Graham's sister, Darline Graham, a political unknown tapped to serve out the final months of her brother's term, is trying to overcome skepticism about her lack of experience in her campaign to replace him. She picked up President Donald Trump's swift endorsement though the rare open Senate seat has attracted a broad field, including some of the state's top Republicans.

For decades, South Carolina voters have reliably returned Lindsey Graham to Washington despite periodic primary challengers who accused the dealmaker and foreign policy hawk of being insufficiently conservative.

Tuesday's contest features one of Lindsey Graham’s foes from earlier this year, as well as two U.S. House members as well as Mark Sanford, the former governor and congressman who is seeking a political comeback in a field crowded with familiar faces.

Will goodwill toward Lindsey Graham boost his sister at the polls?

Lindsey Graham suffered a tear in his aorta at his Washington home and died on July 11.

Before funeral observances for Lindsey Graham in Washington and South Carolina had even concluded, the campaign was on. State law proscribes a compressed timeline that forced candidates to navigate the decorum of mourning the senator's death while also jockeying to replace him.

A day after Graham’s death was announced, his sister accepted Republican Gov. Henry McMaster’s appointment to succeed her brother in an interim capacity. She was sworn in with her family and late senator’s staff standing behind her.

A week later, Darline Graham launched into the campaign herself, encouraged to run and then endorsed by Trump.

While the millions in the president's campaign account aren’t funds that Darline Graham could directly access in a run of her own, there was no limit to how much could be transferred to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is already paying for advertising to support her.

In addition, a super PAC that once supported Lindsey Graham said it would spend $900,000 backing Darline Graham's candidacy, including mailers touting her as “President Trump's choice” and saying she's “Prepared to Carry on Lindsey's Legacy.”

Two congressmen are among those seeking the nomination

More familiar to South Carolina voters in their own right are two U.S. House members in the race, one of whom already has a statewide profile.

Fresh off an unsuccessful primary run for governor, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman entered the Senate contest and has snapped up endorsements from other lawmakers, including Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah, as well as South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace.

One of the most conservative members in the House, Norman is well-known across South Carolina for being a fiscal conservative. At times, however, he's been at odds with Trump and backed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the 2024 presidential primary.

Also in the running is Rep. Russell Fry, who appeared poised to gain Trump's backing after Lindsey Graham's death. Despite lacking the president's endorsement, he announced his own candidacy and has been trying to boost his name recognition beyond his pro-Trump district in the Myrtle Beach area.

Mark Sanford seeks another political comeback

The former South Carolina congressman and governor whose political ascendency was stalled by a 2009 extramarital affair is making yet another attempt to return to public office.

Sanford’s Senate bid comes just three months after he ended a bid to retake his former U.S. House seat, saying then he was quitting the race to set up a nonprofit to address the national debt, his signature issue.

Sanford had entered that contest on the last day of filing, when the race already was full of other Republican candidates, many of whom had spent months laying the groundwork for their campaigns. He's been crisscrossing South Carolina in his Senate bid, reintroducing himself to voters after more than a decade out of statewide office.

Mark Lynch, a Greenville businessman who tried to oust Graham in the regular Republican primary last month, swiftly relaunched his campaign following Graham’s death. Calling himself an “America First” candidate, Lynch has campaigned as a Trump supporter, but during the June primary, the president on social media called him a “lunatic” and a “disaster for the Republican Party.”

Who is the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat?

Dr. Annie Andrews, a Charleston physician, won her party’s primary in June outright. Having set up her entire campaign based around challenging Graham, Andrews has been forced to pivot to a broader critique of the Republican contenders.

No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat here in decades. And when Graham last ran in 2020, he defeated his Democratic opponent, Jaime Harrison, by a 10 percentage point margin.

That contest was the most expensive in state history, and among the country’s most expensive congressional races, ever.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

Minnesota voters will settle a moderate-versus-progressive Democratic U.S. Senate primary between centrist U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. In the race for governor, Mike Lindell, known as the MyPillow Guy, leads a crowded Republican primary with President Donald Trump’s endorsement, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar faces minimal opposition for the Democratic nomination.

The Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor is another high-profile clash between the party’s establishment and progressive wings, as democratic socialist Francesca Hong tries to rise above establishment candidate David Crowley. In a Republican primary for U.S. House, Trump-backed candidate Michael Alfonso, the 26-year-old son-in-law of U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, is seeking to win Duffy’s former district.

And Republicans in South Carolina are casting ballots in a special primary election to replace the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham on the state’s general election ballot. The crowded race has attracted top party members, including two congressmen and a former governor — but Trump has endorsed Graham’s sister, Sen. Darline Graham, a political unknown appointed to serve out the final months of her late brother's current term.

Here's the latest:

Voters split over heft of Trump’s endorsement in South Carolina Senate primary

President Donald Trump endorsed Sen. Darline Graham’s candidacy even before she said she was running in South Carolina’s special GOP Senate primary. But voters who said they were voting for her seemed split over whether the president’s buy-in mattered.

“He’s the greatest president ever as far as I’m concerned,” Frank Bohn said after casting his ballot early last week for Graham. “President Trump means a lot.”

But for fellow early voter Scott Brown, who also said he was a Trump supporter, Graham’s debate performance won his support and meant more than the president’s endorsement.

“It never does,” Brown said when asked if Trump’s endorsement swayed him toward Graham.

Sometimes, a Wisconsin voter says, you can’t ‘vote your heart’

Standing in the afternoon heat outside the western Wisconsin fire hall where she’d voted, Sarah Atkins Hoggatt said she wished she could have voted for Hong.

“I embrace her ideology,” she said, ticking off issues like reproductive rights and “Medicare for All.” “I would have wanted to vote for her.”

But she also believes that Hong’s deeply progressive politics, combined with concerns among some voters with democratic socialist candidates, make a November victory much harder for her.

“I voted for someone who I think has a better chance” to beat Tiffany, said Atkins Hoggatt, 61, who sells construction material and drain systems. She voted for Crowley.

“I didn’t vote my heart,” she said.

Democrat Rebecca Cooke looks for a rematch against Rep. Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin

A former Democratic fundraiser and small business owner is vying to face the Republican representative for a second time in a competitive Wisconsin congressional district.

Rebecca Cooke faces a primary challenge from former Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge. Berge has run an underdog, insurgent campaign against Cooke, who is more well-known and better financed.

Cooke narrowly lost to Van Orden in 2024. She also ran in 2022 but lost in the Democratic primary.

Van Orden is one of President Donald Trump’s biggest supporters but will face a tough reelection bid in the narrowly divided 3rd Congressional District and in a year where the president's approval ratings are low in Wisconsin.

Personal connection, Lindsey Graham’s record helped sway voters toward Darline Graham

Frank Bohn said an interaction with Sen. Darline Graham in a parking lot was part of what tilted the scales in her favor in terms of his vote in South Carolina’s special Senate primary, when he cast his vote early last week in Horry County.

“She’s not a politician, but she was kin to probably one of the greatest senators ever,” Bohn said, reflecting on his impression of the political newcomer and the service of her brother, the late

Sen. Lindsey Graham. “Being not a politician, and just being able to follow the path of her brother … she could do no harm.”

Susan Bohn said her husband’s recollection helped make up her mind to vote for Darline Graham, too.

“I was going to vote for somebody else, but I changed my mind,” said Susan Bohn, who had been considering U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman.

Lindsey Graham’s Senate service helped tip one voter toward his sister

Debra Dowd said she was deciding between two candidates in the South Carolina Senate primary, U.S. Rep. Russell Fry and Sen. Darline Graham, but ended up going with the latter in part because she admired the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s service.

“I just think her brother did a wonderful job for all the time he’s been in the Senate, so I went for her,” Dowd said after casting her ballot for the late senator’s sister in Conway during early voting last week.

It wasn’t all about Lindsey Graham’s service, though. Dowd said she considered President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Darline Graham, as well as her performance earlier this month, in which the candidate voiced strong support for the president’s agenda.

“Watching the debate, I liked her answers,” Dowd said. “Her debate performance was really good.”

Special GOP primary to replace late Sen. Lindsey Graham is taking place just a month after his death

The longtime South Carolina Republican lawmaker had been seeking a fifth term when he died suddenly a month ago, and the campaign to pick a new GOP nominee has been a whirlwind.

State law sets out the timeline that officials must follow for a special election when a seat becomes vacant. Candidates had about two weeks to file for the contest, then two weeks to campaign.

Graham’s sister was swiftly appointed to serve out the remaining months of his current term. In a move that surprised many political watchers in the state, Darline Graham also launched a primary bid, something she said came at the urging of President Donald Trump, with whom her late brother had been closely aligned.

Preliminary medical findings note Lindsey Graham died from an aortic tear.

Voter says Fry's experience won his vote in the South Carolina Senate primary

After casting his ballot during early voting in Conway last week, George Mitford said he picked U.S. Rep. Russell Fry in the special Senate GOP primary because he favored the two-term congressman’s experience over current Sen. Darline Graham, appointed last month to serve the rest of her late brother’s current term.

“I just thought he’d probably had more experience in this than she would have had,” Mitford said, adding that he had supported Sen. Lindsey Graham’s tenure in the Senate.

“I’m a conservative and a Republican, and I just think he was the best choice,” said Mitford, who lives in Fry’s district along South Carolina’s northern coastal area.

Vermont Democrats pick a challenger to long-serving Republican Gov. Phil Scott

The Democratic primary features a race between economist Amanda Janoo and Aly Richards, a former child advocacy organization CEO.

Richards, 40, grew up in Newbury, Vermont, and has received endorsements from former Vermont governors Howard Dean and Madeleine Kunin. She previously worked for former Gov. Peter Shumlin and on former President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.

Janoo, 38, was born on a farm in Strafford, Vermont. She began her career working with the United Nations and international development organizations.

Scott, who has served five terms and is one term away from becoming the state’s longest-serving governor, is running unopposed.

Vermont is one of two states, along with neighboring New Hampshire, that hold a gubernatorial election every two years.

Incumbent plans fight to retain redrawn US House seat in Alabama

Republicans redrew Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District after the U.S. Supreme Court severely weakened the Voting Rights Act earlier this year.

The redraw added a Republican-leaning seat to the state’s congressional map by shifting the boundaries of one represented by a Black Democrat.

The seat is now held by Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures, who was unopposed in his primary and has said he plans to aggressively defend the seat.

Six Republicans are competing in the special congressional primary for the chance to challenge Figures in November.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has placed Figures on its list of “frontline” candidates for extra support in what they consider the most pivotal districts. The National Republican Congressional Committee has similarly put the district on its list of targets for 2026.

‘She feels like one of us,’ Hong supporter says

In the Wisconsin governor’s race, software engineer Cody Chandler said he didn’t worry about electability when he cast his ballot for Hong.

“In the past I’d think about who could win,” said Chandler. “But this time I’m voting for who I want to win.”

He’s thrilled by Hong and the progressive movement around her.

“She’s probably the most exciting candidate I’ve seen,” said Chandler, 35, who voted in the town of Hudson. He sees himself as a progressive, someone inspired a decade ago by Sen. Bernie Sanders, and volunteered for Hong’s campaign.

“She seems to be like a real working-class person. Sure, she stumbles over her words sometimes — but so do I,” he said, laughing. “She feels like one of us.”

In Wisconsin, a Republican votes Democratic — and for the candidate she thinks can win

Linda Biles believes Hong’s politics will frighten voters like her — a Republican in a largely rural area who votes Democratic because she dislikes Trump and politicians who back him.

“I think just the word ‘socialism’ is turning off Republicans,” said Biles, a 71-year-old retired home economics teacher, after casting her ballot in the western Wisconsin town of Hudson. “It scares them away.”

Crowley, she said, was an obvious choice: “He’s got more of a chance of beating Tiffany,” she said.

A former NFL broadcaster votes for herself in Minnesota

Michele Tafoya is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

She strode into a suburban Minneapolis church with a phalanx of reporters and photographers watching. She checked in with poll workers, filled out her ballot and fed it into the counter.

“How are you?” she asked the top election official on site.

“I’ll be glad when you’re done,” the stressed-out official responded with a laugh.

In the parking lot out front, she argued that this will be the year voters end a 20-year losing streak for Republicans running statewide in Minnesota. Voters, she said, are fed up after widespread reports of fraud in public assistance programs.

“Minnesotans are ready. We’ve had a crisis of leadership here,” Tafoya said. “We’ve seen what career politicians have done in this state. They’ve brought us to a place of national embarrassment, and this state is ready for change.”

Graham: ‘I don’t think I could have done anything differently’

Asked if she would have handled anything differently about the sprint of a special Senate primary, Graham said she had no regrets.

“I don’t think I could have done anything any differently,” Graham told reporters outside the Lexington church where she and her family voted. “It was my priority to be in Washington as your representative, working hard, and I got back here just as soon as I possibly could.”

With the Senate staying in session until early Saturday morning, Graham — as South Carolina’s interim senator — was in Washington for votes during much of the campaign.

Anticipating a runoff to follow Tuesday’s crowded GOP Senate primary, Graham told reporters that she would “get out and work really hard to earn” voters in the ensuing two-week period.

4 US senators ran for governor this year

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar has had a successful career in Washington, but she’d prefer to head back home to Minnesota. She’s the leading candidate for governor in the state’s Democratic primary.

She’s not alone. Four senators ran for governor this year, underscoring how sharply the balance of political ambition has shifted away from Washington.

Although the Senate was once seen as the capstone of a long political career or a premier perch for launching presidential bids, it has become increasingly stagnant and dysfunctional.

Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama both won Republican gubernatorial primaries this year.

But Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet wasn’t as fortunate. He lost to state Attorney General Phil Weiser.

Connecticut Rep. John Larson seeks a 15th term in the House, but can he get by Luke Bronin?

Bronin was a sophomore at Yale University when Larson was elected to the U.S. House in 1998.

Now he’s standing in the way of Larson getting a 15th term representing Connecticut. The two face off in another contest that pits the party’s old guard against a younger generation.

Bronin, 46, is the former mayor of Hartford. He’s a lawyer, former Rhodes scholar and U.S. Navy Reserve officer.

Larson is 78. While he has been popular in his central Connecticut district throughout his time in office, concerns about his health arose when he suffered a partial seizure during a speech on the House floor last year.

In a flip of the usual script for primary challengers, Bronin can lay claim to be the establishment candidate. He won the Democratic state party’s endorsement at a nominating convention earlier this year.

Darline Graham’s daughter casts first-ever vote — for her mother in Senate race

The interim senator and her 17-year-old daughter Nicole Nordone voted midday Tuesday at a Lexington County church.

“It was a hard choice,” Nicole said jokingly to her father, as they walked out of the voting area so that Darline Graham could speak with reporters.

After she fed her ballot into a reader machine, Graham told poll workers that she typically votes at another location. Many polling sites have been changed for Tuesday’s special election due to several factors, including classes beginning this week at many schools typically used for voting.

South Carolinians who are 17 years old but will be 18 before the general election can vote in primaries.

Former Rep. Sean Duffy’s son-in-law looks for a win in Duffy’s old congressional district

Michael Alfonso has leaned into his endorsement from Trump in the five-way Republican primary for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.

The 26-year-old Alfonso has faced blowback from some Republican leaders in the district who question whether he is too young and inexperienced for the job.

Alfonso is counting on Trump’s endorsement carrying the day in the deeply red district.

Duffy held the congressional seat from 2011 until 2019, when he resigned mid-term. He returned to politics last year when Trump tapped him to serve as transportation secretary. Alfonso is married to Duffy’s daughter, Evita Duffy.

Trump relied on Lindsey Graham in the Senate and has endorsed Darline Graham to replace him

After losing a top Senate advocate when the South Carolina Republican suddenly died, Trump has angled to play a role in picking his replacement, too.

Trump heralded the selection of Darline Graham as “a fabulous tribute” to serve as her brother’s interim replacement. And he urged her to run in the special primary, endorsing Graham before she’d made her candidacy official.

In forging a relationship with Darline Graham, Trump could be angling to develop another ally to help steer his agenda through the Senate.

So far, Darline Graham has been doing just that. Repeatedly stressing to voters her intent to support Trump’s policy positions, she often references in particular her co-sponsorship of a voting bill that’s become a key priority for the president.

Trump relied on Lindsey Graham in the Senate and has endorsed Darline Graham to replace him.

Darline Graham has gone from political sibling to interim senator and candidate in special primary

She had already been known as Lindsey Graham’s sister and lifelong supporter, but since her brother’s death a month ago, Darline Graham has been thrust into the political spotlight.

A day after the late senator’s sudden death was announced, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster named Darline Graham to serve the remaining months on his current term, which expires in January. She was sworn in the next day and took his spot on powerful committees, including Judiciary.

Days later, Darline Graham was among the candidates jumping into a special GOP primary to replace her late brother on November ballots. She’s appeared at various stump events and one debate, although Senate business kept her off the campaign trail as other hopefuls traversed the state.

Minnesota’s Senate primary is another Democratic factional fight of moderates vs. progressives

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig has support from the party’s establishment, while Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is backed by prominent figures on the left including Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The primary will again take the temperature of Democratic voters a week after progressive Abdul El-Sayed won a bitter and divisive primary in Michigan that fired up the left and fueled anxiety among party leaders that Democrats will alienate moderate swing voters.

Craig says her record of winning repeatedly in a battleground House district will ensure the seat stays in Democratic hands. Flanagan says Craig hasn’t stood firm enough against President Donald Trump and wealthy donors.

Voters for progressive Francesca Hong dismiss electability concerns

Wisconsin voter Jesse Heer said Hong understands “what it’s like to live here and have to afford to live here.”

Heer, a 32-year-old business owner from Madison, said Hong’s focus on affordability issues was the top reason he voted for her. And he’s not buying the argument from other Democrats, including Hong’s more moderate challenger, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, that she will have a harder time winning in the general election.

“I think she’s a good candidate,” Heer said. “I think a lot of people agree.”

Hong voter Kelly McClurg, 40, of Sun Prairie, says Hong has shown “she’ll be able to push back more” on issues that Democrats care about, like affordability.

McClurg said if fellow Democrats believe in her, and don’t assume she can’t beat Republican Tom Tiffany, “she can win.”

Wisconsin Democratic voters who are divided in the primary say they will unite

Wisconsin voters who cast their ballots Tuesday for the gubernatorial candidate favored by more mainstream Democrats say they are confident the party will unite even if the progressive challenger wins.

David Zimmerman, a 79-year-old retired industrial engineering professor, voted for Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. Crowley is endorsed by Gov. Tony Evers and is seen as the pick of more moderate Democrats.

Zimmerman says he worries “a lot” about progressive candidate Francesca Hong’s ability to defeat Republican Tom Tiffany in November.

“I think she’s going to have trouble winning,” Zimmerman said.

But both Zimmerman and fellow Crowley voter Julie Martinson, 69, predict Democrats will come together even if Hong wins. They said they would vote for her in November.

“There’s no reason we can’t galvanize around her and get her in there,” Martinson said.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont seeks a rare third term

No Connecticut governor has served three consecutive terms in modern times. Former Republican Gov. John G. Rowland was elected to a third consecutive term in November 2002 but he resigned in 2004 amid a corruption scandal.

In Tuesday’s Democratic primary, Lamont, 72, takes on state Rep. Josh Elliott, 41, who is running left of the current governor.

One of two Democratic governors who attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Lamont has carefully chosen which issues to criticize the Republican president on. That tactic has prompted complaints from more liberal Democrats in Connecticut.

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This post has been updated to correct the ages of Lamont and Elliott. Lamont is 72, not 71. Elliott is 41, not 42.

Low turnout expected in Alabama special primary

The state is holding special primaries in four congressional districts after it won permission from the U.S. Supreme Court to change its congressional maps. The state tossed out the results of May primaries and scheduled the Tuesday special primaries using the new map.

Turnout for party primaries is typically low. It was 23% in the May primary and 10.7% for the June runoff. It is expected to be particularly low in a special late-summer primary, when people are unaccustomed to voting.

Six Republicans are seeking the GOP nomination in the redrawn 2nd Congressional District. The winner will challenge Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures in November.

Republican candidates and party officials have been trying to promote the special primary and get voters to the polls. The primaries will be decided without a runoff.

Polls are open for South Carolina’s special GOP primary to replace late Sen. Lindsey Graham

Polling places opened across the state at 7 a.m. EDT, and voters have until 7 p.m. to cast their ballots.

It’s only been two months since South Carolina voters made their picks in the primary elections in June. But Graham’s sudden death last month set into motion a special primary to pick a Republican replacement for the general election ballot in November.

Candidates have only had a matter of weeks to campaign.

There were three days of early voting last week, and Tuesday’s special election also coincides with the first day of school in some areas, so polling places have changed for many who typically are assigned to vote at schools for summertime primaries.

Polls open in Wisconsin with Democratic primary race for governor topping the ballot

The topsy turvy race pits democratic socialist Francesca Hong against the governor’s endorsed candidate David Crowley.

Hong has ridden a wave of support from liberals to bolster her insurgent campaign. Crowley had quit the race but got back in — with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement.

Crowley rejoined the race after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out last month amid a campaign finance scandal.

Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes had the highest name recognition after a 2022 U.S. Senate run, but he also dropped out less than two weeks before the primary amid questions about inappropriate behavior.

In the Republican primary for governor, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany has Trump’s endorsement and faces nominal opposition.

Progressives look to capitalize on the energy from El-Sayed’s win in Michigan

Progressive candidates for governor in Wisconsin and U.S. Senate in Minnesota are increasing the pressure on a Democratic establishment that has spent the year on its heels.

Today’s primaries come a week after Abdul El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s divisive and costly U.S. Senate primary. El-Sayed’s victory has energized the left while stoking fears among Democratic Party leaders that the shift to the left, particularly in battleground states like Michigan and Wisconsin, will make it more difficult to win in November.

Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

4 crew members and 2 allied fighters killed, Yemen says

Six people were killed Tuesday by Houthis firing missiles on a vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, Yemeni authorities said.

Yemen's coast guard said the dead included four crew members and two members of the government-allied National Resistance Forces. Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at the Yemeni commercial vessel, according to the Transportation Ministry of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

They are the first known deaths from Houthi attacks on shipping off Yemen in the latest bout of fighting in the Arab country.

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut down by Iran, there has been a renewed focus on the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb strait at Yemen’s southern tip, which is an alternate route for Saudi Arabia to ship its oil.

The deadly vessel strike came amid Houthi attacks on the government-held port city of Mokha on the Red Sea and other areas of the country. Dozens of government troops and civilians have been killed in attacks since last week, according to the Yemeni military.

The strikes are part of an escalation by the Houthis against government forces in Yemen and oil facilities in neighboring Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government, and the kingdom’s shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthi attacks could reignite Yemen’s civil war following a 2022 truce, and open a new front in the Middle East war.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthis’ chief negotiator and spokesperson, accused Saudi Arabia in a social media post of exploiting the ceasefire to tighten an air and sea blockade it imposed in 2015.

He said the Houthis are open for negotiations but any settlement must include lifting the blockade.

Iranian foreign minister underlines Tehran's demands

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters that the country had “astonished the whole world” in the war against the United States and Israel, proving “that it is a tough and invincible power.”

Iran has refused to back down on demands that the U.S. end its blockade of Iranian ports, lift sanctions on the Islamic Republic and fulfill other conditions before Tehran will consider reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran effectively closed the strait after Israel and the U.S. attacked the country on Feb. 28. Attacks on the key waterway — through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil supplies passed before the war — and uncertainty around its future have kept energy prices a major focus of U.S. politics ahead of November’s midterm elections.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday in an Oval Office exchange with reporters that the U.S. Navy’s blockade is preventing Iran from selling its oil on the international market, effectively choking the Iranian economy.

“Yeah, they can make trouble," Trump said, "but they’re broke.”

Pakistani official returns to Iran hoping to ease tensions with US

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi traveled Tuesday to Tehran for meetings with Iran's foreign minister and other officials.

Naqvi's visit aimed to encourage Iran to resume negotiations with the United States under an interim peace deal brokered by Pakistan in June, two officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted photos from his meeting with Naqvi on his private Telegram channel.

It is Naqvi's sixth trip to Iran as part of Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between Iran and the U.S.

—Munir Ahmed in Islamabad

Israel criticized at UN meeting over West Bank violence

Five European nations on the Security Council called a meeting Tuesday as Britain’s new U.N. Ambassador Sarah MacIntosh condemned escalating violence across the West Bank, calling settler attacks on Palestinian villages, some alongside Israeli soldiers, “appalling.”

Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour said Israeli annexation of Palestinian territory is already “underway -- brutally and relentlessly.” He urged international action to chart a path for Palestinian self-determination and “freedom.”

Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon responded by saying: “Israel condemns all violence against Israelis and Palestinians” and ”does not tolerate extremism – we confront it.”

Danon said “extremist attacks" by Israelis are declining and accused council members of ignoring “rising” attacks by Palestinians.

Former Syrian President Assad sentenced to death in absentia

In Syria, a court sentenced former President Bashar Assad along with his younger brother to death for crimes against humanity and war crimes during Syria’s 14-year conflict that left about half a million people dead.

Assad and his brother Maher, who fled to Russia after insurgents marched into Damascus in December 2024, were sentenced in absentia at the Fourth Criminal Court in the Syrian capital.

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This story has been corrected to state that Bashar and Maher Assad fled to Russia in 2024, not 2014.

Now is not that time.

While the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback is trying to soak in every moment of what he says will be his 22nd and final NFL training camp, he doesn't sound like someone who thinks he needs to be on the field when the Steelers host Green Bay in their exhibition opener on Thursday night.

“It's not real football,” Rodgers said.

At least, not “real” compared to what things will look like when the games start to count in September. Most defenses are vanilla. Most offenses too. The four-time MVP understands August is still a valuable time of year, just not for someone who has been in the league nearly as long as some of his teammates — backup quarterbacks Drew Allar (22) and Will Howard (24) — have been alive.

“I think preseason football is good to see guys with pads on, under the lights, how they react to the nerves,” he said.

Nerves that Rodgers once had himself. He remembers running onto the field as a rookie with Green Bay in 2005 and trying desperately to keep his breathing under control. He failed as much as he succeeded.

Back then, the goal was to make sure he could hear the play coming through the headset so he could repeat it with conviction in the huddle. And that was the easy part.

The challenge was then walking to the line of scrimmage and “trying to remember what else is going on in the play and who’s got what.”

Those jitters eventually subsided. It took a while, but they're long since gone. It's why he feels the Steelers will be better served with Rodgers watching from the sideline with a headset on while Howard — who didn't take a live snap last year after getting hurt early in camp — and Allar do the majority of the work.

Rodgers described the first game as traditionally “hectic,” one of many reasons his preference is to be in sweatpants offering perspective.

“I like to be the voice of reason, tell the occasional dad joke or one-liner,” he said. “Just help everybody settle in a little bit.”

Mike McCarthy, in his first season coaching his hometown team, played a little coy about whether he'll ask Rodgers to see a little game action, though McCarthy might have tipped his hand a bit when he said he'd divide the offense into three groups.

One group will handle the first couple of series. The second will play until halftime, with the third taking over for the final two quarters.

The math is pretty easy. Pittsburgh currently has four quarterbacks — Rodgers, Howard, Allar and Mason Rudolph — on the roster. Only one of them has operated a McCarthy offense in a game, and it's the one who will turn 43 in December.

“Frankly, the most important part is the health of the team,” McCarthy said. “That drives these decisions. That’s where you tend to maybe pull back and maybe not play the veteran or the older guys in those situations. You just lean on their experience.”

McCarthy is well-versed in what Rodgers can do. Howard and Allar remain very much works in progress and could have the opportunity to be a long-term part of Pittsburgh's future. They'll take their first real steps in that direction on Thursday, and Rodgers wants to help make sure those steps are more assured than tentative.

“Quarterback, just like all things, can be overcomplicated to make it seem more difficult than it might be sometimes,” he said. “It’s not easy, but you can simplify things, and that’s what I’m trying to help with.”

Rodgers' most recent preseason snaps came three years ago during the first of his brief two-season stint with the New York Jets. He was “open” to doing it last summer in Pittsburgh, though former head coach Mike Tomlin opted to hold him out. The decision looked like the right one when Rodgers threw for four touchdowns in a Week 1 win over his old team.

Rodgers was still finding his way back then. Now, he's far more familiar with the personnel around him and his reunion with McCarthy means he's ending his career in the same system where he began it a generation ago.

It's why he believes the real growth during camp comes on the practice field. He likes what he's seen so far, which is part of why he's just fine letting others get chased around by opponents during the waning days of summer.

“I think we’re right where I’d like to be,” he said. “I think we’re ahead of where we were last year. I think you’re seeing guys take some steps and then play with confidence.”

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

Existing home sales fell 1.7% last month from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. That’s slightly above the 4.05 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

July sales, however, were up 0.7% compared with last year.

Home prices continued to rise, hitting unprecedented levels for the month of July, NAR said. The U.S. median sales price increased 2% from a year earlier, to $434,100.

In June, the median sales price hit $442,800, an all-time high for any month on data going back to 1999, NAR said. Home prices have risen on an annual basis for 37 months in a row.

Last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported that the benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.69%, its highest level in just over a year. It was the fifth consecutive week that the average rate rose, marking the latest strain for prospective homebuyers who are facing steep borrowing costs.

It is difficult to find good news about the U.S. housing market from the July report, said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics.

“No one who has a home already can afford to sell it,” said Weinberg. “People with ultra-low COVID-era mortgages cannot afford to give them up. If no one is selling, no one can be buying, and inventories are low.”

Home sales have been mostly hovering close to a 4-million annual pace for about three years, far short of the historic norm that is closer to 5.2 million.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes were essentially flat last year, stuck at a 30-year low.

Sales remain sluggish as mortgage rates have mostly trended higher in the months since the war between the U.S. and Iran started. Expectations of higher inflation amid surging oil prices have pushed up the long-term bond yields that lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans, causing mortgage rates to climb.

Home inventory levels also remain well below historical norms.

There were 1.54 million unsold homes at the end of last month, down 1.9% from June and 0.6% less than July last year, NAR said. That’s well short of the roughly 2 million homes for sale that was typical before the COVID-19 pandemic.

July’s month-end inventory translates to a 4.6-month supply at the current sales pace. Traditionally, a 5- to 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

Regionally, prices in the Northeast continue to rise faster than the rest of the country, jumping 5.2% year-over-year, driven by a shortage of inventory.

NAR said that 29% of sales were first-time homebuyers, down from 33% in June but up slightly from 28% in July 2025. Historically, first-time buyers make up closer to 40% of home sales.

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella said at least 181 people died in the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck Monday. He said around 2,595 more were injured and at least 195 remained missing. Civilian-run databases suggest the number of missing could be as high as 3,800.

De la Espriella also said 1,136 homes were destroyed and yet more damaged.

Authorities said the deaths were concentrated in cities including Cali, Pereira, Manizales and Quibdo, but local leaders and families worried about casualties and damage in rural areas, from where very little information has emerged.

Soldiers, rescue personnel and families picked through the rubble on Tuesday, passing large pieces of concrete by hand along lines of volunteers.

Standing near the remains of his brother’s collapsed apartment building in Pereira, Jairo Vargas said he made the 220-kilometer (135-mile) drive from Medellin, hoping to find him alive.

“I’m absolutely certain he’s here. Absolutely certain," Vargas said, adding that his brother’s car was still parked outside. But he fears his sibling did not survive.

“The debris surrounding my brother is soft,” he said, as heavy machinery rumbled through the debris. “It’s possible that it’s protecting him, but we can’t hear any noises anymore. I don’t know. I have little hope.”

Colombia's new president faces his first serious challenge

The earthquake presents the first major test for first-time officeholder de la Espriella, who entered office just days before the natural disaster. The leader, who split the country in recent elections, now seeks to unite Colombia in its disaster response.

That challenge was particularly notable in Choco, the region surrounding the quake’s epicenter. It is one of Colombia's poorest and most neglected regions, often beset by warring armed groups. Much of Choco is accessible only by boat, through the jungle or by airplane.

Sterling Palacios, a religious and environmental leader in rural parts of the region, said Choco's capital was devastated along with smaller communities dotting the Atrato River, the region's most important throughway.

Homes there have been reduced to rubble and aftershocks continued to rumble, terrifying residents who slept in the streets overnight.

“There are towns where people have lost everything, where people have died, where homes have been destroyed,” he said. “We don’t have a full panorama of the damage, but we know it’s been massive.”

De la Espriella traveled to Quibdo in Choco on Monday night where he announced he was mobilizing “the entire military and police apparatus,” as well as deploying engineers, rescue workers and search dogs.

“Choco will never again be the ‘land of the forgotten,’” he said.

Palacios said the government's response has so far been “concentrated in the capital,” and that authorities flew the wounded from Quibdo to hospitals in the city of Medellín.

The biggest challenge, he said, remains towns in rural areas only reachable by boat — journeys that can take hours or days. That response is also complicated by a toxic slate of armed groups warring for control of the region who, during the COVID-19 pandemic, blocked health care workers from traveling to remote areas.

He said it could take locals and officials weeks to get a full scope of the devastation there.

“It's a risk and it's very difficult to predict” what could happen, he said.

Desperate residents seek news of their loved ones

Families posted information about missing loved ones on citizen-run websites.

Dana Carolina Zamora posted an image of her missing 60-year-old uncle, Miguel Ángel Zamora, cradling his dog. The farmer was living in a rural area of El Cairo, not far from the quake's epicenter in San Jose Del Palmar.

Local authorities said 80% of El Cairo, a town of about 7,000 people, was damaged. Zamora said her uncle lived in a traditional house of sticks and mud.

“We are afraid. We hope that is not the case, that he is all right and that it is only a communication failure. But we haven’t heard anything from him,” Zamora said.

The earthquake left many people unnerved after back-to-back quakes devastated neighboring Venezuela in late June, destroying hundreds of buildings and killing more than 6,300 people.

Mónica Sánchez owns a small company that makes work uniforms. Her home city, Pereira, was one of the worst hit, and a wall inside the factory collapsed. Sánchez and her 12 workers got outside just in time.

“It was shocking — the city fell down around us,” she said.

Pereira’s municipal government said at least 58 buildings collapsed, while Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said at least 40 buildings had collapsed.

Both cities enforced curfews Monday night to prevent looting. And in Pereira, the city government has banned privately owned vehicles from circulating, to clear the way for ambulances, police and rescue workers.

The U.S. State Department has announced it would provide $15.5 million for emergency shelter, food and other aid. Governments across Latin America have also lined up to help.

“This has been a tragedy for the whole city, for thousands of families,” Pereira Mayor Mauricio Salazar told local media, his voice quavering. “But here we are, and we will continue forward with the hand of God.”

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Suarez reported from Bogota, Colombia, and Janetsky reported from Mexico City.

Jets coach Aaron Glenn said the 24-year-old Stiggers was conscious and talking on the field before being put on a stretcher and taken for further examination. There was no immediate word on Stiggers' condition, but Glenn indicated the cornerback was doing OK.

“He was able to talk and I want to make sure I go and see him after this, just to make sure I'm good with everything,” Glenn said. “But for the most part, he was good.”

The Jets and Buccaneers were in the middle of special teams drills when Glenn said Stiggers came to the sideline.

“He actually fell out,” Glenn said. “The good thing is, he was conscious. Our guys did a hell of a job, just like most medical staffs around this league do in situations like that, and they took the necessary steps just to make sure that we do everything we can to be on board when it comes to those situations.”

It was a somewhat scary scene, though, as several Jets teammates took a knee near the sideline and some formed a prayer circle. After several minutes, Stiggers was placed on a stretcher with what appeared to be an IV and loaded into the ambulance as fans seated near the area clapped in support.

“It was very sad, very emotional,” running back Breece Hall said. “You get on your knee and say a prayer for him and hope he’s OK."

Added defensive tackle Harrison Phillips: “What’s been shared to us is things are on the up and up.”

Practiced resumed after being halted for more than 10 minutes while Stiggers was being attended to.

Stiggers was earlier involved in one of the handful of chippy moments during the practice when he had his helmet flung down the field by a Buccaneers player after players on both teams scuffled.

Stiggers is entering his third season with the Jets after being a fifth-round draft pick in 2024. He was one of that draft's feel-good stories because he had no college football experience and was the first player drafted directly from the CFL, where he played for the Toronto Argonauts, since Miami took Jermaine Haley in 1999.

In 29 games, including five starts, with New York, Stiggers has 35 tackles, two fumble recoveries and three passes defensed. He is also one of the Jets' top special teams players.

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

Government data published overnight into Tuesday showed the outbreak has 4,381 confirmed cases, including 2,011 deaths. Starting from the first confirmed case, the death toll was reached almost three times faster than in the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the worst on record.

The current outbreak was declared on May 15 but health authorities now say sequencing showed it began months earlier, in February.

It took about nine weeks for the outbreak to record the first 1,000 deaths, but it’s taken just around three weeks for the figure to double, as experts say the crisis is moving faster than efforts to track and manage it.

At the epicenter in eastern Congo's Ituri province, friends and family members gathered in tears on Tuesday for the burial of Jeannine Katusabe, 38, one of the latest to die.

Christophe Logo, a family representative, said Katusabe first sought traditional treatment at home and only went to the local Ebola treatment center after her condition worsened. “Unfortunately, she did not recover,” he said.

Identifying cases early can be nearly ‘impossible’

This is already the second-largest outbreak in history, behind the 2014-2016 outbreak's over 28,000 cases including over 11,000 deaths. The outbreak has been expanding across five eastern provinces near South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda.

The ongoing outbreak has had a case fatality rate of 45.9%, more than the 39.6% rate recorded in the 2014-2016 outbreak.

This Ebola outbreak is unlike most previous ones. The rare Bundibugyo virus responsible for it has no approved vaccines or treatments. Clinical trials for those have begun in Ituri province.

Although the type of Ebola responsible for the 2014-2016 outbreak is considered the deadliest, government data shows this Bundibugyo outbreak has killed a higher percentage of people as care and support are not getting to patients quickly enough. Many people are reporting symptoms late or not at all.

“In the absence of an effective vaccine, control (for the outbreak) rests on identifying cases and then nursing them in secure facilities until they recover or sadly perish,” said Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia in the U.K.

In a remote region like this with an ongoing conflict and interrupted communications, routine surveillance can be very difficult and “identifying cases early enough to prevent spread can be impossible,” Hunter said.

Authorities in eastern Congo have restricted public gatherings and shut the main airport in Ituri to limit spread of the disease. But mass movements due to trade, mining and displacements from conflict have continued.

The response has been behind from the start

The World Health Organization on Monday said some cases early in the outbreak were wrongly attributed to malaria and typhoid, and that early testing was conducted for the more common type of Ebola, delaying the realization of what was unfolding

Officials are “chasing the virus, the virus is ahead of us," the WHO regional director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, told a news conference.

The new death toll is “alarming,” said Dr. Jean-Marie Akandabo, who is helping manage patients at a clinic in Ituri.

Akandabo said the major challenges he's seen are limited care for patients and poor community engagement. Some people have described widespread misinformation about the virus in sometimes hostile communities that long have been wary of outsiders after years of attacks by rebel groups.

“We must not take this disease lightly, because it continues to kill and no one is safe,” Akandabo said.

The current outbreak is the 17th — and largest — the Central African nation has faced. The first Ebola virus to be identified was in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now Congo.

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Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Associated Press writer Mark Banchereau contributed from Dakar, Senegal.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Tuesday because the team had not yet made the announcement.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell pledged to supervise a true competition for the job between the newcomer Murray and the incumbent McCarthy. While Murray had the majority of the turns with the first team, McCarthy had plenty of opportunities in open-to-the-public practices as well.

With Murray learning a new system and staff after spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, an earlier decision on the starter was always going to be ideal for him to maximize his time in training camp running the offense.

McCarthy was the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft. He mostly struggled in his debut last year, when a variety of injuries limited him to 10 starts. Carson Wentz was also re-signed for veteran depth.

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

Prompted by an Iranian assassination threat, Trump secretly flew out of last month’s NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on an alternate military aircraft while the White House made it appear he was with the press pool on Air Force One, according to a report published by The Washington Post.

Russia has released American military veteran Robert Gilman who spent more than four years in prison on disputed charges under abusive conditions and was said to be gravely ill and at risk of dying, a group advocating for him said Tuesday. Gilman was on his way to a U.S. military hospital in Texas, where he will be medically and psychologically assessed and treated.

The president’s media company has tried a half-dozen businesses to lift its stock, but nothing has worked. Now it’s getting back to its roots, telling investors Monday that Truth Social will focus on selling early high-speed access to his administration’s announcements on social media, a move raising ethical questions.

The Latest:

Democratic Rep. Raskin launches inquiry into failed prosecution of constituent in Reflecting Pool case

Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is launching an investigation into the Trump administration’s prosecution of former Olympian David Hearn over damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Prosecutor Jeanine Pirro dropped the case after acknowledging damage to the pool was caused by a botched installation rather than vandalism. Trump then publicly rebuked Pirro, saying she “folded like an umbrella.”

In letters Tuesday, Raskin seeks records from the Justice and Interior departments on the decision to prosecute Hearn, a Maryland resident who lives in Raskin’s district. Raskin also seeks communications with the White House and evidence presented to the grand jury.

“At a minimum,” he wrote, “it appears that members of the Trump Administration were ready and willing to imprison an innocent American for a decade in a desperate effort to soothe an ex-landlord’s wounded ego about a terrible paint job and wasteful contract.”

Emails seeking comment were left Tuesday with Pirro’s office and the Interior Department.

Trump administration says more oil is flowing through Strait of Hormuz

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on social media that nearly 9 million barrels of oil a day are getting shipped through the Strait of Hormuz — as the administration is suggesting that the supply pressures tied to the Iran war are easing.

Wright said that along with additional oil flowing through pipelines total oil flows from the region are averaging roughly 15 million barrels a day.

U.S. oil futures prices remain above the pre-war levels, with a barrel trading on Tuesday afternoon at $83. The Trump administration has tapped the strategic petroleum reserve to steady the market and that reserve last week fell below 300 million barrels, down by more than 100 million barrels since the start of 2026.

Wright is setting expectations that oil will keep going through the strait.

Trump announces release of American detained in Russia, says no prisoner swap took place

The U.S. president said Tuesday that Robert Gilman, a Marine veteran who was detained in 2022, is being released on a “humanitarian basis” after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We appreciate this decision, and the fact that Russia asked for no one in return — No exchange took place,” Trump said in a social media post on Tuesday.

Gilman is scheduled to land at Andrews Air Force Base just outside of Washington, D.C. on Tuesday night, Trump said. He is being accompanied on the plane back to the U.S. by his mother, Nancy.

“I just spoke to him, and he had one request — A GREAT cheeseburger when he lands,” Trump said in his post. “I will take care of that!”

Sen. Ed Markey: Gilman’s return was long overdue

“It is a tragedy that it took Robert’s near-death condition for his case to receive the attention that it required for his release to be negotiated,” Markey said in the statement from Global Reach.

“Throughout his detention, Robert was subjected to physical torture, forced medication, and provocations by Russian authorities. There is no doubt that his treatment by Russian authorities is the reason Robert is in this precarious state today.”

State Department: Other Americans should be released as well

The State Department said that Gilman had been determined recently to have been wrongfully detained, and was released on humanitarian grounds.

This “was not part of an exchange, and no other concessions were provided,” the department said. It called Gilman’s release “a welcome step that we hope leads to the release of Americans unjustly held in Russia, such as wrongful detainee Stephen Hubbard.”

Gilman’s sister: ‘Why did they do this to such a wonderful person?’

Gilman’s sister, Lexie Hudson, credited President Donald Trump and Sen. Ed Markey for the former Marine’s release.

“There is no other reason that Robert is alive today other than that President Trump heard about the case and took action,” said Hudson, who thanked Markey in the statement from Global Reach “for leading our advocacy efforts in Congress.”

“The Russians treated my brother so badly,” Hudson said. “They hurt him for no reason, other than that he was both an American and a Marine. What did they get out of this? Why did they do this to such a wonderful person?”

Released American’s family flew to Texas to meet him, advocates say

Robert Gilman’s mother had been in Russia, attempting to see him there. Gilman had been in “a dissociative stupor” for 47 days due to the abuse he has suffered in prison, and was moved to a civilian hospital, where he was hooked up to a feeding tube and handcuffed to a bed, aid Eric ‌Lebson, chief strategy officer of Global Reach.

Now he’ll be medically and psychologically assessed and treated at a U.S. military hospital, Lebson said.

The 32-year-old teacher was convicted of beating a police officer after being taken off a train for causing a disturbance, and his sentence was extended last year to 10 years after he was found guilty of assaulting prison guards.

Sen. Edward Markey had called on Russia and the U.S. to work together to release the Massachusetts resident, one of at least 8 Americans who remained in Russian custody after a series of high-profile prisoner exchanges.

Former US Marine held in Russia for over 4 years has been released after group warned he was gravely ill

A former U.S. Marine who has been held in Russia for more than four years on disputed charges has been released, his advocates said Tuesday, days after warning he was gravely ill and at risk of dying.

Robert Gilman, a 32-year-old teacher detained since 2022, was on his way to a U.S. military hospital in Texas, according to Eric ‌Lebson, chief strategy officer of Global Reach, a group that’s been working to free him and other American detainees abroad.

Russian attacks kill 10 in Ukraine as Zelenskyy says Moscow is getting more North Korean missiles

Russia attacked Ukrainian cities with missiles, drones and glide bombs Tuesday, killing at least 10 civilians, officials said, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow is getting more North Korean help to extend its 4-year invasion.

Zelenskyy said Russian forces used ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea in the overnight attack, and is preparing to deploy more North Korean troops to Russia. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un already sent thousands of troops and huge supplies of weapons to support Putin’s invasion.

Now Ukraine says Russia aims to exploit Kyiv’s critical shortage of Patriot air defense interceptors, which worsened after U.S. diplomacy to end the war fizzled and Washington turned its attention to the Iran war.

“Every step Russia takes — increasing ballistic missile production, bringing in North Korean equipment, preparing for mobilization — all of this shows that Moscow is preparing not for peace, but for escalation,” Zelenskyy said on social media.

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Trump told Ukraine it had no cards. Then Kyiv took the war to Russia

When Trump told the Ukrainian president in the Oval Office last year that he had “no cards” in the fight against Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy already had a bold plan to take the fight deep inside Russian territory.

While Trump was warmly welcoming President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and encouraging Ukraine to accept an unfavorable peace deal, Ukraine was smuggling drones for an attack that destroyed Russian bombers worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

And since then, Kyiv’s campaign of longer-range strikes has targeted Russian air defenses, oil infrastructure and military suppliers, embarrassing Putin and impressing Trump. When Trump and Zelenskyy met at a NATO summit in July, the American president said the Ukrainian leader had “been very effective” in the war.

An Associated Press analysis shows how Ukraine has shifted the narrative about the war in Washington, but it’s still not clear if it will be able to push Putin toward the negotiating table.

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Houthi rebels attack vessel in Bab el-Mandeb, killing four

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels fired missiles on a vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday and killed four people, Yemeni authorities said.

The transportation ministry of Yemen’s internationally recognized government said the dead included three Pakistani nationals and an Indonesian.

The ministry statement said the Houthis fired three ballistic missiles on the Yemeni commercial vessel, and then fired another missile that targeted rescue teams, wounding a Yemeni rescuer.

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut down by Iran, there has been a renewed focus on the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait at Yemen’s southern tip, which is an alternate route for Saudi Arabia to ship its oil.

Congressional Democrats probe alleged coordination between ICE and Iran to deport detainees

Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Adam Schiff are requesting access to all potential communications between two private immigration detention centers and Iranian diplomats, according to two letters shared with The Associated Press.

Iranian asylum seekers sued last month, alleging that the Department of Homeland Security endangered them by sharing details of their application records with the Iranian government.

The applicants said they were forced to meet with Iranian Interests Section officials who had confidential information about their claims of persecution in Iran for converting to Christianity, for their sexuality or for participating in the Women, Life, Freedom protests against the Iranian government, according to court filings.

“These allegations that ICE shared asylum application records with the Iranian government are FALSE,” a DHS statement said.

In rejecting Trump’s Gaza plan, Netanyahu reprises a balancing act he has mastered

It’s possibly the most important job of any Israeli prime minister: maintain good relations with the United States while pushing back on demands seen as undermining Israel’s security.

No one has managed the balancing act longer than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader.

But with the Iran war at a stalemate, and U.S. President Donald Trump looking to advance peace efforts elsewhere, Netanyahu’s task is getting harder less than three months away from Israeli elections.

On Sunday, Netanyahu rejected Trump’s latest plan to advance the stalled ceasefire in Gaza, saying Israel will not withdraw from any of the roughly 60% of the territory it controls until Hamas has been completely disarmed — something the militant group controlling the other 40% has long resisted.

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Houthis hit Red Sea port city, threatening regional shipping

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels renewed attacks Tuesday on government-controlled areas in Yemen as the violence threatened to reignite civil war and raised fears over new threats to regional shipping lanes.

Yemen’s military said the rebels targeted the government-held port city of Mokha and the central province of Marib with missiles and drones but did not provide further details. The Houthis also hit Mokha with missiles and drones over the weekend and killed at least seven people, it said.

The escalation by the Houthis against government forces in Yemen and oil facilities in neighboring Saudi Arabia aims to threaten the kingdom’s alternative route for shipping its oil. The attacks could reignite Yemen’s civil war following a 2022 truce, and open a new front in the Middle East war.

Iran and Germany’s foreign ministers describe their call

Iran’s Abbas Araghchi said on his Telegram channel that in a call with Germany’s Johann Wadephul late Monday, he had “emphasized that making the Strait of Hormuz secure requires an end to the United States’ aggressive actions and unlawful interventions, including the naval blockade and other violations of U.S. obligations.”

Wadephul said on X that he had emphasized “the Strait of Hormuz needs to be opened unconditionally ensuring free and safe navigation for all.”

Iranian foreign minister underlines Tehran’s demands

Iran’s foreign minister says Tehran is insisting that the Strait of Hormuz won’t be reopened until the U.S. meets its conditions, after Trump said he wants compensation from Iran “for all of the people that they have killed” in the past.

Abbas Araghchi told reporters that Iran has “astonished the whole world” in the war against the United States and Israel, proving “that it is a tough and invincible power.”

Iran effectively closed the strait by threatening shipping after Israel and the U.S. attacked the country on Feb. 28.

Oil prices jumped, gasoline over $4 after Trump’s latest Iran war comments

Oil prices are settling in a state of uncertainty about when the Strait of Hormuz will reopen to global energy supplies, after jumping about 7.5% since Trump scoffed at Iranian demands for compensation for war damage.

Motor club AAA says the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline ticked up overnight to $4.01.

Brent crude oil was trading at about $87.61 a barrel early Tuesday, and U.S. benchmark crude at $82.19. Shares of major U.S. oil companies — including Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips — were close to unchanged after jumping 4.5% on Monday.

Higher oil prices mean consumers pay more for all manner of products as companies pay more for fuel to produce and transport goods. Accordingly, the main event for Wall Street this week will be Wednesday’s update on U.S. inflation.

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Former Air Force Secretary says he’ll sue Trump administration to restore his security clearance

Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall on Monday said he’ll sue to force the Trump administration to restore his security clearance, which it revoked Friday after claiming he had disclosed sensitive information about the Qatari-gifted jet now serving as Air Force One.

Kendall, a West Point graduate who served as President Joe Biden’s head of the Air Force, said on CNN Monday that he’ll sue the administration, noting it has a history of retaliating against critics by stripping their clearances. “As my mother taught me years ago, you stand up to bullies,” said Kendall, who has denied disclosing classified information.

Mark Zaid, a prominent national security attorney who sued the administration after his own clearance was revoked by the Trump administration, confirmed in a post on X that Kendall had hired him. “More to come,” Zaid wrote.

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As Trump Media scraps some businesses, it’s doubling down on Truth Social and the president

The president’s media company has tried its hand at a half-dozen new lines of business to lift its stock, but nothing has worked. Now it’s getting back to its roots.

In a conference call with investors Monday, the company behind Truth Social said it will be unwinding much of its expansion and doubling down on its original media business by selling a form of White House access, a move that has raised big ethical questions among Democrats and government watchdogs.

Trump started Truth Social after he was kicked off Twitter and Facebook, but the two reinstated him more than three years ago, so the company has had to transform itself. Instead of a “free speech” forum, it now acts more like a “hear it here first” site, a second White House press office where people get scoops from the president on everything from the Iran war to tariffs to the future of the U.S. central bank.

But shares of the parent company, Trump Media & Technology, kept falling so it decided to become more than a media company and branched into unrelated industries like online betting, finance, investment funds, buying and storing bitcoin and nuclear energy.

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Trump used elaborate ruse to fly out of Turkey following summit because of Iran threat, report says

Catering trucks are parked at Air Force One on the tarmac as the motorcade carrying U.S. President Donald Trump arrives on the tarmac to depart following the NATO summit at Ankara International Airport in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump secretly flew out of last month’s NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on an alternate military aircraft while the White House made it appear that the Republican president was flying on Air Force One, according to a report published by The Washington Post on Monday.

The Post said the operation was prompted by an Iranian assassination threat against Trump. The ruse was carried out as journalists and some White House staff members were led to believe they were on the same plane as the president as he began his journey back to Washington from the annual gathering of NATO country leaders.

The Post cited material reviewed by the newspaper, a U.S. official familiar with the operation and another person with knowledge of the president’s travel. The Associated Press has not independently confirmed the report.

The White House did not respond directly to questions about the Post report of the secret operation to whisk Trump out of the country on a third aircraft, or the reported elaborate ruse to make it appear he was on the baby blue Air Force One jet flying to Mildenhall.

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Trump pivots back to sanctions for Iran as other strategies to end his war fizzle

The Trump administration is hoping that months of bombing have pushed Iran’s economy to a breaking point that will force its leadership to cave to demands to end its nuclear program and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil and natural gas tankers.

The president on Monday said that since Iran is seeking compensation as part of any peace talks, he now intends to demand the same for the U.S. side. It’s part of a larger pivot this weekend by Trump to argue that Iran is now on the cusp of financially collapsing, even though it has already endured decades of financial sanctions, which are often a longer-term strategy rather than an immediate tool of warfare that can halt a conflict.

The shift comes as U.S. stockpiles of key weapons have dwindled and as stop-start talks seem again to have stalled. But Trump insists the pressure can lead to a breakthrough.

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Superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez was joined by school board member Alicia Farrant and Florida Education Commissioner Dr. Henry Mack for the first day of classes.

For Vazquez, the occasion carried added significance — it marks her final first day as superintendent. She plans to retire at the end of the school year.

Vazquez, appointed in 2022, reflected on the district’s progress during her tenure.

“I think we can point to a lot of things that we have improved. Not just our school grade, not just our scores, but expanding choice options,” Vazquez said.

The celebration came as Orange County is among several Florida districts grappling with budget challenges driven, in part, by declining enrollment.

[WATCH: Orange County bus driver shortage may leave parents scrambling to get kids to school]

The district has cited declining birthrates, housing trends, federal immigration policies and expansion of Florida’s school voucher program as contributing factors to the drop in student enrollment.

Mack said empowering parents to choose the best education option for their child — while also strengthening public schools — remains a priority.

“We can have both excellent public schools and choice, across the board,” Mack said. “I think it’s an opportunity for the superintendent and the school district to be innovative, to be disruptive, and to not take our foot off the gas.”

Orange County has worked to promote magnet schools, academies and specialty programs available within the public school system.

Melissa Stoby, a parent of two children at Pershing School, said she is confident in her family’s decision to stay in public school and is optimistic heading into the new year.

“I’m rooting for the public education system to succeed, and if it’s working for my children, and it really is, we’re going to support it,” Stoby said.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3%, slipping further away from its all-time high set on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 100 points, or 0.2%, as of 1:32 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.6%.

The action was more unsettled in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude briefly jumped above $90 in the morning before falling back below $87. It was most recently at $88.77, up 1.2% from Monday’s settlement price.

Such swings have become typical since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in late February, which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and kept much of the world’s oil pent up in the Middle East. Last month alone, Brent’s price veered between $72 and $102 per barrel.

Higher oil prices make inflation worse, and they’ve sent the average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline to $4.01, according to AAA. That’s up from less than $3.14 a year ago, though it’s down from last week’s nearly $4.09.

That has Wall Street’s attention focused on Wednesday, when the U.S. government will release the latest monthly reading on inflation. Economists expect it to show inflation remains high but that it decelerated to 3.4% in July from 3.5% in June.

That could help the Federal Reserve, whose members are notably split on whether they should be raising the country’s interest rates to keep a lid on inflation. While higher rates could help slow the increases of prices on store shelves, they would also slow the overall U.S. economy by making it more expensive for U.S. households and businesses to borrow money. They would also undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

Traders are betting on a coin flip’s chance that the Fed will raise its main interest rate at its next meeting in September, according to data from CME Group. If it does, that would be the first increase in more than three years. It also could anger President Donald Trump, who has been lobbying for lower interest rates.

Treasury yields have jumped since the war with Iran because of higher oil prices and worries about inflation, sending long-term mortgage rates to their highest levels in a year.

The 10-year Treasury yield eased back Tuesday, falling to 4.69% from 4.72% late Monday. But it remains well above its 3.97% level from before the war with Iran.

On Wall Street, Cardinal Health rose 0.9% after becoming the latest big U.S. company to report a stronger profit for the spring than analysts expected.

Businesses have blown past analysts’ forecasts, which Wall Street loves because stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term.

Aramark, the food company and facilities manager, rallied 8.9% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

They helped offset a drop of 20.1% for On Holding. The Swiss sneaker company also topped analysts' forecasts for profit in the latest quarter. But it gave a forecast for upcoming revenue that fell short of analysts' expectations, while saying it does not want to slash prices to drum up more sales.

Intel slipped 0.4% after it said it would sell $20 billion of its stock at $95 per share. That’s up from the $15 billion that it said it would sell the day before, and such moves dilute the ownership stakes of people who already own Intel stock.

Intel plans to use the cash it’s raising for investments to take advantage of the boom in demand for artificial-intelligence technology.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe following a mixed finish in Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.1% for one of the world’s bigger moves.

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

Drone strikes continued on Tuesday, hitting the town's power plant and oil refinery, the state-run National Oil Corporation said.

The attacks underscored the fragile state of security at Libya's critical infrastructure. In the country's east, in the city of Benghazi, a car bomb killed a senior military officer with a self-styled military force on Monday, the latest such bombing in the violence-stricken North African nation.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for either the drone strikes in the town of Zawiya, about 47 kilometers (about 30 miles) west of the capital of Tripoli, or the Benghazi bombing.

Monday's first drone strike ignited a massive blaze at the refinery's gasoline-storage tank that burned through the night and into Tuesday afternoon, according to the Civil Defense, a first responders agency. There were no reports of casualties, health authorities said.

Footage aired by local media showed massive flames and fireballs erupting from the tank, with black and orange smoke rising in the sky as firefighters sprayed what appeared to be foam or water in efforts to extinguish the blaze.

As the firefighters fought the flames, another drone hit close to a key oil tank nearby but did not cause any casualties, the company said. It said the tank, which held 4.5 million liters of fuel when it was hit, collapsed and the company declared a state of maximum emergency at the facility.

On Tuesday, two drones hit the town's power plant, with one damaging its firefighting system while the second landed close to the facility’s main fuel storage, setting it on fire. The national oil company said firefighters quickly got that fire under control and there were no casualties.

Oil infrastructure in Zawiya — which houses critical energy infrastructure, including Libya's largest oil refinery, an export terminal and a power plant — has come under frequent attacks, including over the weekend when the national oil company said drones hit a fuel tank and a desalination plant linked to the oil facilities. It said the tank was damaged.

By late Tuesday evening, the national oil company said all the fires had been extinguished.

The attacks come as tensions are rising between the government of western Libya and warlord Mohamed Bahroun who controls the city of Zawiya. Much of western Libya is ruled by local militias loosely allied to Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah's government in Tripoli.

Jalel Harchaoui, an analyst affiliated with the Royal United Services Institute in London, said the warlord has been cornered by the government and his forces “are likely to resort to desperate measures.”

The Benghazi bombing on Monday evening killed a senior officer with the forces of powerful commander Khalifa Hifter. Maj. Gen. Fawzy al-Mansouri, director of the military intelligence of Hifter’s self-styled Libyan National Army, was killed when an explosive-laden vehicle detonated near his car in the Sayyida Aisha neighborhood in Benghazi, the LNA said.

The LNA is allied with one of Libya’s two rival governments, which controls the country’s eastern and southern parts.

Libya, a largely lawless Mediterranean country, has been plunged into chaos and division following the 2011 uprising-turned-civil war, which toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Amid the chaos, militias grew in wealth and power, particularly in Tripoli and the western part of the country.

The country has been divided for years between rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments. Currently, it is governed by Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah’s government in the west and by the administration of Prime Minister Ossama Hammad in the east.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who is to arrive in Libya for a visit this week, is due to visit both Tripoli and Benghazi.

Transportation Director Orville Watson told News 6 on Monday that the cameras are on the way.

“As far as the stop-arm enforcement cameras, that is still in the works but that will be coming down the pipe, but we are working on ensuring that is deployed efficiently,” Watson said.

The School District of Osceola County is set to vote on entering into a contract with Verra Mobility for the bus stop-arm cameras during its meeting on Tuesday.

Verra Mobility is the same contractor currently operating school zone speed detection cameras in Osceola County — cameras that have been offline since November 2025 due to legal challenges.

[WATCH: School is back in Osceola County. How the district is managing getting kids to class]

The district is looking to “piggyback” on an existing contract Lake County already has with Verra Mobility for its school buses, believing it is the best option.

Parent Albert Morales says he supports the move.

“I’m all for any safety regarding our children and considering that I have a child that goes here, I’m definitely pro that. So, I think it’s I think it’s a good idea, actually,” Morales said.

“Our children’s safety is the priority. So, I just think it’s extremely vital that us, as parents, just as people in general, are very attentive to that for the safety of our children.”

The stop-arm cameras, already in use in several other Florida counties, capture drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses.

In Brevard County, 18,000 violation notices were issued during the program’s first year, generating $1.3 million in fines.

Similar to the school zone speed cameras, recordings captured by the bus stop-arm cameras would be reviewed by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office before a ticket is issued to the vehicle’s owner.

The 26-year-old Rice was booked into a Dallas County jail on May 19 for violating the terms of his probation, which stemmed from his role in a car crash that left multiple people injured on a Texas highway. He'd had surgery about a week before the sentence to clean up debris in his right knee, which had been causing inflammation throughout much of last season.

Rice was released in June, and he resumed his rehab work alongside Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes — who was rehabbing after his own surgery to repair torn knee ligaments — at their training facility in Kansas City leading into the start of training camp.

“It was tough. It was mentally tough,” Rice said of the jail stint Tuesday, the first time the wide receiver has spoken publicly about his offseason. “They gave me ways to communicate with my teammates as well as my athletic trainer. Besides the hard times in there, just tried to keep positive — as much Kevin Hart as I could to laugh, and communicating with my teammates on the outside.”

Rice has been brilliant for Kansas City when he's been available, catching 156 passes for 1,797 yards and 14 touchdowns, and helping the Chiefs win the Super Bowl after the 2023 season. But he also missed games to a suspension following the car crash, and several injuries have kept him off the field, resulting in just 28 games played over his first three seasons in the league.

The upcoming season is without question his most important yet.

Not only does Rice has much to prove to a growing chorus of doubters, he's also entering the final year of his rookie contract. If he wants to land a lucrative, long-term deal in Kansas City or elsewhere, Rice has to not only prove that he can stay on the field but also show that he can consistently be productive for an offense that desperately needs him to be.

“I mean, it's motivating,” Rice said of impending free agency. “Honestly, just being back on the field with my brothers right now is motivating. That's in the future. And I'm just focusing on what's happening right now, and that's getting better for the team.”

The Chiefs are coming off a 6-11 season in which Mahomes hurt his knee, several others went down with injuries, and what was once one of the NFL's premier offenses looked like a shadow of itself — even before all those players were sidelined.

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach spent most of his draft capital upgrading the defense, though, including both of his first-round picks, and the biggest move to help the offense was to sign Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III to be their lead running back.

Otherwise, the Chiefs are banking on Rice and fellow wide receivers Xavier Worthy and Tyquan Thornton to take big steps forward in their development, all while hoping that 36-year-old tight end Travis Kelce can still be a reliable and effective pass-catcher.

“We're going to do some amazing things,” Rice predicted, “not only because we're great receivers but we have a great coaching staff around us, and a great quarterback and foundation in general.”

Mahomes has certainly looked like his normal self in camp, moving around on his reconstructed knee as if nothing ever happened. That bodes well for Rice, the passing game and the Chiefs in general as they prepare for the upcoming season.

“He was my motivation every morning,” Rice said.

Rice was asked whether he had anything to say to fans who felt let down by his off-the-field problems, or to young players who might be looking up to him. He went back to Mahomes and the teammates that have been with him through thick and thin.

“Find someone that you can lean on. Find someone you can talk to,” Rice said, “and basically don't be scared to vocalize yourself, or say exactly what's on your mind, because someone is going through the same thing. There's too many people in the world for there not to be someone going through the same thing.”

Notes: The Chiefs are signing DE Emmanuel Ogbah, who appeared in 10 games for them during the 2019 season. The veteran spent last season with Jacksonville. “It was disappointing the year we had him. I thought he was coming on and he got hurt, and we didn't have him at the end of the year,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. “If he's part of our group, I'll be excited.”

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

British driver Andy Green reached 406.320 mph (653.908 kph) in a car powered by two hydrogen internal combustion engines with a combined 1,600 horsepower, setting the record for that vehicle category, according to the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the international governing body of motor sports.

The 64-year-old retired Royal Air Force pilot rocketed across the crystalline crust at Utah’s famous Bonneville Salt Flats in a 32-foot (9.75-meter) car engineered by British construction equipment manufacturer JCB. The engines, adapted from those used in the company’s heavy machinery, mix pressurized hydrogen gas with air and ignite it to create bursts of power.

To be clear, Tuesday’s feat didn’t come close to approaching the overall land-speed record, which Green set with jet power in 1997. That year, he climbed into the Thrust SSC, a black needle sandwiched between two cartoonishly large jet engines, and drove it to an outright record of 763.035 mph (1,227.985 kph), breaking the sound barrier and achieving a feat no one has come close to matching. His runs in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert produced sonic booms that shook the nearby town of Gerlach.

In 2006, Green also set the land-speed record for a diesel-powered car — 350.092 mph (563.4 kph) — at the Bonneville Salt Flats. He returned there Tuesday with the goal of beating that mark using hydrogen power, which he has called the “fuel of the future.”

In targeting his diesel speed, Green easily topped the previous hydrogen combustion world record of 185.5 mph (298.5 kph). He had a 10-mile (16-kilometer) straightaway to build speed. A few dozen JCB staff members and reporters watched from a distance through cameras and binoculars.

A remnant of a prehistoric lake bed, the Bonneville Salt Flats are about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Salt Lake City and sit atop a shallow aquifer that cools the tires. The low-friction surface and dry desert air are conducive to speed and have beckoned drivers since the first race there in 1914.

Green was no stranger to speed when he took his first racing job. He had been flying supersonic military jets when he spotted a 1994 British newspaper ad seeking a high-speed driver to break the sound barrier.

Green did not approach supersonic speeds on Tuesday, but JCB engineers hope his feat with hydrogen power will shake up the clean-energy industry.

The company's chairman has argued that hydrogen can better handle the demands of heavy industries than electric power.

Hydrogen is only as clean as its source, and the vast majority is currently produced from fossil fuels. JCB signed a deal to buy green hydrogen, which is created using renewable energy but makes up a tiny fraction of global hydrogen production.

The leak was in the area of Key Street and Grove Street, just east of State Road 19.

Eustis’ fire chief told News 6 that a contractor for a company installing a fiber line struck a gas line, causing the leak.

TECO confirmed to News 6 that a third-party contractor hit a natural gas pipeline using drilling equipment.

Two streets remain closed while crews repair the gas lines.

South Center Street is closed from Lemon Avenue to Fernshaw Avenue.

Key Avenue is closed from South Grove Street to South Mary Street.

Please avoid the area if possible.

News 6 is following this developing story. Check back for updates.

Robert Gilman was on his way to a U.S. military hospital in Texas, where he will be medically and psychologically assessed and treated, said Eric ‌Lebson, chief strategy officer of Global Reach, a group that’s been working to free him and other American detainees abroad. Gilman’s family has flown to Texas to be with him, including his mother, who was in Russia attempting to see him at a hospital.

President Donald Trump, however, posted on social media that Gilman will arrive at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland outside of Washington on Tuesday evening.

“I just spoke to him, and he had one request — A GREAT cheeseburger when he lands,” Trump wrote. “I will take care of that!”

Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin before Gilman's release, which Trump said was “very much on a Humanitarian Basis.”

“We appreciate this decision, and the fact that Russia asked for no one in return — No exchange took place,” Trump said.

Gilman had his prison sentence extended three times

Gilman, a 32-year-old teacher detained since 2022, was initially handed a 3 1/2-year sentence when he was convicted of beating a police officer after being taken off a train for causing a disturbance. He later was convicted of attacking a prison inspector during a cell check, beating an investigator and assaulting a guard, and he was sentenced in October 2024 to eight years and one month. His sentence was extended last year to 10 years after he was found guilty of assaulting prison guards.

Gilman’s father has disputed the charges against him.

Gilman's sister, Lexie Hudson, credited Trump and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts with bringing about the former Marine's release.

“There is no other reason that Robert is alive today other than that President Trump heard about the case and took action,” said Hudson, who thanked Markey “for leading our advocacy efforts in Congress.”

“The Russians treated my brother so badly," Hudson said. "They hurt him for no reason, other than that he was both an American and a Marine. What did they get out of this? Why did they do this to such a wonderful person?”

Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service did not respond to a request for comment on Gilman’s health deteriorating behind bars.

Arrests of Americans have become increasingly common in Russia in recent years. Concern has risen that Russia could be targeting U.S. nationals for arrest to use later as bargaining chips in talks to bring back Russians convicted of crimes in the U.S. and Europe.

The State Department also said Gilman, who had been determined recently to have been wrongfully detained, was released on humanitarian grounds and “was not part of an exchange, and no other concessions were provided.”

“This as a welcome step that we hope leads to the release of Americans unjustly held in Russia, such as wrongful detainee Stephen Hubbard,” it said.

During Gilman’s December 2025 trial in the southwestern city of Voronezh, where he was found guilty of beating two prison guards and had his term extended to 10 years, Russian media reported that he pleaded guilty to the charges and apologized to the guards he was charged with assaulting. The business daily Kommersant said he explained his actions by saying he wanted to stay in the prison where he was serving his sentence and avoid being moved to another penitentiary.

Gilman was hospitalized before his release

Gilman’s lawyer Irina Brazhnikova told the Russian news agency Interfax on Friday that Gilman was in a psychiatric ward of a civilian hospital, where he’s been since early July.

He was there “due to a psychiatric condition,” and according to doctors, his condition has worsened, but neither his defense lawyers, nor his family were allowed to visit, she said.

Before Gilman was flown out of Russia, he had been in “a dissociative stupor” for 47 days due to the abuse he had suffered in prison, Lebson said. After he was moved to the hospital, he was hooked up to a feeding tube and handcuffed to a bed.

Hospital reports conveyed Gilman’s condition “as dire and life-threatening,” pushing the U.S. government into action and leading to his release, Lebson said.

Markey had called on Russia and the U.S. to work together to get the Massachusetts resident released. Gilman was among at least eight Americans who remained in Russian custody after a series of high-profile prisoner exchanges with the U.S. in recent years.

Markey blamed Russia for Gilman's poor health, saying his return to the U.S. was long overdue.

“It is a tragedy that it took Robert’s near-death condition for his case to receive the attention that it required for his release to be negotiated," Markey said. "Throughout his detention, Robert was subjected to physical torture, forced medication, and provocations by Russian authorities. There is no doubt that his treatment by Russian authorities is the reason Robert is in this precarious state today.”

The Associated Press was making efforts to get comment from Russian officials on Gilman's release.

Hobbs' selection Tuesday of John Giles, a former mayor of Mesa, a Phoenix suburb that is Arizona’s third-largest city, is an overture to the Republicans and conservative independents she must win in a state that was once a GOP stronghold. Republicans have expanded their voter registration advantage over Democrats since Hobbs eked out a narrow win over Kari Lake, a fierce ally of President Donald Trump, in 2022.

Hobbs is considered the most vulnerable Democratic governor in the country. Giles, a registered Republican for decades, changed his party affiliation to independent on May 17 and voted in the Democratic primary last month, according to county voting records.

The Republican nominee is U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, who last week picked Sine Kerr, a farmer and Republican former state lawmaker, to be his running mate. Kerr's rural roots balance Biggs' base in parts of metro Phoenix.

In an interview with The Associated Press before Hobbs publicly announced that she had picked Giles, he said he still considers himself to be a conservative and said he stuck around the Republican Party probably longer than he should have in a crusade to save it. "A few months ago, I realized that it was time to give up that crusade,” Giles said.

Giles led a conservative city for a decade

Giles, who was Mesa's mayor from 2014 to 2025, has been a vocal Trump critic and has endorsed Democrats, including Trump's 2024 rival, then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Giles spoke in favor of Harris at the Democratic National Convention, saying Trump's policies would hurt Mesa.

Giles also backed Democrats running against Trump allies, including Hobbs in her 2022 race against Lake and the state's current U.S. senators, Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego.

As mayor, Giles signed a proclamation promoting equal treatment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents in housing and accommodations, a controversial move in the conservative city.

The Biggs campaign, in anticipation of Hobbs' announcement, launched a website highlighting Giles’ support for Harris in 2024 and his participation in the Democratic convention. Drew Sexton, a senior adviser in the Biggs campaign, issued a statement early Tuesday saying Hobbs’ selection of Giles “is of no surprise to Arizonans who have been paying attention. As Kamala Harris’ favorite Arizona mayor, Giles is aligned with Hobbs on all the issues that have hurt Arizonans the most over the past four years.”

Sexton also said Giles “has been an aspiring Democrat since he first voted for Joe Biden in 2020.”

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Giles can be an ambassador for Hobbs. Church members make up about 6% of the Arizona population. Latter-day Saints, widely known as Mormons, have been a reliably Republican voting bloc for decades, but many have been ambivalent about Trump since his first run for the White House.

Democrats have been working to woo Latter-day Saints turned off by Trump's penchant for foul language and demeaning rhetoric toward women and people of color, which clashes with the church’s values of humility, morality and compassion.

Biggs is also a member of the church.

Picking a Republican running mate hones the bipartisan image Hobbs has tried to create, contrasting with Biggs' background as a far-right congressman and, before that, the state Senate president. But it also risks inflaming tensions on the left.

In the AP interview, Hobbs said she takes a nonpartisan approach to her work in government. When she was asked whether some supporters might be frustrated because she picked a former Republican as her running mate, she said, “It shouldn't be a surprise.”

Both Hobbs and Giles portray Biggs as an extreme partisan. Giles said it’s disingenuous for Biggs to present himself as more of a moderate when he was “unapologetic about being the most conservative person in the room – in any room.”

Arizona is electing a lieutenant governor for the first time

Arizona is one of just five states without a lieutenant governor position, along with Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon and Wyoming.

That will change in January.

Voters added the post in 2022 to more clearly define the line of succession. Until then, the secretary of state will continue to serve as the next in line to be governor.

Gubernatorial succession is especially relevant in Arizona, where five governors since 1975 have entered the office through succession rather than election.

In fact, of Arizona's 12 governors over the past 50 years, only one, Republican Doug Ducey, entered and left the office through the typical pathways of being elected and serving out a full term. Among the others, one died, one was impeached and removed, one resigned after being convicted of fraud and two quit to accept presidential appointments.

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

Most of the now-recalled cars were sold in the U.S. — where more than 508,000 model year 2025-2026 Camry Hybrids are affected.

According to documents published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, these vehicles are equipped with a 7-inch (17.8 centimeters) display combination meter that can become blank at startup. And beyond turn signals and hazard lights, certain warnings like seat belt reminders and “key left in ignition” buzzers may also not function as a result.

These display failures increase crash risks — both for drivers who may not be able to see telltale indicators and “the ability of other road users to recognize the driver’s intent to change direction or indicate a vehicle hazard,” the NHTSA warns.

Texas-based Toyota Motor North America — a subsidiary of the larger Japanese automaker — says it will notify all known owners of the affected Camrys to bring their vehicles into a certified dealer. To remedy the issue, those dealers will later provide a software update free of charge.

Owner letters are set to be mailed starting Sept. 21 in the U.S., and Toyota expects to complete those notifications by early October. In the meantime, customers can check the NHTSA’s and Toyota’s online recall lookups to see if their car is affected.

Toyota confirmed to The Associated Press via email Tuesday that its recall affects markets in North America, the Middle East, Asia and some countries in other regions. The company said the 655,000 vehicles impacted globally were produced between December 2023 and July 2026 — across three plants located in the U.S., Japan and Thailand.

For more information, customers can visit Toyota’s website or contact customer support at 1-800-331-4331.

Zelenskyy said Russian forces used ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea in an overnight attack on the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, where a company said seven workers at its steel plant were killed and 21 injured.

Three more people, including a 15-year-old boy, were killed by Russian drones and artillery in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, authorities said.

In addition to the ballistic missiles, North Korea is preparing to deploy more of its troops to Russia, Zelenskyy said late Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2024, pledging mutual aid if either country faces aggression.

Kim has sent thousands of troops and huge supplies of weapons to support Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Some experts say the engagement with Moscow is helping improve North Korea’s military capabilities, and Zelenskyy said the battlefield experience would help Pyongyang menace other countries in its region.

Ukraine says Russia is poised to escalate the war

Ukraine says Russia is scaling up its production of ballistic missiles, aiming to exploit Kyiv’s critical shortage of Patriot air defense interceptors that can stop them, and claims Moscow is preparing to recruit more troops for a new push on the front line that stretches 1,250 kilometers (775 miles) along eastern and southern Ukraine.

“Every step Russia takes — increasing ballistic missile production, bringing in North Korean equipment, preparing for mobilization — all of this shows that Moscow is preparing not for peace, but for escalation,” Zelenskyy said on social media.

In an unusual step, Ukraine's air force didn't say in its daily report how many missiles Russia launched overnight. It was not clear whether the omission was deliberate, and Kyiv officials made no immediate comment.

U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the war have fizzled as Washington grew frustrated with the lack of progress and its attention turned to the Iran war.

In an indication that Putin is determined to press on with the invasion, Russia’s highest court on Monday ordered that Yabloko, the only political party opposing the war, to be excluded from the ballot in the Sept. 18-20 parliamentary election.

“The Kremlin will not enter serious negotiations or make meaningful compromises on its demands as long as Putin believes that he has a viable military path to achieving his full objectives,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said in an analysis Monday.

“Ukraine’s Patriot shortages offer Russia an opportunity to cause very serious damage to Ukraine over the coming winter and will therefore contribute to delaying meaningful negotiations and protracting the war,” it said.

Russia hits the grounds of a Kyiv children's hospital

Russian forces also struck parts of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, overnight, according to officials. One strike hit the grounds of a children’s hospital, leaving two craters and shattering windows, the State Emergency Service said. Children and medical workers were in bomb shelters and nobody was hurt, it added.

At another location in Kyiv, a Russian strike started a fire in a warehouse that spread across about 1,200 square meters (nearly 13,000 square feet), according to emergency officials.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces overnight struck “military industrial facilities and transport and logistics centers” in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia with “ground-based precision weapons.”

It said in a statement that it hit civilian storage facilities housing drones in Kyiv and a metallurgical plant in Zaporizhzhia.

Metinvest, a major Ukrainian mining and metals company with operations in Zaporizhzhia, said seven of its steel plant employees died as staff tried to reach shelters after a warning of an incoming ballistic missile.

The company, which employs tens of thousands of people, said in a statement that the attack damaged its blast furnace and other equipment and forced the plant to shut down.

Russia targeted Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia with Zircon anti-ship missiles and Iskander ballistic missiles, while launching 120 long-range strike drones across the country, Ukraine’s air force said.

Russia's biggest e-commerce company hit again

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses overnight intercepted nearly 400 Ukrainian drones over 14 regions and Crimea, the peninsula that Moscow illegally annexed from Kyiv in 2014.

Russia’s biggest online retailer, Wildberries, said in a statement its logistical facilities in the Voronezh region on the border with Ukraine came under attack and caught fire. It added that the fire was extinguished and goods stored there were “largely undamaged.”

Ukraine has repeatedly struck Wildberries warehouses and has also bombarded Russian oil facilities in what it says is a strategy to compel Putin to negotiate an end to the invasion.

Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces struck an oil refinery in the city of Orsk in Russia’s Orenburg region near the border with Kazakhstan, about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) from Ukraine, causing a fire.

The refinery, with an annual processing capacity of about 44 million barrels of crude oil, produces gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel, among other products. The extent of the damage was being assessed, the military said.

UN says over 16,000 civilians are being held by Russia

The United Nations, meanwhile, estimates that more than 16,000 civilians detained by Russia during the war are still being “deprived of their liberty,” with many held incommunicado and on grounds that don’t comply with international law.

“Widespread and systematic torture and ill-treatment” of both Ukrainian civilian detainees and prisoners of war by Russia are continuing, including sexual violence, said Claudia Fuentes Julio, the U.N. assistant secretary-general for human rights.

She spoke at an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Monday to spotlight the plight of civilians and soldiers taken following the Russia invasion.

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Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.

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

UNESCO, the Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said the continued exclusion of women and girls from education amounted to a grave violation of their fundamental rights.

“Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls and women are formally banned from secondary and higher education,” Hoda Jaberian, UNESCO’s program coordinator for education in emergencies, said in a news conference by video. “Five years is not a temporary interruption in a child’s education. It is clearly almost an entire secondary school cycle.”

Jaberian said: “UNESCO continues to call for the immediate and unconditional restoration of girls and women's right to secondary and higher education. It is not negotiable. It’s a basic human right and we reiterate that there is no substitute for this.”

The Taliban seized power on Aug. 15, 2021, as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew from the country after two decades of war.

Shortly after, it barred girls from secondary schools and later extended the restrictions to higher education, employment and other sectors, effectively excluding women and girls from public life.

The Taliban has maintained the ban despite appeals from the United Nations, humanitarian groups, human‑rights advocates, and several Islamic countries, insisting the issue is a domestic matter.

Jaberian said the restrictions are reversing two decades of progress that Afghanistan had made in education. While access to schooling for girls was severely limited in 2001, by 2021 nearly 1 million girls were enrolled in secondary education.

“Afghanistan had made really major progress in expanding girls’ access to education,” Jaberian said. “But unfortunately, much of that progress now has been completely reversed.”

UNESCO has been supporting education in Afghanistan by running community-based education, literacy and skills development programs.

The skills development and literacy classes take place in community spaces, often inside the homes of the literacy facilitators — with the knowledge of the authorities, the agency said. It said there were more than 1,000 literacy facilitators, most of them trained by UNESCO and its partners.

“While the restriction remains, we cannot abandon Afghan learners,” Jaberian said. “UNESCO work with communities and our partners from the communities to preserve every possible pathway to learning.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office says the incident happened in the area of Plymouth Sorrento Road and West Ponkan Road on Tuesday morning. Deputies responded after getting a call about a man and a woman fighting inside a vehicle. Then the vehicle crashed, but the two people got out of the vehicle and kept fighting.

Deputies say a bystander tried to intervene in the fight and was shot. That person was taken to an area hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

The investigation is still going on in the area.

News 6 has a crew headed to the area to get the latest. Stay with News 6 for updates.

The Falcon 9 rocket was originally supposed to launch on Monday, but was delayed to Tuesday morning. No reason was given.

The first-stage booster supporting the mission is slated to fly for the 18th time, marking another potential milestone in SpaceX’s reusable rocket program. The booster previously supported high-profile missions including Crew-9, RRT-1, Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1, Fram2, SXM-10, MTG-S1, EchoStar XXV, SXM-11, and nine Starlink missions.

Following stage separation, the booster landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

“Widespread and systematic torture and ill-treatment" of both Ukrainian civilian detainees and prisoners of war by Russia are continuing, including sexual violence, said Claudia Fuentes Julio, the U.N. assistant secretary-general for human rights.

She spoke at an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council called by Latvia and the United Kingdom on Monday to spotlight the plight of civilians and soldiers taken during the war that Russia launched with a full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022. The council, which counts Russia as a permanent member, heard the accounts as both Russia and Ukraine have escalated attacks in the four-year conflict.

Since the invasion, Julio said, U.N. human rights staff have interviewed 910 Ukrainian prisoners of war and 403 civilian detainees following their release. The U.N. has not been able to visit detention facilities in Russia, and its estimated figure of those held does not break down how many are adults or children.

More than 95% of the Ukrainian prisoners of war and 85% of the civilian detainees reported being tortured or ill-treated, often repeatedly, the U.N. official said. They also reported sexual attacks and inhumane conditions, including food deprivation and inadequate medical services.

The Geneva-based human rights office “has documented the execution of 129 Ukrainian prisoners of war at the beginning of their captivity, and the deaths of 48 Ukrainian prisoners of war in custody, resulting from torture, denial of medical care, or other inhumane conditions of detention,” Julio said.

Former detainees share their accounts with the United Nations

The U.N. Security Council also heard emotionally wrenching accounts from Crimean Tatar human rights activist Leniie Umerova, who called herself a “political prisoner” of the Russians for almost two years, and Khuan Leyva Garsiya, a Ukrainian soldier who was among the hundreds that held out for months at the Azovstal steel plant in the besieged city of Mariupol before turning themselves over to the Russians in May 2022.

Garsiya, who was born in Mariupol to a Ukrainian mother and Cuban father, spent 1,183 days as a POW. He said he weighed 55 kilograms (120 pounds) when he was freed, pulling out a picture of his emaciated body to show the council.

He said he was tortured, beaten harder and humiliated more than other prisoners because the Russians suspected that he was a foreign mercenary due to his Cuban ancestry or an American spy because he went to college in the United States.

“Russians were outraged that someone with a connection to Cuba, whom they consider an ally, would fight against their occupation army,” said Garsiya, who is still in the Ukrainian military.

He said the Russians tried to break the prisoners mentally and force them to confess to falsified crimes through tortures including freezing, beatings, electrocution and sexual abuse, he said.

“Two of my friends were beaten to death in detention centers in the Donetsk region,” Garsiya said. “Two of my friends died because of the conditions they were put in in Russian prisons and were returned in plastic bags to the homeland.”

For Umerova, her captivity began when she tried to enter Russia from Georgia to visit her seriously ill father in Crimea, which is part of Ukraine but has been occupied by Russia since 2014.

She said she was placed in detention on “fabricated charges.” But unlike many others, she was able to contact an attorney. In the third month, she said, her attorney obtained her release through a court order.

“But as soon as the prison gates opened, a bag was put over my head and I was taken away again.” In six months, she said she was moved to seven different facilities, calling it “a carousel of repression.”

What happened to her, Umerova said, is part of a system Russia uses to unlawfully detain, isolate, torture and fabricate charges against civilians. She named half a dozen women in Russian prisons today and said at least 84 women have faced criminal prosecution.

U.N. also said Russian detainees reported abuses

U.N. human rights experts also interviewed 816 Russians and 57 third-country national prisoners of war from over 45 countries who were members of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, said Julio, the assistant secretary-general.

About half reported torture or ill-treatment, primarily during the initial stages of captivity and interrogation by Ukrainians, she said. But U.N. monitors reported that once they arrived in Ukrainian detention facilities, “the conditions generally comply with international humanitarian law and have improved since 2022.”

Russia’s deputy U.N. Ambassador Maria Zabolotskaya told the council the Russian armed forces are complying with international humanitarian law, which includes the treatment of prisoners. She claimed Russian prisoners in Ukraine faced “torture and degradation, and moral and physical abuse.”

She called the Security Council meeting part of “a disinformation campaign against Russia,” funded by NATO countries involved in the Ukraine conflict. The aim, she said, "is to derail efforts towards a peace settlement and to justify strikes on the territory of Russia and against civilians.”

Ukraine’s deputy U.N. Ambassador Volodymyr Pavlichenko said he was struck that during Monday’s meeting, Russia was not ready to discuss the return of POWs — “including their POWs” — and all civilian detainees including abducted children.

The verdicts by a court in Damascus are the first against Assad or any members of his inner circle since his family's five decades in power came to an end 20 months ago. They are mostly symbolic, however, because Assad and his brother Maher had fled to Russia, where they received asylum after the Syrian government’s stunning collapse in December 2024.

Six other former officials were also sentenced to death in absentia. The only former official sentenced to death and in custody is Assad’s maternal cousin Atef Najib, who oversaw a crackdown on dissent that led to an uprising that sparked the civil war. Najib stood inside a cage wearing a prisoner’s uniform as the judge read his sentence aloud, and a crowd gathered outside the heavily guarded courthouse.

Even though Assad is unlikely to ever face justice, the verdicts will be popular among many Syrians, especially those who have expressed frustration that the new government hasn’t moved with enough speed or strength against Assad-era figures.

Some human rights groups, though, expressed concerns that the trials were rushed, potentially unfair and, at the very least, exposed flaws in Syria's justice system.

“Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity,” said judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan during a court session that was aired live on state TV — a contrast with Assad-era trials, which were conducted in secret. The verdicts al-Aryan read aloud found Assad and the others guilty of premeditated murder, including against children, as well as other acts of brutality, including torture.

Al-Aryan said Najib could appeal.

“Today is the day of justice for all the wounded, martyrs, detainees and Syrians who were forced to leave their country,” said attorney Adnan al-Masalmeh who represented families of Najib's victims. “Today marks a victory of right against injustice, a victory of the Syrian people against the ousted regime.”

Najib is one of the highest-ranking security officials to be put on trial. He is a former army brigadier general who was in charge of political security in Syria’s southern Daraa province.

During his tenure, more than a dozen teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on a school wall were arrested and tortured. The case became a catalyst for mass protests against the repressive policies of Assad’s security forces.

The protests were met by a brutal government crackdown in 2011 that spiraled into the civil war that ended with Assad’s ouster in a lightning rebel offensive.

Some of Najib's victims were present at the courthouse, including two who were teenagers in 2011 and expressed their opinions to The Associated Press.

“Today we reached a point where the blood was not wasted,” said Mouawiya Sayasneh, about those who died in the crackdown. Fifteen years later, “there is happiness that Atef Najib was sentenced to death,” he said.

Another man, Nayef Abazeid, who was detained at the age of 13 in 2011, expressed his satisfaction with the sentence, adding that “our biggest happiness will be when Bashar Assad is executed.”

Maher Assad was a former commander of the Syrian military’s 4th Armored Division — which opposition activists have accused of killings, torture, extortion and drug trafficking, in addition to running its own detention centers.

“Today’s scenes outside the courthouse reflect 15 years of pain and a justice long denied," said Hiba Zayadin, Syria researcher at Human Rights Watch. She said the rights group opposes the death penalty in all cases, including this one, because "it’s cruel and irreversible, especially when a fair trial isn’t guaranteed.”

She said the appeal process for Najib “needs to meet fair trial standards.” Real accountability for Assad-era crimes depends on Syria building a justice system that lasts, she said.

The Washington-based Syria Justice and Accountability Center described Tuesday’s conviction of Najib as a “historical step in Syria’s transitional period,” but said it exposed major flaws in the justice system which likely jeopardized his right to a fair trial.

It said that SJAC’s trial monitoring team attended Najib’s trial and documented multiple issues such as rushed proceedings and witness testimony that did not connect Atef to the crimes he was charged with. SJAC said Najib’s lawyer “lacked the capacity and willingness to meaningfully engage with the case or mount an adequate defense.”

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Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb and Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.

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This story has been edited to correct that Bashar and Maher Assad fled to Russia following the collapse of their government in December 2024, not December 2014.

“Music is such a wonderful way for people to bond, for parents to bond. I know from the minute my kids were born, we’re singing to them,” Ms. Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Griffin Accurso, said.

Ms. Rachel launched her mega popular YouTube channel in 2019 with her husband, known online as Mr. Aron.

“I am a music educator, so I get excited about kids hearing a real clarinet on ‘Icky Sticky Bubble Gum’ and kids getting excited about hearing more real instruments,” said Ms. Rachel.

But that isn't the only education they'll get from the album. A song like “I Could Be Your Friend” gives kids a script for bolstering their social skills. “We’re always thinking about all kinds of kids, whether they have disabilities, whether they’re autistic,” she said. “We just want the world to feel like it’s helpful to all children and the musical worlds as well.”

The songs aren't limited by genre, either. Take the single “I Love a Rainbow” as an example: It's a big bossa nova number. Their take on the classic “Old McDonald” leans bluegrass.

“Music is at the heart of our show,” added Aron Accurso. “And so, we’ve always wanted to release the music and have families experience the music away from the screen.”

Big arrangements and simple songs

“I'm So Happy” was co-produced by Aron Accurso and Grammy winner Scott Riesett and principally arranged by Mr. Aron as well. Aron Accurso reimagined a number of Ms. Rachel's fan favorite songs and childhood classics with a team of 19 vocalists and 42 instrumentalists.

“It’s songs that people know from the show, but we decided to expand them and elevate them with new arrangements and reproducing them,” Aron Accurso explained. “It was a process of, you know, looking at them and saying, ‘OK, what else can we do to this to make it sparkle more? What can we add to it? What does it need to be on the album?’”

He says they most hope that the album will inspire “living room dance parties, because that’s what we love with our children,” he said. “We love to put on an album and dance around.”

An album next to advocacy

Ms. Rachel has made headlines over the last few years for using her social media platforms to advocate for global humanitarian crises, with particular attention given to the plight of children in Gaza and those detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Most recently, she shared comments about the mysterious death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells in Mississippi, a case shadowed by the state’s fraught racial history and lingering distrust in law enforcement.

“We know the investigation and everything that followed would have been different if Nolan Wells were white and his friends were black. Nolan and his family deserve justice,” she wrote on Instagram.

Ms. Rachel says she knows her album may bring attention to her advocacy and vice versa. “I view myself as an advocate for children’s rights so anytime they’re being violated by anyone anywhere, I want to be speaking out,” she said. “I want families to be happy and safe and healthy, and I think that’s a wonderful thing. So, if it’s brought up with the album, that’s great.”

'I'm So Happy' Tracklist

1. “I’m So Happy” 2. “I Love a Rainbow” 3. “Icky Sticky Bubble Gum” 4. “Phonics” 5. “Hop Little Bunnies” 6. “Caterpillar” 7. “Up and Down” 8. “Bubble Pop” 9. “Walkin’ at the Zoo” 10. “Open Shut Them” 11. “I Could Be Your Friend” 12. “I Listen to My Body” 13. “The Wheels on the Bus” 14. “Dino Play” 15. “Pop Those Bubbles” 16. “Old MacDonald” 17. “If You Should Meet an Elephant” 18. “Counting to 20!” 19. “B-I-N-G-O” 20. “Lobby Loo” 21. “Big Feelings” 22. “Together” 23. “I Love You to the Moon”

“One was in 2002 and the other passed away in 2009 and they were both 25,” she said. “One overdosed on OxyContin and the other one overdosed heroin after becoming addicted to heroin via OxyContin.”

Using a carnival merry-go-round as an allegory, “The Galloping Cure” opened Sunday at the Edinburgh International Festival, a haunting portrayal of the drug's destructive power that is among the most impactful of contemporary operas.

Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek created a charismatic charlatan, Lucky Mack (baritone Justin Austin), who arrives at the faded community Yourtown in a white double-breasted suit and matching cowboy hat, easing residents' chronic pain by offering free rides on six fiberglass horses to get people hooked.

He starts charging money during the town's yearlong descent — “dynamic pricing,” he calls it — then rents hobbyhorses until people go broke. He demands noses, hair, kneecaps and tongues as payments, body parts he will use to build more carousel horses. By the final notes, wasted bodies resemble a skid row.

“When he offers you the cure, he never tells you the price,” sings Dr. Theresa Hart (mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack), whose endorsement of Lucky Mack leads to the death of her daughter Noy (soprano Gabrielle Turgeon).

This was the first of two launches for Mazzoli in a 71-day span. She becomes the first woman composer with a premiere at New York's Metropolitan Opera with “ Lincoln in the Bardo” on Oct. 19, a tight gap comparable to when Giuseppe Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” and “La Traviata” debuted 46 days apart in 1853.

A 45-year-old New Yorker originally from Lansdale, Pennsylvania, Mazzoli met Vavrek in 2009. They have become the Rodgers and Hammerstein of 21st-century American opera, previously creating “Song from the Uproar” (2012), “Breaking the Waves” (2016), “Proving Up” (2018) and “The Listeners” (2022).

“Galloping” runs through Wednesday in Scotland, moves to Sweden’s Norrlands Opera from Sept. 12-23 and the San Francisco Opera in the fall of 2027.

A Franz Kafka work was the genesis

Vavrek, a 43-year-old Canadian who also lives in New York, won a Pulitzer Prize for Du Yun's “Angel’s Bone.” He and Mazzoli had long contemplated an opioids opera but made progress only after commissioning a treatment in 2022 from author Karen Russell.

“It wasn’t until we collaborated with Karen that we found a way in that wasn’t preachy or predictable,” Mazzoli said. “Coming at it via this weird fairy tale allows us to bring in all sorts of compassion and allows us see it in an unexpected way.”

Russell joined Mazzoli and Vavrek for a Zoom meeting to discuss ideas, when they settled on Franz Kafka’s “A Country Doctor” as a starting point.

“There’s sort of this floorless void of existential suffering,” Russell said. “And then there’s also physical agony. Different kinds of pain are represented in that story and it feels like a fever dream to me.”

Russell's treatment initially was called “The Devil's Miracle.” She was influenced by the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm.

“All of your daughters are going to starve unless you give me your youngest child, right?” she said. “It’s like the devil knows when to appear, and it’s often in the context of extreme desperation.”

Key meeting in Paris led to project’s green light

A breakthrough came in 2023, when Mazzoli and Vavrek’s earlier work, “Breaking the Waves” was performed at the Opéra Comique in Paris. It was co-produced by the former artistic director of the English National Opera, John Berry, and directed by Tom Morris, who would go on to direct “Galloping.”

Berry arranged for the creative trio to spend time at Hawkwood, a retreat at Stroud in the English Cotswolds, where they developed the thematic structure and Mazzoli wrote an initial melody. Around the same time, Mazzoli was finishing the composition of the second act of “Lincoln,” based on the George Saunders novel.

“I was working on them both concurrently, which I would not recommend to anyone,” Mazzoli said. “But you do what you have to do when these opportunities come up.”

A 2-hour, 15-minute work conducted by Stuart Stratford with one intermission, “Galloping” was composed for four primary characters. One of them, a pain-wracked old woman named Ivona Kowalski (soprano Susan Bullock), sings early on: “Life’s a joke and then you croak.”

Set designer Rebecca Ringst and lighting designer Lucy Carter used 120 vertical LEDs about 7 yards (6.5 meters) long that resembled needles and caused at times a hallucinatory effect. Mazzoli shifts themes to a darker register as addiction takes hold and the music turns to electronica by DJ Blume and Lorna Dune for teenagers’ raves, mixed into the Scottish Opera Orchestra.

There is a chorus of 14, singing sheep and a pair of dogs (hilariously portrayed by Catriona Hewitson and Edward Jowle), whose barks become words that Theresa understands as she becomes strung out.

“I’m really into finding that strange element that only works really for opera and some comic relief,” Vavrek said. “The dogs are funny. They’re silly.”

Set in a struggling town that could be anywhere

Lucky Mack similar to Harold Hill in Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man,” Sportin' Life in “The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess” and Dr. Dulcamara in Donizetti’s “L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love).” Morris called him a “grifter/magician/snake-oil salesman.”

“It’s the same kind of charismatic person that will sell you on anything,” Mack said. “From an outsider’s point of view, you can objectively say, `Oh, well, I would never do that.' But actually, would you never do it? You don’t know until you’re in a situation. This is not a piece that passes judgment on any of those things but rather asks a really big question about who’s at fault for these ills in society and what we do moving forward.”

The Post said Monday the operation was prompted by an Iranian assassination threat against Trump. The ruse was carried out as journalists and some White House staff members were led to believe they were on the same plane as the president as he began his journey back to Washington from the annual gathering of NATO country leaders.

The Post cited material reviewed by the newspaper, a U.S. official familiar with the operation and another person with knowledge of the president’s travel. The Associated Press has not independently confirmed the report.

Trump had flown to the summit in a new Qatari-gifted and retrofitted red, white and navy blue jet. But ahead of departing Turkey, he said he would fly partway home on an older-model baby blue Air Force One plane instead.

The president at the time said the new luxury jet was being flown out ahead of his departure from Ankara to give some U.S. troops based in eastern England a chance to check out the new Air Force One.

In Ankara, Trump boarded the old Air Force One jumbo jet in view of television cameras ahead of the plane flying to Royal Air Force Mildenhall in the United Kingdom.

However, according to the Post report, after boarding the legacy Air Force One jet, he was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane — an Air Force C-32A — via an airport catering truck typically used to load meals and other supplies. Trump flew to Mildenhall on that smaller jet.

The White House did not respond directly to questions about the Post report of the secret operation to whisk Trump out of the country on a third aircraft, or the reported elaborate ruse to make it appear he was on the baby blue Air Force One jet flying to Mildenhall.

“As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.

The U.S. Secret Service declined to comment. The Air Force, which maintains the fleet of executive travel aircraft, referred questions to the White House.

There have been questions about the safety of the new Qatari-gifted plane

While Trump was in Turkey, the U.S. military conducted a series of large strikes in Iran in retaliation for its attacks on merchant shipping in the region.

The New York Times and CBS News reported last month that intelligence officials had raised concerns about a potential attack on the president or his jet, triggering additional precautions and the decision not to use the newly inaugurated aircraft gifted to Trump by Qatar for the first leg of Trump’s trip home from Ankara.

The swap had spurred questions about the security of the Qatar-provided aircraft, and Trump said last month after the trip that it would undergo additional upgrades.

Cheung on Monday maintained that the new, Qatari-gifted plane was “a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff.”

The new Post report on clandestinely putting Trump on a third aircraft and quietly whisking him out of the country adds a fresh layer to just how seriously concerned U.S. security officials were about the threat against Trump during the ongoing war with Iran.

Paul Eckloff, a former special agent with the Secret Service, said such an unusual move could either reflect actionable intelligence or an abundance of caution given volatility in the region with the wars in Iran and Ukraine.

“I would not say unprecedented, but it is an unusual occurrence,” Eckloff told The Associated Press.

The Post reported that to exit that plane without being seen by those uninvolved in the operation, Trump and several aides stepped aboard an airport catering truck, which was elevated planeside using hydraulics and positioned at a door on the opposite side of Air Force One’s entrance.

The small group of reporters who thought they were traveling with Trump were advised to lower their window shades ahead of takeoff.

After arriving at Mildenhall, news photographers captured images of Trump getting off the presidential plane — suggesting he reboarded Air Force One out of sight of the pack of journalists who thought they were traveling with him.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal called for a congressional briefing on what happened.

“It is unprecedented and it is surreal,” he said Monday on CNN, calling the incident “downright scary.”

After the brief visit to the base at Mildenhall, Trump boarded the new Air Force One aircraft to fly the rest of the way to Washington.

During a gaggle with reporters aboard the aircraft, Trump was asked directly if there was any credible threats on Air Force One by Iran.

“Well, I have a threat all the time. I’m number one on their list before you,” Trump said. He added to the traveling reporters, “But if I go, you go.”

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This story has been corrected to show Blumenthal called for a congressional briefing on what happened, not a congressional investigation.

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AP writers Josh Boak, Aamer Madhani and Konstantin Toropin contributed reporting.

The new class also includes Shawn Camp and Lee Thomas Miller, both elected in the contemporary songwriter category, and Bruce Channel as the veteran songwriter. They will be formally inducted during the 56th Anniversary Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala later this year.

Swift, the 14-time Grammy Award winning artist, is elected in the contemporary songwriter/artist category. She's known for writing many of her own hits since launching her career in Nashville as a preteen. Those include her country singles “Teardrops On My Guitar” and “Love Story,” as well as her blockbuster pop hits “Blank Space,” “Anti-Hero,” and “Cruel Summer.” She became the youngest woman ever inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June.

Lovett is elected in the veteran songwriter/artist category. He started his career in the folk scene before finding success for his clever lyricism and innovative country-Americana songs like “She's No Lady,” “Cowboy Man,” “Give Back My Heart,” “Why I Don’t Know,” “God Will” and more.

Camp began as a fiddle player for Shelby Lynne, Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood and others in the ’80s before becoming a hit songwriter. His credits include Garth Brooks’ “Two Piña Coladas,” Brooks & Dunn's “How Long Gone” and Willie Nelson’s “A Beautiful Time.”

Miller's hits include Terri Clark's “I Just Wanna Be Mad,” Trace Adkins' “You're Gonna Miss This,” Tim McGraw's “Nothin' To Die For” and “Southern Girl,” Chris Stapleton's “Whiskey And You” and many songs for Brad Paisley, including “The World.”

Texas talent Channel is perhaps best known for “Hey! Baby!” written in 1959 and recorded by José Feliciano, Ringo Starr, Conway Twitty, Anne Murray and DJ Ötzi; it may be most recognizable for its prominent placement in the 1987 film “Dirty Dancing.”

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame executive director Mark Ford made the announcement inside Belmont University’s R. Milton and Denice Johnson Center.

“This is always one of the most anticipated days on our calendar — the annual reveal of our incoming class,” Ford said in a statement. “We’re excited to once again add new names to a legendary list that began more than a half century ago.”

The complaint — filed in the Southern District of New York — says that President Donald Trump's executive order last year targeting the Hague-based criminal court and the U.S. sanctions issued against a U.N. human rights expert and three Palestinian rights groups represent a “blatantly illegal attack on international justice and should be struck down," according to a press release.

The lawsuit is the latest example of organizations pushing back on what they call the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine international law and prevent efforts to combat impunity by governments around the world.

“The fact that so many leading human rights and humanitarian organizations have come together to challenge Trump’s unlawful executive order demonstrates the widespread harm it is causing across civil society groups dedicated to bringing those responsible for grave crimes to justice,” said Andrew Loewenstein of Foley Hoag LLP, the lead counsel representing the plaintiffs.

The groups assert that the financial and legal penalties against the ICC have forced them to “curtail a wide range of human rights and legal work in violation of their First and Fifth Amendment rights under the US Constitution and under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”

Other organizations joining the lawsuit are the American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Open Society Institute. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Efforts to retain the global tribunal's power come as the ICC faces enormous pressure, both internally and from its more than 120 member states. Among those sanctioned by the U.S. last year was Karim Khan, who was the ICC’s chief prosecutor until he was removed from the post last month, nearly two years after sexual misconduct allegations against him first emerged, as detailed in stories by The Associated Press.

The Trump administration had issued those sanctions against Khan and a dozen other ICC staff in retaliation for warrants the court has issued for top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over the war in Gaza and investigations into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.

“The Trump administration seeks a get out of jail free card for whomever it chooses. And with this case, we say no,” Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said during a press conference Tuesday.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. was launching a “sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty.”

In a video message, Rubio said the U.S. would pressure member states to withdraw from the institution, sanction organizations that work with the court and ban staff from traveling to the United States. Countries that “enjoy the benefits of the U.S. security umbrella” will be called upon to reject the court’s jurisdiction over U.S. citizens, he added.

Several countries, including U.S.-allied Venezuela, announced they would withdraw from the court shortly after Rubio's statements and Khan's removal.

Now it's getting back to its roots.

In a conference call with investors Monday, the company behind Truth Social said it will be unwinding much of its expansion and doubling down on its original media business by selling a form of White House access, a move that has raised big ethical questions among Democrats and government watchdogs.

Donald Trump started Truth Social after he was kicked off Twitter and Facebook, but the two reinstated him more than three years ago, so the company has had to transform itself. Instead of a “free speech” forum, it now acts more like a “hear it here first” site, a second White House press office where people get scoops from the president on everything from the Iran war to tariffs to the future of the U.S. central bank.

But shares of the parent company, Trump Media & Technology, kept falling so it decided to become more than a media company, and branched into unrelated industries like online betting, finance, investment funds, buying and storing bitcoin and nuclear energy.

Now it's returning to its original mission, with a twist: It's offering a special new service that grants fast access to President Trump's posts for a fee.

The new business could double or triple revenue

In a conference call with investors, the company's new chief executive, Kevin McGurn, said it had already signed up several high speed trading firms, each paying between $60,000 and $100,000 a month.

“We’re in the early innings,” said McGurn, noting that the potential market included data center companies, news organizations and developers of large language models, not just traders, and he was talking to them all.

McGurn has rejected the idea that the new business is an ethics quagmire as good-government groups have said, noting that other social media companies provide a similar service. As for the White House, it denies conflicts even exist between Trump the president and Trump the businessman where his private interests may influence his public policy.

Traders on Wall Street can make big money if they get White House news faster and so are signing up — 10 in the week since the service began, which may seem like a tiny number but translates into a major boost for the company. The monthly customers collectively are paying as much as $7 million and $12 million annually — two to three times the revenue the company took in for all its businesses last year.

Trump Media needs the money — and a lot more.

It's lost more than $1 billion since the start of last year, and its earnings report released Monday for the three months ended June 30 showed relief is not on the horizon. It lost another $238 million, though much of that was due to paper losses from the plunging value of its bitcoin holdings.

Time is running out

The clock is ticking to fix the company.

Trump Media depends partly on outside funding, specifically $1 billion raised from lenders with a special agreement that allows them to get paid back early. They can demand the company buy back their convertible notes on Nov. 30, 18 months before the loans mature.

That cashout date is just after the November midterms, which could impact the company should Democrats get control of Congress. Several current members, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, say they will hold formal investigations of Trump's businesses, including Trump Media, should they take over.

A third deadline is farther out, but the most consequential — the end of Trump's presidency.

Trump is a big draw for the platform's users, but it's not clear how many will read his posts after he leaves office, much less why traders will pay as much $1.2 million a year for sneak peeks at his posts if he's no longer able to declare on the site that the Strait of Hormuz is open or that he's hiking tariffs on dozens of countries.

Would Vance in the White House help Truth Social?

The special, high-speed service, called Truth API, includes posts from other top posters on the site, but no one comes near the president in popularity. He has 13 million followers. The second biggest poster, his son, Donald Jr., has 7.5 million.

Other heavily followed posters include Trump administration members who also may fall in popularity once out of office, including FBI director Kash Patel and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

A wild card is JD Vance, who will be out of his vice presidential job in 2028 but, if he runs for president and wins, may continue to post on the site where he has five million followers.

The other business line that McGurn is choosing to hold onto is nuclear fusion, a technology still not commercially available but that is getting a big boost by the current administration.

The U.S. government has a helping hand

In June, the U.S. Department of Energy released a “road map” committing to government funding to speed the development of nuclear fusion as a national priority and calling for public-private partnerships.

Despite the help, investors still aren't convinced Trump Media has a rosy future.

After closing at about $62 shortly after it went public in 2024, the stock has plunged into the single digits, wiping out billions in stock market value.

On Tuesday, shares of Trump Media fell about 3.3% to $9.08.

Carrington came from behind and hit the Fever's Sophie Cunningham in the head and neck on a fast-break layup, knocking her to the court as the shot went in. The play was reviewed and upgraded to a Flagrant 2 after the referee said there was windup, impact and follow-through on the foul.

Carrington is Black and Cunningham is white. After Carrington was ejected, she posted “WHITE PRIVILEGE” on social media and tagged the Fever.

Responding to a clip of former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho criticizing her reaction, Carrington posted on X on Monday that she “never once claimed that the assessment of the foul was white privilege.”

“Try exercising your critical thinking skills, I know you studied psych. Furthermore, I’m the LAST thing from ignorant or asinine when it comes to speaking on ‘white privilege’, do ya research on that one,” Carrington wrote. "I actually went to school, one of the top universities might I add, to educate myself on this exact subject.

“I would never use that term as a rhetorical weapon knowing the historical and social weight it holds without having the proper evidence to substantiate it.”

The 28-year-old Carrington played for Stanford for four years before spending her final season of college ball at Baylor. She majored in psychology and African and African American studies at Stanford.

There has been no word from the WNBA on any additional punishment for Carrington for the hard foul. The Sky lost 97-88 to the Seattle Storm on Monday night. Carrington came off the bench, played 27 minutes and scored a career-high 26 points.

___

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

On average, the Perseid meteor shower usually begins around the middle of July and ends by August.

This week, the peak of the Perseid showers will occur on Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, as pieces of ice and dust meet the Earth’s atmosphere, creating bright streaks across the night sky. At times, you could spot up to 90 per hour in the dark skies.

Viewing tips:

• Look toward the meteor shower’s namesake, the Perseus constellation. This can be found toward the northeast after midnight.
• To best view the evening light show, it is best to watch during the overnight and early morning hours.
• Take in as much of the sky as you can. Ideally, you should lie on your back away from any visual obstructions.
• Move away from as much “light pollution” as possible. This includes general city lights like streetlights etc.
• Limit looking down at your phone, as your eyes need time to adjust to the dark.

Viewing conditions:

Speaking of light pollution, the moon is in a new moon phase with near 0% illumination, making viewing the meteor shower even better!

Limited cloud cover and dim moon phase will make it an ideal night for spotting meteors.

Weather conditions look to be favorable as well. Cloud cover between midnight and 6 a.m. will run between 15-30 percent with temperatures remaining near 80 degrees. Factoring in the muggy air, don’t expect it to be a comfortable night. At times overnight, some areas will feel more like the upper 80s to 90 degrees.

The order advocates separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different single-disease shots and administering all childhood immunizations at separate appointments whenever possible. It also directs the nation's health department to improve research on vaccines, which are already extensively studied, and present a plan to offer separate measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines for children, since that is not currently an option in the United States.

The renewed focus on vaccines marks a departure from the Trump administration’s recent efforts to emphasize less controversial health policies related to healthy eating, drug price negotiations and medical fraud crackdowns ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Public health experts have raised concerns that spacing out shots as Trump suggests can lead to an increased risk that children become infected with a vaccine-preventable disease before returning for another visit. Childhood vaccines — and how and when to give them in combination — go through rigorous studies, and safety tracking continues for years as the shots are used.

Trump called the announcement a “major victory for parents rights, religious and constitutional rights, and for the gold standard science.”

Speaking about the order at the Oval Office on Monday, Trump repeatedly suggested the number or timing of vaccines could play a role in rising rates of autism spectrum disorder, even as scientific consensus and decades of studies have firmly concluded there is no link. The order also includes several changes to the childhood vaccine schedule that his health department has already attempted, but that have been blocked by a federal judge. A White House official who insisted on anonymity to brief reporters said Trump was within his right to provide his own recommendation through the executive order and said the lawsuit blocking the health department's schedule was a separate issue.

Dr. Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the announcement spreads uncertainty, fear and confusion where “there doesn't need to be any of that.” He disputed Trump's recommendations and said previous ones should stand.

“Science about vaccines and their efficacy has not changed,” he said. “The distribution of viruses and other pathogens in our environment has not changed. Children in this country have not changed in the last 48 hours."

Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Republican chair of the Senate health committee, slammed the executive order in a social media post, saying vaccines are safe and do not cause autism.

“I'm a doctor. This executive order is wrong,” the Louisiana senator wrote. “The President does not have the expertise to make these changes.”

Who is in charge of vaccine policy?

Even as the order calls for revised vaccine recommendations, states, not the federal government, have the authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren. The order advises states with school vaccine mandates to consider updating their laws to reflect the administration's preferred schedule, according to a White House fact sheet.

Last December, Trump ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to review how peer nations approach vaccine recommendations and consider revising U.S. guidance accordingly. The department responded by cutting the number of vaccines it recommends for every child, a move that has since been blocked in court.

Changes to federal childhood vaccine recommendations customarily require approval from the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The newly Senate-confirmed CDC director, Dr. Erica Schwartz, oversaw policies promoting vaccination of service members while in a leadership position at the U.S. Coast Guard.

However, public health law expert Lawrence Gostin at Georgetown University said the Supreme Court's interpretation of Trump's power may allow him to supersede Schwartz if she does not agree to new recommendations.

“This is clearly the first test for Dr. Erica Schwartz,” Gostin said in an email. “The President is placing her in an untenable position.”

Asked on a call with reporters why the president was advocating splitting MMR into three single-disease vaccines, the White House official did not provide any studies supporting the decision. They said that was Trump's long-held view and that some countries provide individual measles vaccines in certain circumstances.

Kush Desai, a Trump spokesperson, told The Associated Press that the president is “one of countless parents who have voiced questions and concerns about the combined MMR vaccine" and said the plan to develop single-disease vaccines would “give parents more options on timing and frequency for their children,” ultimately increasing vaccine uptake.

Studies of babies and toddlers in the U.S. have shown that the use of combination shots for childhood vaccines, rather than single ones, increased the likelihood of completing all recommended vaccinations by the age of 2.

Announcement follows other Trump administration vaccine actions

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist before he entered politics, set out to overhaul immunization guidance at HHS in the first year of Trump’s term. He fired an entire 17-member vaccine advisory committee, installing replacements who made far more restrictive recommendations that have since been halted by a federal judge. He also personally directed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism, without supplying any new evidence to support the change.

Throughout his second term, Trump has been fixated on connecting autism to vaccines. He has recently ramped up pressure on Kennedy to identify the cause of autism, something Kennedy had pledged to do with new research unveiled last year. Trump publicly prodded the health secretary for an update on autism research in a Cabinet meeting last month.

“How are you doing on the autism research?” Trump asked.

“We will have an answer for you,” Kennedy said.

Scientific consensus and decades of studies have firmly concluded there is no link between childhood vaccines and autism. Racine reiterated that point on Monday, noting that the potential link had been studied in “over 40 methodologically well-designed studies in over seven countries involving over 5 million children.”

“I'm not sure that there is anything that has been as thoroughly looked at as this question," he said. “And the answer is unequivocally no."

In the Oval Office, Kennedy repeated his assertion that he believes an unknown environmental factor is to blame for rising autism diagnoses and said that his department will deliver research findings “as soon as they are ready.”

Monday's order comes as students are returning to classrooms around the country and the nation contends with a measles outbreak that experts say could result in the U.S. losing its measles elimination status.

Doctors have raised concerns that Trump's falsehoods on vaccines could stoke vaccine hesitancy. Federal data shows U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates have been dropping, with the share of children with exemptions rising to an all-time high in the 2024-25 school year.

___

This story was first published on Aug. 10, 2026. It was published again on Aug. 11, 2026, to correct the name of the agency where Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. set out to overhaul immunization guidance. The agency was HHS, not DHS.

___

Associated Press writers Laura Ungar and Mike Stobbe contributed to this report. Swenson reported from New York.

The winner will advance to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in November in an open race that could test the limits of progressives' appeal in a critical battleground state.

Democrats are hoping to capitalize on low approval ratings for President Donald Trump in a state he won in 2016 and 2024 to retain control of the governor’s office and flip both chambers of the Legislature to earn full control of Wisconsin state government for the first time since 2010.

In other races, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s 26-year-old son-in-law Michael Alfonso is trying to win a five-way primary in Duffy’s old seat in the U.S. House. And Democrat Rebecca Cooke is looking to emerge from the primary to force a rematch with Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden in the state’s most hotly contested and narrowly divided congressional district.

Democratic socialist shakes up Wisconsin race, fueled by national movement

Single mother and former line cook Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, has tapped into Democratic anger with the party’s mainstream and Trump's “Make America Great Again” movement.

The 37-year-old known for sprinkling her comments with profanity and leaning into her edgy and sometimes humorous social media profile excited the liberal wing of the party. Hong called for free childcare and healthcare and a moratorium on artificial intelligence data center construction. But she also wrestled with her past support for defunding the police, saying at the race’s only debate that she would not support cutting law enforcement funding.

She also drew criticism for past social media posts in which she called for canceling Thanksgiving because “we should stop celebrating colonialism" and disparaged Valentine’s Day as “another day capitalism tells you how to show love.”

Hong has since downplayed the posts as her attempt at making jokes.

Hong supporter Dan Jakubek, 44, of Marshall, dismissed concerns over Hong's past statements and said her message of affordability is resonating across generations.

“I've never seen so many young, out of high school, college students revved up for change,” he said.

Establishment Democrats worried that a Hong win would make it easier for Tiffany to win in November, as her platform would be a tougher sell among moderate and independent voters who are critical in the swing state known for razor-thin election margins.

Gov. Tony Evers endorsed Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, saying he has the best chance of beating Tiffany in November.

Crowley told supporters at a Sunday night rally that they must come together after the primary to beat Tiffany.

“Our ultimate goal is to make sure we don’t have a MAGA extremist occupying the governor’s office,” Crowley said.

Hong said she would welcome Evers' support after the primary.

“We have to come together to beat Tom Tiffany," she said Monday.

Democrat David Zimmerman, a 79-year-old retired industrial engineer professor in Madison, voted for Crowley on Tuesday. He said Hong's chance of beating Tiffany in November “worries me a lot" but he would vote for her if she's the nominee.

“I think she's going to have trouble winning,” he said.

Fellow Crowley voter Julie Martinson, 69, a bank worker from Madison, also said she was worried about Hong being able to win the general election. But Martinson also predicted Democrats would come together to support her.

“There's no reason we can't galvanize around her and get her in there, ” she said.

Hong is the first Asian American elected to the state Assembly in 2020. She is looking to become Wisconsin's first female governor and first Asian American governor. Crowley would be the state's first Black governor.

Chaotic Democratic primary saw candidates drop, come back in

Evers’ decision not to seek a third term created an open race for governor that initially had seven Democrats file to run.

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez appeared to be making a move to consolidate mainstream Democratic support in July, but she dropped out in the middle of the month amid a campaign finance scandal. That led Crowley, who had dropped out a week earlier and endorsed Rodriguez, to get back in the race, this time with Evers' backing.

Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who was seen as an early front-runner after nearly beating Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in 2022, bowed out less than two weeks before the election amid questions about inappropriate behavior.

Sean Duffy’s son-in-law looks to win back Duffy’s old congressional district

Alfonso is looking to become the youngest member of Congress by winning Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, a seat previously held for nine years by his father-in-law before Duffy stepped down in 2019.

He secured Trump’s endorsement, who called him a “MAGA warrior,” to separate him from the field that also includes Kevin Hermening, a Trump supporter and longtime Republican operative in the congressional district.

Trump spoke on a telephone rally for Alfonso on Monday night, calling him “a fantastic young guy who’s going to be a star in Washington.” It was the second event Trump hosted for Alfonso in the primary.

Alfonso’s candidacy drew blowback from some longtime Republican leaders in the district who said he was too young and inexperienced for the job, especially compared with Hermening.

Democrat Cooke looks for repeat race against Rep. Derrick Van Orden

Cooke, a former Democratic fundraiser and small business owner, faces a challenge from former Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge in Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District. Berge ran an underdog, insurgent campaign against Cooke, who was more well-known and better financed.

Cooke narrowly lost to Van Orden in 2024 and also ran in 2022 but lost in the Democratic primary that year.

Van Orden is one of Trump’s biggest supporters but will face a tough reelection bid in a narrowly divided district in a year where Trump’s approval ratings are low in Wisconsin.

According to New Smyrna Beach police reports, the encounter happened at the New Smyrna Beach Public Library during a dispute over the placement of campaign signs.

Police provided News 6 with two reports related to the incident.

In the initial report, an officer said he saw a campaign sign Depew was holding come close to a person’s face but could not confirm whether the sign made contact with the person’s body.

A second report, filed by a different officer the following day, states the person involved claimed she was struck by the sign after Depew placed it in the ground and pushed it against her body.

Depew provided News 6 with cellphone video showing moments leading up to the encounter.

Depew denied that the incident reflected his character and called the allegations politically motivated.

“The residents know that this is not my character,” Depew said. “I’ve fought for them for the past four years.”

Depew also said he believes residents should not get caught up in what he described as political attacks.

The person involved in the incident and the candidate she was supporting were contacted by News 6 for comment. Neither had responded at the time of publication.

Depew is currently running for reelection as Edgewater’s mayor. He has served as mayor for more than three years and was elected at age 18, making him the youngest elected official in Florida at the time.

As of Tuesday, Depew has not been officially charged in connection with the incident, according to New Smyrna Beach police.

Police said the case is being forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office for review. News 6 confirmed the office will further review the case.

News 6 will continue to follow the case as it moves forward.

In Wisconsin, state Rep. Francesca Hong, a self-described democratic socialist, is the front-runner for the party's nomination for governor in a swing state where winning the governor's mansion is central to Democrats' hopes for 2028 and beyond. In Minnesota, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is running for the nomination for an open Senate seat against centrist Democratic Rep. Angie Craig.

The left vs. center theme is on display in Democratic primaries in multiple states voting Tuesday, with other significant races in places like Alabama and South Carolina.

Here's what to watch Tuesday night.

Does the left keep surging in swing states?

Left-leaning candidates have consistently won primaries, capitalizing on Democratic voter frustration at party leadership. Most wins came in reliably liberal urban areas, ranging from New York Cityto Denver. But last week, progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed broke new ground by winning the party's nomination for a competitive Senate race in swing state Michigan.

Now Hong and, to a lesser extent, Flanagan are trying to claim even more purple terrain for the left.

President Donald Trump won Wisconsin in 2024 and its state legislature has long been in the hands of the GOP, but Democrats have been bullish about reversing that trend. Hong has maintained a steady lead in public polls against Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, despite his endorsement by the state's current governor, Democrat Tony Evers. Hong is also helped by the presence on the ballot of multiple more traditional candidates who will split votes against her, including former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who dropped out of the race late last month.

Hong has a trail of controversial statements, including vocal support for defunding the police in 2020, a position she now disavows. Prominent Democratic strategists fear that she can win the primary by appealing to the party's base but is a risk in the general election. The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in November.

The stakes are high in the race for Democrats nationally, not just Wisconsin residents. Democrats are hoping to win control of the state legislature, and the governor's mansion would give them an ability to redraw Wisconsin's map to counter the edge the GOP built up in this year's mid-decade redistricting. Without that, their path to a House majority in 2028 becomes challenging.

Democrats will also likely need to win Wisconsin to retake the White House in 2028, and the governor will have a key role in certifying the winner of the election. In 2020, Trump tried to claim Wisconsin despite it being won by Joe Biden, only to be blocked in part by Evers. Tiffany, who has been endorsed by Trump, supported the president's attempt to overturn the election.

Democrats have reliably won Minnesota during the Trump years, but by shrinking margins, and Republicans believe they have a shot at claiming the open Senate seat given the primary battle there. Craig represents a swing district and has taken more moderate stances, and Flanagan has slammed her for being supported by establishment Democrats and being too accommodating to Trump, especially on immigration.

Lamont won as an insurgent. Now he's establishment

When the Democratic establishment was worrying about insurgents from the left a generation ago, it fretted about the man who is currently Connecticut's governor, Ned Lamont.

A wealthy former entrepreneur, Lamont was an obscure Greenwich selectman when he mounted a primary challenge against the state's senior senator, Joe Lieberman, in 2006. Lamont argued that the centrist Lieberman, who had been the party's vice presidential nominee in 2000, wasn't a loyal enough Democrat and leaned too far to the right.

Lamont won that primary, but Lieberman ran in the general election as an independent and kept his Senate seat. Lamont kept running for office and eventually was elected governor in 2018. Now 72, Lamont is being challenged from the left by State Rep. Josh Elliott, 41, who alleges the governor hasn't fought Trump hard enough and that the solidly Democratic state deserves better than Lamont's fiscally moderate approach.

For months, Lamont largely ignored Elliott and focused on burnishing his own image. But in a sign of a potentially tightening race, he's begun to advertise against his challenger.

An incumbent cast as too old and too tied to big money

Also in Connecticut, Rep. John Larson faces his first primary challenge after 14 terms in the House from former Hartford mayor Luke Bronin.

The race follows familiar contours, as Bronin, 47, argues that Larson, 78, is too old and too tied to big money donors. Larson argues his experience and seniority put him in the best position to deliver for his voters.

There is also a growing list of longtime Democrats upset by younger challengers. Will one more name get added on Tuesday night?

In a Wisconsin House district, a rematch is likely

Democratic voters in a swath of western Wisconsin are expected to renominate Rebecca Cooke to face two-term Republican Rep. Derek Van Orden in Wisconsin’s 3rd District, setting up a rematch for one of the more competitive seats in the U.S. House.

In 2024, Cooke, a nonprofit executive and small business owner, lost narrowly to Van Orden, who was elected in 2022 and has been a devout supporter of Trump.

The district is a mix of Wisconsin farmland where Republicans have improved over the past decade and mini-metros with state universities giving them small but influential Democratic bases.

Cooke, of Eau Claire, faces Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge on Tuesday, but Cooke has Democratic institutional support, including from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Cooke has also raised roughly $8.6 million, far exceeding Berge’s roughly $729,000.

Van Orden is unopposed in Tuesday’s Republican primary.

In South Carolina, it's a famous name vs. experience

For a state with little mystery expected in November, South Carolina is again in the spotlight, this time holding primaries to nominate candidates for a special U.S. Senate election.

South Carolina voters voted on June 9 for nominees to statewide office, and then cast ballots in the June 23 primary runoffs for contests where no candidate reached 50% of the vote. And there were several, including GOP nominations for governor and nominations for several congressional seats.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death on July 11 at age 71 of an aortic rupture to his heart ensured South Carolina voters were not finished deciding who would be on the November ballot. Voters on Tuesday will be deciding who will succeed the four-term Graham as the Republican nominee in the GOP-heavy Southern state.

They will be choosing from Graham’s sister Darline, who was appointed to fill the vacancy by Gov. Henry McMaster and who has been endorsed by Trump, as well as U.S. Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman, former Rep. Mark Sanford and six other candidates.

If no one reaches 50% of the vote Tuesday -- that’s right -- there will be another runoff, this one on Aug. 25.

Trump's administration is hoping that months of bombing have pushed Iran’s economy to a breaking point that will force its leadership to cave to demands to end its nuclear program and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil and natural gas tankers.

The Republican president on Monday said that since Iran is seeking compensation as part of any peace talks, he now intends to demand the same for the U.S. side. It's part of a larger pivot this weekend by Trump to argue that Iran is now on the cusp of financially collapsing, even though it has already endured decades of financial sanctions, which are often a longer-term strategy rather than an immediate tool of warfare that can halt a conflict.

The shift comes as U.S. stockpiles of key weapons have dwindled and as stop-start talks seem again to have stalled. But Trump insists the pressure can lead to a breakthrough.

“Yeah, they can make trouble, but they’re broke,” Trump told reporters. “They have no money. You know, Iran is broke, totally broke. And, they’re not paying their soldiers. They have inflation of 300%.”

Inflation is running high in Iran, although Trump's estimates were higher than what administration officials have been citing to reporters. But the prospect of a longer war also carries inflation risks for other nations, including the U.S., where the war and higher gasoline prices are unpopular.

Crude oil prices climbed on Monday as investors interpreted Trump’s comments as a sign that fewer ships would be traversing the Strait of Hormuz, continuing to limit global supplies of gasoline, jet fuel, natural gas and other forms of energy. The Iran war largely closed the waterway involved in shipping roughly 20% of global oil supplies before the conflict — and attempts to reopen the strait have been short-lived as it has become a source of leverage for the Iranians in negotiations.

Iran does not appear to be publicly intimidated by the prospect of more financial sanctions.

“Whenever Washington proves itself incapable of pursuing diplomacy, it retreats into sanctions; and whenever those sanctions fail to produce results, it simply increases the dose,” said Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, on social media. “The real risk is that American politicians, clinging to this bad habit, will instead strangle their own remaining chances of a less humiliating exit from a crisis of their own making.”

The White House has called this Operation Economic Fury

The president didn’t say what additional financial pressure would be applied, but the administration has since April 16 been engaged in what it calls Operation Economic Fury against Iran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called this component the “financial equivalent” of a bombing campaign as the countries that buy oil from Iran or bank with it could be sanctioned.

But one problem with this pivot is that the sanctions are unable to bite as quickly as the impact of the largely shuttered strait, said Richard Nephew, a senior research scholar at Columbia University who helped direct Iran sanctions strategy in the Obama administration.

Nephew stressed that the value of sanctions as a tool is limited because Trump has not articulated clear strategic goals for the war, at times stressing that it can't have a nuclear weapon, then emphasizing the strait and then talking about ballistic missiles. Instead, Trump has engaged in a massive series of aerial assaults and a level of destruction that has not produced the quick end that he initially promised.

“Economic pressure is a possible element in his strategy, but he’s yet to explain the purpose,” Nephew said. “Trump has systematically weakened his own hand through his inadequate use of force, inarticulate elucidation of an objective, and vacillation on negotiations.”

Still, the sanctions and the ongoing U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports give the U.S. economic and financial leverage, said Juan Zarate, a deputy national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration. Zarate said the U.S. sanctions threatening third-party countries doing business with Iran also have an impact. But these things take time, he noted.

“The ultimate question will be how far the United States is willing to go to constrict Iran’s oil trade and threaten third countries with severe sanctions -- and whether it has the patience to test whether the economic pain will change the regime’s behavior,” Zarate said.

Past presidents used sanctions. Trump has said they didn't go far enough

Trump's latest pivot to economic issues with Iran is something of a flip-flop. Trump has long derided past presidents who used sanctions to limit Iran’s economic ability to pay for its military and nuclear development. In a speech last week in Las Vegas, he defended the bombing, missiles and drone attacks that began on Feb. 28 by indicating that the sanctions from previous administrations that date back to November 1979 had failed to succeed.

“It’s been 47 years, but really, it’s been 50 years because they’ve been saying 47 for three years, it’s been 50 years,” Trump said. “And no other president has done what you should have done a long time ago, because Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, can’t have it.”

The Iranian economy has suffered gravely because of the war, with the International Monetary Fund estimating the overall economy shrinks by 5.4% and the Iranian government recently reporting an annual inflation rate of 88.6%. The U.S. Treasury Department said average loadings of Iranian oil have decreased from 1.8 million barrels per day before the war to less than 500,000 barrels per day over the past month.

The U.S. economy — the world’s largest — has continued to grow, but inflation is elevated and borrowing costs have risen in ways that have hurt Trump’s popularity and led to disapproval of the Iran war.

A senior U.S. official, insisting on anonymity to discuss strategy, said the U.S. military has set back Iran’s ability to produce, sell and ship oil and other energy resources. The administration sees the naval blockade of the strait and sanctions as effective and views Trump as having additional options that can be cranked harder in the weeks and months ahead.

Trump is essentially arguing that U.S. voters are better able to tolerate any economic inconveniences than Iranians, who have been in a state of economic hardship for years.

“It’s not just what the military can do — we’ve got the most powerful economy in the world as well," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday in a joint appearance with Bessent. "And when you’ve got a motivated treasury secretary who can pull a lot of levers because he knows how to do it, you can put a lot of pressure on adversaries.”

___

AP White House reporter Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.

James' arrival in Philadelphia has made the 76ers must-see TV, and they are all over the NBA's biggest days of the season.

James will make his 76ers debut against the NBA champion Knicks on Oct. 20. The game at Madison Square Garden will be part of a tripleheader, when the Knicks raise a banner to celebrate their first championship since 1973 and James then kicks off the final stop in his career.

He will return to LA to face the Lakers on Christmas, after Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs are back in New York for an NBA Finals rematch to open a five-game schedule.

The NBA unveiled those games Tuesday as what it called a “sneak peek” at the 2026-27 schedule. The full schedule will be released Thursday.

The season begins with the Boston Celtics visiting Detroit in a rare 3 p.m. EDT start for a midweek game. The tripleheader is capped by the Spurs hosting Oklahoma City in a rematch of the Western Conference finals.

Those three games — opening night traditionally has featured two in recent years — will all be televised by NBC. ESPN then has all five games on Christmas.

That schedule: San Antonio at New York, Miami at Boston, Philadelphia at Los Angeles, Oklahoma City at Minnesota and Denver at Golden State.

James’ new team was always going to have a prominent place on the schedule, so the NBA struggled to put the puzzle together while waiting for his decision. Commissioner Adam Silver even said last month that he wanted James to announce his decision because teams and networks were calling to ask when the schedule would be completed.

The NBA's career scoring leader said it would be the Sixers about a week later, joining a team that already had acquired All-Star Jaylen Brown from Boston and is expected to be one of the top challengers for the Knicks' title.

James will play his first home game in Philadelphia on Oct. 22 against Cleveland, one of his former teams that hoped to get the 41-year-old Ohio native back for a third time. That will be part of an ESPN doubleheader preceding Denver visiting Oklahoma City.

Minnesota visits Miami to highlight the schedule on Oct. 21, when most teams will open their seasons. The Heat acquired two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee — and tried to bring James back as well — and the Timberwolves traded for flashy point guard LaMelo Ball. Golden State then faces the Lakers to cap that ESPN doubleheader.

The Spurs are also a top draw now behind Wembanyama, the NBA Defensive Player of the Year who helped San Antonio win Game 7 of the West finals in Oklahoma City to end the Thunder's title reign.

This will be his second time playing at Madison Square Garden on Christmas, after he delivered a massive 42-point, 18-rebound performance in 2024 in a loss in his first time playing on the holiday. This matchup will be his first time back on the court in New York since the Knicks set an NBA Finals record by rallying from 29 points down for a 107-106 victory in Game 4. They won the title in San Antonio in the next game.

San Antonio will face Houston and former Longhorns star Kevin Durant in a game at the University of Texas on Oct. 23 airing on Prime Video, the back of a doubleheader starting with the Knicks at the Celtics.

___

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

The cases span from Indigenous land rights, recent rollbacks on environmental safeguards and infrastructure projects. Despite their differences, they share a common path to the court.

In recent years, a mostly conservative Congress approved measures that environmentalists say violate constitutional rights. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose administration has pursued a more environmentally focused agenda, vetoed some measures outright and parts of others.

But lawmakers overrode those objections, and the disputes ultimately reached the Supreme Court, which environmental advocates increasingly view as the last line of defense against the weakening of environmental protections in Brazil.

The cases illustrate the constraints facing the Lula administration. Despite notable achievements in reducing deforestation and directing resources to foster ecological investments, the government has often struggled to counter a conservative Congress where agribusiness interests wield significant influence.

“The government is very weak in the legislative arena," said Suely Araújo, a policy coordinator at the Climate Observatory, a network of environmental nonprofits. "It often opposes anti-environmental bills, but it lacks the political strength to persuade Congress to vote with it.”

Agribusiness holds considerable sway in Congress

The Lula administration is not only outnumbered in Congress, but also has less leverage to negotiate than previous Brazilian governments. In recent years, lawmakers have gained greater control over the federal budget, a key tool of political bargaining.

Agribusiness, one of Brazil’s most powerful economic sectors, also holds a majority in Congress and has pushed through measures that weaken environmental protections. As a result, the Supreme Court has emerged as a check on Congress, helping preserve parts of Lula’s environmental agenda when lawmakers push in the opposite direction.

The office of the president's chief of staff, which coordinates the government’s relations with Congress, said in a statement to The Associated Press it would not comment on cases pending before the Supreme Court.

Brazil is the world’s largest producer of soybeans and beef. While most Brazilian beef is consumed domestically, most soybeans are exported. From January through July 2026, China, Brazil's largest trading partner, bought 50% of its beef exports and 70% of its soybean exports, according to official trade data.

The expansion of Brazil’s agricultural frontier, particularly for cattle ranching and soybean production, is the country’s leading cause of deforestation, much of it in the Amazon.

The Parliamentary Agricultural Front did not respond to a request for comment. Agribusiness groups have long said they oppose illegal deforestation and point to increased agricultural productivity even as forest clearing has declined.

Protecting the rainforest is critical to tackling climate change. The Amazon helps regulate climate and rainfall patterns and stores vast amounts of carbon that, if released, could further accelerate global warming.

Shaping the future of Indigenous lands

On Friday, Brazil’s Supreme Court began reviewing final motions seeking clarification of a 2025 ruling that rejected the “time limit” thesis, a legal theory backed by the agribusiness caucus that would restrict Indigenous land claims to territories they occupied or were under legal dispute when the Constitution took effect on Oct. 5, 1988.

Supporters say the cutoff provides legal certainty for landowners. Indigenous groups argue it disregards decades of expulsions and forced displacement, particularly during Brazil’s agricultural expansion in the 20th century.

The justices are considering motions filed by the government, political parties, farmers and Indigenous organizations, with votes due by Aug. 18. Among other issues, they are expected to address compensation rules and possible deadlines for completing Indigenous land demarcations.

Ricardo Terena, a lawyer with the advocacy organization Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, said some of the proposals could effectively stall future demarcations by adding administrative hurdles and broadening compensation rights for non-Indigenous occupants, allowing them to remain on disputed land until payment is made.

The Kawahiva Indigenous people, who remain isolated and uncontacted in the Amazon, is one of the many communities who may be affected by the proceedings. Authorities confirmed their presence in Mato Grosso state in 1999, but only completed the physical demarcation of their territory, mapping it out earlier this month.

According to the nonprofit Survival International, the remaining Kawahiva are nomadic hunter-gatherers who survived attacks and disease and continue to avoid contact with outsiders.

2 other cases that could reshape Amazon governance

On Wednesday, Brazil's top court is also scheduled to consider two other significant sets of cases: state laws that led to the end of the soy moratorium and a new environmental license law that fast-tracked approval of strategic infrastructure projects.

In January, major grain traders withdrew from the soy moratorium, a nearly 20-year-old pact credited with reducing Amazon deforestation by barring soy grown on cleared land. The agreement collapsed after top soy-producing states passed bills revoking tax benefits for participating companies. Justice Flávio Dino issued an injunction temporarily halting the state legislation, and the full court is now set to review his order.

Also on Wednesday, the court is expected to consider a challenge to the new environmental licensing law that took effect in February. The law fast-tracks permits for projects with significant impact, including mines, highways, and industrial plants.

Araújo of the Climate Observatory said she expects the Supreme Court to strike down at least what environmentalists consider the law's most clearly unconstitutional provisions, including those allowing self-licensing for projects with moderate environmental impacts. She added the law is already having tangible consequences in the Amazon, citing the paving of a controversial highway and plans to dredge a major river without adequate prior environmental review.

The environment ministry has defended the soy moratorium, saying it helped reduce Amazon deforestation even as Brazil expanded production. On the environmental licensing law, the ministry said the government had sought to veto provisions it considered problematic and remained concerned about maintaining minimum national standards.

“Brazil needs an environmental licensing system that is more efficient, predictable, technically robust and capable of addressing the challenges of an economy that must expand infrastructure investment while confronting climate change and biodiversity loss,” the ministry said.

___

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.

The warning came to News 6 through the News 6 Neighborhood Network.

Matthew Pitell, who lives in the Pembrooke subdivision near MetroWest, sent News 6 videos showing the coyote near homes and front doors. Pitell said the animal has become an almost daily visitor, usually showing up early in the morning. He has also seen it cross his backyard toward the nearby Bermuda Dunes condominium community as late as 10:30 p.m.

Pitell said he wanted to get the video out to warn other people in the neighborhood, particularly those with pets.

News 6 found he isn’t the only neighbor who has encountered the animal.

Doug Way said he was walking his dachshund, Addie, around 10 p.m. Saturday when he initially mistook the coyote for a stray dog.

Way said the animal ran off, but then turned back and came within feet of him and Addie before eventually heading toward a nearby retention area.

“I feel like if I were not out here with Addie, she wouldn’t be with us anymore. Or a cat or any of the pets in the neighborhood,” Way said. “He was very sizable.”

Way said he and his wife are now taking Addie out earlier. Two other neighbors News 6 spoke with while they were walking small dogs said they have also adjusted when they take their pets outside.

Why doesn’t Orange County remove the coyote?

Pitell told News 6 he had contacted Orange County hoping someone could help but was told the county does not handle coyotes.

Orange County Animal Services confirmed to News 6 that coyote calls are referred to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Animal Services said it will respond to large wildlife if the animal is sick or injured, but other coyote concerns fall under FWC.

FWC says coyotes have been documented in all 67 Florida counties and are found in rural, suburban and urban areas. The agency does not ask people to report routine coyote sightings. It does, however, ask people experiencing conflicts with coyotes – or seeing unusual or aggressive behavior – to contact FWC for guidance.

FWC also says simply removing coyotes is not generally an effective long-term solution because other coyotes can move into the same territory. Reducing food sources and other things that attract them is one of the most effective ways to prevent conflicts.

How to protect pets and discourage coyotes

• FWC says coyotes can prey on cats and small dogs. Among the agency’s recommendations are:
• Keep cats indoors and do not allow pets to roam freely.
• Walk dogs on a short leash, particularly at night, dusk and dawn.
• Supervise pets outside, even in fenced yards, and check fences for gaps coyotes could get through.
• Secure garbage and keep pet food indoors.
• Clean grills and remove fallen fruit and birdseed that could attract wildlife.
• Never feed coyotes.
• If a coyote approaches, make noise, yell, and wave your arms to encourage it to leave. A strong spray from a water hose can also be used as a deterrent.
• Contact FWC if a coyote is approaching people closely, allowing people to approach it, behaving aggressively or creating an ongoing conflict.

FWC provided similar guidance to News 6 in response to questions about the Pembrooke sightings.

The timing of the Pembrooke sightings comes just before an FWC event aimed at helping Floridians understand the animals.

FWC is hosting a free virtual coyote presentation Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m. An FWC biologist will discuss coyote biology and behavior, their role in Florida’s ecosystem, why they show up in communities, and ways people can prevent and resolve conflicts.

FWC says registration is not required and space is unlimited. The presentation is held through Microsoft Teams. People joining from a computer do not need to download the Teams app, though mobile users may need the app.

Information on joining the presentation, additional coyote safety guidance, and resources for protecting pets are available on FWC’s coyote webpage.

“There was no place where we could guarantee that you could go in and hear it,” he told The Associated Press. “So, we had to establish that.”

Freeman and his business partners, then-Mayor Bill Luckett and Howard Stovall, were inspired to open a juke joint in Clarksdale called Ground Zero Blues Club. Then, much more recently, they created “Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience,” a touring ensemble of blues musicians who marry the beloved Southern genre with classical, symphonic compositions. On Friday, they'll release an album under the same name.

The legendary actor is a producer and narrator on the release, not a performer. That's left up to the professionals: all-star acts like Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo’, Shemekia Copeland, Tiernii Jackson, the Stax Music Academy Choir, the Chineke! Orchestra out of London, and many more.

“I like the blues. I like music. I cannot claim to be an aficionado. That’s not my place,” says Freeman. “I’m an enthusiast, but that’s a necessity.”

From live performances to a full-length record

Before the album, the “Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience” traveling performances were born out of a simple idea: How could Freeman and his team bring this music to the world?

“Blues is an important American story birthed in the Mississippi Delta out of hardship but obviously resonates with people and cultures on a global basis, both for how good it sounds, but also the message underneath it,” said Eric Meier, Freeman's partner and co-producer on the project who joined the actor's blues club in 2018. “We conceived of this concept to really take this music to new geographies and new audiences.”

Turning the live performance into an album meant cutting down a nearly two-hour show to around 45 minutes across 12 tracks, while still honoring the format. It includes video vignettes as well as “cinematic narration,” courtesy of Freeman, recorded at the club in Clarksdale.

“We offer a musical story, a 100-year arc from the 1930s to modern day, so the evolution of blues music,” says Meier.

Freeman's idiosyncratic voice opens the record, describing the genre with a real poetry, delivered atop a haunting rendition of Blind Willie Johnson's 1927 gospel blues classic, “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground.”

“This is music that gave voice to a people, to their pain, their hope and their resilience,” Freeman recites. “Music isn't just melody, you know. It's memory, it's history wrapped in ribbon, the echoes of lives lived and lost, heartache and hope all tangled together. And nowhere is that truer than in the blues.”

Freeman wants to keep the blues alive

The last song on “Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience” sees singer-songwriter Muddy Waters' great-nephew Keith Johnson covering Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Göransson's “I Lied to You” from the Oscar-winning 2025 film “Sinners.” It brings the 100-year story of blues to its coda, but it also serves as a reminder of the film's ability to bring the genre into mainstream conversation.

That's something Freeman hopes to accomplish, too. He wants to make sure blues is not forgotten.

“It is a responsibility that we’ve taken on. And the hope is that it, like everything else that catches on, takes root, as it were. You know, the blues is actually America’s music,” he says. “So, it’s incumbent upon us to water it, nurture it, keep it alive, keep it going.”

Meier adds that their album project predates “Sinners” — he says director Ryan Coogler told him the film's juke joint was partially inspired by Ground Zero Blues Club; the film is set in Clarksdale after all — but it has been “a wonderful coincidence” that both works have the power to bring the blues to the masses.

And maybe one day, “Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience” will receive the same kind of critical praise given to “Sinners.” The album is eligible for the 2027 Grammy Awards.

“We will be submitting in multiple categories,” says Meier. “You got room on your trophy shelf, Morgan?”

“Yeah, yeah. I want it,” Freeman smiles.

Adding Grammy Award-winner to his Academy Award-winner title? “Sounds pretty good to me.”

TUESDAY

A heat advisory is in effect Tuesday, which marks the first day for Orange County and Sumter County schools, and the heat is expected to continue through the weekend with highs in the 90s and heat indices approaching 110 degrees.

A few isolated to widely scattered showers and storms may develop this afternoon and evening as the sea breezes collide, but coverage will remain low at just 20 to 30%.

Any storm that develops could produce frequent lightning, wind gusts of 30 to 50 mph, and locally heavy rain, but most areas will stay dry. Storm activity should fade by around 8 p.m.

THIS WEEK

The heat remains the bigger concern through the rest of the week. Wednesday through Friday will bring more low to mid 90s, with heat indices occasionally reaching 105 to 110 degrees. Rain chances remain below normal, generally ranging from 20 to 40%, meaning most communities will see limited storm coverage.

WEEKEND

By the weekend, the heat wave is expected to continue as high pressure strengthens across the Southeast. Rain chances will remain low, with only isolated to scattered afternoon storms possible, especially near and south of I-4.

Highs will stay in the low to mid 90s, while Moderate to Major Heat Risk is expected across Central Florida.

Orange County Public Schools is heading into the new year short on bus drivers, and staff says the situation has never been this bad.

Bus driver Wanda Wright has seen the shortage firsthand. She retired in 2020, but the district called her back just a year later.

“I thought, well, okay, I’ll go ahead and go back, and maybe six months they’ll have enough people,” Wright said. “But I’ve been there five years.”

Wright was reviewing her routes for the upcoming year when the numbers gave her pause. Under one route option, she would be responsible for 189 high school riders, but her bus can only hold 77.

In late July, OCPS Director of Transportation Services Bill Wen told News 6 the district needed 200 drivers. As of Friday, the district says that number is now down to 50 countywide.

Staff says that, as of now, the district has hired 15 new drivers but has reduced the stated need by doubling the number of stops and adding return trips for current drivers — not just by hiring new ones.

Those extra return trips are required for high schoolers due to high attendance. But that workaround has a ripple effect on younger students.

“In the afternoon we obviously have to make two trips home, which then also impacts the elementaries and middle schools because the buses won’t get there until about 30 minutes after bell time before we can pick them up,” Wen said.

Wright says she knows what it would take to fix the problem.

“They’re gonna have to raise pay that families can live with,” she said.

Starting pay for OCPS bus drivers ranges from $18. 23 an hour, a full dollar less per hour than Seminole County and three dollars less than Volusia County.

Wen acknowledged the challenge, calling bus driving “a vocation that not very many people are going into.”

Contract and salary negotiations are still underway. Wright’s advice to parents heading into this school year: “Be prepared.”

Contract and salary negotiations for OCPS drivers are still underway. U.S. Congressman Darren Soto said he urges state legislators, who control driver salaries, to continue pushing pay upward.

From my personal experience as well as discussions with aging experts, here’s what I suggest adult children talk with their parents about and how to help them. I’ve included insights from several guests on episodes of Morningstar’s  The Long View podcast.

1. How healthy are your finances?

“If I had to do it all over again, I would have had conversations with (my mom) sooner about her finances,” author and journalist  Cameron Huddlestontold us on The Long View.

Our parents don’t want to be a burden, and it may seem like everything is fine, but appearances can be deceiving. Gently ask how they’re managing their bills: Are they paying on time, do they have enough money?

Then keep going with questions about income. Are they getting distributions from retirement funds or relying on Social Security and a pension? Do they have investments? They may not want to share all the paperwork, but you can ask them to put it someplace safe for you to access in case of emergency.

What you can do:

1. If the logistics are hard for your parents or they’re paying bills late, ask them about setting up autopay. Along with that, they’ll need account alerts and regular reviews to avoid errors or fraud.

2. See if their utility companies can add you as an authorized or emergency contact, so you get notified if they miss a payment or are in danger of shut-off.

3. If they have a lot of accounts to keep track of, help them streamline if possible. “We simplified our finances down just basically into one bank account and one credit card,” Sally Balch Hurme , an elder law attorney and author, told us on The Long View .

4. If you’ve noticed changes that may suggest they’re experiencing cognitive decline, encourage your parents to have a conversation with a healthcare provider.

5. Discuss with them who they want to be their durable power of attorney to manage and protect their assets.

6. If money is tight, help your parents get in touch with organizations such as local senior services or departments on aging. They could help with meals, transportation, or money management.

7. Depending on circumstances, you may be able to help them apply for Medicaid. The rules on eligibility vary by state, and there are asset limits and “look-back” restrictions. It’s a complicated process that often requires an attorney.

2. Do you have end-of-life plans and documents?

“If you die without a will,  state law is going to determine who gets your assets. … (Or) family members get into fighting over who gets what,” Huddleston says.

That’s why a will and a durable power of attorney are important. Even if there’s a will, though, beneficiary designations on various accounts can override it. If those are out of date, money could go to a place the parent didn’t ultimately intend.

Don’t overlook a healthcare power of attorney (aka healthcare surrogate or healthcare proxy), which is someone who can make medical decisions if your parent can’t. An advance directive (often called a living will) specifies what sort of end-of-life care they want. Then “family knows what your wishes are so they don’t end up in court fighting over whether to keep you on life support,” Huddleston says.

And finally, ask about your parents’ wishes for a burial, cremation, or memorial service, and whether they may have already bought a cemetery plot.

What you can do:

8. Huddleston’s recommendation: “Encourage them to meet with an estate planning attorney or an elder-law attorney as soon as possible. And if your parents don’t have the resources to pay for an attorney, perhaps you can offer paying for them as a gift.”

9. Help them review beneficiary designations on IRAs, life insurance policies, and bank accounts, especially if there’s been a death, divorce , or remarriage.

10. If your loved one has already completed these documents, make sure you know where they are.

Here’s what this all boils down to, attorney Hurme says, “Your family really can’t carry out your wishes if they don’t know what they are. They want to do the right thing. So don’t make them guess about it.”

3. Is your home still safe and comfortable for you?

A 2024 survey from AARP shows that the majority of older adults want to stay in their homes as long as possible. As people age, though, it can be difficult, especially if they’re far from the rest of the family. Can your parents still climb the stairs? Can they safely maintain a big yard? Let them know there are benefits for both of you: They could help you by handling the occasional school pickup, and they might get  a health boost from interacting with grandkids.

What you can do:

11. Explore whether your parents can stay in their home with adjustments: bedroom on the first floor, grab bars in the bathroom, video doorbell, wearable medical alert device like a watch or pendant, or a TV-based video calling system that family members can control from their phones.

12. Help them find someone to assist with meals, laundry, errands, and so on. If your parents have a long-term care insurance policy , check whether it covers some of these services. Vet these service providers carefully and check in on your parents even if you’re not giving hands-on help. Your attention and vigilance could protect them from exploitation.

13. If staying home isn’t in the cards for them anymore, look into home-sharing or an accessory dwelling unit that can offer both independence and proximity to younger relatives.

14. Explore continuing care retirement communities . With CCRCs, also known as life plan communities, people go in healthy and live independently, with “Someone to always rely on no matter what.” That’s the take from Joy Loverde , an author, speaker, and family caregiver who talked to us on The Long View . Fees and operators’ financial stability vary, so if your parents opt for a CCRC, make sure to do your research.

15. Look into assisted living. “There are assisted living communities that are excellent,” Loverde says. “And they also have therapists, and they have spiritual programs, and they have a family environment.” And again, a long-term care insurance policy can help with those expenses. Arrange to tour a facility with your parents so they can see how the residents are taken care of, the activities, and the food.

16. If you meet a brick wall and they just won’t talk about living elsewhere, then get to know their neighbors and exchange phone numbers. In an emergency, they could check on your folks.

Your loved ones may not be open to these tricky conversations the first time around, but raise the issue gently again, making sure they know how much you care.

Valentina Djeljosevic contributed to this article.

_____

This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance.

Amy C. Arnott, CFA, is a portfolio strategist for Morningstar and co-host of The Long View podcast.

Related Links:

How to Tackle Estate Planning Basics in 7 Steps

https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/how-tackle-estate-planning-basics-7-steps

What Retirees Might Give Up When They Age in Place

https://www.morningstar.com/retirement/what-retirees-might-give-up-when-they-age-place

5 Money Questions Every Couple Should Ask

https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/5-money-questions-every-couple-should-askespecially-before-valentines-day

The board is evaluating an application by Zen Cropscience for the confined field trial in northern Perak state that involves a genetically modified version of the MR219 rice variety that is tolerant to the herbicide glyphosate and resists diseases caused by bacteria and fungi.

The coalition of 61 organizations said Tuesday it had submitted a formal objection as part of a public consultation process that ended last week. The groups said the project is similar to one submitted for a field trial in Perlis state in 2019 that was later abandoned, and that they are renewing their earlier objections.

The groups said their main concern is the potential for genetically modified material to contaminate conventional and wild rice through cross-pollination or other means. They said Malaysia’s biosafety law has insufficient legal protection and compensation mechanisms for farmers who could suffer economic losses from accidental contamination of their crops.

Farmers also worry that the genetic modification could encourage greater use of glyphosate, potentially accelerating the development of herbicide-resistant “super weeds” that would require farmers to apply more herbicide to control them. They warned glyphosate residues could remain in harvested rice and enter the food supply.

The integration of a gene for fungal resistance is worrying as it could potentially compromise food safety by altering nutritional values or increasing allergenic and toxin levels, the coalition said.

Abdul Rashid Yob, who heads a farmers association representing 200,000 members nationwide, pointed to previous negative experience with the herbicide-tolerant Clearfield rice. While production initially improved, weeds quickly developed resistance, forcing farmers to use higher doses of herbicides, which raised production costs and degraded soil fertility, he said.

“GM rice will be much worse. It is not the answer,” he said.

Malaysia relies heavily on imported rice, with domestic production meeting only about half its national consumption needs, according to official data.

The National Biosafety Board has said the proposed trial would be carried out within an insect-proof contained net house on industrial land, far from agricultural areas. It has said the risk of cross-pollination is low and acknowledged the toxicological data for GMO rice hasn't been ascertained. It is unclear when the board will make a final decision.

Although the application is for a confined field trial rather than commercial cultivation, the coalition said the research should be canceled because GMOs cannot be completely controlled once released into the environment.

“There is no need for such a trial. We don't want GM crops,” said Mageswari Sangaralingam, from the Consumers Association of Penang.

The coalition said farmers have alternatives to genetically modified crops for managing weeds and disease, such as the use of robotic technology from Japan that could swiftly remove weeds.

The World Health Organization’s cancer research agency classified glyphosate in 2015 as “probably carcinogenic to humans,” based on limited evidence of cancer in humans and sufficient evidence from animal studies.

Other health and regulatory agencies have reached different conclusions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said glyphosate is “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans,” while the European Food Safety Authority said in 2023 that its review found no critical areas of concern regarding human, animal or environmental health.

While these attacks are relatively rare, they do happen — and that sometimes leads to fatal consequences.

In its latest report, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says that there have been around 500 reported attacks in total since it first started keeping track back in 1948.

[RELATED: Florida man files lawsuit after alligator bites his face]

Of these, over 150 were considered “minor,” meaning they required either no treatment or simple first aid.

On the flip side, just under 350 were deemed “major” attacks, where the victims’ injuries required dedicated medical care to treat their wounds.

In all, 33 recorded attacks resulted in death, with the most recent involving a woman who was swimming at the Little Big Econ State Forest with friends earlier this summer.

[RELATED: Woman killed by alligator in Seminole County, FWC says]

You can find the full list of fatalities below:

Florida leads the nation in moves per capita

MovingPlace found Florida ranked No. 1 for moves per capita — 22.1 moves per 1,000 residents — edging out Colorado and Idaho. The report measures “hotness” using:

• Moves per capita
• Total move volume
• Year-over-year change in rank

Panhandle ZIP tops the national “hotness” list

One Florida community stood out nationally: Inlet Beach (ZIP 32461) ranked as the No. 1 hottest ZIP code in the U.S., logging nearly 140 moves per capita in the first half of 2026.

“Inlet Beach ranked as the nation’s top per-capita moving destination in the first half of 2026, proving the continued strength of Florida’s Emerald Coast as a relocation hotspot.

The community’s combination of luxury coastal living, limited inventory, and access to the broader 30A corridor continues to attract retirees and second-home buyers seeking a high-quality lifestyle destination. While home prices remain among the highest on this list, the area’s appeal reflects strong demand from buyers prioritizing lifestyle over affordability.”

MovingPlace, "The Hottest ZIP Codes in America: 2026 Mid-Year Report"

Big movers: Florida ZIP codes climbing fast

Florida also posted some of the biggest year-over-year jumps among top ZIP codes:

• Land O’Lakes (34637): +1,527 rank change — the largest jump in the report — fueled by new communities and proximity to Tampa-area jobs.
• Dunnellon (34434): +216, with MovingPlace pointing to lower home prices and outdoor recreation as draws.
• Placida (33946): +210, reflecting continued interest in Gulf Coast lifestyle and waterfront living.

List of top 50 hottest ZIP codes

Meanwhile, the top 50 hottest ZIP codes by moves per capita were reported as follows:

“Your country is in big trouble. You’re not winning,” Trump said, dressing down Zelenskyy in front of the world’s media. “You don't have the cards.”

The blowup in February 2025, three years into the war, was more than just a heated public exchange: The Ukrainian delegation was asked to leave the White House, and Washington briefly suspended intelligence sharing with Kyiv. In the ensuing months, as Russia made slow but steady gains on the battlefield, Trump warmly welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and seemed ready to push Ukraine into an unfavorable peace deal, including forcing it to give up territory.

But even as Zelenskyy sat next to Trump, his forces were preparing an operation that would reveal Ukraine’s ability and ambition to take the war to Russia: Months later, drones smuggled into the country attacked Russian bombers, destroying or damaging planes worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Since then, Kyiv has ramped up a campaign of longer-range strikes inside Russia and in areas Moscow has seized, increased production of weapons, targeted Russian air defenses, and hit oil infrastructure and the warehouses of a major retailer in a bid to ensure ordinary Russians feel the impact of the conflict.

In an embarrassment to Putin, Ukrainian drone strikes sent thick plumes of smoke billowing over St. Petersburg shortly before the opening of an international economic forum in June. Concern over Ukraine’s attacks led Russian authorities to scale down the May 9 military parade commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany. Strikes on oil refineries have caused a summer fuel crisis.

By the time Trump and Zelenskyy met at a NATO summit in July, the American president said the Ukrainian leader had “been very effective” in the war. “We’ve actually developed a good relationship,” Trump added.

But as Ukraine’s strikes have intensified, so have Russia’s — and Kyiv faces major challenges in defending against them because of shortages of American Patriot air defense missiles.

In the first six months of the year, 1,396 civilians were killed in Ukraine, according to the U.N. Meanwhile, the world body said Russian authorities reported 250 civilians killed in the same period. On Monday, a strike that Ukraine said hit an oil refinery in Russia killed 13 people, according to local officials.

And while Ukraine's effort appears to have shifted the narrative about the war in Washington, it's still not clear if it will be able to push Putin toward the negotiating table.

Ukraine’s strikes are aimed at undermining the idea that Russia can afford to “just let this roll,” said Jack Watling, a senior research fellow at the London-based RUSI think tank.

The question of whether it will succeed depends on how much pain Ukraine can exact. “Logically, above a certain threshold, it does work but whether they can reach that threshold is an interesting question” — and one that depends at least partly on factors outside Kyiv's control, like continued European financial support, he noted.

Ukraine brings the war to Russia

While most of Ukraine's strikes have a range of less than 200 kilometers (125 miles), its longer-range attacks have increased dramatically this year. It launched three times as many of those strikes in July as it did in January, according to data from ACLED, an independent conflict monitor. Repeatedly hitting deep into Russia has forced its military to stretch air defenses over a larger area.

Many of its strikes have focused on four key categories of targets, according to an Associated Press analysis of hundreds of Ukrainian attacks this year — compiled from statements by Russian officials and state media and the Ukrainian military.

As the Iran war pushed up energy prices, leading the U.S. to ease sanctions on Russian oil, Kyiv ramped up strikes on oil infrastructure to deny the Kremlin revenue from fuel exports and force shortages on ordinary Russians. It is also striking defense manufacturing to damage Russia’s long-term ability to produce weapons, targeting air defenses to clear a path for its own arms, and hitting retail warehouses to bring the effects to ordinary Russians.

— As part of the campaign against oil infrastructure, Kyiv said it hit Russia’s largest oil refinery, more than 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) from Ukraine.

— Kyiv has also targeted defense manufacturing centers. It hit a factory making navigation systems multiple times, including with its own Flamingo missile.

— In July and August, Ukraine struck Wildberries warehouses. Kyiv said the company helps supply the Russian military. Moscow denies that.

— Many of Ukraine’s strikes on Russian air defenses and radar are around Russian-held Crimea and are often carried out with drones.

Maj. Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, the commander leading Ukraine’s drone war, told the AP its strikes in Crimea are also aimed at rendering the peninsula unusable as a staging ground for Russian forces.

Starlink gives Ukraine an advantage — for now

It’s not always clear if Ukraine’s attacks are effective — and some may have resulted in minimal or no damage. In May and June, Ukraine said it hit several satellite, reconnaissance or signals intelligence facilities in Russia, but satellite images analyzed by AP did not show major damage.

Still, Ukraine has one advantage that can help it strip back Russian air defenses and make its drone strikes more precise.

It has access to Elon Musk’s satellite communications service Starlink — which means its operators can control drones in real time in Russian-held Ukrainian territory. Russia has been blocked from using Starlink.

But Russia is also building its own version of Starlink, and is installing jamming systems that hamper Starlink connectivity, Brovdi said.

Ukraine is investing heavily in weapons production

Even before the Oval Office meeting, Ukraine scrambled to invest in new weapons — but that moment was “a real wake-up call," said a European military official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the front-line situation in detail. It became clear that U.S. support could be stopped “from one day to the next.”

Ukraine doubled down on production, churning out a growing array of weapons in larger numbers and shortening traditional research and production cycles from decades to years or even months.

Even so, Ukraine is still not able to produce as many missiles as it needs. It also took Ukraine time to make systems that could target facilities precisely enough that Kyiv felt comfortable using them to strike deep into Russia, Watling said.

And while Ukraine has begun to resolve navigational issues with its missiles, such as the Flamingo, those weapons are still not as accurate — or as stealthy — as their Western analogues. That often means hundreds of drones must be fired to overwhelm Russian air defenses to allow a missile to get through.

It's an expensive and time-consuming way to wage war since only 5% to 9% of what Ukraine fires gets past Russian air defenses, according to Watling.

But, although Russia's weapons are more powerful, Zelenskyy suggested at the NATO summit that Putin is “losing the initiative” in the war as Ukraine has moved the fight from the stalled battlefield to the sky.

Sitting next to Trump at the summit, the Ukrainian leader even cracked a joke, demurring when Trump asked him if he would accept Moscow as a venue for peace talks, as Putin has suggested.

“There are a lot of Ukrainian drones in the air," Zelenskyy said. "It would be dangerous.”

Skubal still intends to be much better than he was while allowing three runs on four hits over five innings Monday night in the Dodgers' 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

“I thought I competed well and gave our team a chance to win, and our offense picked me up big-time, defense picked me up big-time, and the bullpen was outstanding tonight,” Skubal said. “So all in all, a good team win, especially when I don’t feel like I performed up to my standard.”

Skubal left trailing 3-2 in the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner's decent, if unspectacular, first start in the home whites. His fastball command was decidedly lacking, and he was unable to get ahead early in most counts during an outing in which he managed just one 1-2-3 inning. The fireworks came instead from the Dodgers' slumbering offense, which awoke with Max Muncy's three-run double and Freddie Freeman's RBI single after Skubal departed.

Although he struck out six, Skubal didn't live up to manager Dave Roberts' pregame prediction of “an electric night” for the vaunted left-hander and his slumping club, which had lost eight of nine heading into this homestand.

“I thought he fought well,” Roberts said. “Tarik didn't have his best stuff, but he didn't relent. He kept going, and he gave us what he had for tonight.”

Even after everything he accomplished while becoming one of the majors' top starters with the Tigers, Skubal was particularly amped up for this debut in front of 51,799 fans eager to cheer their team's biggest trade-deadline addition in its bid to win three straight World Series titles. When Skubal was announced in the starting lineup for the first time, Dodgers fans responded with loud cheers and a serenade of “Skuuuuuu!”

“This one was special to me, so the nerves run a little bit higher,” Skubal said. “But it just means you care, so I think that’s all positive stuff. I was excited to go out there and pitch in front of the Dodger fans. It was a ton of fun to play the game today.”

Skubal threw 95 pitches against the Royals, and Jac Caglianone tagged two of them for a two-run homer and an RBI single. Skubal also issued two walks and hit a batter with a pitch in just his second career appearance at Dodger Stadium, taking the mound nine days after the defending champions acquired him from Detroit in the biggest trade of the deadline.

Los Angeles gave up three promising prospects for what might be a short-term rental of the 29-year-old Skubal, who will likely reap the benefits of free agency this winter.

Skubal made his Dodgers debut at Wrigley Field last Tuesday, pitching six innings of two-run, four-hit ball with six strikeouts in his new team’s 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

The back-to-back champions had the farm talent and the impetus to go out and get the AL's best pitcher over the past two seasons — and Skubal's reception at Chavez Ravine showed their fans still don't take their deep-pocketed team's winning mentality for granted.

But after that warm pregame reception, Skubal yielded two soft singles and a run to Kansas City’s first three batters, with Bobby Witt Jr. stealing second and scoring on Caglianone’s dribbler up the middle.

Nick Loftin then doubled in the third before Caglianone hit his 21st homer of the season to right, smashing a hanging slider for a 410-foot shot that induced grumbles from the stands.

Skubal retired six straight Royals after Caglianone's shot, but he got into trouble again in the fifth, hitting Loftin with a pitch and walking Witt with two outs. Skubal dug in and struck out Caglianone to end the inning, getting him with his signature changeup on his final pitch.

“Tarik Skubal — it’s nice to have him on our mound,” said a grinning Freeman, who drove in Shohei Ohtani with the go-ahead run. “I’m sure he wants to go deeper than five innings, but I like that every five, six days that he’s going to be on the mound for us.”

Los Angeles probably hoped for a more dominant beginning to Skubal's tenure, but it cares most about the games he'll pitch in October, when the champs expect to make their 14th consecutive playoff appearance.

Roberts is uncommonly impressed by Skubal after just more than a week together.

“This guy, he’s as different as anyone I’ve ever been around in this short period of time,” Roberts said. “He’s special in every way. ... He’s just built differently. The mind, the body, the focus, the humility, the willingness to serve, to help. He puts himself out there. He’s different than any player I’ve ever been around, really. Again, it’s a small sample, but I’ve dug in on him. I've got a pretty good gut. This guy is something like I’ve never seen.”

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

Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

Trump demands Iran pay for decades of US military deaths

Trump's social media post Monday came after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei stressed that Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the U.S. meets its conditions.

Tehran wants the U.S. to end its blockade of Iranian ports, lift economic sanctions and release Iran’s frozen assets. It also said the U.S. must pay compensation for war damage.

“It is up to the U.S. side to stop and make amends for its illegal and destructive actions,” Baghaei said.

Trump responded that he is now demanding “compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts.”

The U.S. government has blamed Iran-backed militants for the deaths and injuries of hundreds of Americans over several decades. They include a 1983 bombing that killed 241 U.S. military personnel at a Marine compound in Beirut and the deaths of at least 603 U.S. troops in Iraq between 2003 and 2011.

Trump said he also wants Tehran to compensate the families of Iranian protesters who were killed.

“I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations,” Trump said in his post.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil supplies passed before the war — has kept energy prices as a major focus of U.S. politics ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Iran's supreme leader is said to want unity amid signs of division

Iran’s president said the country’s supreme leader is calling for “unity and cohesion” as the Islamic Republic faces economic hardships and sanctions stemming from its war with the United States.

President Masoud Pezeshkian described a nearly seven-hour meeting with Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in an interview with Iranian state television that aired amid apparent tensions among the Islamic Republic’s leaders.

Pezeshkian told the state-run IRIB that he and Khamenei discussed “people’s livelihoods, the state of the market, employment, people’s housing,” as well as “problems that are now being created as a result of the (U.S.) sanctions.” He didn’t say when or where they met.

Most important, he said, was Khamenei’s emphasis on unity.

“All of the enemy’s plans are aimed at creating division,” Pezeshkian said. “What we have to do is prevent divisions from emerging.”

It is only the second time the Iranian president has said he has met with the new supreme leader since Khamenei was appointed in March following a U.S.-Israeli strike that killed his father. Khamenei, believed to have been wounded in the same attack, has not appeared in public since then.

Iran names former Revolutionary Guard leader to top security post

Iran on Sunday appointed Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to its new supreme leader, to head its powerful Supreme National Security Council.

Rezaei commanded Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard from 1981 to 1997, a period that includes Iran’s 1980s war with Iraq. The 71-year-old hard-liner last week threatened American forces with “serious risks and casualties” if the U.S. did not lift its blockade of Iranian ports.

Rezaei replaces Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who will become a political adviser to Khamenei.

While Rezaei appears willing to negotiate with the U.S. to “secure Iran’s maximalist aims, including control of the Strait of Hormuz,” he has also been “unwilling to present any Iranian concessions,” wrote the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based think tank.

Israel declares closed military zone in Taybeh

Israel's military said Monday it had declared a Christian-majority town in the occupied West Bank a closed military zone to keep out Israeli settlers and other non-residents.

The new tactic is designed to keep Israelis out of Taybeh, which has been subject to arson, vandalism and settlers coming onto private and village property. The army said Palestinian residents and journalists would be allowed unless soldiers determine their presence poses a threat. The army said its troops would detain suspects and disperse gatherings to keep the peace.

The designation comes after months of the army and police struggling to maintain order throughout the territory, where at least 87 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers or soldiers in 2026, according to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Health Ministry.

Yemen says the Houthi attack on a Red Sea town Sunday killed 7

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked a Red Sea port town controlled by government forces on Sunday, killing seven and injuring 30 people. Yemen’s Defense Ministry — which operates under its internationally recognized government — said four military personnel and three civilians were killed.

Clashes continued Monday near the village of Taiz. The Houthi group said a 13-year-old child was killed by artillery shelling and another child was injured.

The attack on Mokha is the latest in one of the largest waves of Houthi strikes on Yemeni military positions and areas held by the Saudi-backed government since a 2022 truce. It comes as threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have renewed focus on the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait at its southern tip.

VinSpace will launch its satellites on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare mission run by Elon Musk’s company, which carries satellites from multiple customers on a single rocket to share launch costs, it said in a statement.

The satellites, which VinSpace said it will develop and operate, will test the company’s technology in orbit and support future commercial applications.

VinSpace is part of Vietnam’s Vingroup conglomerate and was established in November 2025. The company said in April that it planned to develop and launch its first satellites in 2027.

Founded by tycoon Pham Nhat Vuong, Vingroup is Vietnam’s largest privately owned company. It has a sprawling business empire that touches many aspects of daily life, from real estate and retail to healthcare, education and tourism.

It is going global as it invests heavily in high-tech industries such as electric vehicles, space, artificial intelligence and robotics, sectors central to Vietnam’s ambition to become Asia’s next tiger economy.

Vietnam has sought to build its aerospace capabilities for several decades but remains a relatively small player in the global space industry. It launched its first telecommunications satellite in 2008, followed by another in 2012, according to official documents.

In March, it inaugurated a major space science and technology center in Hanoi’s Hoa Lac High-Tech Park, aimed at expanding the country’s satellite development and use of space-based data. Vietnam aims to become a mid-level space power in Southeast Asia by 2030.

In February, Vietnam allowed SpaceX to launch its Starlink satellite internet service in the country. This was seen by some analysts as an effort by Vietnam to avoid U.S. tariffs. Starlink has since begun accepting orders in Vietnam.

VinSpace said the agreement with SpaceX is part of its plan to become a full-service aerospace company, developing capabilities ranging from satellite design and manufacturing to launch management, satellite operations and space-based data services.

“Reliable access to space is fundamental to turning satellite innovation into operational missions,” VinSpace CEO Thu Vu said in a statement.

VinSpace did not disclose the value of the contract or the number or specifications of the satellites.

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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.

Whoops!

Rookie teammate Carson Benge had already tossed it into the Atlanta crowd.

Recently shifted to a short-relief role in his fourth major league season, Senga closed out New York's 8-5 victory over the Braves with a scoreless ninth inning Monday night. Mauricio Dubón flied out to Benge in right field for the final out, and he turned toward the stands looking to send a fan home with a souvenir.

Senga, well aware of his achievement, held out his arms in disbelief with his mouth agape while watching the whole thing transpire. In a funny scene, he raised both hands trying to grab Benge's attention as Senga and Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez both called for the baseball in vain.

A sheepish Benge, when he realized what happened, put both hands on his head — and Senga doubled over in laughter.

After the game, Senga was asked if Benge ever managed to retrieve the ball for him.

“I think Bengie is trying to tell me I should have just punched him out,” a smiling Senga said through an interpreter.

Senga got the save opportunity in the ninth because the Mets placed closer Devin Williams on the 15-day injured list earlier in the day. Interim manager Andy Green was non-committal before the game about who would be his closer, but with New York leading 8-5 he called on Senga. The right-hander is 0-8 with an 8.12 ERA in eight starts and eight relief appearances this season.

Senga struck out Matt Olson and Michael Harris II to open the ninth, then issued a walk to Ozzie Albies before retiring Dubón.

Senga has not allowed a run in his last three appearances out of the bullpen. He came over from Japan and signed a $75 million, five-year contract to be a starter for the Mets before the 2023 season. He went 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts that year, making the NL All-Star team and finishing runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting and seventh in Cy Young Award balloting.

But he's largely struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness since, other than a strong stretch early in the 2025 season.

The last-place Mets are 6-1 on a nine-game trip following a significant selloff ahead of last Monday's trade deadline that depleted their bullpen.

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

At home he averages seven hours. The first night away — with or without earplugs and regardless of the bed's quality — his smartwatch tells him he gets about five.

“I feel normal, you know, no stress, nothing, but it’s just I notice I wake up continuously,” said Leoni, a sales director for a tech company who travels once or twice a month for work.

He is a victim of what sleep specialists call the first-night effect. The phenomenon has been confirmed by dozens of studies and is believed to have evolutionary roots, said Anna Wick, a senior sleep researcher at the University of Freiburg in Switzerland.

“It’s assumed to be an adaptation response that the sleeping brain remains vigilant in this unfamiliar environment,” Wick said.

You stay alert while sleeping

Ahmad Mayeli, a psychiatry professor and sleep researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, said most people experience it, and even those who may not notice it probably do on a small level. On average, people sleep about 20 to 30 minutes less in a new environment.

His research found that the frontal lobe, an area associated with the deepest stage of sleep, was more active, indicating a sense of alertness. In other words, not only do people sleep less, but also less deeply.

“They are saying that, like in dolphins, part of the brain is awake when you are sleeping,” Mayeli said. “It’s not exactly like dolphins, but still, studies show part of the brain is sleeping less.”

He noted that age makes a difference. The effect is more pronounced in children, adolescents and older adults, and it typically worsens with age. Those in their 20s are the least affected.

“Maybe it’s the sweet spot,” he said.

Anxiety can play a part

Mayeli suspects that the brain may be wired to be wary of new places because, historically, they were the most dangerous to rest.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a Marriott hotel or it’s the savannah,” he said. “Your brain hasn’t gotten the memo that this place is completely safe.”

Wick said evidence suggests the effect fades after the first night.

Lisa Strauss, a psychologist specializing in cognitive behavioral treatment of sleep disorders, said several factors can impact sleep in a new place beyond evolutionary vigilance.

Travel itself can have a negative effect, even within the same time zone. Environmental factors may get in the way, like a flashing smoke alarm light in a hotel room. Relational tension, perhaps while visiting family members you're not close with, could also contribute.

Strauss noted that some people may sleep better the first night if they’re tired after a long day of travel or if the location provides a sense of disconnection from daily stressors. And people who have trouble sleeping at home might fare better because they don’t associate the new place with a history of difficulty sleeping.

While anyone can experience the first-night effect, Strauss said those who are more anxious at baseline are especially vulnerable. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy — the worry about whether they can sleep is what keeps them awake.

Leoni acknowledged there are times he goes into the first night thinking about how he'll sleep.

“Sometimes the thoughts come automatically,” he said. “You talk with your colleague, and you say, 'I’m going back to the room, but I’m not going to sleep anyway.’”

How to sleep better on the first night

Strauss recommends general sleep hygiene practices such as going to sleep in a cool, dark room at the same time every night, following a nighttime routine and turning off screens well before going to bed. Those are especially helpful if you start (or restart) doing them in the days or weeks before an important trip.

She suggested people try to make the environment their own by spending a little extra time in the new bed. They could read or do another peaceful, familiar activity to make the experience less novel. They could also bring familiar objects, like a favorite pillow or blanket.

For someone who is particularly anxious, Strauss recommended they visualize themselves in a safe, familiar environment out in nature, such as on a favorite hike or beach. They should notice the anxiety they're feeling, then repeat positive phrases to help lower feelings of hypervigilance. Her suggestion: “May you know that you are safe. May you know that you are loved. May you be at peace.”

Mayeli said the first-night effect is not really anything to worry about, and people can easily make up for missing an hour or two of sleep for one night. But he recommends arriving a day early to acclimate if you have an important meeting or event.

“If tomorrow matters, get there a night early,” he said, “so you’ll sleep like yourself when it counts.”

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Albert Stumm writes about wellness, food and travel. Find his work at https://www.albertstumm.com

The incident first kicked off after deputies responded to the World Center Marriott on World Center Driver over the Fourth of July weekend, court records show.

According to an arrest affidavit, Wiley’s wife told deputies he had poked her in the cheek the previous morning. She also told deputies she was afraid of him and that he had threatened to kill her.

Wiley, 51, denied any physical altercation took place and showed deputies text messages he said demonstrated the two had been communicating cordially. Deputies also noted no visible injuries and no direct witnesses to the alleged incident, the report states.

On Monday, court records revealed that no information had been filed in the case due to testimonial evidence received not being corroborated by the evidence, meaning there wasn’t enough to obtain conviction.

Wiley has played for multiple NFL teams, including the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In a release, campaign officials said that Fine woke up Monday morning to a picture from the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections showing the sign, which had been spray-painted with the symbol.

Per officials, the incident happened at the Wickline Senior Center in Flagler Beach, which is operated by the city. As such, Fine’s campaign noted that it has contacted the city to discuss appropriate law enforcement action.

Meanwhile, Fine provided the following statement discussing the incident:

“Today, I saw what Germany looked like in 1933. Someone stepped onto government property, at a polling place, no less, to post the ultimate symbol of Nazism and Jew hatred. 

We should not be surprised. Dan Bilzerian, a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been allowed to come into our state and spend millions of dollars calling for a second Holocaust, stating that he would ‘sign up tomorrow to kill Israelis,’ and that ‘Jewish supremacy is the greatest threat to the world today.’

All of this is intended to intimidate and frighten. And it will not work. Next Tuesday, I will defeat the Nazis like Bilzerian and his supporters who painted this swastika and will continue to fight for the good people of my district and of America."

U.S. Rep. Randy Fine (R-Florida)

News 6 has reached out the the Bilzerian campaign for comment.

Dan Bilzerian — the so-called “King of Instagram” — has been heavily critical of Rep. Fine in the past, going so far as to call him a “fat Jew” while vowing to unseat him later year.

This fat jew @RepFine publicly talks shit about Muslims but says he’s passed laws to throw people in prison for 5 years for criticizing jews.

He has no place in our govt and when I unseat him I’m going to draft laws to have anyone putting Israel before America tried for treason. pic.twitter.com/RNd625mFUS

— Dan Bilzerian (@DanBilzerian) April 1, 2026

The FEC website shows that Bilzerian filed to run as a Republican for Florida’s sixth congressional House district, meaning is poised to face off against the incumbent Fine during the general election in November.

However, no evidence has been provided so far about whether Bilzerian had any involvement in the reported vandalism.

Meanwhile, Fine — a Florida Republican who is Jewish and has been outspoken about his support for Israel — told News 6 that the image was particularly upsetting because of the symbol used.

“Seeing this physical manifestation of the ultimate sign of the Holocaust and the extermination of Jews but on my sign in such a brazen way, it’s really affected me in ways I really didn’t expect,” he said.

News 6 has reached out to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office to confirm the allegations and is awaiting a response.

News 6 has also reached out to Bilzerian’s campaign for a statement.

Anyone with further information about the incident is urged to contact local law enforcement and reach out to Fine’s campaign at randy@voterandyfine.com.

“Service is the rent I owe for being here,” Hill said Monday, as she pressed city leaders for clarity.

Hill, who was raised in Parramore and previously attended programs at the Jackson Center, said some community members recently approached her believing the facility would eventually be used only for 13-year-olds. She argued the center has traditionally served a wide range of residents — including seniors and adults — not just youth.

“For seniors, for community members to come and work out because there’s a health and wellness component that’s community-related to this facility,” Hill said.

The City of Orlando says the Jackson Center will shift its after-school focus starting Tuesday. Going forward, the center will operate as an after-school program for students in grades six through eight, Monday through Friday.

City leaders said the middle school years were chosen intentionally, describing the time as critical for keeping kids on a positive path.

“That is primetime when you talk about going in the right direction, wrong direction,” said current District 5 Commissioner Shan Rose.

Commissioner Rose said the decision was also driven by concerns raised by residents.

“We’ve had community fights in the neighborhood and they’ve told us they don’t have anywhere to go,” Rose said.

Another city official said middle school students in mixed-age households often don’t get space of their own.

“When you have mixed households middle school kids don’t really get a chance… to breathe, to think, to process. They’re always in like second parent mode,” said Commissioner Rose.

The city emphasized that other parts of the Jackson Center’s services will remain available, even as the after-school programming shifts toward middle school students.

“You can still rent the center for activities. You can still come to the weight room. Our seniors program will remain the same,” a city representative said. “But what’s changing is our after school… making sure [middle school kids] have a place that’s safe to call their own.”

City leaders said the goal is to support students during a key stage and help them grow into well-rounded members of the community.

City officials said the change is part of a broader approach to provide after-school options across Orlando:

Downtown Rec Center: after-school care for high school students

Callahan Center: programs for elementary students

Jackson Community Center: middle school after-school programming beginning Tuesday

The city said new programs at the Jackson Center will include STEM, culinary and dance.

A spokesperson for the Meta CEO also said the crew didn't immediately hear the radio call for help and by the time it did, another nearby ship had already rendered assistance.

The Aug. 3 incident gained attention in recent days after a passenger on the cruise ship posted on social media that the captain had said Zuckerberg’s yacht “refused” to respond.

The U.S. Coast Guard said the 21-foot Hewescraft vessel first hailed it for assistance at approximately 9:32 p.m., using a radio frequency all boats are expected to monitor. About 25 minutes later, the Coast Guard determined the vessel was not in distress and issued an assistance request. The skiff was able to make it safely to Farragut Bay after the Wilderness Legacy cruise ship towed it there, and helped it refuel.

When another ship is in distress, everyone in the area is obligated to respond as long as doing so doesn't put their own ship at risk. But maritime law expert Ian Ralby said this situation appears different, and the crew of Zuckerberg's yacht wouldn't face that legal obligation.

“It’s the difference between calling AAA and 911. You need an ambulance on site, that’s a distress call. You need somebody to give you a jump or to tow your car, you call AAA,” said Ralby, who is president of the nonprofit Auxilium Worldwide that focuses on promoting sustainable development and ocean governance, among other goals. It is a big difference in terms of the emergency type, he said. "Both concerning, both needing assistance, but the legal obligations to respond are very different.”

No obligation to help a ship that ran out of gas

Zuckerberg and his family were not on the 387-foot Launchpad yacht when this happened, according to his spokesperson, who didn't specify what the yacht was doing at the time.

“As the Coast Guard noted, the boat was not in distress, and by the time the crew reviewed the Coast Guard contact on a different radio channel from the one they were operating on, the assist was already underway. We’re grateful all parties are safe," Zuckerberg's spokesman Brian Baker said.

Retired Coast Guard Captain Aaron C. Davenport, who spent three decades with the branch of the military responsible for rescues on the water, said running out of gas simply isn't considered an emergency, and the Launchpad wasn't obligated to help.

“If Zuckerberg’s ship is there and this vessel just ran out of fuel, they’re under no obligation whatsoever to assist them. Zero,” said Davenport, who led rescues in the Bering Sea during his career. “Is it that common courtesy to help other mariners out? Yes, because someday you’re going to need assistance.”

The Coast Guard also isn't going to automatically deploy ships when a ship runs out of gas, but Davenport said that in the harsh environment of Alaska a ship that ran out of gas could become an emergency if it drifts into some rocks or a storm is brewing. The fact that this cruise ship responded saved the Coast Guard a trip.

“Alaska is a remote place so it could easily go from non-emergency to emergency and very quickly,” said Davenport, who worked as a consultant on security and maritime issues for several years before retiring.

Cruise ship passenger's post drew attention to this incident

The Alaska Beacon first reported on what happened after Michael Love, who said he was a passenger on the Wilderness Legacy cruise ship, posted on Bluesky on Aug. 5.

“Our boat rescued a stranded vessel last night and apparently we did that after the Coast Guard radioed Mark Zuckerberg’s yacht — which was closer — and they repeatedly refused to respond. (There was near unanimous booing when the captain announced this),” he said.

Coast Guard determined the skiff wasn't in distress

The Coast Guard said in a statement that they determined within half an hour of when the skiff radioed in that the small ship wasn't in distress. A marine assistance request was broadcast on their behalf, and the Wilderness Legacy responded, reaching the 21-foot vessel about an hour later.

Ralby said it's a little unusual that the Launchpad crew missed the call for help because it is common practice for ships to always be monitoring channel 16 on their radios and keep it as the default frequency to hear any distress calls or emergency notices. But typically the Coast Guard tries to keep channel 16 as free as possible so they might announce an emergency on that channel and ask anyone who can help to switch to a different channel to hear the details.

“The situation was resolved without any harm to life," said Ralby, who is a maritime lawyer with experience in more than 100 countries. "It does not seem that there was any immediate issue in terms of threat to life of mariners or concerns for the marine environment, which are the two main things that lead to that urgent distress call where all mariners no matter who they are legally obligated to try and respond.”

In an “open letter to the football family” revealed Monday, UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC also said that “when trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.”

UEFA runs soccer in Europe, CONCACAF is the confederation for North, Central America and the Caribbean, and the AFC governs the sport in Asia.

The letter was co-signed by UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, AFC president Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani and the general secretaries of the those continental governing bodies.

“Football is the world’s greatest shared passion. It belongs to no individual and no institution. It belongs to the players, the fans, the clubs, the member associations and every institution entrusted with safeguarding its future,” the open letter said. “It is in that spirit, as confederations representing its members, that we speak collectively today.”

Infantino is facing a revolt after his failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors.

“It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him,” the letter said. “These are not the qualities football deserves in its leadership. That is why we have taken this stance: not lightly and not alone, but together, and out of duty to the game we serve.”

Infantino got some support from outside the game, with U.S. President Donald Trump defending the FIFA leader in a social media post Monday night.

“FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino,” Trump posted. “He is fantastic, having just presided over the most successful World Cup, by four times, ever presented. If he is gone, it will never be as successful or profitable again! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT”

UEFA previously issued a threat to boycott the World Cup and other FIFA competitions despite the governing body abandoning and apologizing for its failed plan.

Norway’s soccer federation called for Infantino to step down, while England's Football Association has also withdrawn its support for Infantino’s re-election next March.

“Football’s strength has always been its unity. We call for that unity to be honored now,” the letter said. “For leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it.”

Last Wednesday, FIFA said it had apologized for errors made over the failed plan but that senior staff at a crisis meeting in Morocco “reaffirmed their full support” for Infantino's presidency.

However, the nature of the meeting was also met with criticism.

“FIFA’s own letter also confirms that only one elected official was present at the leadership meeting in Morocco,” the open letter from the sport's three continental federations said. “No FIFA Council members or Member Associations were invited to participate. Only the management committee, composed of FIFA-employed senior staff, was present.”

FIFA was also urged to go further than just acknowledging mistakes were made.

“It treats this as a failure of communication, when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment,” the letter said. “There remains no recognition that attempting to sell an interest in the FIFA World Cup was a profound failure of judgment — not just a procedural misstep, but a fundamental breach of trust with the very institutions FIFA exists to serve.”

In a statement released Saturday, FIFA defended Infantino against what it called a “concerted and ongoing effort” to undermine his leadership of the organization.

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

Three days after defense attorneys filed a motion for release, prosecutors filed their response in Miami federal court, where a hearing on Thursday will determine if the brothers should stay in jail or be released during what could be a monthslong extradition process.

The brothers have repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

The detention hearing is likely to be the first time the Tates leave the Federal Detention Center in Miami since making a brief court appearance two days after their July 18 arrest. The Tates have become among the world’s most polarizing internet personalities with their promotion of wealth, male dominance and misogyny through their social media empire. The new allegations are the latest in the Tates' long-running international legal saga spanning the U.S., Britain and Romania.

Prosecutors claim a ‘heightened risk of flight’

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office filing, the Tates should be detained pending their extradition hearing because they cannot overcome the strong presumption against bail in international extradition cases.

The serious pending U.K. charges involving human trafficking and violent rapes and assaults against multiple victims, along with allegations in Romania that the Tates attempted to intimidate witnesses, present a clear public safety concern, prosecutors say.

“That the Tates also claim to maintain multiple passports and identities, have access to excessive wealth and influence in numerous countries, and are stridently unwilling to voluntarily return to face prosecution in the United Kingdom, collectively demonstrate a heightened risk of flight that no amount of bond could overcome,” the filing says.

The defense motion filed Friday acknowledges there is a presumption against bond in extradition proceedings but argues that release can be granted in special circumstances. It says the Tates’ high profile makes it nearly impossible for them to flee, and that they regularly post updates about their locations on social media.

While prosecutors call the brothers a flight risk, their attorneys said they have proved they are not by complying with all pretrial restrictions in Romania, where they are accused of luring women for sexual exploitation.

The U.K. has until mid-September to provide evidence to the State Department to support extradition, meaning the brothers could spend months in FDC Miami before the proceedings are resolved, the defense motion says. No date has been set for an extradition hearing. They are being held in a special unit for their own protection.

Legal troubles follow the Tate brothers

The brothers have long claimed that their violent and misogynistic statements have been taken out of context or were intended as jokes.

The former professional kickboxers, who have dual U.S. and U.K. citizenship, have millions of social media followers and are vocal supporters of President Donald Trump. The White House has said the brothers shouldn't expect any help from the president.

British prosecutors said the new charges relate to four new accusers and were brought after authorities received evidence from police in Bedfordshire, in southeastern England. The allegations, which span from 2010 to 2017, include rape, assault, trafficking and offenses relating to “indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.”

The brothers are already charged with rape, bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain relating to three other accusers in the U.K. between 2012 and 2015.

The brothers moved to Romania in 2016 and were arrested there in 2022, accused of participating in schemes to lure women for sexual exploitation. They denied those allegations, and the Romanian case hasn't moved forward due to legal and procedural problems.

The Tates' attorneys have said the Romanian court has granted a U.K. request for extradition that will take effect after Romanian proceedings conclude.

Andrew Tate, 39, became famous a decade ago when he was a contestant on the U.K. reality television show “Big Brother.” He was ejected from the show when a video appeared to show him assaulting a woman.

He has amassed over 10 million followers on X but has been banned from other platforms, including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, for violating hate speech guidelines. He has made widely condemned comments, such as saying women who are sexually assaulted should bear some responsibility for the attacks and sharing graphic descriptions of how he might attack women.

Tristan Tate, 38, has worked with his brother on multiple businesses, including the production of online webcam pornography.

Search teams and civilians picked through the remains of destroyed buildings in the country’s third-largest city, Cali, passing large pieces of concrete and other rubble down a long line of volunteers.

“Our building has basically been left in ruins, and the building next to ours? Completely collapsed,” said Álvaro López, who cradled his dog as he watched the search. The desperate scene recalled the searches still ongoing in neighboring Venezuela weeks after that country was devastated by two powerful earthquakes.

Besides Cali, the quake ravaged cities across western Colombia, including Pereira, Quibdo and Manizales, and was felt in neighboring Ecuador and Panama. The epicenter was in San Jose del Palmar, a community of about 4,800 people in the Choco region about 250 miles (400 kilometers) west of Bogota, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Colombia’s President Abelardo de la Espriella said at least 87 people were injured and around 1,600 buildings were damaged, including at least 61 that completely collapsed. He declared an emergency to expedite funding for the quake recovery.

“We aren’t going to leave people alone. They are in our hearts and we are going to tend to people with our full determination,” he said.

Most powerful quake recorded in Colombia this century

Colombia’s Geological Service said Monday's quake was the country's strongest recorded “in the 21st century,” and that it was followed by several aftershocks.

Colombia’s Pacific region around the epicenter lies along the “Ring of Fire,” the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur. The Pacific, particularly the Choco region, is one of Colombia's poorest, nestled in dense jungle. Much of Choco is only reachable by boat or plane, which may pose difficulty in assessing the wider toll.

Local authorities said the death toll included at least 40 people who were killed in the Risaralda region, where Pereira is located, and 27 people in the Valle del Cauca region, where Cali is located, including three children. Authorities also confirmed nine people killed in Choco, two in the Caldas region and a 73-year-old in the Antioquia region. It was not immediately clear where the other 32 people died.

The earthquakes left many in the Andean nation unnerved after two back-to-back quakes devastated neighboring Venezuela in late June, destroying hundreds of buildings and killing more than 6,300 people.

By Monday afternoon, people had begun reporting their loved ones missing on digital databases just as civilians did following Venezuela's earthquakes. One database had more than 2,000 people, mostly in Cali and Pereira, with the number steadily climbing.

Photos of the missing included a young mother and her baby in Pereira; another showed an 80-year-old woman in Cali whose family was desperately looking for details after her building collapsed.

Cities left devastated

Jorge Moncayo, a 64-year-old taxi driver in Cali, said he saw plumes of dust shoot up across the city as buildings collapsed. Residents and rescue workers were searching the rubble for survivors. The local government said that people remained trapped in a number of the city's 380 damaged buildings.

“My entire house shook. I’ve never lived through such a powerful earthquake,” he said. “We’re thanking God we’re alive.”

Little was known about the extent of the damage in Choco, a remote region where officials reported dozens of injured people and damaged buildings but few other details. Phone signals were out in many parts of the region's capital, Quibdo. The town closest to the earthquake’s epicenter, San Jose del Palmar, has no airport, and is located on top of a mountain ridge along a highway linking the cities of Cali and Pereira.

In Pereira, further south in the coffee-producing mountains of Colombia, photos and videos on local media showed pieces of the airport ceiling falling onto travelers taking shelter and screaming. People ran through rubble and plumes of dust, and residents said collapsed stores, residential buildings and homes lined the city. Pereira Mayor Mauricio Salazar told a local radio station there were at least 15 collapsed buildings where people were feared trapped.

In nearby Manizales, one of the towers of the neo-Gothic cathedral collapsed and fell on the nave. Mayor Jorge Eduardo Rojas asked residents to stay outside in case of aftershocks. Authorities said flights were suspended at the airports in Manizales, Quibdo, Armenia, Cartago, Buenaventura and Pereira as they assessed damage.

Offers of aid pour in from across the Americas

Small earthquakes, known as “temblores,” are common in central and western Colombia, but those above 6.0 magnitude are rare. In 1999, a 6.2 magnitude quake near the city of Armenia killed more than 1,100 people.

Response to the earthquake presents the first major challenge for de la Espriella, a Trump ally who was sworn in as president over the weekend. A divisive figure because of his pledge of an all-out crackdown on criminal groups, de la Espriella said he had personally taken charge of the government’s response to the emergency.

On Monday night, the U.S. State Department announced it would provide $15.5 million for emergency shelter, food and other earthquake response aid. Governments across Latin America also lined up to help.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum — whose countries were among the largest providers of aid to Venezuela following its recent crisis — said they were ready to assist Colombia.

“From El Salvador, we are in communication and ready to provide immediate support with our rescue teams, medical personnel, paramedics, supplies, or any other assistance that our Colombian brothers and sisters deem necessary,” Bukele said.

Chilean President José Antonio Kast said Chile, one of the region’s most earthquake-prone countries, “knows the pain and the challenge left by earthquakes” and pledged help.

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Suárez reported from Bogotá and Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press journalists Manuel Rueda in Bogotá, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Kendall, a West Point graduate who served as President Joe Biden's head of the Air Force, said on CNN Monday that he'll sue the administration, noting it has a history of retaliating against critics by stripping their clearances. “As my mother taught me years ago, you stand up to bullies,” said Kendall, who has denied disclosing classified information.

Mark Zaid, a prominent national security attorney who sued the administration after his own clearance was revoked by the Trump administration, confirmed in a post on X that Kendall had hired him. "More to come,"" Zaid wrote.

Zaid specializes in helping a variety of military and civilian clients maintain security clearances in the face of investigations.

Last year he became a target of the Trump administration’s efforts to strip security clearances from people they perceived to be enemies when he was named among 14 other people in an executive order signed by Trump. In a March 2025 executive order, Trump named former President Joe Biden and members of his family, Biden-era Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and New York state Attorney General Letitia James as being unsuitable to retain their clearances because it was “no longer in the national interest.”

In August 2025, Trump revoked the security clearances of 37 more current and former national security officials, some of whom worked on matters that have long infuriated Trump, like the intelligence community assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election on his behalf.

Trump has tried to squelch reports of problems with the jet that Qatar gifted him last year, which he intends to use as Air Force One for the remainder of his term. His Justice Department last month subpoenaed New York Times reporters who wrote about security concerns with the jet, which lacks the advanced anti-missile technology of its predecessor. After being criticized by a federal judge for sloppy legal work, the government grudgingly withdrew the subpoenas.

Twenty years ago, British driver Andy Green set the land speed record for a diesel-powered car, reaching 350.092 mph (563.4 kph) at Utah’s famous Bonneville Salt Flats. Green will return to the lunarlike landscape Tuesday and try to beat that mark, this time with a hydrogen-powered car.

The retired Royal Air Force fighter pilot aims not only to win another accolade but to showcase the power of hydrogen as a clean-energy alternative. It's the “fuel of the future,” Green told The Associated Press in a July interview.

Green will be driving the 32-foot (9.75-meter) JCB Hydromax, the brainchild of British construction equipment manufacturer JCB. The car is bright yellow, long and slim, resembling a pencil. It's powered by two hydrogen internal combustion engines with a combined 1,600 horsepower, which were adapted from engines used in the company’s construction machinery. They mix pressurized hydrogen gas with air and ignite it to create bursts of power.

In targeting the diesel-powered record, Green also hopes to easily clear the world land speed records for hydrogen internal combustion engines (185.5 mph/298.5 kph) and electric vehicles (341.3 mph/549.2 kph).

Green hit a new top speed of 368.347 mph (592.797 kph) in practice last week, but to officially earn the hydrogen record, he’ll have to do it Tuesday in front of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the international governing body of motor sports.

“What the peak speed is, I can’t say. We just don’t know,” he said. “Part of the adventure here is we’re going to find out.”

One thing Tuesday’s attempt will assuredly not do is approach the supersonic speeds Green reached with jet power three decades ago.

Green had already been flying supersonic military aircraft when he spotted a newspaper ad that read: “Wanted: High-speed driver to break the sound barrier,” according to the Guinness World Records. In 1997, he traveled faster than the speed of sound and set the outright land speed record — 763.035 mph (1,227.98 kph) — in a car powered by twin jet engines. His runs in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert produced sonic booms that shook the nearby town of Gerlach.

Now 64 years old, Green said he thought he was done racing but came out of retirement when JCB approached him with plans for the new car. The company has invested more than $134 million into hydrogen-powered engines that it says emit no carbon dioxide from the tailpipes.

“If you’re serious about emissions, you have to be serious about hydrogen, and a land speed project is the perfect way to prove it,” JCB Chair Anthony Bamford said at the car's unveiling in May. Bamford has also argued that hydrogen can better handle the demands of heavy industries than electric power.

But hydrogen is only as clean as its source, and the vast majority is currently produced from fossil fuels. JCB signed a deal to buy green hydrogen, which is created using renewable energy but makes up a tiny fraction of global hydrogen production.

Hydrogen combustion engines also present unique safety challenges due to the pressure and flammability of the gas.

“We're managing the risks very carefully,” Green said. The car endured rigorous testing, and Green said he spent months learning how it responds to the elements, how the engines work in tandem and how to deploy a parachute to slow the car on the low-friction salt crust.

Since the first race there in 1914, the glassy surface of the Bonneville Salt Flats has drawn generations of drivers seeking to set new land speed records. A remnant of a prehistoric lake bed, the salt flats are about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Salt Lake City and sit atop an aquifer that cools the car tires.

Spectators must stand about a quarter of a mile (400 meters) from the course's straightaway, which is 10 miles (16 kilometers) long, and often watch through wide-angle binoculars.

The expanse on the border of Utah and Nevada has been a backdrop for movies including “Independence Day” and “The World’s Fastest Indian,” and the series finale of “Mad Men.”

Green will start just after sunrise to beat the desert heat. His attempt comes a year after a driver died trying to set a land speed record at Bonneville's annual Speed Week. Chris Raschke lost control of his rocketlike vehicle called the Speed Demon last August and died from his injuries.

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Rico reported from Atlanta. Video journalist Serge Cartwright contributed reporting.

Elbridge Colby, an undersecretary of defense, made the remarks at a forum in the Philippines, his first stop in Southeast Asia, where he will also visit Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia. He renewed Washington’s assurances that the U.S. is not backing away from Asia despite its current preoccupation with the Iran war and the Middle East.

“America is definitely not disengaging from Asia — to the contrary. Our vital national interests dictate our enduring presence here,” Colby told an audience that included foreign diplomats, generals, business executives and journalists.

“We are not leaving; in fact, we are digging in, to ensure a favorable balance of power where it matters most,” the Pentagon’s top policy adviser said. “We see Asia as of paramount importance.”

Colby stayed away from the usual U.S. tirade against China's growing aggression in the region, including in the disputed South China Sea. Washington has often expressed alarm over Beijing’s increasingly hostile actions against Philippine coast guard and naval forces in recent years.

Washington has repeatedly warned that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, ships or aircraft come under armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

China and the Philippines, along with Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, have been locked in territorial standoffs in the disputed waters, a key global trade route, for decades. Beijing virtually claims the entire waterway and has rejected a 2016 ruling in an arbitration case initiated by the Philippines that invalidated its expansive claims.

Colby repeated a vow by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a speech at the Shangri-La defense conference in Singapore in May that the U.S. will build and sustain a strong defense in the Western Pacific "that ensures aggression is infeasible, escalation unattractive and war deemed irrational.”

Colby said the U.S. is committed to ensuring “we can sustain combat-credible power where it matters most. Yet this defense architecture cannot rest on American shoulders alone. It must be upheld by a network of highly capable, sovereign nations that have modernized their own forces and stepped up to secure their own territory — transforming our relationships into true partnerships of equals.”

He added: “When we ask our allies and partners to step up, to invest more in their own defense and to take responsibility for their own sovereign security, we are not signaling abandonment. We are looking for partners, not protectorates.”

Colby praised efforts by the Philippines, which holds large-scale combat exercises with U.S. forces each year, to strengthen its defense capabilities and cited similar efforts by Thailand, Indonesia and other security allies in Southeast Asia.

Shanghai’s Hongqiao and Pudong airports canceled more than 900 flights, or about 40% of those expected, after about 1,300 were canceled the day before, according to Shanghai Airport Group.

Shanghai also suspended some of its metro lines on Monday, and China Railway Chengdu Group suspended 115 trains, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Authorities warned of risks of severe flooding and landslides in some areas. State broadcaster CCTV reported that authorities in Yueqing, a city in Zhejiang province, searched for people trapped in flooded homes.

The China Meteorological Administration said Dolphin was moving northwest at 15 to 20 kilometers per hour (9 to 12 mph) and was expected to continue weakening.

Dolphin made landfall Sunday evening in Taizhou in Zhejiang province with winds of 151 kph (93 mph), after bringing heavy rain to northern Taiwan over the weekend.

Dolphin had forced at least 760,000 people to preemptively relocate, including over 390,000 people in Taizhou. Authorities in Shanghai and Fujian Province evacuated more than 210,000 and 160,000 people, respectively, from riskier areas.

Authorities in Zhejiang's capital city, Hangzhou, temporarily closed its iconic West Lake scenic spots as well as temples, parks and museums and will reopen on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Chan-hom was heading toward Japan’s Pacific coast. The storm had 83 kph (51 mph) winds Monday morning and was forecast to strengthen slightly before landfall Tuesday into Wednesday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Storm intensified monsoon in the Philippines

Dolphin did not directly hit the Philippines, but it helped intensify seasonal monsoon rains that set off flooding and landslides on the main northern island region of Luzon.

A landslide buried three houses Sunday night in the northern mountain resort city of Baguio, killing 10 people whose bodies were dug out in two days of frantic search by rescuers. Three people were rescued with injuries and brought to a hospital, Baguio officials said.

The deaths from the mudslide raised the death toll in nearly a week of torrential rains, floods and a tropical storm last week in the northern Luzon region to 19, the government’s Office of Civil Defense said.

More than a million people were affected by the heavy monsoon rains and floods, including about 98,000 who were displaced from homes.

Jones had a heart attack in his home Sunday in Washington, Virginia, as he was waiting to watch his beloved Atlanta Braves play baseball, his wife, Alma Viator, said on social media. Rappahannock County Sheriff Connie Compton confirmed his death.

Jones' fame came from his role as Cooter Davenport, the mechanic who got the Duke boys out of jams as they tried to do the right thing and fight the corrupt Boss Hogg in the fictional Hazzard County, Georgia.

After playing Cooter for all seven seasons of the series from 1979 to 1985, Jones turned to politics and was elected to the U.S. House from a district near Atlanta in 1988. The Democrat served two terms before he was redistricted out of the seat.

Jones was born in North Carolina and in college got involved in acting and civil rights, he wrote in his autobiography "Redneck Boy in the Promised Land: The Confessions of ‘Crazy Cooter.’"

Acting took over his life. Jones performed in numerous stage productions and had a few minor TV and movie roles in Atlanta during the 1970s before his life-defining break came on a TV show Jones defended as a modern-day morality tale and a fine example of Southern values.

For seven seasons, Jones was one of a small band of friends and family helping Bo and Luke Duke in “The Dukes of Hazzard.” The cousins were on probation for running moonshine and were constantly trying to clear their names and stop the crooked and powerful Boss Hogg from stealing or cheating.

The Duke boys drove a modified 1969 Dodge Charger called the General Lee with a Confederate flag on its roof. Cooter owned “Cooter's Garage” in the town square. Nearly every episode involved a car chase with jumps and stunts and a patrol car badly in need of repairs.

Cooter was often on the CB radio in his pickup truck saying “Breaker one, Breaker one. I might be crazy but I ain’t dumb. Crazy Cooter coming at you."

“The Dukes of Hazzard” was a hit for CBS and its popularity never waned. It went into syndication and later became a prominent fixture on cable's The Nashville Network.

Jones also credited the series with pulling him out of a self-destructive, alcoholic lifestyle that led to the failure of several marriages.

″It was like being in a Beatles movie,″ Jones said. ″Our lives changed.″

Tom Wopat, who played Luke Duke, said Jones was an integral part of making the series work.

“Ben Jones was a fine friend and a fierce advocate of all the best things we can offer in the entertainment business. He will be sorely missed,” Wopat wrote on Instagram.

After “The Dukes of Hazzard,” Jones went into politics. He kept his aw shucks personality, but took the issues seriously. In his four years in Washington, Jones was known as a Democrat who could buck his party. He was liberal on social issues and conservative on economics.

But even in politics, he made a splash. After losing in 1992 in his redrawn district, Jones ran for Congress again in 1994. He lost to Newt Gingrich in the elections that elevated the Republican to the Speaker's Office.

Jones would file an ethics complaint that Gingrich used tax-deductible donations to fund his partisan college course leading to a House reprimand and Gingrich's decision to leave the body.

Jones always embraced his role as Cooter. After moving to Virginia, he would open at least three “Cooter's” country stores in Nashville and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and near his home. They sold plenty of T-shirts, key chains and insulated tumblers and included Dukes of Hazzard memorabilia like one of the 300 or so General Lee cars used and abused in the TV series.

The show and Cooter lived on because it was funny, had plenty of action and car chases and had a good, family-friendly heart, Jones told the Richmond Times-Dispatch at a 2001 car show where he played in a band, signed autographs and met fans.

“The show reflects the values of the heartland of America. The good guys always win,” Jones said.

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This story has been updated to correct that Bo and Luke Duke were cousins, not brothers.

Trump Media & Technology, the company behind the Truth Social platform, said Monday that it lost $238 million in the three months through June as it branched into businesses unrelated to media, including crypto. That was more than 10 times the loss from a year earlier. The per-share loss widened to 86 cents from 8 cents.

In a conference call after the earnings release, the new chief executive, Kevin McGurn, said a yearlong effort to expand by branching into several new industries including online betting and crypto would now be largely abandoned as he refocuses the business on its social media mission.

“We made the disciplined choice to pivot in order to invest more time and resources in our most important initiatives,” McGurn said. “We will say no to things or change course as warranted.”

Trump Media stock fell slightly in after-hours trading following the earnings report. The stock had fallen 8% in regular trading.

Key to McGurn's plan is a service called Truth API that offers early access to Wall Street trading firms to top posters on the Truth Social platform. That includes the user with most followers, President Donald Trump, who often moves markets by breaking major U.S policy shifts on the site.

Trump Media has been attacked by good government watchdogs from the start of Trump's second term as a vehicle for him to profit off the presidency. The new service has only heightened those concerns, with Democrats vowing to investigate the paid service if they get control of Congress in the midterms.

McGurn has dismissed such concerns, noting that other companies sell special, fast access to traders.

“Providing licensed real-time public data through commercial APIs is a well-established business practice across the technology, financial information and media industries,” he said. “This is no different.”

One previously announced new venture, nuclear fusion, will continue. McGurn said Trump Media hopes to close a previously announced merger with energy company TAE Technologies by the end of the year.

“We continue to believe it’s the single most important driver of long-term value for this company,” McGurn said of the fusion business.

Much of the damage last quarter was due to unrealized paper losses from the falling values of Trump Media's holdings of bitcoin and a crypto token called Cronos.

Excluding those paper losses as well as taxes, interest and other items, so-called operating losses still increased, but much less than the unadjusted results — a $164 million loss from a $44 million loss a year earlier.

The new Truth API service is charging $60,000 to $100,000 a month, McGurn said, adding that Trump Media has already signed up 10 customers, mostly so-called high frequency trading firms that buy and sell in milliseconds.

“We’re in the early innings,” said McGurn, noting that the potential market was much bigger than traders, including data center companies, news organizations and developers of large language models.

Ten customers translates into a big new revenue source for Trump Media, possibly bringing in between $7 million to $12 million a year, or roughly two to three times the company's entire revenue last year.

In the second quarter, Trump Media posted $1.7 million in revenue, more than double from a year earlier.

The company has $1 billion in debt from special convertible notes that don't come due until 2028, but the lenders have an option to demand they be cashed out in November, a possible hit to finances though the company appeared to have ample cash.

At the end of the quarter, Trump Media had more than $400 million in cash and short term investments. It also had $1.2 billion in bitcoin and bitcoin-related assets.

——

This story corrects that Trump Media took in $1.7 million in revenue last quarter, not $1.7 billion.

A tropical wave moving across the Atlantic now has a high chance for tropical development over the next week. Conditions are expected to become favorable for development and a tropical depression is likely by the end of the week.

Development chances are 30% over the next 2 days and 70% over the next seven days.

A second tropical wave east of the Windward islands has a small chance for development over the next few days. Beyond that conditions are expected to become less favorable for development.

Chances stand at 10%.

A third area, an elongated area of low pressure northeast of Bermuda, is producing a small area of showers and thunderstorms. Some development is possible during the next couple of days while it moves eastward across the North Atlantic. By the end of the work week the system will move over cooler water.

Development chances are also at 10% for this system.

There are no immediate threats to Florida.

The next name on the 2026 list is Cristobal.

The criticism stems from fans getting their first full experience inside the $2.1 billion Highmark Stadium during the Bills annual Blue and Red practice on Saturday night. Though the Bills said a majority of the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, a few complaints arose, which team president Pete Guelli termed as coming from less than 1% of the personal seat licensing holders.

One of the larger concerns were seats with obstructed views, with several photos emerging on social media.

The team said at least one photo taken by The Associated Press was from seats that were not placed on sale for football games. The seats were in the last row of the Section 417 of the northwest corner of the stadium, and the view of the far end zone was mostly blocked by the outcropping of the press box.

A team official said those seats could be used for other events taking place in the stadium, such as concerts, where the view would not be obstructed.

Other photos showed seats where views were partially obstructed by railings and staircases.

In selling the seats, prospective ticket buyers were given a virtual tour of the stadium that included visuals what their view of the field would resemble.

The team said it will review each complaint and use “the next six weeks to refine any details,” in leading up to the Bills regular-season home-opener against Detroit on Sept. 17.

Next up for the Bills are two home preseason games, starting with the team hosting Carolina on Saturday.

The stadium’s design was influenced by that of soccer’s Premier League Tottenham Hotspur’s home, which also hosts NFL games in London.

Bills owner Terry Pegula was impressed by noting that there are very few bad seats in the Hotspur stadium. The same, the Bills said, would apply to Highmark Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 60,108.

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

The primaries come a week after Abdul El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s divisive and costly U.S. Senate primary. El-Sayed's victory has energized the left while stoking fears among Democratic Party leaders that the shift to the left, particularly in battleground states like Michigan and Wisconsin, will make it more difficult to win in November.

Wisconsin's chaotic primary pits progressive against governor's pick

In Wisconsin, democratic socialist Francesca Hong is trying to win a four-way Democratic primary for governor where her top opponent has been endorsed by popular Gov. Tony Evers, who isn't seeking a third term.

Evers got behind Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley on July 18, the same day Crowley reentered the race after dropping out 10 days earlier. Crowley rejoined after the candidate he backed, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, ended her candidacy amid a campaign finance scandal.

Evers and Crowley were crisscrossing the state together in the last days before final ballots are cast Tuesday.

“I feel like we caught lightning in a bottle,” said Crowley, standing next to Evers at a stop to thank campaign volunteers in Madison on Monday. “Momentum is just growing and growing and growing.”

Evers and more establishment Democrats were hoping to finally coalesce around Crowley in the final days of the chaotic primary that saw two other candidates drop out, most notably former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes on July 29.

Barnes and Rodriguez, who were both seen as potential front-runners, remain on the ballot and absentee votes already cast for them can’t be undone.

Republicans are spending to influence the Democratic primary

Republicans are putting money behind Hong, thinking she will be the better matchup for Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in November. The Republican Governors Association has spent nearly $3.6 million through its Right Direction Wisconsin PAC on ads contrasting Hong with President Donald Trump and playing up her liberal policies.

Crowley and other Democrats argue the ads are meant to bolster Hong's standing in the primary because Republicans see her as the easier opponent.

Evers projected confidence at a rally that attracted hundreds of people in Hong’s hometown of Madison on Sunday night, saying Crowley was the best chance Democrats had to defeat Tiffany.

“We’re going to win this thing,” Evers said, telling the Crowley supporters that Tiffany would be “the worst governor in the history of Wisconsin.”

“If Tom Tiffany wins in November that will be like electing Donald Trump as governor of the state of Wisconsin,” he said.

Crowley urged Democrats to come together after the primary to beat Tiffany.

“Our ultimate goal is to make sure we don’t have a MAGA extremist occupying the governor’s office,” Crowley said.

Hong, speaking to supporters Monday afternoon, said the coalition she built isn't just about winning the primary.

“We have to come together to defeat Tom Tiffany,” she said, adding that she would welcome Evers campaigning with her after the primary.

“This is about uniting,” she said.

Tiffany, one of the most conservative members of Congress, is endorsed by Trump.

The president called Hong a communist in remarks on Wednesday, where he mentioned a 2020 social media post by Hong calling for Thanksgiving to be canceled. Asked about the post this week, Hong reversed herself and said that Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday.

Trump won Wisconsin in 2016 and 2024, and Republicans have held majorities in both chambers of the Legislature since 2011. Holding onto the governor's office is key to Wisconsin Democrats' effort to gain full control of state government for the first time in 16 years.

In the race to replace Tiffany, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's son-in-law Michael Alfonso is in a five-person Republican primary. Alfonso, who is trying to represent Duffy's old congressional district, has Trump's endorsement.

The president joined a telephone rally for Alfonso on Monday night, calling him “a fantastic young guy who’s going to be a star in Washington.”

Minnesota primary comes in wake of immigration enforcement surge

In neighboring Minnesota, voters are choosing between moderate U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in a Democratic U.S. Senate primary that’s playing out in the aftermath of Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement surge in the state.

The race has been shaped by the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, confrontations that were caught on camera and fueled a backlash to Trump’s immigration policies.

Both Craig and Flanagan spent the weekend traversing the Twin Cities metro area.

In a driveway in suburban Eagan on Sunday, Craig spoke to the angst among Democratic primary voters who feel that Washington isn’t working for them. Members of Congress need to stop trading stocks and becoming lobbyists when they leave office, she said, and the U.S. needs to restrict the flood of corporate campaign spending.

“But the only way we pass any of the progressive policies that all of us here support is by winning elections and taking damn majorities,” she said.

Unlike in Wisconsin, where the incumbent governor has endorsed a candidate in the race to succeed him, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has not gotten involved in the Senate primary. But his wife, Gwen Walz, has endorsed Craig and campaigned with her on Sunday.

Flanagan campaigned Saturday with U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, who helped her make the case that Washington needs a shake-up to root out the deep-pocketed forces propping up a broken status quo.

“It is big corporations, it’s special interests who are putting their thumb on the scale in our elections across the country,” Flanagan said. “And it’s not just Republicans. It’s Democrats, too.”

The race has been one of the most expensive Minnesota has seen, with millions of dollars backing both candidates, but disproportionately falling in Craig’s favor.

Whoever wins the primary will be the front-runner to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith in November. Minnesota voters haven’t elected a Republican to a statewide office since 2006.

Mike Lindell, the founder of MyPillow, is a top Republican candidate in the governor's race. He's endorsed by Trump, and he was a prominent promoter of falsehoods about election fraud. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is in a six-person primary on the Democratic side.

Democratic struggles also on display in other states' primaries Tuesday

Two veteran Democratic incumbents in Connecticut face challenges from the left.

Moderate Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont is running for a third term but faces progressive state Rep. Josh Elliott. The Democratic nominee will face Republican state Sen. Ryan Fazio in November.

Longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. John Larson, 78, is running for a 15th term and his age and health have been major issues in the four-person race.

Former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin narrowly won the party's endorsement at its state convention in May. Other candidates are Hartford Board of Education member Ruth Fortune and state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest.

In Vermont, two Democrats are running in for a chance to take on Republican Gov. Phil Scott.

Former child advocacy organization CEO Aly Richards boasts endorsements from former Democratic Govs. Howard Dean and Madeleine Kunin. She faces economist Amanda Janoo.

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

His determination to press on with his reelection campaign is creating headaches for a Republican Party that had not planned to devote attention to defending the seat in this year's midterm elections. His Democratic challenger, union ironworker Brian Poindexter, seized on Miller's controversies by appealing to voters with a promise to “serve with honor.”

Monday presented the last chance for Republicans to replace Miller on the general election ballot in Ohio, leaving the congressman in what is increasingly seen as a competitive race.

Democratic groups supporting U.S. House campaigns have been closely watching the race for Ohio's 7th Congressional District, just south of Cleveland, to see if they want to ramp up their support for Poindexter.

President Donald Trump won the GOP-leaning district comfortably two years ago. Miller won it with just 51% of the vote two years ago in a three-way contest that included former congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, who ran as an independent. Under Ohio's current maps, the district leans 55%-44% Republican, according to Dave's Redistricting.

Miller, 37, has said he is confident he can pull out a win, given those odds and the goodwill he said he has built with constituents over his two terms. While both of Ohio's senators, including his former father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno, called on him to drop out of the race, Trump never did.

The Republican president called Miller “a good person” and said his legal dispute with Emily Moreno is best left to the families to figure out. Miller was a senior aide to Trump during his first term as president.

In a CNN interview last week, Miller said the president told him that if he stayed in, “it’s going to be a tough race.” Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters suggested the party would back Miller but stopped short of saying it would spend on his campaign.

“We're going to support our nominees. Everybody has to prove they are capable of winning," Gruters said during a Sunday appearance on NewsMax. “We'll see. I hope that he can.”

It was unclear Monday if Republican groups invested in House races, such as the National Republican Campaign Committee or the super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund, would spend on Miller's behalf.

Miller last week said he was prepared to spend more of his own money on his campaign.

“I know there are people that are concerned about my ability to win this race right now, but I don't share that,” Miller said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal for a report on him infusing $1 million of his own money into the campaign. “I am invested in this election in every way, and I will invest the resources into my campaign to win."

Democratic groups such as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and House Majority PAC were debating Monday whether to include the race among their midterm spending priorities

The race has been drawing increasing attention over the past month amid scrutiny of previous abuse allegations made against Miller by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, and at least two other women. Some of his attempts to defend himself also have drawn backlash.

At the same time, Democrats have been heartened by Poindexter's prospects. The 46-year-old Brook Park city councilman has campaigned on pocketbook issues and won union endorsements from the Ironworkers International, United Auto Workers, AFSCME, Ohio AFL-CIO and others.

Poindexter on Monday sought to capitalize on Miller's controversies by welcoming voters across the political spectrum to support his campaign.

“It’s unfortunate that Miller has chosen to keep putting his ex-wife and her family through this nightmare in the public spotlight," he said in a statement. “But let me be perfectly clear. I got into this campaign to fight for my neighbors and for working people across this district.”

Miller did not return messages seeking comment.

Miller was the first person Trump endorsed as he sought to punish fellow Republicans who voted in favor of his impeachment over the Jan. 6, 2021, violent assault on the U.S. Capitol or blocked his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden. The then-32-year-old jumped in to challenge Ohio Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, a popular former professional football player, who ultimately dropped out.

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Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.

The boat’s pilot, Manuel Hernandez, was charged with causing the deaths of 5-month old Antonella Garcia and 27-year-old Sara Sanchez through misconduct or neglect.

Hernandez wasn’t licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard, wasn’t aware of basic safety rules and told investigators he had borrowed his friend’s personal vessel for the excursion in New York Harbor, prosecutors said.

Antonella wasn't wearing a life preserver because the boat didn't have any for small children, prosecutors said. Instead, Hernandez told Sanchez she needed to wear a life vest and hold the infant throughout the hourslong tour, a violation of federal regulations, prosecutors said.

Hernandez, 46, of Manville, New Jersey, wiped his eyes as he arrived for his initial appearance in Manhattan federal court. He was not required to enter a plea and was released on $50,000 bail. He and his lawyer, Amy Gallicchio, declined to comment as she led him to a waiting vehicle.

The tour was organized through Zeus Luxury Rental Inc., which had a boat catch fire last year during a birthday charter cruise on Long Island Sound. A Coast Guard investigator said in Hernandez’s criminal complaint that the company does not appear to have applied for Coast Guard licensing.

Messages seeking comment were sent to a phone number and email address listed on Zeus Luxury’s website. The voicemail box for the phone number was full, according to an automated recording.

Charter company had a boat burst into flames last year

Authorities said the 21-foot Yamaha AR210 had 14 people aboard — well over its 10 person capacity — when it swamped and sank around 10:20 p.m. Saturday as Hernandez made a U-turn in choppy waters possibly caused by the wake of a larger vessel.

The boat was later pulled from the water and taken to a New York Police Department facility.

Zeus Luxury advertises its services on social media platforms including Instagram and TikTok, marketing itself as “one of the leading companies in limousine, party bus, and yacht rentals in the tri-state area” and touting a fleet of vehicles including such high-end brands as Mercedes, Hummer, Rolls-Royce, and Cadillac.

According to his criminal complaint, Hernandez told investigators he had worked for Zeus Luxury on a freelance or contract basis since last year, starting as a limousine driver. He said that twice recently he used his personal boat, a slightly larger Yamaha AR250, but used a friend’s boat on Saturday because his needed repairs, the complaint said.

In June 2025, a boat on a company-organized charter cruise burst into flames near the Bronx. All 22 passengers survived. Some were pulled from the water and others swam to safety on nearby Hart Island. Three passengers were injured, authorities said. Loriann Garcia went into cardiac arrest and is now suing the company. Two others had severe burns.

The pilot of that boat, Joshua Brito, was indicted on charges including vehicular assault, reckless endangerment and operating a vessel while intoxicated. He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail.

“This is just a fly-by-night company,” Garcia’s lawyer, Rose Day, said. The vessel Garcia was on didn’t have life preservers and Zeus Luxury wasn't properly insured, she said.

“Here we are, same thing, one year later. Same company, same reckless acts,” Day said. “It’s shocking that this has happened and sickening at the same time.”

A mother and daughter gone, a partner and father left grieving

Saturday's tour began around 7 p.m. and the vessel capsized more than three hours into its journey. Hernandez tried to accelerate to pass through the swell, but water swamped the bow and the boat immediately capsized, prosecutors said.

Hernandez admitted to investigators that had never sought required licensing and claimed he was unaware it was needed, according to the complaint.

Hernandez said he capped trips using his personal boat at 12 passengers, but that he did not know the maximum capacity for the boat he used on Saturday. Hernandez said he thought there would be 12 passengers on the tour but ended up agreeing to take 13, the complaint said.

An online campaign to help Sanchez's partner, Andres Garcia, pay for funeral and other expenses had topped $25,000 by Tuesday afternoon. Garcia also was on the boat.

Sanchez's neighbor, Diego Naranjo, said he first met her last spring when her son threw a ball into their Queens backyard. After recovering the ball, Naranjo invited her son to play on a trampoline with his children.

“They were really nice people," Naranjo said. “You can see when a person is noble.”

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This story has been updated to correct that the boat was a Yamaha, not a Bayliner.

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Turbay reported from Little Rock, Arkansas

The contract includes $101 million guaranteed and will be added to the two years on his existing deal. The $35.3 million annual average on the extension is second among defensive tackles to Jalen Carter of NFC East rival Philadelphia.

The lucrative extension could keep Williams with the Cowboys through 2030 after they traded for him during the 2025 season. Dallas gave up one of the two first-round picks acquired in the shocking trade that sent star pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers just a week before the opener last year.

Executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones said at the opening of training camp the club was working with Williams' agents on an extension. Just shy of two weeks later, an agreement was in place.

“It’s a big part of all the moving parts that went with our trade last year,” Jones said on the team's website. “I think this kind of, at the end of the day, puts a bow on top in terms of knowing that we’re going to have Q here for the next five years long term.”

The addition of Williams from the New York Jets provided an initial boost to one of the NFL's worst defenses a year ago. The Cowboys won their first three games after the trade before a 44-30 loss to Detroit that started a season-ending run of four losses in five games as Dallas missed the playoffs for the second year in a row.

The Cowboys had one of the league's best offenses while finishing 7-9-1 in coach Brian Schottenheimer's first season, and they spent the offseason overhauling the defense while believing Williams would be a centerpiece among the many changes.

Dallas hired defensive coordinator Christian Parker to replace Matt Eberflus, who was fired after one season when the Cowboys allowed the most points (511) with the fewest interceptions (six) in franchise history.

The Cowboys traded with Green Bay again to get pass rusher Rashan Gary, drafted safety Caleb Downs and defensive end Malachi Lawrence in the first round and added cornerback Cobie Durant and safeties P.J. Locke and Jalen Thompson in free agency.

Dallas also targeted linebacker, drafting Michigan pass rusher Jaishawn Barham with the belief he could play off the line of scrimmage and acquiring Dee Winters in a trade with San Francisco.

Williams is part of a returning group that includes fellow defensive tackle Kenny Clark — acquired in the Parsons deal — along with second-year defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, cornerbacks DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel Jr. and safety Malik Hooker.

The 28-year-old Williams was the third overall pick by the Jets in 2019 and was an All-Pro three years later despite the Jets' 7-10 finish. Williams has yet to play on a winning team, and the former Alabama standout was quick to remind everyone after the trade that he's still waiting for his first NFL playoff game.

“You’re just happy about it for a guy like that,” defensive line coach Marcus Dixon said. “Like he’s been rewarded for his hard work, the way he approaches the game, how he is with his teammates, his love for the game, how he’s always trying to perfect his craft. But he wants to win, and he’ll tell you that.”

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Zuckerberg detailed his ambitions for the technology in a 6,500-word essay published online where he also outlined why he favors open-source AI technology, in which developers make key components accessible for anyone to examine, modify and build upon.

In a document derided by critics as fantastical, Zuckerberg said his company is working toward an era where everyone will have the tools to create new businesses, receive Ph.D.-level tutoring and provide personalized lifestyle tips. His 8-year-old daughter, he wrote, can already code her ideas and quickly produce videos.

“Everyone will soon have invention superpowers,” Zuckerberg wrote.

Zuckerberg warned of risks if control of advanced AI is concentrated with a select few companies, institutions or governments. On Monday, Meta also announced the release a new open-source AI model, Muse Glimmer, which can run on a personal computer, and Zuckerberg said the company would also would provide a way for developers to access a more powerful AI model, Muse Spark 1.2.

Meta makes AI models, like several other tech companies, and uses them to power platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. The Menlo Park, California, company also makes them available to developers who can create their own apps and features.

Skeptics urge a slower pace of AI development

Critics said Zuckerberg was not reckoning fully with the risks inherent in AI's rapid development.

Noting recent incidents where AI models, including Meta’s own, hacked other companies on at least three separate occasions, Anthony Aguirre, president and CEO of the AI safety nonprofit Future of Life Institute, asked “what on Earth makes Meta think they — or anyone — could control something exponentially smarter, faster, and more capable?"

“Meta’s chosen path is ultimately one of human replacement and disempowerment, but there is an alternate, pro-human path -- one that brings about individual flourishing and scientific breakthroughs with controllable AI tools. What’s urgently needed now is for governments to facilitate a pause on advanced AI development and steer us onto the pro-human path — before it's too late,” Aguirre said.

Meta chief says AI should be broadly distributed

In his essay, Zuckerberg outlined why he thought open source is a better path for fair development of AI. He warned that if control of AI “superintelligence” is too concentrated, it will lead to less favorable outcomes for everyone else. The key, he wrote, is finding a balance that ensures advanced AI is “broadly distributed" to empower billions of people equitably.

Meta has long been a proponent of open-sourcing its AI models, but has struggled to keep up with rivals such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google that have not taken the same approach.

Zuckerberg made what could be a veiled reference to Meta's rivals without naming specific companies.

“Most other labs are focused on building AI for companies, governments, or other institutions, so if those labs lead, then the balance of power will favor larger institutions over individuals,” he wrote.

Zuckerberg also included policy recommendations for keeping the U.S. ahead of rivals, including China. The United States and its allies need to speed up building energy capacity and infrastructure to stay competitive, he said.

Zuckerberg called for authorities to reconsider their position on “ distillation,” which involves training a less capable model on the outputs of a stronger one. The Trump administration has vowed to crack down on Chinese AI companies using distillation to extract technical features from U.S. AI models. Anthropic earlier this year accused China's DeepSeek of using distillation.

"Some have tried to frame distillation as harmful, but I think it is important to protect the principle that you can learn from anything you can observe," Zuckerberg said. “This is how the world works, and the U.S. will not be able to lead if we restrict ourselves on this front.”

Critics see a self-serving message from Meta

Matt Lane, senior policy counsel at the nonprofit digital rights advocacy group Fight for the Future, called Zuckerberg “annoyingly out of touch on his best day,” but said the CEO is right about the importance of open-source AI.

Shared access to open-source AI systems is important for protection in a world where AI can be used to hack into electronic systems, like voting systems and benefits infrastructure, he said.

But he said only Meta will benefit if everyone were to use Meta-designed AI systems, even if they are fully open-source. "Open source AI needs to be supported beyond these corporate interests. We, unlike Zuckerberg, hope for as much competition as possible,” he said.

Public health experts have raised concerns that spacing out shots as Trump suggests can lead to an increased risk that children become infected with a vaccine-preventable disease before returning for another visit.

Trump swore in Todd Blanche, his old personal lawyer, as attorney general Monday. Meanwhile, Iran says it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States lifts its blockade on the strait, pays compensation for months of war damage, lifts economic sanctions and releases Iran’s frozen assets. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flatly rejected Trump's proposed exit strategy for Gaza.

Here’s the latest:

Trump spokesperson suggests separating MMR vaccine could help instill trust in the vaccines

White House spokesperson Kush Desai said Monday that Trump’s call for the development of separate, single-disease measles, mumps and rubella vaccines for U.S. children will help generate trust in vaccine hesitant parents.

“President Trump is one of countless parents who have voiced questions and concerns about the combined MMR vaccine,” Desai told The Associated Press, saying the separate vaccines will “give parents more options on timing and frequency for their children, which ultimately will increase vaccination rates for all three diseases.”

The White House didn’t provide new scientific evidence supporting the move. Studies of babies and toddlers in the U.S. have shown that the use of combination shots increased the likelihood of completing all recommended vaccinations by the age of 2.

Pediatricians say executive order spreads confusion about vaccines, which are safe

Doctors from the American Academy of Pediatrics said the executive order spreads uncertainty and confusion.

Dr. Aaron Milstone, pediatric director of infection prevention at Johns Hopkins Health System, said doctors want to reassure parents there are “many, many, many years of scientific data highlighting the safety of vaccines in children.”

The timing of vaccines has also been well-studied, he said.

“We give vaccines to children even when they’re young because we know that’s safe and because we know it’s the best time for their body to respond to that vaccine in a good way and to make their body stronger to fight off an infection if they’re exposed to that,” Milstone said.

The potential link between vaccines and autism has also been studied exhaustively — in more than 40 well-designed studies in more than seven countries involving over five million children, said Dr. Andrew Racine, president of American Academy of Pediatrics.

“I’m not sure that there is anything that has been as thoroughly looked at as this question about whether or not there is a link between autism and vaccines,” he said. “And the answer is unequivocally no.”

Republican senator blasts Trump executive order on vaccines

Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican, is strongly rebuking Trump’s executive order on vaccines.

“I’m a doctor. This executive order is wrong. The President does not have the expertise to make these changes,” Cassidy said in a social media post on X. “Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe. Vaccines are effective. Vaccines DO NOT cause autism.”

Cassidy chairs the Senate committee with oversight responsibilities for healthcare agencies. He went on to say that children will have to get more shots to get the same protection. It will increase hesitancy and make children less safe.

“Parents should listen to their child’s pediatrician about vaccines rather than listening to an inaccurate executive order. This is so wrong,” Cassidy said.

Trump did not provide new evidence of a claimed link between vaccines and autism

The National Institutes of Health started funding research teams over a year ago charged with unearthing the cause autism, a portion of them assessing vaccines’ claimed role.

Scientific consensus and decades of studies have firmly concluded there is no link between childhood vaccines and autism.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the head of the institute, spoke at Trump’s executive order signing and said that “science takes time” and “you don’t get answers immediately.”

Still, Bhattacharya was more tentative about claiming an evidence-based link between autism and vaccines, generally avoiding the suggestion altogether.

“What we’ve done in this administration,” he said, “is we’ve given permission to scientists to honestly answer this question, to find the link for the first time.”

12 medical groups previously endorsed the childhood influenza vaccine. Trump’s executive order did not

In January, the American Academy of Pediatrics put out their 2026 childhood vaccine guidance, which included a jab for influenza, that got the green light from groups including the National Medical Association and Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.

The AAP said in a press release at the time that over 80% of childhood deaths related to influenza were with unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated patients, adding that children under 5 years old are particularly vulnerable.

Trump said the vaccine is “no longer recommended for all children.”

Trump says Iran can still cause trouble but argues that it’s feeling financial squeeze

The president was dismissive of Iranian officials’ demands after Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei stressed that Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the U.S. meets its conditions, including paying reparations for the five-month-old war.

Trump during an Oval Office exchange with reporters claimed that the U.S. has “100% control” of the strait, but that the situation remains complex. He made the case that the U.S. Navy’s blockade of the strait is preventing Iran from selling its oil on the international market, a move that is effectively choking the Iranian economy.

“Now, can they make trouble? Yeah, they can make trouble, but they’re broke,” Trump said. “They have no money. You know, Iran is broke, totally broke. And they’re not paying their soldiers.”

With measles raging, vaccine proponent said it’s no time for an ‘anti-vaccine agenda’

At a time when the U.S. is facing its worst measles outbreak in more than 30 years, “we should be making it easier to protect children from preventable disease, not harder,” said Northe Saunders, president of American Families for Vaccines.

He said “RFK’s anti-vaccine agenda” shouldn’t pressure state leaders to abandon protections that work for their communities.

“States have long played a central role in setting school immunization requirements,” he said. “and parents, educators, healthcare professionals, and state leaders should be able to make decisions about protecting children without political interference from the federal government.”

In late July, the number of measles cases in the U.S. has surpassed the record-breaking tally for all of 2025. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has logged more than 2,318 cases of measles this year.

Trump’s childhood vaccine recommendations contradict medical establishment

The president, at an executive order signing on new childhood vaccine recommendations, said that, “very importantly,” jabs for hepatitis B, COVID-19 and influenza “are no longer recommended for all children.”

Those vaccinations, however, are still recommended by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics, among other medical groups.

While the latter organization recommends childhood vaccines for 18 diseases, Trump’s executive order limits that to prioritizing just 11.

Public health officials have raised concerns over some of Trump’s recommendations

That includes the presidents recommendation announced Monday to space out childhood vaccine shots instead of getting all of them on the same visit.

Public health officials say that could lead to children becoming infected with a vaccine-preventable disease in the periods between jabs.

Doctor urges parents to listen to medical experts about shots

Michael Osterholm, executive director of the Vaccine Integrity Project, said parents should continue to rely on vaccine recommendations developed by trusted medical and public health experts, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, when making decisions on shots for their kids.

“Today’s Executive Order does not change the underlying scientific evidence supporting childhood immunization. That data has been built over decades — through large clinical trials, real-world effectiveness studies and continuous safety monitoring involving millions of children,” he said in a statement.

“Parents deserve clear, evidence-based guidance about how to protect their children, not competing recommendations issued through political processes. When families receive conflicting messages, confidence in vaccination suffers, and children ultimately bear the consequences.”

Trump overstates dangers of vaccines

In announcing his executive order on vaccines, President Donald Trump said “bad things happen” when children get the combined MMR vaccine.

“I’ve seen proof of it, where they have a vaccination that looks like the size of a bottle of soda poured into a little child’s body, and bad things happen in, many cases-in too many cases,” he said.

But experts say the risk of serious side effects is extremely low and years of real-world data proves the vaccine is safe and effective. Common side effects include soreness and a mild rash or redness at the injection site, a fever, and temporary pain or stiffness in the joints.

Decades of studies have concluded there’s no link between the MMR vaccine and autism.

Decades of autism research have found no single cause

Besides genetics, scientists have identified various possible factors, including the age of a child’s father, the mother’s weight, and whether she had diabetes or was exposed to certain chemicals.

Any concern that vaccines could be linked to autism has been long debunked, according to scientists and leading advocacy groups for people with autism.

Childhood vaccines — and how and when to give them in combination — go through rigorous studies, and safety tracking continues for years as the shots are used.

Trump proposes new childhood vaccine recommendations, though power in schools rests with states

Trump, who suggested connections between autism and vaccines despite a scientific consensus that there isn’t a link, issued new guidance for childhood vaccines that space out shots and limit the number of recommended routine jabs.

Still, the authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren rests with state governments.

Trump to sign executive order calling for spacing out childhood shots

President Donald Trump on Monday will sign an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations that promote his long-held belief that shots should be spaced out into separate medical visits, according to a White House fact sheet.

The order will recommend administering each vaccine in its own visit and separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different shots and direct the nation’s health department to improve vaccine research, says the fact sheet, first reported by The Daily Caller. Separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines for children are not available in the U.S.

Public health experts have raised concerns that spacing out shots as Trump suggests can lead to an increased risk that children become infected with a vaccine-preventable disease before returning for another visit.

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CBO says this year’s deficit will be larger than previously predicted, mostly because of smaller-than-expected tariff revenue

The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that this fiscal year’s deficit will be $2.1 trillion, about $200 billion more than what it predicted in early February.

The major reason for the change has to do with less revenue coming into the Treasury than projected as a result of the Supreme Court finding that the tariffs President Donald Trump imposed under an emergency powers law were unconstitutional.

The fiscal year runs through September 30.

Revenue totaled $4.5 trillion through the first 10 months of the fiscal year. That’s about 3% more than during the same period a year ago.

Meanwhile, spending increased about 5% from last year, rising to $6.3 trillion. Spending in the federal government’s major healthcare programs, Medicare and Medicaid, each increased by about 8%.

Trump signs waiver letting foreign trips carry oil and other goods among US ports for 90 days

Trump on Monday extended a waiver for 90 days for foreign ships to transport goods, including oil, fertilizers and other fossil fuel products, among U.S. ports.

The president first waived the Jones Act on March 17 so that it would be easier to transport oil and refined fuels among ports, reducing price pressures after the start of the war with Iran.

The extension will take effect on August 17.

Unlike previous extensions, the Pentagon will consult with the Maritime Administration to decide which voyages are exempt from the 1920 law containing the Jones Act. The waiver will only apply to cargo are sources of energy and commodities related to agriculture and food, such as soybean oil.

Ex Air Force secretary talking to lawyers after Trump admin revokes security clearance

Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said Monday that he’s talking to lawyers after the Trump administration revoked his security clearance last week.

Kendall, who has been critical of the administration, said in a post on LinkedIn that he’s “talking to lawyers and will have more soon.” He said he’s had his clearance for 60 years and was careful to say nothing classified.

The Pentagon revoked Kendall’s “eligibility” to access classified information and barred him from holding “any sensitive position,” alleging Friday that he disclosed sensitive information about Air Force One’s capabilities to the media.

It follows reporting last month, including from The New York Times, on security concerns over the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One, including that it lacked the advanced antimissile capabilities of its predecessor.

US military base in South Carolina renamed after late Sen. Lindsey Graham

A U.S. military base in South Carolina was renamed after the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham Monday, with Defense Department Sec. Pete Hegseth praising Graham’s dedication to the military and for “taking on a radical leftist ideology” in the armed forces.

Joint Base Charleston is now Joint Base Lindsey Graham, which includes an Air Force base and a Naval Weapons Station. Graham, who died last month, served in the Air Force, Air National Guard and reserves.

Hegseth praised Graham’s support of President Donald Trump’s historic $1.5 billion defense budget proposal. In praising Graham, Hegseth also employed the Trump administration’s strategy of linking Democrats to communism.

“The hard left declared war on our own military,” Hegseth said, adding that “it seems that many people have forgotten the reality of what communism looks like.”

Trump dismisses Iran’s call for war reparations

Trump is scoffing at the Iran’s call for reparations for devastation caused to the country by the U.S. and Israeli bombardment over the last five months, a demand he said hadn’t been raised by Tehran’s negotiators until now.

The Republican president, in a social media post, added that in response to the Iranian demand he’s directing negotiators to include “compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts.”

The U.S. government says Iran-backed militants have been responsible for the deaths and injuries of hundreds of Americans over the last several decades, including the 1983 bombing on a Marine compound in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. military personnel, the 1996 truck bombing of a U.S. Air Force housing complex in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 U.S. troops and wounded hundreds more, and the deaths of at least 603 U.S. troops in Iraq between 2003 and 2011.

Trump announces staff secretary Will Scharf will be his new White House counsel

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that his new White House counsel will be Will Scharf, the staff secretary who as the Trump-appointed head of the National Capital Planning Commission helped secure approval for the $400 million ballroom project.

Trump said that, beginning Sept. 1, Scharf will be replacing David Warrington, who will be leaving the administration to join the private sector. Trump noted that Scharf previously served as a federal prosecutor and represented him in a number of cases, including at the Supreme Court.

“Will is Tough, Strong, and Smart! He also loves our Country, and respects the Law,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Will Scharf will do a great job as White House Counsel!”

The shakeup in the White House counsel’s office comes at a critical juncture — just months ahead of the midterm elections, where Trump’s Republican Party will be fighting to hold on to control of Congress. Democrats have vowed to pursue investigations into Trump and his administration if they are successful in November.

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Trump officials propose new scrutiny of food additives and ingredients

U.S. health officials on Monday proposed a rule change that would require food manufacturers to notify regulators before introducing new ingredients or additives into processed or packaged foods.

The proposal would change a decades-old policy that advocates have called a regulatory loophole, blaming it for allowing thousands of unvetted ingredients into the U.S. food supply.

Under the proposed rule from the Food and Drug Administration, companies would have to document and submit their safety findings for new ingredients, giving regulators the opportunity to investigate if they see a potential safety risk. Currently companies can decide for themselves if an ingredient or additive is “generally recognized as safe” and there is no requirement for companies to notify or submit evidence to the FDA, although some do.

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State Department says it has revoked more 175,000 visas since Trump took office

The revoked visas had been granted to more than 175,000 foreigners who have endangered American citizens, broken laws or threatened U.S. national security, according to a statement issued Monday by the State Department.

The statement says most were revoked “due to law enforcement encounters for a range of criminal activity,” including assault, child abuse, drunken driving, drug violations, and embezzlement. It doesn’t say how many of those visa holders had been convicted of such crimes.

Some of the revocations involved “foreign nationals who celebrated the assassination of Charlie Kirk, including one who stated ‘when fascists die, democrats don’t complain’ and another who said he ‘died too late’, the statement said.

Veteran Democrats face strong challenges in Connecticut’s primary

Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont’s try for a third term must first clear a challenge by state Rep. Josh Elliott. And U.S. Rep. John Larson faces his first primary challenge in nearly 30 years, from former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, Hartford Board of Education member Ruth Fortune and state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest.

Both contests could help redefine the Democratic brand by replacing old guard figures with younger alternatives. Tuesday’s primaries also could extend a progressive winning streak in New York City, Colorado and the Michigan U.S. Senate primary.

Larson turned 78 in July. Concerns over his health and age arose last year after he suffered a seizure while delivering a speech on the House floor.

For more than a decade, nature lovers watched via an online video feed as Jackie and her partner Shadow tended to their nest each year atop trees near Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles.

The nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley installed the nest camera in 2015 and documented the successes and failures of each breeding season. In 2024, Jackie diligently sat on her eggs for more than two and a half days straight after a winter storm blanketed the nest with snow.

The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation’s San Dimas Raptor Rescue team found Jackie on July 17 following reports that the bird had been involved in a fight with two other eagles and was found to be ill.

Jackie had been receiving medical treatment for three weeks at the Ojai Raptor Center, where she was treated for a variety of ailments including anemia. Despite undergoing a blood transfusion and oxygen therapy, her condition worsened and the center announced the animal's death Monday.

“We know this news will be deeply felt by the many thousands of people around the world who have followed her journey, hoped alongside us, prayed for her, and supported the people caring for her,” the center's statement said. “Our team is heartbroken. It has been an extraordinary privilege to care for her.”

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is caring for the remains.

Among those who enjoyed monitoring Jackie's nests from afar was biologist Kelly Sorenson, executive director of the Ventana Wildlife Society in central California. While his group was not involved with the Big Bear eagles, he sees their breeding as emblematic of the comeback the species has made in the state over the past decades.

American bald eagles teetered on the brink of extinction until the pesticide DDT was banned in the 1970s and other protections were established, leading the species to rebound and be removed from the federal endangered list.

“You want to see a success story like that,” Sorenson said Monday. “Having access to a live cam to see the nesting first hand is very powerful. It brings people in on an emotional level.”

News 6 returned Monday to the St. Cloud Mobile Home Park after first visiting the community Friday following a viewer tip about residents living without electricity.

The difference was easy to see — and hear.

Air conditioners were running again. Fans were turning. Refrigerators that were empty Friday were beginning to fill back up.

But residents told News 6 that five homes were still without power Monday afternoon, leaving neighbors to help some of the people still waiting.

“We have five people left with no power,” resident Alfredo Sanchez said. He said residents were helping one neighbor buy gasoline to keep a generator running.

[WATCH: St. Cloud mobile home residents lose food, sleep in cars as power outage stretches into 3rd day]

From an empty refrigerator to some relief

When News 6 first met Sanchez on Friday, he said he had been sleeping in his car because his home was too hot without air conditioning.

He also said he had thrown away groceries and insulin that could no longer be kept at a safe temperature.

By Monday, Sanchez’s power was back and his refrigerator looked much different.

He showed News 6 food and water that other people had brought him.

“I’m very happy ‘cause I depend on this food,” Sanchez said, explaining that his diet is important because of his medical condition.

Getting electricity back, however, did not replace everything he lost. Sanchez said Monday he was still contacting his insurance company and others in an effort to replace insulin lost during the outage.

Residents describe days of disruption

Other residents told News 6 the outage forced them out of their homes.

Destiny Muirhead said she came home Wednesday night to find the community dark. After waiting for power to return, she eventually packed her belongings and her cat and went to stay with a relative because she relies on a CPAP machine.

Muirhead said she returned home after power came back over the weekend, although she said her electricity has continued to flicker.

“I lost my perishables. I lost my right to stay in my house,” Muirhead said, describing the physical difficulty of moving back and forth while dealing with a disability and back problems.

Oscar Bermudez said his electricity was out for about three days. He was able to use a small generator to power a machine he needs for sleep apnea, but said much of the food in his refrigerator had thawed by the time electricity returned.

OUC clarifies what happened

The Orlando Utilities Commission provided News 6 with an updated explanation of the outage.

OUC said it became aware of the outage on Aug. 5 and said the problem was caused by “a failure on a customer-owned line within the community.”

According to OUC, property management directed the utility to disconnect power to a portion of the mobile home park for safety reasons.

OUC said service could be restored once property management completed the repairs necessary to make the system safe.

That distinction is important: OUC’s statement says the failure occurred on a customer-owned line and that the required repair had to be made on the property side before service could be fully restored.

Email told residents a special cable was needed

News 6 also obtained an email sent to residents Thursday evening from COARE CO A LLC through RentCafe.

The message acknowledged residents’ frustration and said the community was working to get the electricity repaired.

However, it said the specific cable necessary for the job had to be specially ordered.

“We are making every attempt to get the cable by tomorrow and make this repair,” the Thursday message said.

By Monday, some residents told News 6 that communication throughout the outage remained one of their biggest frustrations.

Sanchez described communication as “very, very poor,” saying residents were being passed from one person to another when looking for information.

Muirhead said she wanted management to provide residents with more direct updates about what had happened, what was being repaired and when electricity was expected to return.

“They coulda went door to door, knocked on it, and let everybody know what was going on, when it was gonna be restored,” she said.

She described the restoration itself as a “Band-Aid over a broken bone,” saying she remains concerned the underlying problems have not been resolved.

Bermudez expressed a similar concern, calling what happened a “temporary fix” and saying he worries another outage could happen.

News 6 again tries to reach management

News 6 attempted to speak directly with management at the community on Friday and again Monday.

Multiple knocks at the management office went unanswered while News 6 was there Monday.

Residents said they also want answers about whether anyone will compensate them for groceries and other losses associated with the outage.

Sanchez said he has not been told he will receive reimbursement for the food he lost.

Muirhead raised the same question, noting that many residents — including seniors and people with disabilities — had already bought groceries at the beginning of the month when the power went out.

For most of the community, the immediate crisis has eased.

But for the five homes residents say remain without electricity — and for neighbors still asking what went wrong and whether it could happen again — they say the outage is not over yet.

The two-time Olympic champion from Norway hadn’t raced since having surgery early this year to clean up scar tissue on the protective sheath around his left Achilles tendon.

Down the stretch, Ingebrigtsen was in third place before accelerating in the final 50 meters to pass Florian Bremm of Germany and cross the line in 13 minutes, 15:29 seconds. Bremm was second followed by France’s Etienne Daguinos.

“Coming from the lowest of lows to be European champion again means the world to me,” Ingebrigtsen said. “Not even I believed it could happen coming here. Only with 600 meters to go I knew I would win.

“I am starting to feel more like myself,” he added. “I doubted myself every day coming in to this and every minute leading up to the last lap today, but I’m always hoping to do my best. I’ve tried my best, and the last three weeks was very smooth.”

The Norwegian's rivals could only marvel at his abilities. Daguinos called him “a legend of our sport.”

Bremm said he looked to both sides “and I thought, ‘Oh yes I have it for sure,” before Ingebrigtsen passed him.

“He proved he’s faster than everyone else even after the injury,” Bremm said.

Ingebrigtsen is not racing in the 1,500 meters in Birmingham. He’s won both the 1,500 and 5,000 at the past three European championships.

The Achilles problem seemed to be a factor in Ingebrigtsen’s performance at last September’s world championships in Tokyo, where he failed to advance out of the first round of the 1,500 and finished 10th in the 5,000 final.

Amy Hunt wins tight 100m

Amy Hunt of Britain got just enough separation to win the women's 100 meters in 11 seconds, edging Poland's Ewa Swoboda (11.02) and Belgium's Delphine Nkansa (11.06). Hunt's teammate Dina Asher-Smith (11.10), the defending champion, was fifth.

Hunt won silver in the 100 at the Commonwealth Games two weeks ago. She was also the silver medalist in 200 at the world championships last September.

Three-peat for Schilder in women's shot put

Netherlands star Jessica Schilder made it three in a row in the shot put, taking gold with a throw of 20.73 meters at Alexander Stadium.

The reigning world champion's teammate Jorinde van Klinken (19.64) won silver, and 2024 Olympic champion Yemisi Mabry (19.50) of Germany was third.

“I will never get tired of this feeling, I will never get bored of winning these medals,” Schilder said. “I had the confidence going into this that even though I was competing with an injured finger I was capable of doing well here. It was a little bit about battling and pushing through the pain today.”

Schilder is the only woman this decade to surpass 21 meters when she threw 21.09 at the Shanghai Diamond League in May.

Schilder won gold at the past two European championships: 2024 in Rome and 2022 in Munich. She called this one the “easiest” of the three.

“There was quite a gap with the other competitors,” she said.

For the men's shot put, Leonardo Fabbri defended his title with a throw of 22.31, and his Italian teammate Zane Weir took silver. Sweden's Wictor Petersson was third.

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

Of course the Miami Dolphins first-year head coach does not want his players missing assignments, lining up offsides or running the wrong routes on game days. But he has stressed to his young team the importance of pushing beyond their comfort zones during training camp, even if that means getting things wrong.

“Some guys get so comfortable, right?” Hafley said Monday. “And they’re so scared to make a mistake that they play things safe. How do you grow if you’re going to play things safe? That doesn’t make any sense to me because you’re comfortable or you don’t want to look bad? It’s not about looking bad.”

Hafley has taken that approach himself, testing out different snap counts for quarterbacks and living with pre-snap penalties if they come early on. Similarly, the former defensive coordinator wants players to test different techniques and learn what works for them. During a recent practice, that meant encouraging a cornerback to use his hands and length more during team drills.

"Like step out of your comfort zone. Don’t worry about the results," Hafley said. "That’s what practice is for. That’s why I get mad in practice. I think bad coaching is when a guy gets beat and you just go up and you yell at him. No, ask him, ‘What did you do? What did you see? What did you try? Did it work? Let’s go back and watch it on film.’ If a guy’s not running to the ball or he’s (showing) lack of effort or physicality then yeah, yell at him. But this is where these guys get paralyzed in their minds, and I just don’t want that to happen.

“So when I see a long corner and I get a flashback, ‘You’re not using your length. Step and punch and try something different.’ I think that’s huge for everybody on our team, and it’s just how we need to coach these guys.”

That approach will be tested this week as the Dolphins prepare for Wednesday's joint practice against Washington ahead of Friday's preseason opener.

Hafley hasn't said whether starters like quarterback Malik Willis or running back De'Von Achane will suit up, but the coach said Monday everyone on the team “needs to be ready to play.”

“You never know what to expect, but you kind of just go out there, and it’s like a regular practice. You just start,” said tackle Patrick Paul, whose brother, Chris, is an offensive lineman for the Commanders. “There’s no like pre-anything. It’s just from the jump you’re going. It’s going to bring the best out of a lot of people because you’re going against new competition. These aren’t your teammates. These are people you’re about to play, so you need to go out there and compete."

Making Moves

The Dolphins agreed to acquire offensive tackle Caedan Wallace and a 2029 seventh-round pick from the New England Patriots on Monday in exchange for a 2028 sixth-rounder. That deal is pending a physical.

Wallace, a third-round pick out of Penn State by the Patriots in 2024, has played in 10 games with two starts over the past two seasons.

Also Monday, the Dolphins placed kicker Zane Gonzalez on injured reserve and signed cornerback Nick McCloud as they deal with injuries in their secondary.

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

Back in March, Jason James was coaching when he started to feel light-headed near first base and then collapsed. Those nearby quickly realized his heart had stopped.

Bystanders rushed in and began CPR while another person ran to get an automated external defibrillator (AED). But the closest AED was locked inside the concession stand behind a coded door — and only a few people knew the PIN.

By pure chance, Adam Bitner had been given that code the day before. He sprinted to the concession stand to retrieve the device as the crowd continued CPR.

The emergency also drew the attention of two off-duty doctors who were at the park watching the game, along with Winter Garden Fire Battalion Chief Marcus DePaolo.

“I look up and I see him laying down and, his friend running with the red bag,” DePaolo said.

Dr. Danielle Henry, an oncology surgeon with the Orlando Health Cancer Institute, said CPR was already in progress when she arrived. “The AED had arrived and we pulled it out of the bag. We got the AED pads placed on the chest, and then we turned on the AED,” she said.

Dr. Phil Flaherty, a critical care physician with Orlando Health, said responding in that moment felt different than working in a hospital. “It’s difficult to describe it… It’s just a very different feeling from what we do at the hospital,” he said. “This is like my neighborhood.”

Within minutes, James had a pulse again and was rushed to Orlando Regional Medical Center. Five months later, he is recovering — and grateful for the quick actions that made the difference between life and death.

His daughter, Ariana, said she was relieved when her dad woke up. “You know, I was happy,” she said.

Looking back, James said the timing and the people who stepped in still feels unbelievable — and he’s taken comfort in what he calls a sign, tied to his daughter’s middle name, “Angel.”

“She was,” James said, reflecting on that day. He recalled DePaolo being one of the first people he saw when he woke up — and said the battalion chief was “literally wearing an angel’s jersey.”

In questioning Dr. Jennifer Tufts, defense lawyer Kevin Reddington spotlighted her use of 25-minute video appointments with limited time for talk therapy, the computerized forms that documented her observations, and the series of pharmaceuticals she recommended as Clancy reported various side effects, symptoms and concerns about taking medications.

Reddington portrayed Clancy’s care not as common practice in U.S. mental healthcare, but rather as inadequate and indifferent treatment of a deteriorating patient. At one point, Reddington implied that the doctor was a box-checking “robot.”

“What did you do? You had a woman who was telling you she felt hopeless,” he asked as they discussed an appointment about two months before the killings.

“I told her that this was something we could address, that there was hope, that there are treatments, that there are different types of programs,” Tufts said, “so she knew that she still had options and a reason to hope.”

“Did you ever suggest to her that ‘maybe you should come in and see me, rather than on the computer?’” Reddington asked.

“Talking to her over the video didn’t seem like an issue. It didn’t seem like there was something I was missing,” Tufts replied.

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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.

___

Clancy's camp says she tried everything to get help

Clancy, 35, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the deaths of Callan, Dawson and Cora Clancy, who ranged from 8 months to 5 years old. They were found in the basement of the family’s home in coastal Duxbury, Massachusetts, where their mother was lying in the yard. She had jumped out a second-story window and remains paralyzed from the waist down.

Prosecutors argue that the former labor and delivery nurse was an intentional killer who connived to get her husband out of the house, then strangled the children with exercise bands on Jan. 24, 2023. Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham has urged jurors not to view the trial as “a public debate about women’s mental health and how the medical system treats women.”

Clancy's attorneys don't dispute that she killed the children. But they say she shouldn't be held criminally responsible because she was mentally ill, believing that she heard voices ordering her to take the children's lives and her own.

The defense contends that she was in the grip of bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis, a rare postpregnancy condition that can alter women's sense of reality. A forensic psychiatrist diagnosed her with those conditions after the killings.

Her attorneys say Clancy did everything she could to seek help: She turned to multiple outpatient providers, tried various drugs they prescribed, called a suicide hotline, went to an emergency room, and approached but wasn't accepted into a hospital-based, full-day treatment program for women with postpregnancy mental health problems. Clancy then even checked herself into a psychiatric hospital for several days.

Rather than improving, her condition worsened on the ever-remixed cocktail of psychiatric medications, some of them problematic for bipolar patients, her attorneys and family say. Tufts noted that it can be difficult to tell whether such conditions as depression are continuing because of a medicine or despite it.

Psychiatrist says Clancy never indicated she'd harm her kids

Tufts saw Clancy, via video, from September 2022 until the day before the killings. Her diagnosis: generalized anxiety disorder and an adjustment disorder with depressed mood.

The psychiatrist testified that Clancy never told her about manic episodes, a criterion for bipolar diagnoses, nor about hearing voices or having other signs of psychosis.

Clancy at times said she was “close” to feeling suicidal, hopeless or like she was going to die, Tufts recalled. But she said Clancy denied having a plan to take her own life or harm anyone else and never revealed — as the defense says she did to her husband — that she had thoughts about harming the children.

“I would have been very concerned if I had heard that,” Tufts said.

Clancy is suing Tufts and other practitioners in civil court.

“I do not believe that I’ve been negligent,” Tufts testified in the criminal trial Monday as Reddington questioned how much experience she had treating postpregnancy conditions before Clancy came to her. Tufts finished her psychiatric residency training in July 2022 and joined a private practice the month before Clancy's first appointment.

Nurse-practitioner testifies about treating Clancy

As Tufts left court after two days of testimony, Clancy sat still in her wheelchair with her knitted hands to her face, looking downward at the defense table.

Prosecutors went on to question psychiatric nurse-practitioner and nurse midwife Julie Paul, a pregnancy and postpregnancy specialist whom Clancy consulted briefly in November 2022. Their interactions spanned about 10 days, as Paul was leaving for another job.

Paul testified that Clancy came to her with concerns about medications she'd been using for sleep, and that led to a few reshufflings as Clancy continued reporting various symptoms and seeking new solutions by the day. Trial-and-error switching isn't unusual in psychiatry, said Paul, who also said Clancy never told her of any thoughts of harming herself or her children or having any hallucinations.

Reddington will have his chance to question Paul on Tuesday.

If convicted of murder, Clancy faces life in prison without parole. If found not guilty due to a lack of criminal responsibility, she would be committed to a state mental health facility.

Police have not indicated whether they consider the 29-year-old Black woman’s death suspicious, saying only that they are actively working “to determine the circumstances surrounding the death.”

A week after Fortune’s body was found, a pink and white memorial honoring her life stood as a bright spot Monday in the otherwise overgrown backyard of the abandoned house in Jackson.

Feet from where rainbow pinwheels, white flowers and teddy bears surrounded a photograph of Fortune, empty chip bags and discarded plastic bottles littered the ground. Nearby, an entrance to the home gaped open, a tarp, foam pad and other debris scattered outside.

Jackson police officers responded to the home on Aug. 3 and discovered a body hanging in the backyard. Hinds County chief medical examiner investigator Jeremiah Howard later confirmed the identity as Fortune.

Her body is now in the custody of the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office, where an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause and manner of death.

Here's what we know so far about Fortune's death:

What was Fortune doing when she was last heard from?

Christy Spivey, Fortune's mother, told ABC News on Sunday that she last saw her daughter on July 26. Fortune, a mother of four who had lived in Mississippi for more than 10 years, had traveled to Kentucky for a family reunion.

She described her daughter as a loving mother who was not behaving out of the ordinary.

“She did not do this to herself," Spivey told the outlet. "I know my daughter, and she did not do this to herself.”

On Wednesday, Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes wrote a letter to Mississippi U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger asking for assistance in the case. In the letter, Stokes referred to Fortune as a murder victim.

Do authorities have any suspects?

Jackson police have commented very little on Fortune's death. They have not identified any suspects or person of interest.

Local media report that a man interviewed by investigators said he had argued with Fortune but had no involvement in her death. Police have not disclosed how the man, who was arrested last week on an unrelated charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, is acquainted with Fortune.

Where were the other hangings in Mississippi?

Fortune's death comes less than a year after the hanging deaths of 21-year-old Trey Reed, a Black student at Delta State University in Cleveland, and Cory Zukatis, an unhoused white man in his 30s, in Vicksburg.

Police in Cleveland concluded Reed's death was a suicide. Autopsy results were consistent with a preliminary examination of the body by the Bolivar County coroner, which found no evidence of foul play.

Reed's family and their attorneys called for an independent autopsy and for authorities to share security camera recordings.

The Mississippi State Medical Examiner determined Zukatis died by suicide.

Why are the Mississippi cases attracting interest?

How law enforcement agencies in Mississippi, a state with a tumultuous civil rights history, handle death investigations of Black residents has drawn extreme interest in recent weeks with the case of Nolan Xavier Wells.

The 18-year-old joined friends on a Fourth of July boat excursion to an island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast but did not return with them. His body was found two days later.

Wells’ parents say how their son died remains a mystery and there have been conflicting stories and missing details.

Spivey, Fortune’s mother, told ABC News she “does not want her name associated with” the death possibly being racially motivated.

Bernice King, daughter of the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., cautioned people to “not rush to conclusions.” At the same time, Fortune's death is triggering.

“We also cannot dismiss the fear and painful history these circumstances evoke for Black communities, especially in Mississippi," she said in a statement. “That history makes transparency, thoroughness, and truth essential." ___

This story has corrected the spelling of Bernice King's first name.

___ Tang reported from Sunnyvale, California.

July averaged 76.89 degrees Fahrenheit (24.94 degrees Celsius) across the Lower 48 states, eclipsing the Dust Bowl’s July 1936 by an eighth of a degree. Records go back to 1895.

“It’s not good when you’re breaking records from the Dust Bowl, which we are in this case,” said meteorologist Jeff Masters of Yale Climate Connections. “And that was a crazy sort of situation where you put tens of millions of people in motion. You had this great migration because of the drought and the heat that hit the center of the U.S. — just a cataclysmic event in U. S. history. If we’re exceeding records from The Dust Bowl, that says that we’re in deep trouble.”

Although it was unusually cool in Alaska, hotter-than-normal conditions blanketed the Lower 48, with the most excessive heat in the Mountain West, Southwest, Northern Plains and Southeast. The heat was so widespread that every one of the Lower 48 states was at least 1 degree Fahrenheit (nearly 0.6 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 20th century average, said Russ Vose, chief of monitoring at NOAA's National Center for Environmental Information.

The heat in the Dust Bowl years was more concentrated in parts of the Midwest and was aggravated by agricultural practices at the time, Vose said.

What's happening now is due to the burning of coal, oil and gas, scientists said.

"Extremely high temperatures across the continental U.S. this summer, along with intense drought and fire conditions, are absolutely consistent with the climate change signal,' said Katharine Jacobs, a climate scientist at the University of Arizona.

The biggest driver of the record heat was nighttime lows that smashed the old mark for hottest minimums by 0.7 degrees, NOAA said. Hotter nights are a classic sign of human-caused climate change, according to scientists and several studies in peer-reviewed literature. NOAA's calculation is based on averaging 24 hours of temperature, not just highs or lows.

“If you’re talking heat waves, that nighttime low is incredibly important for determining total heat stress,” Masters said. "So if it doesn’t cool off at night, your body doesn’t have time to readjust to all the heat.”

As nighttime temperatures increase, more people die and lose sleep, studies show.

The years 2021 and 1936 tie for America's hottest summer, which is June through August. Through July, 2026 is a shade cooler than 2021, which was powered by record heat in June.

Because of climate change, Masters said, “this may be one of the coolest years we’re gonna experience for the rest of our lives.”

What's needed, Masters said, is "to stop burning so many fossil fuels. We also need to be spending money to adapt to the new climate that we’ve put in place.”

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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.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% from its record set on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 60 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%.

Momentum slowed for stocks following a rally powered by soaring profits for big U.S. companies. Reports are on track to show earnings per share leaped 50% in the spring from a year earlier for companies in the S&P 500, according to FactSet. That would be the best growth since five years ago, when the economy was roaring out of the chasm created by COVID.

Berkshire Hathaway is one of the latest companies to deliver a stronger profit for the last quarter than analysts expected, and the company built by legendary investor Warren Buffett said over the weekend that it’s also invested some of its massive pile of cash into stocks under its new CEO, Greg Abel.

Berkshire Hathaway has been famous for buying stocks at what it considers low prices, and criticism has been high that U.S. stocks generally look too expensive. But when they report strong profits, it helps them look less pricey.

Berkshire Hathaway’s stock rose 1.5%.

MarineMax jumped 46.1% after the retailer, marina operator and superyacht services provider said it agreed to sell itself for about $1.5 billion in cash to a portfolio company of Blackstone.

Varex Imaging leaped 48.8% after Teledyne Technologies said it would buy the maker of X-ray imaging components for $18.90 per share in cash.

But Intel helped offset such gains and fell 4.1% after saying it may sell $15 billion of its stock. Such a move would dilute the ownership stakes of shareholders, and Intel said it would likely use the cash for investments to take advantage of the huge spending underway on artificial-intelligence technology.

All told, the S&P 500 slipped 4.53 points to 7,753.11. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 60.95 to 53,975.98, and the Nasdaq composite sank 85.26 to 26,605.36.

In the oil market, the price for a barrel of Brent crude rose 5% to $87.72. It had swung between $72 and $102 last month as hopes rose and fell that the United States and Iran could reach an agreement that would allow oil tankers to freely exit the Middle East again to deliver crude worldwide.

But hopes are turning toward caution again, and the price of Brent is back to where it was earlier this month, as well as in mid-July, mid-June and in the first week of the war in March.

Higher oil prices push inflation upward, and the main event for Wall Street this week will likely be Wednesday’s update on how bad inflation was last month. Economists expect it to show inflation slowed to 3.4% from 3.5% in June.

A slowdown would mean less pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.

Higher rates would help keep a lid on inflation, but they would also slow the economy by making it more expensive for U.S. households and companies to borrow money. They would also undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

A report on Friday showing unexpectedly weak hiring across the United States lowered Wall Street’s expectations for an upcoming hike to interest rates. But traders still see a nearly 52% chance the Fed will raise its main interest rate at its next meeting in September, according to data from CME Group.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.70% from 4.65% late Friday. That’s up from 3.97% before the war with Iran, and the climb has already sent rates for mortgages and other kinds of loans significantly higher.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe after rising in much of Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.1% for one of the world’s bigger moves.

___

AP Business Writers Michelle Chapman and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

Legislators voted 468-88 in favor of the measure that would only come into effect after Turkish authorities have verified that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has fully disarmed.

The PKK announced last year that it is ending its decades-long armed campaign against the Turkish state, declaring a decision to dissolve itself as part of the peace effort. The move came in response to a call from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan.

The group then staged a symbolic disarmament ceremony in northern Iraq, where it is based, and announced that it was withdrawing fighters from key locations in Turkey to Iraq.

Law could have regional implications

The measure, which is a step toward ending a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, could have implications beyond Turkey’s borders, leading to closer Turkish-Iraqi ties. It could also support the Syrian government’s efforts to integrate areas that were under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, affiliated with the PKK.

It also offers Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the opportunity to court the support of the pro-Kurdish DEM party to help him remain in office beyond the presidential two-term limit. Erdogan could run again if parliament calls an early election during his current term.

The 12-article legislation outlines the procedures for the group’s disarmament and the rehabilitation of thousands of PKK members.

It will suspend some prison sentences for convicted PKK members and postpone ongoing investigations and trials against others for five or 10 years, depending on the severity of the alleged offenses. If no terror-related crime is committed within the time frame, the cases will be dropped.

Militants convicted of intentional killings and those sentenced to life terms before 2005 are excluded from the bill’s provisions. This applies to Ocalan and other senior PKK figures.

The proposal also sets up ministerial and parliamentary committees to monitor the disarmament process. The measures will come into effect only after Turkey’s National Security Council confirms that the group has disbanded and surrendered all weapons.

Those wanting to benefit from the law will have six months to apply after the National Security Council’s decision is published in the official gazette.

Media reports have said exiled PKK members and those in Iraq and Syria are expected to benefit.

“With the armed organization laying down its arms and dissolving itself, we will build a new era in which peace, brotherhood, and solidarity will prevail,” Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus told reporters following the vote.

PKK says the legislation is a start but many things are missing

The PKK-linked ANF news outlet carried a statement from the group in which it said that the Turkish legislation is a “beginning” to resolving the outstanding issues but has “serious shortcomings and deficiencies.” It called for Ocalan’s release from prison, saying that the peace process can move forward only if he “lives and works freely.”

It also said that the legislation failed to address demands for democratic reforms and Kurdish rights, adding that PKK fighters would not give up their weapons and return to Turkey “if, upon returning to Turkey, they are unable to engage in democratic politics on the basis of freedom of thought and freedom of association, and if they are prosecuted and imprisoned because of their views or the organizations they establish.”

“The people of Turkey, who have paid a heavy price for many years, now have an opportunity to consolidate peace and build democracy,” Gulistan Kilic Kocyigit, of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, told parliament.

“Of course, the proposal has shortcomings, and we now have a responsibility to address these shortcomings,” she added, in an apparent reference to demands for greater rights for Kurds and for democratic reforms.

Musavat Dervisoglu, the leader of the center-right nationalist Good Party, which opposes the bill, said it “would pave the way” for Erdogan to stay in power.

Ocalan's release is not in the cards, but conditions might improve

DEM has lobbied for Ocalan, who has been imprisoned since 1999, to be granted official status to coordinate the transition process, leading to his release.

The current proposal, however, makes no mention of Ocalan’s status or possible release.

Media reports have suggested, however, that Ocalan’s conditions in his island prison off Istanbul will likely be improved, giving him broader visiting conditions and communication with the outside world.

The PKK has waged an armed insurgency since 1984 that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and spilled into Iraq and Syria. It has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The group initially sought an independent Kurdish state but later shifted to demands for autonomy and expanded rights in Turkey.

Previous peace efforts between Turkey and the PKK have failed, most recently in 2015.

__

Stella Martany contributed from Irbil, Iraq.

The tropical Atlantic popped over the weekend. Well, sort of. The National Hurricane Center highlighted three areas of interest across the Atlantic Basin, but largely the bark is way worse than its bite. Let me explain.

We talked in last week’s edition of the newsletter that model guidance was hinting at possible development by the middle of August.

We also talked about that wind shear across parts of the basin was basically off the charts.

The leading tropical wave, east of the Caribbean is acting as a sacrificial lamb for the trailing wave closer to Africa.

It’s helping to moisten up the atmosphere making the environment a bit more favorable for development.

As this tropical wave moves into the Caribbean it will be torn to shreds by wind shear driven by El Nino.

While development is looking more probable for the wave closer to Africa, this one will try and curve northeast prior to the Caribbean islands.

Wind shear is also elevated in this area, but Bermuda will have to keep a closer eye on it beyond the weekend.

The next named storm is Cristobal.

These tropical waves rolling off Africa are being fueled by something known as a Kelvin wave. These are areas of low-level wind convergence that move across the globe promoting rising air and thunderstorms. These can aid in the formation of tropical waves in the Atlantic.

Once this Kelvin wave passes I am fully expecting the Atlantic to go back into its slumber.

The one in the North Atlantic by the way may have a short window for development, but it’s moving away from the U.S.

Any questions feel free to hit me up at jkegges@wkmg.com

- Jonathan

Ways to stay connected this hurricane season

News 6+

If you live outside of Central Florida or don’t have cable, first of all thank you for finding the Tropics Watch newsletter! You can also watch the special on June 1st at 8 p.m. by downloading the FREE News 6+ app! You can watch all of the newscasts on here as well. You can download that on your smart T.V. or other streaming devices.

News 6 Weather App

Even if you are outside of Central Florida download this app! This is the best hurricane app on the market and its FREE. As soon as the National Hurricane Center names something, you’re going to know about. It’s a great way to follow the season if you like doing that. Search WKMG in your app store and make sure you find the hurricane one.

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If you live in Central Florida subscribe to the WKMG/Clickorlando page.

If you love the weather whether you’re in Central Florida or not, subscribe to JustWeather!

Clickorlando.com/hurricane is also a great resource no matter where you live.

Alright. I have rambled on enough. Just wanted to make you aware of where you can find trustworthy and in-depth weather content this season.

One last thing. This is a two-way street. I/we are here for you. Any ideas? Like or hate something? Have any questions? Let me know. Shoot me an e-mail at jkegges@wkmg.com. Find me on facebook or twitter.

We’re in this together. We have families here too. You’re going to get the same info we give to them. Thank you for your trust. We don’t take that responsibility lightly.

The Falcons announced the signing before Sample participated in Monday’s practice in full pads.

Sample, 26, is a native of Snellville, Ga., near Atlanta. He was a fourth-round draft pick by Cincinnati in 2021 and signed a one-year deal with San Francisco on April 13 before he was released last week.

Sample had 85 tackles and seven sacks in four seasons with the Bengals. He missed the 2024 season with an Achilles tendon injury. He returned to start in two of 14 games with Cincinnati last season and had 17 tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble.

Walker was one of the team's two edge rushers selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft. Adding to the uncertainty at edge rusher is the possibility the NFL could impose discipline on the other 2025 first-rounder, James Pearce Jr., the team’s sacks leader as a rookie.

Pearce faced three felony charges stemming from what police called a domestic dispute on Feb. 7 with his ex-girlfriend, WNBA player Rickea Jackson, near Miami.

On April 23, one of Pearce’s attorneys, Jacob Nunez, said Pearce agreed to enter a six-month pretrial intervention program which would allow him to resolve the felony charges.

Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday there has been no update from the NFL on possible disciplinary action with Pearce, including a suspension.

Pearce had 10 1/2 sacks last season and his 45 quarterback pressures set a Falcons rookie record. Stefanski said Pearce is “doing a nice job” in training camp.

“I appreciate the work that he’s putting into it,” Stefanski said. “We’ll continue to roll guys in at all positions. We've got a lot of injuries now at the edge in particular, so we’re gonna ask everybody to do a little bit more. But he’s continuing to do everything we’re asking him to.”

The Falcons also activated right tackle Jawaan Taylor from the physically unable to perform list. Taylor, who signed a one-year, $5 million deal on April 9, had been recovering from elbow and triceps injuries that shortened his 2025 season with Kansas City.

Taylor is a candidate to start at right tackle. Kaleb McGary announced his retirement after missing the 2025 season with a lower left leg injury.

Defensive tackle Zach Harrison, who ended the 2025 season on injured reserve with a knee injury, practiced on Monday after being cleared late last week.

The Falcons also waived long snapper Philip Florenzo and waived/injured offensive lineman Jack Nelson.

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

But a mission that seemed temporary has been extended through January 2029. Residents and a new cadre of local officials see in it an unacceptable attempt by the federal government to restrict the heavily Democratic city's autonomy and, a year in, still question why having troops on the streets of the nation's capital is necessary.

“There’s a deep irony that here we are in the capital of the free world, and our president is treating it like a police state,” said Scott Michelman, legal director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia. “D.C. residents have lived with our National Guard troops in our neighborhoods for about a year, despite the absence of any genuine emergency and really any reason for them to be here.”

The continued deployment will be a major test for a new batch of political candidates expected to take office after the midterms this fall. Residents will look to them to push back on the Republican president's encroachment into the city's affairs — although they're limited in what they can do to counter it.

Temporary deployment goes on and on

On Aug. 11, 2025, Trump announced he was launching a federal law enforcement surge in Washington aimed at fighting crime. As of Aug. 4, more than 4,600 military personnel from D.C. and 24 states and territories were still deployed alongside unknown numbers of less visible federal law enforcement officers. Some are expected to be withdrawn toward the end of the summer.

Small groups of armed guard members have become a routine presence on the streets. They have supported arrest operations but are also seen patrolling tourist areas, such as along the Tidal Basin during the Cherry Blossom Festival and in neighborhoods such as Georgetown where violent crimes are rare. They've helped with medical emergencies, snow removal and beautification projects — initiatives that have received support from some residents.

Extending the deployment into 2029 will cost about $1.4 billion, the Defense Department estimates. Exact figures on what's been spent so far are unavailable, but the Congressional Budget Office projected in a report earlier this year the total cost for the first year of the deployment would be around $660 million, based on a monthly troop level of about 2,900, a figure that's fluctuated throughout the mission.

“President Trump has transformed D.C. from a crime-ridden city into a safe and beautiful haven for residents and visitors alike,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in an email.

Figures released Monday by the U.S. Marshals Service showed over 16,000 arrests have been made since the surge began, including 35 homicide suspects and 3,200 narcotics arrests. Authorities also have seized nearly 2,000 illegal firearms.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement that the arrests and weapons seizures "mean safer neighborhoods and lives protected."

Crime, which was falling before the surge began, continues to drop. Metropolitan Police Department statistics show overall crime was down 20% through Friday, compared with the same period in 2025. That includes a 32% drop in homicides, from 97 to 66.

But there’s a debate over how much of that success is owed to Trump’s mission or to yearslong local efforts to chip away at the crime rate.

What's certain is locals feel the weight of the deployment and don't see a clear way to push back against it. National Guard deployments to other cities have been blocked by courts, and a lawsuit challenging the deployment is pending, but critics of the surge aren't hopeful.

“The fact that we still have the National Guard walking our streets a year later with no end in sight is really demoralizing,” city council member Brianne K. Nadeau said.

Autonomy is a top priority for newly elected candidates

Because Washington is a congressionally established federal district, Trump has much greater influence over the police and D.C. National Guard, which he controls directly, including its commander.

The Home Rule Act, passed in 1973, allows residents to vote for local leaders, including the mayor and council members. Congress has oversight over the local budget and review authority of all laws passed and the ability to summon district officials to the Capitol routinely to explain themselves. The D.C. delegate to Congress is a nonvoting position.

The city’s governmental structure under home rule made it easy for Trump to do what he has done, Nadeau said.

“There isn’t really any political liability for national leaders to mess with D.C. because nobody really cares,” outside of those directly impacted, she said.

The law enforcement surge played a major role in Democratic primary elections in June, which elevated candidates who have made Washington's autonomy and statehood top priorities.

Janeese Lewis George, a democratic socialist who in the overwhelmingly Democratic city is likely to be its next mayor, has already rankled Trump. He threatened to put the city under federal control if she wins.

Robert White Jr., another pro-statehood candidate, won the Democratic primary for the city's seat in Congress.

And while they are hamstrung by the city's status, both hope they have strategies that can help fight back against the president and the deployment.

White told The Associated Press he plans to build “an army of residents” and allies to target swing districts and work at “un-electing" people critical of the district and “electing those who do support D.C.”

The action is similar to one a former D.C. congressional delegate, Walter Fauntroy, successfully pursued in 1972, mobilizing Black voters and allies against a South Carolina Congress member who had long opposed D.C.'s independence.

“He didn't deploy that strategy a bunch of times, but it sent a signal to people to lay off of D.C.,” White said.

The city's outgoing mayor, Muriel Bowser, avoided the kind of biting rhetoric and personal attacks typical of other high-profile Democratic leaders, despite the unprecedented intervention into her city. A major part of that was to avoid raising Trump’s ire and threaten what independence the city has.

In a statement Monday, Bowser called the surge an “unprecedented federal intervention" that highlighted D.C.'s lack of "statehood and autonomy.”

She credited her actions during the surge, including working with the federal government, with protecting home rule and keeping the federal emergency that gave control of the local police to the president from being extended.

“Still, unmitigated ICE activity in American cities and out-of-state National Guard troops in D.C. remain problematic," she said. "Like all Americans, Washingtonians deserve local control and accountability. My North Star remains clear: protect Home Rule, protect D.C.’s autonomy, and protect D.C. residents.”

Concerns over troops in the city during elections

Donna Powell, who is living part time in the city, said she and her husband walk and metro everywhere. “We’re already safe and beautiful,” she said. “We don’t need all these National Guard here.”

The money could be better spent “on healthcare and food for families that need it.”

The National Guard deployment has raised concerns among some over what the upcoming midterms and the 2028 presidential election will look like with troops on the streets.

“The last time this president was supposed to come out of power, Jan. 6 happened," said Alex Dodds, co-founder of FreeDC, an activist group that has protested the deployment by following and filming National Guard troops in quiet areas of the city far away from crime concerns. "Imagine if that happens again but this time he has 5,000 troops standing at the ready to be part of that situation. You know, that’s our worry.”

Smith and the city’s transportation department director spoke in front Orlando city commissioners, as they weigh whether to adopt an ordinance that would regulate the use of e-bikes and e-scooters.

“Most of the incidents that we’re having, the e-bikes are found to have been at fault,” Smith said.

The chief said the 813 interactions with e-mobility devices since Jan. 1, 2026, include 46 crashes with injuries and 12 hit-and-runs involving a minor.

“These kids just don’t care,” Orlando commissioner Patty Sheehan said. “They’re in packs and once they get in that pack mentality, it seems like they’re just out for trouble.”

Sheehan appeared to favor one of the suggestions for a possible ordinance: implementing a sidewalk ban for e-bikes.

“Very easy to enforce and understand,” Michael Filteau, assistant city attorney for Orlando, said of a potential sidewalk ban.

Filteau advised commissioners to avoid adopting regulations that would be difficult to enforce, such as different restrictions on different e-bike classes or age restrictions.

Commissioner Shan Rose said city leaders need to do a better job at reaching young people when talking about e-bikes and e-scooters.

“I think we need to do a full education campaign,” Rose suggested.

By the end of the workshop, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer suggested commissioners wait and see how Orange County students adapt to the school district’s new rules pertaining to e-mobility devices, before adopting any ordinance.

The 30-year-old McCaffrey had participated in every practice so far this summer for the 49ers as the team altered its schedule for training camp this year to eliminate stretches of three straight full practices.

Offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said McCaffrey was “doing fine” and the team was managing his workload.

“Christian always kind of has his rep count in any camp,” offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said. “You guys are aware of the adjustments we’ve made to our schedule to kind of keep them from having too many off days. But in terms of his rep load, we’re right on track where we want to be. He’s a veteran player, so you got to monitor him and get him ready for the first week.”

San Francisco is hoping to find a reliable backup for McCaffrey to lighten his workload after he led the NFL with 413 touches from scrimmage in the 2025 regular season.

But the team has been short-handed at running back with the top three projected backups to McCaffrey also out with injuries. Rookie Kaelon Black has been sidelined by an adductor injury, second-year back Jordan James broke his ribs early in training camp and third-year player Isaac Guerendo has been sidelined by a torn pectoral muscle suffered earlier in the offseason.

Patrick Taylor Jr., Sincere McCormick and Khalil Herbert handled most of the load at running back on Monday.

“It sucks because you want those young guys out there who we drafted and who we want to see compete and want to see get better,” Kubiak said. “Those guys will get back out there. They’re not far away. But it’s given guys opportunities to get better, too.”

The Niners did bring back receiver Deebo Samuel earlier in training camp and he has been getting work as a running back as well.

“When he has the ball in his hand, there’s nobody more explosive, more dynamic on the field,” Kubiak said. “In terms of managing his load, Deebo has got to be able to affect the game in a lot of ways. That’s our plan with him.”

Defensive end Nick Bosa also was out, missing his fourth straight practice with what the team described as soreness. Bosa is working his way back after going down with a season-ending torn ACL in Week 3 last year.

Bosa had only participated in individual drills early in camp before being held out but coach Kyle Shanahan has said the team isn't overly concerned about his status.

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

Anderson, 33, made the announcement on Monday.

“I fought for the last two, three years. You know, I trained and I just couldn’t get the body to operate like it used to,” Anderson said. “So I mean, I’m not one of those guys that’s going to just continue to try to get back to somewhere where I just, you know, I couldn’t get it back there.”

Anderson hit .276 with 98 homers, 350 RBIs and 122 steals in 991 games. He played for the White Sox for eight seasons before finishing his career with short stints with Miami and the Los Angeles Angels.

Anderson hasn't appeared in a major league game since May 25, 2025, with the Angels.

“I want to be open as I can, but the game (brought) a lot of pain, a lot of great moments,” he said. “But just throughout playing, it definitely was a lot of dark moments. ... And it just got to the point where I really couldn’t enjoy it. Just being in that setting, it just wasn’t the same.”

Anderson played with a heavy heart after a close friend was shot and killed in Alabama in 2017. During an interview on “The Pivot Podcast” in 2023, Anderson acknowledged having a child out of wedlock and going through therapy with his wife, Bria.

The White Sox said they will honor Anderson before their Sept. 17 game against Detroit. As part of the tribute, the team will wear its Nike City Connect “Southside” uniforms for the only time this season. The black-and-white uniforms with Gothic script and pinstripes were worn by Anderson and the White Sox when they won the AL Central in 2021.

Anderson said he's in a good spot now.

“I get to wake up and do whatever I want to. And that makes me happy,” he said. “But as far as thinking about baseball, man, it’s just, it’s a lot.”

Anderson was selected by Chicago with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2013 amateur draft. He made his big league debut in 2016 and quickly became one of baseball’s bright young stars.

He hit a major league-best .335 with 18 homers and 56 RBIs in 2019. With the Alabama native sparking the lineup from the leadoff slot, Chicago made the playoffs in 2020 and 2021. But the team was never able to deliver on its potential.

Hampered by a sprained left knee and right shoulder soreness, Anderson hit .245 with one homer and 25 RBIs in 123 games with the White Sox in 2023. He also was suspended by Major League Baseball after he got into a fight with Cleveland slugger José Ramírez.

After Chicago finished with a 61-101 record in his final year with the team, Anderson had a $14 million option that was declined by the organization.

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

Brosnan succeeds Val Ackerman, who announced her retirement in April after serving as commissioner for 13 years. Brosnan brings years of experience in media, sports and business. His tenure begins on Sept. 1.

St. John's president, the Rev. Brian J. Shanley, led the charge as the head of the search committee. He said in a statement that the conference prioritized finding someone with extensive experience in revenue generation.

“Over the course of his career, Tim Brosnan has shown to be a smart, highly-respected leader with high personal and professional values rooted in his dedication to the service of others," Rev. Shanley said in a statement. "His track record of forging highly successful partnerships will be critical in this new era of college athletics.”

Brosnan has significant experience in the professional ranks, bringing a 24-year stint with Major League Baseball from 1991-2015. He served in various executive roles as well as CEO of Major League Baseball Enterprises before leaving to run a sports media consultancy.

“The Big East is one of the most iconic brands in college sports, and I am grateful and deeply honored to have the opportunity to lead the conference into its next chapter,” Brosnan said in a statement.

Brosnan's ties to the Big East date back to his college years, where he was a four-year letter winner on Georgetown's baseball team.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Another former Trump attorney — Emil Bove, now a federal appeals court judge — administered the oath of office to Blanche at the White House following early Saturday's Senate confirmation vote by the narrowest of margins. Shortly after, the newly sworn-in attorney general arrived at Justice Department headquarters to cheers from employees lined up along the entrance.

Blanche, a former federal prosecutor in New York, is officially taking command of a Justice Department he has been leading in an acting capacity since Pam Bondi's firing in April.

With the confirmation battle behind him, Blanche now faces the challenge of having to navigate the demands of a president who has made no secret his desire to use the law enforcement agency to target his political foes. Blanche will do so with an agency that has been hollowed out by resignations, firings and voluntary departures while also confronting mounting pushback from the courts.

Blanche was confirmed in a 50-49 vote, opposed by two Republicans who cited concerns about what they described as increased politicization of the department under Trump.

Under deputy attorney general and later as acting attorney general, Blanche has overseen the investigations of numerous Trump foes, including former FBI Director James Comey, whom the Justice Department indicted in April for a second time since Trump returned to the White House last year.

Blanche has strongly defended the Trump administration against accusations that it has weaponized the Justice Department. Blanche has said he feels no pressure to placate Trump and insists he sees no problem with the president's interest in Justice Department matters, calling it the president's “right” and “his duty.”

Blanche entered the president's orbit when he left his law firm in 2023 to represent Trump against multiple criminal cases, including two brought by the Justice Department under Democratic President Joe Biden. Blanche has said that experience afforded him a firsthand look at what he contends was the weaponization of the criminal justice system against Trump.

Blanche's defenders say the close relationship he developed with Trump as his defense lawyer can make him more successful than Bondi was at pushing back on the president's demands.

Blanche's nomination was almost scuttled over bipartisan concerns about Trump's controversial settlement of his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. His nomination only moved forward after he confirmed in writing, under pressure from Republicans, that the administration was rescinding plans to create a $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they were wronged by the department.

WalletHub’s rankings weigh five broad categories — Affordability, Economy, Education & Health, Quality of Life and Safety — using indicators such as housing affordability, income growth, educational attainment and hospital quality.

How Florida performed

Florida’s overall showing was driven primarily by a strong quality-of-life score.

Florida’s category ranks (WalletHub):

• Overall: No. 10 (Total score: 57.48)
• Affordability: No. 32
• Economy: No. 17
• Education & Health: No. 24
• Quality of Life: No. 3
• Safety: No. 11

The results suggest Florida’s lifestyle advantages — including factors captured in WalletHub’s quality-of-life measures — helped offset weaker rankings in affordability and education/health.

What topped the list

The highest-ranked states overall were:

1. Idaho
2. New Jersey
3. Wisconsin
4. Massachusetts
5. New Hampshire

“Idaho is the best state to live in, boasting one of the lowest median real estate tax rates in the country, at just 0.5%, along with the eighth-highest homeownership rate. It also has the fourth-lowest tax rates overall and the highest median household income growth, making it a great place to build and grow wealth.

In addition, the Gem State has the seventh-lowest share of urban interstates experiencing congestion during peak hours. This naturally leads to some of the lowest average commute times in the country.

To top things off, Idaho is a pretty safe state. It has the 14th-lowest violent crime rate and the lowest property crime rate in the country."

WalletHub, "Best States to Live In"

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said people considering a move should weigh both money and day-to-day living conditions.

“When deciding on a place to move, you should first consider financial factors like the cost of living, housing prices and job availability,” Lupo said. “Many states have strong economies, though, so you should also consider… how where you live will impact your health and safety.”

WalletHub’s data was compiled from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, FBI, CDC and other federal and research organizations.

Meanwhile, the full list is as follows:

The methodology used for each factor is as follows:

• Affordability
• • Housing affordability
  • Median annual property taxes
  • Cost of living
  • Median annual household income
  • Homeownership rate
• Economy
• • Unemployment rate
  • Underemployment rate
  • Sharecare Well-Being “Economic Security”
  • Share of population living in poverty
  • Media debt per median earnings
  • Population growth
  • Income growth
  • Building-permit growth
  • Wealth gap
  • General tax-friendliness
  • Entrepreneurial activity
  • Job opportunities
  • Foreclosure rate
  • Bankruptcy rate
  • Food insecurity
• Education & Health
• • Quality of public school system
  • High school graduation rate
  • Share of population aged 25 and older with a high school diploma or higher
  • Share of insured population
  • Quality of public hospital system
  • Premature-death rate
  • Poor or fair health
  • Life expectancy
  • Share of live births with low birthweight
  • Share of obese adults
  • Share of physically inactive adults
• Quality of Life
• • Average hours worked per week
  • Average commute time (minutes)
  • Miles of trails for bicycling and walking per total state land area
  • “Bicycle Friendly State” ranking
  • Access to public transportation
  • Quality of roads
  • Traffic congestion
  • Restaurants per capita
  • Bars per capita
  • Museums per capita
  • Performing arts center per capita
  • Movie theaters per capita
  • Fitness centers per capita
  • Accessibility of beaches
  • Weather
  • Air Quality
• Safety
• • Violent-crime rate
  • Property-crime rate
  • Traffic-related fatalities per capita
  • Total law-enforcement employees per capita

The WHO regional director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, told a news conference that sequencing indicated the outbreak's start. He said some cases early on were wrongly attributed to other diseases, including malaria and typhoid.

“So we are chasing the virus, the virus is ahead of us,” Janabi said.

Dr. Thierno Balde, WHO's incident manager for the Ebola response, said the genetic sequencing was conducted under the leadership of Dr. Steve Ahuka, head of the virology department at Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research.

Confirmed cases of Ebola in this outbreak have reached 4,200, including over 1,900 deaths, according to the latest government figures.

WHO assesses the global risk of spread as low because Ebola does not travel through the air, making it much harder to spread than respiratory viruses. Cases detected outside the affected region have so far been quickly identified and contained without leading to sustained transmission, according to the agency.

The outbreak declared on May 15 is unlike most previous ones for Ebola because the rare Bundibugyo virus responsible for it has no approved vaccines or treatments. Early testing was conducted for the more common type of Ebola, contributing to delays.

The outbreak is unfolding in some of the most challenging conditions imaginable, with strikes by some unpaid health workers, threats by rebel groups, anger from long-traumatized communities and misinformation asserting that Ebola isn’t real. Health teams travel remote, unpaved roads and have reported shortages of protective gear, while a vast population of displaced people struggles to find reliable water sources for washing hands.

This Ebola outbreak has killed more people at a quicker rate than any other, including the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africa that is considered the worst on record with over 11,000 deaths out of at least 28,000 cases. That one took about eight months to reach 1,000 deaths.

Ebola is rare but highly contagious and can be contracted from bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen and with contaminated surfaces and materials such as bedding and clothing. The disease it causes is severe and often fatal.

Last week, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu said Ebola is spreading faster than efforts to fight it. New cases are doubling in some hot spots, Tedros said on X after meeting with officials in the capital, Kinshasa.

Health authorities have said between 60% and 70% of new cases are recorded outside of contacts being monitored, and that the outbreak is spreading at an “alarming” rate.

Access to healthcare in the region already had been challenged by years of rebel conflict in one of Congo’s most remote and vulnerable areas, near the borders of South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda. Now some pregnant women and others are avoiding health centers for fear of the virus, at risk to their lives.

Several past Ebola outbreaks have also been declared weeks or months late, including the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak. That outbreak was declared in March 2014, although the first human case later was found to have occurred in December 2013.

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Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal.

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This version corrects the second reference to the WHO director-general to Tedros.

Running now through Labor Day, Sept. 7, “Red, White & Chill: America’s 250 Celebration” brings a red, white and blue twist to the venue with festive décor, brand-new themed ice sculptures inside the ICEBAR, and a specialty summer drink menu available for the duration of the event.

The themed cocktail lineup includes the Firecracker Margarita, Liberty Lemonade, Star Spangled Smash, ‘Merica Mule, Freedom Flight, and the Summer Sparkler mocktail.

“There is truly no better place to cool off than at ICEBAR Orlando,” owner Thom Kerr said in a statement. “Whether guests are planning a date night, a vacation stop, happy hour or a night out with friends, our Red, White & Chill is sure to deliver the ultimate patriotic party and unforgettable experience all summer long.”

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Limited-time $25 package (nightly, 5–9 p.m.)

For a limited time, guests can also book a Red, White & Chill Package for $25 (listed retail value: $45). It includes:

• One ICEBAR entry
• Jacket and gloves rental
• One premium ICEBAR drink
• One appetizer of choice in the room-temperature Fire LoungeThe package is available nightly from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Reservations: https://icebarorlando.com/red-white-chill-americas-250-celebration-orlando/.

Where to go

ICEBAR Orlando is located at 8967 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32819. More info: https://ICEBAROrlando.com/ or 407-426-7555.

Tight end Hunter Henry confirmed Monday that he signed a two-year extension to remain in New England through the 2027 season.

ESPN and the NFL Network reported that the extended pact has a base value of $16 million with incentives that could push it up to $20 million.

It ends a period of limbo for Henry, who was about to enter the final season of the previous three-year extension he signed in 2024.

“It means a lot,” Henry said. “They Kraft family has taken me in. They’ve been so good to me and my family, giving me a chance kind of in the middle of my career and we’ve just appreciated it kind of the whole time.”

Signed as a free agent in 2021 following his four-year run with the Los Angeles Chargers, Henry has seen both ends of the success spectrum during his run with the Patriots.

In his first season in New England, Henry was part of former coach Bill Belichick’s final playoff appearance with the team, which ended with a quick wild-card round exit.

He then endured a three-year postseason drought that included back-to-back 4-13 finishes. Last season, Henry was a big part of the reason Maye finished second in MVP voting during New England’s run to the Super Bowl under new coach Mike Vrabel.

Henry led the team with seven receiving touchdowns in 2025 and his 60 catches and 768 yards were second only to Stefon Diggs.

Along the way Henry developed a close relationship with Maye off the field, a major factor in him wanting to remain in New England.

“I mean, that definitely helps,” Henry said. “Drake is a good friend of mine, obviously a great quarterback. Just excited to continue to build with him.”

Maye almost immediately reposted the team’s Instagram announcement showing Henry signing his new contract.

“We kind of talked about it a little bit,” Henry said. “That’s my guy and just a special person. Just a guy that, we’ve grown really close to over the last few years and excited to kind of build that relationship off the field, but also on the field.”

Henry’s durability almost certainly was a factor in the Patriots wanting to keep him around. He started 16 regular season games in 2024 and all 17 last season plus four playoff games.

Off the field, the extensive work he and his wife Parker did as advocates in the fight against human trafficking — along with work for organizations such as Special Olympics — earned Henry the team’s NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year nomination.

Now at age 31, Henry will have at least two more seasons with a Patriots team poised to add to the franchise’s collection of Lombardi trophies.

“I feel like I came here and kind of retooled myself, just my body, my mindset, just different things like right around the middle of my career,” Henry said. “It’s just been really fun to just be able to be consistent and just try to be that consistent guy out there that, no matter what, (that) my guys can (depend on) being out there. ... I’m trying to make plays and just do my job on a day-to-day, on a play-to-play basis is obviously the biggest goal, too.”

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

The president first waived the Jones Act on March 17 so that it would be easier to transport oil and refined fuels among ports, reducing price pressures after the start of the war with Iran.

The latest extension will take effect on August 17 and suggests that the U.S. might be preparing for continued price pressures as the Strait of Hormuz, a primary waterway for shipping oil and natural gas, remains effectively closed because of the war.

Unlike previous extensions, the Pentagon will consult with the Maritime Administration to decide which voyages are exempt from the 1920 law containing the Jones Act. The new waiver will only apply to cargo that are sources of energy and commodities related to agriculture such as fertilizers and soybean oil.

Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, said the administration extended the waiver “to ensure our military and key industries maintain uninterrupted access to critical resources.” Rogers added that the waiver has increased domestic deliveries of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

In a release, deputies said that the man — identified as Jorge Vazquez-Escutia, 71 — was last seen shortly after midnight on Tuesday near the 8600 block of Hal Court.

The sheriff’s office explained that there were concerns for his well-being due to the fact that he suffers from memory loss.

But on Wednesday, detectives announced that Vazquez-Escutia had been murdered, with his stepson — identified as 44-year-old Jose L. Proano — now facing a charge of first-degree murder.

Proano appeared before a judge Thursday wearing an Orange County Corrections jail uniform following his arrest, a judge previously determined there was probable cause for the arrest, and Proano was ordered held without bond.

[RELATED: Watch footage of Proano’s arrest below]

“In the course of their investigation, deputies uncovered evidence that Proano, 44, killed and dismembered Mr. Vazquez-Escutia and attempted to conceal that murder by disposing of his body,” the release reads. “There are no outstanding suspects, and there is no threat to the community.”

In an affidavit, investigators said that Proano had detailed a “negative relationship” with Vazquez-Escutia, even discussing thoughts that he’d restricted Proana’s ability to see his own mother.

“He has had ongoing problems with Jorge Vazquez-Escutia and thoughts that Jorge Vazquez-Escutia abandoning his mother, leaving her alone in the residence even though she had dementia, and preventing him from accessing his mother,” the affidavit states. “He placed numerous calls for service to check on his family members, nearing the level of obsession.”

Detectives said Proano had traveled from his home in Northport up to Orlando on July 31 out of apparent concern for his mother and daughter.

The affidavit also shows that Proano had stalked Vazquez-Escutia, dismembered his body, stuffed the remains in three separate suitcases, and left the suitcases along the nearby White Road.

“Friends of Jose Proano reached out to family and detailed that Jose Proano admitted to killing his father/taking care of his father, beating up his father, with the reasoning behind [REDACTED],” the affidavit continues. “A second witness detailed he was called by Jose Proano requesting help in regard to this incident.”

Court records show Proano was already on probation through 2027 following a plea agreement in 2022 for two felony charges. As part of that agreement, he was also supposed to receive treatment for a mental health disorder after serving a reduced jail sentence, according to court records.

We reached out to the State Attorney’s Office with questions about whether Proano completed the entirety of his jail sentence under that agreement, which they responded saying he was credited all of his time served. We also asked whether he was in compliance with the conditions of his probation at the time of his arrest. In a part statement they say, “we do not have records responsive to your request regarding the defendant’s compliance, violations, or modifications to the probation order.”

WHAT NEIGHBORS SAID

A neighbor who lives down the street said the situation has left the neighborhood stunned.

“It’s very shocking. Especially that that happened right across the street,” the neighbor said. “Such an extreme case — I’m still at a loss for words.”

The neighbor said he became suspicious of Proano’s behavior when his family asked Proano what was happening at the home during the missing persons investigation.

“Maybe it was him,” the neighbor said when referring to Proano, who he said appeared uncomfortable when responding. The neighbor also says Proano tried to suggest someone else was responsible.

Detectives said as part of their missing persons investigation, surveillance video later showed a man entering the property and then leaving with large suitcases. Investigators also said cell phone records placed Proano’s phone in the same area at the same time.

Neighbors described Vazquez-Escutia as helpful and kind.

“It’s very disturbing,” said Merle Billings, who lives across the street. “He was a good man… Anything I need to be done in the yard or anything with my equipment… he helped me.”

The other nearby resident said the neighborhood is typically quiet, despite Pine Hills’ reputation.

“Around here, it’s usually pretty quiet,” the neighbor said. “But, this neighborhood hasn’t had much activity like this.”

A GoFundMe has been set up for Vazquez-Escutia’s family.