Culture Ministry said.

The return is the latest in a series of efforts by U.S. authorities to recover and repatriate Southeast Asian cultural property that was trafficked through international antiquities networks, the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said in a statement.

Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced the return of two bronze, Buddhist sculptures depicting Avalokiteshvara from the eighth century, the embassy said.

During a repatriation ceremony at the Indonesian Consulate on July 10, Clayton said U.S. authorities would continue working with Homeland Security Investigations to combat illicit trafficking in cultural property and return stolen artworks to their origin countries.

The sculptures were stolen from Indonesian archaeological sites and sold to an American collector by the late antiquities dealer Douglas Latchford. The sculptures were among 34 Southeast Asian antiquities voluntarily relinquished by the collector in 2021 after investigators determined they had been looted.

The Indonesian sculptures were removed decades ago by organized looters before entering the international art market through Latchford, a Bangkok-based dealer who was indicted by U.S. authorities in 2019 for allegedly orchestrating a large-scale trafficking scheme involving antiquities looted from Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries. The case was later dismissed following his death, the U.S. embassy said.

The FBI has previously assisted Indonesia in recovering stolen cultural objects, including bronze statues and artifacts from historical and archaeological sites, according to Zon, who expressed hope that the cooperation on cultural repatriation and restitution would continue.

Indonesia has intensified efforts in recent years to track down cultural treasures scattered abroad through colonial-era collecting, theft and illicit trafficking, including from the Netherlands, which colonized Indonesia for centuries.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner noted the timely white ibis in his welcoming remarks, joking with the crowd that it wouldn't be an event in Brisbane without the appearance of a “bin chicken,” as the bird is colloquially known.

There's a small, humorous push locally for the ibis to become a mascot for the Brisbane Games rather than one of Australia's more widely known native animals such as the kangaroo or the koala.

Schrinner didn't miss a beat and the bird moved off before the big digital Omega clock officially started counting down Thursday in the downtown Queen Street mall.

That was a matter of hours after the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority published revamped designs for the National Aquatic Center that will host Olympic events.

A ticking timeline

The new clock put even more emphasis on the diminishing time for construction for the Olympics, with no major works yet underway on the 3.6 billion Australian dollar ($2.6 billion) main stadium almost five years after Brisbane was awarded rights to the Summer Games.

Andrew Liveris, president of the Brisbane 2032 organizing committee, said there's no cause for panic.

“Six years is perfectly fine in construction, even under stress conditions,” he said. “I’m very confident that the contingencies are built (in) to allow that to happen.”

Liveris said he briefed IOC president Kirsty Coventry as recently as Monday in New York, in the wake of the World Cup final.

“We had a long conversation about timelines, venues, sports, and we’re confident it’s not 6 minutes to midnight,” he said.

The International Olympic Committee last year backed the Queensland government’s revised venue plan after several false starts, saying the Brisbane Games were “on the right path.”

There are still groups opposed to building major sports venues in the downtown parklands, and more general concern over rising costs of staging the Games.

GIICA, the coordination authority, only took over possession of the Victoria Park site for the 63,000-seat main stadium last month, after police removed protesters.

Questions over aquatic center revamp

It won't get control of the nearby site for the aquatic venue until September. Organizers haven't revealed if the temporary Olympic capacity — initially projected to be 25,000 — for the aquatic center had been scaled down to avoid cost blowouts.

Whatever that temporary capacity is, Schrinner said the legacy outcome — a permanent 8,000-seat venue — would be “fantastic.”

The Queensland state government, which is the major backer of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games with support from the federal and local governments, sent the original concept for the aquatics venue back to planning for budgetary reasons.

The Queensland “government is doing the responsible thing, in these conditions and changing costs,” Schrinner said. “You have to make adjustments to the plan, and that’s exactly what’s happening, it’s a responsible thing to do.”

More than a dozen new sports venues are in the pipeline, including a contentious rowing center in Rockhampton, a coastal city in Central Queensland. Critics argue the impact of tidal flow and crocodile habitat in the Fitzroy River make it unsuitable to host Olympic events.

Liveris said all venues were still going through validation reporting, including rowing.

“Right now we’ve had no red lights and some very good greens, and a couple of yellows,” he said. “And they’re being worked on for later this year.”

Liveris said he was preparing a revised “bottom-up budget” to present early next year, after the IOC has finalized the sports program.

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The two-day meeting hosted by the Food and Drug Administration has the backing of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has described himself as a “big fan” of peptides and vowed to overturn industry restrictions put in place under President Joe Biden.

Peptide supporters include podcaster Joe Rogan and wellness influencers such as Gary Brecka, a supporter of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda who sells peptide vials online. Social media platforms are brimming with testimonials from people claiming the substances helped them build muscle, recover from injuries or look younger.

Despite such support, the FDA’s two-day meeting is expected to showcase a stark split over the compounds.

FDA’s career scientists have made clear they don’t think there’s enough data to support making peptides more widely available, specifically from compounding pharmacies, which mix customized medicines that aren’t available from traditional drugmakers.

That’s also the stance of many medical and scientific experts who have weighed in ahead of the meeting.

“This is really alarming,” said Rita Jew, a pharmacist and president of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. "There aren’t that many other substances people are injecting into themselves where you see that the clinical evidence is so lacking.”

But the panel of outside advisers convened for the meeting includes at least seven doctors or pharmacists with financial ties to the peptide industry. The group includes owners of wellness clinics that sell peptides, pharmacies that produce the formulas and online consulting businesses that promote them. Other expert panels appointed under Kennedy have faced criticism for apparent conflicts of interest.

Earlier this week, the FDA added several additional experts to the 20-member panel, including academics who don't have connections to the industry.

FDA scientists remain unconvinced of peptide safety and health benefits

The experts will take votes on whether the FDA should allow seven popular peptides to be added to a list of substances that are safe for compounding by pharmacies. The votes aren't binding and the FDA has periodically bucked the recommendations of its outside experts.

Peptides are the building blocks of more complex proteins, triggering hormones inside the body needed for growth, metabolism and healing. Drug companies have brought several to market as medications, including mainstay treatments for diabetes and weight loss.

Peptide supporters have asked the FDA to consider the seven peptides under review this week for various medical conditions, including ulcerative colitis, migraines and opioid addiction.

In recent years, the FDA had warned Americans about the risks of injecting peptides like BPC-157 and TB-500, both of which are set for review on Thursday. The chemicals are promoted online as a way to recover from injuries and reduce inflammation. Both are considered doping substances by international sports authorities.

In a scientific review posted ahead of the meeting, FDA scientists reiterated their longstanding concerns. Again and again, regulators said they could find little data on safety or effectiveness and raised concerns about risks of contamination, allergic reactions and quality control. Most of the data they did find came from studies in animals, including rats, and not humans.

For all seven peptides reviewed, the staffers recommended against making them available for compounding.

Peptide supporters will push FDA to ease access

The FDA assessment is only one part of more than 18 hours of discussions and presentations scheduled across two days. The meeting also includes opportunities for members of the public to address the FDA and its experts.

Ahead of the meeting, the FDA received more than 1,900 public comments, including from doctors and patients attesting to the benefits of peptides.

“For many people, this is about a therapy that is helping them, and whether they can get it safely and legally from a regulated pharmacy instead of taking their chances in the gray market,” states the American Academy of Peptide Medicine, a group that includes doctors and wellness clinic operators who promote peptides. The group's website states that it is “an educational academy, not a licensing or accrediting body.”

After the meeting, the FDA will review the votes, discussion and public comments before making a decision on whether to ease access to the peptides.

FDA-watchers say the most likely outcome may be a temporary policy reassuring pharmacies that they won’t be targeted for compounding the peptides under review. Formally placing the substances on FDA's list of drugs that are safe for compounding would require new regulations, which can take months or years to draft.

“We’re still going through this process, but I think it’s more than likely that the process will end up at the result that Secretary Kennedy wants,” said Nathan Beaver, an attorney specializing in FDA issues.

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

Cellphone video of the shooting, where three gunshots could be heard, circulated on social media.

Madison Police Chief John Patterson stressed at a news conference that the footage circulating was just one perspective of what happened.

“I want to take a moment to honestly and sincerely offer my heartfelt sympathies to his family for this loss," Patterson said. The man killed was in his 30s, Patterson said, but police did not release his name.

The shooting happened on a city street in a popular neighborhood lined with restaurants, bars, shops and residential homes less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the state Capitol. Footage shows numerous cars stopped in the intersection with people watching as it unfolded.

A white police officer shot and killed Tony Robinson, who was biracial, on the same street in 2015, a shooting that spurred large protests. The district attorney did not file charges against police in that case, determining the officer was justified.

The race of the officer who fired his gun on Wednesday and that of the man killed were not released by police.

But Black advocacy groups in Madison quickly spoke out against the crime and said they believed the man was Black.

“Another Black man is dead on a Madison street, and our community watched him die before we even knew his name,” said Brandi Grayson, the head of the Madison-based Black community advocacy group Urban Triage. “That is the cruelty of state violence.”

A crowd formed near where the shooting occurred on Wednesday with people chanting, “Arrest the cops!”

They placed flowers and candles where the man was shot and held a vigil, the crowd continuing to grow as the sun set.

Protesters also marched to the Wisconsin State Capitol and took the stage at a summer concert series, demanding the name of the officer and that he be held accountable. The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra announced on social media the show was canceled.

Police were responding to calls that someone was attempting to enter parked vehicles in the neighborhood, Patterson said. The suspect fled on a bike through nearby backyards in an attempt to get away before officers contacted him in the street, Patterson said.

The suspect either fell off of his bike or was taken off of his bike by officers and during the struggle pulled out a knife and injured an officer, Patterson said. Police posted a picture of the knife in a news release.

An officer deployed a taser but it was unsuccessful, the chief said. The same officer who was injured by the knife fired his weapon and the man who was shot died later at the hospital, the chief said. He described the officer who fired his weapon as a veteran officer, but did not reveal any other details.

Another officer was injured, but it is not clear how, Patterson said. The other two officers were uninjured.

The Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation will investigate the shooting because it involves police officers. The four responding officers will be placed on administrative leave, per the police department's policy.

In a release, deputies said the sports car was going 137 mph when the OCSO’s Motors Unit encountered it.

Video released by the OCSO shows the Lamborghini weaving in and out of traffic as law enforcement gave chase on State Road 408.

Deputies eventually caught the vehicle and pulled the driver over, taking him into custody, the video shows.

“You’re being placed under arrest for dangerous excessive speed,” a deputy can be heard saying. “You’re going to be transported to the Orange County Jail, and I’m towing your car.”

137 mph in a Lamborghini.

That's what our Motors Unit encountered during a Super Speeder stop this morning.

Our efforts to curb super speeding continue every day. pic.twitter.com/4ZyX2ybiiY

— Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) July 22, 2026

That charge stems from a law that took effect last year, aimed at cracking down on highway speedsters.

WHAT IS THE “SUPER SPEEDER” LAW?

The law (HB 351) establishes a new criminal offense under state statutes: “dangerous excessive speeding.”

More specifically, the offense refers to situations where drivers:

• Go at least 50 mph over the speed limit
• Speed at 100 mph or more in a way that threatens the people or property around them

While reckless driving was already a crime in the state of Florida, courts had held that simply speeding too much didn’t necessarily count.

In addition, speeding itself is generally considered a noncriminal traffic infraction, punished primarily with fines.

As a result, HB 351 finally makes it so that excessive speeding is an arrestable offense. This is in addition to any applicable fines for speeding.

Under this law, someone who commits “dangerous excessive speeding” can be punished as follows:

• Upon a first conviction
• • Up to 30 days in jail;
  • A fine of $500; or
  • Both
• Upon subsequent convictions
• • Up to 90 days in jail;
  • A fine of $1,000;
  • Both
• Upon subsequent convictions within five years
• • Revocation of his/her driving privileges between 180 days to a year

On Wednesday, the Red Sox matched that streak from 80 years ago, beating the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 in the opener of a doubleheader.

The streak ended hours later when they dropped the nightcap 5-1.

“That was a great ride, a 15-game winning streak,” first baseman Willson Contreras in a quiet clubhouse. “There’s nothing to be sad about. We have to be happy. We should be proud of what we did and from now keep playing the way we’ve been playing.”

After the loss, interim manager Chad Tracy was ready to speak to the team but saw Contreras and pitcher Sonny Gray talking, so he let those veterans handle it.

“We just won 15 games in a row and I think all of us knew it was going to end at some point,” Tracy said.

After the earlier win, Tracy said he understood the historical significance.

“I’ve read some stuff. I know Ted Williams was around back then, so I’m aware of the year and how long it’s been,” he said. “It’s cool that they’ve accomplished something great.”

When the afternoon game ended, the Red Sox took a little more time than usual on the field to soak it in as The Standells’ song “Dirty Water” played in the background like it does after each victory in Fenway Park.

They also enjoyed the moment in the clubhouse.

“Oh, yeah, absolutely between the staff. We were realizing the guys were going crazy in the locker room — they always do — but even more emphasis right now with what we’re going through,” Tracy said. “Everybody enjoys it for sure.”

Boston fired manager Alex Cora after a 10-17 start and seemed to be in for a long season under Tracy. The Red Sox were 37-48 and last in the AL East on July 1 following a 10-2 loss to Washington.

Three weeks went by — a stretch including the All-Star break — before Boston (52-49) lost again.

Tracy is the first manager since the 19th century to lead a team to a win streak of 15 games or more who didn’t start the season in the job, according to MLB.

With a 6-3 lead after six innings, Caleb Durbin, who hit a tiebreaking homer in Monday’s win over Baltimore, started thinking about how many outs were left.

“I think in the seventh inning I’m counting them down a little bit,” he said, smiling.

After the final out, left fielder Jarren Duran said he was able to appreciate the cheering crowd when he met with center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela and right fielder Wilyer Abreu.

“When I get to go see (them), I take a look around and I get to enjoy that moment, that’s always fun,” he said.

With the organization in its 126th season, the streak has more meaning for some.

“You look back at it and think about where you’re doing it and how long this franchise has existed. It’s been incredible,” Durbin said.

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz, who grew up watching the Red Sox about 45 miles away in Fall River, Massachusetts, showed his respect.

“I mean, a 15-game heater is really impressive,” he said. “You know, its tough to win one game in the big leagues and them going 15 straight, it’s really impressive.”

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

Charlotte MacInnes alleged Wilson defamed her or breached her confidence in four social media posts from September 2024 to July 2025 by falsely suggesting she had withdrawn a sexual harassment complaint against one of the film’s producers to advance her career.

MacInnes denied ever making such a complaint but Justice Elizabeth Raper of the Federal Court of Australia ruled Wednesday that none of Wilson’s posts were defamatory.

The dispute stemmed from an incident in September 2023 when MacInnes and the producer went swimming at Sydney’s Bondi Beach before later sharing a bath at the apartment where they were staying. Wilson later said on Instagram that MacInnes told her the next day that the producer had asked her to bathe and shower with her, making her feel uncomfortable, but that MacInnes later retracted the complaint.

Raper ruled that MacInnes failed to prove Wilson’s posts caused serious harm to her reputation or that Wilson breached her confidence. She dismissed the case and ordered MacInnes to pay costs, according to a written judgement provided by the court.

Wilson, who starred in the “Pitch Perfect” films and “Bridesmaids,” thanked the judge and Australia’s legal system in an Instagram post, calling the ruling a “substantial win” and saying she looked forward to moving on.

MacInnes’ legal representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“The Deb,” a musical comedy about two teenage girls preparing for a debutante ball in a small rural town, is reportedly set for a U.S. digital release on Aug. 25.

Ramírez was activated from the injury list on Wednesday after the seven-time All-Star third baseman missed five weeks following left hand surgery. Cleveland stayed near the top of the AL Central while he was out, a testament to the young club's depth and resolve.

It wasn't easy.

“The last five weeks could have been a lot different, and it wasn’t,” manager Stephen Vogt said. "We kept our heads above water. You can use all the cliches you want, but we did not let the last five weeks determine the rest of our season.

“We had some low points. We had some high points, some in between. But really proud of what this group did over the last five weeks and we’ve got a lot of work left.”

Ramírez had been sidelined since getting hurt against Detroit on June 13 and having an operation to remove the hamate bone in his left hand.

The Guardians stayed afloat without Ramírez, going 15-15 and keeping pace with the division leaders.

In his first game back, Ramírez went 2 for 5 with an RBI and scored, but the Guardians were beaten 10-6 by the Twins. Not surprisingly, he made an immediate impact.

After receiving a warm ovation from Guardians fans, Ramírez singled in his first at-bat, hustled into second on a flyout and scored Cleveland's first run on a bloop single.

“Shows you what we missed,” Vogt said. “Gets a base hit, tags up right in the left fielder’s face, produces a run. I mean, just his presence. We felt like a lift up for the whole group today. Just so good to have him back.”

Twins manager Derek Shelton was equally impressed.

“He totally changes the dynamic of the lineup,” Shelton said. “You're talking about a guy they're going to build a statue next to (Larry) Doby and (Bob) Feller for. I was hoping it would be at the end of our series. You've got to give him credit. It's five weeks from a hamate with no rehab and he's back in major league games. That shows you what kind of player he is.”

Ramírez did not go on a minor league rehab assignment before being activated. The Guardians trusted him throughout his recovery. He had a similar injury to his right hand in 2019, the only other time he’s been on the injured list.

“Hosey's about winning,” Vogt said. “He’s not going to come back if he doesn’t believe that he can help us win. So it’s full trust in him, full trust in the medical staff. Everybody is on board with him being back in there today.”

Vogt said he would hold Ramírez back a little at the start.

“There’s going to be some limitations for him at first, but we’re going to be thoughtful about how much he plays, when he plays, things of that nature,” Vogt said. “But he’s done a great job of getting his body ready, which is most important and the wrist is feeling good.”

To make room for Ramírez, the Guardians optioned outfielder Kahlil Watson to Triple-A Columbus.

The 33-year-old Ramírez, who has numerous offensive club records, was batting .239 with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs in 72 games before getting hurt. The Guardians aren't the same without him in the lineup, and his mere presence should help a team that has struggled to score.

Watson played well in his stint with Guardians, batting .239 with one homer and 11 RBIs in 27 games. On Tuesday night, he made a game-ending leaping catch down the right-field line while crashing into the padded wall.

Vogt said Watson's contributions made his demotion a difficult decision.

“Khalil handled it like a true pro,” Vogt said. "He understood clearly. Not happy. No one wants to leave, but just the messaging was you came here when we needed you and you helped us. We saw an unbelievably talented player with Khalil Watson.

“He’s going to help us win a ton of games for a long time. It’s just not his time right now.”

Along with Ramírez, the Guardians could soon have outfielder Angel Martínez back as well. He's been out since June 13 with a non-displaced fracture when he fouled a pitch off his left foot. Martínez is on a rehab assignment at Double-A Akron and appears on the brink of being activated.

He went 1 for 4 with a walk Wednesday night.

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The call Tuesday night came at the union's request.

Players have been sharing threats and harassment they’ve received on social media over the last few weeks. Chelsea Gray of the Las Vegas Aces posted a message from a man that included a racial slur. The man was tracked down and fired from his job at Hilton Grand Vacations.

“The conversation underscored the importance of addressing issues early through proactive communication and strengthening the league-union relationship,” the league and union said in a joint statement Wednesday. “The league committed to continuing to enhance security resources and will work with the players’ union to explore collaborations with organizations that share the values of our league and advance our shared priorities.”

Dealing with abuse toward players has been a priority of the league the last few years, including the “No Space for Hate” platform that was introduced last season. Part of that program included the use of AI technology that players can use to filter out hateful comments.

When harassment escalates, the league's security office launches an investigation.

Additional steps that were discussed in the meeting included pursuing accountability from tech companies and having more streamlined conversations between the WNBA and law enforcement.

“The biggest thing was communication,” WNBPA secretary Elizabeth Williams told reporters at shootaround Wednesday before her Chicago team played New York. “Communication from Cathy and the league side being a little more consistent, so we feel more comfortable.”

Alyssa Thomas received death threats and social media vitriol after she hit Caitlin Clark in the throat a few weeks ago. No foul was called on the play, but the league upgraded it to a Flagrant-2 foul and suspended her for a game. Thomas said at the time she hadn't heard from the league about the threats she had received.

Natasha Cloud, who previously said Engelbert hasn't done enough to help the players, backed off a bit on Tuesday.

“There’s only so much that the league can do because people are going to be miserable and they’re going to be continue to be hateful human beings,” the Sky guard said Tuesday after practice. “We can find these IP addresses. We can make sure that bans are banned for life from certain arenas, certain teams, certain leagues.”

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

The public can tour the majestic room and view its gilded ceilings and Greek frescoes en route to the nearby Mona Lisa, but they won’t see any crown jewels or empty display cases. The collections and precious jewels once displayed there have been removed, as the museum said the gallery is returning to its 17th-century original ceremonial purpose.

The stolen jewels remain unrecovered nine months later.

The gallery's former exhibits will be relocated elsewhere in the museum, said Christophe Leribault, the Louvre's director. “It’s also an opportunity to rediscover the splendid architecture and decor of this gallery,” he said.

Leribault was named to lead the Louvre in February after previous director Laurence des Cars resigned after the October crown jewels heist and a string of failures that battered confidence in the leadership of the world’s most-visited museum.

“That sinister day, when iconic pieces were taken, cannot be forgotten, and indeed, I believe, should not be,” said French Culture Minister Catherine Pegard. “It was a trauma for the entire world, which, for several days, expressed its shock and sadness in every language. It was a trauma for us, discovering the fragility of a place we thought unshakeable, and which, like so many others, proved vulnerable.”

Security at the Paris museum has been boosted with the addition of new surveillance cameras and anti-intrusion systems.

On the day of the heist, thieves took less than eight minutes to force their way through a window into the Apollo Gallery and steal crown jewels valued at 88 million euros ($102 million), in a weekend operation that stunned visitors and exposed glaring security vulnerabilities.

Security improvement is a priority of the decade-long “Louvre New Renaissance” plan launched last year, with an estimated cost of up to 800 million euros ($933 million) to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Mona Lisa a dedicated gallery by 2031.

It was Boston’s first loss since a 10-2 setback to Washington at Fenway Park on July 1.

The Red Sox won the opener 6-3 to match the club's 80-year-old record. Boston's 1946 team that won 15 straight was led by Ted Williams and won the American League pennant.

This year's Red Sox streak was the longest in the majors since St. Louis also won 15 straight in September of 2021.

Dylan Beavers had a two-run single in a four-run first inning for Baltimore, which avoided a three-game sweep and won for the 11th time in 16 games.

Masataka Yoshida had an RBI single for Boston.

The Orioles had a season-high seven-game winning streak halted in the series opener on Monday before a rainout Tuesday.

Making his first start after agreeing to a $90 million, five-year contract for 2027-31 on Saturday, the 29-year-old Bradish (7-9) gave up four hits with four strikeouts and a walk.

Three Orioles relievers combined to allow one hit.

After the Red Sox took a 4-0 lead in the day game, Baltimore knocked out Eduardo Rivera (0-1), who retired only two batters, with its four runs.

The first run came in on Rivera's wild pitch. After Beavers made it 3-0 with his single, he scored on Johnathan Rodriguez’s double off the Green Monster.

Up next

Orioles: Haven’t named a starter for their series opener at home on Friday against Atlanta.

Red Sox: Host last-place Toronto for a three-game series starting Friday.

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

The fire in rural Guadalajara comes less than two weeks after a deadly blaze devastated a small expat community in southern Spain. That small but extremely virulent fire killed 13 people, including several foreigners, in one of the southern European country's deadliest wildfires.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday visited the fire-ravaged area in Guadalajara, and called for a pact between political parties to fight climate change.

“Year after year we clearly see how climate change kills and destroys wealth in our communities,” Sánchez said in the village of Tamajón, located less than two hours by car northeast of Madrid. “This isn’t politics. It is science, it’s about facts.”

Some 34 villages have been evacuated in the area but there are no reported serious injuries or deaths. Over 200 firefighters were supported by land vehicles and aircraft on Wednesday.

Spain this year has already suffered 22 major forest fires, defined as a fire that burns over 500 hectares (1,235 acres.)

The Socialist leader said over 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) had already been scorched through the first half of the year, matching the total yearly average for Spain over the last decade.

Spain’s Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, described the Guadalajara fire as “one of the largest in the recent history of our country” and the largest ever for the region of Castilla La Mancha.

The Guadalajara blaze is the second-largest on record in Spain’s history after some 37,000 hectares (91,000 acres) were burned last year in the northwest of the country, according to data from the ecological transition ministry, as cited by EFE news agency.

Regional authorities said firefighters supported by water-dumping aircraft had so far protected homes in all 40 villages in the burned area, 90% of which belongs to a national park. Firefighters hope to have the nearly week-old fire under control by Friday, said Emiliano García-Page, regional president of Castilla La Mancha.

Miguel Ángel Moreno, mayor of the village of Zarzuela de Jadraque, said its 100 residents were evacuated Friday, with 14 taking refuge at a Red Cross shelter.

Moreno said that the firefighters should receive as much admiration as the soccer players who won the World Cup on Sunday.

The firefighters “had to run from one side of the village to the other putting out fires,” Moreno told Spanish national television TVE. “Besides the heroes who won the World Cup, we have other heroes who remain nameless.”

New heat wave could complicate firefighting efforts

Spain’s weather agency said a heat wave that began Tuesday was expected to reach its peak between Wednesday and Thursday, with temperatures pushing 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in several inland areas and crossing 42 Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) in parts of Andalusia, in southern Spain.

Guadalajara and large areas of Spain were under alert for high temperatures.

Like many other European countries, Spain is experiencing extreme heat, which is combining with wind and limited rainfall to create ideal conditions for small wildfires to grow unchecked.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as quickly as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing severe heat waves across Europe. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness especially in southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires.

Europe facing hot, dry weather

In Sicily, firefighters said they had carried out more than 1,000 operations since Saturday and have put all the Italian island’s fire departments on double shifts to cope with the blazes.

The latest was a wildland-urban blaze in Agrigento, in central western Sicily that required the evacuation of 100 people from homes and a clinic, with 22 patients transferred to other facilities, the national service said. Firefighters were particularly concerned about an oxygen storage plant nearby.

For days, Italy’s Civil Protection agency has declared all of Sicily at the highest risk for wildfires. Winds and temperatures near or above 40C (100F) have fueled blazes from near Palermo on the northern coast to Catania in the east and now Agrigento in the west.

Greece was sweltering under what was forecast to be the last of a four-day heat wave. Temperatures were predicted to top 42 C (107 F), while several regions in southern and central Greece, including the wider Athens area, were on the highest alert level for wildfire danger.

Cyprus, meanwhile, issued a warning for high temperatures expected to reach 43 C (109 F).

In Britain, it hasn’t rained in more than a month in some areas, and much of the southern half of England is in a state of “prolonged dry weather,” one step before a drought. Thames Water, the country’s biggest water company, has banned its 10 million customers from using hoses to water lawns or wash cars starting Thursday.

France's public health agency on Wednesday said the country recorded at least 5,700 more deaths than usual during a historic heatwave last month, sharply increasing its estimates of the feared toll from record-shattering temperatures.

Public Health France said regions hit by the heat between June 17 and July 2 recorded 21,674 deaths from all causes. But without a heatwave, those same regions would have been expected to have seen far fewer deaths, or 15,910, based on statistical modeling using data from previous years, it said.

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Nicole Winfield in Rome, Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, Jill Lawless in London and John Leicester in Paris contributed to this report.

The National Hurricane Center said Bertha made landfall in the afternoon in St. Bernard Parish, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of New Orleans. At landfall, Bertha's maximum sustained winds were around 45 mph (72 kph), and were expected to remain at that intensity until the storm reaches the upper Texas coast on Thursday.

The wind and storm surge were the main threats for the Deep South states. Parks and piers were closed up and down the coast, as were some low-lying roads. A tropical storm warning stretched from Alabama to Louisiana, including New Orleans where extreme heat was adding to misery.

By Thursday evening, the storm's center was located about 40 miles (70 kilometers) southwest of New Orleans.

Onlookers watched the storm surge at the Lake Pontchartrain estuary, with kids splashing in the floodwaters as Bertha approached the Louisiana Coast. Residents mowed their lawns even as streets filled up with water.

Tropical storm force winds were felt as much as 160 miles (260 kilometers) from the center of the storm, the National Hurricane Center said. A wind gust of 44 mph (71 kph) was recorded at New Orleans Lakefront Airport on Wednesday afternoon.

The strong gales knocked over a Waffle House sign onto a car in Panama City Beach, Florida.

But the heaviest rains were staying offshore, reducing the risks of flooding, the center said.

The storm is unlikely to leave behind widespread damage, Louisiana State Climatologist Jay Grymes said. The impact should be manageable for coastal communities, he said.

Gov. Jeff Landry called the forecast “encouraging” but also warned residents to be prepared for some flooding.

Storm surges up to 3 feet (1 meter) were possible in Louisiana and Alabama, forecasters said. Rain totals were forecast between 1 and 4 inches (3 to 10 centimeters), with higher amounts possible in isolated areas.

Bertha is expected to dissipate inland in Texas by Friday, the hurricane center said.

Elsewhere in the U.S., a line of storms on Tuesday generated reports of tornadoes stretching from Cincinnati to New Jersey. Torrential rains caused flash floods that swamped homes, washed out bridges and led to water rescues in West Virginia, authorities said.

Rare combination of tropical storm and heat warnings

Southern Louisiana was under tropical storm and extreme heat warnings for much of Wednesday — a rare double dose of suffering, the National Weather Service said.

It was the first time in at least two decades that’s happened in the area, the weather service said, citing records that date back to 2005.

Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic season

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

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

Hurricane Fausto in the Pacific is far from land

In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto churned far from land Wednesday. The hurricane was hundreds of miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph).

It was forecast to gradually strengthen and the hurricane center said that ocean swells generated by Fausto were spreading along the Baja California coast and likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip tides.

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Associated Press journalists Julie Walker in New York, Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama, and Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Families shopping for kindergarten through 12th grade students plan to spend an average of $863.86 on supplies — about $5 more than last year, the NRF survey found.

Where the money is going

Mark Mathews, the NRF’s chief economist and executive director of research, said rising electronics and shoe prices are the biggest factors pushing totals higher.

“I think there’s definitely an expectation that prices are going to be higher for certain goods,” Mathews said.

Here’s how the average K-12 back-to-school budget breaks down, according to the NRF:

• Electronics: ~$293
• Clothing: ~$250
• Shoes: ~$174
• School supplies: ~$146

Ways to save on K-12 supplies

Mathews said the good news is that retailers are already rolling out sales and discounts — and shopping early can make a real difference.

“One thing that helps you with is to spread that spending across the entire season because these are not small sums of money that people are having to spend to get their kids back to school,” he said.

College students face even steeper costs

Families shopping for college students can expect to spend an average of $1,437.79 this year — about $111 more than last year, according to the NRF survey.

Mathews said computer prices are the main driver.

“If we look at computers, we know that chip prices are incredibly high and that’s pushing some of the cost of computers and this is a big ticket item,” he said.

To help offset costs, many top computer manufacturers offer payment plans. Some also offer student discounts between 5% and 10%.

The closed-door briefing for committee members comes in the wake of two shootings in which ICE officers shot and killed two immigrants that they were trying to arrest, raising concerns over the agency's tactics at a time that it is ratcheting up its arrests.

The shootings in Maine and Houston over the span of a week have led to fierce criticism that there's not enough oversight of the agency key to President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda. At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration agents since Trump launched the crackdown after retaking office, and in the Maine shooting, family members of the ICE officer who opened fire say he had a history of violent behavior and never should have been given a badge and gun.

Rep. Seth Magaziner, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said they were told during the briefing that there have been 56 complaints of excessive force against ICE officers; 32 were cleared, and one was referred for disciplinary action. Magaziner said they were told no discipline had yet been handed out. The rest of the incidents are still under investigation, he said.

“It just defies belief that an agency of 20,000-plus officers with all of the chaos that we’ve seen over the last year and a half through the surges and civilians being injured and killed, that no one would be found to have violated use of force with the exception of possibly one person,” Magaziner said.

Homeland Security said in a statement Wednesday that ICE officers who violate the agency's policies are held accountable, their officers are trained in de-escalation tactics and take an annual refresher course on use of force policies. The agency also defended its officers, saying they are operating in an environment where they are constantly being attacked.

“When faced with dangerous circumstances, DHS law enforcement professionals have used their training to protect themselves, their fellow officers, and the public,” the agency said.

The use-of -force numbers mark an increase since February, when then-acting director Todd Lyons said during Senate testimony that ICE had opened 37 investigations for excessive force; 18 of those were closed, 19 were still pending, and one was referred for “further action,” Lyons said.

The ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, said the ICE officials could not discuss the shootings in Maine or Houston, as those are both open investigations. Thompson, who said he came away with more questions than answers from the briefing, said he wanted to know who investigates use of force incidents: “Sometimes they said the FBI, sometimes they said HSI. Sometimes they said another entity.”

The officials said they were going to retrain officers who had gone through a shorter curriculum that was in place last fall, Thompson said. In June, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the agency would be increasing the amount of training for new officers starting this month.

Thompson said he pressed for answers about how many officers had been brought back for retraining and how they're being retrained but couldn't get any clarity.

Thompson said he and the committee chair, Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., will follow up with ICE with a list of questions.

Garbarino said he appreciated ICE briefing the members.

“Today was an important opportunity for Members to receive timely answers on the status of body camera deployment for law enforcement in the field, training and vetting standards and requirements, and current guidance on the use of vehicle stops as part of immigration enforcement,” Garbarino said in a statement.

When it comes to vehicle stops, Magaziner said they were told that current guidance to ICE officers is to only do them when there’s no other alternative, and they’re supposed to use lights and sirens. But, Magaziner said, that guidance has only been passed along verbally to the staff as opposed to a written directive.

Both the shootings in Maine and Houston involved shootings of immigrants who were in moving vehicles, raising questions about ICE’s training and policies surrounding how it tries to apprehend people when they’re driving.

After the Maine killing, Trump administration officials told ICE officers to suspend most vehicle stops. But the next day, Trump announced on social media that he wanted ICE to keep doing them.

U.S. Central Command said the attacks were designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters,” as the Americans push to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz and restore the flow of international shipping.

President Donald Trump warned earlier Wednesday that the U.S. would destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in the strait.

“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” Trump wrote on social media.

The continued American airstrikes are occurring even as diplomatic efforts show little public sign of progress and officials on both sides have dug in on the dispute over the crucial waterway for global energy that remains largely closed. The unpopular war threatens further worldwide economic disruption and is sending fuel prices up ahead of midterm U.S. elections this fall.

Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said his country would adopt an “eye for an eye” defense doctrine.

“Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response,” he posted Wednesday on X.

Iranian state media reported that U.S. missiles struck locations late Wednesday near the cities of Ahvaz, Ramshir and Andimeshk in western Iran. Two people were killed in a U.S. missile strike in the town of Shalamcheh on the Iraqi boarder, Iranian state media said early Thursday.

Meanwhile, military officials in Kuwait said on social media that their air defenses were “confronting attacks by hostile drones, following the sinful Iranian aggression.”

Iran has responded to U.S. attacks by targeting energy infrastructure and desalination plants that provide drinking water in parched neighboring Gulf countries.

International law generally prohibits such attacks unless the infrastructure is being used for military purposes.

The costs of war are mounting

The closure of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passed during peacetime, has jolted the world economy with effects far beyond the Middle East. A new threat by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen to target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea puts another trade chokepoint at risk.

Trump traveled to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday for the arrival of the remains of four U.S. service members. A day earlier Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth estimated in a fiery Senate hearing that the U.S. had spent $37.5 billion on the war so far.

Benchmark Brent crude oil rose to more than $93 a barrel in trading. That's up from less than $72 early this month, which is roughly where it was before the war. Gasoline prices are also climbing.

Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and potentially charge fees in the strait, which was open to all and toll-free before the war. It has attacked ships using a route through the strait that is overseen by U.S. forces and intended to be outside Tehran's control.

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who has led negotiations with the U.S., appeared to brush off Trump's threats.

“We have repeatedly said that the situation of the strait will not return to prewar conditions," he wrote on social media..

Diplomatic efforts show no signs of progress

Before the latest strikes, Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, seeking to revive diplomacy. But it was unclear what new arrangement might be reached to end the war, which lately has become a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's Interior Ministry spokesman Ali Zeinivand said “diplomacy isn’t called off” and that messages were still being exchanged, without elaborating, according to IRNA.

An Arab diplomat said Gulf states are increasingly pessimistic about finding an off-ramp for escalating hostilities and are particularly concerned about the latest round of threats.

The diplomat said countries in the region, in addition to Pakistan and Turkey, are continuing to push for de-escalation. But, he said the chances for any improvement currently appear bleak. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

At a regional summit in the Philippines, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced Iran’s actions in the strait.

“If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” he said.

Rubio said the U.S. remains open to negotiations with Iran, “but right now they don’t seem to be serious about that” so instead the focus is on protecting shipping.

In response to Iran’s attacks, the U.S. re-imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.

Trump signals US may attack underground nuclear site

Speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump gave a dim view on possible talks, saying the U.S. had “no interest in meeting.”

He signaled that U.S. forces could soon target an under-construction Iranian nuclear site buried deep under a mountain.

The site, known as Pickaxe Mountain, lies on the south side of Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site, which was bombed by the U.S. during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in 2025. But Pickaxe Mountain has remained untouched as Iran continues to dig at the site.

Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, while resuming the enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade levels since Trump scrapped a 2015 nuclear deal during his first term.

___

Binkley and Toropin reported from Washington. Contributing were Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Michelle L. Price and Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles.

It shows two adults and five children sitting at a table at the restaurant ‘@ The Diner’ last Sunday. At the end of the video, they leave.

What the video does not show is the adults paying the bill. That’s because the owners of the restaurant say there was no payment -- just a dine and dash.

“They never asked for the check,” Anthony, co-owner of @ The Diner, told News 6 Wednesday. “They never got the check. The server was making drinks for another table.”

Anthony and his mom, Diane, sat down with News 6 at their Universal Boulevard location -- the same location where they say the people in question bailed on the bill.

“They came in with the intention of eating and not paying,” Diane argued.

After the group left Sunday and employees had realized what happened, Diane said she got the phone number that the adults had left with the hostess stand.

“We immediately start texting and calling,” Diane recalled. ‘Ignore, ignore, ignore,’ until finally I said to them, ‘I’m reporting them to the police and we’re gonna post this.’ Then, we got a reaction, but the reaction was gloating, ‘I don’t care, you’ll just make me more famous.’"

After days of obfuscation and deflection from the alleged dine and dashers, Diane and Anthony called the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and filed a report.

The report has a breakdown of the alleged stolen goods and services, and characterizes the adults in question as “persons of interest.”

Diane and Anthony told News 6 that they would not proceed with pressing charges if the two people paid the bill and issued a public apology.

“We want accountability,” Anthony said. “You didn’t just do this, but you did it with kids, too, so we want accountability.”

Shortly after our conversation on camera, Anthony told News 6 that the man in question called and agreed to pay the check.

Around the same time that we confirmed the payment was processed, News 6 was able to get in touch with the man listed as a person of interest in the report.

Over the phone, News 6 tried to ask him questions about the incident, but he insisted that the conversation be conducted over Zoom, where he said he wanted to issue a public apology.

After about 20 minutes of waiting, it appeared that he bailed on the Zoom.

Gerald Tucker is accused of using his truck as a deadly weapon after deputies say he rammed a sales van carrying five people inside a Leesburg neighborhood.

The incident happened June 29 at the Plantation at Leesburg according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators said it began when a member of a door-to-door sales crew knocked on Gerald Tucker’s door.

According to an arrest report, the company was already doing window installation work in the area and offered Tucker a free estimate. Deputies said Tucker “was not happy about them being there and told them to leave.”

Investigators said the situation escalated when a manager arrived to pick up the canvasser. According to deputies, the manager saw Tucker chasing the crew down the street in his truck.

Body camera video released by the sheriff’s office shows Tucker speaking with deputies after the incident.

“I was parked right here, diagonally in the road,” Tucker said in the video.

When asked why by the deputy, he responded, “To stop them from going.”

Deputies said Tucker followed the sales crew through the neighborhood and repeatedly tried to block their vehicle. The sheriff’s office also released cellphone video it said was recorded by one of the passengers inside the van.

Investigators said the chase ended when Tucker drove his truck into the van while five people were inside.

In body camera video, a deputy asks Tucker why he was following the group.

“You’re not supposed to solicit in here,” Tucker responded.

Tucker was arrested and charged with five counts of battery with a deadly weapon. He was released the next day on a $10,000 bond.

Tucker and the HOA were contacted for comment, including questions about whether he is still serving on the board, whether he will face any disciplinary action and what the HOA wants residents to know. No response had been received as of this report.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey sent hundreds of National Guard members to the hardest-hit areas in the northern part of the state and declared a state of emergency for all 55 counties Tuesday night. The state Division of Natural Resources has been involved in 85 rescues, he said, and 19 National Guard and state police helicopters were either out on rescue missions or standing by if needed.

Three shelters were opened Wednesday that housed a total of more than 100 residents, the governor said at a news conference.

Governor says he is concerned about any fatalities

Asked if anyone was unaccounted for, Morrisey replied: “We don’t have an exact number but we are concerned about fatalities,” adding that “as soon as we have more information” officials will provide details.

“This is a time for West Virginians to come together to do everything possible, not only to pray for all those who are affected, but we’re going to need a lot of help in the days and weeks ahead,” he said. “Let’s help these communities rebuild.”

Lars Dalseide, Morrisey’s communications director, said in an email Wednesday night that “any specific information related to the flooding will only be released after established procedures are followed and the relevant facts are verified to ensure accuracy.”

Sgt. 1st Class Ariana Shuemake, the West Virginia National Guard’s public affairs officer, referred questions on whether there were any deaths to the governor's office.

Emails seeking similar information weren’t immediately returned by West Virginia Department of Homeland Security spokesman Andy Malinoski and the heads of the Lewis and Upshur county offices of emergency management.

Forecasters said up to 7 inches (18 centimeters) of rain fell. Morrisey said some places received 4.5 inches (11.4 centimeters) in 37 minutes.

“There’s no place for the water to go,” he said.

Dozens of people are rescued from vehicles stranded in floodwater

Video and photos on social media showed submerged vehicles in parking lots, including at a Walmart in Weston where muddy water surged far into the store. Across a nearby highway, a hotel’s main floor was inundated.

Emergency crews reported dozens of rescues of people stuck in submerged vehicles. However, some rescuers were unable to get to locations where floodwaters had cut off access.

Officials in some communities were still waiting for floodwaters to recede Wednesday before figuring out where the public can drop off donated supplies. Buckhannon Mayor Robbie Skinner said one such place will be West Virginia Wesleyan College.

“This is heartbreaking,” Skinner said. “This is not something you want to see in your hometown. But we will get past it. We will get through it.”

Rains were part of series of storms stretching from Ohio to New York City suburbs

The heavy rains were part of wide-ranging storms — which also produced reports of tornadoes — stretching from the Cincinnati area across New Jersey to the New York City suburbs. Damage from a possible tornado was reported in the area of St. Marys and Belmont in West Virginia.

The ground was already saturated after storms dumped more than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain throughout the state on Saturday.

Although the rain had cleared out Wednesday, flood warnings remained in several counties for low-lying areas and areas near rivers and creeks. Flood watches were posted for a large swath from eastern Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina.

Emergency service communication channels buzzed with activity late Tuesday night in West Virginia’s Lewis and Upshur counties, which have about 40,000 residents combined. First responders performed water rescues Tuesday night into Wednesday, Lewis County Commissioner Agnes Quinn Queen said.

“The devastation across our county is extensive,” she said in a social media post.

Floodwaters forced the closure of portions of Interstate 79, U.S. Route 48 and numerous secondary roads. A sinkhole caused by the storm swallowed a vehicle at a bar in Fayetteville.

Tuesday’s storms occurred a decade after 23 people died when heavy rains fell for hours over the same areas.

Data from a U.S. Geological Survey water gauge showed one creek tributary, Sand Run, rose to a record level near Buckhannon, topping the mark set during a November 1985 flood event that resulted in 47 deaths statewide.

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Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

On the second day of a preliminary hearing for D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, Los Angeles police criminalists described collecting samples of possible blood and DNA from his garage, where prosecutors allege Burke dismembered her body, and from his Tesla, where the body was found months later.

Burke has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, sexual abuse of a child and mutilation of a body, and his lawyers have said he did not cause Rivas Hernandez’s death.

Techs test and swab Burke's garage and car

On Tuesday, authorities had said they had evidence that Burke had purchased chain saws, an inflatable pool and a shovel that were used to kill and dismember the teen who had known him for several years and even traveled to London with him.

On Wednesday, the testimony focused on the forensic evidence authorities said they found that they say proves he killed her and got rid of the body by hiding it in a Tesla that was registered to him.

Lauren Wallace, a criminalist with the Los Angeles Police Department, testified that she found apparent blood stains on rubber mats on the floor of the garage in Burke’s Hollywood home, as well as slits — most likely from a sharp object — on the mats. Prosecutors said in a filing before the hearing that blood found in the garage matched Rivas Hernandez's DNA.

Wallace testified that she did not find blood evidence on two chain saws in the garage that purchase records showed Burke had ordered soon after the girl's death.

But she said she sprayed the floor mats with a chemical that shows possible blood stains otherwise not visible by the naked eye by making it glow blue. A photo showed the whole area cloaked in bright blue, bringing soft gasps from people in the courtroom.

And she said possible blood evidence was found on garbage bags and cleaning wipes, and a rowing machine in the garage.

Another LAPD criminalist, Chelsea Murillo, found fewer and smaller but similar stains in the Tesla.

The defense pressed the witnesses over every step of the evidence collection process, attempting to show lapses in preserving potential crime scenes. Burke's attorney, Blair Berk, asked who had been wearing gloves — or not — with access to the car, and why Murillo didn't swab for DNA on the outside of the Tesla.

“It didn’t seem necessary,” Murillo said.

Defense attorneys often use preliminary hearings to explore potential weaknesses in the prosecution's case that can be exploited at trial.

Prosecutors say Burke killed to keep his career

Prosecutors are seeking to prove Burke, an indie-pop singer whose music and online presence brought him a huge following, began a sexual relationship with Rivas Hernandez when she was 13 and he was 18.

They said in a court filing that she had grown jealous of his relationships with other women and threatened to expose him and ruin his career the night before she was killed.

The court filing said he sent a car to pick her up on the night of April 23, 2025, and stabbed her when she arrived at his Hollywood home.

Prosecutors say he kept the body for weeks or months in the front trunk of the Tesla, where it was found after the car was towed 4 1/2 months later in September.

Los Angeles police homicide detective Joshua Byers testified earlier that when he was called to the Hollywood tow yard he found a body bag with a head and torso inside, and garbage bags with arms and legs. Byers testified that records showed Burke had bought such a body bag on Amazon, along with the chain saws and other tools prosecutors say were used in the dismemberment.

Wallace testified that a third chain saw that police said Burke had ordered was not found.

Rivas Hernandez's passport found by highway

A California Highway Patrol officer testified that a road worker in January had found Rivas Hernandez’s passport in a brushy dirt area in a rural section of Santa Barbara County, about 95 miles (150 kilometers) northwest of Burke’s Hollywood home.

Prosecutors have said Burke made two trips to the area, once on the night of the killing and again about six weeks later, where data shows he was at the spot where the passport was found.

Rivas Hernandez’s parents, Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martinez, have been in the audience both days. They are not expected to testify.

The defendant, who has been held without bail since his arrest, appeared in court in his orange jail clothes and glasses.

D4vd made millions between 2023 and 2025

Financial witnesses testified that Burke’s music had earned him at least $10 million between 2023 and 2025.

Under the name D4vd (pronounced “David”), he began writing and recording songs for YouTube videos he created of the video game Fortnite as a teen.

The music was a blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop and made him a phenomenon on TikTok, Soundcloud and Spotify, where his top songs, including his 2022 breakthrough “Romantic Homicide,” have more than a billion plays.

In 2023, he released two EPs and opened for SZA on tour. Last year, he performed at the Coachella music festival and released a full album that he was on tour promoting when the body was discovered.

The surveillance footage from the U.S. Attorney's Office offered the most complete look yet at the bizarre episode Monday morning outside 26 Federal Plaza, which didn’t seriously injure anyone but led to arson charges against Andrew Arrabaca, a former U.S. Army soldier.

Prosecutors say Arrabaca, 43, confessed to carrying out the attack and has been jailed without bail.

The video shows Arrabaca, who arrived at the building with a little wagon filled with supplies, setting up a large fireworks dispenser, capable of rapidly firing off dozens of rockets.

He ignites it, and rockets start shooting out into the air — then everywhere as the tube shooting off the projectiles topples over.

One hits his wagon and explodes. Others shoot down the sidewalk and into the street as cars drive past.

New Yorkers are famed for their ability to coolly ignore outlandish things happening in front of them, but the reaction of some passersby showed an Olympic level of minding your business.

One pair calmly walks past Arrabaca and the spewing fireworks as if nothing is happening, even as a rocket narrowly misses them and explodes right next to them in a shower of red sparks and smoke. But they dash for cover when Arrabaca pulls out a weapon that looks like a rifle — authorities said it was a pellet gun — and points it toward them.

Finally, Arrabaca dumps out a bucket full of what appears to be bottles, lighting up a large blaze on the sidewalk that engulfs the steps leading to the building's entrance. At one point during the commotion, a person rides by on a bicycle.

The building houses offices for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI and other federal agencies and has been a hub of protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Officials said Arrabaca was toting an anti-ICE sign and made “anti-government and anti-American statements” as he was being arrested. He also had with him two axes, three fixed-blade knives, a hammer and a machete.

Three people sustained minor injuries, including a person who had an immigration court hearing at the building. According to federal prosecutors, Arrabaca plotted the attack for months and considered striking other New York City targets.

He went to upstate New York to buy weapons and Pennsylvania to buy fireworks, prosecutors said. Outside the Manhattan building, he was tackled by a security officer after authorities say he dumped gasoline outside an employee entrance and set the sidewalk on fire.

At Arrabaca's hearing Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky said he was “quite clearly ill."

Arrabaca was living in his car and slept in a park the night before the attack, prosecutors said. In 2020, he was prescribed medication for a mental health condition, but he stopped taking it about a year later.

His defense attorney suggested that he be sent to a locked ward at a Veterans Health Administration facility for a mental health evaluation, but he was ordered jailed then evaluated there.

Arrabaca repaired Patriot missile systems while in the Army from 2001 to 2004. He also served a year in the New York Army National Guard. He had no deployments and left the Army as a specialist, an Army spokesperson said.

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Associated Press reporter Safiyah Riddle contributed.

In it’s latest Regional Price Parities report, the agency gave the Miami metro area — which includes cities like Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton and Hialeah — a score of 114.155.

That eked out the New York metro area’s score of 112.563. A score of 100 represents the national average, meaning both regions still suffer a high cost of living.

The news comes after years of massive migration to the Sunshine State, with nearly 900,000 people moving to Florida in 2024 alone, per the U.S. Census Bureau. Over 50,000 of these people were from New York.

Meanwhile, a recent report by MovingPlace reveals that nearly 200,000 people left New York City between May 2024 and October 2025 — primarily lower-income earners (those who earn under $200,000 annually).

But the report also shows that many New York City residents have been moving to the Sunshine State in particular, with the Miami metro area being the No. 2 destination in the country.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE FOR MIAMI?

In his latest forecast, UCF economist Sean Snaith said that South Florida real estate developers are placing their bets on Miami, with several major projects developing in the city’s financial core.

This includes the fully approved Citadel tower, which is set to become the tallest office building in the region.

“Developers said investment is concentrating in areas immediately surrounding the urban core — including Brickell, Downtown, and Edgewater — where proximity to commercial districts, walkability, and new infrastructure are driving continued construction activity," he writes.

The report further highlights the MSC Group’s $100 million Miami headquarters, which is expected to create up to 1,500 additional jobs over the next few years.

In all, over $1 billion has been attracted in new capital investment from over 100 companies pushing into the county, bringing in thousands of jobs and generating millions in annual county tax revenue.

So while the cost of living may be going up, it appears as though the area is expected to keep growing thanks to big building projects and new companies, with unemployment staying low, though further job growth may be slow.

Trump paid respects to four U.S. service members who were killed in the Middle East and returned to their families at an Air Force base in Delaware. It was the third dignified transfer that Trump has attended since he launched the war in Iran in February.

Earlier in the day, Trump warned Iran that the U.S. will destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The warning came after the U.S. carried out another wave of strikes on Iran, where air defenses opened fire over the capital, Tehran.

Here's the latest:

Endangered right whales could wait almost a decade for new US protections

New protections for endangered right whales in the North Atlantic would be postponed for nearly a decade under a plan that cleared a key hurdle in Washington with the full-throated support of the fishing and lobster industries.

Environmentalists say this could spell the end for the vanishing whales, which can drown after getting tangled up in fishing gear or being struck by boats. There are only about 380 North Atlantic right whales left.

The federal government has already paused any new right whale rules until 2028, and the House Natural Resources Committee voted on July 15 to extend that moratorium to 2035. A vote by the Republican-controlled Congress could happen as soon as this summer, and is almost certain to pass.

President Donald Trump ’s administration has thrown its support behind U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine, in his efforts to further delay new regulations aimed at protecting right whales.

Fishing industries say they already follow some of the most comprehensive conservation measures in the world and more rules might drive them out of business.

▶ Read more

Republicans in Congress continue to back Iran war despite the political risk

Republicans on Capitol Hill are walking a cautious election-year line on the Iran war as it future seems increasingly uncertain and polls show most Americans think the war isn’t worth fighting.

The potential political peril has only grown in recent days, particularly for Republicans facing reelection in November. But while some GOP lawmakers say they want more information from the administration on the endgame and the escalating cost, they continue to defend Trump’s decision to engage and have voted repeatedly to cede congressional powers to the White House.

It’s still unclear, though, if more Republicans — many of whom have been privately questioning the conflict — will speak out publicly as the midterm elections approach. GOP lawmakers in both chambers are expected to face the next test of their loyalty this week as Democrats force new votes on whether Trump should seek congressional approval for military action against Iran.

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US-Canada bridge has been years in the making. But tension between countries is sapping the joy

The strained relationship between the North American neighbors is spoiling the celebration of an extraordinary project: a new six-lane bridge named for a famous Canadian who played hockey for the Detroit Red Wings.

After years of planning and billions of dollars in construction, the Gordie Howe International Bridge is ready for business, rising high over the Detroit River between Michigan and Ontario.

But a ceremony planned for Friday, with dignitaries from both countries meeting in the middle, has been scratched after Trump announced 50% tariffs this week on most Canadian goods.

A spokesperson for the Canadian minister of infrastructure said joint festivities now would be “inappropriate,” though a separate event in Windsor, Ontario, is scheduled. The bridge still is expected to open to car and truck traffic on Monday, followed by pedestrian and bike crossings starting Aug. 5.

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Democrats press ICE on oversight, say 1 officer referred for discipline over use of force

One Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has been referred for discipline over a use of force incident since the beginning of the Trump administration, Democratic members of the House Homeland Security Committee said after a briefing with ICE officials about body cameras, vehicle stops and training.

The briefing came in the wake of two recent fatal shootings of immigrants by ICE officers, raising concerns over agency tactics at a time when it is ratcheting up arrests.

The shootings have led to fierce criticism that there is not enough oversight of the agency, which is key to Trump’s mass deportation agenda. At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration agents during the crackdown.

ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment. Officials have promised to hold responsible officers who violate policy. But they have also defended officers as operating in a dangerous environment.

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UK withdraws embassy staff from Iran

Diplomatic staff at the British Embassy in Tehran have been temporarily withdrawn amid growing escalations between the U.S. and Iran, including recent strikes in the Iranian capital. The United Kingdom said it was due to “the security situation.”

The country made a similar move in the days leading up to the beginning of U.S. and Israeli combat operations in late February. Other Western embassies have continued to operate in Tehran.

Questions about what prompted the decision were not immediately answered by U.K. officials.

Judge questions difference between Hegseth’s testosterone policy and transgender care for troops

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s new initiative to test and treat troops for low testosterone has prompted a federal judge to question the differences between that kind of testosterone replacement therapy and hormone treatment for transgender men in the military.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington raised the question Wednesday in an ongoing lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender troops. Reyes noted that the ban says “the Armed Forces must adhere to high mental and physical health standards ... without the benefit of routine medical treatment or special provisions.”

Reyes ordered both parties in the lawsuit to address “the similarities and differences in administering TRT, both medically and logistically, for trans men compared to other service members, including cis individuals.”

She also requested information on the Pentagon’s “basis for treating trans men and other service members differently between this new policy and the Military Ban.”

Judge weighs tribe’s request to block construction of a border wall across its reservation

A federal judge is weighing what he says is an unprecedented request by a Native American tribe to block the Trump administration from taking any steps to build 62 miles of border wall across part of its reservation without its consent.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., did not rule from the bench Wednesday after hearing arguments from attorneys for Tohono O’odham Nation and the federal government. But he appeared to be skeptical that U.S. laws tip in favor of the tribe’s request for a preliminary injunction.

Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, said he could not find a previous court ruling under comparable circumstances.

The tribe’s 2.8-million-acre reservation in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona abuts the Mexico border.

Justice Department attorney Adam Gustafson said Congress gave the executive branch broad discretion to decide the best way to control the nation’s southwest border.

US carries out 12th night of strikes on Iran

The U.S. military has announced another night of strikes as both sides are increasingly targeting civilian infrastructure.

The U.S. Central Command once again said the strikes are designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters” as the U.S. pushes to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz and restore the flow of international shipping.

Trump administration says it will submit Saudi Arabia nuclear deal to Congress

Saudi Arabia could obtain uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear program under a new cooperation agreement with the administration.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman signed it Wednesday along with a related agreement intended to offer nuclear safeguards.

U.S. officials said the deals lay the legal foundation for a decades-long, multibillion-dollar partnership that advances key economic and strategic objectives including nuclear nonproliferation.

The 123 agreement provides access for U.S. companies in the Saudi nuclear energy program, benefiting American industry and workers, while helping to meet Saudi energy needs, the Energy Department said.

The agreement will now be transmitted to Congress for review.

House Republicans adopt $95 billion package for the Iran war and Trump’s priorities

Lawmakers adopted the proposal, a long-shot effort to fund the Iran war and other White House priorities over objections from Democrats and a few GOP holdouts in a final push before the midterm elections.

Republicans were divided, with conservatives wary because there are no offsetting budget cuts. But Speaker Mike Johnson plunged ahead, viewing the go-it-alone process as the best chance to usher Trump’s priorities through a split Congress despite skepticism in the Senate.

The tally was 216-214, with all Democrats opposed.

“Just bullets and bombs to finish the job,” said Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, chairman of the Budget Committee.

Democrats argued that the money should be spent at home.

“Republicans plan to spend tens of billions of dollars on Trump’s failed war in Iran,” Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, said this week. “Think about what we could spend with these resources instead.”

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Jackson promises state match for Trump Accounts seed money

Rick Jackson, the state’s GOP nominee for governor, said Wednesday that he will push for Georgia legislators to approve a state match for the $1,000 in seed money that the federal government is giving to some holders of Trump Accounts.

Babies born from 2025 to 2028 currently receive $1,000 from the federal government in their accounts.

Jackson, a wealthy businessperson and CEO of a healthcare company, said he believes Georgia lawmakers will support that, but “if they don’t, I will personally donate it myself.”

“It changed my life when I got a $100 Christmas gift in an orphanage,” he said.

Trump accuses Georgia senator and other Democrats of being communists

“The United States of America will never be a communist country,” Trump said, drawing big applause and a chant of “USA, USA.”

“The blue states are all going bad” because communism is a loser, he said. “It’s a loser and it always has been and it always will be.”

The crowd booed enthusiastically when Trump mentioned “your terrible Sen. Jon Ossoff”

“Jon Ossoff and the Democrat communists want to let the Marxists into power, bankrupt your families and leave you totally undefended with wide-open borders,” Trump said.

Trump jokes about running for a third term, again

The president opened his Georgia rally with a joke about running for a third term.

“Well, thank you very much, everybody. It’s a special place, and I am here to announce my candidacy,” the president said at the start of his speech, pausing as the crowd cheered.

After a few seconds, he held up his hand and waved it in front of him slightly. “I’m only kidding,” Trump added.

The president is constitutionally barred from running again in 2028, but has repeatedly suggested he might somehow do so anyway. Sometimes Trump suggests he’s joking, but he’s also said he might lead a constitutional movement to rewrite the Constitution in his favor.

Trump finally gets to Trump Accounts

After a nearly half-hour riff on unrelated topics, the president began talking about the subject of Wednesday’s event in Georgia.

“It’s hot as a pistol,” Trump said of Trump Accounts.

He then gave a brief description of how the accounts work, including the $1,000 in seed money that the government awards babies born from 2025 to 2028.

After that initial investment, the value of the account “goes up, and up, and up,” Trump said.

Trump wants credit on lower inflation in June due to lower oil prices that have since climbed

The U.S. president is tweaking his pitch to voters on inflation — wanting credit for the monthly dip in the consumer price index that was caused by energy prices falling due to a ceasefire in the Iran war.

But the ceasefire has failed to endure and oil prices have since jumped, with average gasoline prices at $4.06 a gallon. That’s up 4.3% over the past week and prices at the pump have jumped nearly 29% from a year ago, according to AAA.

Speaking in Georgia, Trump claimed the monthly drop had more to do with his management of the U.S. economy. That claim carries a political risk if the rising energy prices cause inflation to rise this month.

“It was announced just last week that inflation dropped by the largest amount in more than six years,” Trump said. “Because we’re doing it right. We’re running the country properly.”

Trump says his White House ballroom is actually a ‘military facility’

He told the rally crowd in Georgia, “We’re building a tremendous military facility at the White House. It’s a ballroom, but it’s also a big military facility.”

The president said it would feature a “drone port on top and tremendous things underneath.”

Trump originally said the project, which is expected to cost at least $400 million, would be paid for by himself and wealthy donors. But Trump now says the ballroom is supposed to include White House security upgrades like the drone port.

However, $1 billion in federal funding proposed for White House security upgrades has stalled in Congress.

The president also said crews building the ballroom are working from around 6 a.m. until late in the night, sometimes 11 p.m., and working Sundays.

Trump says dignified transfers are ‘the toughest thing I do’

The president said his visit to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday for the dignified transfer of four service members was particularly difficult.

“It’s very tough to watch, to be honest with you,” Trump said. “I think it’s the toughest thing I do.”

Trump said he invited the family of 1st Lt. Tyler Feehan to join him on Air Force One on his trip to Georgia, where the family lives.

“We will carry Tyler’s memory in our hearts forever,” Trump said, describing him as a “flawless” person.

Trump shouts out Republican candidate for Georgia governor, Rick Jackson

“Gonna be your next governor, right here,” Trump said, gesturing toward Jackson, who was right next to the stage.

Trump had endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the Republican primary, but was quick to praise Jackson after he won a fiercely fought Republican primary.

Trump congratulated Jackson on social media the day after the primary runoff in June, saying he “very successfully campaigned on being ‘TRUMP,’ and won.”

Trump is about to give remarks in Marietta, Georgia

Leading up to Trump’s arrival, the crowd gathered in a suburban Atlanta high school gym heard from several candidates for statewide office.

They also heard from U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, a former Georgia state senator; U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon; Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler, a former U.S. senator from Georgia; and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Friend says soldier killed in the Middle East ‘always made people feel seen’

A friend of Angel Rampersad says the 28-year-old Army sergeant genuinely cared about people and made them feel important and seen.

Deonne Jinkins and Rampersad met in 2024 in Germany, where they served together and became good friends.

On Wednesday, the 22-year-old Jinkins recalled how Rampersad jumped in and set up a weekend celebration for Jinkins’ birthday within weeks of their first meeting.

“The fact that we had barely known each other, yet she showed up for me in such a big way, spoke volumes about the kind of person she was,” Jinkins said over Facebook Messenger. “I’ll never forget what she did for me that weekend.”

Jinkins said her friend “loved deeply, cared genuinely, and always made people feel seen and important.”

Rampersad’s family said in a brief statement she was a “gentle giant” who “stood up for those who couldn’t fight for themselves.”

“She loved her family fiercely and will live on in the hearts of everyone she touched,” the statement said.

Trump pays respects to four service members killed in Middle East

The president saluted as four cases draped with American flags were escorted off an airplane during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

He was joined by administration officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Trump was scheduled to meet privately with grieving family members.

The White House said one of the families will be joining on Air Force One later on Wednesday when Trump flies to an event in Georgia, where the family lives.

Senate committee moves nomination forward for FEMA administrator

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs voted 8-4 Wednesday morning to advance Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cameron Hamilton.

Hamilton is a former Navy SEAL who briefly led FEMA in a temporary role last year before being fired after defending the agency’s existence. His potential return marks a shift in the Trump administration’s stance toward the disaster agency, after Trump said early in his second term that he was considering eliminating it altogether.

If approved by the Senate, Hamilton would be the first permanent FEMA administrator in Trump’s second term. The agency has seen four temporary leaders and been roiled by upheaval, including the departure of thousands of staff.

Journalists urge correspondents’ association to stand up to Trump at rescheduled press dinner

Hundreds of former or retired journalists and eight press freedom groups are asking the White House Correspondents’ Association to stand up to the Trump administration’s recent attacks on the media at its rescheduled dinner this week — a dinner President Donald Trump says he’ll attend.

The first dinner was cut short in April when a gunman, who prosecutors say was trying to assassinate Trump, opened fire at the Washington Hilton. The much smaller rescheduled dinner will take place Friday, with enhanced security precautions, at the capital’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, formerly the Trump International Hotel.

The letter expands on a similar one issued in April, before the first dinner. It notes that since then, “the administration’s attacks on journalists and press freedom have become even more egregious.”

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Iran war energy shock hits Southeast Asia hard

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong raised her country’s concern over renewed attacks by the U.S. and Iran in the Middle East, warning that “the situation could deteriorate further without much warning.”

“We want to see an end to this war. We want to see a ceasefire. We want to see negotiations and we want the strait to be opened,” Wong told reporters at the ASEAN summit. The war’s impact on global energy markets has had a direct and personal impact on people, she said.

Southeast Asia’s reliance on fossil fuel imports from the Mideast has made the region particularly vulnerable, according to the International Energy Agency. Asian markets imported about 80% of the crude oil and almost 90% of the liquefied natural gas, or LNG, transiting through the Strait of Hormuz in 2025, the IEA said.

Rubio says US willing to be ‘patient’ with pace of change in Cuba

Asked whether the Trump administration’s goal is regime change in Cuba, Rubio told reporters that the U.S. is prepared to be “very realistic” and “patient” about a process of ensuring that the Cuban people “can experience prosperity, safety, security and a better life moving forward.”

Rubio insisted the country’s socialist economic model doesn’t work and that the Cuban government is most interested in holding on to power, not making reforms.

But he said that “we’ll keep talking to them about the kind of changes they can make” because it affects U.S. national security.

“It’s a failed state. But I’ve never laid out any timeline as to what change would look like or when it would happen,” Rubio said.

A plane was carrying food and hygiene kits to Cuba on Tuesday, part of U.S. efforts to directly aid residents.

Oil prices rise another 3%

A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at $93.83 at midday Wednesday after briefly topping $95 to touch its highest price in six weeks as the war with Iran continues.

Rising oil prices threaten to reaccelerate inflation, which could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates, which would slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.65%, helping to bring long-term U.S. mortgage rates to their highest levels in nearly a year. The yield was 3.97% before the war.

The auto club AAA said Wednesday that the average price for a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. jumped again overnight to $4.06. It had been below $3 before the United States and Israel attacked Iran.

The soldiers whose remains are being returned to their families

The four U.S. service members were identified by the Defense Department:

1. 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii

2. Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas

3. Sgt. Angel Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York

4. Army Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Spring Lake, North Carolina

Since the war began on Feb. 28, 18 U.S. service members have been killed.

Trump to tell families of service members fallen in the Middle East, ‘we love your child’

Trump is at Dover Air Force Base, participating in the return of the remains of four U.S. service members killed in the Middle East.

Asked for his message to their families before he departed Joint Base Andrews, Trump said, “All I’m going to say is, ‘we love you. We love your child.’”

“All you can do is throw out your heart,” he said.

The Department of Homeland Security said shortly after the July 7 shooting that Salgado Araujo had “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer,” and that the officer had fired in self-defense.

But two men who were riding with Salgado Araujo wrote in statements submitted in court that the officers with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement were to the sides of their van, never in front or behind it; one of them described the government’s account as “a lie.”

Homebuilder died in front of his construction crew

Salgado Araujo, who was living without legal status in the U.S. for 35 years and running a homebuilding business, died that morning in front of his construction crew, including his own brother. His family said he had no criminal record.

His killing, one of at least 10 during immigration enforcement operations since the start of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, sparked widespread protests in Houston and calls for an i ndependent and transparent investigation. The officers were not wearing body cameras, and no photos and videos of the shooting have surfaced.

The three men who were with him that morning were arrested, and are now in immigration detention facilities. They have each filed habeas corpus petitions, alleging their confinement is unconstitutional and asking the court to order their release.

Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego and Daniel Tirado Pantoja attached their accounts of the shooting to their petitions, which was first reported by the Texas Tribune. They both wrote that they have been in the U.S. for decades and have no criminal history. Victor Salgado, the brother of the man killed, has also asked a judge to order him released. But his attorney asked the court that his petition be sealed to protect his privacy, so his account of the killing is not yet public.

Rojas Pliego wrote in Spanish that Salgado Araujo picked him up at 6:30 that morning, which was their daily routine. They then picked up the other two men.

Passengers said they were ‘startled’ by vehicle following them

Tirado Pantoja said a vehicle soon began following them, “almost crashing” into their van. He wrote that they were “startled” and ran over a curb attempted to turn around.

The ICE vehicle chased them, Rojas Pliego wrote, and Salgado Araujo eventually thought they lost the tail. Then suddenly, the agents had them cornered.

Tirado Pantoja wrote that the ICE vehicle hit them from behind, then again on the driver’s side.

DHS, which oversees ICE, has said it was the other way around: they allege Salgado Araujo rammed the ICE vehicles with his van. A federal prosecutor in Texas has said that ICE officers were targeting two Guatemalan men who were potentially subject to deportation and driving a van similar to Salgado Araujo’s. DHS said he ignored commands and attempted to run over the officer with his vehicle, and the officer fired in self-defense.

Rojas Pliego wrote that’s “a lie” and “impossible:” “there wasn’t a single officer behind or in front of us, they were only on the sides.”

Tirado Pantoja, too, wrote that the agents were never in front of the vehicle, adding that Salgado Araujo had “put vehicle in park as the agents were shooting.”

After being shot, Salgado Araujo was handcuffed and thrown to the ground

Rojas Pliego wrote that the officers pulled Salgado Araujo wounded out of the car, handcuffed him and “threw him to the ground.”

Tirado Pantoja wrote that Salgado Araujo at some point said “Ya me mataron” – “they’ve already killed me.”

Rojas Pliego wrote that the same officer who fired the shot then “dragged us out violently, throwing us to the ground while we were handcuffed and chained from head to toe.”

Aaron Reitz, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, issued a statement last week promising a full investigation by his office, the FBI, DHS and state and local law enforcement.

“We are doing everything we can to seek the truth and do the right thing,” he wrote.

DHS said in a statement Wednesday that its Office of Inspector General is also investigating. It said the FBI's Houston office “is leading an investigation into the potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer.”

A judge on Monday barred the government from deporting Rojas Pliego or removing him from the district without the court’s approval. A different judge, overseeing Tirado Pantoja’s case, on Wednesday ordered the federal government to notify the court with at least five days notice if they plan to transfer him outside of the district or deport him.

Raed Gonzalez Olivieri, a lawyer representing both men, wrote in their petitions that the circumstances of their detentions “are exceptional: those who now administer his custody shot at him at close range.” The petition says that puts them at increased risk of emotional and physical pain while incarcerated.

Both men applied for visas designed to protect immigrants who are victims of crimes and assist law enforcement. Gonzalez Olivieri wrote in their petitions that they survived “aggravated assault with a deadly weapon” and are material witnesses to the killing.

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Associated Press reporter Valerie Gonzalez contributed to this report.

A ridge of high pressure in the upper levels of the atmosphere, mixed in with very dry air in the mid-levels, is the perfect recipe for a hot and dry setup across Central Florida. Expect only a few isolated showers between I-4 and I-75 around sunset and into the early evening as our sea breeze continues pushing inland. After 10pm, our neighborhoods are dry for the rest of the overnight.

Thursday

Dry air remains in place across Central Florida, limiting our chance for rain. With an onshore flow all day, a few showers will hover around the coast around sunrise. That rain chance shifts inland as the day rolls on with the sea breeze pushing westward. Moisture will be limited to get more than isolated showers to form along it. Highs will reflect the dry conditions, hitting the mid 90s with heat indices over 100ºF.

Into the Weekend

Starting on Friday, and progressing over the weekend, moisture begins to enter our atmosphere as the ridge of high pressure weakens and a trough begins to dig into the Southeast. This will increase our “feels like” temperatures and rain chances as we move through the weekend and into early next week. This will allow highs to back down to near normal values in the low 90s.

During an event in Los Angeles, against the backdrop of a stinking, scorched food warehouse he described as a symbol of the state's political incompetence, Hilton rolled out a list of campaign promises clearly aimed at residents buckling under California's notoriously high cost of living. He vowed to bring the price of gasoline down to $3 a gallon, about half the current cost, cut residents’ utility bills in half, now among the nation's highest, and eliminate state income taxes on the first $150,000 in earnings.

He blamed the state's problems — from homelessness to low student test scores — squarely on Democrats, who hold every statewide office and supermajorities in the Legislature. He called Democrats a “rotten regime that has abandoned the working class.”

In his campaign remarks and ads he took out in leading newspapers throughout the state, Hilton addressed his relationship with Trump, who has endorsed him in the race.

“This is not about who you hate in Washington. It’s about what we love about California and what we can do to make California once again the best place anywhere in the country to start and raise a family, to start and run a business,” he said before a small group of supporters. “That’s what this election is about.”

Hilton’s maneuver is meant to create a sliver of distance from Trump without breaking from him. It's a tacit nod to the political math in California, one of the nation’s most solidly Democratic states. Registered Republicans are outnumbered nearly 2-to-1 by Democratic voters, and a GOP candidate hasn’t won a statewide election since 2006.

Trump is widely unpopular in California outside his loyal conservative base. In 2016, Trump lost to Democrat Hillary Clinton by 30 points; in 2020, he lost to Joe Biden by 29 points; and in 2024, he lost to Kamala Harris by 20 points.

California is regarded as the home of the so-called Trump resistance, where Democrats have effectively used Trump as a foil in campaigns to motivate voters. Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom essentially nationalized the state's fight over Proposition 50, which recast U.S. House districts to favor Democrats, by framing it as a confrontation with Trump. The measure notched a 29-point win.

The campaign of Hilton's Democratic opponent, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, scoffed at the notion of Hilton being a change agent.

“Californians already know who Steve Hilton is: Trump’s puppet in California. His campaign is a promise to run our state the way Trump runs the country and we’re not buying it," campaign spokesman Jonathan Underland said in a statement.

As for Hilton's pitch that voters who dislike Trump should feel free to consider him in November, Underland said, “Steve Hilton cheers on a president whose illegal war has sent gas prices soaring and illegal tariffs have cost California families more than $2,500 this year alone. You can’t fix the affordability crisis while carrying water for the man causing it.”

In a heavily Democratic state, Hilton's campaign is hoping his appeal to Democrats and independents will “give voters a permission slip” to look past the letter next to a candidate’s name, even in a nation deeply divided by partisanship.

“You do have a choice if you think that this state is going in the wrong direction,” he told supporters at a kickoff event in Boyle Heights, a Los Angeles neighborhood where residents have been complaining about the stench of rotting food, flies and rodents that followed a fire last month at a cold storage warehouse.

He was accompanied by Gloria Romero, a former Democratic state lawmaker who switched parties in 2024 and is this year's Republican nominee for lieutenant governor. She delivered her own address in both English and Spanish, with supporters holding “Hilton-Romero” signs in the background.

Becerra, a former state lawmaker, congressman and state attorney general, is heavily favored to win the seat now held by Newsom, a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate who is barred by law from seeking a third term. Hilton and Becerra emerged from a chaotic primary election in June that had more than 50 candidates on the ballot.

The race is unfolding at a time when California is facing multiple crises. Despite billions in spending, homelessness remains widespread, especially in larger cities. Multibillion-dollar budget gaps are projected into the future. Home prices remain out of reach for many residents. The home insurance market is in disarray, businesses and residents have been fleeing the state, and residents contend with some of the nation’s highest gas prices, taxes and utility bills.

Making good on his campaign promises won't be an easy task for Hilton, a former adviser to ex-United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron who has never held elective office. The governor doesn't control the oil or utility markets, but Hilton says he will get rid of mandates, taxes and fees that drive those prices higher. He also would likely need the consent of a Legislature controlled by Democrats to change the state's income tax structure.

Hilton crowned his campaign kickoff with a 30-second TV ad underscoring the financial challenges for many families.

“Life here has become impossible for anyone who isn't already rich,” he says. “Let's fix California.”

These roles are independent reporters who embed themselves in their assigned communities around the Orlando DMA as exclusive News 6 Community Correspondents, where they report, shoot, and edit major news stories from their beats. 

Beachside: Brevard County

This independent journalist will report, shoot, and edit major stories about the things that matter most to Brevard County, embedding into these coastal communities on Florida’s actively growing Space Coast.

Orlando Metro: Seminole County

This independent journalist will focus on one of our busier beats in Seminole County, including Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Sanford, and neighborhoods along I-4 heading East (physically north). 15-30 minutes from downtown Orlando, Seminole County is part of the core of our viewership and home to modern, robust communities of truly local residents and families that also offer extensive outdoor recreation/sports fields & complexes. Each city listed has a different vibe, from Sanford’s lakefront blend of history and a growing eclectic downtown nightlife to Altamonte Springs being easy access to all things downtown and home to key shopping and events like Red Hot and Boom, the area’s largest annual Fourth of July celebration.

In the Backyard of Theme Parks: Osceola County

This independent journalist will report, shoot, and edit major stories about the things that matter most to St Cloud, Poinciana, and the greater Osceola County area, a rapidly growing area south of Orlando.  To be clear, this is not a theme parks beat, but this reporter would live nearby, making it a great way to spend personal time.  Also, if you’re bilingual in Spanish, this is the beat for you!

The heart of Florida: Marion County

Sprawling live oaks, rolling hills, grand lakes, and breathtaking glimpses of old Florida bump right into the hustle and bustle of the Sunshine State’s rapid modernization! This journalist will report, shoot, and edit major stories about the things that matter most to Ocala, The Villages, and Marion County, living and working in communities in the heart of Florida’s horse country, and one of the fastest growing areas in the U.S., right along the I-75 corridor.

What kind of reporter are we looking for?

Graham Media Group, in Market #15 Orlando, Fla., is looking for an experienced reporter who is a fair, driven, and tech-savvy journalist who can work quickly and independently to cover a specific set of communities.

This role at WKMG News 6 is perfect for you if you excel at delivering fair, fact-based reporting, using compelling visuals and creative storytelling techniques you create and execute, which can hold people’s attention. 

You are an expert at developing trust rapidly with viewers and sources and can use those relationships to break high-impact local news stories first in the market.  You have a bit of a competitive edge, whether you’re covering breaking news first or asking the first question at every news conference.  And you can balance that competitive spirit with a strong team-first mentality in the newsroom that inspires the teammates around you.

Ultimately, you care deeply about standing up for what’s right, and you’re motivated by a call to serve, delivering relevant, hyper-local reporting that informs our audiences, helps keep them safe, holds others accountable, and improves our communities for the better.

POSITION OVERVIEW

As a News 6 Community Correspondent, you will embed yourself in an assigned geography and its associated county, where you will develop enterprise hard news stories that directly impact people in your area.

You work independently, reporting, shooting, and editing your own stories efficiently every day, with occasional options to partner with experienced photojournalists on certain stories.  You also get to work with a veteran broadcast journalist as your individual coach to help you master your reporter skillset, style, and storytelling craft.

You are comfortable with a rapidly changing workday, and you can quickly master new technologies, from cameras to content and editing software.  You know how to quickly deliver reports and storytelling on TV, vertical social media videos, and YouTube/digital formats.  You’re also game to try new equipment and techniques while still delivering quality high-impact local journalism.

It’s also important to have a strong on-camera presence/delivery that is clear, conversational, and commanding.  Your live experience ranges from successfully gathering relevant information first at breaking scenes to wall-to-wall live coverage, like the kind that accompanies hurricanes.  This live delivery helps you execute well on linear, digital, and streaming platforms.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Report, shoot, and edit your own stories efficiently, every day.
• Be the expert on the news that matters to your assigned geography or associated county.
• Pitch enterprise stories vetted in advance from your assigned beat.
• Produce digital articles, videos, vertical videos, and other visuals/graphics as needed that drive engagement with your stories.
• Report stories that are fair, balanced, and use process language often, when appropriate.
• Ask the right questions in interviews that capture key emotion or insights.
• Synthesize complex documents and break them down into conversational terms.
• Execute creative storytelling standups and teases that include movement and complement your reporting.
• Turn high-quality journalism despite daily deadline pressure.

KEY QUALIFICATIONS

• Several years of successful reporting in 2 television markets preferred; at least one of those was a medium market or a very active market with a high volume of news.
• A college degree in Journalism, Communications, or a related field is preferred.
• Proficiency in multiple newsroom producing and editing systems, social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, and verified internet search and research techniques and databases.
• Being bilingual in Spanish is preferred but not required.
• Work a flexible schedule including nights, weekends, and holidays, as news and business needs require.
• Have a valid driver’s license with a safety record acceptable to Graham Media Group.
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The new tariffs, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, are scheduled to come into effect Aug. 19. They cover a wide range of goods, including honey, liquor, cement, dairy products, some wood products, hockey sticks, essential oils, perfumes, candles, dog leashes and wigs.

They exclude energy products, potash, fish and critical minerals, but would include goods previously protected from import taxes by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. That 2020 trade pact was not renewed by the U.S., triggering a new set of negotiations that could run until 2036.

Prince Edward Island Premier Rob Lantz said the tariffs create uncertainty.

“We’re living in a time when uncertainty is the new norm,” Lantz said Wednesday following a meeting of the country’s premiers and territorial leaders in the province's capital, Charlottetown.

Randall Bartlett, deputy chief economist with Desjardins, one of Canada’s largest financial institutions, said the tariffs will impact about $28 billion Canadian ($19.8 billion) worth of annual Canadian exports to the United States. That’s about 5% of what the U.S. imports from Canada each year.

They have the potential to shave two to three tenths of a percent off growth in 2026 and 2027 in Canada, Bartlett said, although he said he didn't expect a recession.

"We’re expecting it to keep more investment on the sidelines (and) probably suppress hiring. That weighs on consumer activity and residential investment as well,” Bartlett said.

Fen Osler Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa, said the products hit by the tariffs are items U.S. consumers can decide not to purchase if prices rise.

Losing U.S. customers could lead to layoffs for companies that employ 10 to 200 workers that are the “backbone of the Canadian economy."

“That does have ripple effects in an economy because if people are out of a job, they’re not going to be spending," said Hampson, who is co-chair of the Expert Group on Canada-U.S. Relations.

Dennis Barby, president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, said the tariffs would inflict serious damage on manufacturers, workers and consumers on both sides of the border.

“These tariffs will raise costs, disrupt production, and make North America less competitive at a time when we should be strengthening our shared industrial base,” Barby said in a release.

British Columbia Premier David Eby said it’s frustrating the U.S. is proposing tariffs on some Canadian goods while also looking to invest in Canadian mines to secure metals and minerals.

“You can’t have a country on one hand attacking one group of families and workers while hoping to have access to the resources in Canada that the rest of the world wants,” said Eby, who added that Canada should limit access to the resources the U.S. wants if its stance remains.

Experts Bartlett and Hampson said the tariffs could be a negotiation tactic, and may not come into effect. Still, Canadian trade negotiators should be cautious moving forward, they said.

Hampson warned against retaliatory tariffs or reducing oil or electricity shipment to the U.S.

“You don’t want to poke the bear,” he said. “You get into that kind of war, we’re going to lose. We’re the smaller economy. They can absorb a hit much more than we can.”

Hampson said the tariffs could reflect the tense relationship between Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, which has soured since Carney criticized his counterpart at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

On Tuesday, Carney said he and Trump have agreed to intensify trade talks.

The Austin, Texas, company reported second-quarter net income of $1.11 billion, or 32 cents per share. Excluding certain items, earnings were 33 cents per share, well short of the 53 cents per share forecast by Wall Street analysts, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 26% to $28.24 billion, beating analysts’ forecast of $26.42 billion.

While the core car business had a solid quarter, Tesla is now focused on building out the infrastructure and AI software that underpins its robotaxis and robotics businesses, which Musk has said are the future of the company. And doing so requires a lot more spending.

Research and development spending surged about 49% from a year earlier to $2.37 billion — higher than its been going back at least four quarters.

“We’re investing a lot in growing the core business and really preparing for the future,” Musk said during a conference call with Wall Street analysts, promising that the spending will yield “incredible returns.”

CFO Vaibhav Taneja told analysts that the company expects capital expenditures will increase further in the second half of this year, driving full-year spending to more than $25 billion.

Taneja also forecast that spending on capital expenditures will continue growing for the next “2 to 3 years,” as the company seeks to expand its fleet of robotaxis, add AI compute infrastructure and build more production capacity for its Optimus humanoid robot, among several other products.

Tesla shares fell 4.1% in after-hours trading shortly. The stock ended the regular trading session 1.3% lower and is down just under 17% this year.

Earlier this month, Tesla reported that it delivered 480,216 cars in the second quarter, a 25% increase from the same period last year and its second straight quarterly gain. The sales also exceeded analysts’ expectations, according to a FactSet survey.

Tesla’s improving sales this year mark a big turnaround from a year ago, when many Europeans refused to buy the company’s cars because of Musk’s embrace of far-right political candidates in elections there.

The vast majority of the company’s vehicle deliveries last quarter were comprised of its Model Y crossover SUV and Model 3 sedan. Tesla rolled out less expensive versions of both models last year in hopes of boosting sales. It also cut the cost of leasing and loans in Europe.

Sales were also helped by a surge of EV buying in general in Europe as gas and diesel prices have risen due to the Iran war.

Just a few months ago, Tesla reported sales had fallen in 2025 for a second year in a row and it had to yield its crown as the world’s largest EV maker to China’s BYD.

Tesla's EV sales accounted for most of the company’s overall revenue, but the company got a boost from its energy generation and battery storage business, which posted revenue of $3.14 billion, a 13% gain compared to the second quarter last year.

The company also benefited from increased subscriptions for its driver assistance feature, available in the U.S., called Full Self-Driving (Supervised). The number of FSD subscribers has now reached nearly 1.5 million globally.

Tesla said it has now rolled out its robotaxi service to seven major metro areas in the U.S., and that it it expects production on its Optimus humanoid robot to begin later this year.

The company has also been investing in building new battery factories and in the infrastructure needed to produce its Tesla Semi and Cybercab.

The company noted that it has begun production of the Cybercab at a factory in Texas, and that the Tesla Semi is on track for production this year at a factory in Nevada.

Tesla executives didn't offer more specifics on how many robotaxis or Cybercabs will be on the road, nor how soon.

Musk noted that the company needs more time to test the Cybercab chassis and doesn't want to rush the expansion of robotaxis, saying he prefers to take a cautious approach.

“We’re working on what we believe is the most ambitious buildout of advanced infrastructure manufacturing capacity ever in history,” he said. “Our goals are very ambitious for robotaxi, but we do need to be cautious about causing any accidents or causing any harm to anyone."

The civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Wells family, announced the preliminary findings Wednesday in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the annual NAACP National Convention in Chicago.

The autopsy report, he said, showed no evidence of fractures or deep tissue injuries. It described a “red discoloration” in the back of Wells' skull as “inconclusive” and meriting further investigation.

Without further information, the forensic pathologist, Dr. Roger Mitchell, wrote that he could not rule out the possibility that “non-accidental factors contributed to or caused the death."

Wells had traveled to an island off the coast of Mississippi on July 4 with a group of friends, who later returned to the mainland without him. His body was discovered two days later floating off the island's coast.

In his report, the pathologist pointed to several challenges inherent to the independent autopsy, including the decomposition of the body and outstanding questions about whether Wells was conscious when he entered the water.

Because an initial autopsy was performed by the medical examiner in Mississippi, Wells’ body arrived without organs or neck structures — making it impossible to determine if he had suffered a neck injury or whether water had entered his lungs, according to the report, which notes that the practice is not unusual.

Still, the revelation, relayed by Crump, prompted gasps from the crowd of several hundred in Chicago. The attorney called on state officials to provide that evidence for the family to review as part of their own independent investigation.

The Mississippi medical examiner, which has not released the results of the state autopsy, did not return a message seeking comment.

The second autopsy was paid for by former NFL player Colin Kaepernick, whose group Know Your Rights Camp has paid for other independent autopsies.

“This is only another part of the puzzle, and even though it tells us significant information, we still have more questions than we have answers at this time,” Crump said of the results.

The still-unknown circumstances around Wells’ death have touched off rampant online speculation and prompted calls from Black leaders for transparency from local authorities. Wells, who was Black, had traveled to the island with a group of high school friends, all of whom are white.

A reward of $125,000 — jointly funded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, actor and producer Tyler Perry and former NFL player Terrell Owens — is now being offered in exchange for information leading to an arrest and conviction in connection with the death.

The autopsy announcement comes two days after Wells was laid to rest in his hometown of Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

In his eulogy, Sharpton lamented the “inconsistencies and unanswered questions” that had placed a dark cloud over the grieving family.

He questioned why Wells’ friends had left him behind, taken his phone and keys and failed to report him missing. And he suggested local investigators had spoken prematurely in statements to the news media indicating no crime was suspected.

“The reason that a lot of people across the nation are looking at this Nolan situation is because we’re looking at the history in Mississippi,” Sharpton added. “We can’t have someone in law enforcement saying there was no foul play before there was an investigation.”

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said initial interviews suggested Wells chose to stay on the island and that his friends believed he would get a ride with someone else. He has said the friends were cooperating with the investigation, which remains ongoing.

“We are trying to be respectful and collaborative as much as we can,” Crump said. “But it’s always troublesome to all of us when these investigations just take forever.”

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An earlier version of this report had an incorrect first name for the forensic pathologist. He's Dr. Roger Mitchell, not Robert Mitchell.

John Etzler was arrested Monday afternoon by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.

News 6 learned of the incident through its neighborhood network, a viewer-submitted tip that a Palm Valley community resident had been arrested and removed from the management office after entering armed and threatening staff.

According to the arrest report, Etzler entered the Palm Valley subdivision community office at approximately 2:45 p.m. Monday to discuss multiple HOA violations he had received related to the condition of his property.

The community manager told Etzler he needed to communicate through an attorney rather than visiting the office directly. That’s when, according to the report, Etzler allegedly pulled out a handgun and pointed it at her.

Fearing for her life, the manager swiped the gun away and ran out of the office to seek safety, the report states. Etzler then left and returned to his home, where deputies took him into custody.

When News 6 visited the community office Wednesday, the door was locked and a sign indicated the office was closed.

Neighbors said they received an email from management describing the closure as a precautionary measure following a recent “security incident.”

“I was shocked, obviously,” one neighbor said. “It’s just quiet and it just feels safe. So, I hope it remains that way.”

Palm Valley Regional Management confirmed the incident in an email to residents, a copy of which was obtained by News 6 through its neighborhood network.

“We can confirm that a resident threatened a member of our staff and displayed a weapon in the community office,” the email reads. “Law enforcement responded immediately, and an arrest was made.”

Management said the office closure is a precautionary measure to support staff and allow time to evaluate additional security measures. Until further notice, residents are asked to contact the office by phone or email and to refrain from approaching staff working outdoors or in community common areas.

“Threats, intimidation, harassment, and abusive behavior toward our team members will not be tolerated,” the email states.

Management also noted it is evaluating all options available under the lease and applicable law, though it declined to identify the individual involved, citing ongoing legal proceedings.

Etzler appeared before a judge on Tuesday afternoon. Court records show he was granted a $3,500 bond and given orders not to possess any weapons or firearms.

Three days after a child was found with a gunshot wound at the Stella West Apartments, few details of the police investigation are public.

The child, whose name and age have not been released, was taken to the hospital but died from their injuries.

A spokesperson with the department sent News 6 the following statement Monday:

“We understand there is significant public interest in this case, and we appreciate the community’s patience as the investigation continues.

Our detectives have been working around the clock since receiving the call and are committed to conducting a thorough investigation.

As with many death investigations, this is a complex case that requires investigators to carefully examine all available evidence and follow every lead. The investigation remains active and ongoing. Releasing details at this stage, even information that may seem minor, could jeopardize the investigation, compromise evidence.

To protect the integrity of the investigation and ensure the facts are thoroughly established, we are unable to provide additional information at this time.

We will share updates as appropriate when doing so will not compromise the investigation."

News 6 also reached out to management at the apartment complex, but we have not heard back.

A response from the Medical Examiner’s Office for Orange and Osceola Counties cited the existence of an active police investigation, meaning the office could not reveal the identity of the child.

“I just remember being taught that area was kind of dangerous, in the sense of there being steep slopes” and a quick drop-off into the river, he told The Associated Press. A few years earlier, Martin had warned a pair of young people playing in the water at that same spot to “be very careful.”

He saw five adults in the water and two children playing on the grassy bank nearby, tracking the description of the group provided by Delaware County authorities after the drownings.

Pastor may have taken ‘the last picture’ of the group

Martin and his family floated away to enjoy a beautiful summer evening. But when they returned past the spot about two hours later and saw the group still wading in the river, Martin thought to snap a photo.

“I don't know what it was. I said, I just need to capture this picture,” he said.

Martin said he knows the area well from 10 years of boating there and considered warning the people of the potential danger. But, unlike when he'd warned the two people earlier, there were two or three boats between him and them and he didn't want to cross between them and cause too many waves in the water.

He's been losing sleep over the decision since news broke of five people drowning that afternoon. It feels “surreal,” he said.

“I believe the picture I took may have been the last picture of them being alive,” he said.

The image didn't catch authorities' initial interest

Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer has said authorities believe one of the adults began struggling to swim and the others successively went to that person's aid. All five were swept under and died. The two women’s bodies were recovered Sunday and the three other bodies a day later.

Neither Balzer's office nor the local EMS agency immediately responded to requests for verification of the photo and those who appear in it.

Martin said he feels certain the group he photographed is of the five people who perished Sunday; it's rare to see people fishing or swimming in that stretch of the river. He said he attempted to share the picture with both law enforcement and a news reporter at the scene the day after the drownings, but no one seemed interested.

Honduran authorities confirmed Tuesday that four of the five adults were Honduran citizens. One was Jose Mario Pineda Dias, 33, another his wife Marina Suyapa Regalado, 28. Pineda was from the department of Lempira and Suyapa from the department of Cortés, according to Flabia Zamora, director of consular affairs at the Honduran Foreign Ministry.

The names of the other couple and the fifth individual would be released once their families could be notified of their deaths, a spokesperson for Balzer said Wednesday.

U.S., Honduras still working to identify victims, help children

A Honduran embassy said the government is in contact with the victims' families and assisting local authorities in verifying their identities. In a statement, it added that Honduras stands ready to repatriate any of the victims should relatives request that — a process that could take six weeks.

An 8-year-old and a 10-year-old, children of one of the couples, were orphaned by the tragedy. A boy shouting for his mother was spotted by a passing driver on the day of the accident and reported to 911.

Scott Varner, a spokesman for Franklin County Children Services, said the youngsters have been in the agency's care since Monday and that they are working with relatives and family friends in Columbus who are providing them with a temporary home. The children were provided with therapy dogs as they coped with the trauma, he said.

The Honduran embassy statement said the consulate has checked in with family members about their well-being and stands ready to help once relatives make a decision on next steps for the children.

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Associated Press reporter Hallie Golden contributed to this report.

House Republicans were divided over the plan, with conservatives wary because there are no offsetting budget cuts. But Speaker Mike Johnson plunged ahead, viewing the go-it-alone process as the best chance to usher President Donald Trump's priorities through the split Congress, despite skepticism in the Senate.

The vote tally was 216-214, with two Republicans and one independent joining Democrats in opposition.

“Just bullets and bombs to finish the job,” said Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, the chairman of the Budget Committee.

Democrats argued the money should be spent at home, particularly on efforts to lower costs for Americans.

“Republicans plan to spend tens of billions of dollars on Trump’s failed war in Iran,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, this week. “Think about what we could spend with these resources instead.”

Congress is at a standstill over the U.S. war against Iran — unable to stop Trump's military strikes, but not having authorized the use of American military force — and politically torn over having to provide billions of taxpayer dollars to pay for it. Most Americans disapprove of Trump's Iran strategy, according to a recent AP-NORC poll.

The budget battle comes as Trump attended the dignified transfer of four service members killed in the Middle East, bringing the military death toll to 18. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators at a fiery hearing this week that the Pentagon is running short of cash, despite a massive $150 billion one-time allotment in last year's big budget bill.

Even as the House action advanced the resolution, Johnson’s strategy faces uncertainty in the Senate.

The package has $60 billion for the Pentagon and $13 billion for other national security needs, $12 billion for farmers struggling under Trump’s tariffs and $10 billion for voting law changes aligned with the SAVE America Act and proof-of-citizenship requirements that are Trump’s top priority.

A once rare budget tool is now the norm in split Congress

Republicans are relying on the budget reconciliation process, which enables approval on a majority vote in Congress, bypassing the Senate's ability to filibuster the measure t o stall or kill it.

Once rare, the reconciliation process is now Johnson's preferred strategy for pushing proposals through Congress. It's the way Republicans approved Trump's big tax breaks and spending cuts bill last summer and funded Homeland Security this year over Democrats' refusal to fund Trump's mass deportation agenda.

“No matter how you feel about current events, these funds are necessary to ensure our fighting forces remain ready, our troops are paid and our nation is safe," said Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

But House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “Republicans have literally ripped food from the mouths of hungry children, seniors and veterans to sustain the Trump war machine.”

Among those opposed was Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, a former Republican turned independent, who said he felt any war funding bill should be bipartisan. He also wanted to ensure Congress had a “much higher level of involvement” in bringing the war to an end, and he said this proposal did not set that process in motion.

Republicans Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio also voted against.

This is the third time GOP leaders have relied on reconciliation, dubbing this version 3.0, and it's a lengthy process. If the House approves the budget resolution, it next goes to the Senate for a round-the-clock session to consider politically tough amendments — something senators would rather avoid in an election year.

The budget resolution sets out instructions for the various committees to draft legislation, which Johnson hopes could be done this summer, with final voting on the package once lawmakers return after the August recess.

Senators pan House's budget and have their own ideas

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been noncommittal on the House package that also divides his own GOP majority, with some Republican senators preferring more money for the military and others demanding the costs be offset with cuts elsewhere.

“We’ll see,” Thune said this week.

Thune's focus, at the moment, is avoiding another government shutdown. He wants the Senate to approve a stopgap funding measure, called a continuing resolution, to provide routine government funding before lawmakers leave for the summer break.

If senators are unable to reach agreement on government funding, Thune has said he may hold onto the House's budget resolution and use it later in the fall as a way to push the resolution through the Senate over objections. He wants to prevent a federal shutdown when current funds expire, Sept. 30.

“It’s a possibility that, if necessary, we could pull that budget resolution passed by the House and use it to fund government,” Thune said. “I hope that’s not necessary.”

Thune has also clashed with Trump over the president's push for the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voting. The measure, while popular among Trump's most ardent supporters, does not have enough support among Senate Republicans for passage.

It's already against the law for noncitizens to vote in federal elections and experts warn the proposed new rules could make it more difficult for eligible Americans to cast ballots.

It also would provide for a pay raise next year ranging from 5% to 7% for service members, depending upon their rank.

The National Defense Authorization Act is generally one of the more bipartisan bills that Congress takes up on an annual basis. That's not the case this year. The vote was 216-212.

Democrats took issue with steep spending increases for the Pentagon as Republicans attempted to cut numerous non-defense programs through other bills. They also opposed some of the conservative social policy riders that were included.

For example, the bill includes a prohibition on gender-related medical care under the military health program known as TRICARE. It also eases hurdles for service members to carry a privately owned firearm on base, following Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's lead on the issue.

Republican leaders' decision to attach Trump's elections overhaul bill to the defense bill upon its passing also amplified the partisan divide. Speaker Mike Johnson is working to accommodate Republican lawmakers who are angry that the Senate won't pass the SAVE America Act and are insisting that it be included in must-pass bills until the Senate relents.

The House bill is testing a normally bipartisan process

Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, emphasized that he knows there were areas of disagreement, but he emphasized that Wednesday's vote was a step in a long process. He promised to work in a bipartisan manner on a final product that can pass both chambers and be signed into law.

Rogers said the United States needs to reverse decades of underinvestment and neglect in the nation's armed forces and defense industrial base.

“This bill will do that and much more,” he said. “It will build the ready, capable and lethal fighting force we need to deter China and other adversaries.”

Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking Democratic lawmaker on the Armed Services Committee, said the defense spending the administration has asked for this year is approaching $1.6 trillion when including separate efforts to pay for the war in Iran and boost weapons stockpiles.

“The American people are struggling to pay their bills and we're going to put $1.6 trillion into the defense budget. It's not a reasonable thing to ask,” Smith said.

Smith also expressed concern about the war with Iran and that in supporting the defense bill, lawmakers are “de facto supporting this war with no end in sight.”

“We are in an incredibly, incredibly dangerous time,” Smith said. “I want to maintain the bipartisan nature of this bill. I do. And I know that the chairman does. But if we're going to do this, we're going to need some Republicans to stand up to the president of the United States and say, ‘No. No, we’re not going to get you $1.6 trillion. No, we're not just going to give you a blank check for a war that is totally out of control."

The White House backs parts of the legislation

The spending increases authorized in the bill would not take effect until Congress follows up with a separate defense appropriations bill. The Senate has not yet approved its version of the defense measure. It's possible a final product won't be ready until after the midterm elections.

The White House applauded the spending levels authorized in the House bill and the Department of War designation that it says recognizes the “willingness to fight and win wars on behalf of our nation.”

The president issued an executive order last year renaming the Defense Department, but it's up to Congress to make the change official. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that the renaming could cost taxpayers as much as $125 million.

The White House's statement also said that the administration has a number of concerns with certain provisions in the bill and would work with Congress before a final bill is presented to the president. Among those concerns was a section of the bill it said would limit or undermine the president's ability to name military installations and property.

In 2023, during a national reckoning on issues of race in America, seven Army bases’ names were changed because they honored Confederate leaders. Last year, those bases reverted to their original names, but with different namesakes who share Confederate surnames. The Army found other service members with the same last names to honor.

“Think of that. The government is finally giving money back to our children,” Trump said to the crowd gathered at a Georgia high school

Some parents who opened accounts earlier this month for their babies say they're still waiting for their money. The accounts went live July 4, two days before Trump rang the opening bells for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq from the Oval Office.

The tax-advantaged accounts can be opened for any child under the age of 18, and more than 7 million accounts are already active, Trump said Wednesday. Babies born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028 get $1,000 in seed money from the U.S. Treasury. Most of those families receive their $1,000 in one or two days, the Treasury Department said.

After the Trump Accounts are set up, parents, relatives, friends and employers can contribute to them. Some billionaires have also pledged philanthropic contributions to the accounts. The money is turned over to private firms that invest it in index funds, a type of mutual fund that tracks the performance of the stock market. The money can’t be accessed until the child turns 18, and only then for specific purposes, such as going to school, opening a business or buying a home.

At the rally Wednesday, Rick Jackson, Georgia’s GOP nominee for governor, said he would push for state lawmakers to match the $1,000 in seed money from the federal government. Jackson, a wealthy businessman and CEO of a healthcare company, said he believes Georgia lawmakers will support that, but “if they don’t, I will personally donate it myself.”

Boosters of the program say it’s a chance to give more Americans a stake in the stock market. They hope it will stem the rising popularity of democratic socialists, who seek to raise taxes on corporations and wealthy people to ease the cost of things like food and healthcare for low-income and middle-class Americans.

Some parents were told it could take 4 weeks for the deposit

For babies born since Trump took office last year, $1,000 from the U.S. Treasury is supposed to kick off the accounts. While some parents report receiving the money, others said in interviews and on social media they're still waiting for their $1,000.

Masaki and Kristina McLellan, new parents from Bergen County, New Jersey, said in an interview they were wary of signing up for the accounts because they worried it was a promotional stunt for the president. But the $1,000 incentive persuaded the couple, whose daughter Maya was born in late March, to start an account anyway.

Masaki McLellan said he applied for the account July 6. At first, the application was rejected, but the account was activated after he called the Trump Account hotline. He was told he'd see the money in the account in 10 days. Now, he says, he's been told it will take up to four weeks.

Kristina McLellan said she was disappointed it was taking so long to fund her daughter's account. But the infant has multiple other investments already compounding for her. Maya's parents have already started a 529 college savings plan and a custodial brokerage account for her. The Trump Account is the third investment account in the little girl's name.

“We definitely want to give her options for her future and make sure she can choose what she wants to do,” said McLellan, a studio director for a local news station, who returns from maternity leave next week.

The Treasury Department emphasized the McLellans’ case is unusual and said only a sliver of those who apply need customer support.

Treasury says most parents wait only 1 or 2 days

The Treasury Department said that the lag between opening an account and receiving the seed funding constitutes “standard processing time, like receiving a tax refund,” and that the overwhelming majority of parents are waiting only one to two days. But the department likes to give parents a conservative estimate for how long it might take for the money to be transferred, such as the estimate of up to four weeks given to the McLellans.

“Trump Accounts level the playing field by allowing every parent to invest in their children’s future, not just wealthy families with trust funds,” the department said.

The government also unveiled an initiative last month that permits child welfare agencies to open accounts on behalf of foster youth.

"With roughly 1 million sign-ups per month before launch, Trump Accounts have become the most popular and successful government-backed savings product in U.S. history,” the Treasury Department said.

On Wednesday, Trump called the accounts “the most consequential” part of his signature tax and spending cuts bill, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Trump faces pressure over his handling of the economy

Trump's stop in Georgia comes as he and fellow Republicans face pressure in the midterm elections for their handling of the economy. Only 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s economic leadership, among the lower ratings of his second term, according to a June survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Trump pledged to lower costs, but his tariffs and the war in Iran have instead helped to increase prices.

Trump Accounts are similar to baby bonds, championed by Democratic-led cities and states meant to shrink the wealth gap between low- and high-income children. But unlike most baby bonds, which generally target kids from disadvantaged backgrounds, Trump Accounts are available to families of all incomes.

The program has faced criticism from those who say it does nothing to help families in a child's first years of life, when children are most likely to experience poverty, homelessness and hunger. And the Republican bill that created the program also slashed funding for programs that are disproportionately used by children, including Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

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This story has been corrected to show the mother's surname is McLellan, not McClellan.

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Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim and Adriana Morga contributed to this report.

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

Linebacker Myles Graham tells reporters, “I think our job is to go 100%, and whenever they say go, we gotta go. We gotta compete. We gotta get better. We gotta push each other. We gotta strain.”

“The fire is definitely spread throughout the team,” says star running back Jaden Baugh.

Judging from the players’ comments at Media Days, Sumrall and the new staff have won the buy-in from his football team.

“Having those coaches that you know love you and it makes you want to play harder for not only them but for the team and the program as well,” says wide receiver and Jones HS alum Vernell Brown III.

The Florida Gators kick off the season Sept. 5 at the Swamp against FAU.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington raised the question Wednesday in an ongoing lawsuit against President Donald Trump's ban on transgender troops. Reyes noted that Trump's ban says “the Armed Forces must adhere to high mental and physical health standards ... without the benefit of routine medical treatment or special provisions.”

Reyes ordered both parties in the lawsuit to address “the similarities and differences in administering TRT, both medically and logistically, for trans men compared to other service members, including cis individuals.” She was using the acronym for testosterone replacement therapy.

The judge also requested information on the Pentagon's “basis for treating trans men and other service members differently between this new policy and the Military Ban.”

Reyes' order comes a week after Hegseth announced that he is rolling out a new screening program for “testosterone deficiency” among troops, calling it necessary to allow them to operate at their “absolute best.”

The screenings will be conducted annually as part of service members’ required medical screenings for those 30 and older, he said. Troops under 30 can volunteer to be tested. In a video on social media, Hegseth said receiving testosterone replacement therapy would be voluntary.

Other Trump administration officials have begun to advocate for men to have easier access to testosterone replacement therapies, but the messaging from Hegseth and others blends known science on the hormone with broader, and less substantiated, claims.

Testosterone levels in men decline naturally with age and have long been linked to issues like erectile dysfunction, low libido, mood changes and weight gain. But experts have debated for years how to diagnose those problems and whether they should be treated by replacing the hormone.

Reyes, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, is overseeing one of the lawsuits against Trump's ban on transgender troops. Transgender active duty service members and former service members seeking to reenlist sued in late January 2025, shortly after the president returned for his second term in office.

Reyes ruled last year against Trump's executive order to exclude transgender troops. A divided panel of federal appeals court judges sent the case back to Reyes after partially upholding her order, finding that the ban was unlawful and service members who sued could not be kicked out.

Reyes has since given the case class-action status, which means the outcome could expand to all service members.

Trump's transgender military ban remains in effect, however. The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the Pentagon to enforce it as litigation plays out.

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Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst and Michael Kunzelman contributed to this report.

Seattle will be represented by Lauren Jackson and Flau’jae Johnson. Washington will have Elena Delle Donne partnered with Shakira Austin. Dallas, which started out as a franchise in Detroit, will pair Jessica Shepard with Deanna Nolan. Minnesota will have Rebekkah Brunson playing with Courtney Williams.

Each team will also include a standout high school player from Nike EYBL, bringing together three generations of women’s basketball in one competition.

The Nike EYBL participants are Jezelle “GG” Banks, Ryan Carter, Tatianna Griffin and Morghan Reckley. Honorary general managers for the WNBA All-Star Game, Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon, will serve as designated passers, with Cooper distributing the ball to two teams and Weatherspoon passing it to the other two teams.

The format is a two-round, timed shooting competition in which teams have 70 seconds to score as many points as possible from seven shooting locations around the court. The competition features shots ranging from a layup to a 3-pointer, with the two teams posting the highest scores in the opening round advancing to the championship round.

The shooting stars winners will get $15,000. Each competitor will receive $7,500.

Last year the winners of the skills contest each received $2,575 from the WNBA.

The league announced the participants of the 3-point contest on Tuesday.

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