A Manhattan federal jury deliberated for four days before reaching its decision Wednesday in the closely watched case, which gave fans the equivalent of a backstage pass to a business that dominates live entertainment in the U.S. and beyond.

At the end of the proceeding, the judge told lawyers on both sides to meet with one another “and the United States” to provide a joint letter proposing a schedule for motions and how the remedies phase of the case would occur. He told them to deliver it by late next week.

Live Nation Entertainment owns, operates, controls booking for or has an equity interest in hundreds of venues. Its subsidiary Ticketmaster is widely considered to be the world’s largest ticket-seller for live events. Its lawyers did not immediately comment as they left the courthouse, but said a statement would be issued shortly.

The civil case, initially led by the U.S. federal government, accused Live Nation of using its reach to smother competition — by blocking venues from using multiple ticket sellers, for example.

“It is time to hold them accountable,” Jeffrey Kessler, an attorney for the states, said in a closing argument, calling Live Nation a “monopolistic bully” that drove up prices for ticket buyers.

Live Nation insisted it's not a monopoly, saying that artists, sports teams and venues decide prices and ticketing practices. A company lawyer insisted its size was simply a function of excellence and effort.

“Success is not against the antitrust laws in the United States,” attorney David Marriott said in his summation.

Ticketmaster was established in 1976 and merged with Live Nation in 2010. The company now controls of 86% of the market for concerts and 73% of the overall market when sports events are included, according to Kessler.

Ticketmaster has long drawn ire from fans and some artists. Grunge rock titans Pearl Jam battled the business in the 1990s, even filing an anti-monopoly complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, which declined to bring a case then.

Decades later, the Justice Department, joined by dozens of states, brought the current lawsuit during Democratic former President Joe Biden's administration. Days into the trial, Republican President Donald Trump's administration announced it was settling its claims against Live Nation.

The deal included a cap on service fees at some amphitheaters, plus some new ticket-selling options for promoters and venues — potentially allowing, but not requiring, them to open doors to Ticketmaster competitors such as SeatGeek or AXS. But the settlement doesn't force Live Nation to split from Ticketmaster.

A handful of the states joined the settlement. But more than 30 pressed ahead with the trial, saying the federal government hadn't gotten enough concessions from Live Nation.

The trial brought Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino to the witness stand, where he was questioned about matters including the company’s Taylor Swift ticket debacle in 2022. Rapino blamed a cyberattack.

The proceedings also aired a Live Nation executive's internal messages declaring some prices “outrageous,” calling customers “so stupid” and boasting that the company “robbing them blind, baby.” The executive, Benjamin Baker, apologetically testified that the messages were “very immature and unacceptable.”

The Vatican had said fighting corruption in the mineral-rich central African country would be one of the themes of Leo’s visit, and the American pope didn’t hold back in addressing Biya and government authorities in an address at the presidential palace.

“In order for peace and justice to prevail, the chains of corruption — which disfigure authority and strip it of its credibility — must be broken,” Leo said. “Hearts must be set free from an idolatrous thirst for profit.”

Biya, who at 93 is the world’s oldest leader, sat passively as Leo read his speech in French. Cameroonian television halted its live feed for parts of Leo’s speech, but it wasn’t clear if technical issues were to blame.

The Vatican has made clear that Catholic social teaching disapproves of the types of authoritarian leaders that Leo is encountering on his four-nation African visit.

The highlight of Leo’s visit will be a “peace meeting” on Thursday in Cameroon’s northwest city of Bamenda, which has been plagued by separatist violence.

Pope calls for a ‘bold leap’

Biya has led Cameroon since 1982 and just Tuesday signed into law a bill that reintroduces the vice president position, a move the opposition says will further strengthen his grip on power.

Cameroon’s opposition has contested the result of the Oct. 12 election that secured another victory for Biya. His rival Issa Tchiroma Bakary claims to have won and has called on Cameroonians to reject the official result.

Leo told Biya that Cameroon needed to take “a bold leap forward” to impose transparency in public finances and integrate civil society organizations into the fabric of daily life.

Young people in general — and women in particular — had a vital role to play in bringing Cameroon into a new dawn, he said.

“Their commitment to education, mediation and the rebuilding of the social fabric is unparalleled and serves to curb corruption and abuses of power. For this reason, too, their voice must be fully recognized in decision- making processes,” Leo said.

The pope, who wrote his canon law dissertation on the wielding of authority by Augustinian religious superiors, cited St. Augustine on the correct role of political leaders that he said was relevant today.

“Those who rule serve those whom they seem to command; for they rule not from a love of power, but from a sense of the duty they owe to others,” he said, quoting Augustine.

He added: “From this perspective, serving one’s country means dedicating oneself, with a clear mind and an upright conscience, to the common good of all people in the nation.”

'Light entering a dark room'

Cheering Cameroonians gave Leo a raucous welcome, the first pope to visit since Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. They lined the road into the capital Yaounde from the airport, two and three deep in places, dancing and waving palm fronds as the pope's motorcade whizzed by.

Many women dressed in identical bright dresses and stood behind banners announcing the name of their parish, while billboards splashed posters of the pope and Biya under the banner “Land of Hope.”

Gerald Mambeh, a Catholic teacher in Yaounde, said the pope’s visit needs to spark genuine dialogue and accountability to achieve lasting peace.

“This visit feels like light entering a dark room … but peace will not come from symbolism alone,” said Mambeh. “In a country where many feel abandoned, his presence feels like God has not forgotten us. Let the pope hear this beyond the politics: Cameroonians are not asking for miracles, we are asking for fairness, dignity, and a future.”

'Share in the national cake'

Cameroon has significant reserves of oil, natural gas, cobalt, bauxite, iron ore, gold and diamonds. The extractive sector accounts for nearly a third of the country’s exports, according to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

But rights groups and the Catholic Church say revenues from extraction rarely reach the rural and indigenous communities that live closest to mining and drilling operations, while foreign companies and a small national elite capture most of the profits.

Leo said such a status quo cannot remain.

“Transparency in the management of public resources and respect for the rule of law are essential to restoring trust,” he said. “It is time to examine our conscience and take a bold leap forward.”

Public official Angelica Ambe Mundi said she was touched by Leo's message. After he finished, she stepped forward and gently touched his chair before pressing her hand to her chest. She then knelt in quiet reverence.

“He spoke about the even distribution of state resources… violence comes when people feel disgruntled, when they are marginalized,” she told The Associated Press.

For her, his words cut to the core of Cameroon’s unrest: “People get violent when they are hungry. To stop violence, every Cameroonian must feel they belong — and share in the national cake.”

Pause in fighting

English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion in 2017 with the stated goal of breaking away from Cameroon's French-speaking majority and establishing an independent state. The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced over 600,000 others, according to the International Crisis Group, a think tank.

On the eve of Leo’s arrival, the English-speaking separatists announced a three-day pause in fighting to allow “safe travel” for his visit.

The Unity Alliance, which includes several separatist groups, said in a statement Monday that the pause reflects the “profound spiritual importance” of the pope's visit and is intended to allow civilians, pilgrims and dignitaries to travel safely.

Biya, who has shunned dialogue with the English-speaking separatists, spoke of a world in need of tolerance and hope as a replacement for “the voice of arms.”

“The world needs the message of peace, justice, tolerance, forgiveness, and love that you embody,” he told Leo.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

The issues are centered in the Mosaic neighborhood off LPGA Boulevard, where residents say the sidewalks were not properly sloped to allow water to drain — leaving them slippery and dangerous.

News 6 first reported the problem in the fall after residents began sounding the alarm.

[WATCH: Flooded sidewalks cause concern in Daytona Beach’s Mosaic neighborhood]

Over a six-month period, residents recorded more than 40 falls on the sidewalks and presented that data to the city to demonstrate the severity of the problem. Resident Brenda Pruiett-Fouser said the financial burden of fixing the problem falls squarely on the city.

“We paid when we built our house to have the sidewalks put in. The city is having to pay for the mistake of their own,” said Pruiett-Fouser.

Pruiett-Fouser said residents doubted the city would follow through but continued pushing for a resolution.

“The residents were very skeptical that it was actually going to get done. They kept saying oh it’s never going to get done, it’s never going to get done, and we kept pushing for it,” said Pruiett-Fouser.

News 6 first reported the problem in September. The city later admitted it had signed off on the sidewalks during development without conducting proper inspections. Under the proposed contract, the city would pay $1.2 million to replace the sidewalks, while the developer would contribute $300,000 to redo pavers.

[WATCH: Daytona Beach city auditor defends fire department audit amid commissioner pushback]

Resident Dave Fouser said accountability rests with the city.

“The city dropped the ball on this. Yes, it was the developer’s responsibility initially because they were the ones who put it in, but once the city signed off on those bonds, the city owned it,” said Dave Fouser.

The first phase of the Mosaic neighborhood was built in 2018, and residents say the sidewalk problems surfaced shortly after. They argue earlier action could have saved the city significant money.

“Had they addressed it in the beginning there would have only been about 250 homes at the time — now there’s 600 homes, so this exponentially made it more expensive,” said Pruiett-Fouser.

The project is expected to take more than a year to complete. A construction start date will be set following Wednesday night’s commission vote.

Stefan Pildes, 50, of Hewitt, New Jersey, was arrested on Wednesday and awaited an appearance in Manhattan federal court, where an indictment charging him with wire fraud was unsealed.

Federal authorities said he donated only a small fraction of the $2.7 million he raised through SantaCon charity events from 2019 to 2024. The tradition featured a ticketed bar crawl through city streets each December that has attracted over 25,000 people.

A message seeking comment was sent to an attorney for Pildes. The defendant was to make an initial appearance before a magistrate judge Wednesday.

Widely reviled by many residents for the chaos it brings to city streets and subways, the annual New York City bacchanal draws large throngs of costumed merrymakers to Manhattan’s streets and watering holes every year, with most people dressed as Saint Nick, though there are usually a few Mrs. Clauses, elves and the occasional Grinch.

The event traces its origins to a 1994 flash mob-style event in San Francisco dubbed “Santarchy,” intended to mock Christmas consumerism. As the idea spread to cities around the country, it moved away from its countercultural origins and became more of a mass bar crawl.

The New York City version is now promoted as “a charitable, non-political, nonsensical Santa Claus convention.”

Authorities said Pildes siphoned more than half of the proceeds raised each year to an entity he controlled so that he could renovate a lakefront property in New Jersey and fund concert tickets, luxury vacations in Hawaii and Las Vegas, extravagant meals and a luxury vehicle.

According to an indictment, Pildes spent much of the money on himself even though he claimed he received no compensation from the event.

“No producer received income from this event, this is a charity event,” the indictment alleges he wrote in a March 2023 email to a potential venue.

"Instead of donating the millions of dollars he raised, he ran his own con game,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a news release.

Pildes was president and controlled Participatory Safety Inc., the nonprofit entity that organized SantaCon, authorities said.

According to the indictment, Pildes solicited bars and restaurants to participate and donate 10% to 25% of their food and beverage sales to his charity organization.

Trump also claimed that China has agreed not to provide weapons to Iran as reports circulate that Beijing has considered transferring arms. China’s Foreign Ministry has repeatedly denied in recent days that the country is providing any form of military support to Iran.

Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Wednesday that the U.S. is preparing to ramp up economic pain on Iran by levying secondary sanctions on financial institutions that do business with the Middle Eastern nation. Bessent called the measure the “financial equivalent” of the bombing campaign.

Meanwhile, mediators’ efforts to extend a ceasefire between the United States and Iran have made progress as the warring sides are expected to return soon to the table for another round of negotiations, regional officials said. However, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday the U.S. has not formally agreed to extend the ceasefire and that “engagement” with Iran continues. The latest diplomatic move came hours later, when a Pakistani delegation arrived for talks in Tehran.

Israel, meanwhile, is pressing ahead with its aerial and ground war in Lebanon, where the death toll has climbed to more than 2,100 people. The country’s National News Agency reported airstrikes and artillery shelling throughout southern Lebanon on Wednesday, where Israeli forces have encircled fighters with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. A day earlier, the two nations held their first direct talks in decades.

Here is the latest:

Israeli prime minister says forces will continue push in south Lebanon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the current fighting is concentrated in the strategic south Lebanon town of Bint Jbeil, where Israeli troops are about to “eliminate this great stronghold of Hezbollah.”

Netanyahu, in a video address Wednesday evening, said he has given instructions for the military to continue to widen the security zone in south Lebanon — a reference to areas close to the border that the Israeli army now occupies — and to spread it eastward.

He said Israel is concurrently negotiating with Lebanon, with two central goals: disarming Hezbollah and a sustainable peace. “Peace through strength,” he added.

He also said the U.S. was updating Israel on the talks with Iran and that Israel was prepared for any scenario, should the fighting with Iran resume.

Senate Republicans again reject effort to halt Trump’s Iran war

The Republican-led Senate on Wednesday rejected the latest Democratic attempt to halt President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, turning aside a resolution that would require the U.S. to withdraw forces from the conflict until Congress authorizes further action.

The 47-52 vote was the fourth time this year that the Senate has voted to cede its war powers to the president in a conflict that Democrats say is illegal and unjustified. Republicans say they will keep faith in Trump’s wartime leadership, for now, citing Iran’s nuclear capabilities and the high stakes of withdrawal. But GOP lawmakers are also anxious for the conflict to end — and they may not defer to the executive branch indefinitely.

Some Republicans have already made clear that they are eyeing future votes that could become an important test for the president if the war drags on.

▶ Read more

Treasury sanctions Ali Shamkhani-linked network, warns of secondary sanctions

The U.S. is imposing sanctions targeting an Iranian oil smuggling network tied to the deceased senior Iranian security official Ali Shamkhani.

Sanctions include dozens of individuals and companies accused of transporting and selling Iranian and Russian oil through front companies, many of which are in the UAE.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, that banks “should be on notice that Treasury will leverage all tools and authorities, including secondary sanctions, against those that continue to support Tehran’s terrorist activities.”

UN welcomes Lebanon-Israel meeting as an `important first step’ to end hostilities

The first Israel-Lebanon meeting in decades is key to moving Israel and Lebanon “towards breaking the recurrent rounds of violence that have caused considerable suffering for too long,” U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Wednesday.

“Maintaining dialogue will be essential in resolving outstanding issues and achieving progress towards stability,” he said, adding that the U.N. is ready to support these efforts.

Despite the talks, Haq said the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon known as UNIFIL continues to report ongoing hostilities in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, with projectiles fired toward Israel and its forces in the south, and Israeli forces continuing airstrikes, armored vehicle movements and other activities.

Across southern and eastern Lebanon, dozens of locations are being hit daily by Israeli strikes, he said. At leader 35 villages in the south were reportedly struck Tuesday causing extensive damage to residential areas.

As a result of the ongoing hostilities, Haq said more than 1.2 million Lebanese people have now been displaced.

Naval expert: Evasion efforts unlikely to affect blockade enforcement

Certain ships navigating waters around the Strait of Hormuz may be disguising their identities or destinations to evade interception under the U.S. blockade, but Joshua Tallis, director of security affairs at the Center for Naval Analyses, said the U.S. Navy likely has the tools to track them, even if doing so requires more resources.

Some ships appear to have slipped through, according to maritime trackers, but the blockade’s effectiveness depends less on individual crossings than on how Washington defines success, Tallis said.

A campaign aimed at pressuring Iran back to negotiations differs sharply from one intended to inflict enough economic pain to threaten the government itself. Blockades typically operate cumulatively, with economic repercussions unchanged if a ship or two pass through, Tallis said.

More vessels are challenging the blockade, naval expert says

With no alternative route out of the Gulf, vessels appear more willing to take risks than in past crises, including off Venezuela or in the Red Sea, where they could reroute.

“There’s a kind of pent-up pressure, especially among ships stuck inside the Gulf,” Tallis said, adding that it is pushing owners and captains toward decisions they might otherwise avoid. “We’re seeing a higher tolerance for risk than in other scenarios.”

That pressure is compounded by murky visibility at sea. Not all “shadow vessels” broadcast their positions or destinations, and while large oil tankers are relatively easy to track, smaller ships carrying other cargo are harder to identify, creating openings some may try to exploit, he said.

US ready to hit Iran with economic pain equivalent to bombings, top Trump official says

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Wednesday that the U.S. is preparing to ramp up economic pain on Iran, saying the Republican administration is preparing action that will be the “financial equivalent” of the bombing campaign.

Bessent said the administration has “told companies, we have told countries that if you are buying Iranian oil, that if Iranian money is sitting in your banks, we are now willing to apply secondary sanctions, which is a very stern measure. And the Iranians should know that this is going to be the financial equivalent of what we saw in the kinetic activities.”

The warning comes the day after Treasury Department sent a letter to financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, threatening to levy secondary sanctions for doing business with Iran.

White House says talks with Iran are ongoing

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. had not “formally requested an extension of the ceasefire” with Iran.

The ceasefire announced on April 7 is currently slated to expire next Tuesday.

“At this moment, we remain very much engaged, in these negotiations, in these talks,” Leavitt said, adding that there are “discussions” about more talks being held unperson “but nothing is official until you hear it from us here at the White House.”

She said that the possible next rounds of talks “would very likely” be in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad as they were previously.

Bessent says Americans can choose if they want to use their tax refunds to buy increasingly pricey gasoline

Asked if the tax refunds would go toward gasoline averaging more than $4 a gallon, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the public is free to spend its money however it wants.

“Americans have more money. They can decide how they want to spend it,” Bessent said.

Higher prices at the pump because of the Iran War has created the risk that President Donald Trump’s tax cuts will offset the cost of fueling up autos to go to work and run errands, instead of boosting spending in ways that could help overall economic growth.

Bessent ‘optimistic’ that gasoline prices going back to $3 a gallon this summer

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that he believes gasoline prices will be closer to $3 gallon this summer, saying pumping oil can resume within a week of the Strait of Hormuz opening.

“I’m optimistic that sometime between June 20th and September 20th that we can have $3 gas again,” said Bessent.

Gas prices are averaging $4.11 a gallon, up from $3.17 a year ago, according to AAA.

US Navy says they will use force to enforce Iran blockade

U.S. Navy warships are telling merchant ships in and around Iran that they are ready to board them and use force to compel compliance with the blockade on ships trading with Iran.

“Vessels will be boarded for interdiction and seizure transiting to or from Iranian port,” a Navy radio message, posted to social media by U.S. Central Command, said. A military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military operation, confirmed the message is currently being broadcast to all ships in the region.

“If you do not comply with this blockade, we will use force,” the radio message added.

—- Konstantin Toropin

Iranian and Emirati officials discuss de-escalation efforts

UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf discussed regional developments on a phone call and ways to de-escalate tensions, UAE state-run news agency WAM reported, without further details.

US Bishops’ chairman on doctrine defends Pope Leo

The chairman of the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine is defending Pope Leo XIV’s comments on the church’s “just war” doctrine.

The statement doesn’t directly refer to the Iran war, President Trump or Vice President Vance. But it cites “recent public comments” regarding church teachings on war and peace. It comes after Trump blasted the pope on social media. Vance, a Catholic convert, said Leo should be “careful” addressing such matters.

Bishop James Massa said the Catholic Church has long taught that “a nation can only legitimately take up the sword ‘in self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed.’”

That, said Massa, is the basis of Pope Leo’s comment that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.’”

The pope is “not merely offering opinions on theology, he is preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ,” Massa said.

UN allocates $12M for Iran aid

UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher said $12 million has been allocated for humanitarian support in Iran.

“Thousands of civilians killed. Infrastructure destroyed. Essential services disrupted. This funding will help our partners deliver life-saving assistance at scale,” he wrote on X.

House Speaker Mike Johnson defended Trump and Vance’s swipes at Pope Leo

“If you wade into political waters, I think you should expect some political response,” the Republican leader said at the Capitol. “The pope’s received some of that.”

Johnson insisted he’s not one to criticize clerics or religious leaders, but he leaned into what he called the just war doctrine when it comes to the U.S. military action against Iran. “The stakes are so high,” he said.

“I don’t want to engage in a theological debate with the pope,” he said. “These are matters that people of good faith and good sense can debate.”

Johnson a day earlier at the Capitol said that he had asked Trump to take down a social media post that was interpreted as the president depicting himself as Jesus.

Israel to convene security cabinet to discuss developments with Lebanon

An Israeli official said the meeting would be held Wednesday evening. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The meeting comes a day after Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington, following more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

—- Melanie Lidman

No ships have made it past U.S. naval blockade, military says

U.S. Central Command said in a statement Wednesday that no vessels have made it past U.S. naval forces during the first 48 hours of the blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports.

Central Command also said nine vessels have complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or Iran’s coastal area.

First crude tanker passes Strait of Hormuz since US blockade

A Malta-flagged vessel is the first crude oil carrier to head west through Strait of Hormuz since the United States blocked Iranian ports, according to a global shipping tracking monitor.

The Malta-flagged VLCC Agios Fanourios I is expected to arrive on Thursday to Basra, Iraq, where ports are not under U.S. blockade. Marine Traffic said the vessel attempted again a transit after anchoring in the Gulf of Oman for nearly two days.

US called on Iran to halt uranium enrichment for 20 years

The negotiating team led by Vice President JD Vance called for Iran to agree to a uranium enrichment moratorium as part of a potential deal to end the war, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts and a person briefed on the matter.

The Iranians rejected the U.S. plan laid out during last weekend’s talks in Islamabad and came back with a counteroffer to suspend enrichment for five years, the regional official and a person briefed on the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the negotiations.

The White House rejected the Iranian proposal that was conveyed by Tehran’s negotiators earlier this week.

The White House and the vice president’s office did not respond to requests for comment about the proposals.

The U.S. and Iranian proposals were first reported by the New York Times.

Democrats grill US envoy in first opportunity to question Trump administration on Iran

Attending a Senate Foreign Relations committee hearing on reforms to the United Nations, ambassador Mike Waltz unintentionally became the highest-level U.S. official to testify before Congress since U.S. and Israeli strikes started a war against Iran.

Democratic senators, including Chris Coons, Chris Murphy and Tim Kaine, took that opportunity to express their frustration with the Trump administration’s decision not to consult or further brief Capitol Hill on military action it is taking against Tehran.

“Those of us on the Democratic side do find it amazing that we still have not had an open hearing on this committee or the Armed Services Committee on this conflict,” Murphy, who represents Connecticut, told Waltz.

Asked several times about Trump’s threats last week to end Iranian civilization, Waltz defended it as “tough talk” and a “mean tweet” that yielded diplomatic results.

“They clearly got the message, and they clearly came back to the table,” he said.

Germany’s foreign minister: Strait of Hormuz opening is in interest of ‘entire global community’

Johann Wadephul said it is “unacceptable” that the strait is being controlled by a single state and that tolls are being collected.

“We will demand that a complete opening of the Strait of Hormuz is guaranteed once again,” the foreign minister told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday. “This is not just in the interest of the Gulf states, this is not just in the interest of the immediate Asian neighboring states, but it is in the interest of the entire global community.”

Referring to the Iran war, Wadephul reiterated that “this conflict can’t be solved through military means, it must be solved through negotiations.”

He also stressed that “the demands of the U.S. president are right — that the result of negotiations must be that there is no nuclear threat coming from Iran in the future.

3 different teams of paramedics were struck, Lebanese health ministry says

The attacks in southern Lebanon killed three paramedics, wounded six others and left a fourth medic missing in the town of Mayfadoun, the health ministry said.

The ministry said Israel struck the first team of paramedics on Wednesday as it was heading to rescue wounded people, killing one paramedic. Another medical worker on that initial mission remains “missing,” the ministry said, without elaborating.

Israel struck the second team as it rushed to rescue the first, wounding three more paramedics.

In the third and final rescue attempt, Israel again hit ambulances heading to the site, killing two paramedics and wounding three more.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes.

Lebanon’s health ministry denounced Israel’s attacks as “a flagrant crime” and warned that “paramedics have become direct targets, pursued relentlessly in a blatant violation (of) … international humanitarian law.”

Pakistan’s prime minister arrives in Saudi Arabia

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Jeddah on Wednesday and is set to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues, following recent Pakistan-hosted talks between the United States and Iran.

A statement from Sharif’s office in Islamabad said the prime minister was received at the airport by senior Saudi officials.

Sharif is accompanied by a high-level delegation including Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and the prime minister’s spokesman, Mosharraf Zaidi.

Children killed in Lebanon as Israeli strikes hit homes far from the front lines

Jawad Younes, 11, and his cousins were playing soccer in the lot between their houses, as they often did. His little brother, 4-year-old Mehdi, had joined them but grew tired, so Jawad took him home and handed him off to their mother before returning to the game. Minutes later, an Israeli strike came.

The target was Jawad’s uncle’s home. The blast shook neighboring buildings and threw Jawad’s siblings at home to the ground. As their mother, Malak Meslmani, scrambled to help them up, she could think only of Jawad.

“I was pulling my children off the floor in the house, but as I was running to pick them up, I screamed, ‘Jawad,’” she said. ”My heart told me.”

Her son was instantly killed in the March 27 Israeli strike in Saksakieh. So was one of his cousins — so close they were more like brothers. Several other children were wounded.

▶ Read more

Pakistani military chief arrives in Tehran, military says

Pakistan’s army chief arrived in Tehran on Wednesday in the latest diplomatic move to ease tensions in the region and facilitate a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran, two Pakistani officials said.

The military said the visit is “part of the ongoing mediation efforts” and gave no details.

UN nuclear chief urges strict Iran checks in any deal to end war

The head of the U.N. General Assembly’s nuclear watchdog said Wednesday that “very detailed” measures to verify Iran’s nuclear activities must be included in a potential U.S.-Iran agreement to end their war in the Middle East.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi stressed the need for a thorough verification regime for Iran’s nuclear program, as U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a second round of talks could happen over the next two days.

The Trump administration has said that preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon is a key war aim. Iran has previously said it isn’t developing such weapons but rejected limits on its nuclear program.

▶ Read more

Mixed feelings in Lebanon over talks with Israel

Lebanese were divided on Wednesday over their government’s decision to pursue rare, direct negotiations with Israel in hopes of ending the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Some forced to flee their homes and communities in southern Lebanon say they believe Israel’s ground invasion can only be stopped through military force, not diplomacy.

“We stand with the young men, the fighters, and those stationed on the border, and with whatever decision they make,” said Mustafa Alaa Al-Din, now living in Beirut after being displaced from a southern border village. “These negotiations do not represent us … it’s as if they never existed.”

Others said they support any initiative that promises to hasten the end of the war.

“The negotiations are more in our interest than in Israel’s interest, because we are the ones whose country is being destroyed, we are the ones suffering losses,” said Mohamed Saad, a resident of Beirut, the Lebanese capital. “We are the ones out in the streets.”

A 21-year-old infielder, McGonigle had four hits in his major league debut on March 26 and entered Wednesday hitting .311 with one homer, eight RBIs and a .417 on-base percentage in 17 games.

“As soon as we saw this kid play and saw the way he commands the strike zone, fights for every pitch and uses the whole field, it was like, ‘Wow, that’s pretty interesting for an 18-year-old kid,’" Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said. “We knew he could play the infield and he had the right physical gifts.

“It was just about how quickly everything would come together, and they came together more quickly than I ever thought.”

McGonigle became the fourth top prospect to get a big-money deal since late March following a $140 million, nine-year contract for 19-year-old Pittsburgh shortstop Konnor Griffin, a $95 million, eight-year agreement for 20-year-old Seattle shortstop Colt Emerson and a $50.75 million, eight-year pact for 21-year-old Milwaukee shortstop Cooper Pratt.

“If you think about it, this is a kid who would be eligible for this year’s draft if he had gone to college,” Harris said. “Now, he’s up here with a long-term contract, so I guess he made the right decision.”

McGonigle has a one-year contact for 2026 paying the $780,000 minimum while in the major leagues and $127,100 while in the minors.

His new deal calls for a $14 million signing bonus, including $8 million payable within 30 days of the contract's approval by Major League Baseball and $6 million on March 31, 2028. He gets salaries of $1 million next year, $7 million in 2028, $16 million in 2029, $21 million in 2030, $22 million in 2031 and $23 million each in 2032, 2033 and 2034.

“I had the confidence to think there was a possibility for something like this to happen,” McGonigle said. “I'm just super pumped and super excited to spend the next nine years here helping this team win.”

Escalators could increase his salaries in the final three seasons, capped at $25 million in 2032, $26 million in 2033 and $28 million in 2034. The escalators, based on accomplishments starting in 2026, are $2 million for winning an MVP, $1 million for finishing second through fifth in voting, $500,000 for sixth through 10th, $500,000 for making the All-MLB first or second team, $250,000 for being elected or selected an All-Star and $250,000 for winning a Silver Slugger.

He would get a $5 million assignment bonus each time he is traded.

McGonigle's deal covers the first three seasons after he would have been eligible for free agency.

McGonigle was selected by the Tigers at No. 37 in the 2023 amateur draft out of Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania.

“Ever since I picked up a bat, this was always a dream,” he said. “Definitely at a young age, I'd say I knew I had the opportunity to play at a high level.”

He has reached base in 13 consecutive starts and 15 of 16 games. He is one of only 10 players in the major leagues with more walks (11) than strikeouts (eight) among players with at least 11 walks.

“What he is doing right now is remarkable,” Harris said. "We studied young hitters and their adjustment periods to the majors, and right down the line, they really struggled for the first 150 plate appearances in the big leagues.

“Clearly, (Kevin) hasn't. I can't remember a debut that I was this impressed with through 17 games.”

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

Terms were not released, per club policy, but ESPN reported it was a three-year, $5 million supermax contract that is the most lucrative in WNBA history.

“A’ja is truly one of one, who has led this franchise to where it is today,” Aces president and general manager Nikki Fargas said in a statement. “Not only has she catapulted into the history books and surpassed almost every record in existence, but she does so with the utmost confidence, authenticity and grace. We look forward to continuing to see her thrive in an Aces uniform.”

In addition to Wilson — last season named WNBA MVP and The Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year — the Aces have re-signed stars Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray and Jewell Loyd, among other key contributors to their third title in four seasons.

Also Wednesday, the Aces signed guard Chennedy Carter to a training camp contract. She last played in the WNBA in 2024 with Chicago and averaged 17.4 points and 3.4 assists. She also had a high-profile takedown of Caitlin Clark and has been dogged by issues with teammates over her career.

A veteran team led by Wilson, whose leadership last season took the Aces from potentially not making the playoffs to a 16-game winning streak and eventual championship, likely wouldn't tolerate unneeded distractions.

Wilson is building a case as the WNBA's best-ever player, and coach Becky Hammon has said her superstar forward is alone on Mount Everest.

No player can match Wilson's four MVP awards. She also took home the trophy in 2020, 2022 and 2024 and was the unanimous choice in 2024.

Wilson also was named the league co-Defensive Player of the Year last season, sharing the honor with Minnesota’s Alanna Smith. It was Wilson's third such award in four years.

She led the WNBA last season in scoring with 23.4 points per game and in blocked shots with a 2.3 average.

It was the second year in a row Wilson averaged at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. She is the only WNBA player to do that even once while playing at least 15 games.

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

The 47-52 vote was the fourth time this year that the Senate has voted to cede its war powers to the president in a conflict that Democrats say is illegal and unjustified. Republicans say they will keep faith in Trump’s wartime leadership, for now, citing Iran’s nuclear capabilities and the high stakes of withdrawal. But GOP lawmakers are also anxious for the conflict to end — and they may not defer to the executive branch indefinitely.

Some Republicans have already made clear that they are eyeing future votes that could become an important test for the president if the war drags on.

Under the War Powers Act of 1973, Congress must declare war or authorize use of force within 60 days of its start — a deadline that will arrive at the end of this month. The law provides for a potential 30-day extension of that deadline, but lawmakers have made clear that they want the administration to soon lay out a plan for the end of the conflict.

After the 60-day or 90-day deadline, “it’s time to fish or cut bait,” said Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

“I think that the administration would be wise to put together what would look like a well-founded authorization of military force and a funding strategy,” Tillis said.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has been talking to colleagues about putting together a resolution that would authorize the war beyond that time period. Republican Sens. John Curtis of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine have also said they would like to see congressional action.

“I have been clear from the beginning of this military operation that the President’s power is not unlimited as Commander in Chief, as the Constitution gives Congress an essential role in matters of war and peace,” Collins said in a statement. “If this conflict exceeds the 60 days specified in the War Powers Act, or if the President deploys troops on the ground, I believe that Congress should have to authorize those actions.”

Democrats say war is illegal, unnecessary

Democrats have vowed to force votes on the Senate floor as long as the war continues.

“As our troops continue to sacrifice whatever is asked of them, we senators need to do the absolute minimum required of us,” said Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, an Iraq war veteran who lost both legs in combat, before Wednesday’s vote.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that with gas prices climbing “the American people literally cannot afford for Republicans to forgo another opportunity to work with Democrats to end Trump’s disastrous war.”

War votes are still uncertain

Even as several Republicans are calling for eventual congressional action, it remains unclear if Republican leaders will go along. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said this week that “at this point most of us I think feel pretty good about what the military has achieved there.”

Thune would not commit to a vote. But he did say that “they do need a plan for how to wind this down, how to get an outcome that actually leads to a safer, more secure Middle East and, by extension, a stronger national security position for the United States.”

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said that at the 60-day deadline, Congress isn’t going to “jump up and say that’s it, it’s one second past 60 days, everybody come home.”

Some of the people who want a vote just want to embarrass Trump, Kennedy said.

“I want to see us achieve our objective in Iran,” Kennedy said. “And then I want to see us get out.”

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Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim and Steven Sloan contributed to this report.

Duran made the gesture as he returned to the dugout after a fifth-inning groundout in Boston’s 6-0 loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night at Target Field.

“We were made aware of the situation late last night and are looking into it,” Twins senior vice president of communications and public affairs Dustin Morse said. “There's no place in our game for conduct like that.”'

MLB confirmed its own investigation, per standard practice of reviewing the conduct of both the player and the fan before determining any potential discipline.

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

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“Somebody just told me to kill myself. I’m used to it at this point, you know?” Duran said after the game, adding that he "shouldn’t react like that, but that kind of stuff is still kind of triggering.”

Duran discussed bouts with severe depression and a suicide attempt in a Netflix documentary series that debuted last year.

“Honestly, it’s my fault for talking about my mental health because I kind of brought in the haters. So I’ve just got to get used to it,” Duran said. “I was just trying to hold it in and not really bring that up to the team. I mean, we’re trying to win a game. I shouldn’t even bring that up to anybody. ... It just happens.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said after the game he hadn’t witnessed the confrontation or reviewed video of it, but he shared his thoughts with reporters ahead of the series finale on Wednesday.

“I know the Twins are all over the case and trying to find out who he was, and hopefully they find the person," Cora said, adding that if found “it’s probably the last big-league game that that person is going to attend.”

“We have Jarren’s back. Like I said last year, for him to open up, he saved lives,” Cora added. "And it’s not easy. It’s not easy because, like he said, we’re in the business of winning games, and he doesn’t want to be a distraction. And he’s not a distraction. He’s not. He’s just a player that plays for the Red Sox and has our full support.”

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AP Sports Writers Ronald Blum in New York and Dave Campbell in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

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

The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and was on track to eclipse its all-time high set in January. After falling nearly 10% below its record in late March, a drop steep enough that Wall Street calls it a “correction,” the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts has since roared roughly 10% higher.

Much of the rally has been due to expectations for calming tensions in the war and a resumption of the full flow of oil from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide through the Strait of Hormuz. Hopes remained high Wednesday as regional officials told The Associated Press that the United States and Iran had an “in principle agreement” to extend a ceasefire to allow for more diplomacy.

To be sure, stocks could easily get back to falling if those expectations get undercut, which has happened before in the war. Oil prices drifted up and down Wednesday and showed that caution remains in financial markets. Stock indexes around the world also made only modest movements following their big gains in recent weeks.

The price of Brent crude, the international standard, edged up 0.1% to settle at $94.93 per barrel. That’s still well above its roughly $70 price from before the war, though it’s down from its $119 peak when worries about the fighting have been at their heights.

A barrel of U.S. crude oil for May delivery inched up less than 0.1% to settle at $91.29.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 52 points, or 0.1%, as of 3:09 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.4% higher.

If U.S.-Iran talks do happen and if they are successful, the war could end up being only a temporary setback for the global economy instead of a new normal of very high oil prices and inflation. And that in turn could allow investors to return their attention to what matters most for stock prices: money.

Through all the day-to-day noise that can affect investors’ opinions, stock prices tend to move with the direction of corporate profits over the long term. And positive trends there had stock markets doing well before the war began. Analysts also see continued growth ahead, for now at least.

Bank of America rose 2% after saying it made $8.6 billion in profit during the first three months of the year. That’s up 17% from a year earlier and more than analysts expected. CEO Brian Moynihan also said the bank saw signs of a “resilient American economy,” including solid spending by U.S. consumers.

Morgan Stanley jumped 4.7% after the investment bank likewise delivered a better-than-expected quarter of results.

Companies hurt earlier in the year by worries about artificial-intelligence technology also rose to recover more of their losses for 2026. Some of the concerns were about companies potentially spending too much to build out AI capabilities, while others focused on businesses that may go obsolete because of AI-powered competition.

The worries got so deep that they shook private-credit companies that have lent money to software businesses and others potentially under threat because of AI.

ServiceNow climbed 7.8%, Oracle rose 4.6% and Ares Management gained 6.3% for some of Wednesday's biggest gains in the S&P 500. All are still down between 12% and 38% for the year so far.

With stock prices overall back to where they were in January, and with analysts' expectations for upcoming profits from big U.S. companies only rising since then, optimists say many stocks look less expensive than they did a few months ago.

“Today, we see compelling opportunity potential” to shift into areas of the market that look like better buys than earlier this year, such as technology stocks, said Mason Mendez, investment strategy analyst at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

The stock price of Allbirds surged more than 600% to top $18 after the company said it's shifting gears and moving into the AI compute infrastructure industry, while changing its name to NewBird AI. The Allbirds name will stay with the shoe brand that the company has already agreed to sell to American Exchange Group.

Nike rose 3.7% after CEO Elliott Hill and Tim Cook — a Nike director and the CEO of Apple — disclosed that they purchased a combined 48,000 shares of the athletic shoe maker at a cost of about $1 million each. Nike shares are still down about 28% this year.

On the losing end of Wall Street was ASML. The Dutch company, whose machinery helps make chips, fell 5.4% after giving a forecasted range for upcoming revenue whose midpoint fell below analysts' expectations. Its stock is nevertheless still up about 34% for the year so far.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe following modest gains in Asia.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.28% from 4.26% late Tuesday.

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AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

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The audio file on this story has been updated to correct the timing of the S&P 500’s recent gain of more than 10%, which occurred since late March.

The theme park announced details of Expedition Odyssey: Fire & Ice, an all-new, story-driven upgrade to its popular indoor flying theater ride, set to debut later this spring.

The experience expands on the original Expedition Odyssey attraction — the park’s first-of-its-kind indoor flying theater ride — with a completely reimagined mission, new pre-show elements, and a high-definition cinematic adventure through some of the most extreme landscapes on Earth.

“We are introducing a brand-new entry experience, a themed pre-show, and an entirely new immersive, story-driven, high-definition attraction designed to deliver a visually compelling, transportive journey and leave them awestruck,” said Justin Newton, senior vice president of project delivery for United Parks & Resorts, SeaWorld’s parent company.

Passing through a refurbished hangar and active research station, guests are immersed in the tools, technology, and stories of those who venture into one of the world’s most extreme environments. Once inside the heart of the research station, they board a prototype research drone craft. A research scientist then delivers a final briefing before launch.

From there, the mission takes off. Guests soar over mountain peaks, glide across glaciers and icebergs, rush past rivers and waterfalls, and fly dangerously close to an erupting volcano — all while encountering iconic Arctic wildlife along the way.

Opened last year, the original Expedition Odyssey experience featured real Arctic footage captured by a SeaWorld team that spent a month stationed in the Arctic to produce the 4.5-minute film.

The ride system — a row of seats that creates a “flying” effect in front of a large theater screen — uses wind, mist, and motion effects to blur the line between simulation and reality. The minimum height requirement to ride is 39 inches.

Pauls Valley High School Principal Kirk Moore was shot in the leg during the April 7 attack, but managed to wrestle the suspect onto a bench, disarm him and remain on top of him until law enforcement officers arrived, according to court records.

The video, released by the school district in response to an Open Records Act request, shows a person in a dark hooded sweatshirt enter the school and point a handgun at two students in the lobby. After the gunman fires the weapon, Moore rushes at him, tackling and disarming him while the students run away. Another school official then enters the frame and kicks the gun away before picking it up and taking it away.

No students were injured in the attack.

“The actions of the staff and the principal stepping in as soon as they saw a subject with a firearm saved lives today,” Hunter McKee, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, said after the shooting.

In a statement shared on social media, Moore said: “I look forward to returning to work as soon as possible so that I may continue my life's work educating the next generation of Oklahoma leaders.”

Authorities arrested Victor Lee Hawkins, 20, a former student at the school who has been charged with unlawfully carrying a firearm, shooting with intent to kill and pointing a firearm.

Hawkins told investigators that he went to the school with plans to kill students, Moore and then himself in a mass shooting “like the Columbine shooters did,” a reference to the 1999 school shooting in Colorado in which 12 students and a teacher were killed, according to an OSBI affidavit.

Hawkins has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges. His court-appointed attorney, Tyson Stanek, declined to comment on the charges, citing policies of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System.

Garvin County Detention Center records show Hawkins is being held on $1 million bond.

Pauls Valley is a community of about 6,000 people 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City.

“This settlement will create a safer environment for our children online, and I hope that it will serve as a bellwether for how online interactive platforms allow our state’s youth to use their products,” the Democratic attorney general said Wednesday.

Roblox, a popular online gaming platform used by nearly half U.S. children under 16, will give $10 million over three years to support programs like the Boys & Girls Club and other nondigital activities, Ford said. It will also fund a law enforcement liaison position to respond to safety concerns about the platform and fund an online safety awareness campaign, Ford said.

The settlement, which was agreed upon in lieu of litigation, includes enhanced protections for minors who use the app, such as requiring age verification for all users and restricting nighttime notifications for minors. The gaming platform faces litigation in other states, including Texas and Kentucky, which allege it fails to protect children.

“Roblox is proud to have worked alongside Attorney General Ford to reach this landmark agreement, which builds on our work to establish a new standard for digital safety,” Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said in a statement.

Kaufman said the agreement creates a blueprint for how industry and regulators can work together to protect children.

The settlement comes as prosecutors have filed lawsuits against social media companies over the role they play in children’s lives. Last month, social media companies Meta and YouTube were found liable for designing their platforms to hook young users without concern for their well-being.

As part of the agreement, Roblox will implement facial age estimation technology to limit younger users’ chats to only those in similar age groups. Adult users and users under 16 will not be allowed to chat unless they are communicating with a trusted friend, Ford said. A trusted friend can be added through a QR code or their phone contacts to ensure the child knows the person outside of the platform, he said. The company will also monitor activity to see if a user lied about their age, he said.

Roblox will create kids accounts for users under ages 16 that blocks access to adult-rated content and provides games vetted for suitability. The agreement also expands parental oversight to users under 16. That oversight was previously available for users under 13.

Donch’e King, supervising criminal investigator at the attorney general's office, said half a million online predators pursue children at any given moment, often across multiple platforms. The majority of predatory contact occurs through chat rooms and instant messaging, he said. He urged parents to communicate frankly with their children about the platforms they are on and to report concerns to law enforcement.

“Protecting Nevada’s children is not an option; it’s our duty,” King said.

The court's newest justice, Jackson delivered a lengthy assessment of roughly two dozen court orders issued last year that allowed President Donald Trump to put in place controversial policies on immigration, steep federal funding cuts and other topics, after lower courts found they were likely illegal.

While designed to be short-term, those orders have largely allowed Trump to move ahead — for now — with key parts of his sweeping agenda.

Jackson spoke for nearly an hour on Monday at Yale Law School, which posted a video of the event on Wednesday.

Last week, Justice Sonia Sotomayor similarly talked about emergency orders in an event Tuesday at the University of Alabama that also took issue with the conservatives' approach.

Jackson has previously criticized the emergency orders both in dissenting opinions and in an unusual appearance with Justice Brett Kavanaugh last month. But her talk at Yale, addressing the public rather than the other eight justices, was notable.

She referred to orders, which often are issued with little or no explanation as “back-of-the-envelope, first-blush impressions of the merits of the legal issue.”

Worse still, she said, was that the court then insists that “those scratch-paper musings” be applied by lower courts in other cases.

The orders suffer from an additional problem, she said, a failure to acknowledge that real people are involved, making them “seem oblivious and thus ring hollow.”

She also pushed back on the court's assessment that preventing the president from putting his policy in place also is a harm that often outweighs what the challengers to a policy might face.

“The president of the United States, though he may be harmed in an abstract way, he certainly isn't harmed if what he wants to do is illegal,” Jackson said during a question-and-answer session with law school dean Cristina Rodriguez.

The court used to be reluctant to step into cases early in the legal process, she said. “There is value in avoiding having the court continually touching the third rail of every divisive policy issue in American life,” Jackson said.

While she said she couldn't explain the change, “in recent years, the Supreme Court has taken a decidedly different approach to addressing emergency stay applications. It has been noticeably less restrained, especially with respect to pending cases that involve controversial matters.”

Jackson, often joined by Sotomayor and Justice Elena Kagan, has frequently dissented.

There have been conversations about emergency orders among the justices, Jackson said, but she decided to speak publicly with the goal of being “a catalyst for change.”

A Democratic victory in the Democratic-leaning district would further narrow the slim majority Republicans hold in the chamber.

The major party nominees to replace Sherrill are Democrat Analilia Mejia, a longtime progressive organizer and former Labor Department official, and Republican Joe Hathaway, a member of the Randolph Township Council.

Mejia, who had the early backing of progressive Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, narrowly won the Feb. 5 Democratic special primary against a crowded field that included former Rep. Tom Malinowski and former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way. Malinowski was attempting a comeback after losing a neighboring House seat in 2022.

Hathaway ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.

The war in Gaza, which began with the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and support for Israel have been major issues in the campaign. A super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent more than $2.3 million to defeat Malinowski, who had questioned providing unconditional aid to the Israeli government. During a primary campaign forum, Mejia was the only candidate to indicate she believes Israel committed genocide in Gaza. She has also called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal. Hathaway has said the U.S. should stand “ in lockstep ” with Israel and opposes putting conditions on aid to an ally.

Mejia had raised about $1.1 million for the special primary and special election and had about $374,000 in her campaign account as of March 27. Hathaway had raised about $525,000 for his campaign and had about $109,000 in the bank.

Democrats have held an advantage in general elections in the district. Sherrill won reelection in 2024 with about 57% of the vote, while Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris carried the district with 53% at the top of the ballot.

More than half of the district’s 588 precincts are in Morris County, with about 39% in Essex County and 9% in Passaic County. The district’s portion of Essex County is heavily Democratic: Harris carried the area with 64% in 2024. President Donald Trump narrowly won the district’s share of Morris County by about 1 percentage point. He carried the district’s small portion of Passaic County with about 57% of its vote.

The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

New Jersey does not have automatic recounts, but candidates and voters may request and pay for them, with the cost refunded if the outcome changes. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The AP will provide vote results and declare a winner in the special congressional election in the 11th District. In addition to the candidates named on the ballot, voters also have a write-in option.

Who gets to vote?

Any voter registered in the 11th District may participate in the special election.

What do turnout and advance vote look like?

As of April 1, there were about 603,000 registered voters in the 11th Congressional District. Of those, about 230,000 were Democrats, about 165,000 were Republicans and about 204,000 were not affiliated with any party. The remainder were registered with various minor parties.

More than 68,000 ballots were cast in the Feb. 5 Democratic special primary and about 16,000 in the Republican contest.

About 394,000 votes were cast in the 2024 general election, with nearly half cast before Election Day.

As of Tuesday, about 58,000 votes had already been cast, including about 36,000 from Democrats, about 15,000 from Republicans and nearly 8,000 from unaffiliated voters.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the Feb. 5 special primary, the AP first reported results at 8:04 p.m. ET, or four minutes after polls closed. The last update of the night was at 10:30 p.m. ET with about 91% of total votes counted. The AP called the race at 5:34 p.m. on Feb. 12.

When are early and absentee voting results released?

All counties in New Jersey release most or all the results from early and absentee voting in the first vote update of the night, before any in-person Election Day results are released.

Are we there yet?

As of Thursday, there will be 201 days until this seat is up again in the 2026 midterm elections.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

“I was expecting it to smell bad, but it smelled genuinely like rotting flesh,” said Nyx DelPrado, a first-year student at Mount Holyoke College who visited its Talcott Greenhouse this week to see the blooming of a corpse flower. “Its name is accurate,” DelPrado added with a laugh, nose wrinkled, adding that it reminded them of the scent of a dissection.

The corpse flower, or Amorphophallus titanum, is a rare tropical plant known for its foul odor. It's native to the rainforests of Sumatra and blooms infrequently and for only a brief window, releasing a pungent scent meant to mimic decaying flesh and attract pollinators such as flies and beetles. Nicknamed “Pangy,” the plant first bloomed at Mount Holyoke College in 2023, and its latest appearance has once again drawn crowds eager to witness — and smell — the fleeting spectacle.

What appears to be a single bloom is actually an enormous inflorescence, a cluster of many tiny flowers at the base of a tall central column called the spadix and surrounded by a deep purple, velvety spathe. Although the towering inflorescence withers after a few days, the same plant survives underground and can bloom again in future years.

A repellent smell designed to attract

Tom Clark, director and curator of the Mount Holyoke College Botanic Garden, said the plant’s infamous odor serves an important evolutionary purpose and has inspired a wide range of descriptions from visitors.

“A few people who have come in since have described the smell as being unbearable, tangy, like a trash can — it’s overwhelming,” Clark said. “But that odor is there for a purpose. It’s there to attract pollinators, flies in particular.”

The timing of corpse flower blooms is difficult to predict, often following years of dormancy. Over the past six weeks, Pangy grew rapidly, at times shooting up several inches a day before unfurling. The flower finally opened overnight Monday, and he and other staffers were met with its powerful scent as soon as they got to work the next day.

“Walking through the front door, we could smell it,” he said. “As we walked back to the greenhouse where it’s growing, the smell became stronger and stronger. It was just overwhelming — literally unbearable — to be back there with it. If you weren’t aware of this plant and walked into the greenhouse, you’d say, ‘What died in here?’”

From shock to wonder

“I didn’t know what the name meant. I thought it would smell like a corpse, but I don’t know what a corpse smells like,” said Mount Holyoke student Maheen Siddiqi, laughing after waiting in a growing line of people hoping to take a whiff of the flower. “And I smelled it and it smelled like really bad eggs or sulfur or something.”

Student Bryn Wickere said the smell was less overwhelming than anticipated. Still, Wickere described the towering bloom as “magnificent,” noting its deep color and velvety texture.

“I was actually expecting the smell to fill up the whole room, but it was more when you got up close and personal with her,” Wickere said.

Others found the smell more familiar than shocking.

“I would say it smells kind of like a compost pile, a little bit like a working farm,” said Caroline Murray, a Mount Holyoke senior. “I’m from Vermont, so I’m very used to the smell of the farm and manure.”

The spectacle drew visitors from near and far, including Michael Breton, who drove two hours and took a vacation day to see the bloom after tracking news alerts for years.

“If you see a news article, and it’s from two days ago, it’s gone, so you gotta run quick,” he said. He compared the scent to “a stinky diaper that’s been left out in the sun,” adding that despite the odor, the plant was “bright, beautiful and colorful. It’s a lovely plant.”

A fleeting bloom, an enduring mission

Clark said the bloom highlights the broader mission of the Talcott Greenhouse, which he called a “plant museum” that houses about 2,000 plant species — a small fraction of the estimated 350,000 to 400,000 plant species worldwide.

He called the event a “special opportunity" to impress upon visitors the diversity of the plant world, and some of the amazing adaptations species have to survive in their environment in unique ways.

By midday Tuesday, the odor had begun to dissipate as greenhouse vents were opened, offering visitors a less intense — though still memorable — experience. After the brief flowering period, the plant will gradually deteriorate and collapse. Because corpse flowers cannot pollinate themselves, seeds will only form if pollen from another titan arum is available.

For Namuuna Negi, a Mount Holyoke junior, the fleeting nature of the bloom added to the experience.

“The impermanence of it, I think. People like to be in on what’s happening,” Negi said. “If they hear something’s going to die soon, they want to go see it before that happens so they can talk about it later.”

Two prosecutors and an investigator from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office were turned away on Tuesday by a building contractor and referred to Fed attorneys, one of the people said. The two people familiar with the visit spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation.

The visit underscores that the Trump administration is not backing down from its investigation of the Fed and its chair, Jerome Powell, even though the probe has delayed the confirmation of a new chair nominated by President Donald Trump. The investigation is focused on cost overruns and brief testimony about the project last summer by Powell. Trump confirmed in an interview that aired Wednesday on Fox Business that he wants to continue the probe.

Last month, during a closed-door hearing before a federal judge, a top deputy from Pirro’s office conceded that they hadn’t found any evidence of a crime in their investigation of the headquarters project.

Robert Hur, an attorney for the Federal Reserve board of governors, sent an email to Pirro’s prosecutors about their visit and their request for a “tour” to “check on progress” at the construction site. Hur’s email, which The Associated Press has viewed, noted that U.S. District Judge James Boasberg concluded that their interest in the Federal Reserve’s renovation project was “pretextual.”

“Should you wish to challenge that finding, the courts provide an avenue for you; it is not appropriate for you to try to circumvent it,” Hur wrote.

Republican Tillis is key vote

Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is a key member of the Senate Banking Committee, has vowed to vote against Kevin Warsh, Trump's nominee to replace Powell as Fed chair, until the investigation is dropped. With the committee closely divided on partisan lines, Tillis' opposition is enough to block Warsh from receiving the committee's approval.

Tillis on Wednesday criticized the investigation as “bogus, ill-timed, ill-informed” and repeated that seven Republican members of the banking panel have said they do not believe Powell committed a crime when he testified last June.

Tillis also said there aren’t enough votes on the committee or in the broader Senate to do an end-run around the committee and get Warsh confirmed some other way.

“There really is no path,” he told reporters, adding that Pirro and her aides were “asleep at the switch” because the investigation has essentially delayed Powell's departure from the Fed, despite Trump's obsessive criticism of the Fed chair. Powell has now said he won't leave until the investigation is resolved.

Tillis suggested Pirro blindsided the White House with her investigation. “They should have consulted with the White House, because I’m sure if they would have, (the White House) would have said, ‘no, we can wait,'” until Powell steps down.

But Kevin Hassett, the Trump administration's top economist, said Wednesday that the Justice Department got involved because “the president wanted to investigate the cost overrun,” Axios reported.

The Banking panel said Tuesday that it will hold a hearing on Warsh's nomination April 21. Powell's term as Fed chair ends May 15, but Powell said last month he would remain as chair until a replacement is named.

Powell is serving a separate term as a member of the Fed's governing board that lasts until January 2028. Chairs typically leave the board when their terms as chair end, but they can remain on the board if they choose. Powell has said he won't leave until the investigation is resolved. If he remains it would deny Trump the opportunity to appoint someone else to the seven-member board.

Late Tuesday Tillis posted a link on social media to The Wall Street Journal’s article on the visit below an image of the Three Stooges and wrote, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. at the crime scene.”

Investigation centers on building renovations

The investigation centers on an appearance by Powell before the Banking Committee last June, when he was asked about cost overruns on the renovations. The most recent estimates from the Fed suggest the current estimated cost of $2.5 billion is about $600 million higher than a 2022 estimate of $1.9 billion.

“It is probably corrupt, but what it really is, is incompetent,” Trump said. “Don't you think we have to find out what happened there?”

The president's support for the investigation threatens a timeframe set out by Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican who chairs the Banking Committee. Scott said Tuesday on Fox Business that he believed the investigation would be “wrapped up in the next few weeks,” allowing Warsh to be confirmed soon after.

Threat to fire Powell

News of the unannounced visit by prosecutors comes as Trump has again threatened to fire Powell, if the Federal Reserve Chair decides to stay on the central bank's governing board after his term as chair expires next month.

“Well then I’ll have to fire him, OK?” Trump said.

Trump has for months wanted to remove Powell, saying he has been too slow in orchestrating interest rate cuts that would give the U.S. economy a quick boost. Powell has said the investigation is a pretext to undermine the Fed's independence to set rates.

Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, said Trump can only fire Powell “for cause,” meaning some kind of misconduct, “so that's a pretty tall order.”

Supreme Court weighing another Trump removal

Trump’s threat to fire Powell comes as the Supreme Court is weighing the president’s effort to remove another central bank governor, Lisa Cook. Lower courts have so far allowed Cook to remain in her job while her legal challenge to the firing continues. The Supreme Court also seemed likely to keep her on the Fed when the court heard arguments in January. A decision could come any time.

The issue in Cook’s case is whether allegations of mortgage fraud, which she has denied, is a sufficient reason to fire her or a mere pretext masking Trump’s desire to exert more control over U.S. interest rate policy.

The Supreme Court has allowed the firings of the heads of other governmental agencies at the president’s discretion, with no claim that they did anything wrong, while also signaling that it is approaching the independence of the nation’s central bank more cautiously, calling the Fed “a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity.”

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AP Writers Seung Min Kim, Mark Sherman, Paul Wiseman, Alanna Durkin Richer, and video journalist Nathan Ellgren contributed to this report.

The testimony from Russell Vought jump-starts the White House's push to increase defense spending to nearly $1.5 trillion in the next budget year, up from nearly $1 trillion this year, while cutting health research, heating assistance and scores of other domestic programs by about 10% overall. Such cuts do not cover mandatory spending, which includes such programs as Social Security and Medicare.

The debate over Trump's proposal underscored the sharp divide that will shape some of the most significant policy debates going into a midterm election that will give voters the ultimate say on the direction of the country.

“For the industrial base to double or triple and build more facilities, not just add shifts, it requires multiyear agreements to purchase into the future,” Vought told lawmakers. “That cost has to be booked in this first year.”

The White House is calling for about $1.1 trillion for defense through the regular appropriations process, which typically requires support from both parties for approval. An additional $350 billion would come through a separate bill that Republicans can accomplish on their own, through party-line majority votes.

Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the ranking Democratic member of the committee, said he believes in a strong national defense. But he said the idea of increasing defense by more than 40% while cutting programs that people need shows that the Republican administration's priorities are "out of whack.”

The committee chairman, Rep. Jodey Arrington predicted the hearing would be more “amped up” than usual, and that proved to be true, beginning with his opening statement focused on criticizing Democrat Joe Biden's presidency. Arrington, R-Texas, said he did not know of any president in his lifetime who “inherited such a complete and utter mess as President Trump did in January of last year.”

Since then, Arrington said, Trump has secured the border, cut taxes and constrained nondefense spending.

It was the beginning of several back-and-forths at the hearing.

“You know how bad this economy is when we hear Joe Biden being invoked, we hear trans people being invoked. I was waiting for Jimmy Carter to be blamed next," Boyle said in response to Arrington's opening remarks.

Boyle said consumer confidence is plummeting under Trump and noted a gas station he passed in Philadelphia recently was selling gas at $4.11 a gallon versus less than $3 a gallon some six weeks ago because of Trump's “war of choice in Iran.”

Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., called the proposed defense spending increase shocking.

“We've never in the history of this country seen spending like this, paid for by slashing health care, education and housing,” Balint said. “Mr. Vought, yes or no, is $350 billion for the war in Iran lowering costs for Americans?”

“It is certainly not defunding child care. We fully fund child care in this budget,” Vought said, not directly answering the question.

Balint went on to incorporate Trump's “America First” mantra in her questioning.

She said $350 billion could pay for an enhanced health insurance tax credit for 10 years and that her constituents are asking how the country can continue to spend money on wars and not find a solution to helping people afford health care.

Vought said the president has made clear he was not going to let Iran have a nuclear weapons, missiles and a navy that affect U.S. national security.

“He is doing what is necessary to keep us safe, while at the same time trying to pursue diplomacy so that we can get out of wars and lower those costs over time,” Vought said.

Vought said it was unclear how much the administration would seek to fund the war during the current budget year, which ends Sept. 30. That money would be part of an emergency supplemental spending bill and would be on top of the funds the White House is seeking to boost defense spending next year.

“Would it be more than $50 billion?” asked Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas.

“We're still working on it," Vought said. “I don't have a ballpark for you.”

National Weather Service crews were surveying damage in places including Ann Arbor to determine if one or more tornadoes touched down, but none had been confirmed as of Wednesday morning. Instead, the damage appears to have been caused by a line of thunderstorms that moved into Michigan from Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois, meteorologist Sara Schultz said.

A 70 mph (112.6 kph) wind gust was reported at 1:49 a.m. Wednesday at the university's football stadium, while gusts of 69 mph (111 kph) and 62 mph (99.7 kph) were reported at Willow Run Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Schultz said, and another round of strong storms with potentially damaging winds was moving into the area Wednesday from states to the West.

Streets and neighborhoods in many southeastern Michigan communities also were left flooded Wednesday.

Some public school buildings in Ann Arbor suffered structural damage and many lost power. “Safe passage for walkers and buses is compromised across much of the city due to downed power lines, flooding, water main breaks, gas leaks, and felled trees and debris,” the district said Wednesday on its Facebook page.

District schools and offices were closed Wednesday due to what officials say is a fiber outage impacting fire, phone and camera systems, and building access. It wasn’t immediately clear if the fiber outage is related to the storm.

Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor said structural engineers were assessing damage to a wall at the city's Veterans Memorial Park Ice Arena. Part of the roof was torn from the university's Yost Ice Arena.

Ripped away roof, fallen tree

Two blocks from where utility workers were dealing with the twisted pieces of metal littering the ground outside Yost, Seungjun Lee was feeling fortunate. A hulking tree outside the rented home he shares with six others barely missed his upstairs bedroom when the storm uprooted it.

“If the tree fell down a couple more feet, I would not be standing here,” said Lee, a 20-year-old junior at U-M. “I’d be in the hospital. So, I’m feeling very lucky that … the roof stopped it.”

Lee and his roommates were awakened by a siren, then an alert blasted from their phones between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., urging them to take shelter.

“As soon as I came out, everyone else was coming out of their rooms and everyone’s like, ‘What’s going on? This is crazy,’” said Lee, of Ridgewood, New Jersey. “And then we looked out the window: This tree just fell down. So, we’re like, ‘Oh, crap.’”

A friend across the street then walked over to check in.

“He was like, ‘Did you hear about Yost?’ We went, ‘No.’ We were worried about our house. So, we walked over and we checked it out and we were like, ‘That’s crazy,’” said Sam Zaruba, a 20-year-old junior from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

As for classes on Wednesday, Zaruba said he’s not going. But roommate Gautam Nigam, a 21-year-old junior, also from Grand Rapids, has to.

“I have a final presentation later today,” he said.

More rainfall and flooding worries

The storms dumped as much as 2.5 inches (6.3 cms) of rain across parts of southeastern Michigan by Wednesday morning, and more was expected across the Midwest, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions. Flood watches were issued for a big chunk of Michigan's eastern Lower Peninsula, southeastern Michigan, northern Indiana, northwestern Ohio, the Chicago area and Wisconsin.

Parts of Madison, Wisconsin's state capital, saw golf-ball to baseball-sized hail Tuesday afternoon.

Officials with Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources said they were watching levees around Portage, a city of about 10,000 people, as the Wisconsin River rises. As of Wednesday morning, the river there swelled to nearly 19 feet (5.7 meters), about 2 feet (0.6 meters) over flood state, and could rise to 20.3 feet (6.18 meters), they said.

And after days of rainfall and winter snow melt, a “significant influx of water” is entering Black Lake, upstream of Cheboygan in northern Michigan, the sheriff's office said.

The lake empties into the Black River and feeds the Cheboygan River that flows through the city into Lake Huron. Officials have been managing that flow through the city’s Cheboygan Dam by raising gates, adding pumps, raising a bridge and closing some riverfront to the public. And now there’s another threat — an unrelated levee breach in the Little Black River watershed, on the opposite side of the city, where an order to evacuate low areas was issued late Tuesday.

Where's all this weather headed?

Bill Bunting, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Storm Prediction Center, described a “very dynamic weather pattern” that combines very moist air with a strong jet stream across the central United States and Great Lakes to create conditions for severe thunderstorms.

As of early Wednesday afternoon, the weather service had received more than 400 reports of hail, winds above 60 mph (96.5 kph) or tornadoes, he said.

The system was stretching northward Wednesday night from central Texas into Iowa and southern Wisconsin and then eastward across parts of Michigan, Illinois, northern Indiana and Ohio on its way toward upper Pennsylvania and the Buffalo, New York, area, Bunting said.

A break in the rain is not expected until the weekend, he added.

Further east, it’s expected to be as hot as a furnace, threatening record high temperatures in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., through the weekend, forecasters say.

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Williams reported from West Bloomfield, Michigan. Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this story.

The Bavarian powerhouse holds a 2-1 lead over Madrid from the first leg of their quarterfinal last week, and coach Vincent Kompany had nearly a full squad at his disposal for Wednesday’s second leg with no injuries after Bayern smashed the Bundesliga goals record with a 5-0 rout of St. Pauli last weekend.

That victory put Bayern within touching distance of yet another league title — the 13th in 14 years — while it faces Bayer Leverkusen in the semifinals of the German Cup on April 22.

Kompany was starting with the same team that defeated Madrid last week, with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer — who had an outstanding game — making his 137th Champions League appearance. Only Madrid great Iker Casillas played more with 149 appearances in the competition.

Tom Bischof was the only absentee from Bayern's squad with a calf injury after the club said last week Lennart Karl was out with a hamstring injury.

Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa made four changes to the team that lost to Bayern last week, with Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde in midfield for Thiago Pitarch and the suspended Aurélien Tchouaméni. Ferland Mendy replaces left-back Álvaro Carreras and Brahim Díaz lines up on the right where Valverde had been.

Bayern’s excellence this season contrasts sharply with Madrid’s troubles. The 15-time European champion faces the prospect of a second straight season without a trophy unless it beats Bayern away by two goals in what is sure to be a hostile environment in Munich.

Madrid was held 1-1 at home by Girona last weekend, allowing Barcelona to open a nine-point lead in La Liga, after its third straight game without a win.

Kylian Mbappé received a blow to his face at the end of that match but will be able to play as Madrid attempts a famed “remontada” (comeback) to salvage the tie and keep alive its hopes of a trophy in the competition that defines the club.

“We are the team that never gives up,” Arbeloa said.

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

Timotheus Reed was killed by a deputy after investigators say they responded to a stabbing along with Leesburg Police in the 2400 block on Montclair Road around 6 a.m.

Investigators say they were told the alleged suspect ran. A deputy found Reed a short time later and shot him during an encounter, officials said. Details about the encounter itself were not released, though. It’s not known what led to the shooting.

The sheriff’s office said the unnamed deputy, who is on administrative leave while the case is investigated, never turned the blue lights on in their vehicle when they pulled up a short distance from the scene. Turning on the blue lights would have activated the deputy’s body camera.

[WATCH: New video shows aftermath of deadly Leesburg deputy shooting]

“He simply pulled up to the scene and was quickly pointed in the direction where Mr. Reed had gone,” said Capt. John Herrell in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement was released in response to questions about whether body-camera footage that was released on Monday had been edited because it did not show the shooting.

That footage only showed the aftermath of the shooting, with first responders appearing to treat Reed at the scene.

“The starting point in the footage that was released is the same starting point as what we have in the original footage, and we have automated audit trails that show no such editing took place,” Herrell wrote.

Protesters poured into the Lake County Sheriff’s Office this afternoon, speaking out against the deadly shooting of Timotheus Reed Sunday.

Earlier this week, News 6 spoke to a friend who says Reed came to his house asking for help before he was shot.

“Whenever I came outside, there was nobody else here — just him and the cops. I never heard of him being violent like that,” said the friend, Timothy Babinec.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office says an autopsy shows Reed suffered one gunshot wound to the left side of his abdomen.

A knife was found near where the encounter took place.

The deputy who shot Reed has been placed on administrative leave pending a review of the incident and an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Authorities were just beginning to assess the damage left behind by Super Typhoon Sinlaku, which first hit the islands Tuesday night local time and continued with a barrage of fierce winds and relentless rains for hours Wednesday.

Power was out and many of the roads were impassable across Saipan, a U.S. territory that's the largest of the Mariana Islands and home to about 43,000 people, according to local officials.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said water outages were reported on some of the islands. The agency planned to send more personnel to the region and ramp up shipments of supplies.

The storm also battered Guam, another U.S. territory and the site of several American military bases, with tropical force winds.

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

The monster storm still had winds of 125 mph (200 kph) late Wednesday night as it pulled away to the north from the islands of Saipan, Tinian and Rota, the weather service said. Sinlaku is expected start curving toward sparsely populated volcanic islands in the far northern Marianas.

It was still very windy and rainy roughly 24 hours after the typhoon rattled the islands, but much better than the previous night, said Jaden Sanchez, spokesperson for the Saipan mayor’s office.

Preliminary reports include a lot of flooding, uprooted trees and downed power lines, but no deaths, he said.

Images from Saipan showed residential lots littered with debris and mangled trees. Winds crumbled metal bleachers at a sports field.

Resident Dong Min Lee shot video of a car sitting on top of two others in his apartment building’s parking lot. The winds tore off part of his balcony railing.

The American Red Cross and its partners were sheltering more than 1,000 residents across Guam and the Northern Marianas, agency spokesperson Stephanie Fox said.

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Associated Press writers Jennifer Sinco Kelleher and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu; and Gabriela Aoun Angueira in San Diego contributed to this report.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the U.S. will ramp up its infliction of economic pain on Iran. Bessent said the effort would be the “financial equivalent” of a bombing campaign.

The Pakistani military said the delegation also included the country's interior minister and other senior security officials. The group is “part of the ongoing mediation efforts,” the military said, but it gave no details.

Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator in the conflict after it hosted rare direct talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad, a move authorities said helped narrow differences between the two sides.

In other developments, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Saudi Arabia on an official visit to discuss regional issues. A statement from Sharif’s office said he was received at the airport in Jeddah by senior Saudi officials. Sharif was accompanied by Pakistan's foreign minister and information minister.

Officials say US and Iran are making progress

The U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and renewed Iranian threats strained the week-old ceasefire agreement, but regional officials said they were making progress, telling The Associated Press that the United States and Iran had an “in principle agreement” to extend it to allow for more diplomacy. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.

But even as mediators worked for peace, tensions simmered. The commander of Iran’s joint military command, Ali Abdollahi, threatened to halt trade in the region if the U.S. does not lift its naval blockade.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, announcing the incoming Pakistani delegation, said Islamabad “has held discussions with the Americans and has also heard our stances. During this visit the views of both sides are to be discussed in detail.”

A senior U.S. official said the United States has not formally agreed to extend the ceasefire and that “engagement” with Iran continues. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the sensitive negotiations.

Mediators seek compromise on sticking points

Before the two-week ceasefire expires on April 22, mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points that derailed direct talks last weekend — Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the mediation efforts.

Baghaei said Iran is open to discussing the type and level of its uranium enrichment, but his country “based on its needs, must be able to continue enrichment,” Iran’s state-media reported.

The negotiating team led by Vice President JD Vance during last weekend's talks in Islamabad urged the Iranians to agree to a 20-year moratorium on uranium enrichment as part of a potential deal to end the war, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts and a person briefed on the matter.

The Iranians rejected the U.S. plan and countered with an offer to suspend enrichment for five years, the regional official and the person briefed on the matter added. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the negotiations.

The White House rejected the Iranian proposal. The U.S. and Iranian proposals were first reported by The New York Times.

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

Trump says Iran wants a deal

The war, now in its seventh week, has jolted markets and rattled the global economy as shipping has been cut off and airstrikes have torn through military and civilian infrastructure across the region. Oil prices fell on hopes for an end to fighting on Wednesday, and U.S. stocks surged close to records set in January.

Yet the future of the fragile ceasefire still hung in the balance as the U.S. pressed ahead with its blockade, which threatens to sever Iran from economic lifelines it has relied on since the war began nearly seven weeks ago, and Tehran threatened regional trade.

“I think they want to make a deal very badly,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in an excerpt from an interview with the Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” that aired Wednesday. He added: “I view it as very close to over.”

Trump claimed Wednesday that China has agreed not to provide weapons to Iran as reports circulated that Beijing has considered transferring arms.

Trump wrote in a social media post that China is “very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz.” He added: “They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran.” He seemed to suggest the two are linked.

China has long supported Iran’s ballistic missile program and backed it with dual-use industrial components that can be used for missile production, according to the U.S. government.

US military says no ships got past blockade

U.S. Central Command said Wednesday that no ships made it past the blockade in the first 48 hours, while nine merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and reenter Iranian waters.

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

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

Strikes continue in Lebanon after Washington talks

Elsewhere, Israel pressed ahead with its aerial and ground war in Lebanon. The country's National News Agency reported airstrikes and artillery shelling throughout southern Lebanon on Wednesday, including near Bint Jbeil, where Israeli forces have encircled fighters with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The fighting continued after Israeli and Lebanese officials concluded their first direct talks in decades.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said Israel struck three different teams of paramedics Wednesday in southern Lebanon, first hitting one team and then two more that rushed to help. The attacks killed three paramedics, wounded six others and left a fourth missing in the southern town of Mayfadoun, the ministry said. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An Israeli official said a meeting of the country's security cabinet would be held Wednesday evening to discuss developments with Lebanon. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

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

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Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank, Ahmed from Islamabad and Corder from The Hague, Netherlands. Associated Press Writers Darlene Superville and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.

Russian strikes hit more than a half-dozen areas of Ukraine behind the front line on Tuesday and Wednesday. An 8-year-old boy was killed in the central Cherkasy region and a woman was hit in southern Zaporizhzhia, according to Zelenskyy and local officials.

“Every day we need air defense missiles — every day Russia continues its strikes,” Zelenskyy said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

With no plans announced for further U.S.-mediated talks with Russia, Zelenskyy was visiting three European capitals in 48 hours to try to secure promises of further military and financial support. Germany and Ukraine agreed on a defense package valued at 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion), and Norway has pledged 9 billion euros in assistance, Ukrainian officials said. He visits Italy on Wednesday.

After more than four years of fighting Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine has battle-tested drone interceptor expertise and has developed groundbreaking air defense technology, but it lacks the money to scale up production to levels that would press its advantage.

Zelenskyy said he is asking European countries to keep adding money to a fund that allows the purchase from the United States of American-made weapons for Ukraine, especially the Patriot air defense system that can stop Russian cruise and ballistic missiles.

Between November and March, Russia launched 27,000 Shahed-type drones, nearly 600 cruise missiles and 462 ballistic missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said.

Zelenskyy is also championing joint weapons production agreements, including for drones and missiles, while pushing for the European Union to move quickly on providing a promised 90 billion euro ($106 billion) loan.

‘Unpredictable consequences’

Defense leaders from about 50 nations who regularly gather to coordinate weapons aid for Kyiv held an online meeting Wednesday chaired by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and British Defense Secretary John Healey. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also attended.

Ahead of the meeting, Britain announced it will send 120,000 drones to Ukraine this year, its biggest delivery of the weapons so far. Officials didn’t say how soon they will be sent.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the European nations' decision to ramp up drone production for Ukraine was a “deliberate step leading to a sharp escalation of the military-political situation across the entire European continent and the creeping transformation of these countries into Ukraine’s strategic rear area.”

The ministry warned that attacks on Russia involving the drones manufactured in Europe for Ukraine are fraught with “unpredictable consequences.”

“Instead of strengthening the security of European states, the actions of European leaders are increasingly drawing these countries into a war with Russia,” it said.

It published a list of branches of Ukrainian drone-producing factories in the U.K., Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic as well as factories producing components in Germany, Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic, Israel and Turkey.

“The European public should not only clearly understand the true causes of the threats to their security but also know the addresses and locations of ‘Ukrainian’ and ‘joint’ enterprises producing drones and components for Ukraine on the territory of their countries,” the ministry said.

Dmitry Medvedev, the hawkish deputy head of Russia's Security Council, followed up with a more explicit threat on social media: “Russian Defense Ministry’s statement must be taken literally: the list of European facilities which make drones and other equipment is a list of potential targets for the Russian armed forces. When strikes become a reality depends on what comes next.”

Ukrainian deep strike operations

Ukraine’s war effort has gained momentum in recent weeks, according to Western officials and analysts. Its short-handed troops have disrupted Russia’s spring offensive, thanks in part to drones and ground robots, and its long-range strikes have dented Russian oil exports and some manufacturing output.

Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Wednesday that last month Ukrainian troops recaptured nearly 50 square kilometers (20 square miles) of territory from Russian forces. Also in March, Ukrainian deep strike operations hit 76 Russian targets, including 15 oil refining facilities, he said.

But the Iran war drains stockpiles of advanced air defense missiles that Ukraine needs, and Kyiv’s money is running short.

“We cannot lose sight of Ukraine” amid the Middle East conflict, NATO chief Rutte said.

Russia and Ukraine continue strikes

Russia launched 324 drones and three ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said, in its biggest barrage in almost two weeks. Air defenses intercepted 309 of the drones.

Russia also fired a powerful FAB-1500 glide bomb, weighing 1.5 metric tons, at the central part of Sloviansk before dawn Wednesday, the Sloviansk City Military Administration head Vadym Liakh said. The blast destroyed a children’s sports facility that was a city landmark, he said.

In a strike on the southeastern city of Dnipro, Russian hit two universities overnight, damaging academic buildings, dormitories and nearby homes, Mayor Borys Filatov said. The blast wave shattered more than 1,000 windows in surrounding buildings, he said, adding that there were no military targets in the area.

Ukraine proceeded with its long-range drone attacks, with the Russian Defense Ministry reporting Wednesday that its air defenses intercepted 85 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Ukrainian drones targeted an industrial facility in Sterlitamak, a Russian city about 1,300 kilometers (roughly 800 miles) east of the border with Ukraine, local authorities said.

Radiy Khabirov, governor of the Bashkortostan region where Sterlitamak is located, said in an online statement Wednesday that several drones were shot down over Sterlitamak’s “industrial zone,” and debris fell on one of the facilities there, starting a fire. One person died in the attack, he said.

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Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

A key provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act permits the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI and other agencies to collect and analyze vast amounts of overseas communications without a warrant. It incidentally sweeps up the conversations of any Americans who interact with those foreigners targeted for surveillance.

The program expires Monday, and critics want changes, including a requirement for warrants before authorities can access the emails, phone calls or text messages of Americans. They also want limits on the government's use of internet data brokers, who sell large volumes of personal information gleaned online, offering the government what critics say amounts to an end-run around the Constitution.

House Republican leaders hoped to advance the legislation on Wednesday, but an initial procedural step was delayed. Rank-and-file members have pushed back despite a pressure campaign that included a trip to the White House and direct involvement from CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

The chances of significant changes, however, seem have dropped since Trump announced his support for the program's renewal, saying it had proved its worth in supplying information vital to recent U.S. actions in Venezuela and Iran.

“The fact is, whether you like FISA or not, it is extremely important to our military,” Trump said on social media Tuesday.

Trump calls for another extension of the program

U.S. authorities say the program, known as Section 702 of the law, is essential to national security and has saved lives by uncovering terrorist plots. Critics question what they say is a dangerous infringement on civil liberties and privacy.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said a different FISA provision was used to spy on his 2016 campaign but that he supported Section 702's renewal despite misgivings that political adversaries could use parts of the law against him in the future. He urged lawmakers to extend the foreign surveillance program for 18 more months.

“My administration has worked tirelessly to ensure these FISA reforms are being aggressively executed at every level of the Executive Branch to keep Americans safe, while protecting our sacred Civil Liberties guaranteed by our Great Constitution,” Trump wrote.

The Republican president is a longtime critic of the nation's intelligence services and was once opposed to Section 702 before he reversed himself. His director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, sponsored legislation to repeal Section 702 as a Hawaii congresswoman but now supports it. She says new protections added since her time in Congress helped change her mind.

Some Republican House members who have opposed the extension without changes traveled went to the White House late Tuesday to discuss the matter. Ratcliffe also met with lawmakers early Wednesday.

“I am asking Republicans to UNIFY, and vote together on the test vote to bring a clean Bill to the floor,” Trump said Wednesday. “We need to stick together.”

Greater protections are sought

for Americans' communications

In addition to a requirement for a warrant to access Americans' data, critics also want greater protections on how the FBI or other agencies can search communications and how that is reported to the public.

“Journalists, foreign aid workers, people with family overseas, all could have their communications swept up in this surveillance merely because they talked to someone outside of this country,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. He is pushing for changes that he said will ensure the government is not violating civil rights in secret.

Several Republicans also have suggested changes, such as the warrant requirement.

“National security and civil liberties are not mutually exclusive,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz. “We can give our intelligence professionals the tools they need to target foreign threats while ensuring that Americans are not subjected to unconstitutional surveillance.”

Gabbard's office releases an annual report showing the number of foreign surveillance targets and number of searches likely to identify an American. For 2025, the number of foreign surveillance targets increased to nearly 350,000 from almost 292,000 in 2024. Searches using terms likely to identify an American decreased slightly to 7,724 from 7,845 in 2024.

The totals are incomplete because agencies such as the FBI have found ways to access the data without reporting the searches publicly, said Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.

FBI officials repeatedly violated their own standards when searching for intelligence related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol and racial justice protests in 2020, according to a 2024 court order.

“It’s reminiscent of J. Edgar Hoover's tenure at the FBI,” Goitein said, referring to the FBI's founding director who used illegal surveillance to harass and spy on Americans. “They can pretty much target anyone."

There's little time to make changes to the law

Despite bipartisan concerns about the law and its implications for civil liberties, time is running out for Congress to make any changes before Monday's expiration.

Trump's support also reduces the odds that enough Republicans will break ranks and join Democrats to push for an overhaul.

Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, announced a proposal Tuesday that would require the Justice Department to seek a court order before the FBI could access search results involving Americans. Himes said in a statement that he wants to see Section 702 renewed with new protections.

It “is too critical to allow it to expire, but the legitimate concerns about the possibility of abuse also demand that we consider additional reforms,” he said.

The best chance for inserting changes likely is the House, where a large number of lawmakers from both parties have expressed concerns.

But Rep. Rick Crawford, an Arkansas Republican who leads the House Intelligence Committee, is backing Trump's call for an 18-month renewal.

Crawford has said he believes the government can empower spy agencies while also holding them accountable.

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Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.

Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. He went on to win Rookie of the Year honors, become a six-time All-Star and the 1949 National League MVP. He played in six World Series, and won his only championship in 1955 with the Dodgers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets will hold a joint reflection ceremony later Wednesday at the centerfield statue of Robinson at Dodger Stadium.

“A special day, especially for me as a Latino. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't because of him,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Talk about dealing with pressure at this level, imagine what he dealt with back in the day."

Two of Robinson's granddaughters will join the teams at Dodger Stadium, not far from Robinson's adopted hometown of Pasadena. He was a four-sport star at Pasadena Junior College before going on to UCLA, where the Georgia native was better known for football than baseball.

Also on hand in Los Angeles will be recipients of scholarships from the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

For the first time in at least two decades, the percentage of Black players on opening day rosters increased this season. Major League Baseball says 6.8% of players on opening day rosters, injured lists and the restricted list were Black, up from 6.2% at the start of the 2025 season and 6.0% at the start of 2024.

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

The meeting announcement Wednesday follows repeated pledges by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to loosen regulations on peptides, which are often pitched as a quick way to build muscle, heal injuries or appear younger. There's little research behind those claims and most peptides have not been reviewed for safety by the FDA.

Kennedy has discussed using peptides for his own injuries. And some major supporters of his Make America Healthy Again movement are big proponents of them, including Gary Brecka, a self-described “longevity expert" who sells various peptide formulas through his website.

The FDA said in a federal notice Wednesday it will ask a panel of outside advisers to review seven peptides at a meeting in July, specifically whether they should be added to a list of substances that can be safely produced by pharmacies. In the meantime, the agency said it would soon remove the chemicals from a restrictive list reserved for unapproved, high-risk drugs. The peptides under discussion include some of the most popular among influencers, such as BPC-157, which is marketed to heal injuries and reduce inflammation.

“The Wild West is about to become wilder,” said Dr. Peter Lurie, a former FDA official who now leads the Center for Science in the Public Interest. In an interview, Lurie said allowing peptides on the market without clinical testing poses a “profound threat” to FDA's decades-old system for vetting drugs.

“I don’t see why one would take the path of a proper drug approval if there is now this less rigorous, alternative path to market,” he said.

Under President Joe Biden, the FDA added nearly 20 peptides to the federal list of substances that should not be produced by compounding pharmacies — businesses that mix medications that aren't available from drugmakers.

At the time, the FDA's panel of pharmacy advisers voted overwhelmingly that the peptides did not meet the criteria for substances that can be safely compounded. And FDA regulators agreed, saying later that the substances “present significant safety risks,” because most have not been extensively tested in humans.

Many of the FDA advisers and internal staff who oversaw those decisions no longer work for the agency. The FDA's pharmacy panel currently has a number of vacancies, which Kennedy could fill before the July meeting.

Kennedy previewed Wednesday's move in an interview with podcast host Joe Rogan. Both men have repeatedly spoken about peptides and claimed to have benefited from their use.

RFK Jr. claims personal benefit from peptides

“I’m a big fan of peptides,” Kennedy told Rogan. “I’ve used them myself and with really good effect on a couple of injuries.”

Given Kennedy's statements, Lurie said it was doubtful the drugs would receive real scrutiny from FDA.

“Everybody knows the outcome that the secretary wants,” Lurie said. “I don’t believe for one moment that what’s going on here is an honest investigation of whether these products should be compounded.”

Scott Brunner of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding said the coming meeting will be the start of a “protracted process.” Even if the panel votes to make the peptides available, and FDA agrees, the agency will still have to draft and publish rules on the change, he noted.

Peptides are essentially the building blocks of more complex proteins. Inside the human body, peptides trigger hormones needed for growth, metabolism and healing.

In recent years peptides have become widely known through the blockbuster success of GLP-1 medications, which the FDA has approved for treating obesity and diabetes. Other FDA-approved peptides include insulin for diabetics and hormone-based drugs for several medical conditions.

But many of the peptides promoted online have never been approved, making them technically illegal to market as drugs. Several peptides, such as BPC-157 and TB-500, are banned by international sports authorities as doping substances.

But that has not stopped them from gaining a foothold in the burgeoning marketplace for wellness hacks and alternative remedies.

“I think this is a disaster in the works,” said Dr. Eric Topol of Scripps Research Translational Institute, who has studied the issue. “These peptides have no data to support their safety and efficacy.”

Meanwhile, some dietary supplement makers have begun mixing peptides into capsules, protein powders and gummies. At a recent FDA meeting, the industry argued for expanding the federal definition of supplements to permit the use of newer ingredients like peptides in their products.

Safety risks were cited previously

When the FDA added a number of injectable peptides to its list of restricted substances in 2023, it cited safety risks including cancer and liver, kidney and heart problems.

That triggered pushback from wellness entrepreneurs, compounding pharmacies and their allies in Washington.

Last year several members of Congress, including Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, sent letters to Kennedy asking him to lift limits on peptide production.

Some in the compounding industry argue that FDA's restrictions have given rise to an illicit market of imported chemicals from China and other countries, which are not subject to U.S. drug standards.

Kennedy has echoed those concerns.

“With the gray market you have no idea if you’re getting a good product,” Kennedy told Rogan. “And a lot of this stuff that we’ve looked at is just very, very substandard.”

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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.

Deputies were looking for Willie Lewis after his family reported he didn’t return home after fishing at Barnett Park Tuesday.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to Barnett Park at 8:54 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

Dive crews and a sheriff’s office helicopter were deployed to help look for the man.

News 6 will continue to post updates as this is an ongoing story.

In the nation's capital, forecasters were calling for a high temperature of 93 degrees (33.9 Celsius) late Wednesday afternoon and another high of 93 on Thursday.

The heat is unusual for April, not only because it’s scorching much of the nation so early in the year but also for its expected duration. The near-record temperatures are expected to last into this weekend, forecasters say.

The potentially dangerous heat comes as pieces of the roof of Yost Ice Arena, one of the nation's oldest college hockey arenas, were found scattered by a storm Wednesday in nearby yards in Ann Arbor, Michigan. That arena and another one in the same community — a city ice rink — were both damaged by the severe weather that struck Michigan overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning. Severe storms earlier this week also tore through Kansas, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

While it's not unprecedented to see high temperatures climb toward 90 degrees (32 Celsius) on an April day, the length of such an April heat wave is rarely seen, experts say.

“That’s borderline unprecedented as far as the duration of it this time of year,” said John Feerick, senior meteorologist at the forecasting firm AccuWeather.com.

Feerick said that starting Wednesday “we're going to have records challenged from basically Georgia all the way up through the New York City area and back towards the Ohio Valley.”

The National Weather Service is projecting a high temperature around 86 degrees (30 Celsius) for Central Park in New York City on Wednesday. The record high for the date is 87, set in 1941.

Even hotter weather is expected in Philadelphia, where Wednesday's high is expected to be 92 degrees (33 C). Other likely hot spots include Washington, D.C., which could see a high of 94 (34 C); and Atlanta, where the high is projected to be 88 (31 C).

“It's really some very impressive heat for the middle of April, for sure,” Feerick said.

“The good thing about this is that the humidity is not summertime levels,” he added. That means it won't feel as hot as a sizzling July day.

However, the early-season heat can be more stressful on people's bodies since they haven't had a chance to acclimate.

Heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer in the U.S., the weather service warns. Infants and young children; older adults, people with chronic medical conditions and pregnant women are especially vulnerable to heat-related injuries and death.

A strong ridge of high pressure fueling moisture into the southern plains was responsible for bringing the unusual heat to the eastern U.S., the weather service said.

Though Wednesday is a day when many records could fall, the heat wave will continue through Friday in many areas, forecasters said.

“Widespread lower to even middle 90s are expected Friday across the lower elevations of the Carolinas, which could set additional daily records and perhaps come close to some monthly records,” the agency's Weather Prediction Center wrote in a memo.

The heat wave should finally be breaking down by Sunday as a strong cold front moves toward the Eastern Seaboard, and then it should be “pleasantly cooler” by Monday with the front heading out to sea, the weather service said.

The legislation arose in a state that isn't necessarily a destination for the computer-stocked warehouses that power artificial intelligence, but a couple of proposals there generated intense community backlash and helped propel a measure quickly through the state's Democratic-controlled Legislature. Lawmakers on Tuesday approved sending the bill to Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat who is running for U.S. Senate.

It's the latest sign that increasingly stiff opposition at the local level is gaining a foothold higher up the political ladder. Tech giants and the data centers they are building have high-level support from President Donald Trump's administration and many governors, who see them as economic engines and essential for winning the artificial intelligence race with China, even as voters raise concerns about the enormous amount of power data centers use. Analysts also warn of the possibility of blackouts in the mid-Atlantic grid in the coming years.

Proposals to slap a moratorium on data centers have been introduced in at least a dozen states, but other than Maine’s, none have even passed a legislative chamber. That's as some states struggle to meet clean energy goals and the centers emerge as a barrier.

Maine's legislation would institute a moratorium for more than a year on data centers above a certain size, and create a special council to help towns vet potential projects. Mills’ office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday on whether she plans to sign the bill.

“It's not that there's no place for data centers in Maine,” said Democratic Rep. Melanie Sachs, who sponsored the measure. “Frankly, the tradeoffs have not been shown to be of benefit to our ratepayers, water usage or community benefit in terms of economic activity.”

Why Maine?

Despite Maine's relatively low profile among developers of massive data centers, called hyperscalers, supporters of the projects said the moratorium will still matter long into the future to all sorts of industries.

“It says that the state is willing to essentially put a blanket ban on you if it decides that you may be politically unfavorable,” said Dan Diorio of the Data Center Coalition, a trade association that includes tech companies and developers.

They said it could deter data center developers from going to Maine and deprive the state of a long-term economic development anchor that attracts other industries. It also means local builders and labor unions won't develop the skills necessary to build the facilities and might leave them lagging behind other states, they said.

“We think that these data centers could bring good jobs, good opportunities to these regions,” said Montana Towers, a policy analyst with the free market Maine Policy Institute. “And a lot of these concerns about them are luddite in nature.”

Nonetheless, several communities in Maine have raised concerns about a lack of transparency in potential data center projects. The Maine moratorium is largely about getting those communities to have input in the development process, said Joe Oliva, a spokesperson for the Maine Broadband Coalition and GrowSmart Maine, which both supported the moratorium.

“If this is going to come, we want to be in early and often on the conversation," Oliva said.

Growing opposition

Since last summer, community opposition has become a serious concern for data center developers, with numerous municipalities defeating their proposals in planning and zoning board votes before packed rooms of angry residents.

A handful of counties and municipalities in the U.S. have imposed a moratorium, and some bills emerged in states where development is brisk such as Virginia, Michigan and Wisconsin. Voters in Festus, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, replaced half of their city's eight-member city council this month amid a backlash over a data center project.

Some bills died without action, like one in Georgia, a data center hotspot. Other states have explored other ways to rein in data centers, such as by imposing tougher standards around water and energy use, transparency and protection of ratepayers and communities.

In Ohio, residents are trying to bypass the Legislature and get a measure on the ballot in November that is designed to permanently ban hyperscale data centers. They'll need to gather more than 400,000 voter signatures by July 1 in what is perhaps the strictest measure of any under consideration.

Public officials, developers and other interests could otherwise “make this state a virtually unbroken field of data centers,” said Austin Baurichter, a Cincinnati-area lawyer who is helping organize the effort.

In South Dakota, a one-year moratorium bill failed in a state Senate committee amid opposition from power plant owners and data center developers. The governor also opposed it, telling senators that such planning is best done at the local level and that a statewide moratorium holds back municipalities that want a data center.

The sponsor, Republican Sen. Taffy Howard, told senators that “citizens are asking for this” and that the opponents are all lobbyists, "billion-dollar corporations" and government officials.

"Are you going to listen to the people or the paid lobbyists?” she asked.

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Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

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Follow Patrick Whittle on X at https://x.com/pxwhittle and Marc Levy at https://x.com/timelywriter

The layoffs announced during a call with staff are the biggest in more than a decade at the U.K. national broadcaster.

"I know this creates real uncertainty, but we wanted to be open about the challenge,” interim Director-General Rhodri Talfan Davies said in a staff email.

Davies said that the reductions were driven by inflation, pressures to license fee and commercial income and a turbulent global economy.

The BBC said earlier this year that it faced “substantial financial pressures” and wanted to cut about a tenth of its budget by 2029. The bulk of the cuts are to be made in the next fiscal year beginning April 1, 2027.

The cuts come as former Google executive Matt Brittin is scheduled to take over as director-general next month.

He will fill the vacancy left after Tim Davie, and head of news Deborah Turness resigned over a misleading edit in a documentary about U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech on Jan. 6, 2021, before his followers stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Trump is suing the BBC for $10 billion for defamation.

The BBC is both a beloved and oft-criticized cultural institution funded by an annual license fee, which recently rose to 180 pounds ($244), paid by all U.K. households who watch live television or any BBC content.

Opponents of the fee, including rival commercial broadcasters, have grown louder in an era of digital streaming, when many people no longer have television sets or follow traditional television schedules.

The center-left Labour government has vowed to ensure that the BBC has “sustainable and fair” funding, but hasn't ruled out replacing the license fee with another funding model.

The BBC was founded in 1922 as a radio service to “inform, educate and entertain.” It now operates 15 U.K. national and regional television channels, several international channels, 10 national radio stations, dozens of local radio stations, the globe-spanning World Service radio and extensive digital output, including the iPlayer streaming service.

Encompassing 10,000 different products, Great Value is Walmart's biggest store brand and one of the largest food and consumer packaged goods labels in the U.S. The revamp announced Wednesday comes as shoppers have increasingly treated private-label foods not as a stepdown from national brands, but more as an equivalent.

The new cartons, boxes, bags and other containers will start to appear on Walmart store shelves next month, said Scott Morris, senior vice president of Walmart’s U.S. private brands division. The overhaul does not involve any changes to the products themselves, he said.

The updates include images that are intended to make the product inside more tempting to shoppers. For example, a Great Value frozen lasagna will show a the pasta garnished with a basil leaf, served on a full plate and displayed on a red checkered tablecloth against a red background, according to Walmart executives. The current box features the lasagna against a white background.

Walmart also is moving nutritional information to the upper right hand corner of Great Value food packages, Dave Hartman, Walmart’s vice president of creative design, said. The information previously had no standard location, he said.

U.S. consumers have become more picky about the ingredients in their food, looking for protein-packed meals or items without gluten, for example. Walmart said its customers, as well as the workers who have to pick items off shelves quickly to assembly online orders, need to be able to spot ingredient lists quickly to speed up their shopping or production.

Bags of Great Value chicken nuggets will have “11 grams of protein per serving” printed in the upper right hand corner. The photo on the bag shows the nuggets on a plate with a container of red sauce in the middle. The packages currently in stores don't mention the protein content or feature an entire plate.

Walmart launched Great Value 33 years ago, and the latest changes represents the brand's first full redesign in more than a decade.

“We’re offering this great product at a very affordable price, but there was always this kind of lagging feeling that a customer was buying this product that felt like they had to compromise,” Hartman said. “So that was one of the key impetuses in terms of redesigning the brand.”

Industry analysts have said that challenging economic conditions in recent years pushed more consumers to buy store brands instead of familiar name brands, which tend to be more expensive.

Private brands accounted for 23.9% of the packaged food and beverage products sold in the U.S. last year, up slightly from 23.7% in 2024, according to market research firm Circana. That compares with 76.1% for national name brands last year, down from 76.3% in 2024.

Walmart said its store label brands account for about a quarter of the company's U.S. merchandise sales. The company declined to provide sales figures for Great Value products but has repeatedly said that shoppers are increasingly gravitating toward its store brands.

Other food companies are also redesigning their packaging. PepsiCo. announced earlier this month a refreshed design for Tostitos to highlight claims about colors, flavors or preservatives.

Redesigning Great Value's packaging follows other moves by Walmart to invest in its store label products. The company said last fall that it planned to remove synthetic dyes from its food private brands by 2027.

On Wednesday, the pop superstar announced she'll release a new album, “Confessions on a Dance Floor: Part II,” on July 3 via Warner Records — 21 years after the original.

It's exciting for a number of reasons: The album is a sequel to her 2005 release, “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” and her first full-length in seven years, since 2019's “Madame X.” The Associated Press characterized the latter album as a misstep, however, the original “Confessions” has been widely regarded as a return to the top of her pop powers. The critically acclaimed release, which produced such hits as “Hung Up,” “Sorry,” “Get Together” and “Jump,” was dance-pop disco for a new era of clubgoers. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and won a Grammy for best electronic/dance album in 2006.

Madonna has previously teased a second “Confessions” work. In December 2024, she shared an Instagram video of herself in the studio with the original album's producer, Stuart Price.

In the official press announcement, Madonna shared a manifesto that she and Price had for the album.

“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies. These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” she wrote. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions, pulling us into a trancelike state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”

The guards targeted Katherine Blankenship’s clients and other detainees at the facility after they complained about not having phone access on April 2, Blankenship said in a court declaration.

The phones, which weren’t functioning, are the primary way for detainees to communicate with family and their attorneys while in the detention center. The guards began taunting the detainees, who were in a cell, then became “more aggressive and were yelling and threatening to enter the cage,” Blankenship wrote.

When one detainee approached a guard, he was punched in the face. The guards then started beating other detainees in the cell. One of Blankenship’s clients was punched in the right eye, thrown to the floor and beaten by several guards. He was kicked in the head and his shoulder and arm were injured. A guard put his knee on the detainee’s neck while restraining him, according to the attorney’s declaration, which included a photo made during a video call almost a week later showing the detainee with a bruised eye.

“The officers beat several people during this incident and broke another detained individual’s wrist,” Blankenship wrote. The detainee whose wrist was broken is not one of her clients.

Phone service was restored the next day without any explanation for why it was cut off.

The Florida Department of Emergency Management didn’t respond to questions emailed Wednesday about the incident.

Blankenship’s declaration was included in a court filing accusing state and federal officials of failing to comply with a federal judge’s preliminary injunction last month ordering detention center officials to provide access to timely, free, confidential, unmonitored and unrecorded outgoing legal calls. U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell in Fort Myers, Florida also said facility officials must provide at least one operable telephone for every 25 people held in the facility.

The judge’s order came in a response to a lawsuit that claimed detainees’ First Amendment rights were being violated.

State officials have denied restricting detainees’ access to their attorneys and cited security and staffing reasons for any challenges. Federal officials who also are defendants denied that detainees’ First Amendment rights were violated.

The Everglades facility was built last summer at a remote airstrip by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to support President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Florida also has built a second immigration detention center in north Florida.

During a visit last week to the detention center, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat, said she wasn’t given the chance to talk to detainees. She described conditions at the detention center as “inhumane.”

“The way the detainees are housed is cruel and unnecessary,” she said.

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Gisela Salomon in Miami contributed to this report.

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

Bank of America said on Wednesday that first-quarter stock trading revenues were $2.8 billion, a 30% jump from last year, while Morgan Stanley's much larger trading desk saw its equity trading revenues rise 25% to $5.15 billion. Morgan Stanley also had a very strong performance on its bond-trading desk, posting a 29% jump in revenues to $3.36 billion.

Morgan Stanley had a record quarter across its entire business. The bank reported net income of $5.6 billion and earnings per share of $3.43, a 30% jump in both of those metrics from the previous year.

The results from BofA and Morgan Stanley reflect the results posted by the other big banks this week, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase. While market gyrations can be nauseating for average investors, high-speed Wall Street trading desks can take advantage of such market movements. Further, wild market swings tend to increase activity on trading desks, which leads to commissions and fee revenue for the banks.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said that, despite the strong quarter, the bank is “watchful of evolving risks,” noting the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Ukraine and elsewhere, plus the sudden rise in energy prices.

In a call with reporters, Bank of America executives said that despite the quarterly volatility, the bank did not post a single daily loss on its trading desk during that time. It was also the bank's biggest quarter for equity sales and trading in its history.

Like their counterparts, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley had strong performances in their investment banking businesses as well. Advisory revenues at Morgan Stanley nearly doubled from $563 million to $978 million, year over year. Both banks are advising some of the largest public companies set to go public this year, including Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Bank of America's consumer banking business, historically the bank's biggest revenue and profit center, posted a profit of $3.1 billion. Deposits and loans grew in the quarter, and its customers spent 7% more on their credit and debit cards compared to last year. Notably the bank also noted that it saw double-digit increases in debit card spending on gasoline and energy, similar to what Wells Fargo executives shared with reporters on Tuesday.

Despite the rise in energy prices, Bank of America executives said they are seeing no deterioration in the U.S. consumer.

“The main thing that we’re always looking for is unemployment, and that remains at 4.3%," said Alastair Borthwick, the bank's CFO. ”So that’s supporting the consumer at this point."

Many of the families have disabilities or medical conditions that require electricity. Concern is growing that the U.S. will abandon them as chronic power outages persist and the Atlantic hurricane season officially nears — it runs from June 1-Nov. 30.

“For them in particular, whether they get a (solar) system or not is something that is really life or death,” Charlotte Gossett Navarro, Puerto Rico chief director for the Hispanic Federation, said in a phone interview.

The nonprofit group is among the organizations that signed a letter released Wednesday to Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

The Hispanic Federation is one of seven organizations that were going to help install the solar systems and educate families about their use. Some of those groups are now formally objecting to the cancellation of the funds or negotiating with the U.S. Department of Energy.

González has said that her administration “had no choice,” because the federal government decided it wouldn't give Puerto Rico those funds. The money is expected to now be invested in the island's crumbling power grid, which was razed by Hurricane Maria in 2017 but was already deteriorated given a lack of investment and maintenance.

Installations of rooftop solar panels have grown in the past three years across Puerto Rico, with an average of 3,850 systems installed per month in 2025, for an overall total of nearly 192,000 by year's end, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Meanwhile, more than 171,000 households and businesses have distributed battery storage systems.

But not everyone can afford such systems on the Caribbean island of around 3.2 million people with a more than 40% poverty rate.

Gossett Navarro said that they haven’t received any answers to pending questions about the funding as a May 9 deadline approaches, marking the end of the program that for some hasn’t even started.

Crews had already installed solar systems in more than 6,000 households as part of the program, but another 12,000 families now remain in limbo.

Yvette Rodríguez, 61, is among them. She needs a sleep apnea machine, and her husband, Luis Soler, a 67-year-old veteran and double amputee, relies on an electric adjustable bed.

“There’s a big need for those solar panels,” said Rodríguez, who resides on the small Puerto Rican island of Culebra with her husband. He needs air conditioning because he has heart problems and lives in a region where heat warnings are common.

She also lamented that ongoing outages force them to throw out food.

“We’re affected economically in a big way because we have to spend what little money we have so that we can eat,” she said.

María Pérez, 80, and her 88-year-old husband, have also been hit by the cut in federal funding. She has high blood pressure and heart problems that have led to several hospitalizations. She also has eyedrops for her cataracts that required refrigeration.

“I put them on ice, but it’s not the same,” she said. “They have us suffering with that money that they took away from us. It’s not fair.”

Pérez gets $364 a month via a Social Security check, but like many Puerto Ricans, her power bill is often the same amount.

Gabriela Joglar Burrowes, executive director of Puerto Rico’s Statewide Independent Living Council, was among those who signed the letter to the governor and Wright.

She said that having solar panels not only would have provided constant electricity, but also peace of mind.

“If you’re a person who depends on equipment like a ventilator, a dialysis machine or medicine that requires refrigeration, the lack of consistent energy represents a risk that could lead to even death,” she said.

Joglar Burrowes, who is disabled, said that thousands of families had been waiting a long time for the solar systems and shouldn’t be forgotten.

“It seems like sometimes we’re disposable, and we’re not,” she said.

Some of the 12,000 families have received the initial eligibility screening, while others have already received a home visit or started repairing their roofs in preparation for a solar system.

Most families live in rural communities, including mountainous towns like Adjuntas, Jayuya and Orocovis.

“It’s even more concerning,” Gossett Navarro said. “It’s hard to get out of the mountains when there’s a disaster.”

The U.S. Department of Energy states on its website that some people will get a system, but officials haven’t said who or when.

Reps. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, both announced within hours of each other Monday that they were leaving Congress. Their decisions came the day before the House returned to Washington and as both faced the prospect of being expelled from the chamber by their colleagues.

It was a reckoning of sorts for Capitol Hill, the most striking since the careers of roughly a dozen male politicians were toppled during the heights of the #MeToo movement. Yet some congresswomen said that the pair of resignations took too long and proved what they've long been saying: that more must be done to rid Capitol Hill of sexual predation.

“Today was an important turning point,” said Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. “That it should — that abuse of power — should never be accepted, and above all, in public office. And so, I think this is an important resetting point for the institution.”

A bipartisan group of congresswomen had threatened on Tuesday to file resolutions that could have forced votes on expelling Swalwell and Gonzales. Their moves forced the two men to act and came swiftly after the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN had reported Friday that a woman said Swalwell sexually assaulted her.

The initial allegations against Swalwell date back to 2019 and 2024; they were followed with other allegations of inappropriate behavior made by other women. Swalwell has denied engaging in any sexual misconduct but acknowledged mistakes in judgment. Gonzales for months had resisted calls for his resignation after he admitted to a 2024 affair with a staff member who later died by suicide.

“Accountability can happen. We can hold men accountable when they abuse women, and we’re going to do more of it,” said Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, who chairs the Democratic Women’s Caucus.

House rules forbid relationships with staff

It is against the House Code of Conduct for any member to have a sexual relationship with their staff members.

Following the #MeToo movement, the House changed its rules to require annual trainings on sexual harassment and discrimination for members. The House also approved legislation to speed the slow-moving process for harassment complaints, require more disclosure of settlements and force lawmakers to personally pay any penalties they’re required to make.

Former Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat who led the movement for reforms around sexual assault, told The Associated Press that problems still persist after those reforms.

“What we do in Congress is basically look the other way,” she said, adding that she was calling on House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries to “really tighten the rules and create a safe environment for these women to report.”

While Johnson said he did not talk with the lawmakers before they announced their resignations, he told reporters that the episode had played out “appropriately.”

“This is the right thing for the institution," he said.

How the push for accountability has grown

Sexual abuse has been top of mind for lawmakers as they investigate the actions of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. A handful of Republican women, mostly hailing from the right wing of their party, played crucial roles in forcing Congress to take up the issue.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, alongside Rep. Lauren Boebert and then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, rebuffed pressure from President Donald Trump and Johnson last year as they joined with Democrats and forced a vote on a bill mandating the release of many of the case files on Epstein.

Mace, who in 2019 shared her own account of surviving rape, has continued an outspoken campaign advocating for victims of sexual assault. She and Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna had repeatedly called for Swalwell and Gonzales to resign.

Mace has also extended that demand to Republican Rep. Cory Mills, who is facing an ethics investigation on allegations of sexual misconduct and violence against an ex-girlfriend. Mills has said he will disprove the allegations.

Meanwhile, Mace and Luna are also calling for the resignation of Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Florida Democrat. The House Ethics Committee found evidence that she broke campaign finance law related to a mistaken overpayment of $5 million from the state of Florida to her family's health care business. She has said she did nothing wrong.

“Clean house. Expel them. Hold every last one accountable,” Mace said on social media. “The American people are watching.”

At the same time, Mace herself is under investigation by the ethics panel for allegations she improperly claimed housing reimbursements. She has denied wrongdoing.

Swalwell allies are facing close scrutiny

As accusations of sexual abuse continued to land against Swalwell, some Democrats found themselves in a moment of reflection and contrition, especially those who kept close company with him.

Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, a close friend of Swalwell’s who chaired his presidential campaign, called reporters to his office on Tuesday for an emotional press conference.

“I messed up. I’m human. I trusted this man,” a teary-eyed Gallego said.

Under intense questioning from reporters, Gallego acknowledged that he had heard rumors about Swalwell being “flirty,” but contended that he trusted him as a close family friend.

“I definitely look at the world in a different way now,” Gallego said. “I personally am going to make sure that I’m going to take personal steps and office steps to make sure that we don’t even get close to a gray line.”

Policing behavior in Congress presents challenges

Speier, who entered politics by first working as a congressional aide and experienced harassment from a supervisor, said that part of the problem in Congress is that members are given wide latitude to run their offices. All 535 lawmakers are bosses of their own hand-selected staff.

“There’s really no one overseeing you," Speier said. "There’s a sense of entitlement that kind of overtakes many of these members.”

Speier, alongside then-Rep. Bradley Byrne, led the effort to pass legislation to make it easier to report sexual harassment and discrimination, including banning nondisclosure agreements to protect members of Congress.

Since the 2018 reforms began requiring the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to report awards and settlements related to formal complaints, there have been eight payments made by House members' offices, totaling just over $400,000. Those payments cover all types of violations of workplace rights, not just sexual harassment, and the violations could have been committed by other congressional staff in the office.

Speier said that it was crucial to keep making it easier for survivors to report sexual abuse.

"Unless someone comes forward, you know the conduct continues,” she said.

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Associated Press Chief Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

More than 53 million filers claimed a deduction under one of those provisions from Republicans' massive tax and spending law, a Treasury official told reporters Tuesday before the deadline, with 6 million people claiming no tax on tips, 21 million claiming the overtime deduction and 30 million older Americans claiming the enhanced deduction.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the numbers, said the 2026 filing season was a success from the administration's perspective.

Still, the latest data comes as most Americans, or 7 in 10, still think their taxes are too high, according to recent polling, despite the passage of the Republican tax law which promised big savings for taxpayers.

As the tax season kicked off in January, the White House boasted that average refunds were projected to rise by at least $1,000. But currently, the average refund amount is $3,462, according to the latest IRS data, which is up 11% or about $350 from last tax year’s $3,116 average refund payment.

In an interview that aired on Wednesday, President Donald Trump claimed much bigger results. “People are getting refunds of $5,000, $8,000, $11,000 that they had no idea they were getting,” he told Fox Business News. “It’s turned out to be better -- as good or better than I said it would be.”

Treasury says tax refunds this season are up 24% compared with the four-year average of refunds before Trump took office.

The White House has been trying to promote Trump's tax cuts as a way to get voters more enthusiastic about the way he's handling the economy before November's midterm elections, but the message has been overshadowed for weeks by higher gas prices caused by the war in Iran.

Republicans on Capitol Hill took advantage of Tax Day to focus on the tax breaks.

“Lower taxes, bigger refunds and more money in the pockets of hardworking Americans,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said on the Capitol steps, flanked by Republican lawmakers and Americans he said are benefitting, including a restaurant server, a farmer, and small business owners.

“We don’t believe you should send it all here to Uncle Sam,” Johnson said. “We want you to keep it.”

But Democrats said Americans are reeling from inflation and the high cost of living as Trump focuses his attention on the Iran war. “Hardworking families are watching as the Trump administration spends billions to bomb Iran, yet they can’t seem to find any funding for health care, housing or food for hungry children,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the Democratic caucus chairman.

The 2026 season comes as the IRS has gone through a leadership turnover and reduced its workforce by 27% over the past year through cuts brought on by the Department of Government Efficiency.

IRS CEO Frank Bisignano testified to the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, extolling the IRS' implementation of the Republican tax law.

However, Democratic lawmakers have been zeroing in on IRS disclosures of confidential taxpayer information to Immigration and Customs Enforcement as part of an agreement between ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to share information for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the U.S.

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AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed.

Neither did the young women she was hired to lead.

Yes, there was a jolt of excitement. There was also a dash of anxiousness. One of the most decorated programs in the history of NCAA gymnastics had fallen off considerably since winning the last of its record 10 national titles in 2009.

The worry that Landi might lean heavily into the transfer portal in search of a quick fix was real. It also turned out to be fleeting.

Minutes into the first meeting that Landi and co-head coach Ryan Roberts had with the team, Landi made it clear she had no interest in blowing everything up and starting over.

“Gymnastics is not rocket science,” Landi said. “It’s about consistency and being fair and working hard and working smart.”

A lifetime in the sport — from competing for her native France at the 1996 Olympics to two-plus decades in coaching — had taught her the value of dreams and the empty feeling that comes when they are taken away. Several college-bound athletes Landi mentored at WCC saw their opportunities altered or pulled outright when a new coach took over. Landi wanted no part of that.

The talent to get the program back to being a factor on the national stage was in the room, she told them. We can do this, and we can do this together.

“I wanted to give everyone a chance and embrace the change and follow the culture we were building,” she said. “I was not going to bring in 10 kids. The kids who committed two years prior, they had that goal. I've had athletes at the club level who had that taken away. It was really, really hard.”

Less than two years after that initial sit-down, the Bulldogs will walk onto the floor at Dickie's Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday for the NCAA semifinals for the first time since 2019 with legitimate hopes of reaching Saturday's finals.

A more level playing field?

They will do it with a roster that has largely remained intact since Landi's arrival, led by senior floor specialist Eryn Williams and senior Ja'Free Scott. And they will do it with a sense of confidence they lacked a year ago, when a resurgent season ended early after a jittery performance in regionals.

Those days appear over. Georgia advanced to nationals by having perhaps its best meet of the season at regionals, finishing second to a powerhouse Florida team loaded with former elites that will look to spoil Oklahoma's bid for its fourth NCAA championship in five years.

While the Sooners have been dominant, the playing field in women's college gymnastics may be starting to level out. The eight-team field at nationals includes the Bulldogs, ninth-seeded Arkansas and 13th-seeded Minnesota, a close runner-up to star-laden UCLA at regionals.

The programs that didn't make it to Fort Worth include longtime NCAA fixtures Utah, runner-up a year ago, as well as Alabama and California.

“It's not going to be the same eight every year like it used to be,” Landi said. “I like that it gives an opportunity to other teams. But it makes it harder because we always have to be better. It also makes it more exciting because you know you can have that chance, you can be there.”

Arkansas rebounds

It's a belief that Arkansas coach and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jordyn Wieber instilled in her program after the Razorbacks didn't advance out of regionals a year ago, ending an eventful season that included Wieber publicly calling out the NCAA for not allowing Arkansas to schedule a late-season dual meet with Oregon State after it failed to qualify for the SEC championships.

“It was just about the unfairness to our athletes and wanting them to have another competitive opportunity and them to say no for maybe not the best reason,” Wieber said. “We're grateful we’re on the other side of that for sure.”

There were no such scheduling issues this time — the SEC adjusted its parameters to allow all nine schools to compete for a league title — and Arkansas advanced out of the competitive Lexington regional by holding off Missouri with a steady performance on beam in the final rotation, proof of just how far the Razorbacks have come.

“I just feel like we’re building to peak at the right time,” Wieber said. “And their performance at regionals was remarkable.”

Having Morgan Price helped. The senior, who spent the first three years of her career competing at Fisk University — the first Historically Black College and University to field a women's artistic gymnastics team — joined Arkansas to compete alongside older sister Frankie.

All she's done over the last four months is record the first perfect 10 in program history with a dazzling performance on vault in a meet against Kentucky in February.

“She’s a great competitor, she’s got swagger and she knows how to put up great scores,” Wieber said. “What people don’t see is who she is on a daily basis. She’s one of the most consistent workers and teammates and strives to be a great leader.”

Price's journey will end this weekend. Just as it will for Williams and Scott and the other seniors at Georgia, who have spent years competing underneath the banners at Stegeman Coliseum that beckon to the program's run of greatness, wondering when their time will come.

Turns out, that time is now.

“We were this amazing team with this legacy so many years ago,” Williams said. “I think for a while, it got lost. People forgot about us. ... I think a lot of them need a reminder of who we are."

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

Health systems in the continent of 1.5 billion people face growing uncertainty following the U.S. pullback from global health funding under President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy, alongside disruptions linked to the war in the Middle East that are straining aid budgets and supply chains.

Announcing its first-ever comprehensive analysis of immunization in the region, the WHO said more than 500 million children have been reached through routine vaccination since 2000, preventing over 4 million deaths each year.

Overall, it said vaccines have saved more than 50 million lives in Africa over the past five decades, “gaining an estimated 60 years of life expectancy for each infant life saved” during that period.

In 2024 alone, vaccines saved nearly 2 million lives, the agency said, pointing to key milestones including the eradication of wild poliovirus in 2020, “a historic milestone for Africa,” and the elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus in most countries.

Vaccines against malaria, a disease that kills more than 400,000 people annually, most of them children under five in Africa, are now being introduced in 25 countries. Mohamed Janabi, the WHO regional director for Africa, called that “a major scientific and public health breakthrough” during an online press briefing.

But he also warned that “progress is uneven and in some places really slowing,” after the COVID-19 pandemic increased the number of children who have never received a single vaccine.

Ten countries account for 80% of children who haven’t received any vaccine in the region, he said, describing it as “a profound equity issue.”

“These immunization outcomes reflect very different realities, and we have more work to do to ensure we are consistently able to reach children, even in the most fragile and remote contexts,” said Sania Nishtar, chief executive of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which partners with WHO in vaccination efforts.

Aid cuts since Trump returned to the White House in 2025 have been devastating, Janabi said. The U.S. withdrawal from WHO in January resulted in the loss of about 40% of the agency’s overseas development funding, he said, and urged African governments to increase domestic health financing to mitigate the impact.

The U.S-Iran war, which has disrupted supply chains and increased gas prices, is concerning for a continent where “many of our facilities depend on generators,” said Adelheid Onyango, the WHO Africa director for health systems and services. She said the agency is yet to quantify the war's impact.

Health experts such as Shabir Madhi, a professor of vaccinology and dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at South Africa’s University of the Witwatersrand, say funding is emerging as the “biggest threat” to Africa's immunization efforts as the U.S. and other Western donors tighten aid to poorer countries.

In many countries, aid-funded programs have already scaled back or shut down, reducing access to basic health services, including clinics, health workers, cold-chain infrastructure and outreach services that vaccination campaigns rely on.

“It can’t be that we continue relying on the likes of Gavi Vaccine Alliance, which has done a tremendous amount of work in terms of ensuring that there’s increasing uptake of new vaccines,” said Madhi. “The Gavi Vaccine Alliance itself is already experiencing a financial crunch. What we need to start putting on the table is what percentage of the immunization program should be funded by countries ... to ensure that not just a few children are getting vaccinated.”

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

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Cody Doggett faces a charge of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm in connection with the Feb. 15 shooting outside a restaurant.

According to Orlando police, officers were called to the Sister Soul Food on South Parramore Avenue, where they found four juveniles suffering from gunshot wounds.

Three of the juveniles suffered non‑life‑threatening injuries. All were taken to a nearby hospital.

According to police, the shooting stemmed from a gang-related dispute, during which ”multiple individuals exchanged gunfire before fleeing in various directions."

Gunfire also tore through a woman’s hair bun inside the restaurant, pierced a television and a food container, and shattered multiple windows.

Orlando police said they later determined that Doggett returned to the chaotic scene about a minute after the initial gunfire and opened fire on the crowd helping the injured juveniles. One of those rounds struck the victim in the head, causing a critical injury.

Doggett was in court Wednesday, with his attorney arguing that his family is prepared to keep the teenager out of trouble if he were given a bond.

“I just let him go out one day, he doesn’t even really go out the door just we just let him out go this one day and this happened,” Doggett’s mother, Keshaina Wilson, said.

“Cody is a good student, kid. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. I know my son is in fear of this, is going through it, emotionally depressed. I know I can help them do better. Just keep him closer to me.”

But the state filed a motion to keep him behind bars as the case continues.

“Because this case involves such an egregious use of unjustified force in broad daylight, in public around other people with the business nearby, that’s why the state is saying that we have reached the burden of substantial probability that conditions of bond can reasonably protect the community from this,” Prosecutor Jared Shapiro told the court.

Given the details of the case, including video of the incident, the judge denied Doggett bond.

“I appreciate that his family thinks that they can supervise him. However, the court does not share that confidence,” Judge Cherish Adams said.

Doggett’s next court hearing is set for Monday.

Leo spoke to journalists en route to Cameroon as he continued his Africa visit.

He made no mention of Trump’s latest social media post or the suggestion by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, that he should “be careful” when speaking about theology.

Leo took no questions. Rather, he focused on his first stop in Algeria and the teachings of St. Augustine of Hippo, the inspiration of his religious order and his own spirituality.

But Leo spoke in terms that suggested the Trump administration's criticism of the pope's calls for peace in the Iran war hadn't gone unnoticed. He spoke exclusively in English.

Trump has issued repeated broadsides this week against history’s first U.S.-born pope, accusing him of being weak on crime and a captive to the left, and asserting that Leo owed his papacy to Trump. Trump also posted, then took down, an artificial intelligence-generated, Christ-like image of himself that drew widespread condemnation, even from many supporters.

Trump’s attacks on Leo began after the pope amplified criticism of war and asserted that God doesn’t bless those who drop bombs. Leo also called Trump’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilization “truly unacceptable.”

Overnight, Trump posted “Not good!!!” in response to a post citing social media posts by Leo before he was pope that were critical of Trump. And he wrote: “Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable.”

Leo points to St. Augustine and ‘search for truth’

Leo drew attention to his visit Tuesday to Annaba, the ancient city of Hippo where St. Augustine, the theological and philosophical giant of the early church, lived as a bishop for more than 30 years.

“His writings, his teaching, his spirituality, his invitation to search for God and to search for truth is something that is very much needed today, a message that is very real for all of us today as believers in Jesus Christ, but for all people,” Leo said.

By going to Hippo, Leo said that he wanted to offer the church and the world a vision that St. Augustine offers in terms of seeking "unity among all peoples and respect for all people in spite of the differences.”

He recalled that the vast majority of Algerians are Muslim, but that they respect and honor St. Augustine as “one of the great sons of their land.” Such an attitude, he said, helps to build bridges between Christians and Muslims and promote dialogue.

And he recalled his visit to the Great Mosque of Algiers, where he stood in silent prayer.

“I think the visit to the mosque was significant to say that although we have different beliefs, we have different ways of worshiping, we have different ways of living, we can live together in peace,” he said.

“And so I think that to promote that kind of image is something which the world needs to hear today.”

While being on the receiving end of Trump's criticisms online, Leo pointed to the respectful way that the Algerian government had received him on the first-ever papal visit — with a full military airborne escort through Algeria's airspace.

“It’s a sign of the goodness, of the generosity, of the respect that the Algerian people and the Algerian government have wished to show to the Holy See and to myself,” Leo said.

A debate about ‘just war’

The Vatican's editorial director, Andrea Tornielli, was more pointed than Leo in his rebuttal of Vance, who had argued that the Catholic Church had a long tradition of endorsing so-called “just wars,” when war can be morally justified.

Tornielli noted that the “just war” theory was developed centuries ago, when wars were fought with swords, not machine-guided drones.

“This teaching has gradually been enriched and deepened, to the point of recognizing how increasingly difficult it is to claim that a ‘just war’ exists,” Tornielli wrote on Vatican Media. Modern warfare poses a "reality that raises moral questions of dramatic intensity.”

“There has been a growing awareness that war is not a path to be followed,” he wrote.

U.S. Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbishop of Washington, has said the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran failed to meet the minimum criteria for the war to be considered morally just. Such criteria would have included that it was a response to an imminent threat, that the U.S. and Israel had clearly articulated their intentions or that the benefits would outweigh the harm.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Meta's attempt to resolve the bloc’s antitrust investigation of WhatsApp by charging third-party AI companies for access is unsatisfactory, the European Commission said Wednesday.

The commission, which is the 27-nation bloc's executive arm and top antitrust enforcer, opened the investigation last year over concerns that WhatsApp was blocking competing artificial intelligence companies from offering their AI assistants on the platform.

Officials said Meta's decision in March to start charging third-party AI providers for access was essentially equivalent to the ban it had in place.

“Replacing the legal ban with pricing that has a similar effect does not change our preliminary view that Meta’s conduct appears to be an abuse of its dominant position, that may seriously harm competition on the market for AI assistants,” Teresa Ribera, the commission’s executive vice president overseeing competition, said in a statement.

When Brussels opened its investigation in December, officials said they were scrutinizing new terms and conditions that blocked providers of AI chatbots from using a tool to communicate with customers.

The bloc said it intends to issue its order to reinstate access for third-party chatbots under previous terms until it reaches a final decision on the case.

Meta said the commission’s decision means that the company will have to provide its service for free and would amount to subsidizing select companies rather than clearing the way for more competition.

It could mean, for example, that “a small bakery in France paying to use the service to take croissant orders will be picking up the tab for OpenAI,” Meta said of one of its competitors in a statement. "Small European businesses shouldn’t foot OpenAI’s bill.”

House Democrats launched Wednesday what they call a task force to overhaul ethics rules and protect access to the ballot. They also want to highlight the Trump family's business dealings and the president's transformation of the federal government.

The task force, which will include a mix of progressive and moderate members, could become a central part of Democrats' messaging as they try to claw back control of Congress from Republicans.

Rep. Joe Morelle, top Democrat on the House Administration Committee and a longtime ally of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, will spearhead the effort. He said Jeffries “fears that we’re losing Americans' faith and trust in government and institutions” because so often "decisions are made based on the personal interests of the members or the president and with little regard for Americans.”

Morelle floated a ban on stock trading for all members of the executive branch, Congress and federal courts as a policy. He added that a code of ethics and term limits for Supreme Court justices were other possible proposals.

Democrats have frequently accused Trump's second term of being “the most corrupt administration in American history," a characterization the White House denies.

“President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public," said Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson. “President Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children. There are no conflicts of interest.”

A little over a year into the president’s second term, his family’s Trump Organization has conducted deals in eight foreign countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Vietnam. All the deals are ostensibly in compliance with the Trump company's self-imposed rule not to do business directly with foreign governments.

But it's not sure that matters, given that many such authoritarian and one-party states rarely take a hands-off approach in private business deals, especially when the business belongs to a sitting president.

Anti-corruption pledges have been heard before

Promises to clean up Washington are nothing new. Trump campaigned in 2016 and 2024 on a vow to “drain the swamp.” Democrats won back control of the House in 2018, at the midpoint of Trump's first term, with an anti-corruption message.

“I don’t know that we start with people’s trust. I certainly think that’s probably not the case,” said Morelle. “The question is, will we earn it? Can we earn it? And we’re prepared to place significant emphasis on this.”

Reps. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrats on the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, respectively, are on the task force.

So are Reps. Greg Casar, D-Texas, leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and Brad Schneider, D-Ill., head of the moderate New Democrats. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., one of the caucus' most prominent members, is a member as well.

The group's regional and ideological diversity could ensure a broad base of support for the new initiative, or it could make it harder to find a unifying message and agenda.

“The challenge is almost there’s too much to do, and they are going to need to focus on a couple of things,” said Justin Florence, co-founder of Protect Democracy, a group that says it combats authoritarianism in the U.S. and is consulting with Democrats on their strategy.

The group believes the Hungarian elections offer a successful model.

“It just shows that this messaging has to be loud, it has to be colorful, it has to be engaging,” said Ben Raderstorf, a strategist with Protect Democracy, on how Orbán’s opponents spread their anti-corruption message. “It can’t just be staid hearings, it’s about breaking through attention cycles.”

While Democrats debated after the 2024 election whether their warnings that democracy was imperiled resonated with Americans, many in the party say Trump's actions have shifted public opinion.

Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Ga., one of the task force’s co-chairs, said the president is “actively meddling in our elections and attempting to impose a Jim Crow 2.0 era through intimidation and suppression." She vowed the task force will “hold Trump accountable for his corrupt schemes, expose them to the American people, and present the alternative they deserve.”

Anti-corruption groups are hoping the messaging effort will transfer to a meaningful plan to curb corruption in Washington.

“The hope is that it’s broad, and that it’s serious policymaking and not just talking points,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, a watchdog group that has been in talks with the task force.

The goal, he said, is to address "not just the Trump administration’s extreme abuses, but the systemic rigging of the political process in Washington.”

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Associated Press writer Bernard Condon contributed from New York.

In a wild sequence, Ball avenged two critical mistakes just seconds earlier by scoring on a driving right-handed layup with 4.7 seconds left, and Charlotte prevailed after Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell’s layup attempt on the other of the court as time expired. That set off a wild celebration on the court involving players, coaches and fans as the team earned its first home postseason win in a decade.

Ball celebrated at midcourt, flexing after the winning layup. Local television station WBTV caught video of the hyped point guard delivering two seemingly playful blows at Hugo before embracing teammate Coby White in a bear hug. Hugo simply walked away.

Ball was the center of attention all night, and it remained uncertain if he could face disciplinary action from the league ahead of Charlotte's next play-in game on Friday night after it appeared he took a swipe at the leg of Bam Adebayo early in the second quarter, causing the Heat center to fall on his back.

Ball was not called for a foul and play continued. Adebayo did not return because of a lower back injury, playing just 11 minutes.

Afterward, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said Ball should have been ejected.

Ball apologized after the game and said he was disoriented on the play after getting hit in the head seconds before on a drive to the basket.

The ninth-seeded Hornets play on the road against the loser of Wednesday’s night game between Orlando and Philadelphia as they look to snap a 10-year playoff drought.

“We drew up a good play, I feel like. Just orchestrated it and it worked," Ball said of the winning shot.

Ball was not asked about punching the mascot after the game; the video of it had not surfaced at that point.

“The crowd was amazing," Ball said of the sold-out crowd. "Everyone who came out today was real loud, so it was a good crowd.”

Charlotte was able to get to overtime after White hit an off-balanced 3-pointer from the corner with 10.8 seconds left to tie the game, and Miami's Tyler Herro missed a jumper at the end of regulation.

The Hornets surrendered a five-point lead in OT behind two Ball blunders.

After Herro drained a turnaround 3 in the corner, Ball turned the ball over at midcourt and then fouled Herro on a 3-point attempt. Herro made all three free throws to briefly give Miami a 126-125 lead, setting up Ball's theatrics on an inbounds play.

“We just stayed together throughout it all, it was an up-and-down game. But that’s what the play-in is about," Bridges said. "... We did a great job executing on offense, LaMelo did a great job getting a layup, and then we executed on defense on the other end.”

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

It's a clever way of connecting the past iconic musical theater show with its reimagined, cooler sister now playing at the Broadhurst Theatre. But there's an even more thrilling connection between these two shows:

That DJ? He starred in the original cast.

Ken Ard is making a triumphant return to Broadway after being away for 25 years in the same show where his career exploded in the early 1980s, now dancing with performers 40 years his junior.

“It’s amazing to have this full circle moment in my life,” he says from his dressing room. “I knew it was right for me then and I knew it was right for me now.”

‘The most spectacular reinvention’

Ard's return to “Cats” is a story of redemption and resilience, echoing the recovery of New York after the 2001 terror attacks. Ard lived close to ground zero, and the horror of that day left him with PTSD and dented his confidence. He went from an It boy to deeply shaken. “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” is his first Broadway show since the attacks.

“My first audition after 9/11, I burst into tears and left the room because I had no idea what to do or how to feel,” he recalls. “I just was not getting booked anymore. And before that I was getting booked all the time.”

Ard, who grew up in California, studied dance and tried his luck in New York, inspired by shows like “The Wiz” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and by performers like Ken Page and Andre De Shields, the latter who is now his co-star.

He made his Broadway debut in the chorus of “Marlow” in 1981, and “Cats” was his third show. “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” is actually his fourth production for Andrew Lloyd Webber, following “Starlight Express” and “Song and Dance.”

“His music does speak to me in a certain way,” he says. “There’s something about his shows that are whimsical and fun, and I guess I just have been able to fit into them.”

The original “Cats” — for which Ard played Macavity as well as Plato and Rumpus Cat — was a cultural phenomenon, attracting celebrities, soaring ticket sales and a devotion that's hard to explain. It was the “Hamilton” before “Hamilton.” Ard recalls meeting Diana Ross and Cary Grant.

Ard wasn't a big fan of the 2016 “Cats” revival — “It was a museum piece,” he says — or the 2019 movie — “a debacle,” he declares — so he didn't have much hope when he checked out “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” last year at the Perelman Performing Arts Center, which just happens to be at ground zero.

“I went in and I saw this show with my arms crossed, like, ‘What are they going to do with ’Cats?'” he says. “I had not gone back downtown in years and years and years. ‘Cats’ was what got me down there.”

What he saw was a show that transports viewers into the Black and Latino queer ballroom scene of Harlem, which was the inspiration for “Paris Is Burning” and later “Pose.”

“It’s really just the most spectacular reinvention of a show I have ever seen,” says Ard, who says he bawled his eyes out and returned to see it two more times. “All of that trauma was washed away by this show.”

No more peeling potatoes

The music remains the same — albeit with thumping house beats — but the show has a fabulous energy. It's directed by Zhailon Livingston and Bill Rauch, with choreography by Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons.

The original musical — based on poems by T.S. Eliot — is about felines competing to get into kitty heaven. Ard says the new version is about people competing for a prize. “It makes so much sense,” he says. “It’s not your grandma’s ‘Cats.’”

When he heard it might transfer to Broadway, Ard reached out and was offered the now-enlarged role of DJ Griddlebone, the ball's sort of hype man, a trickster who pops up in various costumes and dances.

“Having Ken Ard in rehearsal was a magic portal to the original production,” Rauch says. “He gave us thrilling perspective on the original staging and the artists’ intentions from 45 years ago. At the same time, Ken was completely present in every sense of the word, helping us to shape our radically new revival.”

Ard calls the show a celebration of gay and trans joy without any preaching: “I think it’s going to introduce a whole new generation to ‘Cats’ and musical theater. People who haven’t seen themselves on stage are really going to be inspired.”

The show that changed his life once has now done it again. Ard had been working in corporate kitchens for the past decade but hopes his time peeling potatoes is done.

“I think those days are over, really,” he says. “I’m going to manifest that they are because, basically, I’ve been wanting to get back to Broadway ever since my last show.”

Starting Wednesday, the Waymo app will be fully open to anyone in the Orlando area.

When Waymo launched in February, it operated an early access phase and was invite-only to users.

The rollout marks a significant milestone for Central Florida, where driverless vehicles are now operating on public roads covering 60 square miles, including downtown Orlando and the tourism district.

[TIMELINE: Waymo makes its way to Orlando. Here’s the company’s journey]

Officials said the phased approach is intended to ensure safety while building public confidence in the technology.

[WATCH: Trooper Steve on Patrol rides in a Waymo]

Waymo vehicles use cameras, radar, lidar sensors, and artificial intelligence to navigate without human input.

Supporters say the technology could reduce crashes caused by human error, which account for the majority of traffic collisions, and expand mobility for people who cannot drive.

Israeli settlers had installed it overnight, according to video that Palestinian residents provided to The Associated Press. Palestinians say the improvised fence is just the latest attempt by settlers to expand control in part of the occupied West Bank where state-backed demolitions, arson and vandalism regularly occur and settler violence, at times lethal, is rarely prosecuted.

The villagers' plight was covered in the 2024 Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land," but the publicity has done little to stem the bloodshed or curb land grabs. They say Israel has used the cover of the Iran war to tighten its grip over the territory, as settler attacks surge and the military imposes additional wartime restrictions on movement, citing security.

Khalil Hathaleen, head of the village council and a member of the extended family that makes up much of Umm al-Khair’s population, said settlers were exploiting the war to seize land, cut down olive groves and raid nearby villages at night. “It was a good chance for settlers to do what they want, with no rules,” he said.

Like in Israel, Palestinian kids stayed home before last week's ceasefire, with the threat of falling missile debris leading schools to close.

Hajar, her brother Rashid and their classmates sat waiting Monday and Tuesday near Israeli flags, the barbed wire and newly felled trees as their parents and village leaders demanded they be allowed to pass. On Monday, the children were met by plumes of tear gas and sound grenades hurled by armed men in an unmarked white truck, including some uniformed soldiers, according to the video.

Israel’s military said troops used “riot dispersal means” outside Carmel, the settlement next to Umm al-Khair. It acknowledged that children were present but said the measures — which it didn't detail — were directed at adults in the area, not the children. The Har Hevron Regional Council, the settlements' local government in the area, did not respond to questions about the fence.

Bedouins and other villagers have been using the 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) path from the neighborhood of Khirbet Umm al-Khair to the village center for decades. “We are determined to keep it,” Khalil Hathaleen said.

The fence is just another way that Palestinian movement is being restricted as Israeli settlements multiply in the occupied West Bank. Palestinians say it follows a well-worn pattern in which settlers erect fences or claim farmland that Palestinians say is theirs, and then move to enforce this new reality with the backing of Israel’s military.

Hathaleen said Israeli forces sometimes restrain the settlers, but more often than not they defer to them.

“We are refused a solution,” he said.

The international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements illegal. Israel, meanwhile, views the territory as disputed and says its final status is subject to negotiations. The outposts are built without the permission of Israeli authorities, who sometimes dismantle them but other times turn a blind eye or even legalize them retroactively.

Hathaleen said the military's civil administration unit told Umm Al-Khair to divert students to another path. But parents said the alternate route is roughly twice as long and more dangerous, requiring them to pass near Carmel.

“We have deep concerns as parents and as residents that the (Israeli) occupation and soldiers will attack students,” said Al-Mutasim Hathaleen, another parent.

On Tuesday, some students got to school on buses that took the alternate route. But classrooms sat half-empty and the playground was deserted. There was no school on Wednesday due to Palestinian Authority cuts to teacher salaries in the area. But on Thursday, kids will try again to get to school on their regular route, Khalil Hathaleen said.

Testing the settlers' resolve could be risky.

Israeli officials and military leaders have recently sounded the alarm over intensifying violence and lawlessness by extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank, where arsons and deadly attacks have continued unabated. At least 35 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers across the territory in 2026. Settlers have killed eight Palestinians — an equal number to all of 2025.

The Israeli rights group B’Tselem, following the killing of a 23-year-old Palestinian man by a settler, said that what it called “daily unbridled violence” amounted to Israeli government policy, noting that many of those involved are army reservists.

“These militias are fully backed by the state of Israel and enjoy complete impunity for killing, assaulting and looting Palestinian residents,” it said.

___ Associated Press reporter Amer Abdeen contributed reporting from Umm Al-Khair, West Bank.

The Mountain Hawks broke the first-inning record of 18 runs set by Princeton and matched by Air Force, both in 1974. Lehigh's 38 total runs were a Patriot League record and the most in a game between Division I teams since New Mexico State beat Texas Southern 38-6 in 2019.

Of Lehigh's 20 first-inning runs, 13 were scored consecutively on bases-loaded walks, hit by pitches or wild pitches. Owen Walewander's grand slam accounted for the final runs in the inning. Lehigh sent 23 men to the plate, three shy of the record for an inning.

Lehigh's Aidan Quinn was walked seven times, also a Division I record.

___

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

After chastising Pope Leo XIV, Trump turned his ire on Meloni, long one of his closest European allies, for calling his papal broadside “unacceptable” and not backing the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.

“I thought she had courage,’’ Trump said in an interview with leading Italian daily Corriere della Sera. “I was wrong.”

Meloni has not directly responded to Trump’s attacks. But they may be to her advantage as she recovers from a decisive referendum defeat last month and as she seeks to dull the impact of the deeply unpopular Iran war, including higher energy prices.

“I actually think this is a godsend for her,’’ said Nathalie Tocci, a professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS Europe and the director of the International Affairs Institute. “Trump has become completely toxic across Europe, across much of the world, including Italy.”

Trump doubled down on Wednesday, saying their bond had frayed. “She’s been negative,” Trump told Fox News. “Anybody that turned us down to helping with this Iran situation, we do not have the same relationship.”

The Meloni-Trump arc

The only European Union leader invited to Trump’s second inauguration, Meloni was expected to leverage her strong ties with him once he returned to office 15 months ago. The two had a perceived natural alliance, with nationalistic tendencies and similarly hard-line stances on immigration.

But Italy was not spared the pain of Trump’s tariffs, and some may argue she has gotten little out of the relationship. When asked if they had spoken this month, Trump told Corriere, “No, not in a long time.''

After an uncomfortable appearance in the Oval Office a year ago when she avoided directly confronting Trump on tariffs, the distance grew over the Iran war. Meloni has stated Italy will not participate in the war and the country last month refused U.S. bombers the authorization to land at a pivotal air base in Sicily.

Meloni’s statement this week calling Trump's attack on the pope “unacceptable” was the most direct criticism of the president yet.

“It's been building up over time, not so much because she is moving away from him but because he has become increasingly unhinged,’’ Tocci said.

Alliance strained but standing

Cabinet minister Adolfo Urso, a member of Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy, said U.S.-Italy relations would not be shaken by the flap.

“Italy and the United States are allied countries and maintain their relationship and alliance within international institutions, starting obviously with the Atlantic Alliance,’’ he told Radio 24, adding that the church’s moral teachings “cannot crack relationships consecrated in alliances signed a few decades ago.”

Mariangela Zappia, president of the ISPI think tank and a former Italian ambassador to the U.S., said Trump’s “hot-blooded” reaction could be attributed to his frustration with Europe, not just Italy. Besides not getting support for the Iran war, Trump lost a strong ally with Viktor Orbán’s electoral defeat in the Hungarian elections this weekend.

Still, she said Trump's personal outburst aimed at Meloni should not be construed as damaging the alliance as a whole.

“Europe absolutely considers the United States its historic ally, but in some way wants to be involved in the decisions that are taken,’’ Zappia said.

Trump, on the other hand, is realizing “this European Union is not easy to dismantle,” she said. “We are different, we react differently. Some are clearly anti-Trump, some are pro-Trump but in the end, destroying the European project, separating us on the things on which we see as our future, that is very difficult.’’

Meloni focused on Italy

Meloni has sought to shore up support after the referendum loss, which became a de facto confidence test of her leadership. She made a two-day whirlwind solo tour of three Gulf states to shore up Italy’s gas and oil supply from the region during a growing energy crisis but returned home without any formal deals.

On Tuesday, she announced Italy would not automatically renew a defense agreement with Israel, after warning shots hit an Italian convoy that is part of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, a move that analysts say is driven more by domestic politics than a strategic shift.

“The Gulf tour was a way to show public opinion that she was being proactive. The fact it didn’t actually lead to anything is beside the point,’’ Tocci said. The Israel move “substantively is rather meaningless because there is not much in this agreement but symbolically it helps because Israel has become just so unpopular in Italian public opinion.”

No matter what damage control she has done after the referendum loss, Roberto D’Alimonte, a professor at the LUISS school of government, predicts a difficult last year and a half of her mandate before elections due in 2027, largely due to the economic impact of the Iran war.

“People want to see their gas bills go down, not just see Meloni talk about gas. What matters are the bills you get every month,’’ he said.

While details remained sketchy, Bangladesh Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Sabbir Alam Suzan told The Associated Press on Wednesday that nine people, including three Rohingya and six Bangladeshis, were rescued on April 9. Suzan said that the Bangladesh flag carrier M.T. Meghna Pride rescued the nine people when the crew found them floating at sea after the capsizing.

The status of any search on Wednesday or when the boat sank weren't immediately clear.

UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, and the International Organization for Migration, or IOM, said in a joint statement on Tuesday that the trawler departed from Teknaf in the southern Bangladeshi district of Cox’s Bazar carrying a large number of passengers to Malaysia.

The IOM said Wednesday in a new statement that the boat reportedly sank on April 9.

Overcrowding, strong winds and rough seas caused the vessel to lose control and sink, the agencies said.

A Rohingya woman who survived the capsizing and was rescued narrated her ordeal on Wednesday. The survivor said that she set out for Malaysia on April 4, and about 20 women were on board when the boat sank.

“I drifted in the sea for two days and one night," said Rahela Begum, who was brought to a refugee camp. "There were many people on the trawler, but after it sank, I have no idea what happened to them or where they went,"

“After drifting in the sea for two days and one night, the piece of wood I was holding onto also flipped over and I lost it. At that point, I lost consciousness. When I regained consciousness, I saw that Allah had sent a ship. The ship rescued me," she said.

Shari Nijman, a UNHCR communication officer in Cox’s Bazar, said Wednesday that the agency had no other updates.

Another coast guard media official told the AP by phone Wednesday that the rescued people, eight men and one woman, were all safe, after being handed over to the coast guard, which brought them to the police in Teknaf.

The official said that the rescue wasn't part of any official search operation, because the area is outside Bangladeshi territory, and that the crew of the M.T. Meghna Pride saved the people while it was on its way to Indonesia from Bangladesh's Chittagong.

The official spoke by phone on condition of anonymity in line with official policy.

UNHCR and IOM said that the disappearance reflected the protracted displacement of Rohingya people and the absence of durable solutions.

They said that ongoing violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state has made the Rohingya’s safe return to Myanmar uncertain, while limited humanitarian assistance, as well as restricted access to education and employment in refugee camps, continue to push vulnerable Rohingya refugees to choose risky sea journeys, often based on false promises of higher wages and better opportunities abroad.

“This incident is a stark reminder of the grave risks people continue to face when undertaking dangerous sea journeys in search of safety and better opportunities,” IOM spokesperson Mohammedali Abunajela said in a statement on Wednesday. “No one should have to choose between remaining in situations of profound hardship or embarking on a journey that may cost them their lives.”

UNHCR and IOM urged the international community to strengthen funding and solidarity to ensure lifesaving assistance for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, which has sheltered more than 1 million Rohingya from Myanmar.

In 2025, more than 6,500 Rohingya refugees embarked on dangerous maritime journeys from Bangladesh and Myanmar, almost 900 of whom lost their lives, the IOM said. On the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal specifically, deaths and disappearances increased by more than 40% compared with 2024 figures, the U.N. organization said.

___

Suzauddin Rubel reported from Cox's Bazar.

This is the famed “Saturday Night Live” set at New York City's 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and Anitta is running through two new songs — “Choka Choka” featuring Shakira, and “Varias Quejas,” a Spanish-language version of an Olodum classic, a cultural group from Bahia, Brazil — during rehearsal last week.

Both songs are standouts from her forthcoming album, “Equilibrium,” an eclectic mix of Brazilian funk, samba, bossa nova, semba, reggae, electronic pop, Portuguese, Spanish and English — the kind of release that could only be made mainstream by Brazil’s most globally popular musician since Astrud Gilberto sang “The Girl From Ipanema” over six decades ago.

“I think this is the most Brazilian thing I've ever, ever done on television in America,” Anitta told The Associated Press in the NBC offices shortly thereafter.

And “Equilibrium?” “100% my most Brazilian album,” the artist born Larissa de Macedo Machado says. “I really wanted to do an album honoring my roots.”

An evolving sound

“Equilibrium” is a sonic jump from her last release, 2024's “Funk Generation.” That was a full-on tribute to Brazilian funk — what is frequently referred to as funk carioca or baile funk and is heard in working-class neighborhoods known as favelas around Rio de Janeiro. It's a combination of Brazilian rhythms, African and electronic music and rap that has been stigmatized like hip-hop and reggaetón before it. The genre still exists on “Equilibrium,” but so does a myriad sounds — and beliefs — from her homeland.

“Some of the songs are honoring some entities from Yoruba culture, from Orishas,” she says, referring to the religion that originated in West Africa and its divine spirits, like on the track “Nanã.” “One of the songs talks about God and how do I see God in life.”

It should come as no surprise to Anitta fans: In 2024, she released a music video for the song “Aceita,” which featured a video depicting rituals of the Afro-Brazilian faith Candomblé, sparking controversy in a country where religious intolerance is all too common. Elevating marginalized populations, religious groups and also women, residents of favelas, LGBTQ+ and Black people has always been a core feature of Anitta's public persona.

Going global by going home

Naturally, “Equilibrium” is also a full-on embrace of community. The album is stacked with Brazilian collaborators, like the rising songwriter Melly, Liniker's award-winning samba rock-and-then-some, the Brazilian reggae band Ponto de Equilíbrio and countless others. Even “Choka Choka,” the assertive single with Colombian superstar Shakira, is a love letter to Anitta's culture: The “She Wolf” singer performs in Portuguese.

“Anitta wanted to create something for Brazil, but with an international touch,” said “Choka Choka” co-producer Daramola in a press statement. Its Brazilian funk percussion “has a lot of energy, a lot of intensity. And who better to represent that sound than Anitta and Shakira?”

The song, like the rest of “Equilibrium,” seeks to deliver a universal message with regional sounds. Where she could've leaned into conventional, commercial music trends, she doubled down on what makes Anitta, Anitta instead. Clearly the world — and “Saturday Night Live” — are paying attention.

In the past, “If I wanted to reach certain audience, I would do more English or Spanish or whatever,” she says. “And I just think … I don't know if people are accepting better. I don’t care that much as I used to.”

She still sings in three languages, but Portuguese takes a front seat. That may be because this is the freest Anitta has sounded on record. Consider a song like the syrupy “Vai Dar Caô” featuring rapper Ebony and producer Papatinho, with its sample of DJ Mandrake and MC Tikão's “A Pedido,” built over a late-night-at-the-club interpolation of Art of Noise's 1984 New Age classic “Moments In Love.” Anitta's raps are earned show boasts, something that doesn't feel out of place next to the nylon-string classical guitars of a softer song, like “Ternura.”

On “Equilibrium,” specificity and storytelling is key. “The last song, we also bring a mantra from the God Tara, which is a female God, from another type of religion,” she says.

Anitta is referring to “Ouro,” a collaboration with the Brazilian duo Emanazul who describe their work as medicine music. She calls the song a “meditation.”

“I don’t want people to think this is one type of thinking, one direction. I like to join forces," she says. "I think that’s what this album is about: honoring Brazilian roots, honoring everything that I think can make us feel elevated.”

If she sounds self-actualized, that's because it is her ambition for the album. “I think the main message is, like, we are all one. We live in a planet, Mother Earth. It’s our home. We’re supposed to just live in harmony with each other, respect each other’s flavors, decisions, ways of communicating. We should be just, like, admiring our differences,” she says.

It's a deep message but one delivered in a pop package. “I think the album brings a lot of fun instruments, percussions, all that, but also brings like moments for us to … find the balance, the middle term, the middle way of doing things,” she smiles. “That’s the secret.”

Although Israeli strikes on Beirut have eased since last week's shattering 10-minute bombardment without warning killed over 350 people across the country, southern Lebanon remains under attack.

The Israeli military has periodically issued warnings urging residents to flee wide swathes of southern Lebanon as it targets the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, but tens of thousands of people have stayed — either because they don't want to leave their homes or because they have nowhere to go.

Tyre, too, is under Israeli evacuation order, but many displaced families had seen it as a refuge of last resort, removed from the heaviest clashes closer to the Israeli border. Increasingly, though, residents say nowhere even in Tyre feels safe.

Across the city, the war was visible in shattered buildings, mounds of rubble and debris-strewn streets. Residents moved cautiously along wreckage-lined roads.

Mourners gathered for the funeral of 19-year-old Ghadir Baalbaki, killed overnight in an Israeli drone strike just outside Tyre’s city center. It was not immediately clear who was targeted, but witnesses said Baalbaki had been sitting outside her house when the drone hit nearby.

“I hugged Ghadir because I thought she had fainted. I kept trying to wake her up," Mariam Hamoud, her aunt, recalled from the temporary graveyard where Baalbaki was buried. Many families can't return to home villages to bury their dead because they are too close to the front lines.

Baalbaki’s father, Mohammed Baalbaki, stood beside the grave in tears.

“We cannot adapt to life without her," he said.

Across southern Lebanon, Israeli forces said they had struck more than 200 Hezbollah targets over the past 24 hours. Hezbollah claimed rocket attacks on military targets in northern Israel and on Israeli forces in the town of Khiam near the border, which has seen intense fighting in recent weeks.

Tuesday's talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington have drawn backlash from Hezbollah and its supporters.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah on Wednesday castigated Lebanese authorities for what he called the “disgraceful image” of direct negotiations with Israel “at a time when it is killing Lebanese people and committing massacres." He called on the government to hold a popular vote on the future of Hezbollah's arsenal rather than decide its fate in talks with Israel.

Lebanon's government seeks the disarmament of Hezbollah, but the group has long defied such efforts.

“If it truly wants to prove it reflects the aspirations of the Lebanese people, then (the government) should accept a public referendum. We are ready for a referendum on these choices,” Fadlallah told reporters, saying he expected the results to show that a majority of Lebanese people support Hezbollah's militant activities.

On the streets of Beirut, Lebanese were divided on the talks. Some agreed with Hezbollah that Israel can only be stopped through military force.

“These negotiations do not represent us … it’s as if they never existed," said Mustafa Alaa Al-Din, who was displaced from southern Lebanon.

Others welcomed the talks, expressing support for any initiative that promises to hasten the end of the war.

“The negotiations are more in our interest than in Israel’s interest because we are the ones whose country is being destroyed, we are the ones suffering losses,” said Mohamed Saad, a Beirut resident.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began when Hezbollah fired missiles across the border days after the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran. Israel responded with an intense aerial campaign and ground invasion.

At least 2,167 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, Lebanon's health ministry said Wednesday, including 260 women, 172 children and 91 medical workers. More than 1 million Lebanese have been displaced.

___

Associated Press writers Fadi Tawil and Isabel DeBre in Beirut contributed to this report.

Kent Syverud, chancellor at Syracuse University, said he received the diagnosis after not feeling well last week.

“I am currently undergoing treatment at the University of Michigan. ... I am aware that I am one of many, many people who face a diagnosis like this — people who show up each day with courage,” Syverud said. “I take inspiration from all of them.”

Syverud was hired in January and was set to become president in May.

The University of Michigan's interim president, Domenico Grasso, will stay in the job while the school's governing board searches for another leader.

Instead of being president, Syverud will be a professor at Michigan's law school and serve as an adviser to the Board of Regents, the board said.

Santa Ono was university president until 2025, when he was in line to become the head of the University of Florida. But the move backfired when the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state’s universities, voted 10-6 against him in June.

Political conservatives had criticized Ono for his past support for diversity, equity and inclusion programs and other initiatives they viewed as unacceptable liberal ideology.

Times have “ radically changed," Hochul said, since 2019, when the state set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030.

She's proposed giving the state years more to comply, saying pursuing that goal now by imposing planned fees on polluters would lead to crushing energy prices.

“I cannot in good conscience — knowing the moms and dads and the seniors and the families that are struggling, paying their bills now — I cannot do something I know at this very moment that’s going to raise those prices,” Hochul said at a recent rally.

Hochul, who is running for reelection this year, is among several Democratic leaders trying to balance the party’s traditional support for clean energy policies with the current political imperative to deliver “affordability” agendas.

Several states — particularly in the Northeast — are reassessing clean energy targets. Others are looking at shaving extra charges on utility bills that help fund efficiency programs.

The shifts have alarmed environmentalists, who call them shortsighted. They note that other states, including California, have remained committed to similar policies designed to lessen dependence on fossil fuels.

“She’s looking to, ultimately, keep New Yorkers on gas longer when it’s the very fuel that’s causing their bills to rise,” Liz Moran of the environmental group Earthjustice said of Hochul's proposals.

Hochul insists she isn’t abandoning efforts to fight climate change. But she and other Democrats complain that cuts to clean energy grants under President Donald Trump’s administration raised the cost of meeting state climate goals. The Republican president has been hostile to some clean energy sources, particularly offshore wind farms, which his administration has sought to block.

Affordability concerns edge out climate worries

Meanwhile, U.S. residential electricity prices rose 27% on average from 2019 to 2024, with some of the most pronounced increases in California and Northeast states, according to a study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Analysts cite multiple reasons for higher prices, among them increased demand from data centers and the price of natural gas, which often is used to generate electricity.

Power bills were a key issue in the governors’ races won by Democrats last year in New Jersey and Virginia. And that was before the Iran war sent gasoline prices soaring.

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee has proposed pushing a 2033 deadline to reach 100% renewable energy sources to 2050, part of his plan to lower energy costs by $1 billion over five years.

Last year, Connecticut lowered its 40% renewable energy goal for 2030 to 29%. Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont said at the time that “electric bills are too damn high.”

Massachusetts and New Jersey are among the states looking at lowering charges on utility bills that help fund efficiency programs.

“It is hard to talk about climate at times, because everyone is very laser-focused on affordability and customer bills,” said Kyle Murray, Massachusetts program director for the Acadia Center. “So climate, while still important, is getting kind of pushed aside, unfortunately.”

Cap and invest in practice

One of New York's key mechanisms for reducing emissions was supposed to be a “cap-and-invest” system, in which polluters buy allowances for their emissions and the revenue is invested in things like clean technology and renewable energy.

In California, cap-and-invest is crucial to achieving goals that include reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. The state has used proceeds from cap-and-invest to direct billions of dollars to things like public transit and clean-vehicle incentives.

California regulators on Tuesday proposed cap-and-invest changes in response to concerns from lawmakers about electricity prices and economic worries from industry. Business incentives and electric bill relief would be increased under the proposals.

The program costs Californians an extra 24 cents a gallon at the pump and slightly more on their utility bills, though the state provides a regular “climate credit” on their bills, said Kyle Meng, associate professor of economics at UC Santa Barbara.

“When you make things more expensive, people conserve. It’s like Econ 101 and that’s the basic idea behind a cap-and-trade program,” Meng said.

New York officials, however, missed a 2024 deadline to create regulations detailing how such a system would work in their state. Without those rules in place, the system never launched. Environmentalists successfully sued the state over its failure to meet the deadline, which Hochul has mentioned in seeking a delay.

The governor’s new proposal, currently under consideration by legislative leaders, would give the state until 2030 to come up with regulations. And the state would set new targets for 2040 emissions levels.

Environmentalists dispute cost claims

If those deadlines are not moved, consumers will pay a cost, Hochul has said. Her administration estimates that implementing a cap-and-invest system now would pass along costs of more than $4,000 a year for some households.

Environmental advocates say the governor is estimating what an “extreme” version would cost, and that the analysis ignores the benefits of incentivizing polluters to move away from fossil fuels.

They also point to Washington, where voters in 2024 decided to keep that state’s cap-and-invest program by a wide margin.

“The sky has not fallen,” said Caitlin Krenn of Washington Conservation Action, “and the program is working as intended.”

Bruce Blakeman, a Republican county executive running for governor against Hochul, said he’d get rid of the state’s plan altogether if he wins this fall.

“Delaying the pain won’t make it disappear — it just leaves bigger bills down the road,” Blakeman said in a statement.

The 14-year-old gunman was killed. He arrived at the school armed with guns believed to belong to his father, a retired police officer, Kahramanmaras provincial Gov. Mukerrem Unluer said. He was carrying five firearms and seven magazines.

The motive of the attack wasn't immediately known. It was not clear whether the gunman was killed by police or killed himself.

Six of the 13 people wounded were in serious condition, Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said.

The attack came a day after 16 people, mostly students, were wounded when a former student opened fire at a high school in nearby Sanliurfa province. The assailant later killed himself.

Until this week, school shootings were rare in Turkey.

State-run broadcaster, TRT, identified the latest shooter as Isa Aras Mersinli and said his father was detained for questioning.

Turkish authorities imposed a ban on the broadcast of “traumatic” images from the shooting, warning media organizations to limit coverage to statements from officials.

Parents rushed to the school in Kahramanmaras’ Onikisubat district after hearing reports of an armed attack, NTV television reported.

The crash happened near mile marker 335, causing an hours-long closure. Traffic camera footage in the area shows a semitruck on its side and traffic at a standstill.

According to the FHP, a tractor-trailer transporting pallets overturned when its driver, a 29-year-old man from Jacksonville, fell asleep and lost control of the vehicle.

The driver suffered minor injuries and was not taken to the hospital.

The possible change is alarming environmental advocates who say it would lead to more dangerous pollution spewing into communities, with fewer or no checks at the federal level. The plastics industry disputes that, saying it would clear up confusion while still controlling emissions.

The world is pumping millions of tons of plastic pollution into the environment every year. While dozens of countries and many environmental groups have urged caps on production, industry and several big oil-producing countries have resisted, arguing instead for improvements in reuse and recycling.

Chemical recycling uses heat or chemicals to break down plastics. The main method, a process known as pyrolysis, has long been regulated as incineration by the Clean Air Act. The EPA limits emissions from incinerators of nine air pollutants, including toxic particulates, heavy metals and dioxins.

The agency says a potential new rule could instead recognize pyrolysis as manufacturing.

The American Chemistry Council, an industry group, has long argued for such a change.

“The definition of incineration is to destroy it, right? You’re literally trying to make it go away,” said Ross Eisenberg, president of America’s Plastic Makers, who leads ACC’s plastics advocacy. “That’s not what they’re doing here. They are trying to preserve it and recover the materials, which is recycling, which is manufacturing.”

Judith Enck, a former EPA regional administrator who now heads up Beyond Plastics, opposes what she said would be a “much weaker level of environmental protection.”

“Chemical recycling companies know that if they want to operate, they need to get this essential Clean Air Act permit and they don’t like it,” she said. “They have spent decades trying to convince EPA to change the rules of the game. Republican and Democratic administrations have declined to do this. But they have hit the jackpot with the Trump administration.”

Alarm over changing how pyrolysis is regulated

The EPA regulates pyrolysis under section 129 of the act, which reduces air pollution from four categories of solid waste incineration units. The agency told The Associated Press that a final rule in 2005 that included “pyrolysis/combustion units” under that section was vague and caused confusion for the industry.

EPA said it's taking public comment for a potential rule that could recognize pyrolysis as manufacturing under a different section, 111, of the Clean Air Act.

John Walke, who leads the Natural Resources Defense Council’s national clean air advocacy, said Section 111 doesn't regulate as many pollutants as 129. He also argued that EPA's plan is skipping crucial steps in a lengthy, required rulemaking process.

Walke also said the EPA move would amount to the immediate deregulation of these facilities under the act. He said it would take several years to follow the legal process to regulate the industry under another section, leaving a gap where no federal emissions standards would apply.

“You could have a facility that was controlled on a Monday, preventing those hazardous air pollutants from being emitted into the atmosphere, and on Tuesday, the facility would have legal permission to turn off installed pollution controls to allow the unlimited release of hazardous air pollution into the same community that was better protected on Monday,” he said. “Why would they do that? Why would they turn off an installed pollution control device? Because it costs money to operate them.”

Eisenberg disputed that. He said other sections of the Clean Air Act would still apply, and facilities get state permits, so the emissions would still be controlled and surrounding communities would be safe. They are “so heavily regulated,” Eisenberg said.

Recycling rates for plastic waste are tiny

More than 90% of plastics aren't recycled, according to the American Chemistry Council. It promises that chemical, or advanced, recycling can change that. As a complement to traditional mechanical recycling, chemical recycling can help dramatically reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills while generating a diverse range of products, the ACC says.

The process breaks plastics down into liquid and gas to produce an oil-like mixture or basic chemicals, that can be used to make new plastics or fuels. It's like “unbaking a cake,” Eisenberg said.

Environmental groups say advanced recycling is waste disposal, not recycling, and a distraction from real solutions like producing and using less plastic.

There are six pyrolysis plants, operating in Ohio, Texas, North Carolina, Indiana and Georgia, plus one under construction in Arizona and another in West Virginia, and a small test project in Maryland, according to the American Chemistry Council. The ACC has been lobbying states and Congress to pass laws to regulate chemical recycling as manufacturing. Twenty-five states now do, and legislation is pending in Congress.

Despite that legislative success, Eisenberg said the number of proposals to build these plants has dwindled in recent years, in part because of the permitting process.

“I often ask people to take a step back,” he said. “Do you want more recycling? If the answer is yes, then we should do what we can to make sure that you can bring more recycling online.”

Eisenberg said they've made clear to the Trump administration that revising the Clean Air Act is a priority. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin toured ExxonMobil's Baytown, Texas, facility to see chemical recycling in person last year.

Critic says notice of possible change was buried

In March, the EPA published a notice requesting comment on a proposed rule to consolidate regulations for another type of incinerator, with a small section soliciting comment on removing the reference to pyrolysis. The EPA mentioned it at the end of its press release on air curtain incinerators, too.

Enck said it was a bombshell paragraph, buried in a rulemaking notice. The EPA dismissed the criticism, highlighting the press release.

At a public hearing last week, many people urged the EPA to keep pyrolysis units regulated as incinerators, including about a dozen speakers from the nonprofit Moms Clean Air Force. Kiya Stanford, the group's Georgia state organizer, said in her testimony that changing it “feels like a move to prioritize polluters over people,” offering the plastics industry a cheap way to make waste disappear from sight by spewing it into the air as toxic pollution.

The agency proposed a similar change in 2020, during President Donald Trump's first term. The Biden administration withdrew the proposed modification.

Walke said that if the EPA finalizes the rollback now, the NRDC would plan to challenge it in court.

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

Their lawyer, Marco Mellone, argued before the Cassation Court that the law should apply only to people born after it took effect, potentially opening a pathway to citizenship for millions of people living in the United States and parts of Latin America. Another lawyer represented Italian descendants from Venezuela.

A decision by an expanded panel, which makes the ruling binding in lower courts, is expected in the coming weeks.

A decree by the conservative government in March 2025 put the brakes on previous rules allowing anyone who could prove ancestry after Italy’s formation in 1861 to seek citizenship. Italy’s constitutional court last month ruled the new law is valid, but Mellone said the supreme court has the power to clarify the scope of the law.

“The families involved in this case are simply descendants ... from an Italian ancestor who emigrated in the late 19th century to the United States, like millions of other people, of other Italians,’’ Mellone said before the hearing. "Today they are invoking their right to Italian citizenship.''

Mellone’s case would clarify the citizenship rights of the descendants of some 14 million Italians who emigrated between 1877 and 1914, according to Foreign Ministry statistics, and beyond.

While Mellone’s case involves two families, another dozen people whose citizenship claims were stopped by the law were present outside the courthouse in solidarity.

Karen Bonadio said she hopes one day to move to Italy on the strength of her ancestry. She brought photos of her as a young girl alongside her Italian-born great-grandparents, who emigrated from Basilicata in southern Italy to upstate New York, along with their birth certificates.

“The new law says, ‘all these great-grandchildren didn’t know their great-grandparents.' This is from 1963, I think I was 3 ½,’’ she said, showing the photograph.

At least one of Mellone’s cases had been rejected in lower courts before the new law, hinging partially on rulings that Italian emigrants who took on another citizenship before having children cannot pass on Italian citizenship.

Jennifer Daley’s case has been working its way through the Italian bureaucracy for nearly a decade. Her grandfather, Giuseppe Dalfollo, immigrated to the U.S. in 1912 from the northern province of Trento when it was under Austro-Hungarian control. He later married an Italian woman and brought her over, and at some point became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Daley said she always had a strong Italian identity that transcended her last name anglicized by U.S. immigration officials. She petitioned for citizenship because “it is truly a recognition of who I am, where I am from. It’s so much more than citizenship. It’s everything,'' Daley, a historian, said by phone from Salina, Kansas.

Outside the courthouse, Alexis Traino said great-grandparents on both her maternal and paternal sides had come from Italy, where she now lives, mainly in Florence.

“My entire life, I grew up knowing — and my parents always emphasized — that I was Italian. I had a very, very strong connection with Italy," said Traino, 34, who was waiting for documents from Italy and the U.S. when the law passed, blocking her case.

“I want to be Italian. I want to contribute to Italy and be a citizen,’’ she said.

___

Barry reported from Milan.

———

This story was updated on Apr. 15, 2026 to correct the spellings of the names of a U.S. citizen seeking Italian citizenship and her grandfather. It is Jennifer Daley, not Jennifer Daly, and Giuseppe Dalfollo, not Giuseppe Dallfollo. Daley is a historian, rather than a retired history professor.

“I can't blow my nose for six weeks, because one of the fractures is kind of like where my orbital bone is,” he said before a 4-3 loss to Arizona. “If I blow my nose, it's going to go up into my eye.”

Albernaz said he has more than a half-dozen fractures in his cheek area and a broken jaw, but he was relieved to avoid surgery and said he doesn't need his jaw wired. Albernaz joked that he might grab a Ravens helmet from his desk to wear in the dugout.

Albernaz, in his first season as Baltimore's manager, was in the part of the dugout closest to the on-deck circle when Jeremiah Jackson's foul ball struck him in the fifth inning Monday night. He returned to the dugout an inning later when Jackson hit a grand slam, but he ultimately ended up listening to the game on the radio en route to a hospital, where he says he remained until about midnight.

“I was trying to get back out there after my concussion protocol was fine, but they wanted me to get a CT scan,” Albernaz said. “I was trying to get it after the game, but obviously the medical team has better judgment than I do.”

He was back in the dugout Tuesday, but the healing process could take time.

“Six weeks of soft foods,” Albernaz said. “Can't do anything strenuous.”

Including argue with umpires?

“Medically speaking, yeah I probably shouldn't,” he said. “I think everything gets thrown out the window when that first pitch happens.”

The Orioles also announced that infielder Jackson Holliday was recalled from his rehab assignment Monday because of mild right wrist soreness. The team said that's not uncommon following hamate surgery. He will be shut down for a few days.

Albernaz has been loath to give timelines on players returning from injury so as not to create added pressure.

“I said I don't believe in timelines, and this is a perfect example of that. It all depends on the player,” he said. “It's great to see Jackson being communicative and open at every turn.”

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

If you're worried that you still might not be able to finish your taxes in time, you also can file for an extension, which will give you until Oct. 15 to file.

Here's what you need to know about Wednesday's deadline — and a few tips to keep in mind.

What do I need to file my tax return?

Generally, every tax-filer needs the following at hand

— your Social Security number

— W-2 forms, if you're employed

— 1099-G forms, if you're unemployed

— 1099 forms, if you're self-employed

— Savings and investment records

— A sense of any eligible deductions, such as education expenses, medical bills or charitable donations.

— A sense of relevant tax credits, such as the child tax credit or a retirement savings contributions credit.

To find a more detailed document list, visit the IRS website.

Tax professionals recommend gathering all your documents in one place before you start your tax return — as well as having documents from the year prior, if your financial situation has changed drastically. Experts also suggest creating an identity protection PIN number with the IRS to guard against identity theft. Once you create a number, the IRS will require it to file your tax return.

How do I file for an extension?

If you run out of time to file your tax return, you can file for an extension to take more time by using your preferred tax software, with the IRS Free File tool, or via mail.

However, it’s important to remember that the extension is only to file your tax return, not to pay owed taxes. If you owe taxes, you should pay an estimated amount before the deadline to avoid paying penalties and interest. If you expect to receive a refund, you’ll still receive your money when you file your taxes.

The deadline to file for an extension is Wednesday, which will give you until Oct. 15 to file.

The IRS notes some taxpayers — including members of the military and people who live and work outside of the U.S. — get an automatic, two-month extension to file until June 15. But again, most payments are still due April 15.

How can I avoid mistakes filing my taxes?

Many people fear getting in trouble with the IRS if they make a mistake. To avoid common errors:

— Double check your name on your Social Security card.

You'll want to make sure the name on your tax return matches what's on your Social Security card. Some people may have taken a new last name after marriage, for example, but if that hasn't been updated with the Social Security Administration yet, the IRS notes you'll need to use your former name to avoid delays.

And if you get a W-2 from an employer with a name that no longer matches your Social Security card, the IRS says you should contact your employer to fix it.

— Search for tax statements if you've opted out of paper mail.

While many important tax documents are still sent out on physical paper, people increasingly are opting out of snail mail these days. If you're not seeing it in your mailbox, check your online accounts.

“If you didn’t get anything in the mail doesn’t mean that there isn’t an information document out there that you need to be aware of and report accordingly,” Tom O’Saben, director of tax content and government relations at the National Association of Tax Professionals, previously told The Associated Press.

— Report all of your income.

If you had more than one job in 2025, you need the W-2 forms for each.

What resources are available?

For those who made $89,000 or less last year, IRS Free File offers free guided tax preparation that does the math for you. And if you have questions while working on your tax forms, the IRS also offers an interactive tax assistant tool.

Beyond TurboTax and H&R Block, taxpayers can also hire licensed professionals, such as certified public accountants. The IRS offers a directory of tax preparers across the United States.

The IRS also funds two types of programs that offer free tax help: Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly program (TCE). People who earn $69,000 or less a year, those who have a disability, and those who speak limited English all qualify for the VITA program. Those who are 60 or older qualify for the TCE program. The IRS has a site for locating organizations that host VITA and TCE clinics.

If you have a tax problem, there are also clinics around the country that can help you resolve these issues. Generally, these tax clinics also offer services in other languages such as Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese.

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AP Business Writer Wyatte Grantham-Philips contributed to this report.

___

The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

But instead of showcasing the youthful energy that the organization harnessed to return President Donald Trump to the White House less than two years ago, there was a mostly empty arena, awkward questions and unusually sharp criticism.

The event affirmed Trump's difficulty selling the war and how much he’s complicated his own political fortunes by assailing Pope Leo XIV and posting a social media meme that depicted himself as Jesus.

“I did vote for Trump. I am not a Trump supporter anymore,” said Joseph Bercher, a Catholic who said he was glad that Leo has expressed opposition to the war with Iran.

Bercher said the Jesus meme, which the president took down Monday after a rare conservative backlash, was a “red flag” indicating Trump's true character.

“He sees himself as like a demagogue or someone to be worshipped," Bercher said.

C.J. Santini, a recent graduate of Liberty University, an evangelical school in Virginia, said he didn't have an opinion on whether Iran was truly close to manufacturing a nuclear weapon and thus needed to be attacked. But he laughed and shook his head when asked about Trump attacking Leo.

“It’s just stupid. Stupid,” he said, calling it a “distraction” from Trump’s agenda in Iran and at home.

Mostly empty arena contrasts with 2024 rallies

Many of the college-age attendees donned Turning Point attire, Trump hats and red-white-and-blue paraphernalia for the event. Yet they were outnumbered more than 2-to-1 by empty seats in what is not even the largest arena on this sprawling campus that sits about a 90-minute drive from downtown Atlanta.

A Marine veteran who served in Iraq, Vance acknowledged that not all young conservatives are enamored with another U.S. war in the Middle East.

“I’m not saying you have to agree with me on every issue,” Vance told the young crowd. “What I’m saying,” he added, “is don’t get disengaged.”

The vice president took questions from Turning Point executive Andrew Kolvet instead of Erika Kirk, who began leading the organization after the assassination of her husband Charlie Kirk. Kolvet said Erika Kirk canceled her plans to be on stage because of unspecified threats she had received.

Vance, whose presence ensured significant Secret Service and other law enforcement protection around the venue, said he’d been worried that the event would be canceled altogether.

Kolvet asked Vance directly about the war and Trump’s back-and-forth with Leo. Audience questions were more aggressive. Vance jousted with at least one heckler over the war in Gaza, and he was pressed by another person over the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case files.

In the audience, even some of Vance’s sympathetic listeners offered caveats and critiques.

“The pope needs to stay out of politics,” said Jessie Williams, a Methodist. But he noted his mother is Catholic, and he said he understands why Catholics recoil at Trump calling the pope “weak” and suggesting that the first U.S.-born pontiff was chosen only as a counter to Trump.

Williams called Trump’s meme distasteful.

“I don’t like it, but it’s — what can we do?" Williams said. "He’s a grown man, he’s gonna do what he wants.”

Blake McCluggage, a Baptist, said he did not approve of the meme or Trump’s profane Easter Sunday message that threatened widespread destruction of Iran’s civilian infrastructure.

The threat, plus Trump’s follow up message that a “whole civilization” would die, prompted escalating criticism from Leo, with the pope calling the president’s comments “truly unacceptable.”

However, McCluggage said, “you can still be a Republican” despite disagreeing with Trump.

Vance adjusts his comments about the pope

A day before coming to Georgia, Vance tried to laugh off the meme as a joke that “a lot of people weren’t understanding.” The vice president also seemed to echo Trump’s assertion that Leo should concentrate less on global affairs.

“It would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what’s going on in the Catholic church and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy,” Vance said in a Fox News interview.

On stage in Athens, he shifted his arguments, saying he welcomes Leo’s comments even if he disagrees with them.

“At the very least, it invites conversation,” said Vance, who converted to Catholicism as an adult.

Still, Vance questioned Leo anew, pushing back specifically at the pope’s Palm Sunday assertion that God does not hear the prayers of those who make war. Leo was quoting scripture from the Old Testament book of Isaiah. Vance asked whether God was on the side of Allied forces in World War II as they liberated Jewish survivors of Nazi extermination camps.

“I certainly think the answer is yes,” Vance said. When Leo mixes global affairs and complex theology, Vance said, “it’s very important for the pope to be careful.”

The fire was reported at approximately just after 3 a.m. on Wednesday.

According to a convention center spokesperson, the fire appears to have originated from a booth in Hall E2. Orange County Fire Rescue responded and contained the fire to the area of origin. No injuries have been reported, and the official cause remains under investigation.

“The OCCC team is working with its clients to assess the damage and restore the exhibit hall. Event attendees are encouraged to check with their event organizers for any show-specific updates”

Orange County Convention Center spokesperson

Ulta Beauty World 2026 is a two-day event featuring a Masterclass on Wednesday and an Expo on Thursday. The event is expected to draw over 3,000 attendees.

In January, millions of people waited in a virtual queue for Ulta Beauty World tickets, which sold out in minutes.

Despite the early morning incident, all other event operations at the convention center remain active.

The land’s transformation, documented through a network of cameras and sensors, offers a playbook for wetland restoration as cranberry farms see slimmer profits from New England to Wisconsin because of climate change and other factors. The crop requires cold winters and plenty of water, but warmer temperatures and longer droughts are challenging harvest seasons.

Settlers in Plymouth were among the first to farm this native New England crop, and since then cranberry farms have been passed down through families for centuries.

“For many of these farmers, it’s their life savings and what they want to pass on to their children,” Davenport says. “It’s very complicated.”

Land that Davenport sold for restoration, now known as Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary, has set an example as the single largest freshwater restoration project in Massachusetts. Together with researchers, technologists and artists, she has created a living laboratory for wetland conservation science. The cameras and sensors provide live, publicly-available data showing how the land is recovering its natural biodiversity.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is a collaboration between the MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing and The Associated Press.

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Scientists who studied the sanctuary and an adjacent town preserve that’s also on her former farmland have published peer-reviewed studies documenting the changes. Lessons learned at Tidmarsh also helped the state launch a cranberry bog restoration program to connect farmers with nonprofits, which will either buy the land to restore it or help them take on a restoration project themselves.

Nature lovers have found other creative uses for the data: Once, birdwatchers took audio data of a bird call from several microphones to triangulate a bird’s location. Some users play wetland sounds for ambience in their bedrooms or offices.

Restoring the land

To make restoration possible at Tidmarsh, over 20,000 native plant species were planted, several old dams removed and new waterways dug. Excavators sifted through sandy soil degraded by more than a century of cranberry production that formed a thick, hard layer over the natural freshwater wetlands the farms were built on.

Ecologists who believed cranberry farmland to be “ecologically dead” saw a wetland emerge instead. Within just a year of the restoration work that began in 2010, the sandy soil began to sprout.

A 2025 study of sites including the Foothills Preserve in Plymouth, land that was also once part of Davenport’s farm, by researchers at the Woodwell Climate Research Center and the University of Connecticut suggested the sand at Tidmarsh held long-dormant native seeds that just needed to be mixed with peat to germinate. Similarly, a 2021 study of Tidmarsh and other restored sites — including an earlier, smaller restoration in Plymouth known as Eel River Headwaters — found that water retention, soil health and microbial communities improved rapidly in just a few years.

“We discovered that former cranberry farms were actually highly restorable,” says Beth Lambert, director of the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration.

The results of the transformation are on display during tours given by Mass Audubon, the conservation organization that bought and manages most of the land at Tidmarsh. Kim Snyder, the group’s education coordinator, leads groups ranging from birdwatchers to schoolchildren on field trips.

“A lot of Plymouth residents who have been here a long time remember it as a cranberry farm,” Snyder says.

Setting an example

Lambert says Tidmarsh helped launch the state’s Cranberry Bog Restoration Program, which can provide technical assistance and connect farmers to federal funding and conservation-minded buyers. Today, the state has helped complete construction on nine restoration projects totaling around 500 acres (202 hectares) and 10 miles (16 kilometers) of stream habitat. And 11 additional projects spanning another 500 acres are currently in planning stages. Lambert says she aims to have restored another thousand acres in the next 10 to 15 years.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the number of retired cranberry farms in Massachusetts grew by about 40% between 2017 and 2022.

It’s not a given that farmers will choose to sell their lands for conservation purposes. They can sell to other buyers to develop. Or they could let the land languish, taking decades to return to a wild, productive ecosystem.

“If we don’t conserve, if we don’t protect these lands that … owners are walking away (from), we lose it forever,” Davenport says.

A now-retired filmmaker, Davenport believes that the more research on wetland restoration she supports, the more knowledge can be communicated to the public — which could inspire other restoration projects launching elsewhere.

That belief led her to create the Living Observatory, a nonprofit group that describes itself as a “learning collaborative” for researchers, artists and others to document how former cranberry farms recuperate.

Through the network of sensors — which monitor conditions from soil moisture to temperature — and live cameras, the Living Observatory created a trove of data on how to restore cranberry farms. The project’s website now houses data from multiple restoration sites in the state beyond Tidmarsh.

Gershon Dublon, a data and systems researcher and director of the board of the Living Observatory, said researchers were grateful for a fairly simple tool: a centralized place to access the data and add their own. After the success at Tidmarsh, ecologists from as far as the Amazon rainforest reached out to Living Observatory asking for their input on how to deploy a similar bespoke sensor network in their work, Dublon says.

Climate-resilient landscapes

Wetland restoration projects and the knowledge gained from them are important tools in the fight against climate change, says climate scientist Christopher Neill at the Woodwell Climate Center. Wetlands work as barriers that soak up water from floods and storms, Neill says. According to scientists, extreme precipitation is becoming more common in the Northeast.

At Tidmarsh, one example of that resilience is sphagnum moss growing next to a mile-long boardwalk. Snyder likes to tell visitors about its antimicrobial properties. The moss also absorbs and stores planet-warming carbon dioxide.

“It’s a great property to show … the scope of restoration work,” she says, smiling.

The changes at Tidmarsh give Davenport hope. Native pitcher plants grow in clusters in the wetlands. Insects drone over running brooks. Her boots sink on the mushy, wet ground. Those were sounds she never heard on the farm where she grew up.

“The quiet goal is, can we make a dent in the amount of land that’s put in conservation?” Davenport says.

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

At a meeting on Wednesday, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) will vote to approve an initiative to assess every security camera on the property.

The project involves a systematic review and verification process to document the existing field of view for each camera.

The cameras would be evaluated individually to confirm coverage area, orientation, and any obstructions impacting visibility.

As part of the plan, workers would seek to close visual gaps that could be exploited at MCO, the seventh busiest airport in the U.S., with 34.8 million passengers each year.

If approved, the cost for the request would not exceed $186,191.

Jaren Smith was traveling on Tuesday and said the assessment would be beneficial for all passengers.

“I think it’s a great measure to take,” Smith said. “Security is really important, and I think it’s really a great investment as well.”

The GOAA board will vote on the initiative during a meeting on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

PREVIOUS: Adriana Hernandez was last seen in the area of the 6400 block of Bruce Lane in Milton. She may have a reddish-brown tint in her hair and could have traveled to Georgia, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Hernandez is described as a white Hispanic female, standing 5 feet, 1 inch tall and weighing 130 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair.

Investigators believe Hernandez may have traveled to Georgia.

Anyone with information on Hernandez’s whereabouts is urged to contact law enforcement immediately.

To report a tip, call 911 or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement at 1-888-356-4774.

Snap Inc. said in a regulatory filing that the job cuts will cost about $95 million to $130 million in severance payments and related costs.

“The headcount reduction is designed to further streamline our operations and reallocate resources toward our highest-priority initiatives, leveraging increased operational efficiencies to accelerate our path toward net-income profitability," the company said in its filing.

Snap had 5,261 full-time employees as of Dec. 31, 2025, the company said in its latest annual report.

CEO Evan Spiegel said in a letter to staff that another 300 open roles would not be filled.

It's not the first time the Santa Monica, California-based company has eliminated jobs. In 2024, Snap cut 10% of its workforce, or about 530 employees.

Snap cut 3% of its staff in late 2023, and in 2022 it slashed its workforce by 20%.

Snapchat, which is popular with young people and known for its disappearing photos and videos, has 474 million users every day, on average, according to the annual report.

Snap said in its latest earnings report that its net loss in 2025 narrowed to $460 million, as revenue rose to $5.9 billion.

“I’ll just basically let ChatGPT know my status, how I’m feeling,” said the 42-year-old in Mesquite, Texas. “I use it for anything that I’m experiencing.”

Turning to artificial intelligence tools for health advice has become a habit for Davis and many other Americans, according to a West Health–Gallup Center on Healthcare in America poll published Wednesday. The poll, conducted in late 2025 and backed up by at least three other recent surveys with similar findings, found that roughly one-quarter of U.S. adults had used an AI tool for health information or advice in the past 30 days.

Dr. Karandeep Singh, chief health AI officer at the University of California San Diego Health, said AI tools, many of which now incorporate web search, are an upgraded version of Google health searches that Americans have been doing for decades.

“I almost view it like a better entry portal into web search,” he said. “Instead of someone having to comb through the top, you know, 10, 20, 30 links in a web search, they can now have an executive summary.”

Most recent AI health users are looking for quick answers

Most Americans using AI tools for health purposes say they want immediate answers. In some cases, it helps them evaluate what kind of medical attention they need.

“It’ll let me know if something’s serious or not,” Davis said of ChatGPT, which she typically consults before scheduling medical appointments.

The Gallup survey found about 7 in 10 U.S. adults who have used AI for health research in the past 30 days say they wanted quick answers, additional information or were simply curious. Majorities used it for research before seeing a doctor or after an appointment.

Rakesia Wilson, 39, in Theodore, Alabama, said she recently used AI to better understand her lab results after an endocrinologist visit. She also regularly uses ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot to decide whether she needs to take time off for a doctor's appointment or can simply monitor an ailment.

“I just don’t necessarily have the time if it’s something that I feel is minor," said Wilson, who said she sometimes works up to 70-hour weeks as an assistant principal.

Younger adults and lower-income users have used AI to bridge care gaps

On the whole, the findings suggest that the rise of AI tools hasn't stopped people from seeking professional medical care. About 8 in 10 U.S. adults say they have sought out a doctor or other health care professional for health information in the past year, while about 3 in 10 say that about AI tools and chatbots, according to a KFF poll conducted in late February.

Similarly, a Pew Research Center survey conducted in October found that about 2 in 10 U.S. adults say they get health information at least sometimes from AI chatbots, while about 85% said the same about health care providers.

But there are indications that some Americans are using AI for health advice because they are struggling to obtain professional medical care, at a time when federal policy and market factors are worsening health costs and creating obstacles to access around the country.

A small but significant share of respondents in the Gallup study say they used AI because accessing health care was too expensive or inconvenient. About 4 in 10 wanted help outside of normal business hours, while about 3 in 10 did not want to pay for a doctor’s visit. Roughly 2 in 10 did not have time to make an appointment, had felt ignored or dismissed by a provider in the past or were too embarrassed to talk to a person.

The KFF survey found that younger adults and lower-income people were more likely to say they used an AI tool or chatbot for health information because they could not afford the cost of seeing a provider or were having trouble accessing health care.

Americans are divided on whether AI medical advice can be trusted

Tech experts often warn that AI chatbots don’t think for themselves — and therefore can sometimes spout false information. Those concerns have trickled down even to frequent AI users.

About one-third of adults who had recently used AI for health information said they “strongly” or “somewhat” trust the accuracy of health information and advice generated by AI tools, according to the Gallup poll. About the same share, 34%, distrusted it, and another 33% neither trusted it nor distrusted it.

Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, an ear, nose and throat doctor and the president of the American Medical Association, said he loves when patients come in and have “more evolved questions than they used to have” because they used AI for research. But he said AI should be considered a tool and not a stand-in for medical care.

“It is an assistant but not an expert, and that’s why physicians need to be involved in that care,” he said.

There are also concerns about privacy, according to KFF. About three-quarters of U.S. adults said they are “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” about the privacy of personal medical or health information that people provide to AI tools or chatbots.

Singh, of UC San Diego Health, said most AI tools have settings users can toggle to prevent their data from being used to train future models. But that requires user vigilance — and not being careful can have consequences.

Last summer, for example, internet sleuths on Google discovered private ChatGPT conversations that had been indexed on a public website without the users realizing it.

Tamara Ruppart, a 47-year-old director in Los Angeles, said she is lucky enough to have doctors in her husband’s family that she contacts instead of turning to AI. With her family history of breast cancer, using a chatbot for health advice feels too risky.

“Health care is something that’s pretty serious,” she said. “And if it’s wrong, you could really hurt yourself.”

___

Sanders reported from Washington.

Meat raffles have been popular in pockets of the U.S. for decades, offering a fun way to raise money for charities while handing out prizes ranging from ground beef and hot dogs to chicken breasts and steaks. But while inflation has surged and meat prices have soared, Minnesota's $70 per-event prize limit hasn't changed in nearly 40 years.

The deeply divided Minnesota Legislature hasn't been able to agree on much this year, but it's almost a sure bet to respond by upping the cap to $200. That will allow charities to offer more and bigger grill packs, and thicker, fancier steaks, while funding local youth sports teams and other causes. And it will ensure that the state’s beloved if quirky tradition of gambling for meat products will remain viable.

“This is probably the best feel-good bill that we have going on in the Legislature right now,” said Republican Rep. Jim Nash, lead House author of the meat raffle legislation.

Even with the lower prize limit, Andrea “Mama” Avaloz scored with a $2 bet. Game organizers spun a wheel and landed on her number 5, making her a winner of the American Legion Post 150 in the lakeside town of Waconia, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Minneapolis.

“So I have a little fajita meat. We are set to go!” Avaloz said as she picked up her plastic-wrapped prize. “Beef sticks! Love them!”

Moments later she realized there was a surprise hidden beneath her beef and sausages.

“Oh my God, I have pork chops!” she exclaimed. “I picked a good one! I’m so excited!”

Meat raffles originated during World War II as a response to wartime rationing in the United Kingdom. They spread to Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and eventually migrated to Minnesota, Wisconsin, western New York and a few other states.

Nash, who represents Waconia, said he expects a vote in the House next week to expand the prize cap and approval soon after in the Senate.

“It’s an opportunity for bipartisanship,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to do good things.”

The service organizations that run meat raffles and other charitable gambling in Minnesota put the proceeds back into their communities. The bars and restaurants that host them benefit from bigger crowds that buy more burgers and beer.

Joe Gifford, commander of Post 150, which was founded in 1920, said those sales mean even more money to support Legion baseball and softball teams, and to maintain veterans' monuments.

“Every dollar we raise here, after we pay our bills, actually goes right back into all those different services for community, veterans, and active duty military,” Gifford said. “And the meat raffle is a part of that. It’s one of the instruments where we actually draw crowds in on a Friday.”

In Minneapolis, meat raffles are held each Friday night in the 1029 Bar, a spot often patronized by police officers. Behind the bar there's a squad car door hanging that's riddled with bullet holes.

Roberta Rodriguez, site manager for the Northeast Minneapolis Lions Club, runs the charitable gambling operation at the bar, which like Post 150 also includes other games, like bingo and pull-tabs.

“We have a lot customers that come every week,” Rodriguez said. “So they get to know each other, they tease each other when someone wins too much.”

Ashley Burris hadn't heard of meat raffles until she moved to Minnesota from Virginia. Now she seeks out bars that offer them.

“It’s kinda my vibe,” she said during a break in the action.

Burris said she hadn't heard of the legislation — or the idea that prizes might be too small. She was focused more on the fun.

“It’s never crossed my mind — although you can never have too much rib-eye,” she said.

Organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla say that more than 70 boats and 1,000 people from around the world will participate, with campaigners saying it's the biggest civilian-led mobilization of its kind against Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territory.

Nearly 40 boats were leaving Barcelona while the rest will join the fleet from other ports along the Mediterranean as they sail eastward, according to Thiago Ávila, one of the flotilla's leaders who spoke at a news conference in Barcelona on Sunday during a symbolic send-off event. Bad weather had forced organizers to delay their departure, which was originally planned for April 12.

As attention has turned to the Iran war, activists hope that their latest mission will revive attention to the plight of Palestinians living in Gaza.

“We sail because governments have failed,” said Saif Abukeshek, a Palestinian activist and member of the flotilla's global steering committee.

“They want a society that feels helpless, that cannot act, that cannot mobilize," Abukeshek said on Sunday. “We refuse to be that society.”

Last week, Gaza marked six months since a ceasefire made the most intense fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas-led militants stop. Yet Israeli attacks have killed more than 700 people in the six months since the ceasefire, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Much of the ceasefire work remains to be done, from disarming Hamas and ending its rule to deploying an international stabilization force and beginning vast reconstruction. Around 2 million Gaza residents are still living in ruins with shortages of food and medicine, and only limited aid entering through a single, Israeli-controlled border post.

Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of a blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s Palestinian population.

The Global Sumud Flotilla's latest efforts come less than a year after another attempt was foiled by Israeli authorities.

Last fall, dozens of boats sailed close to Gaza, with one even crossing the 12-nautical-mile line (22-kilometer line) marking the divide from international waters to territorial waters off Gaza. But they were all ultimately intercepted and seized or turned away.

Those sailing last year, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, were arrested, imprisoned and deported by Israel. They claimed Israeli authorities abused them while in detention, accusations that Israeli authorities denied.

Their interception at sea had been broadcast live by onboard cameras, sparking worldwide protests at the time. But attention on Gaza has since waned, with eyes focused now on the latest Iran war upending the Middle East and roiling global markets.

Organizers hope this mission will bring back attention to the conditions of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, which was ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war. More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war in Gaza began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.

Greenpeace Spain and migrant rescue group Open Arms, which have committed their two large vessels to sail alongside the smaller flotilla boats, are among those supporting the flotilla.

“We sail because the people of Gaza have a right to exist and to breathe and to thrive on their land,” said Eva Saldaña, head of Greenpeace Spain.

In a post on X, Rollins College said, “HAPPY FOX DAY, TARS! Have a fun and safe day off from classes to enjoy the beautiful Florida weather. ⁠⁠"

Students were seen posing with the Fox Day statue in Tars Plaza in the early hours on Wednesday.

[RELATED: Summerlike heat arrives as dangerous beach conditions persist]

HAPPY FOX DAY, TARS! 🦊 Have a fun and safe day off from classes to enjoy the beautiful Florida weather. ☀️⁠⁠
⁠⁠⁠
Check out the full schedule of #FoxDay2026 events and watch the Fox Cam to see the fun on campus! ➡️ https://t.co/VTlnMlptlB pic.twitter.com/2SCPV9Ksv4

— Rollins College (@rollinscollege) April 15, 2026

Nearly every year since 1956, the president of Rollins College picks a day in the spring to give students a surprise break to enjoy the weather, usually in March or April.

Enjoy the day, students!

The first lady began working on foster care issues after President Donald Trump's first term in office ended in 2021. Her trip to the branch of government at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue follows a similar and successful lobbying effort last year for Congress to send legislation to the president to protect women and children from online sexual exploitation.

The visit also comes a week after Melania Trump's surprise on-camera statement at the White House in which she denied ties to Jeffrey Epstein and knowledge of his crimes, and urged Congress to hold a hearing for his victims. She also demanded an end to “lies” linking her to the late financier and convicted sex offender.

The first lady said on social media that she looked forward to working with Congress to “advance new legislation designed to protect and empower individuals from the foster care community.” Their shared mission, she said, is "to strengthen America’s next generation.”

She was meeting Wednesday afternoon with members of the House Ways and Means Committee, and people who were in foster care.

Republican and Democratic members of the committee have introduced several bills to update the Chafee foster care program to improve outcomes for young people aging out of the foster care system. The measures would increase their access to housing, education and workforce training programs, among other things, to help them succeed in the transition to adulthood and independence.

The program provides support to foster youth and former foster youth, ages 14 to 21, as they leave the system. The committee said the bipartisan proposals would be the most significant update since the Chafee program was created in 1999.

The Government Accountability Office published a report in January 2025 detailing how states were returning millions of dollars in unused Chafee program funds to the federal government, despite unmet needs of foster youth.

Last November, President Trump created the “Fostering the Future” program by executive order to have federal entities, nonprofits, educational institutions and the private sector work together to improve career and educational opportunities for children raised in foster care.

The first lady, who joined her husband in the Oval Office for the executive order signing, separately spearheads a broader “Fostering the Future” initiative that is part of the “Be Best” child-focused campaign she launched during his first presidential term. The program offers scholarships to current and former foster youth.

Last month, she hosted a similarly themed summit with counterparts from more than 40 countries and called on them to work together to improve access to education and technology for children around the world.

In March 2025, Melania Trump used her first public appearance after resuming the role of first lady to join a Capitol Hill roundtable discussion of the Take It Down Act. President Trump signed the bill into law two months later, making it a federal crime to knowingly publish or threaten to publish intimate images without a person’s consent.

Last week, Melania Trump and the White House separately called attention to the first conviction under the new law after an Ohio man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to cybercrimes that included real and AI-generated sexually explicit images and threats of violence to numerous victims.

Meyer was minister of defense from 1991 to 1992 under the white minority government of former President F.W. De Klerk’s National Party. He later was a chief negotiator in the negotiations that brought an end to apartheid and led to the election of Nelson Mandela as the country’s first Black and democratically elected leader in 1994. Meyer served in Mandela’s cabinet as constitutional development minister from 1994 to 1996.

Meyer's appointment comes during a period of strained relations between South Africa and U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, which expelled former Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool following his criticism of Trump.

The fallout put pressure on Ramaphosa to appoint an ambassador who would be acceptable to the Trump administration while relations remain tense.

Trump has targeted South Africa and cut all financial assistance after accusing the government of allowing a “white genocide” against the white Afrikaner minority group, claiming they were being racially targeted and killed. Trump implemented a program offering migration and asylum to white Afrikaners who feel persecuted in South Africa.

“I can confirm that President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Mr Roelf Meyer as South Africa’s Ambassador to the US,” Ramaphosa's spokesman Vincent Magwenya said in a message to The Associated Press.

The appointment of Meyer, himself an Afrikaner, comes a week after Ramaphosa accepted Leo Brent Bozell III as the new U.S. ambassador to South Africa.

Bozell, a conservative activist appointed by Trump, started on a tense footing after he was summoned by South Africa's foreign ministry in March. Speaking at a meeting of business leaders, Bozell challenged the South African government over its diplomatic ties with Iran and affirmative action laws that he said advance opportunities for Black people ahead of other races.

Professor John Stremlau, a U.S.-Africa relations expert at the University of the Witwatersrand, called Meyer “the right person, at the right time.”

“He is an excellent and experienced negotiator who not only negotiated in South Africa, but has brokered agreements elsewhere in various other places under very difficult circumstances," Stremlau said, adding that Meyer needs to “stabilize the relationship” between the nations.

“But it will be difficult for him because Trump’s executive orders last year laid out a racist agenda against South Africa’s Black majority, cutting all financial assistance to them and offering refugee status to Afrikaners,” Stremlau said.

The two nations also are at odds over South Africa's decision to pursue an International Court of Justice case accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Trump boycotted the G20 Leaders Summit hosted by South Africa in 2025 and has not invited South Africa to the G20 meetings being hosted by the U.S. in Miami in December.

But while the weather on land looks great, conditions at the coast remain very dangerous.

High pressure remains firmly in place this week, keeping skies mostly clear and rain chances very low.

Winds will start to turn a bit lighter over the next few afternoons with gusts still peaking between 10-15mph.

Temperatures will climb into the upper 70s to mid 80s, with some inland spots approaching the upper 80s.

Even as the weather improves, beach conditions remain hazardous. Swells continue to produce a high risk of life-threatening rip currents along the coast. Tragically, these dangerous conditions turned deadly earlier this week, with two fatalities reported in Cocoa Beach on Tuesday. It is a sad reminder that even when the weather looks calm, the ocean can still be extremely dangerous.

[RELATED: How to spot and escape a rip current]

Weekend

Through the rest of the week and into the weekend, the dry pattern holds with a steady warming trend. Highs will climb into the upper 80s and low 90s inland by Friday and through the weekend, with temperatures nearing record levels in Leesburg. Coastal areas will stay a bit cooler, in the low to mid 80s, thanks to the sea breeze.

Next week

Looking ahead to early next week, a weakening cold front will move through late Sunday into Monday. This will bring a small chance for a few showers, breezy afternoon winds, and a slight cooldown. Temperatures will fall back closer to normal, with highs in the mid 70s to low 80s and overnight lows in the upper 50s to 60s.

So, which luxury SUV is the better buy? Let’s examine their specs, strengths, weaknesses and differences, along with how Edmunds’ car experts rated them overall and in specific categories.

Performance and fuel economy

Both the X5 and Q5 are available with powerful performance variants, but for this comparison, we’ll stick with the more popular standard engines. Each SUV comes standard with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. The Q5’s is slightly more powerful — it makes 268 horsepower compared to the X3’s 255 horsepower — but in real-world acceleration, the two SUVs are very similar. Both have sufficient power to quickly get you up to highway speeds or pass a slow-moving vehicle without trouble.

When it comes time to fill up at the pump, the EPA estimates that the Q5 will get 24 mpg in combined city/highway driving. The X3 30 xDrive gets an estimated 29 mpg combined, so that’s a crystal-clear advantage in the BMW’s favor.

Advantage: BMW X3

Comfort and space

The Q5 and X3 both have a comfortable ride, albeit with a typically German buttoned-down feel. Keep in mind, though, that options such as the X3’s M Sport package can enhance handling performance at the detriment to ride smoothness. Your best option for a cushy ride is to get the Q5 Prestige trim, which comes with an air suspension that can also adjust the SUV’s ride height.

The Audi Q5’s back seat offers more legroom and its seatback reclines, unlike the fixed back of the X3. If you’re a rear passenger, you’re likely to prefer the Audi. Edmunds’ car experts touted both for having front seats with firm cushioning and extensive adjustments.

In terms of cargo capacity, the BMW would seem to have an advantage on the spec sheet, but Edmunds’ editors were able to fit just as much luggage behind the Q5’s back seat as the X3’s. Moreover, the Q5’s 60/40-split back seat can slide forward to increase cargo capacity even further should you be OK sacrificing some rear seat legroom.

Advantage: Audi Q5

Technology

The Audi Q5 and BMW X3 interiors both feature big touchscreen infotainment systems. Both include full integration of the climate controls into the screen, requiring more concentration to use and additional steps to make adjustments previously accomplished by pressing a simple button. Beyond that, though, Edmunds’ experts found both systems to be impressive. They even have similarly sized screens.

Connectivity to your personal devices is also excellent for both. Standard equipment includes a wireless phone charging pad, USB-C ports in each row, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Both also include integrated navigation and a digital instrument panel.

Audi and BMW also offer similar standard driver assistance features, such as forward collision warning, automatic braking, lane keeping assistance and blind-spot warning. The Q5 also comes with standard adaptive cruise control, which is an option on the X3. But the X3 offers a hands-free highway driving assistance function intended for traffic congestion that operates at speeds up to 40 mph. Audi doesn’t currently offer a hands-free driving system on the Q5.

Advantage: tie

Value

The BMW X3’s base price is lower at $52,650 compared to $54,095 for the Q5, including destination fees. That said, the Audi Q5 comes with equipment you have to pay extra for in the BMW, including all-wheel drive, a panoramic sunroof, leather upholstery, adaptive cruise control, and a function that lets you use your phone as the car’s key. The Q5 can get more expensive than the X3 when fully loaded, however, and its styling isn’t as evocative. Overall we think you’re getting a bit more for your money with the X3.

Advantage: X3

Edmunds says

This comparison is incredibly close, as are the overall Edmunds Rating scores for both. The X3 ultimately has a slightly higher score, but we would recommend the Q5 if comfort is a priority.

_____

This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds. James Riswick is a contributor at Edmunds.

One of these newly signed laws renames roadways across the state, including some in Seminole and Volusia counties.

That same law also establishes a “President Donald J. Trump Highway” in South Florida.

[BELOW: News 6 looks at bills sent to DeSantis’ desk last week]

The full list of new laws is as follows:

SB 628 — Transportation Designations

Senate Bill 628 renames several roadways within Florida as follows:

The bill also designates the Tallahassee airport at 3300 Capital Circle SW as the “Bobby Bowden-Tallahassee International Airport.”

Furthermore, SB 628 designates 124 miles of SR-80 stretching from SR-A1A in Palm Beach County to US-41 in Lee County as the “President Donald J. Trump Highway.”

The law takes effect on July 1.

HB 679 — Trademark Registration

House Bill 679 mandate that the Florida Department of State use the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s schedule of classes of goods and services as the state’s classification for trademark purposes, rather than the general classes for trademarks for goods and services set in statute.

Furthermore, the bill requires that agency to set up a website where applicants can apply for a trademark or renew a trademark and provides that the website must safeguard the applicant’s information to ensure data integrity.

The law takes effect on July 1.

[BELOW: New Florida law could let legislators rename Orlando airport]

HB 1113 — Vessel Restrictions

House Bill 1103 allows local governments to authorize a code enforcement officer to administer the provision of law concerning vessels at risk of becoming derelict on state waters.

This can be done by way of local ordinances.

The law takes effect on July 1.

HB 4019 — Lake County

House Bill 4019 limits the compensation of healthcare providers for medical services to inmates housed in a Lake County detention center to 110% of the Medicare allowable rate if the provider doesn’t have a contract with the county.

The law took effect upon being signed.

HB 4041 — Indian River County

House Bill 4041 limits the compensation of healthcare providers for medical services to inmates housed in an Indian River County detention center to 110% of the Medicare allowable rate if the provider doesn’t have a contract with the county.

The law took effect upon being signed.

HB 4059 — Polk County

House Bill 4059 limits the compensation of healthcare providers for medical services to inmates housed in a Polk County detention center to 110% of the Medicare allowable rate if the provider doesn’t have a contract with the county.

The law took effect upon being signed.

[BELOW: John Morgan issues $100K challenge to name new political party]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Former Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was dragged into the mob and suffered a heart attack after a rioter shocked him with a stun gun, was disappointed but not surprised by the latest milestone in the dismantling of Capitol riot prosecutions.

“I would remind Americans that these were traitors to this country," Fanone said. “They planned, incited and carried out an insurrection."

In Dearborn, just outside of Detroit, families wait restlessly for word from relatives abroad, hoping they are safe, and mourning those already lost.

What began as anguish over the war in Gaza has widened. In a city with a large Lebanese American population, the expanding conflict in Lebanon has made the crisis even more personal. That anxiety is colliding with pressures at home, including heightened immigration enforcement, a strained economy and rising tensions after a recent attack on a synagogue.

“The community now sees that it could have got worse — and it did get worse,” said Nabih Ayad, founder of the Arab American Civil Rights League. “But the community was just so desperate.”

The national spotlight that once fixed on Dearborn during the 2024 election has faded. The mass protests have quieted. But inside mosques, at vigils and around family tables, conversations reveal a city still reeling, and one beginning to reckon with what comes next.

A community reckoning

Last week, Ayad joined other Arab American leaders for a meeting with The Associated Press. Many of them had been deeply involved in conversations with both Democrat Kamala Harris' and Trump's campaigns as each courted their vote during the last presidential race.

“We get this all the time by media, okay? It’s basically, ‘How’d that decision go? How’d that work out for you?’” Ayad said.

Among the nearly dozen leaders — ranging from county commissioner to state lawmakers to business owners — there was wide agreement that life had not improved since Trump was sworn into office.

But there was little regret. Many said Democrats did not offer a viable alternative because Harris, the vice president at the time, did not distance herself enough from President Joe Biden's support for Israel's war in Gaza.

Few of them plan to support Trump or Republicans in the future.

“I think November 3rd couldn’t come soon enough,” said Wayne County Commissioner Sam Baydoun, referring to the midterm elections.

War with Iran engulfs Lebanon

After the United States joined with Israel to attack Iran, the conflict widened to include Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based.

A fragile, two-week ceasefire announced last week did not extend to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, meaning the violence continues there. The war has displaced more than 1 million people in Lebanon and killed more than 2,000, including more than 500 women, children and medical workers. Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington.

Michigan is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the country, and nearly a quarter are of Lebanese descent. In Wayne County, which includes Detroit and Dearborn, about a third of the roughly 140,000 residents identified as Middle Eastern or North African in the 2020 Census are Lebanese.

For many, that means constant worry.

“I have family in Lebanon. I have an uncle with his wife and his kids and his grandkids. And to be honest with you, I’m just waiting for the call from overseas saying that he’s perished,” said Assad Turfe, a Wayne County official who was among the few Arab Americans to endorse Harris in 2024.

“This is the kind of environment that this community is living with every day,” he added. “That story is in the minds and the hearts of almost everyone that lives in this community.”

Inside mosques and outside vigils

On a Friday in Dearborn Heights, over a hundred worshippers packed into a mosque from the afternoon's prayer. An imam opened by talking about the conflict in the Middle East and deriding Trump's comments that a “whole civilization will die" if Iran did not agree to his terms.

“Political leaders are supposed to build the bridges, not promote scorched earth policies,” the imam said.

It was a reminder of how deeply the conflict has seeped into daily life, and how places of worship have become spaces not just for prayer.

That night, Peace Park in Dearborn filled with Lebanese flags as a vigil took over the main square.

Children sat on steps draped in American flags, holding photos of children killed in the war. Nearby, speakers took turns describing a conflict that has stretched across presidencies with little sign of easing.

“What we have witnessed is not just another headline. It is not distant. It is not abstract,” Suehaila Amen, a Lebanese American, said at the vigil.

“We are a community in mourning," she said, "and we have been mourning for a long, long time."

The crash occurred just after 3 a.m. near the intersection of State Road 46 and Jungle Road.

According to FHP, the woman was walking westbound in the westbound travel lane, carrying a car seat with an infant, when a 2008 Ford F-350 — also traveling westbound — struck her from behind.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The 58-year-old Winter Springs man driving the pickup was not injured and remained on scene, troopers said.

The infant was not injured in the crash but was transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure, according to the FHP report.

The crash remains under investigation.

Note: This map depicts the general area of this crash and not necessarily an exact location.

The Grateful Dead cover band Splintered Sunlight jammed out to hits from the 1970s and graybeards old enough to remember the Flyers' Stanley Cup victories swayed in their tie-dyed T-shirts. Just down the concourse, Flyers Hall of Famer Joe Watson signed copies of his autobiography and all-time great Bobby Clarke was all smiles as he filled his cup — soda, not Stanley — at the press box fountain station.

The good old days.

The Flyers remained tethered for decades to the glory days like a dog on a leash because, well, what was there to really celebrate?

At last, plenty — and an unbridled optimism that even better seasons were ahead.

The youth moment skated at full blast on the ice Tuesday night in a 4-2 win over Montreal a day after the Flyers clinched their first playoff berth since 2020 and their first home playoff series since 2018.

Philadelphia's first goal was scored by 19-year-old sensation Porter Martone, who just weeks ago starred at Michigan State and now could be a dangerous weapon in the first-round series against Pittsburgh. Martone deflected a point shot from Matvei Michkov, the 21-year-old Russian who navigated an uneven first half of the season only to heat up as the games heightened in importance down the stretch.

Michkov scored the Flyers' third goal unassisted (20th overall) as one fan raised a “We Want More!” sign.

Architects of the lengthy rebuild, general manager Danny Briere and team president Keith Jones, could bask in the credit tossed their way from social media to talk radio to even the written word for never wavering from their plan to build a playoff team through the draft and shrewd acquisitions for 20-somethings over making moves for quick-fix veterans with no long-term fit.

Take a look at the clincher against Carolina: 2020 first-round pick Tyson Foerster, still just 24, scored the shootout winner that ignited pandemonium on the ice and in the stands.

Just how young are the Flyers?

Their last home playoff series came in the Year 2018 BG.

Before Gritty.

Gritty, the wild-haired, googly-eyed, fuzzy faced mascot, got his playoff reps in Tuesday night when he hurled a cake into the face of an unsuspecting (ahem) fan dressed in Penguins gear.

Gritty smashed dessert. Dan Vladar, the goalie who won the Bobby Clarke Trophy as the team’s most valuable player, spilled the tea.

Briere, who sparked the Flyers to their last Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2010, had publicly downplayed playoff possibilities all season.

He had a more upbeat message inside the Flyers' locker room.

“He told us at the beginning of the year, I hope he’s not going to get mad at me, but he said the goal is to make the playoffs,” Vladar said. “There was always a belief in this room. Obviously, we knew that, even if it was the media or outsiders who didn’t really believe in us, we always had the belief here since Day 1.”

Flyers captain Sean Couturier was once a key cog in rebuilding — back when he was the eighth overall pick in the 2011 draft. Couturier made his debut that season and has largely remained a steady presence in the lineup — save for injuries that cost him the 2022-2023 season — and is the only Flyer still here from their last home playoff series victory against, yes, the Penguins in 2012.

“You want things to turn around,” Couturier said. “I think that the management, the organization has done a great job of being patient and building assets and putting us in a great spot here for now and the future.”

The now actually seemed dire before the Olympic break when the Flyers lost 11 of their last 14 games before the shutdown and dropped one more once play resumed.

Whatever defensive adjustments coach Rick Tocchet made during the layoff worked.

The Flyers' season caught fire when they won three straight road games against the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks and they ended the season on an 18-6-1 tear that propelled them to 98 points and into third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Who knows, maybe it was the suburban Philadelphia family that gifted Pope Leo XIV his own customized Flyers jersey that truly the blessed the team.

The regular-season finale served more as a joyous pep rally than a game with any real consequences. The fans dancing to the Dead cover band cheered as the singer paused during “Jack Straw” after he hit the lyric “sun so hot, the clouds so low, the eagles filled the sky” in appreciation of the NFL team across the street.

The rest of the night belonged to the orange and black.

Gritty once issued a warning to the Penguins: “Sleep with one eye open tonight, bird.”

Led by one of the youngest teams in the NHL, the Flyers are going into the playoffs with eyes wide open and ready to prove to their fans, don’t you worry any more.

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

That’s what researchers are trying to figure out with a new study, according to a recent article by the UF/IFAS.

More specifically, experts are investigating how to help victims of Parkinson’s disease manage tremors, a common symptom of the condition.

[RELATED: Exotic chameleons have infested a Central Florida neighborhood]

Per the UF/IFAS, levodopa — a medication used to treat Parkinson’s — becomes dopamine in the brain to help manage proper muscle movement.

“The challenge is that the medication can be difficult to get in certain regions of the globe, so researchers began looking into plants that might produce the same compounds that can be grown worldwide,” the article reads.

As it turns out, the answer may lie with the invasive velvet bean.

WHAT’S A VELVET BEAN?

Velvet beans (Mucuna pruriens) is a legume that grows in many tropical areas of the world, including places like Africa, the Caribbean and parts of Asia.

According to experts, these beans are considered highly invasive in the Sunshine State — and within South Florida in particular.

While it’s not considered an outright threat to public health, officials with the ATTRA state that it can cause severe itching thanks to its stinging hairs.

That said, the velvet bean also contains L-DOPA, which is the primary active ingredient in levodopa.

HERE’S WHAT RESEARCHERS ARE DOING

“Velvet bean produces unusually high levels of L-DOPA compared to most other plants,” said Jeongim Kim, associate professor of horticultural sciences. “We want to understand how that compound is made and how its production is regulated.”

Now, the UF/IFAS has revealed that researchers are working on creating new cultivars of velvet beans with even more L-DOPA.

[BELOW: Could this become Florida’s next cash crop?]

By doing so, they may be able to better understand how these plants create the compound and how it can be used to potentially treat the Parkinson’s symptoms.

According to the report, one such collection of cultivars from Africa, Latin America, Europe and the U.S. is already being evaluated at the UF/IFAS Plant Science Research and Education Unit in Citra.

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!

Even aside from figuring out how genes affect L-DOPA production, the report notes that researchers are also working to make velvet beans more palatable to American consumers.

While velvet beans have those itchy, irritating hairs on the outside of their pods, plant breeding could fix that while keeping the L-DOPA levels intact.

Furthermore, Kim is looking into other options for producing L-DOPA.

“Because velvet beans aren’t widely consumed in the United States, the team is exploring whether the project’s insights could be used to boost the small amounts of naturally occurring L-DOPA in plants that people already eat, such as fava beans or soybeans, bringing them closer to what velvet beans can produce,” the report reads.

For more about the ongoing research, you can visit the University of Florida’s website here.

These records show that the reported eateries experienced violations like pests, storage violations and more.

[BELOW: Over 100 roaches, hundreds of droppings found at Orlando Chinese restaurant]

Furthermore, inspectors noted that roaches were a prominent issue for many of these locations.

However, all of the closed restaurants were eventually allowed to reopen after meeting inspection standards.

The full list of Central Florida eateries required to close last week is as follows:

APOPKA

• No. 1 Chinese Restaurant — 38 E. Main Street
• • Closed on April 8
  • • Nearly 10 live roaches found on premises
    • Operating with an expired license
  • Met inspection standards on April 9
• Rosati’s Pizza Pub Apopka — 550 S. Hunt Club Blvd.
• • Closed on April 7
  • • Nearly 50 small, flying insects found on premises
    • Bleach stored above clean utensils
  • Met inspection standards on April 8

CLEARWATER

• Cristino’s Restaurant — 1101 S. Ft Harrison Ave.
• • Closed on April 8
  • • Dead roach found on floor of walk-in cooler
    • A dozen live roaches found on premises, mainly by two-compartment sink
    • Time/temperature violations for bruschetta; mozzarella slices; cut tomato; mozzarella balls;
  • Met inspection standards on April 9

ORLANDO

• Mimi’s Restaurant — 2161 Americana Blvd.
• • Closed on April 8
  • • Live rodent found inside oven at cook line
    • Nearly 30 rodent droppings found on premises
    • Degreaser bottles kept next to spices at prep station
  • Met inspection standards on April 9

TAMPA

• La Quinta Inn — 9202 N. 30 Street
• • Closed on April 8
  • • Nearly 100 dead roaches found on premises near kitchen area
    • Over 10 live roaches found on premises near kitchen area
    • Apples at buffet weren’t wrapped in plastic or covered with any other protective coating
  • Met inspection standards on April 14
• Wok-A-Holic — 2223 N. West Shore Blvd.
• • Closed on April 6
  • • Over 50 dead roaches found on premises
    • Six live roaches found on premises
  • Met inspection standards on April 7

[BELOW: More Orlando-area eateries close over health code violations]

In a release, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office announced that the candidate — identified as Kevin Cichowski, 46 — had battered two elderly victims in a home along Cleveland Court on April 10.

At the time, deputies discovered that Cichowski had struck one of the victims with a can, and threw a cell phone at the other, the release shows. He was also allegedly armed with a gun.

“The 911 caller, who was one of the victims, further reported (Cichowski) had threatened to kill them multiple times and stated he would kill law enforcement if they were called,” deputies wrote.

Investigators said that when they arrived at the home, they found the two victims hiding in a bedroom, though they couldn’t leave because one of them was bedridden.

Despite that, deputies revealed they managed to escort the victims out of the home via the lanai, and law enforcement soon made contact with Cichowski, ordering him to surrender.

[BELOW: Listen to the full 911 call by Cichowski‘s mother]

The FCSO reported that Cichowski was taken into custody without incident, and he now faces the following charges:

• Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (2 counts)
• Battery on a person over 65 (2 counts)
• Aggravated battery with a deadly weapon
• Tampering with a witness
• Robbery by sudden snatching (2 counts)

While being taken to jail, Cichowski made suicidal statements and was consequently placed into protective custody under the Baker Act, the FCSO continued.

[RELATED: Waffle House bans governor candidate from all Florida restaurants?]

“When responding to a situation where a suspect has a weapon and has threatened to kill the victims and law enforcement, it’s critical that we do everything we can to safely de-escalate the situation and quickly rescue the victims from immediate danger,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “I commend our deputies, RTCC analysts, and the 911 dispatchers for working together for a safe resolution and arrest the suspect before the situation escalated to a violent ending.”

According to investigators, Cichowski was previously arrested in 2024 for domestic battery, domestic battery by strangulation and false imprisonment.

Furthermore, state records show that Cichowski was running for governor this year as a Democrat. The FCSO noted he also ran for Palm Coast mayor in 2021.

The decision by Ye came a week after he was banned from entering the U.K., where he was scheduled to headline the Wireless Festival in July, following a backlash over the artist’s history of antisemitic remarks.

“After much thought and consideration, it is my sole decision to postpone my show in Marseille, France until further notice,” Ye wrote Wednesday on the social network X. “I know it takes time to understand the sincerity of my commitment to make amends."

The rapper, who changed his name in 2021, had been expected to play at Marseille's Stade Vélodrome on June 11.

French Interior minister Laurent Nuñez had pledged to explore “all possibilities” to make sure the show would not go on as planned, according to his office.

Earlier this year, Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan opposed the rapper’s visit to one of France’s most multicultural cities, which has a history of immigration stretching back centuries.

“I refuse to let Marseille be a showcase for those who promote hatred and unabashed Nazism,” Payan said. “Kanye West is not welcome at the Vélodrome, our temple of community and home to all Marseillais.”

Ye has drawn widespread condemnation for making antisemitic remarks and voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler.

Ye released a song called “Heil Hitler” and advertised a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website last year. Officials in Australia canceled the musician’s visa in July after the release of the single.

The 48-year-old apologized in January with a letter published as a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal. He said his bipolar disorder led him to fall into “a four-month long, manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life.”

Ye said in his latest message on X, “I take full responsibility for what’s mine but I don’t want to put my fans in the middle of it. My fans are everything to me. Looking forward to the next shows. See you at the top of the globe.”

Mikel Arteta's team faces two huge games in its pursuit of a Premier League and Champions League double this season.

Leading 1-0 against Lisbon after the first leg in Portugal last week, Arsenal is closing in on a place in the semifinals for the second successive year. Then on Sunday it faces Manchester City in a top two showdown in the Premier League.

Arteta said there was “zero fear” ahead of a potentially pivotal few days.

“We are in April, we have an incredible opportunity ahead of us. Let’s confront it, let’s go for it by really putting absolutely everything into it,” he said.

Arsenal's form has slumped in recent weeks — losing the English League Cup final against City and then being dumped out of the FA Cup by second division Southampton. Last weekend it was beaten at home in the league by Bournemouth, allowing City to close the gap at the top of the standings to six points with a game in hand.

For now the focus is on the Champions League, a trophy Arsenal has never won.

“I said to the players, ‘guys, we are trying to do something that hasn’t been done in the history of the club in 140 years. So that tells you the difficulty of what you are doing,’” Arteta said.

Declan Rice faced a late fitness test after missing practice on Tuesday. Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber were also doubtful starters.

Arsenal or Lisbon will face Atletico Madrid in the semifinals after the Spanish club beat Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate.

___

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

___

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

The latest setback was a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night. They've been outscored 36-10 during their skid and are mired in the NL East cellar at 7-11.

Soto is nursing a calf injury and isn't expected back for another two to three weeks.

Francisco Lindor raised his batting average 18 points to .194 with a leadoff home run — his first RBI of the season — against World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto. It snapped the team's streak of 20 scoreless innings and helped the Mets avoid three consecutive shutouts for the first time since 1992.

But Yamamoto promptly set down the next 20 batters in a row.

New York's only other hits were a double by Bo Bichette in the seventh and singles by Carson Benge and Lindor in the eighth.

Trailing by a run in the ninth, the Mets got overly aggressive at the plate and Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia struck out the side to end the game.

“We chase and it's hard to score in situations like that,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “You really have to force those guys to come in the strike zone and right now we’re not doing that, especially at the end of the game.”

The Mets are hitting .178 during the skid, including .083 with runners in scoring position (2 for 24). They are averaging 1.43 runs per game with just eight extra-base hits.

“You’re down one run and you’re basically trying to hit one out of the ballpark and that’s when the chase comes,” Mendoza said. “If you continue to swing at pitches out of the strike zone, they’re going to continue to do that, so we have to make adjustments.”

The Mets struck out 11 times, their fourth straight game with double-digit strikeouts. Jorge Polanco, Brett Baty and Mark Vientos had two strikeouts each.

“It’s easy to put too much pressure on yourself,” Mendoza said. “You got to go back to your fundamentals, you got to go back to what got you to this level, understanding that you are a great hitter.”

If not, he said, the offensive struggles can spiral.

“I know it’s tough right now, but the last thing you could do is just panic and try to do too much,” Mendoza said.

The lone bright spot for the Mets was rookie Nolan McLean. The 24-year-old right-hander gave up one run and two hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts and two walks.

“He pretty much dominated one of the best lineups,” Mendoza said. “It sucks losing when you get that type of outing.”

McLean has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 11 of his first 12 major league games.

“It was fun to watch McLean pitch,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Man, he's special.”

___

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

Every Tuesday, Servín loads a van with picks, shovels, water and lunches. He commends himself to God. He picks up his three teammates for the day. Then they venture forth into areas where the ground beneath their feet may sometimes hide the bodies of the missing — the victims of foul play in a Mexican state rife with drug cartel violence.

They call themselves the Guerreros Buscadores — the “Searching Warriors." There is much to search for, and dozens of groups like theirs do: More than 130,000 people have been reported missing since 2006, according to official records.

Balancing the search efforts with daily obligations is not easy. Servín lost his job when he started looking for his missing son. Now he works as a waiter on weekends.

But the most difficult parts also offer ways forward — news that arrives via a skull, a mutilated body, evidence of closure in many respects of the word. There is even joy now and then — even if it comes from a pit.

On those difficult days, Servín, 54, comes to grips with a jarring fact: Sometimes, in the end, the worst-case scenario can become the best possible outcome.

Searching, waiting, hoping

Servín's life is filled with mixed-feeling moments not easy to witness. On a recent day, these Guerreros agreed to be shadowed by an Associated Press photojournalist to see what they do — and why it matters. They set out to cover several locations on the outskirts of Guadalajara, the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco and a World Cup host city.

Servín and the women go alone, unaccompanied by any protection. The only semblance of an authority is a “panic button” held by Servín that connects to a federal network to protect rights activists.

It is perilous work in a perilous environment. Mexico is neither at war nor under a military dictatorship, yet thousands of people disappear every year amid cartel violence. Clandestine graves are discovered on a semiregular basis; more than 70,000 unidentified remains have piled up in morgues and cemeteries.

The previous administration recognized the magnitude of the problem and launched official search commissions, but high levels of impunity and inaction persist. The current government has said missing information for one-third of those disappeared makes it impossible to search for them at all. Families remain the main driving force behind the searches and the findings.

The group heads to several locations based on anonymous tips received on the Guerreros Buscadores website. These often come from people who heard screams or gunshots or who saw something but fear going to the authorities.

On their previous outing, they dug down more than a yard (meter) at four locations. Nothing. Sometimes they find bloodstains or shell casings. They check every tip anyway. Says Servín: “There cannot be room for doubt."

He receives a call. An informant says there is a body buried in a residential area. The information seems reliable, so they change their plans. This time they won't be able to check the area in advance, a security measure to avoid encountering drug cartel lookouts or gunmen who could drive them off with shots into the sky. That has happened before.

Arches mark the entrance to the residential complex identified by the informant. It sits next to a commuter train line on the outskirts of Guadalajara, a city plastered with fliers of missing people. Jalisco state, a stronghold of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, is an epicenter of disappearances.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum visited the area following the violence that erupted in February over the killing of the cartel's leader. She insisted that security for the World Cup would be guaranteed.

The search collectives want to take advantage of the world’s focus on Mexico to draw attention to their reality. “I love soccer," Servín says, “but that’s not going to stop me from going out to search.”

A lullaby for the dead

Caps and scarves shield the searchers from the sun. Each wears a personalized T-shirt with a photo of their loved one. Servín’s reads “Searcher Dad.”

The group prepares their equipment. A metal rod they call “the seer" is a must-have: For over a decade, it has been the searchers’ rudimentary yet indispensable tool. They stick it into the ground and then sniff. If there’s an organic smell, there’s a clue.

They begin digging in a small dirt area at one residential corner. They dig and dig some more. Nothing.

Then, after hours of no progress, Servín steps outside the apartment complex and walks between the wall and the tracks. The ground is soft. “I saw a hole with small rocks; it was strange.”

Years ago, his heart would have raced. Now he says, “I don’t get nervous anymore.”

He kneels and grips his shovel. A train passes. First he sees part of a skull. He begins to dig out the soil with his shovel and hands.

“We’ve got a positive!” he shouts.

The four don masks and gloves. A jawbone appears. There is no doubt: It is a human being.

Servín shows his colleagues the head, holding it with the utmost delicacy. They decide to keep digging to look for the full body. A bag of bones appears. Then a shoe. Then a pelvis. They carefully place each outside the pit. If any bone looks the same, it would be placed elsewhere because it could belong to a second person.

The women’s voices mingle like lullabies. “Hi baby, you’re going home soon.” “Your family is waiting for you.” One lights a candle at the edge of the pit.

To someone unfamiliar with violent environments, the scene might seem macabre. To those who witness it, it’s an act of tremendous tenderness and solidarity carried out by people who were re-victimized by the authorities for years. In 2021, a prosecutor handed a woman the remains of her relative in a trash bag. A photo of her with a vacant stare over the huge black bag at her feet went viral.

Criminals hide their victims because if there’s no body, there’s no crime. Nearly 20,000 missing people have been found dead since 2010. So finding a body can be dangerous.

Servín activates his panic button that many searchers carry. Since 2010, at least 36 searchers have been killed, according to civil society organizations. The latest was in mid-March.

Servín talks to the federal officials on the line, confirms his identity with a password, explains what he found and notes the location. He requests hourly monitoring, which means a call to confirm everything is all right.

Then he phones the police.

Navigating the aftermath — logistically and emotionally

One of the women prepares to go live on Facebook. It’s a way to leave a record. If they hadn’t gone live when they found a ranch used by the Jalisco Cartel, it would have been difficult to get people to believe what they discovered. It also helps people recognize things.

“There’s a pair of gray underwear that says ‘Sport’ in orange letters, some size 5 brown boots,” one of the searchers explains. “There’s the skull, it still has some hair. … There’s the pelvis.”

The phone zooms in to show the details of the shoe, of the jawbone missing a tooth. Any detail might help. One woman hopes that the “little person” will soon be with loved ones. They pray.

Servín begins answering questions online. He’s no expert, but his experience tells him the body might have been buried about 18 months ago. It cannot be his son, but hope is never entirely lost; two weeks ago, a mother found her son after seven years of searching. He thanks God that there are remains for DNA testing.

When the Guerreros find bodies “in pieces,” Servín feels like crying. “What hits us hardest is to think that our children might be in those conditions.”

But he also feels good. Because he knows there are answers there.

While waiting for the authorities, the searchers sit down to rest. It is a moment of intimate conversation among people united by grief and their mission.

A woman from the neighborhood arrives with her son. She has a missing child and wants to see if he recognizes anything. An hour later, another mother arrives. The searchers embrace her and advise to go to the attorney’s office for a DNA test. Emotion overflows.

When the police arrive, Servín answers their questions. Mistrust, though, persists because he knows some officers work for the cartel. He says that “some time ago” the authorities accused them of contaminating crime scenes, but the collectives have gradually earned respect.

As evening falls, the forensic team begins its job. In Mexico, the results of a genetic test can take days or years. The remains of one searcher's brother — a searcher who is also Servín's partner — have been at the forensic institute for six years. There has been a match, but the experts haven’t finished processing the remains from all the bags found back then. “It’s illogical,” he says. His anguish is evident.

At 9 p.m., Servín presses the panic button one more time to check in that he is home. “I arrive feeling at peace," he says, "knowing the day was fruitful."

——

Verza reported from Mexico City.

Jordan Goodwin drove for a layup to give the Suns a 110-109 lead with 32 seconds left, but Avdija, who also had 12 assists, responded with a physical take to the rim, making a layup while getting fouled and made the free throw for a 112-110 lead.

The Suns had a chance to go back ahead but Jalen Green's 3-pointer was off the mark. Goodwin grabbed the offensive rebound but was stripped by Matisse Thybulle to seal the win for the Blazers.

Portland earned the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and will face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. The Suns will host the winner of the Clippers-Warriors game on Friday. Whoever wins will earn the No. 8 seed and face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs. The loser’s season is over.

The final few minutes were white-knuckle basketball with the lead changing several times.

Jerami Grant — who returned after missing the final seven games of the regular season because of a calf injury — made a corner 3-pointer to give the Trail Blazers a 107-106 lead with 1:54 left. Devin Booker responded with a pair of free throws for a 108-107 lead but Avdija made a finger roll at the rim for a 109-108 lead with 37.3 seconds left.

Green led the Suns with 35 points. Booker had 22.

The Blazers led 83-82 going into the fourth despite shooting just 1 of 11 on 3-pointers in the third quarter. Phoenix pushed to its first lead of the second half when Green made a jumper on the opening possession of the fourth.

It was the start of an 11-0 run that gave the Suns a 93-83 advantage. Royce O’Neale’s steal and 3-pointer put Phoenix ahead 98-87 lead with 7:13 remaining, but that’s when the Blazers started their comeback.

The Suns led 33-31 after one quarter, but the Trail Blazers pushed to a 55-41 advantage by midway through the second. Phoenix bounced back to cut the deficit to 65-62 at the break after Green completed a four-point play — hitting a 3 while being fouled — with one second remaining.

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

“860,” written and performed by the Tony- and Emmy-winner, will begin previews this October at a theater to be revealed later. The title comes from the street address for the home Crystal and his family lived in for 46 years, a house lost in last year's devastating Palisades fires.

“I invite you to come inside 860 and I’ll tell you all the funny and touching things that happened there, not only in my career but to our family,” Crystal said in a statement. “It’s a joyous and heartfelt visit, about how with the love of family and friends and your inner strength, you can get through tough times.”

This is Crystal’s first return to Broadway following his “Mr. Saturday Night,” which he premiered in 2022 and earned Tony nominations for best book and lead actor in a musical. Scott Ellis will direct his new work.

Crystal has had success with one-man shows before. He turned his memoir “700 Sundays” into a stage show — in 2004 and revived in 2013 — that won him a Drama Desk Award in 2005.

The Palisades and Eaton fires erupted in Jan. 7, 2025, killing 31 people and destroying about 13,000 homes and other residential properties. The fires burned for more than three weeks and clean-up efforts took about seven months.

At the televised fundraising concert FireAid, held at the end of January, 2025, Crystal appeared as the first host in the same clothes he was wearing when he fled his family home.

Crystal said he returned to the wreckage of his home and began to wail: “I had not cried like that since I was 15 and I was told that my father had just died.” His daughters soon found a rock in the wreckage with the word “Laughter” engraved in it.

Crystal made a name for himself first in comedy, from stand-up to TV’s “Soap” to the films “When Harry Met Sally” and “City Slickers.” Then in 1992, he got serious with the movie “Mr. Saturday Night,” which he directed, co-wrote and starred in.

Ball fell to the floor after missing a shot on a drive to the basket early in the second quarter, and appeared to reach out with his left arm and grab Adebayo's left leg, causing the big man to fall on his back.

Ball was not called for a foul, and Adebayo remained on the floor as play continued. He eventually got up and walked to the locker room under his own power but did not return.

“He should have been thrown out of the game for that,” Spoelstra said. “There is no place in the game for that.”

Adebayo did not speak to reporters.

Ball, who scored 30 points and made the go-ahead layup with 4.7 seconds left in overtime, apologized for his role in Adebayo’s injury but said he was disoriented because he had been hit in the head on the drive.

“I apologize on that one,” Ball said. “I got hit in the head and didn’t really know where I was. But I’m going to check on him and see if he is OK and everything.”

When asked if he intentionally grabbed Adebayo’s leg, Ball said he hadn’t seen a replay and added, “Like I said, I got hit in the head and didn’t know where I was and was just playing basketball. But like I said, sorry, and I’m going to check on him.”

Ball remained in the game and was not immediately checked for a concussion.

“I don’t think it’s cute, and I don’t think it’s funny,” Spoelstra said after the loss, which ended Miami's season. “I think it’s a stupid play. It’s a dangerous play and obviously our best player was out. I’m not making an excuse. The Hornets played great and made those plays down the stretch. We had opportunities to win.

“That’s a shame. He should be penalized for that. I don’t think that belongs in the game, you know, tripping guys, shenanigans.”

Official Zach Zarba explained in a pool report why the play was not reviewed.

“The play wasn’t whistled in real time. Play continued with a fast break. And because play wasn’t stopped immediately, and there was no whistle on the play, the window to review the play was closed,” Zarba said. “Play was stopped, after a change of possession, and then a timeout. So, by rule, our window to review that play then is closed.”

Zarba said the officiating crew reviewed the play at halftime.

When asked if Ball should have been assessed a flagrant foul, Zarba said, “At this point, that goes to league operations, and they’ll make a determination on that in the coming days. So, they will make that determination and go from there.”

Ball had only one flagrant foul this season, on Feb. 5 against Houston.

Andrew Wiggins said seeing Adebayo go down was a “gut punch” for the Heat.

“To lose the leader of the team, the captain of the team, seeing him go down was definitely tough and guys had to rally around that,” Wiggins said.

Despite the loss of Adebayo, who scored 83 points in a game last month, Miami had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but Tyler Herro missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

In overtime, Herro put the Heat up by one when he made three free throws with 8.7 seconds left after getting fouled by Ball following a Hornets turnover. Before that play, Herro hit a turnaround corner 3.

But Ball's driving layup saved the day for the Hornets.

Miami's Davion Mitchell said he hadn't seen video of the play where Adebayo was hurt, but called it a “high-intensity game.”

“I didn’t grab nobody’s ankle, but I grabbed somebody’s shirt,” Mitchell said. “I just think it was just a physical game because we were both fighting for our lives just to stay in. Obviously you don’t want to see Bam get hurt, especially like that, but it was a physical game.”

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

The group’s endorsement by Republican governors — at least eight so far — has stirred debate about free speech in America’s schools, with critics arguing many of the same conservative leaders have sought to silence others with measures to restrict what teachers can say on sex education, LGBTQ+ issues and other topics.

Adding to the divisions has been some governors’ invocation of Christian religion in their support of the clubs.

At her news conference last month announcing a partnership with Turning Point USA, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said God had worked through Kirk to grow the conservative group and that she hoped it would spark “the exact type of civic engagement that we want to see” among high school students.

“It’s never too early to learn the values of faith and freedom that power our country,” she said.

For Fayetteville High School student Lily Alderson in Arkansas, that crossed a line. Alderson, president of the school’s Young Democrats club, said the governor’s endorsement violates the requirement that governments not favor a particular religion.

“We’re a public school,” Alderson said. “We shouldn’t be a school — or a state, even — that is telling people what they should believe in.”

At the same high school, Lukas Klaus leads the local Turning Point USA chapter. As he sees it, the Republican governors are ensuring conservative voices like his are allowed to be heard.

“I’ve heard numerous other stories from around the states of Club America chapters trying to get started where they’re having serious problems with the administration straight-up saying ‘no,’ ” said Klaus. He said he has never heard of a public school disallowing a Young Democrats club.

The push gained momentum after Charlie Kirk’s death

In recent months, the Republican administrations of Nebraska, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Montana, Florida, Tennessee and Indiana have each announced partnerships with Turning Point USA to promote school chapters, called Club America, in every high school in those states.

Already, there are nearly 3,400 Club America chapters across the 50 states, according to Turning Point USA, which says it has more state partnerships in the works.

While the partnerships don’t require schools to establish the conservative clubs, they do make clear that efforts to start the clubs can’t be rejected by school administrators.

Turning Point USA got its start in 2012 on college campuses, promoting itself as a hub for young people committed to conservative values. Kirk was the co-founder and the face of the group, known best for his “ Prove Me Wrong ” events on college campuses where he invited students to challenge his conservative views on political and cultural issues. Kirk was killed by a sniper in early September while speaking on a college campus in Utah.

While Kirk was praised by conservatives as a champion of free speech, he was also criticized for comments that many other Americans found hateful toward LGBTQ+ communities, non-Christians, people of color and women.

Some of those critics faced a backlash from Republicans who saw them as dishonoring Kirk, leading to firings by universities, sports teams and media companies. Florida’s education commissioner also promised to investigate teachers over objectionable comments about Kirk. In Texas, a teachers union has sued the state’s education department, accusing it of an improper “wave of retaliation” against public school employees over their social media comments following the assassination.

Critics say governors are elevating Turning Point over other clubs

The governors’ endorsements of Turning Point USA, to the exclusion of other student clubs, has come under criticism from teachers unions and civil liberties groups.

Tim Royers, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, said he could only imagine how Republican leaders would react if a Democratic governor announced they were calling for a democratic socialist club in every high school.

“They would be running to the press to talk about how awful that is,” Royers said. “How is this fundamentally any different?”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas said the state’s support for the clubs amount to “differential treatment based on the content or viewpoint of the clubs, and a problem under the First Amendment.”

Turning Point USA spokesman Matt Shupe called objections from the ACLU hypocritical, noting the civic organization’s mission to protect free speech rights.

“The state of Arkansas is not forming our chapters; they’re not doing our job or our students’ jobs for us, nor are they saying other groups can’t be formed,” Shupe said in an email. “They’re simply stating students cannot be blocked from forming a Club America or a TPUSA college chapter when students want to start one.”

——-

Akbarzai reported from New York. ___

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

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

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

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

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

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

First round of talks failed to end conflict

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

“I think they want to make a deal very badly,” Trump said in an excerpt from an interview with Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria" scheduled to air Wednesday morning. He added: “I view it as very close to over.”

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

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

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

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

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

Tankers turned around after blockade took effect

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

U.S. forces enforcing the blockade will operate in the Gulf of Oman, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations. Ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz must cross the Gulf of Oman to reach the open sea.

The official said the move will allow the U.S. military to observe vessels subject to the blockade leaving Iranian facilities and clearing the strait before they are intercepted and forced to turn around.

U.S. Central Command said Tuesday no ships made it past the blockade in the first 24 hours, while six merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and reenter Iranian waters.

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

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

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

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

In a comment seemingly seemingly directed at Trump without naming him, Chinese President Xi Jinping said nations should “oppose the world’s retrogression to the law of the jungle.”

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

Israel and Lebanon conclude talks

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

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

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

“The Lebanese government made it very clear that they will no longer be occupied by Hezbollah," he said.

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

After the ceasefire in Iran, Israel pressed ahead with its air and ground campaign in Lebanon. It has, however, halted strikes in Beirut, the country’s capital since April 8, after a deadly bombardment that hit several crowded commercial and residential areas in central Beirut and killed more than 350 people in one day.

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

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

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

___

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

The 18-year-old attacker fired randomly inside a vocational high school in Siverek, Sanliurfa province. He later killed himself with the same shotgun after being “cornered by police,” Gov. Hasan Sildak said.

The attack wounded 10 students, four teachers, a canteen employee and a police officer, Sildak said. While most of them were being treated in Siverek, five of the teachers and students were transferred to a hospital in the provincial capital because their conditions were more serious, the governor said.

The motive for the attack was unclear. School shootings are rare in Turkey.

The attacker did not have a criminal record, Sildak said. The school had been declared safe and no permanent police officer was assigned to protect it, he added, calling the shooting an “isolated incident.”

NTV television and other media reports said the assailant had threatened an attack on the school on social media prior to the shooting.

One student told the state-run Anadolu Agency that he and a friend jumped out of their classroom window to flee the attacker.

“He suddenly entered the classroom and fired. He fired four or five times. Two people were hit. He then went into the next classroom,” Anadolu quoted Omer Furkan Sayar as saying. “We first threw ourselves to the ground and then two of us jumped out of the window.”

Sayar continued: “He didn't say anything, he entered and started to shoot directly.”

Earlier, media reports said all students were evacuated and police special operations units were deployed after the assailant refused to surrender.

“The individual was cornered inside the building through police intervention and died after shooting himself," Sildak told reporters, adding that a “comprehensive” investigation into the shooting would be carried out.

Video footage showed dozens of students running out of the school toward the gate and onto the street.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hezbollah pushes back as Lebanese government hopes for end to war

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First Israel-Lebanon talks in more than 30 years

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

___

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

However, 34 bills have already been approved by the governor as of Tuesday, April 14, with many of these new laws set to take effect later this year.

You can find the full list below. Be sure to check back, as News 6 will update this list as more laws are signed.

HB 91 — Candidate Qualification

House Bill 91 requires that someone who wants to run for office must affirm that he/she hasn’t changed his/her name in the year prior to qualification, with few exceptions.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 1

SB 212 — Sex Offenders

Senate Bill 212 amends state statutes regarding sexual offenders and predators in the state.

Under this law, those convicted of certain sex offenses against children 16 years of age or younger may not live within 1,000 feet of a public swimming pool.

[BELOW: Florida attorney general unveils Sanford ‘house of horrors’]

Current law already prohibits these sorts of sex offenders from living near schools, childcare facilities, parks and playgrounds, though this bill cracks down even harder via the following rules:

• Contacting Children: Such offenders may be arrested without a warrant if they knowingly contact a minor at any park, playground or public swimming pool.
• School Grounds: Such offenders may be arrested without a warrant if they’re purposefully present in any pre-K-12 school while the school is still in operation, with few exceptions.
• Prowling Offenders: The bill increases the restricted distance for loitering and prowling by such sex offenders from 300 feet to 500 feet of places where children congregate.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 245 — Child Pornography

House Bill 245 replaces the term “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse material” under state law.

This shift does not change any other elements of the law, including offenses related to child pornography.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 246 — Specialty Plates

Senate Bill 246 grants permission for five new specialty license plates, which are as follows:

• Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
• Miami Northwestern Alumni Association
• Outsider
• St. Petersburg College
• First Responders Resiliency

The bill also revises certain requirements for the existing “Florida Wildflower” and “Fraternal Order of Police” plates.

DATE OF EFFECT: Oct. 1

HB 249 — State Flagship

House Bill 249 redesignates the official state flagship.

More specifically, the law replaces the current state flagship (the schooner Western Union) with the S.S. American Victory.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

[BELOW: New Florida bill could change meaning of ‘criminal gang member’]

SB 288 — Electric Cooperatives

Senate Bill 288 revises a state statute that prohibits certain bylaws, tariffs and policies from being used by rural electric cooperatives.

Under this law, the statute is limited to only those cooperatives that sell electricity at retail.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 290 — FDACS

Senate Bill 290 makes a number of changes to state law related to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).

Some of these changes include a prohibition on local governments from banning gas-powered landscape equipment, and criminal penalties for those receiving unauthorized help on a CDL exam.

You can read a list of more changes here.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 302 — Coastal Resiliency

Senate Bill 302 prohibits any dredging or filling of submerged lands at the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve, with some exceptions provided for public safety and environmental protection.

This law is also expected to streamline the permitting process for nature-based methods aimed at improving coastal resiliency, helping to accelerate restoration timelines.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 386 — Farm Equipment

Senate Bill 386 sets up a process for consumers and manufacturers to remedy defective farm equipment.

If farm equipment is defective, this law lets buyers report the defect to the manufacturer during the warranty period or the one-year period after the original delivery date of the farm equipment.

The law also requires the manufacturer to either replace or refund any defective farm equipment.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 399 — Development Regulations

House Bill 399 requires application fees for development permits to be reasonably related to the costs associated with processing the application and prohibits fees based on a percentage of project costs.

The legislation also mandates that each local government’s land development regulations must include factors for assessing compatibility of residential uses.

DATE OF EFFECT: March 27

HB 445 — Dangerous Crimes

House Bill 445 adds certain offenses dealing with child exploitation and certain kinds of computer porn to the list of dangerous crimes under Florida law.

This means that someone arrested for one of these offenses can’t be given nonmonetary pretrial release at a first appearance hearing.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 569 — Forensic Client Services

House Bill 569 allows the Agency for Persons with Disabilities to house non-forensic clients and forensic clients within the same wards in secure APD facilities.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 572 — Public Ethics

Senate Bill 572 revises the term “relative” in the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees to include foster parents and foster children.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 1

SB 628 — Trump Highway

Senate Bill 628 renames over a dozen roadways across the state.

The bill also designates the Tallahassee airport at 3300 Capital Circle SW as the “Bobby Bowden-Tallahassee International Airport.”

Furthermore, SB 628 designates 124 miles of SR-80 stretching from SR-A1A in Palm Beach County to US-41 in Lee County as the “President Donald J. Trump Highway.”

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 679 — Trademark Registration

House Bill 679 mandate that the Florida Department of State use the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s schedule of classes of goods and services as the state’s classification for trademark purposes, rather than the general classes for trademarks for goods and services set in statute.

Furthermore, the bill requires that agency to set up a website where applicants can apply for a trademark or renew a trademark and provides that the website must safeguard the applicant’s information to ensure data integrity.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 697 — Drug Prices

House Bill 697 makes it unlawful for a PBM to force a pharmacy to take a loss when dispensing a drug or to reimburse a nonaffiliated pharmacy less than an affiliated pharmacy.

Furthermore, the law requires PBMs to allow in-network pharmacies to submit consolidated appeals comprised of multiple adjudicated claims featuring identical drugs, day supplies, and dates of service.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 844 — Sickle Cell Disease

Senate Bill 844 requires that the standard continuing education course on prescribing controlled substances include information regarding the treatment of pain for patients with sickle cell disease.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 919 — Donald Trump Airport

House Bill 919 preempts to the state the ability to name major commercial service airports.

More specifically, the bill renames the Palm Beach International Airport as the “President Donald J. Trump International Airport.”

All other major airports, including the Orlando International Airport, may keep their current names for now.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

[BELOW: New Florida law could let lawmakers rename Orlando airport]

HB 991 — Elections

House Bill 991 makes several revisions to the Florida Election Code, including:

• Driver’s License: Requires the state to include a person’s legal status on any new, replacement or renewal driver’s licenses and ID cards
• Voter Oath: Voter registration applicants must affirm that they are U.S. citizens and may face criminal penalties for perjury if that is not the case
• Forms of ID: Debit/credit cards, student IDs, retirement center IDs, neighborhood association IDs, and public assistance IDs are no longer acceptable forms of identification for voters
• Campaign Contributions: Political parties and candidates may not willfully accept a contribution from a foreign national in connection with any election held in the state.
• Federal Courts: Requires the state to provide voter registration lists to federal courts to aid in their jury selection process, and requires those courts to provide the state with information about voters being ineligible due to convictions, death, or being a non-U.S. citizen
• Statute of Limitations: Creates a five-year statute of limitations for the prosecution of a felony under the Election Code
• New Penalties: Provides new fines and penalties for those who violate the law of involvement of foreign nationals in state elections
• Early Voting: Election supervisors must use local time when uploading the results of all early voting and vote-by-mail ballots by 7 p.m. the day before the election

DATE OF EFFECT: Jan. 1, 2027

HB 1113 — Vessel Restrictions

House Bill 1103 allows local governments to authorize a code enforcement officer to administer the provision of law concerning vessels at risk of becoming derelict on state waters.

This can be done by way of local ordinances.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1153 — Juvenile Justice

House Bill 1153 includes “juvenile detention officers” and “juvenile probation officers” in multiple state statutes related to correctional officers.

This allows such positions to be eligible for a Medal of Heroism or Valor, as well as subjects a person to first-degree aggravated manslaughter if he/she causes such an officer to die through culpable negligence.

DATE OF EFFECT: March 30

HB 1159 — Sexual Offenses

House Bill 1159 sets up harsher penalties for various sexual offenses. These changes include:

• CSAM: Replacing the term “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse material” in Florida statutes
• Harsher Penalties: Increases penalties for use of a child in a sexual performance; possession and transmission of child porn; creation of generated child porn; possession of a child-like doll; and certain sex acts involving animals
• Mandatory Sentencing: Adults must receive a mandatory minimum sentence for certain offenses related to using children in sexual performances and transmitting child porn
• Repeat Offenders: Raises mandatory minimum sentences for certain repeat sex offenders
• Life Felony: Creates a life felony for aggravated use of a child under 12 years old in a sexual performance
• Generated Child Porn: Creates a second-degree felony for transmitting generated child pornography
• No Pets: Prohibits anyone convicted of certain sex offenses involving animals from owning or working with animals for at least five years

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1417 — Department of Environmental Protection

House Bill 1417 repeals the Environmental Regulation Commission, which is expected to streamline rulemaking for environmental protection.

This law also requires erosion and sediment control plans for the construction of solar facilities to include stormwater best management practices.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1443 — Parkinson’s Disease Registry

House Bill 1443 requires the Florida Institute for Parkinson’s Disease at USF to set up a statewide Parkinson’s disease registry.

Under this legislation, physicians who diagnose a patient with Parkinson’s disease must report nationally recognized performance measures to the registry beginning on Jan. 1, 2027.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

[BELOW: Here’s what to know about Florida’s ‘license plate’ law]

HB 1445 — Public Records (Parkinson’s Disease Registry)

House Bill 1445 creates a public record exemption for patient-identifying information held in the Parkinson’s disease registry set up by HB 1443.

The exemption will be repealed on Oct. 2, 2031, unless reenacted by lawmakers.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1471 — Terrorist Organizations

House Bill 1471 makes several changes to state law regarding terrorist organizations. Many of those revisions are as follows:

• Terrorist Designations: Creates a process by which the state may designate groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organization if certain conditions are met
• Religious Laws: Courts and tribunals are prohibited from enforcing religious or foreign laws against someone if such application would violate his/her constitutional rights
• Private Schools: Prohibits private schools participating in state scholarship programs from being owned or funded by terrorist groups, terrorist supporters, or criminal gangs
• State Universities: Prevents institutions in the Florida College System from using state funds to support programs that advocate for terrorist organizations
• Visa Students: Public colleges must report information about the current status of students who are attending on a visa if they promote terrorist organizations
• Student Expulsions: If a student promotes a terrorist organization while enrolled at a public university, the student must be immediately expelled and assessed an out-of-state fee

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1473 — Public Records (Terrorism)

House Bill 1473 creates a public record exemption tied to HB 1471 for certain information that would require Florida’s Chief of Domestic Security to provide to the governor and cabinet in certain situations.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 4005 — Naples Airport Authority

House Bill 4005 revises the method of selection for the Naples Airport Authority board from a body appointed by the city to one elected by the residents of Collier County.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 6

HB 4019 — Lake County

House Bill 4019 limits the compensation of healthcare providers for medical services to inmates housed in a Lake County detention center to 110% of the Medicare allowable rate if the provider doesn’t have a contract with the county.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 14

HB 4041 — Indian River County

House Bill 4041 limits the compensation of healthcare providers for medical services to inmates housed in an Indian River County detention center to 110% of the Medicare allowable rate if the provider doesn’t have a contract with the county.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 14

HB 4059 — Polk County

House Bill 4059 limits the compensation of healthcare providers for medical services to inmates housed in a Polk County detention center to 110% of the Medicare allowable rate if the provider doesn’t have a contract with the county.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 14

SB 7006 — Public Records (Florida PSC)

Senate Bill 7006 continues a public records exemption for for portions of hearings conducted by the Florida Public Service Commission.

More specifically, this exemption extends to proprietary confidential business information that is already exempt under state law.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 1

HB 7011 — Public Records (Aquaculture)

House Bill 7011 continues a public records exemption for certain aquaculture records held by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

That exemption refers to the following:

• Shellfish receiving and production records generated by licensed shellfish processing facilities
• Audit records and supporting documentation required for submerged land leases
• Aquaculture production records and receipts generated by certified aquaculture facilities

DATE OF EFFECT: March 27

SB 7016 — Public Records (Loan Programs)

Senate Bill 7016 continues a public records exemption for certain details held by an economic development agency pursuant to the administration of a state/federally funded small business loan program.

More specifically, the exemption protects tax returns, financial information and credit information.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 1

Duran, who has spoken about his past struggles with mental health, said a fan made a personal comment that crossed the line.

“Somebody just told me to kill myself,” Duran said. “I’m used to it at this point, you know? I mean, (expletive) happens. I mean, I’m gonna flip somebody off if they say something to me, but it is what it is. I shouldn’t react like that, but that kind of stuff is still kind of triggering.”

Duran discussed bouts with severe depression and a suicide attempt in a Netflix series that debuted last year.

“Honestly, it’s my fault for talking about my mental health because I kind of brought in the haters. So I've just got to get used to it,” Duran said. “I was just trying to hold it in and not really bring that up to the team. I mean, we’re trying to win a game. I shouldn’t even bring that up to anybody. ... It just happens.”

Boston manager Alex Cora said he didn't witness the incident and hadn't reviewed video of it.

___

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

Police in the Salt Lake City suburbs of Draper City and West Jordan have been investigating claims of domestic violence in 2024 and this February from Paul's ex-partner Dakota Mortensen, the father of her 2-year-old son. Paul has also made allegations against Mortensen, but those were not addressed in the documents.

Any new charges against Paul would have violated her probation, which stemmed from a 2023 assault on Mortensen.

The pair has filed dueling petitions for protective orders against one another that will be the subject of an upcoming hearing.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the national domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233 in the U.S.

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“Several incidents that were submitted do not rise to the level of criminal offenses. The remaining incidents lack sufficient evidence to support filing criminal charges,” Breanne Miller, a lawyer in the district attorney's Family Protection Unit, wrote in a memo explaining that Paul would not be charged.

She noted that some reported incidents occurred more than three years ago and fell outside the legal time frame for review.

The decline in charges does not have a direct effect on Mortensen’s protective order against Paul, which has been temporarily granted and could become long-term at an April 30 hearing. But the lack of prosecution could help Paul and her lawyers make her case to a court commissioner who at an earlier hearing ordered that she could have visits with her son only if they were supervised.

Eric Swinyard, a lawyer for Paul, argued at an April 7 hearing that Mortensen was the aggressor in a February fight that the lawyer called “the truck tussle.”

Mortensen said in his request for a protective order that Paul threw a drink at him as they argued in a truck to not wake children who were sleeping inside Paul’s home. But Swinyard said Mortensen slammed Paul’s head into the dashboard and punched her in the leg, and provided photos she took of her bruises.

A different fight between the couple in 2023 prompted ABC to make the unprecedented move of shelving an already-filmed season of “The Bachelorette” after video of the altercation leaked last month.

In the video, Paul appeared to punch, kick and throw chairs at Mortensen while her young daughter watched and cried. Paul was charged with aggravated assault and other offenses, including domestic violence in the presence of a child. She pleaded guilty to an assault charge, which will be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor if Paul stays out of legal trouble for a three-year probationary period that ends in August. The other counts were dismissed.

Eleven fights between Paul and Mortensen were under examination in their protective order requests.

A court-appointed attorney for their son, Ever, said another video from May of last year shows Paul pushing Mortensen and shouting at him to get out of her house while he is holding the boy. The lawyer, Michael McDonald, said at the April 7 hearing, “that makes me very nervous about her ability to control herself.”

Paul’s attorney said Mortensen deliberately created the situation by holding their child as a “human shield.” Mortensen's attorney, Daniela Diaz, argued that Paul uses their son “as a pawn to start fights.”

The couple’s fiery relationship was heavily featured on “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” from its 2024 debut, and it was central to Paul becoming a reality star. The series premiere featured police body camera footage of her 2023 arrest.

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Dalton reported from Los Angeles.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ball finished with 30 points and 10 assists and Bridges had 28 points and nine rebounds as the Hornets won their first postseason home game in a decade. Coby White had 19 points, including a turnaround 3 with 10.8 second left in regulation to send the game to OT.

Mitchell scored 28 points and Andrew Wiggins added 27 for the Heat, who lost Bam Adebayo to a lower back injury when Ball tripped him in the second quarter.

The Hornets will travel to face the loser of Wednesday’s matchup between Philadelphia and Orlando on Friday night for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte is seeking its first playoff appearance in a decade.

Ball's driving layup put the Hornets up by five with 26 seconds left in OT. But he made two critical mistakes after that.

Tyler Herro, who scored 23 points for Miami, hit a twisting, corner 3, and Ball then turned the ball over in the backcourt and fouled Herro on a 3-point shot. Herro made all three free throws to give Miami a 126-125 lead with 8.7 seconds left.

After a timeout, Ball drove the right side of the lane and made a leaning, right-handed layup to give Charlotte the lead. Miami, without any timeouts, pushed the ball up the court and Bridges chased down Mitchell to block his layup attempt, setting off a frenzied celebration.

Ball flexed at midcourt as players mobbed each other.

Despite the loss of Adebayo, the Heat remained in control until late in the third quarter, when White banked in a 3-pointer and then added another 3 at the top of the key as part of a 10-0 Charlotte run.

White, acquired in a midseason trade with Chicago, drained another 3 in the closing seconds of the third quarter to give Charlotte a 89-83 lead.

The Heat then built a 102-95 lead in the fourth quarter behind two 3s from Wiggins.

The Hornets tied it when White caught an inbounds pass and made a unbalanced 3 from the corner. Herro had a chance to win it in regulation but hit the back iron on a 3-point try.

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

The project is focused on the 408 toll road, but it also includes improvements on the city streets around it.

CFX says the work will add a fifth eastbound lane on 408 between Orange Blossom Trail and Interstate 4, while also reworking ramps near the Tampa Avenue interchange. The agency says the goal is to improve traffic flow through a heavily traveled stretch near downtown, especially during daily commutes and major events.

Plans also include local improvements below the roadway, including wider sidewalks, new lighting, landscaping and other changes meant to improve safety and walkability near Jones High School and Camping World Stadium.

Kay Barrington, who owns property near Tampa Avenue, said she came to Tuesday’s meeting looking for answers about traffic in the area.

“I was concerned about, mainly the traffic flow,” Barrington said. “We seem to have a lot of problems with traffic. And especially when they’re trying to come out, leave the event.”

Barrington said event traffic can cause gridlock in the area and wanted to know whether the new design would really keep cars moving.

After speaking with project representatives and engineers, she said she felt better about the process and believed her concerns were heard.

“They wanted me to write down my suggestion and they’re going to escalate it,” Barrington said. “So I’m happy about that.”

Barrington said she was initially intimidated when she walked into the meeting, but felt more comfortable speaking up after seeing others ask questions and gather information.

“I just felt comfortable just exploring it, putting my concern on the table as well,” she said.

Orlando City Commissioner Shan Rose said residents’ top concern has been traffic flow and limiting disruption to the surrounding community. She said the local street changes are also important because they include pedestrian-focused upgrades such as wider sidewalks and more lighting.

Brian Hutchings with CFX said the project is designed to improve traffic flow both on the toll road and on the streets around it.

He said the added lane should reduce lane changing and backups on 408, while longer and improved ramps near the stadium should help move traffic off local roads more efficiently after events.

Hutchings also said many of the local improvements could be finished within the next year to year and a half, while the overall project is expected to be complete in early 2029.

Major construction is expected to begin this month.