Consumer prices rose 4.2% in May from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday, up from 3.8% in April and the third straight increase. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.5% last month, after big gains of 0.6% in April and 0.9% in March.

Outside energy costs, price increases were not as dramatic, a sign that inflation hasn't yet spread throughout the economy. Should the Iran war end and oil and gas prices decline, headline inflation could begin to cool. Gas prices have fallen this month.

One positive sign in Wednesday's report: Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose at a more modest pace. On a monthly basis, they climbed just 0.2%, down from a 0.4% gain in April. Compared with a year ago, they have rise 2.9%, up from 2.8% in April.

Still, many goods and services rose in price last month: Clothing prices increased 0.3% and are 4.8% more expensive than a year ago. Airline fares, pushed higher by pricier jet fuel, jumped 2.7% just in May and are nearly 27% higher than a year ago. Electricity prices rose 0.6% in May and are up 5.9% in the past year.

Inflation had been cooling before President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs in April 2025, which lifted the costs of many goods. Prices have since surged after the Iran war made oil and gas more expensive, making affordability a key political issue.

Gas prices rose in May because of Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has choked off about a fifth of the world's oil supply. Prices at the pump rose, on average, from about $4.04 in mid-April to $4.49 in mid-May, according to the Energy Information Administration.

They have since fallen back to $4.16 on average nationwide, according to AAA, which could lead to a cooler inflation reading in June. That doesn't mean gas prices are not on the minds of most Americans. A gallon of gas has hovered above $4 a gallon since March.

More expensive diesel fuel has lifted shipping costs, with companies like UPS and FedEx adding fuel surcharges in the past couple of months. That is likely to push up grocery prices, which jumped 0.7% in April and are 2.9% higher than a year ago.

Stubbornly high inflation has shifted the debate among Fed policymakers, who had signaled at the start of the year that they were inclined to cut their key rate twice more this year. Now, more officials are saying they expect the Fed's next move will likely be a hike rather than a cut. When the Fed boosts its key rate, it typically over time leads to higher borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and business loans.

Wall Street investors expect the Fed to raise rates in December, according to futures prices tracked by CME Fedwatch.

Despite higher inflation, the job market appears to be improving, with hiring increasing to a healthy level in May, and the economy is still growing. These positive signs suggest the Fed doesn't need to cut rates to stimulate growth and hiring. They also signal that the Fed's rate isn't so high that it is weighing on the economy. Yet some officials want rates to cool growth a bit, because that can bring down inflation.

Interest rates on two-year and 10-year Treasury securities have increased since Friday's jobs report showed hiring accelerated in May, a sign investors expect inflation may remain elevated and eventually require Fed rate hikes.

Higher inflation has put the new Fed Chair, Kevin Warsh, in a difficult spot. He advocated for rate cuts last year and was chosen by Trump to replace Jerome Powell, after Trump relentlessly criticized Powell for not reducing rates more quickly. Yet for now, Trump and White House officials are mainly arguing that interest rates don't need to increase, rather than demanding further cuts.

Some economists still see tariffs pushing up some costs, particularly clothing, which jumped 0.6% in April and are 4.2% more expensive than a year ago. Pricier fuel may have also led to higher airline fares last month, which would lift core inflation.

Super Awesome Cool Pottery in Central Florida is making sure that second group doesn’t stay scared for long.

The studio offers hands-on experiences that feel equal parts art class and stress relief — especially its beginner pottery wheel class, where first-timers learn the basics of throwing clay and leave with pieces that are uniquely their own.

“Pottery is such a mindfulness activity. For that hour, it’s just the you and the clay. So you’re focusing on the present moment,” said Hunter Holmes, who teaches classes and handles marketing coordination at Super Awesome Cool Pottery.

Beginner pottery wheel class: what to expect

If you’ve ever watched someone on a wheel and thought, I could never do that, this is the class designed to prove you wrong.

Holmes said the beginner potter’s wheel class is structured, guided and friendly for all skill levels.

“You’re going to be guided through the creation of two bowls on the potter’s wheel,” Holmes said.

After the wheel portion, students move to the studio area to glaze and paint their pieces — and they can take their time.

“The class is about an hour long in the wheel room. Once you’ve completed the class, you can stay as long as you like to paint your bowl,” Holmes said.

Super Awesome Cool Pottery then takes over the behind-the-scenes part of ceramics: drying, glazing and kiln firing. Finished pieces are typically ready for pickup in about a month to a month and a half.

“We hold them for about 4 to 6 weeks so we can let them fully dry, avoid any explosions in the kiln,” Holmes said. “We’ll then put a clear coat of glaze on top to make sure everything is food safe, and then we fire them and give you a text when they’re ready.”

A no-pressure studio that celebrates imperfect art

One of the reasons beginners relax quickly is the studio’s emphasis on process over perfection.

Holmes encourages students to avoid comparing their work to others.

“Don’t judge by your neighbors, don’t compare yours to mine. The clay is going to do what the clay is going to do,” he said.

That’s part of what makes ceramics feel approachable: everyone starts with the same ball of clay, but the outcomes are wildly different.

“We start with the same ball of clay and everything looks completely different,” Holmes said.

The lesson extends beyond art technique. If a bowl collapses or the clay wobbles, the point isn’t to panic — it’s to try again.

“The clay teaches you that when things go wrong, it’s okay. You can start over. You can recycle the clay and use it again,” Holmes said.

More than wheel classes: pottery painting, kids programs and Ferret Night

The studio’s calendar goes beyond the wheel.

Super Awesome Cool Pottery also offers pottery painting — the kind of drop-in, low-pressure activity that works for families, date nights and friend hangouts.

And yes, the studio hosts Ferret Night, where guests paint pottery while ferrets roam and visit tables.

“Throughout the night, ferrets will come and play at your table,” Holmes said.

For parents looking for creative options, the studio also offers youth programming.

Holmes said afterschool programs focus on helping kids bring their ideas to life and build confidence through art.

“They can bring images from their head to creation to reality,” he said.

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Why it’s a Central Florida must-try

In a region packed with theme parks and big attractions, Super Awesome Cool Pottery is the kind of experience that feels personal — you get an hour of hands-on focus and then you leave with a tangible souvenir you made yourself.

It’s also the rare activity that’s fun whether you arrive with friends or come solo looking for a new hobby.

Holmes summed up the studio’s promise simply: “You guys bring the fun and the creativity. We’ll handle the rest.”

How to find Super Awesome Cool Pottery

You can find Super Awesome Cool Pottery on Instagram at Super Awesome Cool Pottery_ and on Facebook as Super Awesome Cool Pottery. For class details, availability or pickup questions, call (407) 720-3699. You can also find them online at www.superawesomecool.com

Members of the House Oversight Committee are slated to interview the billionaire Microsoft co-founder behind closed doors, as they have done with other witnesses in the investigation. Transcripts are often released later.

Gates, as he arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday morning, noted he was there voluntarily and said he hoped his testimony would be useful for the committee.

“I hope my testimony is helpful to the work, the important work of the committee, to find justice for the victims,” he said.

Republican U.S. Rep. James Comer, the committee chairman, formally requested that Gates testify after he appeared multiple times in a trove of documents released by the Justice Department as part of its Epstein probe.

The files read like a who’s who of powerful men across tech, finance, politics and other industries. All have denied involvement in Epstein’s crimes, but some maintained or formed friendships with him even after his history of sexual abuse came to light.

Included in the files are calendar entries for meetings between Gates and Epstein, email correspondence between the two about philanthropic projects and photos of Gates at events that Epstein also attended.

Their professional relationship began in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to soliciting prostitution from a minor, and lasted until at least late 2014, according to the documents.

Epstein was federally indicted in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. The Justice Department alleged that Epstein formed a vast network of underage girls, some as young as 14, for him to sexually abuse between 2002 and 2005. He died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial.

Gates, who chairs the Gates Foundation, has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of girls. He has said they met only to discuss philanthropy and has called his association with Epstein “a huge mistake.”

Both Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, have said his association with Epstein created tension in their marriage.

The foundation acknowledged in February that a small number of employees had met with Epstein based on his “claims that he could mobilize significant philanthropic resources for global health.” They never created a charitable fund together, and the foundation made no payments to Epstein.

Foundation CEO Mark Suzman commissioned an external review in March to examine its past engagement with Epstein.

At another closed-door deposition in February, former President Bill Clinton faced more than six hours of questioning from lawmakers about his association with Epstein more than two decades ago. Epstein had visited the White House several times during Clinton’s presidency, and Clinton flew occasionally on Epstein's private jet.

The former Democratic president said he had seen no signs of Epstein’s sexual abuse and stopped associating with him long before Epstein's 2008 guilty plea. Clinton has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Democrats on the House committee have pushed for testimony from President Donald Trump, a Republican who had his own relationship with Epstein. Republicans have said they have not come across any evidence that Trump did anything wrong during his well-documented friendship with Epstein.

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Schoenbaum reported from Salt Lake City.

Trump’s warning came hours after Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan — all of which host U.S. troops — came under Iranian fire. It was the second time this week that back-and-forth strikes have tested a two-month ceasefire. On Monday, Iran and Israel targeted each other.

It was not clear what Trump’s post on Truth Social would mean for Tehran, and the comments underlined the American leader's whipsaw approach to the war. He suggested on Monday that a deal to end the conflict could be reached in a matter of days.

Iran, meanwhile, has proved resilient despite having faced weeks of heavy bombing. It is betting that its ability to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passageway for the world’s oil and natural gas — gives it a strong bargaining chip.

Still, both countries seem to be looking for a way to end the conflict — if they can manage to sell it as a win at home. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing much more difficult goals: the collapse of Iran’s theocratic government, the elimination of its nuclear program, and the destruction of the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. That will make compromise much harder.

Strikes by the US and Iran shake the Mideast

Since the U.S. and Israel started the war with attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world, and made food and other basics more expensive. The international benchmark for crude oil traded above $92 a barrel on Wednesday, up more than 25% since the start of the war.

In the latest strikes, U.S. fighter jets targeted “air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites,” the military’s Central Command said. Iran acknowledged strikes around Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, but gave no details on damage.

Iran’s top diplomat vowed that there would be a response, and Tehran later claimed attacks in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.

Jordan said it shot down five incoming missiles, which Iran said targeted the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base. The base has hosted American F-35 fighter jets and other aircraft. Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency reported there were no injuries.

Bahrain and Kuwait said they intercepted incoming fire, without elaborating.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the American attacks as a violation of Iranian sovereignty in calls with his counterparts from Turkey and Saudi Arabia “and emphasized the inherent right of self-defense, including reciprocal action,” according to a post on his office's Telegram channel.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said in televised comments Wednesday that in light of the new attacks, Iran would review its stance on negotiations to end the war.

Efforts to mediate a deal were continuing. Following consultations with the U.S., a delegation from Qatar arrived in Tehran for talks on Wednesday, according to an official with knowledge of the visit who requested anonymity due to the sensitive of the talks.

The exchanges of fire came a day after a U.S. Army attack helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz after colliding with an Iranian drone, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. It wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional.

A drone boat rescued both of the helicopter’s crew, and Trump said they were uninjured.

Trump says a deal is close, then says it's taking too long

Before he accused Iran of downing the U.S. helicopter, Trump expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran, though he didn’t say why there was reason for hope.

While Trump, wary of high gas prices in the run-up to congressional elections in November, seems to be looking for a quick win, he is also making demands that will be tough for Iran to swallow.

The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. While Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, that uranium is a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.

Iran is refusing to give up the uranium and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something Trump rejected.

It's not clear how those differences can be bridged — and Trump has repeatedly threatened to walk away from the talks. His Truth Social post Wednesday accused Iran of taking “too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!”

Meanwhile, Iran has continued to insist that any deal to end the war must also end fighting between its ally Hezbollah and Israel. Instead, Israel has intensified its military campaign against the militant group.

Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel would “continue to act forcefully against Iran and its proxies that threaten the Middle East and the entire world.”

Israel’s military said it launched multiple strikes in southern Lebanon over the past day, targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.

An airstrike on a village east of Tyre killed at least six people, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. It said two others were killed by an Israeli drone strike on a car in the southern city of Sidon.

A cargo ship is attacked by a small boat in the Gulf of Aden

Guards aboard a cargo ship off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden exchanged fire with gunmen in a small boat and repelled their attack, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility.

The UKMTO later reported a fire in the engine room of a tanker in the Gulf of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz, saying one person was hurt and two others were missing. It wasn’t immediately known what caused the fire.

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Associated Press writers David Rising in Bangkok; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Michelle L. Price in New York; Will Weissert in Washington and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

Omar Artan was set to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making FIFA’s final list for the tournament. He is one of Africa’s top referees and was named the continent’s best male referee in 2025.

He was denied entry at Miami International Airport on Saturday over “vetting concerns,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement, without giving details of the concerns. FIFA subsequently cut him from the tournament's referee list.

Artan was issued a visa to travel to the U.S. last week, according to the Somalia Embassy in Kenya, which processed it. The U.S. is co-hosting with Mexico and Canada, and Artan was due to meet up with other World Cup referees at their training base in Miami.

He returned to a hero’s welcome in Mogadishu, where he thanked the Somali government and people as well as FIFA for their support for him.

“I promise you, God willing, that I will attend the next one,” he said as hundreds of supporters at the airport waved Somali flags. “I want the Somali public to take comfort in this and remain confident.”

The U.S.'s highly unusual move to deny a FIFA-appointed match official permission to enter a World Cup host country drew outrage across the world and raised questions among some fans about America's capacity to host the competition.

Somalia is one of nearly 40 countries subject to new travel restrictions under the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

Hundreds of supporters, government officials and members of Somalia’s football community gathered hours before Artan arrived at Aden Adde International Airport.

As he disembarked, supporters waving Somali flags crowded around him before draping him in the flag.

He was then escorted by police officers to the airport’s VIP terminal, where he was welcomed by Somalia’s sports minister and other dignitaries, and spoke to journalists.

“It is up to all of us to defend the Somali name,” Artan said. “Somalia belongs to us, whether it is in a bad state or a good state. That flag belongs to us, and that passport belongs to us.”

In a country where decades of war and the rise of the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group have limited the potential of many in Somalia, Artan's denial brought disappointment but reminded people what is possible if they chase their dreams.

Artan's expected milestone at this year's World Cup “stands no matter what,” the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus — from neighboring Ethiopia — wrote Tuesday on X. “You reached the summit of your profession and inspired a generation back home just by getting there, and being kept off the pitch you earned doesn’t change that."

Simon & Schuster announced Wednesday that “Unreliable Boyfriend,” by former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, comes out Oct. 13.

“This is a book about power, democracy, and the choices countries make when the old rules no longer seem to apply,” Freeland said in a statement released by the publisher. “As a Canadian negotiating with the United States during years of extraordinary political turbulence, I had a front-row seat to historic change. I wanted to tell the story of what I saw — and what it means for the future.”

An expert on Russia and Ukraine with degrees from Harvard University and the University of Oxford, Freeland was already an author and journalist before turning to politics. After the 2015 elections, she was appointed minister of international trade by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and went on to serve in a variety of posts over the following decade.

In 2017, during Trump's first term, she was targeted by the president as the countries worked on what became the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. “We’re very unhappy with the negotiations and the negotiating style of Canada. We don’t like their representative very much,” Trump said at the time.

In 2024-25, as Trump threatened tariffs on Canadian imports and suggested that Canada was better off as the 51st state of the United States, she called him an “existential threat” to the country's future. Trump has called her “totally toxic” and a “terrible person.”

Freeland broke with Trudeau and helped force his departure when she resigned from his cabinet in 2024 amid disagreements over how to respond to Trump. She has since served in Prime Minister Mark Carney's cabinet and as a special envoy to Ukraine. In July, she will become Warden of Rhodes House and CEO of the Rhodes Trust in Oxford, overseeing the venerable scholarship program. She herself was a Rhodes scholar in 1993.

But Collins has proven to be a hard target for Democrats over the years — even for candidates without the baggage of Platner, who has faced criticism for his relationships with women, inflammatory online posts and a previous tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol. Collins is seeking her sixth term with sky-high name recognition, a record-breaking run of consecutive Senate votes and a history of bringing back federal funding for her state for years.

She is also the rare Republican who sometimes can boost her own popularity back home by keeping her distance from President Donald Trump, and she has perfected that delicate dance even as his tightening grip on the party has cost two of her Senate Republican colleagues their reelection.

Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana lost their primaries when facing Trump-endorsed opponents. But despite the president's complaints about Collins, he did not campaign against her. Years of practice have made her adept at staying close — but not too close — to the president when it is politically advantageous, and moving away when showing an independent streak is helpful.

“She’s shown time and time again where her state’s electorate is. She understands what’s too far, she understands where she needs to be,” said political consultant Matt Mackowiak, who worked for Cornyn's failed reelection campaign. Trump endorsed Cornyn's opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The road to Senate control goes through Maine

The Democrats need to flip four seats to take control of the Senate in November and hope that Trump's falling approval ratings and the war in Iran — as well as its subsequent effect on oil prices and the economy — could buoy their chances. Maine is among the top targets, along with Alaska, Ohio and North Carolina.

Platner wants to make the case that Collins isn't as independent of Trump as her reputation suggests — repeatedly noting that she allowed his Supreme Court nominations to go through, which in 2022 led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion, among other major issues.

"Susan Collins may have started her career decades ago in Washington with good intentions, but she has become just as spineless and corrupt as the establishment she now serves," Platner said at a victory party on Tuesday.

Platner supporters are ready for change, said John Keenan, of Sullivan, Maine.

“I think Maine has grown tired of the same old system,” he said. “And putting youth into the campaign, with new instead of a rubber stamp, is very refreshing.”

Trump has often criticized Collins — but not lately

Even as she faces Platner in November, Collins may have to stay wary of Trump. The president has spent years singling her out for daring to occasionally defy him on some issues.

However, he's refrained from doing so more recently — especially as Collins failed to draw a credible challenger and cruised to a Republican primary victory.

The White House declined to comment. Political advisers close to Trump, however, said the president understands how critical it is that Republicans maintain control of Congress after November, which requires accommodating Collins. Trump understands the need to avoid a Republican wipeout like 2018's “blue wave” midterms that saw Democrats flip the House and derail much of the last two years of his first-term plans.

“Senator Susan Collins represents the people of Maine first and foremost and has proven herself to be a dedicated public servant," said Republican National Committee spokesperson Kristen Cianci in a statement.

Collins spokesperson Blake Kernen said the senator “has worked with five different Presidents throughout her Senate tenure, and has never agreed with any of them on every issue.”

“When she agrees with an effort, she will support it; when she disagrees, she does not hesitate to speak up for what she believes is the right outcome for Maine and for America,” Kernen said in a statement.

Other Republicans ran into trouble with Trump

That didn't work out for some Republican senators.

Cornyn was among his party's top voices, rising through the ranks after joining the Senate in 2002. Paxton trounced him in a runoff race days after Trump endorsed the attorney general.

In office since 2015, Cassidy voted to convict Trump during his impeachment trial after the U.S. Capitol siege on Jan. 6, 2021. He lost his primary to Trump-endorsed state Rep. Julia Letlow.

Maine figures to be a more competitive race in November — as evidenced by Trump recently refraining from singling out Collins. That's despite her voting last week with Democrats to block the nearly $1.8 billion fund the president wanted to create to benefit allies that he claims were unfairly targeted by law enforcement.

“She’s always down in the polls and she survives,” Trump conceded when asked about Collins in an interview with the New York Post last week.

Collins defeated Gideon, the Maine House speaker, by almost 9 points in 2020, the same year that Biden beat Trump by a similar margin in the state.

Mackowiak said "there’s just no pathway to a MAGA senator from Maine.”

“It does appear that the Trump political operation is soberly analyzing the electoral environment in Maine and really kind of follows her lead as it relates to that state and that race, particularly this cycle,” he said.

Maine Republicans are ‘a bit more pragmatic’

Chuck Ellis, a Republican from Westbrook who runs a digital marketing company, said Collins' reluctance to move in lockstep with Trump can be a plus.

Although there are some “hard-line” voters who may disapprove, Ellis said, "ultimately a lot of your conservatives, your Republicans, are people who are a bit more pragmatic.”

After Collins opposed the White House’s signature tax cut and spending package last year, and voted against a proposal to claw back $9 billion in foreign aid and public media funding, the president complained about her on social media.

“Republicans, when in doubt, vote the exact opposite of Senator Susan Collins," he wrote.

Then, in January, Trump lashed out at the “stupidity” of Collins and four other Senate Republicans who joined Democrats to start a debate over restricting the president’s use of force in Venezuela.

She later received a profanity-laced call from Trump.

White House may keep a further distance from Collins' race

As chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, Collins last week cast her 10,000th Senate vote in a row, setting a record.

“She has been able to do and show that ‘I am bringing money and resources from the federal government to Maine to help Maine,’” Ellis said.

The president is unlikely to travel to Maine ahead of November despite visiting other states with key Senate races, like Iowa and Michigan. He could even campaign personally for Paxton.

Vice President JD Vance has been to Maine, where he promoted his anti-fraud task force. Collins didn’t attend Vance’s speech in Bangor last month where he acknowledged the senator's distance from the Trump administration.

“If she was as partisan as I sometimes wish that she was,” Vance said, "she would not be a good fit for the people of Maine.”

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This story has been corrected to show the spelling of Collins’ spokesperson’s surname is Kernen, not Kernan.

___

Weissert reported from Washington.

A bill to provide nearly $70 billion for immigration enforcement narrowly passed the House on Tuesday and now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature, bolstering the administration’s deportation agenda for the remainder of his time in the White House.

Graham Platner has secured Maine’s Democratic Senate nomination, setting up a high-stakes battle against longtime incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a race that could determine party control of the U.S. Senate. In South Carolina and Nevada, where Trump endorsed his favored candidates, his clout within his party was tested.

The Latest:

Inflation spikes to highest level in 3 years as voters face affordability concerns

Consumer prices rose 4.2% in May from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday, up from 3.8% in April and the third straight increase. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.5% last month, after big gains of 0.6% in April and 0.9% in March.

The numbers are a headache for the Federal Reserve and a political challenge for the Trump administration as midterm elections near.

Inflation had been cooling before Trump’s sweeping tariffs in April 2025 made many goods more costly. Prices surged again after the Iran war made oil and gas more expensive, potentially spreading price hikes across the economy.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.9% in March from a year earlier, up from 2.8% in April. On a monthly basis, core prices increased a modest 0.2%, down from a 0.4% gain in April.

Netanyahu says Iran could never have a nuclear weapon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X around the same time as Trump, again insisting that Iran could never have a nuclear weapon and defending Israel’s decisions to attack the Islamic Republic in the past.

While Iran and the U.S. seem to be looking for a way to end the conflict, Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing much more difficult goals: the collapse of Iran’s theocratic government, the elimination of its nuclear program and the destruction of the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. That will make compromise much harder.

Trump says Iran is taking ‘too long to negotiate a deal’

Hours after Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan came under Iranian fire, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Iran was taking “too long to negotiate a deal” and that “now they will have to pay the price.”

It wasn’t clear what exactly that would mean, but the back-and-forth strikes Wednesday again raised the question of how much pressure the deal can take before it cracks. The exchange of fire was the second time this week that such strikes have tested the ceasefire after Iran and Israel targeted each other on Monday.

Cuba’s top envoy to US calls Trump’s sanctions on Cuban leaders a ‘pretext’ for military action

Recent U.S. sanctions targeting Cuba’s leadership and the indictment of former President Raúl Castro are a “pretext” for the Trump administration to persuade the American people to support a military intervention, Cuba’s top diplomat to the United States told The Associated Press.

In an interview on Tuesday, Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera repeated accusations against the Trump administration made by other Cuban officials, including the foreign minister and the president, and complained bitterly that the U.S. is targeting Cuban civilians with its decades-old embargo and new blockade of energy shipments to the island.

“The sanctions against our leaders, we see as a pretext to make the American people think we are a threat,” she said at Cuba’s embassy in Washington. “We are not a threat to the U.S., and we don’t want confrontation.”

Torres Rivera, who holds the formal title of chargé d’affaires, described the situation as “a war without bombs.” She said efforts to change Cuba’s government by coercion or force would be met by fierce resistance.

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Largest ICE detention facility wasted millions and put detainees at risk, report finds

Mismanagement at a massive Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas created unsafe conditions that contributed to detainee deaths and suffering even as millions of wasted tax dollars enriched contractors, according to a federal report released Tuesday.

The Government Accountability Office report documents serious problems at Camp East Montana, a sprawling tent facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso, where three detainees have died in little more than six months. Evidence in one of those deaths, of a 55-year-old Cuban migrant who died in January after being held down by guards, was “missing or destroyed,” the report found.

ICE rushed to open the camp in August before construction was complete and failed to conduct required oversight to ensure detainees were held in sanitary conditions and receiving adequate medical care, according to the report.

DHS noted that ICE has replaced the contractor running the facility. “This new contractor will allow Camp East Montana to continue abiding by the highest detention standards with the ability to provide more medical care on-site,” said spokesperson Lauren Bis.

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US strikes Iran after blaming Tehran for helicopter crash. Iran fires on countries in the region

The United States launched airstrikes early Wednesday against Iran after blaming Tehran for the crash of an American attack helicopter, and Iran fired back at countries in the region — another escalation that threatened to derail efforts to end the war.

Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan — all of which host U.S. troops — came under Iranian fire. It was the second time this week that back-and-forth strikes have tested the ceasefire after Iran and Israel targeted each other on Monday, and it again raised the question of how much pressure the deal can take before it cracks.

While Trump has insisted that negotiations with Iran to end the war are making progress, he has repeatedly vacillated between expressing such optimism and warning that he was ready to return to all-out war. Iran, meanwhile, has proved resilient despite having faced weeks of heavy bombing, betting that its ability to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passageway for the world’s oil and natural gas — gives it a strong bargaining chip.

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Tuesday’s takeaways: Platner’s big night, Clyburn carries on and Trump’s support gets mixed results

Graham Platner has secured Maine’s Democratic Senate nomination, setting up a high-stakes battle against longtime incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a race that could determine party control of the U.S. Senate.

Nevada, South Carolina and North Dakota hosted primary elections Tuesday, but much of the political world was focused on Maine’s high-stakes U.S. Senate contest.

The results were never in question. Neither Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins nor Democratic challenger Graham Platner faced serious opposition for their party’s nomination. And yet Tuesday marked an especially significant moment for Platner, the embattled veteran and oyster farmer, who is fighting to rebuild his credibility in a campaign rocked by controversy.

Elsewhere, President Donald Trump’s clout within his party was tested anew in states like South Carolina and Nevada, where he endorsed his favored candidates. Democrats hoped to build momentum in Nevada as part of a broader push to reclaim key governor’s seats.

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House approves $70 billion for immigration enforcement for 3 years, sending bill to Trump

A bill to provide nearly $70 billion for immigration enforcement narrowly passed the House on Tuesday and now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature, bolstering the administration’s deportation agenda for the remainder of his time in the White House.

Republicans used their majority to get the bill over the finish line, funding a pair of Homeland Security agencies through the next three years. The bill passed by a vote of 214-212, over the objections of Democrats. Trump is expected to sign it into law on Wednesday.

The White House says the bill will provide $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for the Border Patrol and another $5 billion to cover unforeseen costs. It frontloads routine annual funding, ensuring a virtually uninterrupted flow of money as the Trump administration seeks to deport some 1 million people per year.

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Nine-year-olds rebounded to pre-pandemic reading scores and saw some recovery in math, according to data from a test taken regularly in the United States since the 1970s. The same recovery has not emerged for 13-year-olds, whose average scores in math and reading remain below pre-pandemic averages. In fact, the latest reading scores, from teenagers who took the test in 2024, are essentially the same level as they were when the test started in 1971.

Since the pandemic, schools and state policymakers have focused on overhauling instruction for elementary students, especially in implementing the “science of reading,” which teaches kids to read by understanding how letters form sounds. But recent test scores show educators should also focus more intensely on adolescent learners and turning around academic outcomes in middle school, said Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board.

Indeed, the 13-year-olds who took the national test experienced the pandemic's disruption during formative elementary years of schooling. In a few years, they will have graduated — and they may still be behind.

“The 13-year-olds who took this assessment last year are headed to high school now or are already enrolled," she said. "Schools won’t have them much longer. We can’t hesitate or wait if we’re going to turn these trends around.”

What the test measures

Typically given every four years, the long-term trends assessment offers a snapshot into the academic skills of American students at ages 9 and 13. Roughly 31,000 students in public and private schools sat for the test in the 2024-2025 school year. Unlike the main Nation's Report Card test for fourth and eighth graders, which is updated regularly with new skills to reflect changing curricula, the long-term test has stayed largely the same since the 1970s.

American students' academic achievement was already declining when the pandemic hit. Test scores peaked around 2012, then started to fall, said Matthew Soldner, acting commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics.

“We can clearly see that this isn’t just a pandemic story,” Soldner said.

The test results show younger kids are improving foundational skills, such as identifying facts in a simple news article or understanding basic multiplication and division. Seventy-one percent of 9-year-olds reached the benchmark in reading, and 84% reached that level in math, a few percentage points higher than in 2022.

Teenagers are tested on more advanced skills, such as making generalizations from a reading passage and comparing information from charts and graphs. Only 58% met the benchmark skill level in reading and 70% in math, with no statistically significant improvement from 2023.

Fewer students are reading for fun

Compounding the issue of stagnant literacy rates: Fewer students than ever are reading for fun.

Students who took the test also completed a survey. Only 14% of 13-year-olds said they read for fun every day, down from 27% in 2012 and a peak of 37% in 1992. Among 9-year-olds, 37% said they read for fun every day, a significant decline from 53% in 2012. Researchers have noted the decline in time spent reading corresponds with the rise of social media use on cellphones.

Still, younger children have shown an “incredibly encouraging” recovery academically in recent years, Soldner said. “Almost 50 years of progress has been eliminated” for 13-year-olds, he said.

The 13-year-olds who took the most recent test would have been in second or third grade during the first year of the pandemic. They would have returned to in-person learning in fourth or fifth grade and taken this national test in their last year or two of middle school.

In contrast, the 9-year-old group would have been entering kindergarten or first grade as the pandemic's most acute phase ended and schools reopened. Their second and third grade years would have been more reflective of typical in-person teaching.

Those experiences are dramatically different, Soldner said, as the older group would have missed foundational years in building literacy and computational skills in school.

While more recent declines in student outcomes are alarming, decades of test data show it's possible to change children's trajectories over time, said Mark Miller, an eighth grade math teacher and former member of the National Assessment Governing Board.

“We have made progress in the past, from the early '70s to 2012,” Miller said. "Can it be done again? Absolutely."

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

A jury rejected Karmelo Anthony’s claims of self-defense during a confrontation with Austin Metcalf in stadium bleachers last year. Most people who testified were students who described a heated exchange over Anthony’s refusal on a rainy spring day to leave a tent that belonged to Metcalf’s team.

Anthony, now 19, did not testify at trial and only his mother took the stand during the sentencing phase, telling jurors her son was sorry.

Notoriety about the case spread, in part, because of a flood of social media posts that amplified the killing in racial terms. Anthony is Black; Metcalf was white. Lawyers on both sides, however, told jurors the tragedy had nothing to do with race.

Jeff Metcalf, Austin's father, had also denounced those who sought to stoke racial divisions after his son was killed. A year later, he said again in a Collin County courtroom that it was never about race while his voice swelled with anger over the death of his son.

“You failed your parents, you failed yourself and you failed society,” said Metcalf, looking at Anthony after the teenager was sentenced.

Jurors, who deliberated for less than three hours, had the option of a lesser charge, manslaughter, but didn’t choose it.

Prosecutor Bill Wirskye had asked for a lengthy prison term.

“Mercy to the guilty,” he said, “is cruelty to the innocent.”

Earlier Tuesday, during the trial's closing arguments, the jury heard dueling narratives from Wirskye and defense attorney Mike Howard about what happened in April 2025.

Several schools were competing when Anthony sat under the Memorial High School tent that was perched in the bleachers. Austin Metcalf and others had repeatedly told Anthony to leave, witnesses testified, leading to an escalating confrontation.

Howard told jurors that Metcalf had “no legal right to put his hands on Karmelo.”

“Texas law does not require that you wait until you get hit,” Howard said. “In that split second of chaos, you must put yourself in his shoes.”

During the nearly weeklong trial, prosecutors said Anthony provoked Metcalf, and witnesses testified that Anthony was the aggressor.

“This is not self-defense, folks. It’s murder plain and simple,” Wirskye said.

Anthony at one point reached inside a bag and replied: “Touch me and see what happens,” according to a police report.

Metcalf pushed Anthony, according to witnesses, who said Anthony then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest.

“You don’t get to meet a shove with a stab, especially if you provoke the shove,” Wirskye said.

The teens, both from Frisco, didn't know each other.

“He’s very sorry for what he did. Please, have mercy on my son,” Anthony’s mother, Kala Hayes, pleaded to jurors shortly after the verdict.

The trial drew lines of spectators hoping to find seats in the gallery and unfolded amid heavy security at the Collin County courthouse. As police officers watched Tuesday, dozens of people stood outside the courthouse in 90 degree Fahrenheit heat (32 degrees Celsius) to await the verdict. There were wails of grief from one woman — “This isn’t real!” — when the result became known.

Frisco is one of Texas’ fastest-growing cities and is dotted with dozens of modern school campuses and gleaming athletic facilities. The parents of Anthony and Metcalf have said they were good students who planned to go to college.

Several students testified that Metcalf, after ordering Anthony to leave his team’s tent, scoffed before Anthony reached into a bag and pulled out a knife.

One teen recalled Metcalf telling Anthony, “You don’t have anything in that backpack. It’s Frisco.”

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Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.

The massive blaze engulfed seven apartment buildings and killed 168 people on Nov. 26, 2025. Former residents and relatives of the dead have been waiting for answers for months after the fire shattered the close-knit community of Wang Fuk Court, which housed thousands of people in the suburban district of Tai Po.

In a statement on Wednesday, authorities said police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption charged the suspects with 25 counts including money laundering, attempting to pervert the course of public justice and tax evasion.

The two companies charged are consultancy firm Will Power Architects Company, and Prestige Construction & Engineering Co., the main contractor involved in a major renovation project at Wang Fuk Court that was taking place when the blaze happened.

The seven defendants played different roles in the renovation works, authorities said. They included the directors of the two companies and a registered inspector of Will Power.

The defendants told the court they understood the charges, and most appeared calm. Lists of victims’ names were read out from the charge sheets in court — the first such disclosure to the public. The hearing will resume in September.

Multiple alleged wrongdoings

Senior police superintendent Basil Tang told reporters that they found the people in charge of the renovation project and the relevant companies were seriously negligent in monitoring the materials used in the project and the procedures involved. Tang pointed to issues such as the use of non-fire-retardant scaffolding netting and foam boards.

“The above work arrangements are suspected of seriously affecting the building’s fire safety, causing the fire to spread rapidly, and also obstructing escape routes, resulting in massive casualties,” he said.

Hazel Law, principal investigator of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, said they would not rule out further law enforcement operations.

“We suspect that some people, for their own personal gain, not only failed to fulfill their professional responsibilities, but even used suspected corrupt practices, fraud and other illegal acts to achieve their purposes,” Law said.

Tang said Will Power directors Ng Yeuk and Wong Hap-yin, Prestige director Ho Kin-yip, alongside the two companies, were charged with manslaughter.

The companies and some of the defendants were also charged with conspiracy to defraud.

Authorities allege the conspiracy goes beyond the fire site

In one of the fraud allegations, authorities alleged that the two companies and some defendants conspired together to defraud the apartment owners of Wang Fuk Court by concealing previous litigation records of Prestige and inflating the score given to the firm in a tender analysis report.

That eventually led to Prestige being awarded the renovation project at a contract worth more than 300 million Hong Kong dollars (over $38 million), they said.

Their alleged wrongdoings went beyond the Wang Fuk Court. Authorities also alleged some of the accused conspired together to defraud the government by falsely claiming that the registered inspector of Will Power had carried out his duties in inspecting and supervising 86 building maintenance projects.

Tang on Wednesday said police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption arrested 35 people when they looked into the cause of the fire and potential corruption issues involving the renovation project.

The celebration of Barcelona's Christian traditions, past and present, marked the highlight of Leo's weeklong visit to Spain, the first by a pope in 15 years to a once staunchly-Catholic European country that like many others has experienced secularizing trends.

The trip, though, has underscored how the country of 50 million people, which experienced a religious crisis after its 20th-century dictatorship ended, still has plenty of faithful Catholics who have turned out in droves to welcome the American pope.

Honoring Catalonia's Christian traditions

Leo celebrated their centuries-old tradition of popular piety by praying at Montserrat, a mountain complex outside the city that is dear to many Catalans. The complex, which includes an 11th-century Benedictine abbey and a 16th-century basilica, is revered for its Black Madonna statue and is home to a boy's choir that has existed since the 13th century and is Europe's oldest.

Thousands of faithful arrived early at the monastery, with groups of nuns and schoolchildren singing and waving signs and photographs of the pope outside the basilica. Bells rang out over the spire-like rock formations that top Montserrat and the valley below as Leo arrived in a golf cart.

In his remarks to the faithful in the abbey, Leo said that Montserrat for centuries has been a place of peace and reconciliation in a world marked by violence, “criticism that humiliates, condemnation that destroys and aggression that divides.” He urged Spaniards to follow in the “path of mercy, reconciliation, truth and gentleness.”

In recent years, the Montserrat abbey has faced numerous accusations from survivors of clergy sexual abuse and was included in the Spanish ombudsman’s 800-page report on the crisis in 2023. The report found 15 victims and three alleged perpetrators linked to the abbey.

“It’s very painful because there are members of the church who committed errors,” said the Rev. Cesario Escarda, a Toledo priest, as he waited for Leo at the abbey. “What the pope wants to do is shine a light on the truth and ask forgiveness and bring in the victims and listen to them and accompany them.”

The Bible carved in stone

The highlight of Leo’s visit was expected to be his Mass on Wednesday evening in Barcelona at Sagrada Familia. The Mass commemorates the 100th anniversary of the death of its designer, Gaudí, who died at age 73 three days after he was hit by a tram.

A century after construction began during the pontificate of Leo’s namesake, Pope Leo XIII, the basilica has become one of the world’s most visited but unfinished monuments, annually drawing upward of 5 million visitors a year.

Gaudí, the famed Catalan architect who is on the path to possible sainthood, spent four decades designing and building the temple as the summary of the Christian faith carved in stone. The most important stories of Jesus’ life, the Nativity and Passion, are etched into the basilica’s east and west facades. A third facade facing south, the Glory, will serve as the basilica’s main entrance when finished.

The temple is an architectural and geometrical masterpiece inside and out, a celebration in form and symbol of Christianity and God’s creation through stone and light, based on the architectural tradition of Byzantine and Gothic churches.

A total of 18 sandcastle spires rise up from the top and pierce Barcelona’s skyline: 12 to symbolize Christ’s 12 apostles, four for each of the four Evangelists who recorded Christ’s life in the Gospels, one topped with a star over the apse honoring the Virgin Mary and, tallest among them, the Tower of Jesus Christ.

When the final Christ tower was finished last year at a height of 172½ meters (564 feet), it made Sagrada Familia the world’s tallest church. Leo will formally consecrate the tower on Wednesday night.

An interior that looks like a forest

The cross-shaped interior, with the altar at the apse, is an homage to light and nature. Treelike columns soar to the sky, colored by constantly changing light filtered through stained glass windows like the sun poking through leaves in a forest.

“Nature is my teacher,” Gaudí once said. “Everything comes from the great book of nature, always open that we must read.”

The colors of the window glass have meaning: The blues and greens of the eastern portal windows, where the facade depicts Christ’s birth, look more joyful and are most brilliant when the sun rises and light passes through. The coarser shades of red and orange, illuminated by the setting sun on the western portals, color the side of the basilica that depicts Christ’s Passion. Behind the altar and above the cross are yellows and gold that glimmer in the noonday sun.

Historian Mònica Santín, who leads tours of the basilica, said that in designing Sagrada Familia, Gaudí was guided by two books: the Gospels and nature.

“The way he lets in the natural light is also an invitation to the Christian mystery,” she said, citing the three facades depicting Christ’s birth, death and glory.

“And when you enter inside, it is all light,” Santín said. “What is that the symbol of? We can’t see God, but we perceive his light all around us. I think that is how you can read this message, and it is fascinating.”

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

The attack unfolded late on Tuesday night in an informal settlement in the city's Cleveland suburb, police said, adding that there were at least 10 suspected attackers who later fled the scene. Johannesburg has long been the scene of organized crime gangs vying for control of illegal mining or other activities, though police said the motive of the latest shooting was still under investigation.

Police said the shooters were dropped off at the settlement in a minibus “and moved through the area, opening fire on residents and community members at multiple locations before fleeing the scene in the same vehicle.”

The victims were nine men and three women, according to police. Eleven died at the scene and another victim died in the hospital.

Police say the shooting was insane and barbaric

Police said a search was launched for the suspects and the vehicle but that no arrests had been made.

Provincial police commissioner Tommy Mthombeni called the killings “insane, heartless and, to a certain extent, barbaric.” He said it was too early to link them to illegal mining gangs as an investigation was underway, but police were considering that as a possible motive.

He said a recent police operation in the area had confiscated illegal firearms, including assault rifles, and illegal miners were known to operate there.

Ambulances were on the scene on Wednesday morning to carry away the victims' bodies while community members huddled in groups on the streets.

Informal settlements in South Africa are unplanned residential areas that are common in and around big cities where people looking for housing live in shacks or other makeshift structures. Illegal miners sometimes operate in the same areas.

South Africa has seen several mass shootings recently

South Africa has seen several high-profile mass shootings recently, including two in December that killed more than 20 people. One of those attacks also involved multiple shooters.

Mass shootings in South Africa are often connected to criminal gangs. In Johannesburg, violent gangs are involved in illicit mining in and around a city that has large gold reserves and many mines that have been abandoned by companies.

Gangs search abandoned mines for leftover gold deposits, which they sometimes store in hideouts in the informal settlements. Rival gangs also fight turf wars for control of areas.

Cleveland is a suburb connected to illegal mining activity, a local council member said, though he added there were also other problems in the area including tensions over land between different parts of the local community and it was not certain illegal mining gangs were responsible for the killings.

“There are a lot of moving parts here so it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what is driving the issues,” council member Neuren Pietersen said in an interview with the eNCA TV station at the scene.

Tracing the minibus used by the shooters is a priority

Acting national police commissioner Puleng Dimpane said in a statement that specialist forensic investigators and tactical response teams have been deployed. Tracing the white minibus was a priority, Dimpane said.

South Africa has extremely high violent crime rates, with the country recording more than 23,000 killings in the last financial year, according to official crime statistics, an average of more than 60 a day.

Illegal mining in Johannesburg and the surrounding areas was one of the concerns that prompted the government in March to deploy the army to certain high-risk areas in a yearlong operation to stop violence linked to organized crime.

That move by the government was seen as an admission that police were losing the battle in some parts of the country where violent criminal gangs operate.

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Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

The crash occurred near Muzaffarabad, the regional capital, during an ongoing protest and strike called by the Joint Awami Action Committee, a recently banned alliance of various groups.

The military did not suggest any link between the protest and the crash.

Witnesses said the helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff from a helipad. Ambulances arrived at the scene and transported the victims to a nearby hospital.

“Rescue and recovery teams immediately reached the crash site,” the military said, adding that a board of inquiry had been ordered to determine the exact cause of the accident.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the crash, paying tribute to the military personnel killed. In separate statements, they conveyed sympathies to the families of the victims.

Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, also expressed deep sorrow over the loss of life and extended condolences to the families of those killed, according to the statement.

Such crashes are not uncommon in Pakistan. In September 2025, an army helicopter on a routine flight crashed in northern Pakistan, killing two pilots and three technicians on board.

Futures for the S&P 500 declined 1.1% before the opening bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell less than one percent. Futures for the technology-heavy Nasdaq slid 1.6%. The S&P 500 is coming off of its first losing week in the past 10.

The latest U.S. attack on Iran followed the crash of an Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz that President Donald Trump blamed on Tehran and has dimmed hopes for progress toward a permanent end to the war, now in its fourth month.

With prospects for fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz in doubt, oil prices resumed their climb after volatile trading Tuesday.

Brent crude, the international standard, gained $1.67 to $93.12 per barrel. It was trading at approximately $70 a barrel before the war began in late February.

Benchmark U.S. crude was $1.89 higher at $90.09 per barrel.

“The situation remains highly volatile,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote Wednesday. “This once again demonstrates the difficulty Iran and the U.S. face in working toward a sustainable ceasefire that allows for the free flow of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.”

Energy demand picks up around this time of year in the U.S., further squeezing limited supply.

There are more updates on U.S. inflation arriving this week. Inflation is expected to have reached 4.2% in Maym which would be third consecutive month of increases. The Labor Department releases those figures before the opening bell Wednesday.

Markets also have been wavering from spates of heavy selling of stocks in companies linked to the boom in artificial intelligence.

Chipmaker Micron fell 4.2% before the bell, while Super Micro Computer tumbled nearly 12%. AI bellwether Nvidia slid 2.5% overnight.

On the winning side was Cracker Barrel, which surprised investors Tuesday by posting strong third-quarter profit and revenue. Analysts had forecast a 48 cents-per-share loss, but the company logged a 29 cents-per-share profit. Cracker Barrel, which saw its shares jump 10.7% overnight, also raised its full-year guidance.

Elsewhere, in Europe at midday Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 0.5% lower, Germany’s DAX shed 1.3% and France’s CAC 40 was off 1%.

South Korea’s Kospi gave up 4.5%, to 7,730.82, after surging the day before. Samsung Electronics, which makes memory and logic chips and is the country's most valuable company, sank 6.1%. Shares of chipmaker SK Hynix tumbled 7.5%.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.9% to 64,179.27, after data showed Japan’s producer price index, a measure for prices at the wholesale level, rose 6.3% in May from a year before. That's the fastest pace in more than three years.

Shares of technology and telecommunications giant SoftBank Group, which has a strong AI focus, lost 8.3%. Chip equipment maker Advantest lost 4.2%, but Tokyo Electron advanced 3.2%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6% to 24,407.96, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.4% to 3,993.23. Official data released Wednesday showed that China’s producer prices rose to nearly a four-year high of 3.9% in May compared with a year earlier.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.6% higher to 8,653.30.

Taiwan’s Taiex was 3.3% lower, while India’s Sensex climbed 0.8%.

Hadi Alodid, 30, was ordered held in jail after an appearance by video in Belfast Magistrates’ Court, where a detective said he blinded Stephen Ogilvie in the left eye during the knife attack. He was also charged with possessing a knife and threatening to kill a radiographer while being treated for a hand injury after the assault.

When police arrived at the crime scene, they found Alodid on the man, armed with a kitchen knife, the detective said. Alodid later told hospital staff: “I’ve killed someone, I don’t know if they are dead,” and said, “I will kill you."

He refused legal representation through an Arabic interpreter and did not enter a plea.

The court appearance followed a night of violence in which masked men set fire to several homes they believed to house immigrants, burned trash bins, torched a Belfast bus and pelted police with objects. Firefighters rescued several people from burning homes.

Anselme Shima, a Belfast resident originally from Congo, said he saw smoke from burning vehicles near his home.

“I’ve lived on my street for almost 10 years, I have a good relationship with my neighbors, but last night was a horrific one,” he said. “We don’t know what to do. I’m scared. Seeing this, I’m wondering if I’m next.”

Families, one with a baby, were rescued and taken to police stations for safety, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher told the BBC.

“These weren’t just families from ethnic minority communities, these were families from across communities that were caught up in this vile behavior last night," Boutcher said. “There is absolutely no excuse for it.”

Politicians from both parts of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government condemned the violence. First Minister Michelle O’Neill of Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein said it was “thuggery.”

“Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice,” she said.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, of the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party, said that “taking frustration at the evil actions of a person out on those who had no part in it is utterly wrong.”

The attack was caught on video

Monday’s attack, caught in video footage that quickly spread on social media, was seized on by anti-immigration activists. Ogilvie, a man in his 40s, was hospitalized with deep cuts to his head, face and back.

Police said Alodid entered Northern Ireland from the neighboring Republic of Ireland in 2023, applied for asylum and was given a 5-year permit to remain.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said there is no information to suggest the attack was terrorism-related and they were not seeking other suspects.

The street violence erupted despite politicians' calls for calm.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the stabbing attack as “sickening,” but said violence against people based on their background would not be tolerated.

“The scenes in Belfast last night were shocking and completely unacceptable," Starmer said on X. “There is no justification for the violence and disorder that we saw threatening our communities, nor for those who encouraged it, online or elsewhere. It is clear that people were targeted last night because of their background and I will not tolerate it."

Protests were encouraged online by far-right activists.

Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long said social media agitators who “yesterday would have struggled to find Belfast on a map” were “weaponizing” the fears of local people.

“If you’re driving people from their homes based on nothing but the color of their skin, you can’t dress that up any other way, it’s racism, and those bad faith actors need to take a step back,” she told the BBC.

Some raise questions about the Irish border

Some politicians said the stabbing should spark a review of the open border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., and the Republic of Ireland.

The border is a highly sensitive issue. Allowing the free flow of people is a major pillar of the peace process that largely ended decades of violence known as “The Troubles.” The conflict involving Irish Republican and British Loyalist militants and U.K. security forces left almost 3,600 people dead before a 1998 peace accord.

Much of Tuesday’s violence took place in working-class areas where former paramilitary groups still hold considerable sway over the streets.

Last week a separate case of a university student who was stabbed to death in Southampton, England, in December was seized on by activists and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who blamed immigration for the violence. Some British politicians objected to that.

Henry Nowak, who was white, was killed by Vickrum Digwa, a Sikh who falsely claimed to police that he was the victim of a racist assault by Nowak. When police officers arrived, they initially treated the wounded Nowak as a suspect before noticing his injury and trying to resuscitate him.

Digwa was convicted of murder for stabbing Nowak with a Sikh dagger and sentenced last week to life in prison with a minimum 21-year term. The case has spurred heated debates about policing and race, and a protest over Nowak’s death turned violent, with some attacking police with chairs and rocks. Several people were charged with violent disorder.

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Lawless reported from London.

According to an arrest affidavit, a witness saw Bryan Stubbs, 36, tampering with the vehicle of a bowling alley employee he knew in the early morning hours. An officer searched the car but did not locate anything unusual at the time. A mechanic later found a tracking device attached to the vehicle.

When interviewed by officers, Stubbs said he was “pranking a friend.” The victim told investigators she had “concerns for her safety.” According to the arrest report, Stubbs told her, “I was attempting to put something on your car.”

Stubbs was arrested on Saturday and faces three charges: invasion of privacy through the installation or use of a tracking device without consent, unauthorized access to a computer or electronic device, and stalking.

Stubbs was placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the investigation and an internal review. He is being held without bond and is expected to appear before a judge later on Wednesday.

Following the arrest, Winter Garden police issued a statement:

“The allegations are concerning and do not reflect the standards we expect of our personnel. We take matters of this nature seriously and will fully cooperate with the Apopka Police Department as its investigation continues.”

Winter Garden Police Department

Lindsay Isaacs is accusing troopers of ignoring evidence when they wrongfully arrested her in connection with an October 2025 wrong-way crash on Interstate 4 in Volusia County that killed three people, including Flagler County Deputy Administrator Jorge Salinas, his wife, and a motorcyclist. A fourth victim survived with serious injuries.

“Lindsay is frankly broken,” her attorney, David Brill, told News 6. “She’s suffered greatly and will continue to suffer and is in need of and receiving medical care.”

The lawsuit names two FHP sergeants, accusing them of ignoring evidence and claiming investigators relied on damage to Isaacs’ black Dodge Durango as the basis for her arrest — despite the actual suspect driving a maroon SUV of the same make and model.

Isaacs was arrested on April 16 after her vehicle appeared on nearby Flock cameras around the time of the crash and witnesses described the SUV involved as black. Charges were dropped less than two months later after FHP’s Specialized Investigation and Reconstruction Team (SIRT) determined key evidence had been missed.

According to court records, the SIRT investigation found that the crash occurred on a dark, poorly lit stretch of I-4, where witnesses could have easily mistaken a maroon Dodge Durango for Isaacs’ black SUV. Investigators ultimately identified 47-year-old Alisa Lee Montalvo as the suspect.

Montalvo now faces nine charges, including three counts of vehicular homicide and three counts of leaving the scene of a crash involving death. Prosecutors also say she brought the Durango to a man in Altamonte Springs for repairs days after the crash, resulting in a tampering with evidence charge.

Montalvo remains in the Volusia County Jail without bond.

FHP did not answer questions about whether mistakes were made in Isaacs’ arrest or what changes may be implemented. The agency said the case remains an active and ongoing criminal investigation.

Read the lawsuit in the media player below.

Wednesday afternoon, the highest rain and storm coverage today is expected west of Orlando, where sea breeze boundaries are likely to collide later in the day. Rain chances are 40%-50%.

While widespread severe weather is not expected, a few stronger storms could produce gusty winds. Slow-moving storms will also be capable of dumping heavy rain in localized areas.

Afternoon highs will reach the upper 80s along the coast and low 90s inland.

The weather pattern becomes more active on Thursday and Friday as moisture continues to build. Rain and storm chances increase each day, with coverage expanding across much of Central Florida by Friday. While the overall severe weather threat remains low, an isolated strong storm cannot be ruled out. The slow storm motion will continue to raise concerns for localized flooding, especially in locations that receive repeated rounds of heavy rain.

At the same time, temperatures and humidity will continue climbing.

Afternoon highs are expected to reach the low to mid-90s late this week, with heat index values topping 100 degrees in many areas by Friday. The hottest conditions are expected this weekend and into next week, when feels-like temperatures could reach 100 to 105 degrees or higher. That means we could see moderate to major heat risk levels across portions of Central Florida.

Warm overnight temperatures in the 70s will provide little relief, making it important to stay hydrated, take frequent breaks outdoors, and limit strenuous activities during the hottest part of the day.

Looking ahead to the weekend and early next week, a strengthening Atlantic ridge will keep a steady flow of moisture in place. This setup favors daily rounds of showers and thunderstorms, particularly across the eastern half of the Florida peninsula. Rain chances will remain elevated, generally ranging from 60% to 70% each day.

If you have outdoor plans this weekend, be prepared for both the heat and the possibility of afternoon thunderstorms.

At the beaches, a moderate risk of rip currents continues. Beachgoers are encouraged to swim near a lifeguard and use extra caution in the surf.

In fact, some of the kindest messages I receive come from folks who call this unique community home.

So instead of sitting in the truck and talking at you about golf cart safety, I figured we’d do something a little different.

Why not hear directly from someone who lives it every single day?

That brought me to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, where I had the opportunity to spend some time with Captain Siemer. What I didn’t expect was that he already had our transportation ready to go.

Forget the patrol car, we hopped into one of the Sheriff’s Office’s marked golf carts, and he gave me a firsthand look at life in The Villages.

I have to admit, I was a little jealous.

Captain Siemer has spent more than a decade serving this area, and he explained just how unique policing can be within this community. For many residents, golf carts aren’t just a fun way to get around, they’re their primary mode of transportation. In fact, there are people who live in The Villages who don’t even own a traditional vehicle.

As we cruised through the neighborhoods and pathways on a beautiful Florida day, we talked about the community, what makes it special, and some of the common-sense safety reminders that help keep everyone moving safely. Whether you’re behind the wheel of a car or the seat of a golf cart, staying alert, knowing the basics and looking out for one another goes a long way.

More than anything, this ride reminded me that traffic safety isn’t one-size-fits-all. Every community has its own rhythm and in The Villages, that rhythm just happens to include a lot more golf carts.

I learned a little more about Captain Siemer, gained a greater appreciation for the people who call this place home and got a behind-the-scenes look at a patrol assignment that’s unlike almost any other in Florida.

I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I did.

And if you see me grinning from ear to ear while cruising around in a marked golf cart… just know I may have been checking to see if they had any openings.

Most Latter-day Saints do see themselves as Christians. But there are many prominent Christian clergy and scholars who disagree, citing core differences in how they view God and the Trinity and revere a scripture that is not part of the two-testament Christian Bible.

Utah's U.S. Senators Mike Lee and John Curtis, both Republicans and Latter-day Saints, challenged the Pentagon’s exclusion of their faith from its list of Christian religions. It was part of the Department of Defense’s recent effort to significantly pare down a list of more than 200 religious affiliations that troops could choose from, deleting categories such as atheists, Unitarian Universalists, pagans and Wiccans.

“Latter-day Saints are among the most patriotic, service-oriented individuals in our country,” Curtis posted on X in defense of his faith. “They are also unequivocally Christian — just look at who is in the name of the Church.”

He also said in his post that it is “unacceptable” for the government to characterize a faith in a way that contradicts how the religion identifies itself — a sentiment echoed widely in the social media blowback.

The Pentagon responded on Monday by removing the Christian label from 20 other traditions, including Catholic, Lutheran and Pentecostal, and stayed away from labeling Latter-day Saints as Christian. The department also issued a statement saying that the new rubric is not intended to “make any claims on the legitimacy of any faith or religion’s belief,” but to help chaplains do their jobs and structure resources quickly and efficiently.

Latter-day Saints identify as Christians

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church, has nearly 18 million members worldwide with the highest concentration in Utah. The church has a long history of military service; it emphasizes patriotism and chaplaincy support.

In a social media post, Lee said: “My church membership is inextricably intertwined with my Christianity, as it is for 17 million other Latter-day Saints. Regardless of what the Pentagon thinks.”

The church’s website states that it is a “Christian Church, but is neither Catholic nor Protestant.”

“Rather, it is a restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ as originally established by the Savior in the New Testament of the Bible,” the site further explains. “Jesus Christ is central to the lives of Church members. They seek to follow his example by being baptized, praying in His holy name, partaking of the sacrament, doing good to others and bearing witness of Him through both word and deed. The only way to salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ.”

Yet the debate about whether Latter-day Saints are Christians goes back nearly 200 years to the days of the church’s founding.

Definitions of God and the Holy Trinity Vary

Matthew Bowman, chair of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University in Southern California, said the primary difference between major Christian denominations and Latter-day Saints lies in how the nature of God is defined, and their view of the Trinity, the spiritual relationship between God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Most Christian faiths believe God is spirit, while founders of the Latter-day Saints believed that God was a human being who achieved Godhood, he said.

Latter-day Saints also reject the Nicene Creed, which emphasizes the doctrine of the Trinity as one divine being.

“They believe that while the three have a relationship, they are distinct beings,” Bowman said.

The Catholic Church has long held that Latter-day Saints are not Christian. Most recently in 2012, the Vatican stated that even if the Latter-day Saint baptismal rite refers to the Trinity, the church’s beliefs about the identities of the three are so different from Catholic and mainline Christian beliefs that the rite cannot be regarded as a Christian baptism.

Tension over religious beliefs spilled over to politics

This debate has raged on in U.S. politics over the decades, resulting in tensions between evangelical Christians and Latter-day Saints who have long considered themselves members of the religious right. Like evangelicals, most Latter-day Saints hold conservative views on topics such as abortion and LGBTQ+ issues.

Bowman said the question of Latter-day Saints' Christian identity exploded during Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.

“At the time — and often after that — there continues to be a sense of surprise among Latter-day Saints that the evangelicals didn’t consider them Christian and among evangelicals when they learn that the Latter-day Saints in fact consider themselves Christian,” he said.

The rise of Donald Trump has created a feeling among Latter-day Saints that their old alliance with evangelical Christians is shakier than ever, especially with younger Latter-day Saints viewing evangelicals as a hostile group, Bowman said.

“In the past five years or so, there is a growing push among evangelicals to create a muscular, masculine Christianity, more vocal on doctrine, with some calling (Mormons) heretics,” he said.

LDS chaplains in the military were viewed with suspicion

Philip McLemore, who served as a Latter-day Saint chaplain in the Air Force from 1984 to 2005, said he and others felt discriminated against then, and he was passed up for promotions because of his faith.

“That mostly came from other Christian chaplains and supervisors who believed Mormon chaplains were not Christian,” he said. “They also felt the same way about Christian Scientists.”

McLemore said some of the other Christian chaplains told him they feared that Latter-day Saint chaplains were using the military to proselytize and convert. But he said he could see why other Christians were suspicious of Latter-day Saints.

“Mormonism doesn’t fit comfortably into most classic Christianity mostly because of the founders’ claims of exclusive truth and authority that can be offensive to some,” he said. “Joseph Smith’s first vision — a foundational event for the church — was one of Jesus telling him that all the other churches are false and their creeds are abominations.”

Overall, McLemore does not believe denomination matters much in the military.

“In my experience, service members would not know what your denomination was, and they didn’t care,” he said. “They didn’t consult chaplains on matters of religion. They needed chaplains for personal problems and issues with work, mental health and marriage.”

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AP reporters Konstantin Toropin and Tiffany Stanley contributed to this report.

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

Just after 11 p.m., deputies received a 911 call from the teen, who reported her ex-boyfriend was chasing her and firing shots at the car she was riding in.

“We received a 911 call from a 17-year-old woman stating that she was a passenger in a vehicle, that her ex-boyfriend was chasing her, inside the vehicle she was with a male occupant, her friend. As they were being chased, he was shooting at the vehicle,” Osceola County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kim Montes said.

Investigators say the teen’s family told them the two had recently broken up.

According to Montes, the teen and the 20-year-old male driver did everything right, even attempting to drive directly to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office parking lot to seek safety, while the 17-year-old remained on the phone with 911.

The chase began on Partin Settlement Road, where the suspect, 21-year-old Christian Andres Rivera of St. Cloud, fired shots into the passenger side of the victims’ white 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer.

“The victim did exactly what she needed to do. She got on the phone with 911. They tried to stay calm. They tried to come here, but he was behind them. So they had to keep moving because of the shots fired,” Montes said.

Montes explained that Rivera, driving a 2006 BMW 330i, followed them out onto US-192, where he rammed the Mitsubishi from behind, sending it out of control into the eastbound lanes, directly into the path of a responding deputy’s marked OCSO pickup truck.

The deputy was treated and released from the hospital with a slight concussion. Both the 17-year-old and the 20-year-old driver — both from Kissimmee — had to be extricated from the vehicle and were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Both remain hospitalized.

Investigators confirmed the teen sustained a gunshot wound in addition to injuries from the crash.

“We do have bullet holes in the passenger side of the victim’s vehicle. We do believe the victim was shot,” Montes said. “Very lucky that this did not end up in a fatal situation.”

After the crash, Montes said that Rivera fled onto the Florida Turnpike, even turning off his headlights to avoid being caught, before making his way to a relative’s home in St. Cloud.

Deputies arrived at the residence and took Rivera into custody without incident. He was booked into the Osceola County Jail on two counts of attempted murder.

“We have numerous other charges. Shooting into an occupied vehicle, fleeing and eluding, leaving the scene of a crash,” Montes said.

Despite the chaos, Montes credited the 20-year-old driver with potentially saving the teen’s life.

“They were trying to come to a safe place, but he was on their tail, and they were trying to get away from again. The male driver did a phenomenal job of trying to keep moving to keep her safe,” Montes said.

Additional charges against Rivera are possible as the investigation continues. He is expected to appear in court on Wednesday

Elon Musk’s rocket company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., is steering some of its initial public offering of stock directly to what are called “retail” investors. These are people who buy stocks in a brokerage account on their phone, not pension funds or other big “institutional” investors routing orders to their professional trading desks.

Here are some things to keep in mind as the IPO approaches:

A chunk of SpaceX stock will go to regular investors

Most IPOs offer only 5% to 10% of the total offering to retail investors, according to Fidelity. In this case, though, it could be up to 30%. SpaceX expects retail investors to participate in its IPO through Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Robinhood, SoFi and E-Trade by Morgan Stanley.

At Fidelity, investors with as little as $2,000 in their accounts could potentially snag SpaceX shares in the IPO. That’s down from account minimums of $100,000 or even $500,000 that Fidelity has for other equity offerings.

Demand from investors may be so high in this IPO that not everyone indicating interest will actually get a share.

Trying for a short-term flip has risks

Given all the hype around SpaceX, temptation could be high to grab shares in the IPO and sell them quickly if a frenzy sends its price spiking. But brokerages have policies to block investors from future offerings if they dump shares bought in an IPO quickly, like within a couple weeks.

Big swings in price may be possible

Potentially high interest from retail investors following the IPO is one reason SpaceX is warning that its stock price could be volatile. These investors aren’t known for moving as meticulously as a pension fund, which is trying to build money for payments it must make years or decades in the future.

It’s retail investors, after all, who helped drive GameStop and other “meme stocks” to market-bending heights in 2021 that professional investors called irrational.

IPOs can see a big first-day bounce, but that may not last

The typical IPO has seen a 7% jump in its first day of trading, from 1980 through 2025, according to Jay Ritter, an IPO expert and a professor at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business.

But IPOs tend to lag similar-sized peers in the ensuing five years, not including their first day of trading. They do so by an average of 3.6% per year, according to Ritter.

SpaceX has debt and has been losing money

It’s very expensive to launch things out of the earth’s atmosphere and to construct huge AI data centers, and SpaceX has built up $29.1 billion in debt, as of the end of March.

The company also lost $4.9 billion last year and another $4.3 billion through the first three months of 2026. It acknowledges that it “may not achieve profitability in the future.”

Over the long term, a stock’s price tends to track with how much profit the company is making.

You don’t have to buy SpaceX to own it

You could end up owning some of SpaceX even if you never intended to. Consider the many people who own shares of the popular QQQ exchange-traded fund, which tracks the Nasdaq 100 index and has roughly $460 billion in total assets.

Historically, the Nasdaq 100 index would wait until each December to add new members in an annual reconstitution to make sure it includes the 100 largest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq. But Nasdaq recently made changes to allow some big companies to enter the Nasdaq 100 index after just 15 trading days.

That means if SpaceX’s IPO is as successful as expected, it could quickly join both the Nasdaq 100 and QQQ fund, all while QQQ holders do nothing on their own.

The company behind the more popular S&P 500 index, though, is not making changes that would allow SpaceX faster entry.

Any shares bought would take a back seat to Musk’s in influence

In its IPO, SpaceX is offering 555.6 million shares of its “Class A” stock. Each of these shares gives an investor one vote on matters that shareholders decide. That includes such weighty things as who is on the board of directors overseeing the CEO.

This IPO is not offering what are called “Class B” shares, each of which give its holder 10 votes. Musk, meanwhile, owns so many of those shares that he by himself could control more than 82% of all the stock’s voting power following the IPO.

In filings with U.S. securities regulators, SpaceX acknowledges the potential for conflicts of interest between it and Musk, along with other companies he owns, such as Tesla.

Some big investors really disagree with the ownership structure

Officials from pension funds for firefighters, teachers and other workers in California and New York sent a letter to SpaceX last month decrying some of the provisions in its IPO, including “super voting shares,” mandatory arbitration of shareholder claims instead of the possibility of lawsuits and how much power Musk will hold over the company.

They said they could become owners of SpaceX stock because they hold index funds, which automatically buy stocks after they get included in certain indexes.

If Musk is able to control so much of the voting power on the board of directors, it would make him tremendously powerful atop SpaceX, “essentially making him unfireable without his own consent,” the CEO of California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the New York state comptroller and the New York City comptroller wrote in their letter.

“This level of insulation from accountability is virtually unheard of among any other large U.S. issuer whose governing documents foreclose accountability to public owners on these terms.”

Don’t confuse SpaceX with other companies with similar names

SpaceX plans to trade under the ticker symbol “SPCX.” That’s very close to “SPCE,” which is the symbol for Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Holdings.

Josep Turull, the Catalan rector of the Sagrada Familia and the priest in charge of its parish activities, recently granted The Associated Press a private tour to show off his favorite gems ahead of Pope Leo XIV's highly anticipated Mass on Wednesday night.

“We say that one of the elements of the Sagrada Familia Basilica is that you never exhaust it,” Turull said. “I have spent the last eight years as its rector, and each day I discover something new.”

1. Enigmas are engraved in the façades

Each morning, Turull approaches the basilica's elaborately decorated façades. They are packed with an abundance of religious scenes and symbols, some easy to interpret for anyone with a basic understanding of Christianity, while others are mysterious and even shocking to see in a church.

The westward-looking Façade of the Passion is stark, its figures tormented, their bodies strained in angular poses. That was how architect Antoni Gaudí wanted it — “harsh and cruel, as if made of bones,” to show the pain and torment of Christ’s final days.

Decades after Gaudí's own death, sculptor Josep Subirachs tempered the façade's misery with some playful elements. There's Gaudí himself, above the central door, staring across at Jesus carrying his cross to Calvary. And what's that suduko-like numbered grid next to Judas kissing Jesus before his betrayal?

The “magic square” symbolizes the inevitability of Christ's death; adding the numbers in any direction always produces 33, Jesus's age at his crucifixion.

Another puzzle awaits the patient eye that drifts across to the scene of Peter denying Christ: a small, square-shaped labyrinth. Turull said that it alludes to the need to keep faith in God when we feel lost.

2. The tower tops hold cornucopias and real birds of prey

After celebrating Mass, Leo will step outside to offer a blessing for the Tower of Jesus Christ that made the Sagrada Familia the world’s tallest church when it was raised in October.

The basilica's heights are bursting with nature, from the rooster who crowed while Peter denied Christ to reptiles doing the job of gargoyles, and piles of fruit that crown its spires.

There are also flesh-and-blood beasts; a family of peregrine falcons nest in the tower dedicated to St. James, keeping away pigeons and, more importantly, their excrement.

Gaudí's masterpiece was chosen as one of the ideal spots to reintroduce the species, as it was one of the last locations in town where these birds nested before disappearing during the 1970s. The falcons have been breeding successfully at the basilica for over two decades.

Turull said that these lightning-fast birds of prey “recover the cycle of natural life.”

3. The tour goes underground to find Gaudí's crypt

For the millions of annual visitors who admire the colored light filtering through the basilica's stained-glass windows, jostle for position to snap selfies and huddle around tour guides, it is easy to overlook what Turull calls its “spiritual heart." That requires going through a modest side entrance and descending a staircase.

Underground is a much smaller, more intimate chapel, where dozens of worshippers silently attend Mass and faith manages to keep sightseeing at bay.

Fittingly, it is here where Gaudí, a fervent Catholic, rests in a discreet tomb set inside a nook. He died exactly 100 years ago after being hit by a streetcar.

“People come to ask for his intercession,” Turull said, gesturing to the tomb interred in the floor. “That’s why there are so many candles. Because people place their trust in him. Many people have received favors for having prayed at the tomb of Gaudí.”

The Vatican is in the midst of a decades-long process that could eventually make Gaudí a saint. After Pope Francis named Gaudí “venerable” in 2025, the Vatican must now confirm a miracle attributed to his intercession for him to be beatified, then a second miracle for him to be canonized.

The basilica has proposed that the pope pray at Gaudí’s tomb during his visit, but whether he does remains to be seen.

4. A seashell for holy water

Before ascending, Turull pauses at an enormous seashell — a real one, not made of stone — that serves as a basin for holy water. He said that Gaudí had the seashell from the Philippines set in wrought iron and fixed to the column.

“Gaudí always takes nature as an example,” Turull said, referencing the way the natural world inspired his designs and decorations.

5. A changing room fit for a pope

Up a twisting staircase, a private room bathed in sunlight houses two freestanding oak cabinets laced with intricate ironwork. Designed by Gaudí, they hold the basilica’s most precious relics and most important clerical clothing. Among them is Pope Benedict XVI's chasuble — a cloak that clergy wear when celebrating Mass — from when he consecrated the Sagrada Familia in 2010.

This is where Pope Leo will change into a chasuble that is being sewn at a workshop just for this occasion.

Turull said the vestment will feature details symbolizing the day’s importance and a design related to the basilica's recently raised Cross of Jesus Christ. But he won't say anything more for now; some things need to stay secret.

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AP videojournalist Hernán Muñoz contributed to this report.

Initial public offering, or IPO

A company's first offering of stock to the public. It is the first time a company's value will be determined by a public market.

Prospectus

A formal offer to sell shares in the company. It also includes a business plan with details about the company's finances and operations. Also known as an S-1, after the Securities and Exchange Commission form.

Listing

This describes the ticker symbol for the stock and the public exchange where it is being traded. For example, Apple is traded as “AAPL” on the Nasdaq and Macy's is traded as “M” on the New York Stock Exchange. SpaceX plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol “SPCX.”

Underwriter

An underwriter is a bank or other financial institution that acts as the intermediary between the company and investors. They purchase the stock being issued by the company in the IPO and sell it to the public. There are often several underwriters involved to share the risk. The lead underwriters for the SpaceX IPO are Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley.

Roadshow

The name for the presentations given by company executives and underwriters to potential investors, typically institutional investors, before the company issues its shares.

Lockup

This is the period of time when executives, insiders and early investors are legally prohibited from selling their shares. It is typically 90 or 180 days and is meant to prevent insiders from quickly cashing out or dumping their shares. Elon Musk and other SpaceX executives have agreed to a lockup period of 366 days.

Over-allotment

This is a provision that allows underwriters of an IPO to sell more shares than initially planned. It is meant to meet unexpectedly high demand or to help stabilize the stock price.

Price range

This is an estimated range for the price of the shares the company is offering provided before the stock is publicly traded. Investors place bids within that range before the listing price is determined. SpaceX went against convention and set a price of $135 for shares in the offering.

Price discovery

This describes the broader process undertaken by the company and underwriters to determine the listing price for the stock. It attempts to balance demand for the stock with the potential supply of shares. The process typically takes longer when an IPO has high interest from potential investors.

Orlando Deputy Chief Robert Anzueto was on the line.

“Mayor, I have to inform you that there’s been a shooting at the Pulse Nightclub,” Dyer recalled. “There’s multiple casualties, and it’s turned into a hostage situation. Your driver is on the way to pick you up, and the Mobile Command Center is being deployed south of the club on Orange Avenue.”

Ten years later, Dyer still remembers what he did next: he called his then-26-year-old son.

[WATCH: Orlando mayor reflects on Pulse tragedy]

“I don’t know whether he had ever been to Pulse or not,” Dyer said. “He was fortunately home in bed, so it freed me to do all the things that I needed to do.”

By the time Dyer arrived at the mobile command center, law enforcement agencies were converging from across Central Florida and beyond - Orlando police, multiple sheriffs’ offices, the FBI, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

[WATCH: Items inside Pulse being preserved]

Asked whether he had ever received a call like that before, Dyer didn’t hesitate.

“Nothing comparative to that at all,” he said.

The weekend itself had already been marked by grief. The night before Pulse, singer Christina Grimmie was murdered at the Plaza Live. Days later came an alligator attack at Walt Disney World.

“We had three horrible events in the span of about four days,” Dyer said.

,

When Dyer arrived on scene, he didn’t fully know the scope of what was unfolding.

“No, I had no idea,” he said. “I didn’t really understand the whole magnitude until after the first press conference because we didn’t have a total on the people that had died that night, nor actually until sometime later, the number of people that were injured as well.”

Police were still pulling survivors out of the building - people trapped in rooms and bathrooms, including one where the shooter was also present. Then came another terrifying turn.

The shooter “indicated that he had explosives and that he was going to blow up the remaining hostages as well as himself,” Dyer said.

With texts coming from inside and information being independently verified, Dyer said leaders believed the threat.

OPD Chief John Mina ultimately made the decision to breach, first freeing survivors from one bathroom and then continuing toward the shooter. Even after the gunman was killed, Dyer said something beneath the body appeared, at first glance, like a possible device.

That fear shaped a critical decision: delay the first major press conference.

“So that was about 5 o’clock (a.m.), and we delayed having a press conference until seven, 7:30 a.m. or somewhere in that time frame because we didn’t think we would instill confidence in people if we came out and had a press conference and the building blew up in the background,” Dyer said.

At the microphone, Dyer then tried to communicate what leaders knew, while the worst details were still coming into focus. At the initial briefing, Dyer said the goal was to reassure the public: that authorities had control, that the community was safe. But the death toll wasn’t yet confirmed.

He also wanted to define Orlando’s response.

“We weren’t going to be defined by the hate-filled act of this murder,” Dyer said. “We were going to be defined by a response… with love and compassion and unity.”

Then, as the first press conference ended, new information arrived.

“There are 50 people dead. That was 49 plus the shooter,” Dyer said.

Dyer says, announcing that 49 people had been killed remains one of the hardest moments of his public life.

“That was probably the toughest thing that I had to do in the entirety of the whole process,” Dyer said. “Just getting that in your mind that there are 49 people that have been killed on that spot and there were seasoned journalists there and they were in shock, I could tell on their faces when I described that.”

In those hours, Orlando wasn’t yet able to say who the victims were.

“Everybody was hoping their loved one was not one of the 49,” Dyer said.

Orlando Health waiting rooms were filled with hundreds of family members searching for information. Dyer said one lesser-known but essential step that morning was securing help from the White House to obtain a HIPAA waiver.

“So Orlando Health could tell the people that were there looking for their loved ones who the individuals were that they had and were treating,” he said.

At one point, the names of patients were read aloud.

“If your loved one was not on that list and was missing, you knew that he or she was probably on the other list - the bad list,” Dyer said.

The aftermath of Pulse brought a wave of global support: rainbow lights, messages from leaders and strangers alike, and a feeling in Orlando that something profound might change.

Ten years later, Dyer said he believes Orlando is better in some ways - but not as far along as he once hoped.

“We’re not in the place I hoped we would be,” he said. “There was a presidential election of consequence in that same year, and it kind of changed the mood of the country.”

A permanent memorial: progress after years of controversy

A decade later, one of the most visible reminders of the unfinished work is also one of the most important: Orlando still does not have a permanent memorial at the Pulse site.

The city has now taken over the process after the previous efforts led by the onePulse Foundation failed. The city purchased the Pulse property in 2023, as well as the doctor’s office behind it. Orlando has committed $7.5 million toward a permanent memorial, while Orange County has committed another $5 million. Dyer estimated total costs will be a little more than $12.5 million with additional private fundraising to create reserves and cover construction needs.

“When the onePulse Foundation failed, a number of the families came to us and said ‘you guys are the only ones that can get this done’ and convinced us to take that process over,” said Dyer. “But we have totally given it to the survivors and the families to dictate what it was going to look like. We had an advisory committee and I’m really pleased with what they’ve come up with and we are on target to be completed before I finish being mayor.”

“We have nothing to do with onePulse. OnePulse is done. We were never involved with onePulse. That was a separate organization. We tried to purchase the property at the very beginning and to run the process, but the Pomas wanted to do it themselves. They owned the property. We didn’t have the ability to simply take the property from them. So we let that run its course,” said Dyer.

“Unfortunately, what happened, in my opinion, is they got too grandiose and what they wanted to do it with having a museum as well as a memorial,” said Dyer. “If they had been focused simply on getting a memorial done, they probably could have got that done, but I’m really pleased with how we have done this in a transparent manner and involved the families and the survivors rather than the board that they had, quite honestly. So I think we’re in a pretty good place at this point.”

Asked about rumors of code violations at the nightclub, Dyer said investigations did not find anything that contributed to the tragedy.

“So we looked at that, the FBI did a separate investigation, and there are no public safety code violations that in any way hampered anything on that evening,” said Dyer. So there’s been a lot of rumors related to that, but there’s no substance to that."

As for any further investigations into onePulse, Dyer said he has moved on.

“Just as I moved on from the shooter, and he’s nothing to me, I moved on from that organization,” said Dyer. “If somebody wants to go after them, have at it, but we’re very focused on making sure that we continue to support the families and the survivors and get the memorial done.”

In the decade since, Dyer pointed to changes in how first responders train together, particularly joint operations between police and fire.

He also highlighted the growing acceptance of mental health support.

“Ten years ago, a lot of the police officers were still in that mode of, ‘I’m a big, strong police officer and I don’t need somebody to check in on my feelings,’” Dyer said. “There’s a lot more support for that now.”

He also acknowledged what doesn’t fade: the physical and emotional injuries survivors continue to carry.

“There are individuals who every single day since that night, they have lived with and thought about that,” he said. “That will be the case for the rest of their lives.”

For Dyer, one of the most vivid images from Orlando’s response isn’t from inside the command center - it’s from the community outside.

“Probably my most vivid memory was the lines of people wrapped around the building to give blood,” he said. “It gave purpose to a lot of people that wanted to do something and that was just heartwarming.”

The city’s public events marking the 10th anniversary included the CommUNITY Rainbow Run on Saturday, as well as a service at First United Methodist Church at 5:30 p.m. on June 12, along with private observances for families.

An art exhibit is also planned to open June 11 inside Orlando City Hall, featuring paint-by-number pieces begun by an artist and completed by families of the 49.

For Dyer, the memorial’s completion is deeply personal - and urgent.

“That’s the most important thing that I have left to do,” he said. “I want to make sure that it’s completed and that we have a place where the family members and anybody who wants to remember the 49 can go and pay their respects.”

Edmunds’ editors reviewed what’s available for under 25 grand and came up with five of their favorites. There is a car here for every kind of enthusiast, from a V8-powered coupe with tire-smoking torque to a four-door hatchback with room for your mountain bike.

2015-2018 BMW 2 Series

The BMW 2 Series is BMW’s smallest two-door coupe and convertible. A four-cylinder 2 Series is available, but the more powerful six-cylinder M235i and BMW M240i are what you want. They have quick acceleration, balanced handling and excellent long-distance comfort. Output ranges from 320 horsepower in the M235i to 335 ponies in the later 2017-2018 M240i. Driving a 2 Series offers a more upscale driving experience than the other cars on our list, even if its back seats are a bit small for a luxury-branded car.

Look for: The earlier M235i is easier to find under $25,000. Both it and the M240i come well-equipped with standard features, though BMW a few optional packages that could be worth seeking out. A 2 Series with the Technology package, for example, has a bigger center screen and a navigation system.

2008-2013 Chevrolet Corvette

The sixth-generation Chevrolet Corvette, often called the C6, delivers absurd performance value. Powered by a beefy V8 producing up to 430 horsepower, these Corvettes remain shockingly fast even by modern standards. Rear-wheel drive, relatively low weight, strong braking performance, and excellent highway comfort put the C6 on this list. And they make it worth tolerating the C6’s low-rent interior.

Look for: Narrow your search to 2008-and-newer models, which get more power and an improved interior. Coupes are easier to find under $25,000 than convertibles or the later higher-performance Grand Sport trims. The V8 powering these cars is durable, but finding a Corvette with a maintenance record history is a good idea anyway.

2019-2021 Mazda Miata

The current Mazda MX-5 Miata remains a milestone for light, fun convertibles. It produces 181 horsepower, which doesn’t sound like much but is enough to amply motivate this lightweight two-seater. With precise steering, predictable handling, and an available slick-shifting six-speed manual transmission, this Miata is a textbook topless sports car. Just be aware that the Miata’s cabin will feel cramped for tall drivers.

Look for: You could buy an older Miata of this generation, but the 2019 and newer models have 26 horsepower than earlier models plus a telescoping steering wheel to help improve the driving position. Our favorite Miata trim is the Club that adds numerous mechanical enhancements to make the Miata even more fun to toss around tight curves.

2017-2020 Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86

The Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 are two small coupes co-designed by Subaru and Toyota. They provide a connected and mechanical feel for the driver, which is a rare attribute these days. After the 2017 update, its four-cylinder engine produces up to 205 horsepower, which is enough to be quick without making it so easy to build speed that you’re always getting in trouble. They also have a back seat, though it’s quite small and really only useful for storing cargo.

Look for: Sticking to 2017-and-newer versions means you’ll get meaningful improvements to gearing and suspension tuning. The Toyota 86 is often slightly cheaper than the BRZ, making it a value play. BRZ models with the Performance package are especially desirable thanks to their upgraded brakes and suspension.

2015-2019 Volkswagen Golf GTI

The Volkswagen Golf GTI of this era is the definition of an everyday performance car. It blends four-door hatchback practicality with genuinely entertaining handling. Its turbocharged four-cylinder produces up to 228 horsepower, depending on model year and equipment packages. It’s paired with either a six-speed manual or a six- or seven-speed automatic, also depending on the year.

Look for: Try to get a GTI in the SE or Autobahn trim. These trims have the most standard features such as a premium sound system, upgraded brakes, and a limited-slip differential that helps maximize available traction during acceleration.

Edmunds says

A realistic budget now opens the door to a wide range of performance. Do your homework by avoiding cars with obvious deferred maintenance, neglect or heavy modifications. Still, for under $25,000, buyers can choose between some of the most fun and focused performance cars of the last two decades. It’s a good time to be a driving enthusiast.

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This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds. Josh Jacquot is a contributor at Edmunds.

While the U.S.-supplied system known as HIMARS has been tested before, the latest live-fire exercise was the first time its rockets were fired into the waters of the narrow Taiwan Strait that separates the self-governing island from China.

“Due to the current enemy threat, we will continue HIMARS training with unwavering determination to protect Taiwan as the nation’s strongest force,” army Sgt. Wang Ming-hui said.

The military said it used reduced-range practice rockets that don't fly very far from the coast before falling into the water.

China views Taiwan as a renegade province and says it must come under its control at some point in the future. It sends warships and planes into the skies and waters near the island almost every day and has held major military exercises in its vicinity in recent years. The United States does not recognize Taiwan as a country, but it opposes any change to its status by force and is its main supplier of weaponry for its defense.

The HIMARS, which stands for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, is part of a U.S.-encouraged shift in strategy, toward an asymmetric approach designed to keep China at bay rather than trying to go head-to-head with big-ticket weapons purchases. The truck-mounted pod of rockets can be driven out from a hidden position to fire its missiles, then quickly taken to a new hiding place in what are called shoot-and-scoot tactics.

They were fired on the second day of exercises on Taiwan's west coast, which faces China. The drills, which also included 155 mm howitzers, simulated a response to a Chinese invasion and were designed to test rapid deployment and precision-strike capabilities.

The HIMARS was the centerpiece of the drill. After receiving a firing order, the vehicles maneuvered into position and launched their rockets with bright flashes within three minutes, demonstrating their mobility.

The U.S. announced plans in December to sell 82 more HIMARS systems to Taiwan as part of a major arms deal, but that package appears to have been put on hold after President Donald Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing last month.

The victim, a man in his 40s, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries to his eyes, face and back after he was attacked late Monday in north Belfast in Northern Ireland, police said.

The suspect, 30, who was not named, was held in custody and charged with attempted murder, possession of a knife in a public place and making threats to kill. A kitchen knife was found at the scene.

Police were trying to determine the motive, but there was no information to suggest the attack caught on video was terrorism-related, said Ryan Henderson, assistant chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. He added that police were not seeking other suspects.

“This brutal attack will have sent shock waves through the community, causing real concern,” he said.

Northern Ireland’s leaders and chief constable urged people not to incite hate and fear or target particular communities after reports that protests were planned.

Protesters in black hoodies, some wearing masks, torched a bus in east Belfast, and cars and trash bins were set ablaze as groups gathered in other parts of the city.

At the other end of the U.K., demonstrators marched in Southampton, England, where the recent sentencing of a man who killed a university student with a knife led to violent clashes with police last week.

Although the victim and convicted killer were both British, protesters stood outside a Southampton hotel that had housed asylum seekers, holding signs that said “Illegal Migration Is Destroying Our Civilisation."

The Belfast attack sparked immediate questions about the suspect's immigration status, including from some politicians. Gavin Robinson, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, urged authorities to curb “uncontrolled immigration.”

Northern Ireland's chief constable Jon Boutcher told reporters that the suspect was living in the U.K. under a five-year visa granted in September 2023. Boutcher said he was believed to have traveled from Sudan to Paris and Dublin before claiming asylum in Belfast.

The suspect was not known to Northern Irish police, he added.

When pressed on the question in Parliament, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said he could not confirm whether the alleged attacker came to the U.K. illegally.

Starmer condemned the attack as “sickening" and said that he had “no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets.”

His office said “it is time for calm," adding “it’s important that police have the time and space to investigate appropriately."

Police and senior politicians urged people not to share the graphic images of the attack that were circulating online, or to spread disinformation about the situation.

Last week a separate case of a university student who was stabbed to death in Southampton, England in December was seized on by activists and U.S. Vice President JD Vance who blamed immigration for the violence.

Henry Nowak, who was white, was killed by Vickrum Digwa, a Sikh who falsely claimed to police that he was the victim of a racist assault by Nowak. When police officers arrived, they initially treated the wounded Nowak as a suspect before noticing his injury and trying to resuscitate him.

Digwa was convicted of murder for stabbing Nowak with a Sikh dagger and sentenced last week to life in prison with a minimum 21-year term. But the case has spurred heated debates about policing and race, and a protest over Nowak's death turned violent with some attacking police with chairs and rocks. Several people were charged with violent disorder over the protest.

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Brian Melley contributed.

During a recent News 6 town hall with local stakeholders, viewers asked about the foundation’s fundraising and what happened to the money after the organization dissolved.

The nonprofit announced plans for a permanent museum and memorial in 2017 after the June 12, 2016 attack that killed 49 people. The onePulse Foundation’s plan included a permanent memorial on the Pulse Nightclub property and a separate museum project along Kaley Street.

In 2023, the foundation dissolved.

“What happened in my opinion is that they got too grandiose in what they wanted to do with having a museum as well as a memorial,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said in a recent interview with News 6. “If they had been focused on solely getting a memorial done they probably could have got that done.”

What tax records show about the money

According to tax documents posted on Propublica’s Nonprofit Explorer, the onePulse Foundation generated more than $20 million during the years it operated.

The filings show more than $11 million was spent toward building a museum and memorial project.

The foundation also spent millions of dollars on employee salaries, scholarships, an educational program called onePulse Academy, annual remembrance ceremonies and more. We have posted a breakdown of those expenses here.

Orange County also directed money to the effort. The county provided about $3.5 million in tourist development tax dollars for the purchase of the property on Kaley Street for the proposed museum, as well as $3 million for design services.

The Kaley Street property was given to the county after onePulse dissolved, but the design-services money was spent.

The foundation also received a state grant of nearly $400,000. That money was returned.

News 6 asked the Florida Department of State whether it investigated or performed an audit on the onePulse Foundation. A spokesperson said there are no responsive records for our request.

A 2023 tax filing for the foundation indicates all grants still held by the organization were returned following dissolution.

The organization reported owing more than $500,000 — mostly a mortgage and unpaid bills — and reported zero assets at the end of that year, according to the filing.

City takes over memorial plans

The City of Orlando has taken over the memorial project. The city bought the Pulse Nightclub property for $2 million and plans to build a permanent memorial there.

The city has committed $7.5 million toward the project, while Orange County has committed $5 million. The State of Florida also agreed to provide a $394,321 grant for the project.

Mayor Dyer estimates total costs will be a little more than $12.5 million. The project is expected to be completed in 2027.

“Just as I have moved on from the shooter and he’s nothing to me, I moved on from that organization. If somebody wants to go after them, have at it, but we’re very focused on making sure we continue to support the families and survivors and get the memorial done,” said Mayor Dyer.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces struck several military and energy infrastructure sites, including a military factory that he said supplied components for Russian drones and missiles.

In a post on social media, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo long-range missiles had hit the facility in Cheboksary, located in the Chuvashiya region more than 900 kilometers (over 560 miles) from the front line.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 326 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Oleg Nikolayev, the head of Chuvashiya, confirmed that the missile attack but didn't give details. The Astra online news outlet reported that the Ukrainian strike hit the VNIIR-Progress plant that produces antennas for drones.

Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian forces struck a refinery in Russia’s Samara region, where Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said that several industrial plants were damaged by drone strikes and three people were injured.

Fedorishchev didn’t name the facilities that were damaged, but Astra carried images of a large fire at the Samara refinery.

Zelenskyy added that Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) had also targeted two oil infrastructure facilities in Russia’s Vladimir region, about 700 kilometers from the front line.

In Russia-occupied Crimea, a Ukrainian drone hit the building housing a huge panorama painting depicting the defense of the city during 19th century Crimean War. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Kremlin-appointed head of Sevastopol, said the painting by artist Franz Rubo was effectively destroyed.

As the more than 1,000-kilometer front line in the four-year war has remained largely static as swarms of drones hinder advances, both sides have increasingly relied on long-range strikes.

The increasingly deep and audacious Ukrainian strikes have cast a challenge to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, defying his claim that Moscow was winning the war now in its fifth year.

Last week, Putin vowed to strengthen Russia's air defenses after Ukrainian attacks set ablaze an oil terminal in St. Petersburg and also hit a nearby naval base, casting a cloud on his showcase economic forum in his hometown.

The attacks on St. Petersburg came as another embarrassment for the Russian leader, weeks after he pruned back an annual Victory Day parade in Moscow because of fears of Ukrainian drone attacks.

Ukraine’s Air Force says air defenses downed 181 of 207 Russian drones.

A barrage of 26 drones struck Kharkiv early Wednesday, injuring at least four people, according to regional administration head Oleh Syniehubov. He said one person was killed and 15 others were injured in the region over the past 24 hours.

In Zaporizhzhia and its region, 10 people were injured overnight in a series of Russian aerial attacks, according to regional head Ivan Fedorov.

In Odesa, a mother and two children, aged 8 and 10, required medical attention after Russian drones damaged two residential buildings, according to regional administration head Oleh Kiper.

The strikes, which Afghanistan said hit the eastern provinces of Khost, Kunar and Paktika, shattered more than a month of calm between the two sides.

Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said 13 people had been killed — 11 children, one woman and an elderly man — and that 14 other civilians were wounded. Pakistan confirmed it had carried out strikes, saying it targeted militant hideouts and infrastructure linked to recent attacks inside Pakistan, and that 26 militants were killed.

The two sides often give widely differing casualty figures.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have engaged in deadly fighting since late February, when Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan. Several rounds of internationally mediated peace talks have failed to produce a lasting truce.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring militants that carry out deadly attacks inside Pakistan, especially the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. The group is separate from, but allied with, the Afghan Taliban, which has ruled Afghanistan since it seized power in the country in 2021 amid the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led troops. Kabul denies the charge.

Pakistan says it targeted militant hideouts

In a post on X, Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that “precise and calibrated strikes were carried out along Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas on hideouts and safe havens of masterminds and planners" of attacks carried out by the Pakistani Taliban and insurgents in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region bordering Afghanistan.

Tarar said four targets were destroyed in the operation: a training center, a hideout, an ammunition cache and a facility belonging to militant commanders.

He added that Pakistan has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region, but the safety and security of its citizens remain the top priority.

The country’s counter-terrorism campaign will continue “at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism,” he said.

Pakistan’s Information Ministry dismissed Afghanistan's reports of civilian casualties. In a post on X, it said that “Afghan Taliban accounts are peddling propaganda claiming Pakistan bombed civilian homes and caused civilian casualties.”

Wednesday's strikes came a day after suspected Pakistani Taliban militants attacked a security post in Pakistan's Hasan Khel area of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, triggering an intense gunfight in which six members of the Federal Constabulary were killed and several others wounded, according to Pakistan’s Interior Ministry.

Local authorities in Pakistan said Tuesday that security forces killed eight of the attackers and thwarted an attempt to overrun the checkpoint. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi later attended funeral prayers for the dead personnel in Peshawar, the ministry said.

Though the situation along the border was calm hours after the strikes, Kabul has previously responded to Pakistani strikes by targeting Pakistani posts along the frontier.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have been fighting for months

Pakistan in February declared it was in open war with Afghanistan, following a surge in militant attacks on civilians and security forces inside Pakistan. Afghanistan has said a Pakistani airstrike in March hit a drug treatment center in Kabul, killing more than 400 people.

Pakistan has disputed the death toll and denied targeting civilians, saying it struck an ammunition depot.

Wednesday's strikes come months after China hosted peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Urumqi, in northern China. Beijing later said the two sides had agreed not to escalate their conflict and to explore a solution.

Authorities in Pakistan have said that Beijing and some other friendly countries were still encouraging both sides to reach an agreement for durable peace.

Masood Khan, an Islamabad-based security analyst, said Pakistan’s priority is ending attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, which Islamabad says operate from Afghan soil.

Khan said the solution to the tension lies in enforcing a decree by Afghanistan's Taliban leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada ordering the TTP to stop attacks on Pakistan. “That decree must be implemented sincerely and faithfully,” he said.

Tension and cross-border fighting has left the border between the two countries closed since October, hampering trade and transportation and stranding thousands of people.

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Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, contributed to this report.

According to state data, there were over 358,000 crashes statewide last year — a figure that has been steadily dropping since 2021 — with nearly 3,000 of those crashes being fatal.

While state data shows that Miami-Dade County saw the greatest number of fatal crashes in 2025 (259 in total), it was far from the deadliest overall.

When factoring in population size, the deadliest turned out to be Hamilton County, which saw a greater ratio of crashes.

In fact, the 10 deadliest Florida counties for car crashes last year were as follows:

Central Florida didn’t manage to break the top 10 for deadliest counties this time around. The closest was Marion County, with roughly 1.89 fatal crashes per 10,000 residents.

However, one Central Florida county actually ranked as the safest area of the state: Seminole County.

For Central Florida alone, the data breaks down as follows:

• BREVARD COUNTY — 43rd deadliest statewide
• • 7,862 total crashes
  • 1.32 fatal crashes per 10,000 residents
• FLAGLER COUNTY — 42nd deadliest statewide
• • 1,445 total crashes
  • 1.33 fatal crashes per 10,000 residents
• LAKE COUNTY — 31st deadliest statewide
• • 5,394 total crashes
  • 1.73 fatal crashes per 10,000 residents
• MARION COUNTY — 26th deadliest statewide
• • 6,320 total crashes
  • 1.89 fatal crashes per 10,000 residents
• ORANGE COUNTY — 53rd deadliest statewide
• • 24,833 total crashes
  • 1.06 fatal crashes per 10,000 residents
• OSCEOLA COUNTY — 51st deadliest statewide
• • 5,695 total crashes
  • 1.14 fatal crashes per 10,000 residents
• POLK COUNTY — 49th deadliest statewide
• • 12,321 total crashes
  • 1.16 fatal crashes per 10,000 residents
• SEMINOLE COUNTY — Safest statewide
• • 5,594 total crashes
  • 0.57 fatal crashes per 10,000 residents
• SUMTER COUNTY — 30th deadliest statewide
• • 1,740 total crashes
  • 1.77 fatal crashes per 10,000 residents
• VOLUSIA COUNTY — 32nd deadliest statewide
• • 8,664 total crashes
  • 1.72 fatal crashes per 10,000 residents

*County population estimates taken from 2024 FLDOH data

The tower stretches 21 stories high (making it almost impossible to miss) and was installed nearly a century ago, establishing itself as a historic landmark for the area.

But what passersby might not know is the tragic tale surrounding it.

This marker — the Sulphur Springs Water Tower — was first built in 1927 for developer Josiah Richardson, who wanted to use it to supply water pressure to his nearby Sulphur Springs Hotel and Apartments and Maves Arcade, the latter of which was a major shopping plaza for its time.

As historians tell it, the area initially became popular thanks to its eponymous mineral springs along the Hillsborough River, which drew in visitors from all over thanks to its rumored “curative powers” (much like other springs in the state).

Richardson had capitalized on the springs’ popularity, buying 100 acres of land in 1904 and using his business acumen to transform the area into a bustling resort destination.

In addition, he planned to expand his enterprise with his Sulphur Springs Resort Spa, a toboggan flume, an alligator farm, restaurants, tourist shops and much, much more.

And for his expansion to take root, Richardson would need to be able to supply fresh water to the area — hence the massive water tower.

But Richardson’s entrepreneurship would prove to be his downfall.

When Richardson commissioned the construction of the $180,000 water tower, he was forced to mortgage all of his properties to come up with the necessary funds, historians explain. He did so, believing that the long-term gains would be worth the risk.

Cue the 1933 Treasure Coast Hurricane.

According to the NOAA, that year’s hurricane season was incredibly active, with 20 named storms and 11 hurricanes in total.

The Treasure Coast Hurricane was particularly severe, bringing catastrophic flooding to the region that ultimately caused the local dam to collapse, swamping the arcade and Richardson’s other attractions.

If the intense floods weren’t bad enough, the impacts of the Great Depression made their way to the area, crippling the local economy and leaving Richardson without the money he needed to pay the mortgage on his arcade.

As a result, Richardson lost his vast fortune and had to sell his property — including the tower — and the arcade was eventually mowed down to make way for a parking lot.

Richardson’s ambitions for Sulphur Springs went unachieved, and he died in Tampa a few decades later.

Over the following decades, the tower continued to pump artesian well water for local customers (the grounds surrounding the tower played host to a short-lived drive-in movie theater during the 1950s).

However, the city of Tampa ultimately forced the tower to stop piping in the 1970s so that the city could maintain a monopoly over supplying water for its residents, historians claimed.

During the 1980s, plans arose for developers to construct some high-end condos and apartments around the tower, though the project reportedly ceased after pushback by the community.

But according to Florida historian David Bulit, the tower was restored in 1989 thanks to pressure washing and 150 gallons of “graffiti-proof paint.”

Nowadays, the land is owned by the city, with the tower being designated as a historic landmark. It no longer stores water, and it’s sealed off to prevent potential vandals from breaking in and damaging the structure.

There is one notable feature about the tower, though — several tall light posts encircling the monument as part of the city-wide “Lights on Tampa” public art campaign.

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However, the tower has never managed to achieve the same level of fame as it did during the area’s heyday.

But if you’re interested in learning more about the myriad of other strange and historic places across Central Florida, be sure to check out News 6’s Florida Fables page by clicking here.

Most of the newest laws deal with local issues in specific parts of the state, such as county charters and special districts.

The full list of 17 newly signed laws is as follows:

HB 4001 — Jefferson County

House Bill 4001 limits the compensation of healthcare providers for medical services to inmates housed in a Jefferson County detention center to 110% of the Medicare allowable rate if the provider doesn’t have a contract with the county.

HB 4001 took effect immediately upon being signed.

HB 4017 — Nassau County

House Bill 4017 dissolves the Nassau County Recreation and Water Conservation District, whose assets will instead be transferred to the county board of commissioners.

HB 4017 took effect immediately upon being signed.

HB 4027 — Hillsborough County Schools

House Bill 4027 provides that the superintendent of Hillsborough County schools will be a partisan office elected for four-year terms beginning in 2028.

This law is subject to approval by Hillsborough County voters in the general election on Nov. 3.

HB 4029 — Hillsborough County Charter

House Bill 4029 increases the size of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners from seven members to nine members beginning with the 2028 general election.

Under this bill, that number increases further to 11 members if the county’s population grows past 2.5 million residents.

The law is subject to approval by Hillsborough County voters in the general election on Nov. 3.

HB 4045 — Jacksonville Aviation Authority

House Bill 4045 gives the Jacksonville Aviation Authority responsibility for the economic development of Cecil Airport.

The law took effect immediately upon being signed.

HB 4047 — Lee County

House Bill 4047 increases the number of board members appointed to the Lee County Tourist Development Council from nine to 11 by adding an additional elected official and a member representing the tourism industry.

The law took effect immediately upon being signed.

HB 4049 — Duval County Schools

House Bill 4049 allows the Duval County School Board to employ a general counsel who is independent of the Office of General Counsel of the city of Jacksonville.

The law took effect immediately upon being signed.

HB 4063 — West Palm Beach Police

House Bill 4063 revises provisions of the West Palm Beach Police Pension Fund to reflect an agreement between the Florida State Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police, and the city of West Palm Beach.

More specifically, the law revises benefit accrual rates, procedures for reviewing denials of benefits, and procedures for purchasing service credits to reflect changes in federal law.

The law took effect immediately upon being signed.

HB 4065 — West Palm Beach Firefighters

House Bill 4065 revises provisions of the West Palm Beach Firefighters Pension Fund to reflect an agreement between the West Palm Beach Association of Fire Fighters and the city of West Palm Beach.

One of these changes increases the normal retirement benefit calculation by 0.2%, effective starting Oct. 1.

The law took effect immediately upon being signed.

HB 4067 — Plantation

House Bill 4067 transitions the Plantation Acres Improvement District from an independent special district to a dependent district of the city of Plantation.

The law will take effect upon approval by voters in the district.

HB 4081 — Franklin County

House Bill 4081 expands the boundaries of the Eastpoint Water and Sewer District to include parts of Eastpoint, an unincorporated area of Franklin County. This includes all of St. George Island.

The expansion takes effect upon approval by voters of the proposed annexation area in the general election on Nov. 3.

HB 4089 — Trenton

House Bill 4089 grants a parcel of state land — including the Trenton Train Depot property — to the city of Trenton in Gilchrist County, which must be used for public purposes.

The law took effect immediately upon being signed.

HB 4093 — Indian River County (I)

House Bill 4093 reduces the size of the Fellsmere Water Control District from 34,441 acres to just over 14,000 acres.

The law also makes the remaining district a dependent district of the county.

The law takes effect on Oct. 1.

HB 4095 — Indian River County (II)

House Bill 4095 creates the Headwaters Water Control District, an independent special district in Indian River County tasked with providing water control services.

The law takes effect on Oct. 1.

HB 6507 — Neglect Victim

House Bill 6507 appropriates $3.8 million to compensate L.E., a young Florida girl who suffered several injuries at the hands of her parents due to neglect by the DCF.

The law took effect immediately upon being signed.

HB 6509 — Tractor Crash Victim

House Bill 6509 appropriates $2.2 million to the estate of Mark LaGatta, a man who was critically injured after a crash with a tractor in 2020.

The law took effect immediately upon being signed.

HB 6517 — Bus Crash Victim

House Bill 6517 seeks to appropriate $2.3 million to compensate Heriberto Sanchez-Mayen, who was left severely injured after an encounter with a police officer in 2023.

The law took effect immediately upon being signed.

He and his wife now live among shards of memory: a bicycle where his bedroom stood; the garden where he planted tomatoes as a boy; a portrait of his late mother painted on a wall, based on a photograph lost in the demolition. Their mobile home, set up amid the rubble, is also marked for removal.

They are “trying to erase my memories, my childhood, my history,” he said, wiping away tears.

For decades, Israel has worked to expand the Jewish presence in annexed east Jerusalem — the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and home to major Jewish, Christian and Muslim sites. Settlers have exploited discriminatory policies and archaeological claims to evict Palestinians far from the region's war zones.

Activists say those efforts have gone into overdrive in recent years, as Israel is no longer constrained by U.S. pressure and attention has shifted to Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Over 260 homes and other structures were demolished in 2025, a 70% increase from three years earlier, with some neighborhoods seeing the most evictions in decades, according to Ir Amim, an Israeli anti-settlement group that closely tracks such policies. There have been at least 116 demolitions so far this year, it said.

It’s “an intensity and scope that we have never seen,” said Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at Ir Amim. “Israel can decide, yes, this neighborhood, we want to erase it … No one is going to stop us.”

Israeli government supports settlement growth

Israel captured east Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and Gaza, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state, and the U.N. and much of the international community consider them to be illegally occupied.

Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its unified capital and says residents are treated equally by law.

Palestinians in annexed east Jerusalem are eligible for Israeli citizenship, but unlike Jews, they must apply for it — a long, uncertain process. Most choose not to because it would recognize Israel’s claims to the city. That leaves them with few ways to challenge housing policy, largely set by Israel’s Parliament.

Rights activists say that in addition to supporting the development of major Jewish settlements — which many Israelis view as ordinary neighborhoods — authorities have severely limited the growth of Palestinian neighborhoods, making it virtually impossible to obtain housing permits.

Last year, nearly 9,000 permits were approved for Jerusalem’s Jewish residents and fewer than 700 for Palestinians, according to Bimkom, an Israeli rights group. Palestinians make up some 40% of Jerusalem's population and are concentrated in the east.

Israeli officials say the discrepancy exists because Palestinians rarely apply for permits. Many Palestinians say it’s futile.

When Palestinians build without permits, they face the threat of demolition. Settler groups meanwhile exploit an array of laws to purchase or take over Palestinian properties.

Previous U.S. administrations have pressed Israel to slow or suspend settlement projects, viewing them as an obstacle to resolving the conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump broke with that tradition in his first term, recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it's up to Israeli authorities to set policy in Jerusalem, and that it expects them to respect due process and the rule of law.

The neighborhood is near major religious sites

Abu Diab's neighborhood, al-Bustan, extends through a valley just outside the Old City, with the dome of the Al-Aqsa Mosque visible above the towering walls. Named for the orchards that once grew there, the neighborhood is now a crowded jumble of low concrete blocks and demolition sites.

It's part of the larger district of Silwan, home to some 20,000 Palestinians and coveted by settlers because it is near major religious and archaeological sites. The mosque is the third holiest in Islam, and the hilltop where it stands is the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was where the two Jewish temples stood in antiquity.

The Jerusalem municipality said the homes in al-Bustan are being demolished because they were built without permits in areas not zoned for housing. A park and public parking lot will be established there for the benefit of all residents, it said in a statement.

The municipality said it put forward plans for alternative housing in the neighborhood but that residents did not show “serious intentions” to reach an agreement.

Abu Diab has been battling demolition orders in court since 2004. Part of his home was built before 1967, but his growing family expanded it without permits because it was impossible to get them, he said.

In February 2024, police gave him and his wife minutes to pack before demolishing their home. Since then, they have lived in the mobile home, their suitcases packed.

They are among some 1,500 Palestinians in al-Bustan whose homes could be demolished at any time.

Settlers move in as Palestinians are evicted

A short distance away, in the congested Batan al-Hawah neighborhood, settlers are moving in as Palestinians are evicted.

Zuhair al-Rajabi and dozens of his extended family were ordered out in January, when Israel's Supreme Court ruled against them after more than a decade of legal action.

Thumbing through papers in his living room, he pulled out a document from 1966 saying the property is his. He says he has to leave by July but has nowhere to go, as rents are high in Jerusalem. “The problem, in short, is that they don’t want us here,” he said.

March marked the highest rate of state-led evictions in the neighborhood in decades, with 15 families forced out and hundreds more people at risk, according to B'Tselem, an Israeli rights group.

Israeli laws allow settlers to reclaim properties that were owned by other Jews before the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes in what is now Israel during that conflict are barred from returning. Authorities have also transferred state-held land to settler groups.

The Batan al-Hawah evictions show “the cooperation between settler organizations and state institutions, based on discriminatory laws, toward a shared goal — the Judaization of east Jerusalem and the replacement of Palestinian residents with Israeli settlers,” said Yair Dvir, a spokesperson for B’Tselem.

The Israeli judiciary, in a statement, said courts rule on the merits of each case based on the circumstances, applicable law and established precedent, and denied colluding with private organizations.

Daniel Luria, the executive director of Ateret Cohanim, one of the main settler organizations in east Jerusalem, said it was working to correct a “monumental historical injustice” by helping Jews to return to what had been a Yemenite and Sephardic Jewish neighborhood up until the early 20th century, when he says they were expelled by Arabs and then again by the British.

Since 2004, around 50 Jewish families have moved into the neighborhood and more are eager to join them, he said. “There's never going to be a Palestinian state,” he added.

An Israeli flag waves above the home where Khalil Basbous was evicted in January. The 68-year-old moved into a relative's house around the corner but walks past his former home every day.

“It’s mine,” he said, wiping tears from his face and softly touching an olive tree he had planted by the door. “I have no doubt that I will return.”

A safety officer blew his whistle and others screamed to warn about 30 firefighters and coast guard personnel to dash to safety as concrete debris crashed down from the leaning three-story building in General Santos city in a frantic scene witnessed by an AP video journalist.

The coastal city, a bustling commercial hub and the country’s tuna capital, was devastated by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Monday and left a trail of destruction across southern Mindanao, the Philippines' second-most populous region.

“It was a strong aftershock and an alarm was immediately sounded so those inside and under the damaged building can run out for a headcount,” said Ressa Mia Tactaquin-Betoya, who speaks for the firefighters searching for the last employee missing in the ruined grocery, where two upper floors collapsed during the initial quake.

“It was scary because we don’t want our rescuers to be harmed so the area must be secured before they can go back in,” she told The Associated Press.

The earthquake has been followed by more than 2,100 aftershocks including a few that ranged up to 6.4 magnitude, which is strong enough to cause more casualties and damage, according to Teresito Bacolcol, who heads the Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

More than 25,000 people remain displaced, many of them staying in 45 government-run emergency shelters and still too traumatized to return home, officials said.

Monday's quake was one of the most powerful to hit the Philippines in a half century. It injured at least 630 people and damaged more than 3,100 houses, 29 roads, 11 bridges and more than 100 government buildings.

It also damaged the international airport in General Santos, forcing it to shut down indefinitely except for government and military flights transporting aid and disaster-response personnel, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines spokesperson Eric Apolonio said.

About 6,000 public school buildings in quake-hit provinces must be assessed before classes can resume. The quake struck on the first day of classes nationwide after a two-month summer break, and many who sustained injuries were young students who had gathered with excitement for morning flag-raising ceremonies.

Most of the deaths were caused by falling debris from collapsed buildings and landslides in General Santos and the nearby provinces of Sarangani, South Cotabato and Davao Occidental.

At least one person died after being swept out to sea following the quake, as waves up to 1.4 meters (4.6 feet) above tide level were measured in the southern Philippines. Smaller waves washed ashore in Indonesia and Palau and as far away as southern Japan before tsunami warnings were lifted.

Seven swimmers near General Santos were swept away by strong currents in the minutes after the quake. Three were rescued by the coast guard, one managed to swim back to shore, one drowned and two remain missing, the Philippine coast guard said.

The strong currents that swept away the victims were most likely set off by the earthquake, Bacolcol said.

The earthquake was set off by movement in the Cotabato Trench and was one of the strongest to hit the country since the same undersea depression triggered an 8.1-magnitude quake that whipped up tsunami waves on Aug. 17, 1976 and killed about 8,000 people.

The Philippines, one of the world's most disaster-prone countries, is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean.

___

Associated Press journalists Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines and Haruka Nuga in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Mexico, which is jointly hosting the soccer tournament with the U.S. and Canada, is slated to kick off festivities with an inauguration and opening match Thursday in a star-studded event that will set the tone for the rest of the competition.

The World Cup comes at a time when Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is walking a political tightrope, navigating a deteriorating relationship with the U.S. in the lead-up to July trade negotiations, political scandals and security concerns following a burst of violence in a host city in February.

Pressure has only continued to mount as guests flood into Mexico City, and the government has faced a crescendo of criticisms by protesters and residents who say authorities have prioritized the competition over pressing social needs in the Latin American nation.

“Mexico wants to project an image to the world that doesn’t exactly square with reality,” said Carlos Pérez Ricart, a Mexican political analyst at the Mexican Center for Research and Economic Education. “The World Cup is putting the president in a vulnerable situation … The government is under extreme pressure.”

World Cup celebrations kick off

FIFA's logo, bright orange Mexican marigold flowers, giant soccer balls and other sports decorations line streets across Mexico’s capital and the two other host cities, Guadalajara and Monterrey. Soccer fans buzzed with excitement as they strolled through Mexico City's streets, snapping photos in front of the most famous monuments while donning their teams’ colors.

The sporting competition is expected to bring in $3 billion for hotels, restaurants and sports venues, according to the Mexican Soccer Federation.

The Thursday inauguration and opening match, where Mexico will face off against South Africa, are expected to draw more eyes than much of the competition, with Colombian superstar Shakira and a slate of others scheduled to perform.

If all goes off without a hitch, it will be a feather in Sheinbaum's cap, said Pérez Ricart, showing the world that Mexico is “modern and capable of organizing high impact events.”

Protests mount in Mexico City

For months, Mexican authorities have fortified security in an effort to offset concerns, following several days of violence that paralyzed World Cup host city Guadalajara in February.

More than 100,000 soldiers, sailors, National Guard members and police officers are expected to be deployed across the three cities holding matches, yet simmering social tensions that have been growing for weeks have posed the greatest obstacle, particularly in Mexico City.

Critics in Mexico have said that the government has spent too much money and time catering to international visitors at the expense of residents.

For more than a week, the country’s teacher’s union has blockaded roads and toppled World Cup statues in an annual push to win better working conditions. Families of Mexico’s more than 130,000 missing people have hung flyers of their disappeared loved ones and said that authorities should focus their energies on addressing humanitarian crises ravaging other parts of Mexico.

"We’re not against the ball game,” said Luis Antonio Rosales Narváez, a protest organizer. But “they should be investing in education ... not giving the city a makeover.”

On Tuesday, Sheinbaum brushed off criticisms and denied that there was any social unrest ahead of the tournament.

The political opposition “wants to give the impression that there is chaos, that there are problems, right in the middle of an international event we’ve been preparing for a long time,” Sheinbaum said in her morning press briefing on Tuesday.

Police have largely blocked major protests from taking over main plazas and the area outside of the stadium, but it remained unclear what would happen the day the games kick off and during the month of games that follow.

Excitement clashes with criticism

Airports across the Americas were filled with fans who had doled out money to follow their teams. Panama City's airport — one of the main gateways between North and South America — was a sea of multicolored jerseys from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Germany and more.

“This year we’re defending the title, and we’ll follow Argentina to the ends of the earth,” shouted Emilio Sosa, a 29-year-old from Buenos Aires on his way to Los Angeles.

David Botero, a 43-year-old Colombian, planned his vacation around the World Cup, and was traveling to Mexico City with his family to watch Colombia’s opening match on June 17 against Uzbekistan after changing their plans to dodge higher prices in Miami.

“What matters is that we’ll get to see our team up close," Botero said.

Others, like 66-year-old Dr. Jose Luis Muñoz, struck a more skeptical tone as he read and smoked a cigarette next to a park in downtown Mexico City that once teemed with street vendors, since cleared out by authorities in an effort to clean up the streets.

Muñoz said some of his fondest memories were taking his 8-, 12- and 14-year-old children to games during Mexico’s 1986 World Cup and celebrating their home team as it was on a winning streak.

“I was so excited, and that joy I passed on to my children,” he said.

This year, though, he was priced out from attending games, where tickets cost hundreds of dollars.

“The prices are sky-high. Many people aren’t going to be able to go unless they’re foreigners with a lot of money,” Muñoz said. “It feels very discriminatory."

Still, he added, he will root for Mexico's national team from home with his children and grandchildren.

——

Associated Press journalists Nayara Batschke and María Verza contributed to this report from Mexico City.

Both won their party's nominations Tuesday as Nevada held primaries for several key offices, including a swing congressional seat in the Las Vegas area where the GOP nominated Marty O'Donnell, a composer known for writing the soundtrack to the video game “Halo,” to face Democratic Rep. Susie Lee in November.

The voting came as Nevada grapples with an affordable housing shortage, exploding energy demand from data centers and federal cuts to key state programs.

The state has a closed primary, meaning only registered Democrats and Republicans voted in party contests after an effort to open them failed in 2024.

Several primaries featured matchups between candidates backed by party leaders and political outsiders promising change. Come November, the governor's race is considered one of the most competitive in the country, and holding on to the 3rd Congressional District is considered crucial for Democrats' hope of retaking the U.S. House.

Here is a look at the most prominent races:

Economy, rising prices set to dominate governor’s race

Lomardo is considered one of the most vulnerable governors in the country this fall as both parties expect Democrats to do well nationwide.

Ford, who had the backing of the Democratic congressional delegation and former Vice President Kamala Harris, beat Alexis Hill, a county commissioner in northern Nevada, in his party's primary.

Ford and Hill focused their campaigns on affordability, as the state continues to see a shortage of affordable housing, some of the highest gas prices in the country and cuts to federal healthcare and food assistance programs.

Ford argued that both the governor and President Donald Trump are responsible for Nevadans' economic woes. At his victory party, he promised to lower costs for families.

“This is all about strengthening the working class,” he said. “And we will once again be a state where you can afford to live your own version of the American dream.”

Lombardo did not comment after the race was called, and his campaign referred inquiries to a political action committee supporting him. John Burke, a spokesman for the Better Nevada PAC, said Ford has “never shown up for Nevadans, and he wouldn’t be any different if he wins this election.”

At a polling location earlier in the day, Lombardo vowed to focus on housing affordability during a second term.

“We’re running again because we still got a lot of work to do in that space,” he said as he thanked campaign volunteers outside a polling place in Las Vegas, where they huddled under a canopy in the 94 F (34 C) heat.

Joshua Garcia of Las Vegas backed Lombardo, saying, “He just seems like a really good guy. He gets things done, he cares about the local community and that’s what’s important.”

Blake Howard, a Las Vegas Democrat, supported Ford, hoping his experience will help him lower prices. Of Lombardo, Howard said: “Everything just seems pretty much the same if not even worse with what he’s done.”

Democrats hope to put northern Nevada US House district in play

In the Republican contest to replace longtime Rep. Mark Amodei, who is retiring, Trump endorsed David Flippo, a loyalist of the president who has never held elected office. Amodei and Lombardo backed James Settelmeyer, a former state senator with a long political track record. The race was too early to call Tuesday night.

The district covers northern Nevada and includes Reno and Carson City, the capital, along with an immense rural expanse.

Trump-endorsed candidates have seen success in primaries elsewhere, underscoring his unrivaled power over the Republican Party as he enters the last years of his presidency. He easily won the district in the 2024 election.

The GOP nominee has a good chance of winning in November, as registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by 70,000 in the 2nd District. A Republican has held the seat since the district was created in the 1980s.

Still, Democrats hope to entice the large number of nonpartisan voters in the district this fall. They nominated Ford's chief of staff, former majority floor leader Teresa Benitez-Thompson.

Both parties gear up for fight over swing district in southern Nevada

Nevada’s other three members of Congress, all Democrats, were expected to win their primaries easily.

In southern Nevada's 3rd District, Republicans battled to determine who will face Lee in what is considered the most competitive congressional district in Nevada because of its narrow Democratic registration advantage, its high number of nonpartisan voters and a history of razor-thin election margins. Both Lee and Trump won there narrowly in 2024.

Candidates included the Trump-backed O'Donnell, who ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2024. He defeated Jeff Gunter, a dermatologist and former ambassador to Iceland; neurosurgeon Aury Nagy; and businessperson Tera Anderson.

The candidates ran on border security, energy independence and decreasing the federal debt. O'Donnell thanked Trump in his statement and turned his attention to the incumbent, saying, “Susie Lee has lost touch with Southern Nevada, and come November, she will lose her job.”

Lee said Nevadans need someone who will stand up to what she called a corrupt administration and not “more rubber stamp Republicans.”

GOP attorney general, secretary of state candidates question elections

With Ford term-limited and running for governor, the opening has prompted competitive primaries for the state's top law enforcement post.

Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro won the Democratic nomination, defeating Treasurer Zach Conine. Both campaigned on promises to take on the Trump administration, following in the footsteps of Ford, who filed numerous lawsuits against the federal government.

For the Republicans, Trump-backed attorney Adriana Guzmán Fralick won the nomination over Douglas County commissioner Danny Tarkanian. Tarkanian, son of legendary University of Nevada, Las Vegas basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, previously ran unsuccessfully in multiple congressional races.

Both candidates campaigned on “election integrity,” casting doubt on voting security. Nevada is one of the swing states where Trump falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen, despite no evidence of widespread fraud.

Several Republicans also ran for secretary of state, the office that oversees elections, including some who falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. The winner of the primary will take on Democratic incumbent Cisco Aguilar, who also won Tuesday.

The GOP candidates included Jim Marchant, a former state lawmaker and perennial candidate who has said the 2020 election “was probably stolen”; Sharron Angle, a former state lawmaker who was part of an effort to block the certification of Nevada's 2020 election results; and Shirley Folkins-Roberts, an attorney who received Lombardo's endorsement and has denied there is widespread voting fraud in Nevada.

All the candidates supported implementing voter ID, which will be on the ballot for the second time in November after the question passed by a wide margin in 2024.

Video taken by a motorist shows the wooden cross engulfed in bright orange flames as it leans against a tree in Grant Park, a popular area near Lake Michigan. The Chicago Fire Department confirmed the flaming object was a cross, and said officials put out the fire.

Chicago Police said there were no reports of injuries and that they are investigating the motive and circumstances around the “object on fire."

Keinika Carlton, 43, was driving home from running errands with her daughter and mother-in-law when they saw the cross on fire. She said she felt a combination of shock, sadness, disgust, as well as curiosity.

“Is this a racial thing? Is this a religious thing?" she said. “As Black women, of course, our first thought is racial, because burning crosses are known to be used as a tactic, an act of violence toward Black Americans in the South.”

Carlton estimated the cross was at least 6 feet (1.83 meters) tall. The experience was new to all of them, including Carlton's mother-in-law, who grew up in Kentucky.

Carlton said as they slowed down to shoot a video of the flames, she saw around her other cars slowing down and people walking nearby, staring at the cross burning.

While the motive behind the burning cross was not immediately clear, cross burnings in the U.S. have historically been seen as “symbols of hate” that are “inextricably intertwined with the history of the Ku Klux Klan,” according to a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision written by the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The justices ruled that the First Amendment allows bans on cross burnings only when they are intended to intimidate because the action “is a particularly virulent form of intimidation.”

Alyna Carlton, 22, said she never thought she would see something like that in her lifetime.

“It kind of really opened my eyes, had me realize that I’m not that far removed from the past.”

Yeah, that isn't this.

Another two-goal lead went the way of the landline on Tuesday night, the go-ahead shot came from a 37-year-old on his stomach on one of the great runs in Cup final history, and the winning goalie made his first start in two months and doesn't know if that will be his last one this postseason.

None of it makes sense and yet it all somehow does in this series that is now even after four games — probably aptly so — because of Jordan Staal's second goal at 6:32 of the third period that came while sprawled on the ice in what became a 5-3 Hurricanes victory over for the Golden Knights.

“It's a wild ride, isn't it?” Staal said. “There's a lot of emotion, lots of ups and downs.”

Now the series heads back to Carolina for Game 5 on Thursday night. The Hurricanes will potentially have two games on home ice to win their first Cup in two decades. Coach Rod Brind'Amour captained that 2006 team, and though he's not ready to look at the big picture, he recognizes this is a unique final.

“I know I need to (appreciate it) because this doesn’t come across very often," Brind'Amour said. "But it is pretty stressful.”

The same applies at the other end, where the 9-year-old Golden Knights chase their second championship in four years. Their position isn't all that different from when the day started — two more wins and they're there — but now they need to win at least once more on the road.

“We need to flush it and get ready for our next game," Vegas coach John Tortorella said. “I don’t think we should be looking any farther than just the next game.”

Whichever team winds up losing can point to a number of moments that could have changed the outcome.

Each game until this one was decided by one goal. It appeared this one would as well until Nikolaj Ehlers deposited an empty-net goal from 187 feet.

A two-goal lead has disappeared in all four games in what has been a remarkable series in which momentum often changes at a moment's notice. Each team has led by at least that many twice.

The 33 combined goals are tied for the third highest in a Cup final with the Islanders-Flyers series in 1980.

Staal became the first player in 44 years to score at least one goal in each of the first four games of the final and the ninth overall. Mike Bossy in 1982 with the New York Islanders against the Vancouver Canucks was the last player to score in the first four games of a final.

Ehlers' goal was part of a three-point night for him, Jackson Blake had a goal and an assist and Logan Stankoven scored a goal.

Brandon Bussi started in place of Frederik Andersen in goal and made 18 saves, and including his work in relief in Game 2, Bussi has 36 saves on 40 shots. Brind'Amour said that Andersen, who did not dress, needed the rest. Pyotr Kochetkov was the backup goalie with Andersen serving as the emergency goaltender.

“If you're going to give him a break, you need to give him a break," Brind'Amour said. “So to me, him dressing and going through all that does not really give him a night off.”

Mark Stone, William Karlsson and Brett Howden scored goals for the Golden Knights, and Carter Hart made 23 saves. Karlsson also had an assist.

The Hurricanes came out blazing, taking a 3-1 lead in the first period. Vegas nearly cut it to one, but Brayden McNabb's goal came right after the period ended and didn't count.

Vegas scored twice in the second to tie the game, and the Golden Knights have now outscored Carolina 9-1 in that period.

But the Golden Knights failed to add to that total, shifting home-ice advantage back to the Hurricanes.

“We knew it was going to be a tight series,” Golden Knights defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. “We’re playing a really good team and 2-2, best out of three and fly out to Carolina (Wednesday) and take care of business in Game 5.”

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The results were never in question. Neither Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins nor Democratic challenger Graham Platner faced serious opposition for their party's nomination. And yet Tuesday marked an especially significant moment for Platner, the embattled veteran and oyster farmer, who is fighting to rebuild his credibility in a campaign rocked by controversy.

Elsewhere, President Donald Trump's clout within his party was tested anew in states like South Carolina and Nevada, where he endorsed his favored candidates. Democrats hoped to build momentum in Nevada as part of a broader push to reclaim key governor's seats.

Here's some of the biggest takeaways from Tuesday's primaries.

Platner tries to shift the conversation

There is no question that Platner has repair work to do.

The Maine Democrat openly acknowledged as much Tuesday night, telling a room packed with cheering supporters that “people can change.”

“Any of those who feel let down or disappointed or disillusioned, it is my job to earn your trust, faith and support,” Platner said. He later added, “I’ve made mistakes in my life, mistakes that I regret, that I live with, that I continue to learn from.”

It was hardly a defiant message for a man who sits at the very center of the Democratic Party's fight to reclaim the Senate majority. Although he spent the closing minutes of his election-night speech attacking Collins, much of the night was choreographed to address other controversies.

It was barely a week ago when revelations surfaced that Platner had engaged in sexually explicit messages with multiple women while married. Allies wondered if more baggage would emerge, and then The New York Times reported new allegations about his behavior during previous relationships.

Platner's mother took the stage before he spoke. She declared: "I am very, very proud of my son. I’m proud of who he is." And then Platner's wife appeared at his side before and after his speech. They held hands, touched foreheads and kissed.

Platner's rival for the Democratic nomination, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, suspended her campaign in April after it became clear Platner was in a commanding position.

A much more difficult challenge lies ahead: earning his own party's trust as he tries to defeat Collins, who is running for her sixth term.

Maine race tests Democrats’ standards

As the controversies surrounding Platner have mounted, his support among Democrats has remained intact.

His victory — and his party's response — underscores how much the party has changed in the Trump era. Democrats who once embraced a near-zero-tolerance approach to serious allegations of personal misconduct are increasingly prioritizing electability in their quest to return to power in Washington.

Jim Messina, who led former President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign, said “a star is born” after Platner's speech Tuesday night.

Few lawmakers illustrated the Democratic Party's evolution more clearly than Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith. On Monday night, Smith offered an unequivocal endorsement of Platner, saying that if she lived in Maine, “he’d have my support, no question.”

Smith arrived in the Senate in 2018 after replacing Sen. Al Franken, who resigned amid allegations of inappropriate touching and kissing during the height of the #MeToo movement.

She is joined by other Democrats who once derided Republicans’ acceptance of Trump and other controversial nominees, but now back Platner. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have been — and continue to be — key supporters of Platner.

But not all Democrats appear comfortable. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania had pushed Maine voters to support Mills, even though she dropped out. Mills issued a statement Tuesday night that did not mention Platner's name. Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey pushed Platner to “get off” the ballot in a CNN interview.

Expect Democratic leaders to face a new round of difficult questions about their own standards in the days and weeks ahead.

Trump's endorsement doesn't deliver clean win in South Carolina

The president was looking to rebound Tuesday from an embarrassing loss in Iowa last week, where his preferred candidate for governor was defeated in a rare rebuke from Republican primary voters.

But South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial primary offered only an incomplete victory.

Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette was unable to secure a majority of the vote in the five-candidate field needed to avoid a runoff. She will face state Attorney General Alan Wilson on June 23.

As the results came in, Trump called Evette and pledged to help her over the next two weeks, according to a person familiar with the private conversation who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.

The night produced a more decisive result for one of Trump’s closest allies in Congress. Sen. Lindsey Graham avoided a runoff and secured the Republican Senate nomination over businessman Mark Lynch. Trump had warned that it would be a “DISASTER for the Republican Party” if Lynch won.

Meanwhile in Nevada’s 2nd congressional district, Trump-backed retired Lt. Col. David Flippo faced former state Sen. James Settelmeyer in a GOP primary that was too early to call Tuesday night. Republican Rep. Mark Amodei, who announced his retirement from the seat, has endorsed Settelmeyer, as has the state’s governor, Republican Joe Lombardo.

Clyburn cruises to primary win after South Carolina redistricting scare

Longtime South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, who holds significant national political clout as the state’s lone Democratic House member, easily fended off a little-known primary challenger Tuesday.

Just weeks ago, it was unclear if Clyburn would make it to a 18th term in office. Republican lawmakers, backed by Trump, considered a congressional map that would have significantly altered Clyburn’s majority-Black district and made it harder for him to hold onto the seat. But the Republican-led state Senate rejected the effort, leaving his district largely intact.

Two Republicans are still competing for the chance to face Clyburn in November, but he is expected to be the overwhelming favorite in the general election. A win would likely ensure he plays a significant role in the lead-up to the 2028 presidential race.

The US election system can be slow

It took a full week for California's general election matchup for governor to become clear. The final results for Maine could take even longer. And key primary contests in South Carolina are headed to a June 23 runoff.

Despite what you may be reading on the internet, this is how U.S. democracy works. These differences in how votes are counted — and how long it takes — exist because the Constitution sets out broad principles for electing a national government, but leaves the details to the states.

Tallying votes collected by local officials in individual precincts can take a long time — especially in states like Maine that offer ranked-choice voting, or South Carolina, which requires a runoff if none of the candidates earn more than 50% of the vote.

In California, which held its primary elections last week, Republican Steve Hilton joined Democrat Xavier Becerra in qualifying for the November ballot for governor on Tuesday. Elections often take a long time to sort in the state, the nation's most populous, largely because officials designed their system to prioritize accessibility over speed.

In Maine's crowded primary for governor, five Democrats were in the running and the state will move to its ranked-choice system to determine the winner. Historically, the process has taken more than a week to resolve. And in South Carolina, the Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Attorney General Alan Wilson emerged from the crowded primary on Tuesday and will compete in a runoff election in two weeks.

___

Peoples reported from New York.

The results in Maine's marquee race weren't in question even before voting was complete. Neither Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins nor Democratic challenger Graham Platner faced serious opposition for their party’s nomination. And yet Tuesday's primary victory marked an especially significant moment for Platner, the embattled veteran and oyster farmer, who's fighting to rebuild his credibility in a campaign rocked by controversy.

Elsewhere, President Donald Trump’s clout within his party was tested anew in states like South Carolina and Nevada, where he endorsed his favored candidates. Democrats hope to build momentum in Nevada, where they nominated state Attorney General Aaron Ford, in their broader push to reclaim key governor’s seats.

And in California, Republican Steve Hilton advanced to the general election for California governor, The Associated Press determined on Tuesday, one week after the state’s primary. Hilton argues that the state needs new leadership after years of Democratic dominance, and he will face Democrat Xavier Becerra, a former state attorney general and Biden administration health secretary, in November.

Here's the latest:

Tuesday’s takeaways: Platner’s big night, Clyburn carries on and Trump’s support gets mixed results

After another round of voting, here are some of the highlights from South Carolina, Nevada, North Dakota and, most of all, Maine.

▶ Read more about Tuesday’s results.

Ford focuses on poverty, including his own in childhood

“Nevadans are feeling more pain at the gas pump, at the grocery store, at the businesses that are closing in front of our eyes,” Ford said, blaming the dire image on Lombardo’s tenure.

“I know what its like to struggle. I got goosebumps when I said that,” he said, speaking to his and his brother’s childhood. “It was Medicaid that kept him and me healthy. It was food stamps that kept us fed. It was Section 8 housing that kept a roof over our heads.”

“This is all about strengthening the working class,” Ford said. “And we will once again be a state where you can afford to live your own version of the American Dream.”

Aaron Ford speaks to supporters after winning Democratic primary for Nevada governor

“To God be the glory,” Ford, the state attorney general, said as he opened his speech, before turning his attention to his new opponent, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo.

“Tonight, my fellow Nevadans, tonight is the beginning of the end of this failed Lombardo-Trump economy,” he said. “Tonight we say: No más.”

“Tonight we offer a fresh start for Nevada,” he told the cheering crowd.

Teresa Benitez-Thompson wins Democratic primary in Nevada’s 2nd District

Benitez-Thompson, a former Assembly leader, faces an uphill battle even as Democrats see the seat as one they could possibly flip for the first time in years. Republicans outnumber Democrats by 70,000 in the district that covers Reno and rural northern Nevada.

The seat is open for the first time in 15 years after longtime Republican Rep. Mark Amodei announced his retirement.

Benitez-Thompson serves as chief of staff to Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is running for governor. She previously served in the Nevada Assembly for 12 years, including as the majority leader.

She has focused her campaign on the economy, aiming to restore tax dollars stripped from Nevada, developing artificial intelligence regulations to prevent job layoffs and building workforce housing.

PAC supporting Joe Lombardo urges voters to reelect the Republican

Better Nevada PAC spokesperson John Burke highlighted the governor’s record in expanding school choice and promoting job growth.

“We must re-elect him for another four-year term,” he said in a statement.

Lombardo’s campaign declined to comment and referred inquiries to the political action committee.

Adriana Guzmán Fralick wins GOP nomination for Nevada attorney general

The attorney defeated perennial candidate Danny Tarkanian, the son of the legendary University of Nevada Las Vegas basketball coach.

Guzmán Fralick, who has experience serving on several state boards, promised to work with the Legislature to pass a state version of the SAVE Act that Trump has championed in Congress as a way to require voters to provide documents proving their citizenship.

The Nevada version would require all of the state’s ballots to be counted on Election Day, end universal mail ballots and eliminate automatic voter registration. There has been no evidence of widespread fraud in Nevada elections, and the state Legislature is unlikely to pass such a bill if Democrats remain in control.

Guzmán Fralick also promised to prosecute people who abuse children to the fullest extent of the law and to help victims of domestic violence.

Campaign manager calls Aaron Ford’s Nevada primary win a ‘mandate’

Zoë Kleinfeld highlighted Ford’s record as attorney general and his work to lower costs for working families.

“We’re going to win this general election by building a multiracial working-class coalition united around the promise of a better future for Nevada’s working families,” she said in a statement.

Ford will take on Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in the fall.

Nicole Cannizzaro wins Democratic nomination for Nevada attorney general

She beat out state Treasurer Zach Conine for a spot on the November ballot.

Cannizzaro will go up against Republican Danny Tarkanian or Adriana Guzmán Fralick.

Marty O’Donnell wins GOP primary in Nevada’s 3rd District

O’Donnell goes on to the general election in the state’s most competitive district, one considered crucial for Democrats’ hope of retaking the U.S. House.

O’Donnell’s win marks another victory for Trump, who has seen his endorsed candidates win primaries across the country.

O’Donnell, a composer, will go up against Democratic Rep. Susie Lee, who has held the seat since 2019.

Nevada’s 3rd District is the state’s most competitive because of its narrow Democratic registration advantage and high number of nonpartisan voters. It has a history of razor-thin margins in elections that frequently draw a lot of out-of-state spending. In 2024, both Lee and Trump narrowly won the district.

O’Donnell ran for the seat in 2024 and lost in the primary. This time, he defeated Jeff Gunter, a former U.S. ambassador.

O’Donnell campaigned on regulating and investing in artificial intelligence, building upon Trump’s border security policies and reducing the national debt.

Aaron Ford wins the Democratic primary for Nevada governor

He will challenge Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in what is expected to be one of the nation’s most competitive governor’s races this fall.

Ford defeated Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill after focusing his primary campaign squarely on Lombardo, even refusing to participate in a primary debate.

Ford has served as the state’s attorney general since 2019, often teaming up with other Democratic attorneys general in filing lawsuits against the Trump administration. He has challenged Trump’s tariffs and funding cuts to higher education. He’s also gone after social media companies, accusing them of intentionally making their platforms addictive for children.

Ford would be the state’s first Black governor if elected in November.

Lombardo, a former sheriff, has spent his first term focused on jobs, education and public safety while walking a policy tightrope with the Democratic-majority Legislature.

Nevada Democrat wants next state attorney general to combat Trump ‘corruption’

“Trump’s gotten away with so much,” Austin Wand of Las Vegas said. “Democrats are really motivated to get out and vote.”

Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Nevada Treasurer Zach Conine are competing for the party’s nomination for the post. Wand said he wished they weren’t both running because he likes them both.

The Republican primary for Maine governor will be decided by ranked choice voting

No candidate won the majority of votes Tuesday, so the race will go to a ranked runoff.

Republicans were choosing between former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Bobby Charles; healthcare executive Jonathan Bush; former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason; University of Maine System trustee Owen McCarthy; former Paris, Maine, selectman Robert Wessels; and businessmen David Jones and Ben Midgley.

Maine uses ranked choice voting in some races. The ranked votes come into play when no candidate breaks 50% of the total vote, and the counting frequently takes several days.

Platner supporter: ‘Do I care more about texts that he sent or the war in Iran?’

“Pretty clearly the latter,” said Elizabeth Massie, who stood in the emptying room where the candidate just spoke.

“As a woman who believes women who say they’ve been violated, I was concerned about those attacks, and I am concerned about his past,” said Massie, sporting a big campaign pin stamped with Platner’s name. “I think what’s so refreshing about Graham is that accountability, is the fact that he apologizes.”

“Have we ever heard our president be accountable for anything?” she said.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills doesn’t mention Platner’s win in statement on campaign

Mills suspended her own Senate campaign weeks ago, clearing a path to the nomination for Platner.

She released a statement Tuesday night about “the outcome of the Maine Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.”

In it, Mills said she is “grateful to Maine people and incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together.”

Collins campaign promotes her independence after Platner win

The veteran Republican senator’s campaign said she is a proven bipartisan leader. The statement used Collins’ work on the paycheck protection program as an example.

“Her ability to work across the aisle is what allowed her to pass this important program, as is the case with many of her other legislative accomplishments,” Collins spokesperson Shawn Roderick said in a statement.

The statement came after a speech in which Platner characterized Collins as loyal to Trump.

Collins “will run on her own record of delivering results for Maine,” Roderick said.

Trump congratulates Sen. Lindsey Graham on primary victory

That was on Truth Social, where Trump celebrated Graham’s “BIG WIN tonight” in a field “of very capable candidates.”

Trump had endorsed Graham early in the race, and the South Carolina senator paid the compliments back in his victory speech.

Directly addressing Trump to the cameras, Graham said “I’m going to be your strongest ally in the United States Senate” and then added that Trump is on track to be one of the “most consequential presidents in American history.”

Democrats start to rally behind Platner, while Republicans tout Collins

Senate Democratic leaders said they’re confident in Platner’s ability to defeat Collins in November.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a statement that Collins “has never been more vulnerable” and “Maine voters will elect Graham Platner.”

On the Republican side, Senate Leadership Fund executive director Alex Latcham released a statement calling Platner “a dangerous deviant” and saying Collins “has demonstrated strong character, steady leadership, and unmatched effectiveness.”

Polls are closing in Nevada

In-person Election Day voting is scheduled to conclude at 7 p.m. PT, which is 10 p.m. ET, but state law requires polls to stay open until all voters in line by poll closing time have cast their ballots.

Comparable primaries from past elections can offer clues about when to expect the first vote results and how long the vote count might take.

In the 2024 state primaries, the AP first reported results at 11:04 p.m. ET. This was more than an hour after the scheduled poll closing time, but the state doesn’t release any votes until it confirms that voting has concluded in every county. The last vote update of the night was at 11:55 p.m. ET in the Republican primary, with about 94% of total votes counted, and at 2:28 a.m. ET in the Democratic primary, with about 85% of total votes counted.

Platner makes big promises in victory speech

He said he would work to pass Medicare for all and codify Roe v. Wade into law.

Platner has run a progressive campaign focusing heavily on affordability issues. Tuesday he also outlined other priorities that included stopping prescription drug price gouging and stopping foreign wars.

“Together, we will win back this Senate seat,” he said. “And together, we’re going to take back our power.”

Maine’s 2nd District Democratic primary will be decided by ranked choice voting

No candidate won the majority of votes Tuesday, so the race will go to a ranked runoff.

Democrats were choosing between former Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, state Sen. Joe Baldacci, former U.S. Senate candidate Jordan Wood and social worker Paige Loud. The Republicans’ presumptive nominee is former Gov. Paul LePage.

Maine uses ranked choice voting in some races. The ranked votes come into play when no candidate breaks 50% of the total vote, and the counting frequently takes several days.

Incumbent 2nd District Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat, is not seeking reelection.

The Democratic primary for Maine governor will be decided by ranked choice voting

No candidate won the majority of votes Tuesday, so the race will go to a ranked runoff.

Democrats were choosing between Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows; former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson; former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Hannah Pingree; energy executive Angus King III; and former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Nirav Shah.

Maine uses ranked choice voting in some races. The ranked votes come into play when no candidate breaks 50% of the total vote, and the counting frequently takes several days.

Platner turns his ire to Collins

“Susan Collins,” said Platner, which prompted immediate boos from the audience, “She has become just as spineless and corrupt as the establishment she now serves.”

Platner launched into a diatribe against the senator he’ll now be facing in the general election, saying she’s “getting rich while we’re getting screwed,” and attacking her for voting alongside Trump and to put conservative judges on the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Susan Collins has never met a war she didn’t like, she’s been supporting endless wars since I was a teenager, and I know, I had to fight in two of them,” he said. “You and your friends profited, and my friends died.”

Platner nods to his personal journey in victory speech

“If you believe, as I do, that we can change our politics and change our country, then you must also believe that people can change,” said Platner to a cheering, campaign sign wielding crowd. “And the reason I believe that is because I have lived it.”

“Every day I wake up and I try to be a little bit better and a little bit kinder than I was the day before,” said Platner.

He thanked his supporters and promised to fight for them.

In a rising voice, Platner declared “I will be the champion for your dreams as if they were my own!”

Platner tells supporters that ‘people can change’ and Collins can be defeated

Platner told cheering supporters that they have built a formidable political movement that can defeat the longtime Republican senator.

“And when we finally defeat Susan Collins,” Platner said, “that will be because of you, too.”

Platner’s campaign has been rocked by a series of controversies over the last several months. Tuesday, he said he can “be a senator for the people who cannot afford to buy a senator” and stand up to billionaires and corporations.

“I will fight for you,” Platner said.

Platner thanks Gov. Janet Mills in victory speech

The Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine has taken the stage at his election night watch party and thanked his supporters and opponent Mills.

“It is an honor, and I will not let you down,” Platner told the crowd. “Until recently I thought that harbormaster would be the height of my political career.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham says he wants to return to the US Senate to help Trump

“President Trump,” said Graham in a victory speech after winning the Republican nomination in South Carolina. “I’m coming back to the Senate in ’27. I’m going to win in November and I’m going to help you change this world and change this country.”

After thanking a slew of people for his primary victory, he said he’s going to repay them by “helping President Trump put as many conservative judges on the Court as we can.”

Graham Platner wins Maine Democratic primary, will face GOP Sen. Susan Collins

It’s a high-stakes Senate campaign that pits the veteran Collins, the only Republican senator from New England, against a progressive with no experience in high office. Platner, a brash political newcomer who has energized crowds, has faced a series of controversies that the GOP will focus on throughout the campaign.

An oyster farmer and former chair of the planning board in the small town of Sullivan, Platner has drawn hundreds of people to rallies around the state.

He was endorsed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who campaigned with him in the run-up to the primary. He has said he plans to focus on economic issues such as housing and healthcare.

Platner’s mom tells Maine crowd her son represents ‘real change’

The mother of the Maine Senate candidate told those gathered at his election night watch party that she’s proud of her son and hopeful for a big win.

“Graham has always been very passionate about serving others and making life better for the people around him,” Leslie Harlow said at the event in the small town of Blue Hill.

Harlow, who has been a fixture at Platner’s campaign events, told the cheering crowd that her son has been a dedicated worker since his younger days as a blueberry raker and supermarket grocery bagger. She said he’ll bring that dedication to the Senate.

Trump calls South Carolina’s Evette, says he’ll help her in coming gubernatorial runoff

The president called Evette as she advanced to a runoff to congratulate her.

A person with knowledge of Evette’s primary night activities but not authorized to publicly speak about them said Trump also told his chosen pick in the governor’s race he would lend his support over the next two weeks.

Trump endorsed Evette less than two weeks before Tuesday’s votes in South Carolina’s five-way GOP gubernatorial primary. He is also a close supporter of current Gov. Henry McMaster.

— By Meg Kinnard

Alan Wilson advances to GOP runoff for South Carolina governor

Wilson moved forward despite not securing Trump’s endorsement in a race in which the top contenders vied for the president’s support.

Wilson has served as the state’s attorney general since 2011, taking actions to support Trump’s political and personal moves. In 2024, Wilson traveled to New York to support Trump as he stood trial in a hush money case.

He is the son of longtime U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson.

Pamela Evette advances to GOP runoff for South Carolina governor

Evette’s achievement came about a week after securing Trump’s backing.

The Ohio native has for eight years served as lieutenant governor to current Gov. Henry McMaster, who is term-limited and was among Trump’s earliest supporters in his first presidential campaign.

All polls have closed in North Dakota

In-person Election Day voting concluded in North Dakota at 9 p.m. ET. Some polls located in Central time closed an hour earlier, at 8 p.m. ET.

Comparable primaries from past elections can offer clues about when to expect the first vote results and how long the vote count might take.

In the 2024 state primary, the AP first reported results at 9 p.m. ET, just as the last polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 11:56 p.m. ET, with about 99% of total votes counted.

Lindsey Graham wins South Carolina GOP primary as he seeks 5th Senate term

The key Trump ally defeated challengers including businessman Mark Lynch, who said Graham wasn’t conservative enough for the state.

Trump early on endorsed Graham, his political confidant and regular golfing partner, despite their on-again-off-again relationship.

In announcing he would seek a fifth term in the Senate, Graham also secured the state’s leading Republicans, Sen. Tim Scott and Gov. Henry McMaster, to chair his 2026 run.

No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina in decades, and Republicans in recent history typically take statewide seats by double-digit margins. When he last ran in 2020, Graham defeated his Democratic opponent, Jaime Harrison, by a 10 percentage point margin.

Lindsey Graham’s ability to navigate Trump stood out for one of his primary supporters

A number of Republican challengers are vying against Graham, but one voter said he’s not worried about arguments the incumbent isn’t conservative enough.

“I think he’s perfectly fine,” said Jimmy Hunt, a Spartanburg businessman, as he watched returns come in at Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette’s election night headquarters in Greenville.

“He navigates pretty well with President Trump,” Hunt said. He’s kind of always on the edge of being in trouble, but that’s a tough game — really tough.”

Jermaine Johnson wins Democratic primary for South Carolina governor

The state lawmaker who has represented a district in the Columbia area for three terms defeated businessman Billy Webster and attorney Mullins McLeod.

Seen as a rising star in the state party, Johnson was tapped to give this year’s Democratic response to Republican Gov. Henry McMaster’s state of the state address.

The winner of the November general election will succeed McMaster, who has been in office since Nikki Haley left her term early to join the first Trump administration.

Democrats have not won a general election for governor in South Carolina since 1998, and Republicans have controlled all statewide elected offices for more than a decade.

Annie Andrews wins Democratic primary for US Senate in South Carolina

The Charleston pediatrician secured the nomination in her campaign to keep Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham from a fifth term.

Andrews, who unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace in 2022, has challenged what she’s characterized as Graham’s waffling positions over the course of his political career.

No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina in decades, and Republicans in recent history typically take statewide seats by double-digit margins.

When he last ran in 2020, Graham defeated his Democratic opponent, Jaime Harrison, by a 10 percentage point margin.

Supporters filling up Platner watch party in Maine

Platner is holding his event at Blue Hill YMCA in the town of Blue Hill, about 30 miles from his hometown of Sullivan. Supporters were gathering to hear a speech from Platner, which is expected after results come in.

Platner is expected to win the primary because his main competition, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, suspended her campaign weeks ago. The winner will face longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

The mood at his event is high, with the crowd expecting a victory and beginning to assemble in front of a podium where Platner will speak.

But, the 20-year veteran’s winning goal on Tuesday night was anything but simple. Then again, considering how he has played against the Vegas Golden Knights in this series, perhaps it was.

With the game tied at 3 in the third period, Staal’s sprawling backhand shot while in the air with 13:29 left beat Vegas' Carter Hart and found the back of the net for his second score of the game, and it held up as the winner in the 5-3 victory.

“For a second, I wasn’t sure if it exactly went in, and I heard everyone go quiet,” said Staal, who lay face down on the ice after his acrobatic goal. “I heard some guys yelling. I was in my own world. It was an incredible moment, obviously, and just let a big yell go and then celebrated with the guys.”

It was yet another big moment that Staal found a way to spark his team when it needed it most.

The 37-year-old, who has five goals in the series, said as long as the wild and zany series that has been defined by “no lead is safe,” the Hurricanes have to pounce on every opportunity.

“There are fine lines of making plays, and we have to make big plays, there’s no question,” Staal said. “But it’s a simple game that we can run, and when you know when they maybe call uncle, and you jump on it. And that’s what they’ve done to us very well, as well. It’s just kind of a back-and-forth kind of stress game, and who can do it better."

Tuesday, that was Carolina.

The Hurricanes came out with a sense of urgency by taking a 2-0 lead early to set the tone, and dominated the shots on goal, 23-12 after two periods, and then withstood Vegas' late surge before Staal's heroics.

The series is tied at 2 and returns to Carolina for Game 5 on Thursday.

That's how long the Golden Knights have to figure out how to stop Staal from adding to his scoring tally.

“He’s killing us in front of the net, Staal,” Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said. “So, we have got to do a better job around the blue.”

Staal became the first player since Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders in 1982 to score a goal in each of the first four games of the final.

Staal also tied the second-longest playoff goal streak in franchise history, behind teammate Logan Stankoven, who set the record at five earlier this postseason.

He said he isn't concerned with milestones, though, or the fact that he has 11 points in these playoffs, including seven goals.

“I don’t think big picture right now, it’s too hard to think like that," Staal said. "It’s just like, my goodness, it’s the next shift, next play, next game, next everything. And that’s all that’s running through my brain, is how do we get two more wins.

"And that’s it.”

___

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

The deal struck between the Directors Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers came four weeks after talks began.

The talks were the first under new DGA President Christopher Nolan, who took the job in September.

Along with similar four-year deals — longer than the industry three — ratified in recent weeks by unions representing writers and actors, the DGA agreement adds to the likelihood of long-term labor peace despite many other industry upheavals.

The collective bargaining agreement must still be approved by the guild’s national board, and no details on the terms will be released until then, the DGA said in a statement. It then must be ratified by the guild membership. But tentative agreements generally win approval at both stages.

The directors' previous contract had been set to expire June 30.

The AMPTP said in a statement that it was pleased to help achieve “a fair deal that helps advance a stable and successful entertainment industry.”

After recovering from a muscle injury, the captain of the reigning world champions played 20 minutes and scored a penalty in Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Iceland on Tuesday in its final tune-up match before the World Cup.

Messi, recovered from muscle fatigue and a slight strain in his left hamstring that he suffered in his last appearance with Inter Miami on May 24, started the game from the bench.

Just days before his 39th birthday and his sixth World Cup, Messi came on in the 70th minute and he scored a penalty kick after Lautaro Martínez was fouled inside the area.

Messi, the all-time top scorer for the Argentine national team with 117 goals, converted the penalty with a high left-footed shot in the 72nd minute.

Argentina, seeking its fourth World Cup title after those won in 1978, 1986, and 2022, will open its tournament against Algeria on June 16 in Kansas City in Group J, which also includes Austria and Jordan.

It was the second match between the two nations. The first one was at the 2018 World Cup, when the European side managed a 1-1 draw in which Messi missed a penalty.

___ AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Omar Artan was going to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at a World Cup after making FIFA’s final list for the tournament, which was announced two months ago. He is one of Africa’s top referees and was named the continent’s best male referee in 2025.

He was denied entry at Miami International Airport on Saturday over “vetting concerns,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement without giving details of those concerns. Artan was issued a visa to travel to the U.S. last week, according to the Somalia Embassy in Kenya that processed it.

Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, said Tuesday the referee was denied admittance for “very good reason” but also declined to go into details.

Later Tuesday, a U.S. official said the referee was refused admission due to “association with suspected members of terror organizations.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a matter that is covered by visa privacy laws.

The move to deny a FIFA-appointed match official permission to enter a World Cup host country is highly unusual. Artan was due to meet up with other World Cup referees at their training base in Miami.

Somalia is one of nearly 40 countries subjected to new travel restrictions under the Trump administration’s strict crackdown on immigration. That raised concerns that fans, players and officials from those countries — most of which are African — might be caught up in the crackdown and denied entry for the World Cup despite having valid visas.

Questioned for hours at airport

Artan told The New York Times he was interviewed at Miami airport for 11 hours by border officials, who asked him why he'd traveled to the U.S. and questioned him about Somali politics and the al-Shabab militant group that is fighting an insurgency against the government there. He showed them FIFA documentation and photos from his refereeing career, he said.

After the questioning, he was put in a holding cell and sent back on a plane to Istanbul, Turkey, from where he'd taken his connecting flight to the U.S.

“I think that they have a problem with my country,” Artan told The New York Times, adding he had the correct documents and visa. He said he wasn't told why he was refused entry, according to the Times.

The Somalia Youth and Sports Ministry said on Tuesday that its embassy in the U.S. was trying to resolve the problem to allow Artan to referee at the World Cup, which opens on Thursday.

The refusal to allow him into the U.S. might be related to the larger travel restrictions on Somalia "rather than any specific allegation against him,” Isse Aden Abshir, a senior adviser at the Somalia sports ministry, told The Associated Press.

Artan subjected to ‘additional inspection’

Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Monday that Artan “underwent additional inspection" on arrival and called it “a routine part of CBP’s inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility.”

“Following inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry,” CBP said.

CBP said all travelers seeking entry into the U.S. — including World Cup players, coaches and staff — were subject to CBP inspection and vetting.

“Admissibility determinations are made on a case-by-case basis using law enforcement, national security, and immigration information available at the time of inspection,” the CBP statement said. “CBP officers have the authority to question travelers, conduct inspections, and determine admissibility consistent with U.S. law.”

FIFA drops ref from World Cup

FIFA said it was not involved in the immigration processes and was informed by U.S. authorities that Artan’s “status will not be changed at present.” It said Artan wouldn’t be able to train and officiate at the World Cup.

“In line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country,” FIFA said.

Still, FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino built close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump’s government as the U.S. prepared to co-host with Mexico and Canada and had publicly stressed how that would help the World Cup run smoothly.

Infantino did not immediately comment on the issue, while FIFA released a statement on behalf of Artan.

“Despite the circumstances, I am in a positive mood and I am focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career,” Artan said in the statement.

He was to make history for Somalia

Artan was praised as one of Africa's best referees and was the ref for the decisive leg of the African Champions League final last month — Africa's biggest club soccer game.

He spoke in a recent interview with the Al Jazeera TV network about how he was honored to be selected as the first Somali to referee at the World Cup and how he faced challenges in his conflict-torn country in East Africa, including sometimes having to change his route to training because of explosions in the streets of the capital, Mogadishu.

"You cannot give up as a referee," Artan said in the interview. This (going to the World Cup) was my big, big target and I'm really excited."

___

Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa. AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva and AP writers Matthew Lee and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed.

___

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

The five firms represented or performed work involving 98 former players who in recent years sought six- to seven-figure payouts from the settlement for Parkinson’s disease claims, the special masters appointed to help oversee the settlement wrote in a report filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.

Of those, 37 remained pending and will now be denied, with a chance for the players to restart the claims process. But 57 were approved — totaling more than $95 million — before tips about suspicious activity prompted an audit. The attorneys' share of that came out to about $20 million, the report said, and additional firms may have been involved in similar actions.

The report called it “an organized scheme ... in which these law firms — and potentially others — circumvented the Settlement’s anti-fraud safeguards and laundered questionable Parkinson’s Disease diagnoses into payable claims.”

According to the report, the attorneys involved included Bart Oates, a former three-time Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers who earned his law degree while still playing in the NFL. Oates did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press on his law firm voicemail seeking comment.

NFL fund meant to last for 65 years

The NFL in 2013 agreed to establish the fund, meant to last for 65 years, to settle class-action allegations that it long hid what it knew about the neurological risks of playing after concussions. The plan offers retired players baseline testing and compensation of up to $5 million for the most serious illnesses linked to football concussions, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and deaths involving chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.

The league has previously expressed concerns about doctor-shopping or other fraud in the disbursement of the money, while some attorneys representing players have accused the league of throwing up roadblocks for players seeking payment. A judge in 2019 terminated three of the four lawyers serving as class counsel after they objected to restrictions on geographical restrictions on the doctors who can evaluate retired players for dementia and other brain injuries.

“The NFL remains committed to ensuring that players and their families receive the benefits they deserve, and any misconduct threatens the integrity of the Settlement and the prompt payment of legitimate claims," league spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement to the AP. “We are pleased with the Special Masters’ Decision, which sends a clear message that fraud in the NFL Concussion Settlement Program will not be tolerated.”

Under the settlement, only doctors contracted with the claims program are allowed to render qualifying diagnoses; those doctors must be board-certified, have expertise in neurology, and comply with anti-influence rules designed to prevent fraud or kickbacks.

Law firms recruited retired players

The report said that the law firms circumvented that requirement by recruiting retired players as clients and sending them to unapproved doctors who diagnosed them with Parkinson's and prescribed them a drug that suppresses the symptoms.

At one point, retired players waited in a hotel lobby in Dallas to meet with a traveling doctor who had rented a suite for the purpose of examining them for Parkinson’s, the report said. Another unapproved doctor used by the firms was neither board-certified nor known to be a movement disorders specialist, but even if he were, he would have been ineligible due to past bankruptcy, tax liens and civil judgments, it said.

After the diagnosis and prescription from an unapproved doctor, the law firms sent the clients to approved ones — who were hamstrung in making a decision about whether the former player had the disease, because the player was already on medication to suppress the symptoms, the report said. The approved doctors typically could rely only on the past medical history: the prior diagnosis and current prescription.

The report identified the law firms involved as Douglas Grossinger, Attorney at Law; Feder Law, LLC; Pro Athlete Law Firm, P.A.; Syme Law, PLLC; and Reppert Oates & Vytell, LLC. It said the practice began with Grossinger, who then recruited other attorneys to submit claims for him so as to avoid raising suspicion for submitting so many Parkinson's claims.

Oates did not farm out claims to other attorneys, but he engaged in a similar practice with diagnoses, the report said, with informants telling auditors that he “cold-called Retired NFL Players, promising a Diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease” if the players switched from another law firm to his.

“By structuring their clients’ evaluations in this way, Mr. Grossinger and ROV deliberately put (approved) Physicians in a position where they had little choice but to defer to manufactured outside records,” the report said.

Grossinger, a New York-licensed attorney, declined to comment on the record when contacted by the AP. Pennsylvania-based Fred Feder said in a text message he would not make any statement without first consulting his lawyer. The AP could not immediately confirm contact information for Syme Law or Pro Athlete Law Firm.

___

Johnson reported from Seattle. AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.

But most people who responded instead weighed in to criticize the effort itself, according to an Associated Press analysis of 35,000 public comments submitted in the second half 2025 and recently made public through a lawsuit.

One visitor to a park in North Carolina called the administration’s efforts “un-American." Another derided the idea of “having Americans call in and snitch on each other.”

“Hey Donald Trump!” wrote a person in North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park, “Trying to erase history doesn’t mean it didn’t still happen!”

A large chunk — more than half, not even accounting for duplicative submissions — was a backlash to the effort itself, according to an Associated Press analysis.

What the Trump administration did

Some comments submitted in response to the administration’s solicitation flagged interpretive changes that officials might now seek to undo — and in dozens of cases already have, according to one group.

But considering that the National Park Service logged some 323 million visits at more than 400 sites last year, the 35,000 initial public comments received from June to January and released following a lawsuit was a tepid response.

An order by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum last year targeted “inappropriate content” including any signs and exhibits "negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features.”

The order following one by President Donald Trump on “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" sought to emphasize the achievements of America and splendor of its landscape.

The goal, Burgum wrote, was to restore sites to “solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing.”

A watchdog group of librarians, public historians and data experts called Save Our Signs, relying on photo submissions and news reports, has documented at least 59 signs removed or modified.

They include signs referring to slavery, climate change, women’s rights and involvement in conservation and Native American history, said Jenny McBurney, a government publications librarian at the University of Minnesota who is part of the group.

“It seems to be anything that is sort of going against the ideology, this idea of America is perfect and can do no wrong, which of course we know is not true,” McBurney said.

Many of the changes were at Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park, where the administration removed exhibits on the lives of nine people enslaved at the site in the 1790s under George Washington, the first U.S. president. Some of those exhibits were later restored under a judge's order before further work was halted after the administration appealed.

How visitors responded

More than half the comments showed signs of coordination and were critical of the effort itself. But many others were personally crafted.

The comments come to light as a result of a Sierra Club lawsuit seeking their release. Some commended the parks, including their staff and signage.

“We had a great time learning about the development of this site including the difficult parts of our American story,” wrote a visitor to Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis. “We need those reminders to help us become even better in the future.”

Others veered into silliness: “Didn’t see any Bigfeets,” wrote a visitor to Washington’s North Cascades National Park.

A large portion, though, took aim at the administration.

“Trump’s idea of having Americans call in and snitch on each other ... is straight out of the fascist playbook he’s literally acting like Hitler or Mussolini,” wrote one visitor.

Some signage was flagged

Some visitors alerted what they saw as inappropriate references to historical figures, including Black leaders, related to race and inclusion philosophies.

A visitor to Missouri's Harry S. Truman National Historic Site flagged an installation they said praised the former president as a “founding father" of diversity, equity and inclusion and a “precursor” advocate of critical race theory, or a way of looking at U.S. history through the lens of racism.

"I came here to see his hat and maybe a piano, not to read about intersectionality and ‘equity frameworks.’ I nearly choked on my commemorative root beer," the visitor wrote.

Another complained that a sign at Virginia's Booker T. Washington National Monument described the Black leader as a “father of DEI and early architect of critical race theory.”

“This sign is blatantly misleading, politically loaded, and clearly designed to push a modern agenda by hijacking a respected historical figure. It’s like naming Paul Revere the first Uber driver because he got around fast,” the person said.

How the administration responded

The Trump administration has been vague about the changes it has made as a result of the program.

“In many cases across the system, flagged materials remain unchanged," an Interior spokesperson said in an emailed statement, while not answering questions about signs or exhibits that are or will be changed.

Other locations where signs have been removed or changed include Maine’s Acadia National Park, Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, New York City’s Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and Virgin Islands National Park, according to Save Our Signs.

“We hear from folks all over the country that history matters, that our national parks matter and that this is important to them,” McBurney said.

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Gruver reported from Fort Collins, Colorado. This story included reporting from Associated Press writer Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Data released Wednesday by global energy think tank Ember, along with a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association and analytics firm Wood Mackenzie, show the continued growth of solar and decline of coal in the United States despite federal policy. In May, for the first time, solar supplied more of the nation’s electricity than coal, or 12.8%, Ember said. Coal supplied 12.2%, its fourth-lowest monthly share ever.

“For years solar power has risen in the U.S. electricity mix," said Nicolas Fulghum, senior energy and data analyst at Ember. "At the same time, coal power has lost its status, first as the largest source in the U.S. mix, and then gradually over the years has fallen even further.”

Solar also became the third-largest source of electricity in the U.S. in May, behind natural gas and nuclear, Fulghum said. Coal generation hit an all-time monthly low in April and rebounded only modestly in May, allowing increasing solar generation to overtake coal, he added.

Electricity is produced by converting sources of energy — fossil fuels, renewable resources and nuclear — into electrical power. Burning coal, oil and natural gas for electricity emits carbon dioxide, trapping heat in the atmosphere and warming the planet. By contrast, solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower and nuclear are carbon-free.

After about two decades of essentially flat electricity consumption in the U.S., electricity demand is increasing to power artificial intelligence, grow domestic manufacturing and electrify transportation and heating. Fulghum said he expects to see more months where solar exceeds coal generation, before overtaking it on an annual basis in a few years.

These milestones signify that solar “has staying power” at a time where there's less support for renewable energy at the federal level, he added.

Wind and solar combined have overtaken coal in the past, and wind power alone has outpaced coal during spring months when wind speeds pick up. Ember gets its hourly and monthly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Globally, electricity generation from renewables is growing rapidly. Renewables will become the largest global energy source, used for almost 45% of electricity generation by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency.

Trump helps the struggling US coal industry while curtailing solar and wind

Last week, Trump announced a plan to boost the struggling U.S. coal industry by spending nearly $700 million to support coal-fired power plants and coal exports. Trump said at a White House event that “coal’s a great business,” and that "in terms of power, there’s really nothing like it.”

Martin Pochtaruk, CEO and founder of Canadian-based solar panel manufacturer Heliene, said Trump can say that coal is coming back, but investors will invest their money in whatever brings the best return. And for power generation that is solar, making it the fastest-growing fuel, he added.

A White House spokeswoman defended the administration's overall energy policies, saying they were geared toward strengthening the country's security.

“The President has reversed the Left’s devastating policies, saved the American coal industry, prevented the retirement of more than 17 gigawatts of power, and saved lives during heightened demand periods," Taylor Rogers said in a statement.

While Trump is trying to reverse the coal industry's decline, solar has been the top source for new power for five years, SEIA said. SEIA and Wood Mackenzie said solar and battery storage were practically the only energy resources being built in the first quarter, making up 91% of all new generating capacity.

The Trump administration has canceled solar and wind projects, implemented policies that slowed clean energy permitting and development and terminated $7 billion in funding intended for affordable solar energy projects across the U.S.

“As power demand skyrockets, political and regulatory attacks are slowing down the exact resources we rely on,” Darren Van’t Hof, interim president and CEO of SEIA, said in a statement. “Impeding the only sector that is actively building new power is a reckless gamble that will only drive electricity bills higher.”

Several groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency over canceling the Solar for All program. A district court dismissed the case last week citing lack of jurisdiction. The plaintiffs have another filing pending in the Court of Federal Claims.

In a ruling Saturday, a federal judge struck down guidance from the Internal Revenue Service restricting tax credits for wind and solar projects.

Trump has blamed renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power for skyrocketing energy costs. But energy analysts say recent price hikes are based on growing demand, aging infrastructure and increasingly extreme weather events that are exacerbated by climate change. Most recently, the war in Iran that Trump launched has also led to a spike in energy costs.

Top states for solar voted for Trump

States won by Trump in the 2024 election accounted for 74% of all solar capacity installed in the first quarter of 2026, with Texas, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Arizona and Mississippi ranking among the top 10 states for new solar additions, SEIA said. The U.S. now exceeds a total of 6 million installations nationwide across all solar sectors, which includes large-scale solar arrays, commercial, community solar and residential or rooftop solar.

Johanna Neumann, at the Environment America Research and Policy Center, said it's “good news for our health and our planet that solar continues to grow,” and also, not surprising.

“Today we can harness solar more affordably than any other energy source. It’s scalable. And it’s also our most abundant renewable energy source,” said Neumann, senior director of the center's campaign for 100% renewable energy. “So I think it’s hard to keep the lid on a good idea, especially if the economics are tilting in your favor as well, which they are in the case of solar.”

Environment America's renewable energy dashboard shows that 32 U.S. states generated at least 10% of their retail electricity sales from solar, wind and geothermal energy last year, compared to 18 states in 2016. Clean energy in the South is booming, particularly in Florida, Arkansas and Mississippi, Neumann said.

“I think there is a misconception in the United States that clean energy is something for the coasts and liberal cities,” she said. “The true story of renewable energy is a 50-state story.”

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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 church service, part of the bishops’ spring assembly meeting in Orlando, Florida, draws from a mainstream, centuries-old Catholic devotion that focuses on Jesus’ sacrificial love for humanity. Many Catholics hold similar dedications of their homes and businesses.

At the same time, the devotion to the Sacred Heart has also taken on political overtones and drawn controversy elsewhere. Sometimes it has been connected with Catholic nationalism; at other times it has been promoted as the opposite — as an antidote to the idolatry of the state.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops intends to use the consecration service to promote service to God, country and the needy, said Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, who chairs the bishops’ committee on religious liberty.

“As we reflect with gratitude on the blessings God has bestowed on our country, our devotion to the Sacred Heart demands that we consider how we might foster truth, justice and charity in American life,” Sample said in a video promoting the service.

Other countries dedicated to the Sacred Heart

This would be the first time U.S. Catholic leaders have held such a service, though it's not unprecedented.

Bishops in several other countries in Europe and Latin America have dedicated their lands to the Sacred Heart, sometimes with the participation of political leaders. The practice began in Ecuador in 1874. Most of these ceremonies took place in countries with majority-Catholic populations, unlike the U.S.

Pope Leo XIII — the most recent namesake of the current pontiff — consecrated the whole world to the Sacred Heart in 1899.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart has been promoted by multiple popes. The late Pope Francis highlighted the Sacred Heart as an inspiration for service and justice. Pope Leo XIV urged an audience to turn “to the Sacred Heart, model of true humanity.”

The devotion also has been politically controversial in some countries. It has been invoked in support of a blend of Catholicism and nationalism.

The landmark Basilica of Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart) in Paris has long been perceived as a symbol of Catholic resistance to secularism amid France's revolutionary turbulence.

More recently, a French film titled “Sacre Coeur” tells the story of a 17th century French nun's visions that gave rise to the modern devotion.

The docudrama drew large crowds in France last year despite criticism from some secular and Catholic sources. One group of progressive Catholics, writing in the publication La Croix, lamented the film was being used "to further a political agenda obsessed with reaffirming France’s Christian identity.”

The movie began being distributed in American theaters Tuesday.

Separately, a Catholic group launched a billboard campaign this month promoting June as the official month of the Sacred Heart. A Republican candidate for Florida governor, James Fishback, officially consecrated his campaign to the Sacred Heart.

There is precedent for a devotional expression to take on controversial political overtones, even if it's neutral and spiritual on its own.

The phrase “Christ is king” has increasingly been proclaimed in U.S. political settings, at times used in connection with Christian nationalist proclamations or even anti-Zionist or antisemitic claims.

A long history of devotion to a ‘king with a heart’

Catholic scholar Robert Fastiggi, who has researched the long history of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, said the U.S. bishops' consecration service should be seen as a unifying step in a polarizing time.

It counters any effort to idolize the state — instead promoting Jesus as “a king with a heart,” he said.

“There’s such polarization or infelicitous language even coming from the president of the United States, threatening violence and annihilation on a whole civilization,” Fastiggi said in an interview. "Pope Leo was correct in saying this is unacceptable.”

Consecrating to the Sacred Heart, Fastiggi said, is “reminding ourselves we’re answerable to the law of God and of love.”

A visionary nun and a pope's healing

The devotion to the Sacred Heart has ancient roots, but it began taking its modern shape in the 17th century, Fastiggi wrote in the academic journal Religions in 2025.

That's when a French nun, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, reported visions of Jesus revealing “the marvels of His love and the inexplicable secrets of His Sacred Heart.”

Numerous religious orders and fraternal organizations formed to spread this devotion. Parishes and schools took the name Sacred Heart.

A 19th century German nun, Blessed Marie of the Divine Heart, urged then-Pope Leo XIII to consecrate the entire world to the Sacred Heart. She foretold that he would be healed of a dangerous disease.

Leo XIII obliged, reporting the healing in an encyclical that promoted the devotion.

Today, many Catholic homes, businesses and churches feature images of Jesus with his Sacred Heart exposed, often accompanied by flames, a cross and a crown of thorns to symbolize suffering love. The devotion is often combined with veneration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

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

With the World Cup about to kick off, security is heightened and there’s a zero-tolerance policy for drones over or near stadiums during the 78 matches in 11 U.S. cities.

Authorities have ratcheted up counter-drone measures used at the Super Bowl and other major events, while Congress has given law enforcement broader authority to electronically disable drones or shoot them down.

“The war in Ukraine has become a real-world testing ground for drone technology, and if there is one threat that keeps me up at night, it is from drones,” New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

Taking the threat seriously

Congress just gave state and local law enforcement the green light to take control of a threatening drone or even shoot them down if needed in December, though the first option will be to disable them electronically and land them safely. Key federal agencies already had that power.

The Federal Aviation Administration will restrict the airspace around and over crowded stadiums for World Cup games and fan events — much like it has done for years around NFL and Major League Baseball games. Violators can face fines up to $100,000, see their drones confiscated and even face criminal charges for flying within three miles of one of the games. But those penalties likely wouldn’t deter a determined terrorist.

The FBI has spent the last seven years building up its capability to deal with drones by investing in the technology needed to quickly identify drones and take control of them, and authorities have been using that already at major events. The bureau also provided counter drone technology training this year to law enforcement in all World Cup host cities that taught them how to recognize dangerous drones and respond.

The military has also developed counter drone lasers like the ones used along the Mexican border earlier this year and other systems to shoot down drones, but the FBI is not planning to do that during the World Cup because of the dangers involved with the wreckage of a drone falling over a major city.

“If the drone is intercepted and it no longer flies, it’s going to fall. And as we say, no matter what you do, you can’t change the law of gravity,” said national security expert Hal Kempfer, who estimates that he has trained more than 30,000 law enforcement officers on counter-terrorism techniques.

‘Everybody’s a little behind'

The government has invested heavily in systems that should allow officers to take control of suspicious drones and land them safely or jam their signals, including handing out $250 million to help states prepare to protect World Cup matches and the big public events planned this summer to honor America's 250th birthday.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Congress at a recent hearing that federal officers have successfully dealt with drones over several recent events, including bringing down eight drones over a Formula 1 race in Miami and 12 that entered the no fly zone over the Masters golf tournament, but “everybody's a little behind” the rapidly evolving technology.

“Biggest concern I have is honestly with drones,” Mullin said. “I wouldn’t say a vulnerability, but it is, it is one of the areas that we are struggling with every single day.”

Drones are scary in the wrong hands

The FBI is taking a “zero-tolerance” approach to protecting the airspace around World Cup events. Devin Kowalski, an FBI assistant director in charge of the bureau’s Critical Incident Response Group, said the agency plans to treat all drones “like they could be a real-deal threat.” Other federal agencies, including Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard, will take the lead at several stadiums while the FBI protects three of them.

“When that drone comes into the TFR (Temporary Flight Restricted area), we’re handling it as if it’s something that could hurt people, and we’re aggressively locating its operator and conducting the logical investigation to determine the nature of the situation as well as to hold that person accountable,” Kowalksi said in an interview with The Associated Press.

ATF Director Rob Cekada said in an interview that the focus now is on protecting the World Cup, but the America 250 events, World Series, Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympics aren’t far behind. “Then think about all the events in every communityin the country — high school and college games — that are a concern for our state and local partners. So we want to do what we can to help them as best as possible,” he said.

Derek Reisfield, who is the former president of one of the companies providing counter-drone technology to the host cities, said “this technology in the wrong hands is very scary.” and there are many around the globe who want to harm America.

“We have to assume that there’s somebody in Iran who’s spending every day thinking about how they can attack the United States on our home turf,” said Reisfield, who used to lead Ondas and now serves on the board of a Ukranian company called Swarmer that makes software that allows one person to control hundreds of drones.

Early detection could be key to stopping drones

Some of the technology could allow authorities to detect drones up to 25 miles out, which would provide more time to mitigate the threat, according to Matt Sloane, the co-founder of SkyfireAI. But it's possible that someone could sneak a drone up close to a stadium and launch it from less than mile away, which would leave little time to act.

And the systems designed to jam the signal from an operator or take control of a drone might not be effective if it is preprogrammed to crash into a stadium full of fans while carrying an explosive payload or if it is controlled over a fiber optic line.

The battlefield tactic that might pose the greatest threat would be sending a swarm of multiple drones to attack at the same time. Even with the best defenses, a few drones might sneak through to the target as Iran has been able to do with large numbers of its Shaheed drones. The U.S. military has an assortment of weapons to knock drones out of the sky, but Iran has still be able to hit targets across the Middle East.

But Sloane he feels like the government is doing what it can to be ready.

“The threat is real, certainly. But I do think that there’s a lot being done to prepare for it. To educate about it,” said Sloane, whose company has helped protect Super Bowls in the past. “And then we just need to tell everybody who’s just trying to take pretty pictures ‘Hey this is not the time. Keep your drone in the box.’”

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Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Rebecca Santana contributed to this report.

Speaking to supporters in the small town where he was born, Platner, an oyster farmer and combat veteran, stressed a message of redemption as he promised to oust Collins. Democrats see the race as a top opportunity to flip a GOP-held seat and a must-win as the party tries to claim control of the Senate in November.

Platner's expected win in the primary came after days of questions about his past personal conduct, particularly his relationships with women, that threatened to undermine enthusiasm on the left over his candidacy.

“If you believe, as I do, that we can change our politics and change our country, then you must also believe that people can change,” Platner said during his acceptance speech in Blue Hill, a rural town where he was born, as the crowd cheered on. “And the reason I believe that is because I have lived it.”

Maine is the only state with a competitive Senate race where voters supported Democrat Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in 2024. Collins is the only Republican senator from New England.

Platner, a progressive who had early support from Sen. Bernie Sanders, has said he plans to focus on economic issues such as housing and healthcare. He'll be facing one of the most powerful legislators in the Senate, and one of its few remaining moderate Republicans.

“Any of those who feel let down, or disappointed, or disillusioned, it is my job to earn your trust, faith and support, and I will spend every day of this campaign, and if I have the privilege, every day in the United States Senate doing exactly that," Platner said.

Maine voters also were choosing nominees for governor U.S. House. The Democratic and Republican primaries for governor and the 2nd Congressional District will be decided by ranked choice voting after no candidate won a majority Tuesday.

Platner blasts Collins as ‘spineless’

After thanking his supporters, Platner quickly pivoted to attacking Collins, who was unopposed in the GOP Maine primary.

"Susan Collins has never met a war she didn’t like, she’s been supporting endless wars since I was a teenager, and I know, I had to fight in two of them,” Platner, a Marine and U.S. Army veteran, said. “You and your friends profited, and my friends died.”

He also criticized Collins for voting alongside Trump, stressing she was a key vote in support of putting conservative judges on the U.S. Supreme Court.

“She has become just as spineless and corrupt as the establishment she now serves," Platner said, noting that Collins once promised to only serve two terms.

First elected in 1996, Collins has said her experience and key position as chair of the powerful appropriations committee are two reasons to send her back to the Senate.

“While others talk about revolution and division, Susan Collins is delivering for Maine communities by funding rural hospitals, supporting our shipbuilders and fishermen, improving infrastructure, expanding broadband, and strengthening public safety,” said Collins’ spokesperson, Shawn Roderick. "Maine people are practical. They care about whether their communities are stronger and their families are better off. That’s exactly what Susan Collins is focused on every single day.”

Platner energized Democratic voters

Platner, 41, has focused his campaign on fighting the high costs he says hold down the middle class and said he got in the race to focus on income inequality. He had early support from progressive champions helping to boost his candidacy.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who backed out of the race earlier this year after citing trouble raising enough funds, has yet to endorse Platner. In a statement Tuesday, the governor thanked her supporters but did not mention Platner.

Platner's background has repeatedly generated criticism from both the right and the left.

Old online comments made by Platner in which he appeared to endorse political violence, dismiss rape in the military and criticize police officers and rural America surfaced last year. Platner apologized for the comments and said he was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression when he wrote them.

He’s also faced questions about a skull-and-crossbones tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol. Platner has repeatedly said he was unaware of the symbol’s association but has since had the tattoo covered with a different design. A former girlfriend told New York Times has since said that he did.

More recently, reports emerged that he previously exchanged sexually explicit text messages with several women while married. Platner hasn’t directly denied the texts and instead criticized the aide who talked to news outlets and accused the media of running gossip.

The New York Times last week reported about his relationships with previous girlfriends, one of whom said Platner twisted her arm during an argument and locked her in a room. Platner’s campaign disputed the allegation.

Voter Annette Babcock, from Sullivan, said she's met him a few times and likes that he’s not an established politician. His recent controversies didn't dissuade her from supporting him.

“The Republicans don’t have much moral high ground to stand on when they’re criticizing him for what he’s done when Trump is a convicted felon,” she said.

Governor and 2nd House District races to be decided by ranked choice

No candidate won a majority of the vote in either primary for governor or in the Democratic primary for the 2nd Congressional District, so the races will go to ranked runoffs. Those tabulations could take more than a week to determine winners.

Democrats are choosing gubernatorial candidates between Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows; former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson; former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Hannah Pingree; energy executive Angus King III; and former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Nirav Shah.

In the 2nd Congressional District, former Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, state Sen. Joe Baldacci, former U.S. Senate candidate Jordan Wood and social worker Paige Loud are on the ballot for the Democrats. The winner will face former Gov. Paul LePage, a Trump ally.

On the Republican ballot for governor, voters are choosing between former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Bobby Charles; healthcare executive Jonathan Bush; former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason; University of Maine System trustee Owen McCarthy; former Paris, Maine, selectman Robert Wessels; and business owners David Jones and Ben Midgley.

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Associated Press journalist Rodrique Ngowi contributed from Sullivan, Maine.

The next thing the reigning NL Cy Young winner knew, he was circling the parking lot, searching for a spot. Not long after, one of the brightest stars in the game was watching various Ingomar Little League teams practice.

The 24-year-old star tried to stay “incognito,” which is kind of hard to do in general when you're 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds and one of the brightest young stars in your sport. Soon enough, Skenes found his way onto the field in sandals, a T-shirt, and a pair of shorts, a sure sign that the typically well put-together Skenes hadn't planned on stopping in the first place.

Over the next two hours, he played catch, signed autographs, and remembered a time in his life when his relationship with the game was far simpler.

The impromptu practice went viral, as things tend to do when Skenes is involved. His girlfriend, former gymnast turned influencer and actress Livvy Dunne, s hared it on TikTok. A popular Pittsburgh DJ did the same on Instagram.

Skenes has learned to accept that attention comes with the territory, even when he's trying to avoid it.

“Should’ve worn some sunglasses and a fake moustache,” he joked.

Yes, Skenes is well aware of the core memory he created for the players at Ingomar Little League, about 20ish minutes north of PNC Park. Los Angeles Angels outfielder Garrett Anderson did the same for Skenes when the two briefly connected while Skenes was growing up in Southern California.

Yet just as importantly, with the Pirates in the midst of a losing streak that stretched to four after they were drilled 12-2 loss by Los Angeles on Tuesday — when the Dodgers exploded for 10 runs in the seventh immediately after Skenes departed — it offered Skenes a reminder of why he does what he does for a living.

“I went to watch some baseball, but you got to remember it’s just a game,” Skenes said. “There’s a lot of things that make it a business. It’s work. It’s a job for us, for sure, on some days more than others, but you got to remember you love the game and why you started playing it in the first place.”

Particularly during the times when that love can feel elusive during a difficult stretch like the one Skenes is in at the moment.

Despite limiting the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers to two runs over six innings and retiring four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani all three times he faced him, Skenes remained winless over his last five starts after the bullpen imploded behind him.

Is Skenes in a slump? Only in comparison to the remarkably high bar he has set during his rapid ascent to one of the best pitchers in baseball. His ERA since May 17 is a pedestrian 4.50, more than double his career ERA up to that point.

Things were a little better, a little sharper against the Dodgers than they have been of late. He recorded seven strikeouts, and Los Angeles swung and missed at more than 15 of the 103 pitches he threw.

Skenes' fastball largely went where he wanted, when he wanted, and if Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe can knock down a sharp grounder that instead deflected off his glove and into the outfield with two outs in the sixth that allowed Freddie Freeman to score and tie the game, Skenes might have exited with the lead.

Not that it mattered in the end. The 10-spot the Dodgers put up in the seventh made sure of that.

Still, Skenes is trying to keep things in perspective. The season is long. Every team struggles at some point. He is trying his best to remain focused on the process.

Asked why his fastball — which now sits more in the 97 mph range after frequently topping 100 as a rookie two years ago — looked better on Tuesday than it has in a while, he shrugged.

“Just a good day, I think,” he said. "Kinda comes and goes as the season goes. Just a good day with that.”

The lobs he threw to the Little Leaguers didn't have nearly that kind of velocity. They might have as much meaning, however, over the arc of a season that can sometimes feel more like a slog than a dream come true.

“We’ve all played those sandlot fields when we were nine,” he said, later adding, "The game looks different when it’s 200-foot fences and there are no ads out there, no fans out there, just playing for the love of the game.”

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

The $90 million is for new and amended grants to 56 county and city police departments for radios, body cameras, riot gear, ballistic helmets, X-ray machines, inmate restraint chairs and other items.

DeSantis, Attorney General James Uthmeier, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, who comprise the State Board of Immigration Enforcement, unanimously approved the funding.

Out of the $90 million in grants, $30.3 million is for new awards and $57 million are additional funds for law enforcement agencies that had already asked for assistance.

In the latest batch of requests, Orange County and Polk County sheriff offices asked for the most money. The bulk of Orange County’s $10 million proposal is for equipment, with $9 million of those funds going to 910 portable radios.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office asked for $10 million, with $8.7 million being spent on encrypted radio device systems and servers. The current radios the sheriff’s office uses cannot communicate with ICE agents because they lack encryption capabilities, the request says.

“With the proposed upgrades, communication with ICE will be enabled, ultimately reducing the risk of our officers and ICE agents, and strengthening the overall security of our sensitive communications,” the request states.

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office south about $9 million, which includes more than $2.5 million for a rapid DNA testing system and 2,000 DNA processing swabs.

“With DNA results available quickly, we can reduce detention and processing times, resolve immigration status faster, and reallocate resources to more critical enforcement and investigative tasks,” Walton County’s request says.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office requested more than $8 million, with about $5 million to be used for communication equipment, including radios. Notably, the county is asking for $600,000 for two Skywatch mobile towers to “enhance situation awareness and support immigration enforcement operations.”

The state has approved $147 million in immigration enforcement grants and disbursed almost $5 million to 25 local law enforcement agencies, according to Transparency Florida, a state website that tracks government spending.

Lawmakers in 2025 set aside $250 million to reimburse local law enforcement for purchases related to illegal immigration enforcement, including overtime for officers who participate in operations with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The board also extended an emergency rule allowing funds to reimburse agencies with an agreement with ICE for vehicle purchases.

Local law enforcement agencies are allowed to buy one multi-passenger van to transport immigrants between county, state and federal detention facilities.

“We’re all for tax reform. We absolutely do need tax reform. It just needs to be sustainable,” said Windermere Mayor Andy Williams.

Town leaders say one of their biggest concerns is the lack of clarity around what services would be protected if property tax revenue is reduced.

“In this bill they discuss core services that will be protected but what are those core services? There’s not a definition for this. In our town we pretty much have everything as a core service,” Williams said.

Windermere leaders say they want to be able to provide residents with a clear financial picture of what changes could mean locally, but they say there is still too much uncertainty to explain exactly how the town would be impacted if property tax revenue goes away.

On Tuesday, the Windermere Town Council voted to approve a two-part letter to state legislators in Tallahassee. One letter was written by the Town Manager and the other by the Town Council.

The letter states in part: “The costs of providing local government services do not disappear if property taxes are reduced or eliminated. Essential services must still be funded, employees must still be paid, infrastructure must still be maintained, and public safety responsibilities must still be met.”

Williams said police and fire services would be among the priorities, but he worries about what would happen to everything else.

“Our police department, our fire services…definitely protected. I don’t know what everything else is gonna look like,” he said.

The letter goes on to say: “The critical question is not whether local services will be funded, but how they will be funded and whether those alternative sources will be sufficient, reliable, equitable, and locally controlled.”

The Town Council also approved a plan to hold educational workshops for the public to better understand the possible impacts if property taxes are cut. The vote to approve both the letters and the workshops passed unanimously.

You can read through the letters in full below:

REVISED 6_2_Property Tax Reform Letter From TC by Anthony Talcott

Revised_6_2_Property Tax Reform Letter From Robert Smith by Anthony Talcott

Iran launched attacks in Bahrain and Kuwait, which both sounded alerts and fired air defenses in response. Iran also said it targeted an air base in Jordan hosting U.S. forces, which was not immediately acknowledged either by American or Jordanian officials.

Since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive.

Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict, particularly as Israel intensifies and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.

Strikes by US and Iran shake the Mideast

Fighter jets from the U.S. Air Force and Navy conducted the strikes in Iran, the U.S. military's Central Command said, targeting “air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites.” Iran acknowledged strikes around Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, but gave no details on the damage.

“The operation was a proportional response to recent attacks on U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters,” Central Command said.

Trump said earlier in a social media post that Iran had shot down the aircraft while it was on patrol over the strait and declared that the U.S. “must, of necessity, respond to this attack.” Iran's top diplomat said foreign military forces near its territory “are at constant risk” and later vowed that there would be a response to the new U.S. strikes.

Iranian forces “will leave no attack or threat unanswered,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X. “Leave our region if you want to be safe.”

The downing of the Apache attack helicopter and the strikes by the U.S. military further strained a two-month ceasefire a day after Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time since the fragile truce took effect. Iranian state television said Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air-defense units.

US helicopter collided with Iranian drone, official says

The Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter went down after colliding with an Iranian drone, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

It wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional, and official statements only said the crash is under investigation. CNN, CBS News and other outlets earlier reported the collision.

In the first known operation of its kind by the American military, a drone boat rescued two aviators at 3:30 a.m. local time Tuesday, about two hours after their aircraft went down during a patrol off the coast of Oman, U.S. Central Command said.

Trump said both service members were "safe and uninjured."

The U.S. service members were spotted and picked up by a drone boat that took them to another location on the water, where they were picked up by a helicopter, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. He initially said the drone took the two to shore, and he did not elaborate on the updated timeline.

It was the first known drone rescue at sea by the U.S. military, Hawkins said.

AH-64 Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the American military as it enforces a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers, seeking to pressure Tehran into a deal. The helicopters have also been used by the United Arab Emirates to shoot down Iranian drones.

The drone used to perform the rescue was a 24-foot (7.3-meter) vessel called a Corsair, Hawkins said. It’s manufactured by Saronic Technologies.

The drone was assigned to the Navy’s Task Force 59, established in 2021 as the Navy’s first uncrewed and artificial intelligence unit. It focuses on maritime security in the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal.

Soon after Trump made his accusation that Iran shot down the aircraft, Araghchi said the strait is “thousands of miles away from U.S. shores.”

“Foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire,” Araghchi wrote on social media. “To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave.”

Trump had insisted an Iran deal was coming

Before he accused Iran of downing the U.S. helicopter, Trump expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran, but didn't say why there was reason for optimism.

Mediators, led predominantly by Pakistan, have been trying for weeks to get a deal across the line. However, both Iran and the U.S. have taken hard-line positions.

The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to be entombed in the aftermath of American airstrikes that happened during the 12-day war in 2025. But Iran is refusing that and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something rejected by Trump.

The continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is still a top Iranian priority. Lebanon’s army chief, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, traveled to Pakistan on Tuesday. There, he met Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been a key figure in the Iran-U.S. talks.

Haykal's visit comes as Lebanon's government takes an increasingly hard line on Hezbollah but remains unable to disarm the powerful militia. Hezbollah thanked Iran on Tuesday for attacking Israel “in defense of our Lebanese people,” suggesting that Lebanon's government should take this opportunity to improve relations with Tehran.

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This version corrects that the rescue of the two aviators, not the helicopter crash, occurred at 3:30 a.m.

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Superville and Toropin reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price in New York, Will Weissert in Washington, Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

The contests showcased President Donald Trump's deep relationships in the state, dating back to his first campaign a decade ago. Despite sagging poll numbers and discontent over the economy, Trump maintains a firm grip on the Republican Party and helped advance his chosen candidates.

The president gave an early endorsement to Graham, a political confidant and regular golfing partner, despite their on-again, off-again relationship. Graham also secured the support of some leading state Republicans, Sen. Tim Scott and Gov. Henry McMaster, to plow a path to the nomination for a fifth term.

Addressing Trump in his victory speech, Graham said "I’m going to help you change this world and change this country.” He has been outspoken in favor of military action against Iran.

No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina in decades, and Republicans in recent history typically have taken statewide seats by double-digit margins. When he last ran in 2020, Graham defeated his Democratic opponent by a 10 percentage point margin. This year, he’ll face Charleston pediatrician Annie Andrews in November.

Evette gained a runoff berth in the governor's race only a week after picking up Trump's endorsement. She will face Wilson in the June 23 primary. U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman did not make the cut.

Evette lost no time in attacking Wilson in front of cheering supporters on Tuesday night.

“We are going to stand up for conservative voices and conservative values. I have never, I will never back down to the woke mob. Over these next two weeks we’re going to highlight a very clear contrast between myself and a career politician, Alan Wilson,” she said.

Wilson, the son of longtime U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, has served as the state’s top prosecutor since 2011. In 2024, he traveled to New York to support Trump as he stood trial in a hush money case.

He praised his fellow candidates and asked voters for their support, even if he wasn't their “first choice” on Tuesday.

“Hire me to be your next governor. I will be a fighter for you," he said.

Republican governor candidates played largely to Trump

Competition among Republicans for Trump’s support seemed more intense than any other facet of the primary campaign.

Even before Evette received the president's endorsement, she frequently featured photos and videos of herself with Trump in campaign materials. She was backed by McMaster, the term-limited outgoing governor, a longstanding ally of Trump whose support telegraphed the president's own.

Mace also wanted Trump's support, and he endorsed her congressional reelection in 2024 even though she criticized his actions of Jan. 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Norman, among the most conservative members of the House and a member of the Freedom Caucus, strongly supported Trump in the president’s first term. But in the 2024 campaign, Norman stumped for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley instead of Trump.

Rom Reddy, a coastal businessman who has eschewed campaign donations and self-funded his effort, had touted his lack of political experience as an asset, drawing comparisons between Trump and himself.

Graham, backed by Trump, gets Republican nod to seek a 5th term

South Carolina’s other top contest saw Graham clinching the Republican nomination without need of a runoff.

Although their relationship has undulated through the years, Graham has remained close with Trump, who fulfilled the senator's longstanding wish for direct confrontation between Washington and Tehran. Graham cheered Trump’s decision to strike nuclear sites last year and recently said he often speaks to the president about the ongoing conflict.

Among Graham's primary foes was Greenville businessman Mark Lynch, who said Graham wasn't conservative enough to represent the state. Calling himself an “America First” candidate, Lynch campaigned as a Trump supporter. However, the president has called him a “lunatic” and a “disaster for the Republican Party."

Winning statewide in November remains a tall order for Democrats

Democrats haven’t won the governor’s office or a Senate seat in South Carolina for decades.

Andrews, the Charleston pediatrician, ran unsuccessfully against Mace in 2022. Now running for Senate against Graham, she's challenged what she’s characterized as Graham’s waffling positions over the course of his political career.

She is among the Democrats hoping to capitalize on dissatisfaction with Trump this year.

In the governor's race, state Rep. Jermaine Johnson won the Democratic nomination.

Johnson has represented a district in the Columbia area for three terms. Seen as a rising star in the state party, Johnson was tapped to give this year’s Democratic response to McMaster’s state of the state address. McMaster has been in office since Nikki Haley left her term early to join the first Trump administration.

Democrats have not won a general election for governor in South Carolina since 1998, and Republicans have controlled all statewide-elected offices in the state for more than a decade.

In other results, Rep. James Clyburn clinched the Democratic nomination in South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District. A nationally recognized figure in his party, he's running for his 18th term.

In addition, Rep. Joe Wilson — Alan Wilson's father — won the Republican nod in South Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District. He's seeking a 14th term.

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This story has been corrected to show Jermaine Johnson won the Democratic nomination outright for South Carolina governor and is not entering a runoff.

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Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina.

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

The study examines over 850 cities across the U.S., scoring them based on factors like housing affordability, quality of life, and proximity to health care.

While some may point to The Villages as a retirement haven, it technically doesn’t qualify, as the area is instead classified as a census-designated place.

[RELATED: Here’s what to know about the so-called ‘Loofah Code’ in The Villages]

“For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, quality of life scored higher than affordability in the U.S. News weighting survey,” the report reads. “Today’s retirees value overall well-being and connection to community over cost alone.”

According to the researchers, Florida was a prominent state among the top-ranked cities in the latest report, featuring three locations in the top 10 alone.

“This year’s new senior population/migration metric captures Florida’s enduring popularity among older Americans. The Sunshine State has three cities in this year’s top 10.

Quiet Homosassa Springs (No. 3), surrounded by the wildlife reserves and waterways of the Gulf Coast, scores high for tax favorability (No. 3) and senior population/migration (No. 12). Spring Hill (No. 7), 50 miles north of Tampa, offers suburban affordability (No. 119).

And on the bustling Atlantic coast, south of historic St. Augustine, Palm Coast (No. 9) lures retirees with its warm winters, low taxes (No. 15) and booming senior population (No. 14).”

U.S. News & World Report

However, the highest-ranked city on last year’s list, Naples, didn’t fare quite as well this time around, dropping all the way down to No. 18.

Meanwhile, this year’s ranking of the top 100 cities is as follows:

Lindsay Feist said she’s kept the hens in her backyard for years and believed she was following the law because Seminole County allows residents in unincorporated areas to keep up to four hens.

But last week, she said a city employee noticed her coop from an adjacent service road. Soon after, code enforcement posted a notice on her door giving her 10 days to remove the birds or face fines.

“My 15-year-old son brought the notice and he was very emotional and very nervous,” Feist said.

Feist took her concerns to the Casselberry City Commission, where she says supporters also signed petitions and spoke out in favor of allowing backyard hens.

Monday night, commissioners unanimously directed staff to draft an ordinance for consideration and agreed to withhold enforcement action while the issue is reviewed.

“This is a major step forward,” Feist wrote on social media following the meeting. “It means the City is officially moving forward with creating a framework that would allow residents to legally keep hens in Casselberry.”

News 6 reached out to Casselberry City Manager Randy Newman, who said backyard hens are currently prohibited under city code, but commissioners are expected to revisit the issue at a future meeting, possibly as soon as June 22.

Supporters note that unincorporated Seminole County already allows up to four hens, and nearby Longwood has its own backyard chicken program.

“We’re not asking for special treatment,” Feist said. “We would just like some clear regulations that everyone can understand and abide by.”

Feist’s next-door neighbor Miguel Valdes said the hens are quiet and that they appreciate the free eggs.

“Anything we can do as a society to help people become more self-sustaining, I think should be encouraged,” Valdes said.

Carl Brown, who lives nearby, said he had no idea anyone in the neighborhood even had chickens.

“I don’t have a problem with chickens,” Brown said. “We have kids and dogs in the neighborhood, and I feel like they’re more crazy than chickens.”

For now, Feist and her family are waiting to see whether city leaders ultimately decide to allow backyard hens within city limits.

On Tuesday, NASA announced the astronauts assigned to the Artemis III mission at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The Artemis III crew features Commander Randy Bresnik, Pilot Luca Parmitano, and Mission Specialists Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio

Artemis III will launch four astronauts from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket. According to NASA, the mission will test critical rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial human landing systems needed to deliver astronauts to the lunar surface.

Coming soon: one of history’s most complex missions

Tune in on Tuesday, June 9, at 11am ET, to meet the astronauts flying aboard Artemis III, the mission that will test docking capabilities with commercial landers in low Earth orbit — an important step to crewed lunar landings. pic.twitter.com/8XPmEVLwQK

— NASA (@NASA) June 7, 2026

The announcement comes on the heels of the successful Artemis II crewed test flight, which launched April 1 from Kennedy Space Center. Three Americans and one Canadian — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — flew around the moon in what marked the first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Rama dismissed environmental objections as the result of misinformation and said the development was turning Albania from a country once ignored by investors into one “where the big capital wants to come and the big investors want to come."

The government says the development would be transformational for the former communist nation as it seeks to enter the high-end tourism market and pushes for European Union membership.

But thousands of demonstrators have joined daily protests outside Rama's office in the capital, Tirana — including on Tuesday — against the planned project that includes hotels, apartments, villas and a marina for yachts.

The prime minister said a formal environmental impact assessment has not started, even though work has begun to clear land inside a nature reserve.

Asked if he might step back from the project, Rama refused, adding, “Step back from what?”

Albania’s anti-corruption agency has opened an investigation related to the project. The government says the land is privately owned, but rival claims over its privatization have emerged.

‘Your country’s absolutely stunning’

Rama said Kushner’s proposal began by chance. He recalled a dinner in southern Albania with Kushner, his wife, Ivanka Trump, and friends who had stopped in the port of Durres to refuel their boat on the way to Montenegro.

Months later, Kushner approached him at a gathering of world leaders and business executives in Davos, Switzerland, and expressed interest in investing in Albania, Rama said.

“Your country’s absolutely stunning, and we would like to look for a chance to invest,” Rama recalled Kushner telling him.

An investment firm linked to Kushner has been granted special investor status by Albanian authorities.

The luxury project has two components: a coastal development in the Narta Lagoon area, which is a wildlife reserve, and a smaller resort on the nearby uninhabited island of Sazan, a communist-era military base.

‘This is still a planning process’

Work has already begun to clear land inside a nature reserve used by migratory birds, prompting environmental groups to warn of the destruction of long-preserved habitats. Albania has 450 kilometers (280 miles) of coast that remained largely underdeveloped during decades of harsh communist rule.

Rama said a formal environmental impact assessment has not started because the plan for the development has not been finalized. He said international architects and environmental specialists are still shaping the proposal.

“When it comes to the environment, there is no project yet, there is no environmental impact assessment yet, because this is still a planning process,” he said.

He argued that Albania has a strong conservation record, pointing to bans on hunting and logging that he said helped flamingo populations recover.

“We have fantastic documentation of how the wildlife in Albania came back thanks to the 10 years moratorium of hunting,” Rama said.

Since late May, excavators and other heavy machinery have entered the planned development area, opening access routes, digging into the sand, clearing land among pine trees and installing fencing.

Rama says criticism is full of ‘half-truths’

The prime minister suggested that some of the backlash to the project was being amplified by outside interference, citing what he described as a long-running Iranian cyber campaign against Albania.

Albania has long accused Iran of backing hackers who attack the country’s cyber infrastructure, after Albania sheltered members of an Iranian opposition group. Tehran has denied the allegations.

“There is a lot of manipulation. There is a lot of half-truths that become bigger and bigger lies by the hour,” he said.

He emphasized that he was not accusing individual protesters of acting as foreign agents.

The races set up significant tests of whether Democrats' redraw of California's House maps will pay off for the party.

Several other major U.S. House races also were set Tuesday as California's protracted vote count from the state's June 2 primary ground on. Two Republicans will face each other in a Southern California House district drawn to end one of their careers. And a Sacramento seat will become a high-profile generational clash between two Democrats.

But the most attention was on two districts in the vast midsection of the state that will help determine whether Democrats can claim victory in California's role in the mid-decade redistricting wars. Both will be crucial to determine which party controls the U.S. House in this year's midterm elections.

Democrats hope to pick off a perennial GOP target in the Central Valley

Progressive Randy Villegas, a political science professor and school board member, on Tuesday beat the favored pick of establishment Democrats, moderate Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, to advance to the November election against Valadao, a perennial target whose district Democrats redrew to shift further to the left.

Democrats narrowly beat Valadao in their 2018 wave, only to see him win back the seat in 2020. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee threw its weight behind Bains, but Villegas won the primary and will test whether progressives or moderates are best positioned to face the resilient Republican.

"Voters in the Central Valley have spoken and they have declared that the Valley is not for sale,” Villegas said in a statement.

Republicans had hoped to face Villegas.

“Socialist Randy Villegas clawed his way out of a bruising Democrat primary by sprinting to the far left and embracing the same failed policies that made California unaffordable for working families,” said Christian Martinez, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, in a statement.

An independent hopes to keep Democrats from winning redrawn district

For a few days after last week's primary, California's 6th District near Sacramento was a possible warning sign for Democrats, as Kiley and a long-shot Republican who ran on peace in the Mideast held the top two slots in the nonpartisan primary. But the state's slow but regular tally of late Democratic mail ballots catapulted Pan onto the November ballot.

Democrats broke up Kiley's conservative Northern California district, so the congressman opted to run in the new, Democratic-leaning district, left the GOP and became a vocal opponent of partisan redistricting.

“This race will be a choice between the extreme partisan politics that have made California the most unaffordable state in the country, and the independent leadership that allows our local communities to thrive,” Kiley said in a statement.

California Democrats scrambled their map to counter gains Republicans made in Texas and elsewhere after President Donald Trump called for the GOP to create as many conservative seats as possible in its bid to hold onto the House of Representatives in November.

California’s 52 House races provided a miniature of national trends. That included the fallout from redistricting ahead of this year’s midterm elections, this time with Democrats redrawing the map, the generational battle among Democrats and questions of whether moderates or liberals are better positioned to win in swing districts.

New districts set up clashes between members of the same party

In more fallout from redistricting, Republican Rep. Young Kim on Tuesday advanced to the November election. She will face fellow Republican Rep. Ken Calvert after Democrats drew them both into a single district, guaranteeing that one would not return to Congress next year.

“Throughout this campaign, we made the case that after more than three decades in Washington, it is time for fresh conservative leadership, and I look forward to continuing that conversation with voters in the months ahead,” Kim said in a statement.

Calvert replied in his own statement: “Voters throughout the district recognize I'm an effective member of Congress with a history of delivering results, cutting taxes and making life more affordable.”

Also on Tuesday, a major generational Democratic clash was set up as Sacramento City Councilwoman Mai Vang advanced to face longtime incumbent Rep. Doris Matsui on the November ballot.

The 81-year-old congresswoman has held the Sacramento-based seat since the death of her husband, former Rep. Bob Matsui, in 2005. Bob Matsui had represented the district since the 1970s.

Vang, 41, is one of a slew of Democrats across the nation mounting an explicitly generational challenge in the wake of Joe Biden’s presidency.

“People are tired of leaders who answer to their biggest donors instead of the families they represent,” Vang said in a statement after the race was called. “The squeeze on working families doesn’t check your party registration — and neither will I.”

Matsui released her first ad of the general election Tuesday night, focusing on a local mother whose son had muscular dystrophy and who praised Matsui for legislation funding therapies for the disease.

Veteran Democrats survive challengers as others vie to replace Pelosi

Two other veteran House Democrats in California also made it past younger challengers to the November ballot. Rep. Brad Sherman, 72, a 15-term congressman representing part of Los Angeles, will face a Republican in the fall. Mike Thompson, 75, is seeking his 13th term in a Northern California district.

In San Francisco, a wealthy progressive challenger was unable to crack the top two slots to fill retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s seat. Instead, state Sen. Scott Wiener and city Supervisor Connie Chan will face off to replace the former House speaker.

The 7th District seat held by Matsui is considered a safe one for Democrats, but was redrawn as part of the party’s bid to add five more U.S. House seats elsewhere. Voters signed off on the changes with a constitutional amendment last year.

Democrats initially were concerned about getting locked out of the general election in a San Diego-area seat under the state’s primary system, which sends the top two vote-getters to the November ballot regardless of party. But San Diego City Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert managed to emerge from a large field of other Democrats and will face Republican Jim Desmond, a San Diego County supervisor.

Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator backed by President Donald Trump, has won enough votes to advance to the general election, The Associated Press determined Tuesday. He’ll face Democrat Xavier Becerra, a former state attorney general and health secretary under President Joe Biden.

The winner will succeed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to lead the state that is home to roughly 39 million people, Hollywood, a booming tech industry and a vast farming region that helps feed the nation. By itself California represents one of the largest economies in the world.

The next governor will have to take on stubborn issues including a high cost of living, housing shortages and homelessness.

Democrats outnumber Republicans in California

Hilton is banking his campaign on voters being frustrated enough to do something they have not done in two decades: elect a Republican to statewide office. The last time that happened was when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger won a second term in 2006. Hilton has campaigned as an outsider who would bring change after more than 15 years of one-party rule.

“If you’re happy with the way that California is being run, Xavier Becerra is your guy,” Hilton said in a recent interview. “If you want change, vote for me.”

But simply having an ‘R’ next to his name stacks the odds against Hilton, since Republicans make up just about 25% of registered voters compared with Democrats’ 45%. Trump’s endorsement likely boosted Hilton with GOP voters during the primary but could be a major liability in the general election.

Becerra was a chief architect of the state’s resistance to Trump during the first years of his presidency after then-Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, appointed him attorney general in 2017. In that role Becerra filed at least 120 legal actions against the federal government.

Becerra has made pushing back against Trump’s incursions a central piece of this campaign, as the president has repeatedly gone after the state during his second term including by curbing a signature plan to reduce planet-warning emissions from cars, withholding aid for wildfire recovery and suing over state policies supporting transgender student-athletes.

“Donald Trump is doubling down on decline and counting on people being too fearful, distracted or gullible to fight back,” Becerra told a crowd on primary night. “As governor I will never back down from the threats of small cowards in big offices.”

Results conclude a chaotic primary

It took nearly a week to determine the general election matchup for governor due to California’s notoriously slow vote-counting process. Ballots are mailed to every eligible voter and they are counted if they are postmarked by Election Day and arrive at an election office within seven days. Counties process and count mail ballots in roughly the order they are received, so the last ones returned are the last ones counted.

The AP determined Friday that Becerra had won enough votes to advance to November. Hilton had been vying for a second spot against Democrat Tom Steyer, a billionaire hedge fund manager turned climate activist who poured $215 million of his personal fortune into the campaign and blasted Californians’ screens with ads.

Steyer steadily narrowed Hilton’s lead for second place every day since Election Day on June 2. But he was never on track to fully close the gap. The AP advanced Hilton to the general election on Tuesday after determining there weren’t enough outstanding votes for Steyer to catch Hilton.

Election data shows that large numbers of Democratic voters held onto their ballots until the final days of the election. That helped explain why Steyer did better than Hilton in the votes counted after Election Day.

Steyer conceded Tuesday and urged his supporters to back Becerra.

“It would be a travesty for Steve Hilton to win the governorship, and Californians must unite behind Xavier Becerra to ensure he does not,” he said in a statement.

Affordability is a central issue

How to make the state more affordable was a major theme throughout the primary. Hilton promised to make Californians’ first $100,000 free of income tax, create a loan program for first-time homebuyers and freeze in-state tuition at public colleges. Becerra, meanwhile, said he would declare states of emergency to address high energy costs and housing shortages and to freeze home insurance rates.

The two have one thing in common: They both come from immigrant backgrounds.

Hilton moved to California from the United Kingdom in 2012 and became a citizen in 2021. Back in the U.K., he was an adviser to Conservative Party officials including former Prime Minister David Cameron.

Hilton has poked fun at his British accent by comparing himself to the Austria-born Schwarzenegger.

“I know that some of you may be watching and saying, ‘Who is this guy with a funny accent?’” he said on election night. “Well you know there was actually an immigrant who was governor of California not that long ago.”

Becerra was born to Mexican immigrant parents in Sacramento and also raised there. He said his family’s story mirrored his “underdog” campaign for governor.

“Like my parents, I never gave up,” he told supporters on election night. “I never stopped believing in the beaconlike goodness of California. And thankfully, neither did you.”

Becerra would be the state’s first Latino governor since the late 1800s.

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Associated Press journalists Nicholas Riccardi in Denver and Stephen Ohlemacher in Washington contributed.

Only four people were considered missing on official records in the southern provinces near where the 7.8 magnitude quake struck Monday morning, but the Office of Civil Defense acknowledged several collapsed and heavily damaged buildings must be thoroughly inspected for possible survivors or casualties.

The earthquake centered off Mindanao, the second most populous Philippine island, injured nearly 500 people and displaced more than 32,000, most of whom fled to emergency shelters.

Many people who left their homes feared a tsunami. Waves up to 1.4-meters (4.6-feet) above tide level were measured in the Philippines, but the only tsunami damage reported was to six shanties on stilts in a coastal village. Smaller waves washed ashore in Indonesia and Palau and as far away as southern Japan.

Landslides and building collapses caused several deaths

The earthquake left a trail of destruction, including in General Santos, a lively coastal city of more than 700,000 people known as the country’s tuna capital, where at least 13 people were killed in collapsed buildings and due to falling debris.

At least 18 died in Sarangani province, mostly in a landslide that buried houses in the mountainside town of Glan, according to Rafaelito Alejandro of the Office of Civil Defense.

The other deaths were reported in the southern provinces of South Cotabato and Davao Occidental, and on Balut Island, disaster response officials said.

About 2,500 houses and 117 government buildings and facilities were damaged in several provinces, according to an initial government damage assessment. The international airport in General Santos remained shut for a second day, forcing the cancellation of 63 domestic flights except for those on humanitarian missions.

About 6,000 public school buildings in quake-hit provinces must be assessed before classes can resume. The quake struck on the first day of classes nationwide after a two-month summer break, and many who sustained injuries were young students who had gathered with excitement for morning flag-raising ceremonies.

Authorities have warned that buildings that sustained cracks could collapse due to aftershocks, some of them dangerously powerful.

“We cannot force the immediate reopening of schools because we have to ensure the integrity of the buildings,” Alejandro said.

It was the strongest Philippine quake since 1976

Monday's earthquake was centered at sea at a depth of 33 kilometers (20 miles), about 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province.

It was set off by movement in the Cotabato Trench and was the strongest since the same undersea depression triggered an 8.1-magnitude quake that whipped up tsunami waves on Aug. 17, 1976, said Teresito Bacolcol, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

About 8,000 people died from that quake and tsunami waves of up to 8 to 10 meters (26 to 33 feet) that engulfed several towns and provinces, Bacolcol said.

The Philippine seismological institute was scheduled to commemorate the anniversary of the 1976 quake and tsunami in August by installing markers to remind vulnerable towns and cities of the need for constant vigilance, Bacolcol told The Associated Press.

A 1990 earthquake that also had a magnitude of 7.8 left more than 1,000 people dead, injured thousands and caused extensive damages in northern provinces and cities.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. deployed top defense-mitigation officials from Manila to help oversee search and rescue, the distribution of tens of thousands of food packs and construction materials to quake victims and assess damage to bridges, roads and other infrastructure.

The United States, a treaty ally of the Philippines, said it was coordinating with Manila and was ready to support Philippine response efforts. France, Japan and New Zealand also expressed support.

The Philippines is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean.

The archipelago is also battered by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

___

Gomez reported from Manila, Philippines. AP journalists Basilio Sepe in General Santos, Philippines, and Haruka Nuga in Bangkok contributed to this report.

While his classmates dutifully listed their academic awards, extracurricular activities and sport accolades in the high school yearbook, the Long Island resident opted for just six simple words for his entry.

“Knicks in 6. 2026 NBA Finals,” Pfeufer wrote next to his portrait in the 2020 Smithtown High School West yearbook.

The prescient prediction has gone viral after he shared photos on social media in recent days. One Instagram post has more than 130,000 views.

The Knicks lead the San Antonio Spurs 2-1 in the best of seven series. They dropped Game 3 Monday night with President Donald Trump making the first appearance by a sitting president at an NBA championship game. The teams play again Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

Pfeufer, now 23 and in sales, said he wanted to use the yearbook to make a bold declaration about his beloved Knicks, who he concedes were “terrible” at the time. (The Knicks finished 2020-21 season with a record of 41-31.)

“I was at my good buddy’s house and I said, ‘Knicks, six, 2026’,” he said. “It rhymed so well that I just figured, all right, I’m gonna put that there.”

“I could have said Knicks in 5, 2025, or Knicks in 7, 2027,” he added. “I guess I got the right year.”

Pfeufer said he took some grief, particularly from his parents, for not using the yearbook space to spotlight his school achievements, which included being a member of the honor society.

“I kept it just as the quote because I thought that if it happened, it would look way better than if I had a bunch of awards underneath,” he says.

Pfeufer says his parents have since come around to his thinking.

“Now that it’s happening the way it is, they said for the first time in their lives, alright, you were right,” he said.

Early in the playoffs, the lifelong Knicks fan said he swore off watching the team’s games because every time he tuned in, they lost. Since they’ve reached the finals and his prediction is inching closer to reality, he’s been watching them at home with family.

Pfeufer believes the current squad has what it takes win the franchise's first NBA title since 1973 — even if it isn't in six games.

“I absolutely love that they play ethical basketball,” he said. “It’s team basketball. Everyone knows their role and cares so deeply, and you can see it whenever they play. They have heart.”

___

Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo

U.S. District Judge Emily Marks issued the ruling hours after an appeals court reversed her initial finding that the method was constitutional. Marks permanently enjoined the state from executing Jeffrey Lee, 49, by nitrogen gas. He was scheduled to be executed Thursday.

The decision, for now, blocks the use of the controversial new execution method that Alabama has championed since 2024. But the issue seems likely bound for the U.S. Supreme Court, which so far has never ruled a state's execution method to be unconstitutional.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall's office is appealing the decision, according to a Tuesday night court filing. Marshall's office did not issue an immediate comment. A spokeswoman for Lee’s legal team said they did not have an immediate comment.

Marks wrote that the appeals court found the method carried “a substantial risk of serious harm." She also ruled that the state had the ability to switch to Lee’s preferred method, a firing squad. Inmates challenging execution methods are required to suggest an alternative method.

“Therefore, Lee has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the protocol constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment,” Marks wrote.

Marks wrote that her order only blocks the state from executing Lee by nitrogen gas. She noted the state has two other authorized execution methods, lethal injection and the electric chair. She said Lee is “not entitled to an injunction barring the state from executing him using one of those methods.”

Alabama in 2024 began using nitrogen gas to carry out some executions. The execution method involves strapping a respirator to the person’s face and replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen gas, causing death from lack of oxygen. Nitrogen has been used in eight executions in the United States — seven times in Alabama and once in Louisiana. Lee was scheduled to be the ninth person executed with nitrogen.

A three-judge panel from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday set the stage for Tuesday's ruling. The court said the three minutes that it could take for an inmate to lose awareness is an “intolerable” time frame, "given the suffering that would likely take place under Alabama’s nitrogen hypoxia protocol.”

The decision was welcomed by death penalty opponents and critics of the controversial execution method.

“Three minutes of conscious suffocation is torturous. If that doesn’t violate the constitution, let alone international law, nothing would,” said Bernard Harcourt, a professor at Columbia University Law School. Harcourt represents one of several other Alabama inmates challenging the method as unconstitutional.

The Rev. Jeff Hood, who served as spiritual adviser at two nitrogen executions, said, “I pray that we are witnessing the collapse of this horrific method nationwide.”

Alabama has maintained that the method is constitutional.

In her 26-page ruling, Marks noted the constant litigation over execution methods.

“Were Alabama to adopt firing squad as a method of execution, that method would likely be challenged as well. Indeed, there is likely no method — no matter how humane — that would be immune to constitutional challenge. But the Constitution does not guarantee a painless death, and human life cannot be purposefully extinguished without some risk of pain. The Court, the condemned, and the State must all confront that sobering reality,” Marks wrote.

Lee is currently housed at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. He was convicted of two counts of capital murder for killing Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson while robbing a pawnshop on Dec. 12, 1998. Prosecutors said Lee entered Jimmy’s Pawnshop with a sawed-off shotgun and shot Ellis, the owner of the store, and Thompson, a store employee.

A jury voted 7-5 that Lee should receive a sentence of life imprisonment. However, a judge overrode that recommendation and sentenced Lee to death. Alabama in 2017 ended the practice of judicial override and no longer allows a judge to disregard a jury’s sentencing decision in death penalty cases.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission located the pair via aircraft approximately 25 miles off the coast of Ormond Beach.

[RELATED: News 6 speaks with rescued boater upon return to land]

The New Smyrna Beach Police Department confirmed the update, stating an FWC plane spotted the boat and that both boaters are in good health.

The search had been underway since the two individuals were last seen and heard from at approximately 6 a.m. Monday after departing from Lake Helen. Their vehicle and boat trailer were discovered at the Swoop Boat Ramp in New Smyrna Beach.

Republicans used their majority to get the bill over the finish line, funding a pair of Homeland Security agencies through the next three years. The bill passed by a vote of 214-212, over the objections of Democrats. Trump is expected to sign it into law on Wednesday.

The White House says the bill will provide $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for the Border Patrol and another $5 billion to cover unforeseen costs. It frontloads routine annual funding, ensuring a virtually uninterrupted flow of money as the Trump administration seeks to deport some 1 million people per year.

Speaker Mike Johnson needed near-perfect attendance and unity on his side to complete weeks of action. The legislation got sidetracked over $1 billion for White House security, including for Trump’s new ballroom, and a $1.8 billion fund to compensate his allies who claim they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted. Those proposals proved politically toxic and were scrapped.

Now, the bill is focused entirely on immigration enforcement, a topic that Republicans have treated as a defining issue between the two major political parties and one they hope will carry them to victory in this year's midterm elections.

“It's long overdue,” said Johnson, R-La., of the bill. “We have to fund border security and immigration enforcement, and it's sad that Republicans have to do it on our own.”

But Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas called it a “slush fund for ICE.”

Funding accelerates Trump's deportation agenda

The funding comes on top of the nearly $140 billion that the Republican-controlled Congress gave ICE and Customs and Border Protection last year as part of Trump's tax and spending cuts bill.

Democrats objected to giving the agencies more money without significant changes in the way they operate after the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. For example, Democrats insisted that agents remove masks and be required to display their ID badges during enforcement operations and that they get a judicial warrant before entering private property. Instead, the funding will come with virtually no strings attached.

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Republicans weren't focused on the top priorities of the American people and have cut access to Medicaid and nutrition assistance through Trump's earlier tax and spending cut bill.

“Republicans have now come back for more, to give ICE and Donald Trump's violent mass deportation machine another $70 billion blank check, with no oversight, no accountability and no guardrails,” Jeffries said.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise countered that Democrats were not adequately supportive of law enforcement.

“Make no mistake, if you're voting yes, you're not only voting to secure America's border, you're voting to fund law enforcement,” Scalise said. “And if you vote no, you are voting to defund the police.”

Homeland Security faced the longest shutdown in history

The package is the result of a monthslong standoff in Congress after Democrats refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis and other American cities, leading to the longest shutdown in agency history.

Negotiations had been underway with the White House to alter ICE operations as Democrats were demanding. When those negotiations failed, Republicans turned to a complicated procedural maneuver to get around the filibuster and pass the immigration funding with no Democratic votes.

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, the chairman of the Budget Committee, said the money would provide “regular, normal funding” that ICE and the Border Patrol would get through the annual budgeting process.

“And we’re going to do it, not for one year, but for three years, so we don’t end up here again.”

The Senate completed its work on the legislation last week during an overnight session on a nearly party-line vote, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the only Republican to oppose it.

Money comes at a pivotal time for Trump's immigration agenda

The money will come at a pivotal time for the Department of Homeland Security, which is under new leadership after Trump replaced Kristi Noem with new Secretary Markwayne Mullin in March.

While Mullin has vowed to keep the department out of the headlines, the administration is under pressure from anti-immigration advocates to deliver on Trump’s campaign promise of the largest deportation operation in American history.

At the same time, the administration is making it more difficult for certain legal immigrants to remain in the U.S. with Temporary Protective Status or to obtain green cards.

Lawmakers clash over DHS priorities

On the House side, Johnson had little margin for error. Rep. Kevin Kiley, I-Calif., ended up siding with Democrats on the party-line vote.

Leading up to the vote, Democrats portrayed DHS as an agency that has used its new resources to buy private jets for its leadership, warehouse immigrants in deplorable conditions and attack U.S. citizens.

“Republican leadership likes to talk a lot about common sense, but where is the common sense in giving this federal agency essentially unlimited funds without a single reform in place?” asked Rep. Pete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus.

Republicans countered that they were fulfilling their duty to safeguard the nation and support the men and women charged with enforcing the law.

“Democrats can say whatever they want, but what it’s about is public safety. What’s it about is keeping Americans safe,” said Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn.

The rowdy scenes came a few blocks from Madison Square Garden, where elated fans have typically gathered during the team's historic playoff run. But the area outside the arena was largely off-limits to the public on Monday as a result of President Donald Trump’s attendance at the game.

Instead, roughly 7,000 people gathered at nearby Bryant Park for a city-hosted watch party.

While the party was largely calm, some fans blocked traffic and refused to disperse, and others threw glass objects or brawled in the street, according to police and video of the altercations.

In total, eight people were arrested — two for assaulting a police officer — and 13 others were issued criminal court summons. Police said that five officers were injured. The New York Police Department did not immediately provide information about the nature of their injuries or details on the people arrested.

In a statement, the department said that “the crowd became increasingly rowdy, violent, and destructive, and there were many incidents of disorderly and dangerous behavior.”

Members of the crowd "engaged in incredibly reckless behavior — there were large physical and violent fights that resulted in multiple injuries," the statement continued.

A spokesperson for Mayor Zohran Mamdani emphasized that the “overwhelming majority” of fans had watched the game peacefully.

“But the fights and other disruptive incidents — including assaults on police officers — in various parts of the city are unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” the spokesperson, Sam Raskin, added.

Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama had not heard about fans getting attacked.

“My thoughts, of course, is that we can’t forget it’s a game,” Wembanyama said. “We’re just playing a game out there. I am all for passion, but to the respect of each other. It’s unacceptable.”

A watch party outside Madison Square Garden will be held when the Knicks host the Spurs on Wednesday for the fourth game of the series. The area will see similar security measures from the previous game, with the NYPD saying 1,000 people with tickets will be allowed at the watch party and everyone will be screened.

In response, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. called Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch “New York City's biggest party poopers" in a statement Tuesday.

“We now know these restrictions were never about the President — it was just a convenient excuse to restrict how and when Knicks fans celebrate," the statement said.

Knicks owner James Dolan is a friend and longtime supporter of Trump.

During the conference finals last month, the NYPD announced it would not support watch parties outside the arena, citing “very rough” crowds as a public safety threat.

But that decision — which ultimately rests with the mayor's office — was later reversed after the Knicks reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.

_____

This story has been updated to correct the date of the next NBA Finals game. It is Wednesday, not Thursday.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday called European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to convey the concerns and “to discuss U.S. and European coordination and response efforts to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda,” the State Department said in a statement.

“The department’s highest priority and focus remain protecting the health of the American people and preventing this Ebola outbreak from reaching our shores,” it said.

A State Department official was more blunt, saying the U.S. “has stepped up” to confront the outbreak and “now the world must do more to step up as well.”

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private call between Rubio and von der Leyen, said it's time for action and that without it, trans-Atlantic travel could be affected.

The official said the U.S. wants to see action that includes financial contributions to combat the disease and “commonsense restrictions on travel from the affected area.”

The World Cup tournament opens Thursday in Mexico and unfolds over nearly six weeks, with the United States hosting most of the games.

The Trump administration has banned travelers who have been in one of the affected countries in the previous three weeks from entering the United States and is establishing quarantine procedures for affected American citizens returning home from those places.

There are relatively few direct flights between Africa and the United States per day but more than 300 direct daily flights between Europe and the United States.

The U.S. says it has contributed more than $200 million to efforts to end the outbreak in Congo and Uganda since it was first confirmed last month.

The European Union announced earlier Tuesday that it was boosting its Ebola response funding by 16.5 million euros ($19 million) on top of 15 million euros ($17.3 million) related to the outbreak that it contributed last month. The European Union delegation in Washington had no immediate response about Rubio's call with von der Leyen.

Democrats assailed Rubio during congressional hearings last week about the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the impact that may have had on the Ebola response. Rubio insisted that early detection programs have been rolled into health deals struck with African countries and that the U.S. “response has been very quick."

The law, signed in December by Gov. Kathy Hochul, went into effect Tuesday. Her office is calling it a “first-in-the-nation law” that will boost transparency at a time when it says AI generated performers are popping up across all forms of media, including on social platforms and in digital advertising.

Synthetic performers are defined under state law as “digitally-created media that appear as a real person.” The law applies to ads in any medium.

“In New York, we are setting the rules of the road instead of letting AI run the show,” Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement. The "simple, honest disclosure" required by the law “protects consumers, respects our creative workforce and keeps New York at the forefront of responsible innovation,” she said.

Ads that don't “conspicuously disclose” that they have used a synthetic performer will be subject to a penalty of $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for any further violations.

There are specific carve outs listed in the law to exempt ads for movies, television shows, streaming content, video games and other works that feature synthetic performers in the entire work. It also doesn't apply to audio advertisements or ads where AI is solely used for language translation.

When the law was making its way through the state legislature last year, the American Association of Advertising Agencies and several other advertising organizations issued statements in strong opposition to the law.

The 4As, as the organization is better known, said in one blog post that it would hurt advertisers by “injecting compliance uncertainty into the advertising process, burdening brands (and their agencies) who advertise in New York and undermining creative and technological innovation.”

Other organizations, like the The New York State Broadcasters Association, said in public statements during the legislation's journey to become law that they were relieved to see some of those carve outs that were created through amendments, but remained concerned about the broad definition of a synthetic performer. David Donovan, the president of the organization, said in a statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday that local broadcast stations are ready to comply with the law.

The biggest supporter of the law was SAG-AFTRA, the actors' union that recently ratified a new contract with studios and streamers that they say provides further protections against synthetic performers.

The law is one of many proposed or enacted in several U.S. states with the goal of boosting job security for real humans or curbing the potential privacy and safety risks posed by AI. The existing state laws that have been passed include barring deepfakes in specific instances, limiting the collection of certain personal information and requiring more transparency from companies.

Just after Hochul signed the synthetic performers law in December, President Donald Trump signed an executive order pressuring states not to regulate AI. The move came out of fear that the patchwork of regulations across the states could impede AI companies’ growth and allow China to catch up to the U.S. in the AI race. Critics of the executive order argue it will allow tech companies to operate with little to no oversight.

In all, 137 bills have already been approved by the governor as of Monday, June 8, with many of these new laws set to take effect later this year.

You can find the full list below. Be sure to check back, as News 6 will update this list as more laws are signed.

HB 1D — Redistricting

House Bill 1D redistricts the state’s congressional districts using 2020 Census data.

Signed, Sealed, and Delivered. pic.twitter.com/mKFQdQ2Xbo

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 4, 2026

DATE OF EFFECT: May 4

HB 35 — Traffic Offenders

House Bill 35 revises the term “habitual traffic offender” to add the offense of driving without a valid license.

This crime will be added to the list of offenses for which a certain number of convictions in a five-year period requires the state to designate the person as a habitual traffic offender.

Once a person is designated as a habitual traffic offender, he/she can generally be prosecuted for a third-degree felony for driving a motor vehicle thereafter.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 52 — Security Services

Senate Bill 52 refers to a state statute that regulates private investigative and security services.

More specifically, the law expresses that this statute doesn’t apply to volunteers who provide armed security services at churches, mosques, synagogues or other places of worship.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 89 — Veterinary Prescriptions

House Bill 89 requires licensed veterinarians to clearly inform clients of their right to receive a written prescription for medication that can be filled at the pharmacy of a client’s choice.

The law also mandates that if the veterinary clinic is able to fill the prescription, the vet should disclose that option to the client, as well.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 91 — Candidate Qualification

House Bill 91 requires that someone who wants to run for office must affirm that he/she hasn’t changed his/her name in the year prior to qualification, with few exceptions.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 1

SB 118 — R.V. Park Assessments

Senate Bill 118 revises how special assessments may be levied against R.V. parks.

The bill does this by prohibiting local governments from levying special assessments against areas over 400 square feet for each R.V. parking space or campsite.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 21

SB 124 — Florida Virtual Schools

Senate Bill 124 amends state statutes regarding the Florida Virtual School, which was founded in 1997 to provide students in the state with tech-based educational opportunities.

More specifically, the law makes several technical changes, such as including all full-time and part-time FLVS students for the purposes of full-time equivalent student calculations.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 131 — Estate Curators

House Bill 131 amends the state’s Probation Code, which outlines how estates may be administrated.

More specifically, the law modifies provisions like curator bond requirements and when courts may appoint curators.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 167 — Phosphate Mining

House Bill 167 establishes a defense from strict liability in lawsuits related to environmental pollution brought under the WQAA.

More specifically, the defense kicks in if the lawsuit is related to pollution caused by a former phosphate mine and certain requirements are met.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 178 — School Athletics

House Bill 178 requires that head coaches of sports teams be allowed to use personal funds to support the welfare of students under the FHSAA.

Under this law, coaches may provide help in the form of food, transportation and recovery services.

That said, coaches are limited to using $15,000 in personal funds per athletic team per year.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 182 — Teacher Mentors

Senate Bill 182 establishes the School Teacher Training and Mentoring Program, aimed at improving teacher effectiveness in public schools.

Under this program, qualified teachers can be placed as mentors in schools that have a “D” or “F” grade, thereby improving the performance of these schools.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 192 — Patient Funds

Senate Bill 192 deletes the $1,500 cap on advances a chiropractic physician may collect for examination or treatment.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 212 — Sex Offenders

Senate Bill 212 amends state statutes regarding sexual offenders and predators in the state.

Under this law, those convicted of certain sex offenses against children 16 years of age or younger may not live within 1,000 feet of a public swimming pool.

[BELOW: Florida attorney general unveils Sanford ‘house of horrors’]

Current law already prohibits these sorts of sex offenders from living near schools, childcare facilities, parks and playgrounds, though this bill cracks down even harder via the following rules:

• Contacting Children: Such offenders may be arrested without a warrant if they knowingly contact a minor at any park, playground or public swimming pool.
• School Grounds: Such offenders may be arrested without a warrant if they’re purposefully present in any pre-K-12 school while the school is still in operation, with few exceptions.
• Prowling Offenders: The bill increases the restricted distance for loitering and prowling by such sex offenders from 300 feet to 500 feet of places where children congregate.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 245 — Child Pornography

House Bill 245 replaces the term “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse material” under state law.

This shift does not change any other elements of the law, including offenses related to child pornography.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 246 — Specialty Plates

Senate Bill 246 grants permission for five new specialty license plates, which are as follows:

• Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
• Miami Northwestern Alumni Association
• Outsider
• St. Petersburg College
• First Responders Resiliency

The bill also revises certain requirements for the existing “Florida Wildflower” and “Fraternal Order of Police” plates.

DATE OF EFFECT: Oct. 1

HB 249 — State Flagship

House Bill 249 redesignates the official state flagship.

More specifically, the law replaces the current state flagship (the schooner Western Union) with the S.S. American Victory.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

[BELOW: New Florida bill could change meaning of ‘criminal gang member’]

HB 271 — Bail Bonds

House Bill 271 subjects foreign and alien bail bond insurers doing business in Florida to the same reporting requirements as domestic bail bond insurers.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 277 — Domestic Violence

House Bill 277 enhances domestic violence penalties if the suspect has already been convicted of that crime in the past.

The bill also increases the funding amount for relocation assistance claims for victims of domestic violence from $1,500 to $2,500 for a single claim (lifetime maximum bumped from $3,000 to $5,000).

Furthermore, the bill adds threatening to kill/injure a family pet and the existence of a military protective order to the list of factors that judges can consider when determining whether to grant a domestic violence injunction.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 288 — Electric Cooperatives

Senate Bill 288 revises a state statute that prohibits certain bylaws, tariffs and policies from being used by rural electric cooperatives.

Under this law, the statute is limited to only those cooperatives that sell electricity at retail.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 290 — FDACS

Senate Bill 290 makes a number of changes to state law related to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).

Some of these changes include a prohibition on local governments from banning gas-powered landscape equipment, and criminal penalties for those receiving unauthorized help on a CDL exam.

You can read a list of more changes here.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 296 — Domestic Violence

Senate Bill 296 requires the Division of Telecommunications to investigate the feasibility of a domestic and dating violence 911 alert system.

The results of the study must be reported to the Senate President and House Speaker by Jan. 31, 2027.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 302 — Coastal Resiliency

Senate Bill 302 prohibits any dredging or filling of submerged lands at the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve, with some exceptions provided for public safety and environmental protection.

This law is also expected to streamline the permitting process for nature-based methods aimed at improving coastal resiliency, helping to accelerate restoration timelines.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 327 — Uterine Fibroid Research

House Bill 327 requires healthcare providers to submit identified information to the FDOH for inclusion in the Uterine Fibroid Research Database.

Furthermore, uterine fibroids are added to the list of diseases of public health significance, which requires providers to submit identified uterine fibroid data to the FDOH for epidemiological research.

DATE OF EFFECT: Same as HB 1515

SB 340 — Human Trafficking

Senate Bill 340 requires graduates of professional and practical nursing programs to complete a two-hour course on human trafficking to be eligible to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX).

The NCLEX is a prerequisite for full licensure. Furthermore, this requirement applies to students who apply to take the NCLEX on or after July 1, 2027.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 355 — Patient Protection

House Bill 355 requires the AHCA to establish minimum standards for pediatric patient care in hospital emergency departments.

Furthermore, the bill requires all hospitals with emergency departments to develop and implement policies and procedures for pediatric patient care in the department.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 386 — Farm Equipment

Senate Bill 386 sets up a process for consumers and manufacturers to remedy defective farm equipment.

If farm equipment is defective, this law lets buyers report the defect to the manufacturer during the warranty period or the one-year period after the original delivery date of the farm equipment.

The law also requires the manufacturer to either replace or refund any defective farm equipment.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 399 — Development Regulations

House Bill 399 requires application fees for development permits to be reasonably related to the costs associated with processing the application and prohibits fees based on a percentage of project costs.

The legislation also mandates that each local government’s land development regulations must include factors for assessing compatibility of residential uses.

DATE OF EFFECT: March 27

SB 422 — Airport Broadcasts

Senate Bill 422 prohibits airports from using information derived from automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) systems emitted from certain aircraft as a means of collecting fees from owners.

This rule is limited to aircraft with a gross weight of 12,499 pounds or less operating under FAA rules and applies under the following two scenarios:

• The operation for which a fee would be assessed is a departure or a landing, including touch-and-go landings
• The fee would be assessed based on an aircraft entering into the airspace of the airport where the fee is assessed

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 425 — Historic Cemeteries

House Bill 425 provides that if a recorded historic African-American cemetery sells excess vacant land to fund the cemetery’s long-term upkeep, the local government must administratively approve an application to rezone the excess land to allow for development consistent with adjacent land uses.

Furthermore, the law lets local governments use reasonable discretion to determine the new zoning, provided that it’s consistent with the surrounding area.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 428 — Drowning Prevention

Senate Bill 428 amends the Swimming Lesson Voucher Program, raising the age limit to include children between 1 and 7 years of age.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 441 — Conservation Lands

House Bill 441 requires that when a water management district considers selling conservation lands, the governing board publish the following information at least 30 days before meeting:

• The district-owned parcels of land for sale or proposed for exchange
• The privately owned parcels proposed for exchange
• The portions of those parcels that will be preserved in a permanent conservation easement
• A statement from the district explaining why those lands are no longer needed for conservation purposes

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 445 — Dangerous Crimes

House Bill 445 adds certain offenses dealing with child exploitation and certain kinds of computer porn to the list of dangerous crimes under Florida law.

This means that someone arrested for one of these offenses can’t be given nonmonetary pretrial release at a first appearance hearing.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 453 — High School Diplomas

House Bill 453 allows student with disabilities to substitute one school year of participation in the Special Olympics for the P.E. requirement for a standard high school diploma.

Furthermore, the law specifies that two years of marching band satisfies both the one-credit requirement in P.E. and the one-credit requirement in performing arts.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 474 — Military Affairs

Senate Bill 474 revises laws relating to military service leave for public employees.

For example, the law expands eligibility for certain leave protections to include public officials who are also members of the U.S. Coast Guard or Florida State Guard.

SB 474 also expands the eligibility requirements for financial assistance from the Soldiers and Airmen Assistance Program.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 484 — Data Centers

Senate Bill 484 prohibits utilities from passing data center costs — including electricity costs — onto residential and small business customers.

Furthermore, the law prohibits utilities from serving data centers controlled by foreign countries of concern, and it allows local communities to set stricter standards on such centers.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 488 — Transportation

Senate Bill 488 amends various provisions related to topics like motor vehicle registration, licensing and tax-related requirements. These new rules include the following:

• Creates penalties for counterfeiting or illegally altering fuel tax licenses and the related permits
• Revises penalties and interest calculations for delinquent tax payments
• Provides penalties for specific offenses related to the misuse of motor fuel-tax related documents and establishes detailed requirements for recordkeeping by motor carriers
• Increases the amount of estimated damage resulting from a crash that is required to be reported to law enforcement from $500 to $2,000

DATE OF EFFECT: Oct. 1

SB 490 — Public Records (FLHSMV)

Senate Bill 490 expands a public records exemption for email addresses collected by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

This expansion includes email addresses that are used to provide customers with general notifications.

DATE OF EFFECT: Oct. 1

HB 491 — Faith-Based Content (BIPs)

House Bill 491 allows Batterers’ Intervention Programs (BIPs) to offer supplemental faith-based activities as a voluntary service to participants referred to a BIP by court order or by consent for acts of domestic violence.

That said, the law also preserves current rules, which require all mandatory BIP curricula to be based on a psychoeducational or cognitive behavioral therapy intervention model.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 504 — Body Cameras

Senate Bill 504 requires governmental agencies that allow code inspectors to wear body cameras to set up policies addressing proper use and storage of these cameras, as well as the recorded data.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 506 — Public Records (Body Cameras)

Senate Bill 506 creates a public records exemption for code inspectors’ body camera recordings if the footage is recorded:

• Inside a private residence
• Inside a facility that offers health care, mental health care, or social services
• In a place that a reasonable person would expect to be private

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 538 — Extracurricular Activities

House Bill 538 revises student eligibility and participation requirements for extracurricular activities, including athletics.

The bill accomplishes this by defining key terms and establishing an “eligible student” framework for home education, charter, private, Florida Virtual School, alternative and traditional public-school students.

Under this bill, public schools are also allowed to assess an activity fee on homeschool students who wish to participate in interscholastic or intrascholastic extracurricular activities at the public school.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 559 — Animal Welfare

House Bill 559 establishes a new third-degree felony offense if an adult:

• causes or entices a minor to commit aggravated animal cruelty; fighting or baiting animals; or sexual activities involving animals
• commits in the presence of a minor aggravated animal cruelty; fighting or baiting animals; or sexual activities involving animals

The law also requires a juvenile court to order a minor who commits animal cruelty to undergo a psychological evaluation and potentially receive certain treatments.

DATE OF EFFECT: Oct. 1

HB 561 — Educator Preparation

House Bill 561 makes it easier for teachers whose licenses expired to get back into the classroom, but without having to retake subject area exams that have already been passed.

The bill also gives these educators a temporary license so that they can work and earn the classes or training hours they need, and it sets up free training to help them renew or fix their license.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 569 — Forensic Client Services

House Bill 569 allows the Agency for Persons with Disabilities to house non-forensic clients and forensic clients within the same wards in secure APD facilities.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 572 — Public Ethics

Senate Bill 572 revises the term “relative” in the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees to include foster parents and foster children.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 1

SB 578 — Alzheimer’s Awareness

Senate Bill 578 requires the DOEA to contract for the development of a statewide Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Initiative.

The initiative must provide Florida residents affected by Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias with greater support and access to helpful information.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 584 — Commercial Driving Schools

Senate Bill 584 allows for county tax collectors to enforce statutory provisions related to commercial driving schools.

More specifically, the law allows these agencies to enter into agreements with the DHSMV to better crack down on fraudulent or deceitful business practices by these sorts of schools.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 589 — Sewage Treatment

House Bill 589 refers to owners and builders of single-family homes that need to have an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system (OSTDS).

Under this law, local governments may no longer require these people to receive a construction permit for the OSTDS before issuing a building or plumbing permit, so long as there’s proof that the OSTDS permit has been applied for.

DATE OF EFFECT: May 6

SB 590 — Statute of Limitations

Senate Bill 590 extends the window to prosecute someone who willfully fails to make a required report of suspected child abuse, abandonment, neglect or sexual abuse.

This is done by pausing the statute of limitations until a law enforcement agency becomes aware of the reporting violation.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 598 — Funeral Services

Senate Bill 598 makes several revisions to a state statute that regulates funeral and cemetery services.

For example, the law prohibits licensees from contracting to become the sole provider of funeral services for any firm that provides medical or end-of-life care to the public.

Furthermore, SB 598 allows licensees to dispose of human remains that have been in their lawful possession for at least 90 days if the legally authorized person of the decedent fails to direct the disposition.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 628 — Trump Highway

Senate Bill 628 renames over a dozen roadways across the state.

The bill also designates the Tallahassee airport at 3300 Capital Circle SW as the “Bobby Bowden-Tallahassee International Airport.”

Furthermore, SB 628 designates 124 miles of SR-80 stretching from SR-A1A in Palm Beach County to US-41 in Lee County as the “President Donald J. Trump Highway.”

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 656 — Crimes Against Children

Senate Bill 656 renames the “Online Sting Operations Grant Program” to the “Internet Crimes Against Children Grant Program.”

Under this program, grants may be awarded to local law enforcement agencies to help them combat online child exploitation and to target those preying on children online.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 679 — Trademark Registration

House Bill 679 mandate that the Florida Department of State use the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s schedule of classes of goods and services as the state’s classification for trademark purposes, rather than the general classes for trademarks for goods and services set in statute.

Furthermore, the bill requires that agency to set up a website where applicants can apply for a trademark or renew a trademark and provides that the website must safeguard the applicant’s information to ensure data integrity.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 686 — Agricultural Enclaves

Senate Bill 686 deals with agricultural enclaves: pockets of agricultural land that are mainly surrounded by development.

Under this bill, enclave owners may submit development plans for single-family housing.

Local governments won’t be allowed to enact regulation for one of these enclaves that is more burdensome than for other types of applications for comparable uses, either.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1 (Provisions expire Jan. 1, 2028)

HB 697 — Drug Prices

House Bill 697 makes it unlawful for a PBM to force a pharmacy to take a loss when dispensing a drug or to reimburse a nonaffiliated pharmacy less than an affiliated pharmacy.

Furthermore, the law requires PBMs to allow in-network pharmacies to submit consolidated appeals comprised of multiple adjudicated claims featuring identical drugs, day supplies, and dates of service.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 753 — School Counselors

House Bill 753 exempts prospective school counselors from certain professional preparation and educational competence requirements otherwise imposed on classroom teachers by state law.

However, the bill clarifies that individual school districts may still require these requirements as a condition of employment for school counselors.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 757 — School Safety

House Bill 757 expands the state’s Guardian program to include public colleges and universities throughout Florida.

The law also prohibits anyone from discharging a weapon within 1,000 feet of a school during school hours or during a sanctioned school activity. This crime is punishable as a second-degree felony.

DATE OF EFFECT: May 15

[RELATED: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs new school safety law]

SB 772 — Eyewear Insurance

Senate Bill 772 expands Florida’s limited-license portable electronics insurance agent license to also cover eyewear insurance, including smart glasses and non-electronic eyewear.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 800 — Engineering Violations

Senate Bill 800 provides an escalating fine schedule for subsequent violations of engaging in the unlicensed practice of engineering. These fees are as follows:

• $10,000 for a second violation
• $15,000 for a third violation
• $20,000 for a fourth violation
• $25,000 for a fifth and subsequent violation

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 803 — Building Permits

House Bill 803 limits local government regulation of glazing requirements on commercial buildings, and provides for lower fees when a private provider is retained for commercial construction projects.

The law also mandates that certain building permits expire after one year after issuance or on the effective date of the next edition of the Florida Building Code — whichever is later.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 809 — Temporary Certificates

House Bill 809 allows health care practitioners who hold temporary certificates for practice in an “area of critical need” to continue providing primary care services in that area even if it loses that designation.

DATE OF EFFECT: May 22

SB 844 — Sickle Cell Disease

Senate Bill 844 requires that the standard continuing education course on prescribing controlled substances include information regarding the treatment of pain for patients with sickle cell disease.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 848 — Stormwater Treatment

Senate Bill 848 allows ERP applicants to use compensating stormwater treatment as a mitigation measure when existing ambient water quality prevents compliance with water quality standards.

Furthermore, ERP applicants for regional stormwater managements systems must provide documentation of adequate financial responsibility, along with a graphic depicting the drainage area served by the system.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 851 — Autism Learning

House Bill 851 requires each school district to provide at least one annual autism-specific professional learning opportunity for instructional personnel and school-based administrators.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 867 — Dry Needling

House Bill 867 allows occupational therapists to perform dry needling, and establishes minimum experience, education, and training requirements to do so.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 883 — Insurance Companies

House Bill 883 allows protected cell captive insurance companies to operate and be domiciled in Florida, thus creating a regulatory framework for such companies.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 895 — Trustee Settlement

House Bill 895 establishes a summary procedure for trustee liability and claims discharge under the Florida Trust Code.

This applies to non-adversarial irrevocable trust administrations where the trustee has substantially complied with certain trustee duties, negating the need for judicial process to achieve such discharge.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 29

HB 905 — Foreign Influence

House Bill 905 aims to limit influence in the state from “foreign countries of concern,” including places like Iran, North Korea, Cuba, China and Russia.

The law accomplishes this by prohibiting charities from accepting contributions from these countries, restricting preplanned adoption/surrogacy agreements with citizens of these nations, and setting up harsher penalties for crimes committed to benefit such groups.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 913 — Inmate Services

House Bill 913 requires money in the Contractor-Operated Institutions Welfare Trust Fund to be used exclusively for programs to help inmates reintegrate back into society, as well as environmental/health upgrades in contractor-operated institutions.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 915 — Disabilities Program

House Bill 915 codifies the Working People with Disabilities Program, which was created by the Legislature in 2019-2020.

More specifically, the program allows adults with developmental disabilities — who are employed, and enrolled in a Medicaid home and community-based services waiver — to have increased income and asset limits while enrolled in Medicaid.

DATE OF EFFECT: May 21

HB 919 — Donald Trump Airport

House Bill 919 preempts to the state the ability to name major commercial service airports.

More specifically, the law renames the Palm Beach International Airport as the “President Donald J. Trump International Airport.”

All other major airports, including the Orlando International Airport, may keep their current names for now.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

[BELOW: New Florida law could let lawmakers rename Orlando airport]

HB 925 — Court Clerks

House Bill 925 increases funding to the Clerks of the Court.

However, the law doesn’t raise any existing service charges or fees, or create any new service charges or fees that the Clerks may assess.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 927 — Local Land Planning

House Bill 927 requires certain local governments to create a registry of qualified contractors to conduct pre-application reviews of plans, permits or plats submitted in line with local land development rules.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 929 — Chickee Regulation

House Bill 929 prohibits local governments from enacting an ordinance that prevents a member of the Miccosukee or Seminole tribes from constructing a chickee under certain conditions.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 961 — Electronic Signatures

House Bill 961 requires that insurance companies implement secure control processes and procedures for electronic signatures that are acceptable to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 984 — Firefighter Benefits

Senate Bill 984 expands the eligibility for disability and death benefits available to firefighters after a cancer diagnosis.

Current law provides a $25,000 one-time payout as a disability benefit resulting from an initial diagnosis.

However, the bill would make that available to a former firefighter regardless of whether he/she elects to continue coverage in an employer-sponsored health plan or group health insurance trust fund.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 991 — Elections

House Bill 991 makes several revisions to the Florida Election Code, including:

• Driver’s License: Requires the state to include a person’s legal status on any new, replacement or renewal driver’s licenses and ID cards
• Voter Oath: Voter registration applicants must affirm that they are U.S. citizens and may face criminal penalties for perjury if that is not the case
• Forms of ID: Debit/credit cards, student IDs, retirement center IDs, neighborhood association IDs, and public assistance IDs are no longer acceptable forms of identification for voters
• Campaign Contributions: Political parties and candidates may not willfully accept a contribution from a foreign national in connection with any election held in the state.
• Federal Courts: Requires the state to provide voter registration lists to federal courts to aid in their jury selection process, and requires those courts to provide the state with information about voters being ineligible due to convictions, death, or being a non-U.S. citizen
• Statute of Limitations: Creates a five-year statute of limitations for the prosecution of a felony under the Election Code
• New Penalties: Provides new fines and penalties for those who violate the law of involvement of foreign nationals in state elections
• Early Voting: Election supervisors must use local time when uploading the results of all early voting and vote-by-mail ballots by 7 p.m. the day before the election

DATE OF EFFECT: Jan. 1, 2027

SB 1004 — Pet Sales

Senate Bill 1004 implements several new consumer protections related to the sales of cats and dogs in Florida.

The new provisions include the following:

• Requiring pet dealers to disclose financing terms before a sale is finalized
• Allowing consumers to terminate financing agreements without penalty if an animal is later found unfit for purchase due to illness or disease
• Requiring pet dealers to provide veterinary medical records documenting examinations, medications, and treatments provided to the animal
• Requiring written notice informing consumers of their rights under Florida law, including the ability to return or exchange a sick animal and seek reimbursement of veterinary costs
• Making violations enforceable under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 1022 — Children’s Initiatives

Senate Bill 1022 provides for the creation of the Bay County 32401 Children’s Initiative in Bay County, and the Pompano RYZE Children’s Initiative in Broward County.

These sorts of initiatives are community-based service networks located in disadvantaged areas of the state to improve education, economic and health outcomes for local residents.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1031 — Callback Queues

House Bill 1031 sets up a pilot program to implement callback queues at two state agencies: the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Children and Families.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1069 — Background Screenings

House Bill 1069 makes several changes to background screenings in the state, including:

• Prohibits a person from acting as an athletic coach if he/she doesn’t pass specified background screening qualifications
• Specifies that volunteers required to undergo such background screenings are limited to volunteer coach, assistance coach, manager, or referee for a youth athletic team
• Prohibits a person from denying or failing to acknowledge arrests covered by expunged or sealed criminal records if he/she is screened through the Clearinghouse by a qualified entity

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1073 — School Board Bill of Rights

House Bill 1073 establishes a District School Board Members’ Bill of Rights, which does the following:

• Provides members with access to school district documents necessary to fulfill the duties required under the State Constitution and Florida
• Allows members to consult with the district’s CFO on budget information
• Lets members request documents or information from school staff, subject to legal restrictions and administrative approval
• Grants members the ability to publicly comment on district school board business, except for student/employee disciplinary matters or other issues prohibited by law

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 1074 — Penny Extinction

Senate Bill 1074 lets vendors round cash transactions to the nearest nickel if the penny is no longer available. The businesses are expected to round transactions as follows:

• If the final digit ends in 1 or 2 cents? Round to 0 cents.
• If the final digit ends in 3, 4, 6, or 7 cents? Round to 5 cents.
• If the final digit ends in 8 or 9 cents? Round to 10 cents.

However, this doesn’t apply to noncash transactions, such as gift cards, credit cards or checks.

DATE OF EFFECT: May 11

HB 1085 — Cyber Security

House Bill 1085 creates the Local Government Cybersecurity Protection Program within the University of South Florida, to be administered by Cyber Florida.

The program must help eligible local governments with developing cybersecurity risk management programs to defend against cybersecurity threats.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1175 — Office Surgery Suites

House Bill 1175 requires new safety design standards for office surgical suites.

More specifically, the law dictates that such standards allow up to six patients on an outpatient basis.

This is in lieu of the current limit of four patients who, due to treatment, illness or injury, are unable to act in self-preservation during an emergency.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1093 — Vertiports

House Bill 1093 includes vertiports and charging systems as qualifying projects for funding under public-private partnerships between state and private entities.

In addition, the law allows the FDOT to fund all of the project costs of a public vertiport if federal funds aren’t available.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1103 — Vessel Restrictions (I)

House Bill 1103 allows local governments to administer provisions of law concerning vessels at risk of becoming derelict and long-term anchoring permits.

Furthermore, the law lets cities and counties regulate vessel speed and operation within 300 feet of a confluence of water bodies presenting a blind corner (up to 1,000 feet) if the extended area is necessary to ensure safe navigation and visibility for approaching vessels.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1113 — Vessel Restrictions (II)

House Bill 1103 allows local governments to authorize a code enforcement officer to administer the provision of law concerning vessels at risk of becoming derelict on state waters.

This can be done by way of local ordinances.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1121 — Disability Services

House Bill 1121 revises aging and disability services provided by the Department of Elder Affairs.

More specifically, the law adds food and nutritional supplements as allowable uses of subsidy payments under the Home Care for the Elderly Program.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 1134 — DEI Policy Ban

Senate Bill 1134 prohibits local governments from funding, promoting, or enacting any DEI policies, initiatives, and programs.

DATE OF EFFECT: Jan. 1, 2027

HB 1137 — Alcoholic Beverage Taxes

House Bill 1137 allows alcoholic beverage distributors to take a deduction from alcoholic beverage excise taxes for standard product losses, including breakage, spoilage, evaporation, and expiration.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 21

HB 1153 — Juvenile Justice

House Bill 1153 includes “juvenile detention officers” and “juvenile probation officers” in multiple state statutes related to correctional officers.

This allows such positions to be eligible for a Medal of Heroism or Valor, as well as subjects a person to first-degree aggravated manslaughter if he/she causes such an officer to die through culpable negligence.

DATE OF EFFECT: March 30

HB 1159 — Sexual Offenses

House Bill 1159 sets up harsher penalties for various sexual offenses. These changes include:

• CSAM: Replacing the term “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse material” in Florida statutes
• Harsher Penalties: Increases penalties for use of a child in a sexual performance; possession and transmission of child porn; creation of generated child porn; possession of a child-like doll; and certain sex acts involving animals
• Mandatory Sentencing: Adults must receive a mandatory minimum sentence for certain offenses related to using children in sexual performances and transmitting child porn
• Repeat Offenders: Raises mandatory minimum sentences for certain repeat sex offenders
• Life Felony: Creates a life felony for aggravated use of a child under 12 years old in a sexual performance
• Generated Child Porn: Creates a second-degree felony for transmitting generated child pornography
• No Pets: Prohibits anyone convicted of certain sex offenses involving animals from owning or working with animals for at least five years

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1201 — Student Health

House Bill 1201 updates statutory provisions regarding the care of students with epilepsy or seizure disorders and expands the definition of schools to include charter schools.

The law also requires schools to display a poster identifying the basic steps of responding to someone having a seizure.

Lastly, the law requires the FDOH to include required education and training for schools in its epilepsy education program.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1217 — Greenhouse Gases

House Bill 1217 prohibits the state and local governments from adopting or enforcing net-zero greenhouse gas emissions policies, including carbon taxes.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1219 — Spoil Island

House Bill 1219 designates a mangrove island within Jupiter Sound as the “Andrew ‘Red’ Harris Spoil Island.”

The island will be named for Andrew “Red” Harris, a native of Jupiter who started his own insurance brokerage agency in 2011 and was killed in a boating accident roughly three years later.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 1246 — Nursing Education Fund

Senate Bill 1246 expands the scope of the Linking Industry to Nursing Education Fund to address workforce shortages in health science education programs, in addition to nursing education programs.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1279 — Teacher Funding

House Bill 1279 lets school districts provide immediate pay incentives to high-performing teachers who choose to teach in lower-performing schools, even without collective bargaining.

The law also allows bonuses for districts and teachers who offer Florida Advanced Courses (FACTs), in line with bonuses offered for other advanced courses like AP, AICE and IB.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 1296 — Union Crackdown

Senate Bill 1296 provides for the decertification of partisan school unions, fast-tracking salary increases that some unions have stalled.

The law requires at least 50% participation in union certification elections, meaning that unions can no longer be recertified through elections with just a handful of voters.

Furthermore, SB 1296 increases penalties for illegal strikes, raising the maximum fine from $20,000 per day to $40,000 per day for such organizations.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1337 — Estate Authority

House Bill 1337 amends several provisions of Florida law to reduce the necessity for court involvement or formal proceedings in the distribution of a decedent.

More specifically, this bill does the following:

• Gives a personal representative more authority with respect to a decedent’s safe deposit box
• Expressly allows a personal representative to institute a proceeding to enforce his/her authority as personal representative
• Increases the amounts of what Florida law considers “small estates,” such that procedures other than formal probate proceedings may be instituted to dispose of the subject property under certain conditions

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 1404 — Memory Care

Senate Bill 1404 creates a new assisted living facility specialty license type for “memory care services.”

DATE OF EFFECT: May 22

HB 1407 — Civil Actions

House Bill 1407 sets clear time limits for people who claim to have been illegally discriminated against at work to file a lawsuit after they complain to the state.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1417 — Department of Environmental Protection

House Bill 1417 repeals the Environmental Regulation Commission, which is expected to streamline rulemaking for environmental protection.

This law also requires erosion and sediment control plans for the construction of solar facilities to include stormwater best management practices.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

SB 1434 — Infill Redevelopment

Senate Bill 1434 preempts certain local land development regulations and oversight for “qualifying parcels” to promote infill redevelopment in urban areas.

These parcels are plots of land that span at least 5 acres and are located next to other parcels zoned for residential uses in certain counties. They must also be environmentally impacted.

Under this law, local governments must allow a qualifying parcel to be developed with residential uses up to either the average density of all applicable zoning districts in the same jurisdiction, or 25 dwelling units per acre — whichever is lower.

DATE OF EFFECT: May 21

HB 1443 — Parkinson’s Disease Registry

House Bill 1443 requires the Florida Institute for Parkinson’s Disease at USF to set up a statewide Parkinson’s disease registry.

Under this legislation, physicians who diagnose a patient with Parkinson’s disease must report nationally recognized performance measures to the registry beginning on Jan. 1, 2027.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

[BELOW: Here’s what to know about Florida’s ‘license plate’ law]

HB 1445 — Public Records (Parkinson’s Disease Registry)

House Bill 1445 creates a public record exemption for patient-identifying information held in the Parkinson’s disease registry set up by HB 1443.

The exemption will be repealed on Oct. 2, 2031, unless reenacted by lawmakers.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1471 — Terrorist Organizations

House Bill 1471 makes several changes to state law regarding terrorist organizations. Many of those revisions are as follows:

• Terrorist Designations: Creates a process by which the state may designate groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organization if certain conditions are met
• Religious Laws: Courts and tribunals are prohibited from enforcing religious or foreign laws against someone if such application would violate his/her constitutional rights
• Private Schools: Prohibits private schools participating in state scholarship programs from being owned or funded by terrorist groups, terrorist supporters, or criminal gangs
• State Universities: Prevents institutions in the Florida College System from using state funds to support programs that advocate for terrorist organizations
• Visa Students: Public colleges must report information about the current status of students who are attending on a visa if they promote terrorist organizations
• Student Expulsions: If a student promotes a terrorist organization while enrolled at a public university, the student must be immediately expelled and assessed an out-of-state fee

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1473 — Public Records (Terrorism)

House Bill 1473 creates a public record exemption tied to HB 1471 for certain information that would require Florida’s Chief of Domestic Security to provide to the governor and cabinet in certain situations.

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 1509 — Veterinarian Licensure

House Bill 1509 revises requirements for veterinarian licensure by endorsement.

More specifically, the law removes the requirement that such applicants have held a valid, active out-of-state license for the three years immediately preceding their application.

Instead, such an applicant’s valid, active out-of-state license be “in good standing.”

DATE OF EFFECT: July 1

HB 4001 — Jefferson County

House Bill 4001 limits the compensation of healthcare providers for medical services to inmates housed in a Jefferson County detention center to 110% of the Medicare allowable rate if the provider doesn’t have a contract with the county.

DATE OF EFFECT: June 8

HB 4005 — Naples Airport Authority

House Bill 4005 revises the method of selection for the Naples Airport Authority board from a body appointed by the city to one elected by the residents of Collier County.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 6

HB 4017 — Nassau County

House Bill 4017 dissolves the Nassau County Recreation and Water Conservation District, whose assets will instead be transferred to the county board of commissioners.

DATE OF EFFECT: June 8

HB 4019 — Lake County

House Bill 4019 limits the compensation of healthcare providers for medical services to inmates housed in a Lake County detention center to 110% of the Medicare allowable rate if the provider doesn’t have a contract with the county.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 14

HB 4027 — Hillsborough County Schools

House Bill 4027 provides that the superintendent of Hillsborough County schools will be a partisan office elected for four-year terms beginning in 2028.

This law is subject to approval by Hillsborough County voters in the general election on Nov. 3.

DATE OF EFFECT: June 8

HB 4029 — Hillsborough County Charter

House Bill 4029 increases the size of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners from seven members to nine members beginning with the 2028 general election.

Under this bill, that number increases further to 11 members if the county’s population grows past 2.5 million residents.

The law is subject to approval by Hillsborough County voters in the general election on Nov. 3.

DATE OF EFFECT: June 8

HB 4037 — Pasco County

House Bill 4037 revises term limits for board members on the Pasco County Mosquito Control District from two terms to three terms, starting with the 2026 general election.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 23

HB 4041 — Indian River County

House Bill 4041 limits the compensation of healthcare providers for medical services to inmates housed in an Indian River County detention center to 110% of the Medicare allowable rate if the provider doesn’t have a contract with the county.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 14

HB 4045 — Jacksonville Aviation Authority

House Bill 4045 gives the Jacksonville Aviation Authority responsibility for the economic development of Cecil Airport.

DATE OF EFFECT: June 8

HB 4047 — Lee County

House Bill 4047 increases the number of board members appointed to the Lee County Tourist Development Council from nine to 11 by adding an additional elected official and a member representing the tourism industry.

DATE OF EFFECT: June 8

HB 4049 — Duval County Schools

House Bill 4049 allows the Duval County School Board to employ a general counsel who is independent of the Office of General Counsel of the city of Jacksonville.

DATE OF EFFECT: June 8

HB 4059 — Polk County

House Bill 4059 limits the compensation of healthcare providers for medical services to inmates housed in a Polk County detention center to 110% of the Medicare allowable rate if the provider doesn’t have a contract with the county.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 14

HB 4063 — West Palm Beach Police

House Bill 4063 revises provisions of the West Palm Beach Police Pension Fund to reflect an agreement between the Florida State Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police, and the city of West Palm Beach.

More specifically, the law revises benefit accrual rates, procedures for reviewing denials of benefits, and procedures for purchasing service credits to reflect changes in federal law.

DATE OF EFFECT: June 8

HB 4065 — West Palm Beach Firefighters

House Bill 4065 revises provisions of the West Palm Beach Firefighters Pension Fund to reflect an agreement between the West Palm Beach Association of Fire Fighters and the city of West Palm Beach.

One of these changes increases the normal retirement benefit calculation by 0.2%, effective starting Oct. 1.

DATE OF EFFECT: June 8

HB 4067 — Plantation

House Bill 4067 transitions the Plantation Acres Improvement District from an independent special district to a dependent district of the city of Plantation.

DATE OF EFFECT: Upon approval by voters in the district

HB 4081 — Franklin County

House Bill 4081 expands the boundaries of the Eastpoint Water and Sewer District to include parts of Eastpoint, an unincorporated area of Franklin County. This includes all of St. George Island.

DATE OF EFFECT: Upon approval by voters of the proposed annexation area in the general election on Nov. 3

HB 4089 — Trenton

House Bill 4089 grants a parcel of state land — including the Trenton Train Depot property — to the city of Trenton in Gilchrist County, which must be used for public purposes.

DATE OF EFFECT: June 8

HB 4093 — Indian River County (I)

House Bill 4093 reduces the size of the Fellsmere Water Control District from 34,441 acres to just over 14,000 acres.

The law also makes the remaining district a dependent district of the county.

DATE OF EFFECT: Oct. 1

HB 4095 — Indian River County (II)

House Bill 4095 creates the Headwaters Water Control District, an independent special district in Indian River County tasked with providing water control services.

DATE OF EFFECT: Oct. 1

HB 6507 — Neglect Victim

House Bill 6507 appropriates $3.8 million to compensate L.E., a young Florida girl who suffered several injuries at the hands of her parents due to neglect by the DCF.

DATE OF EFFECT: June 8

HB 6509 — Tractor Crash Victim

House Bill 6509 appropriates $2.2 million to the estate of Mark LaGatta, a man who was critically injured after a crash with a tractor in 2020.

DATE OF EFFECT: June 8

HB 6517 — Bus Crash Victim

House Bill 6517 seeks to appropriate $2.3 million to compensate Heriberto Sanchez-Mayen, who was left severely injured after an encounter with a police officer in 2023.

DATE OF EFFECT: June 8

SB 7000 — Public Records (Emergency Shelters)

Senate Bill 7000 continues a public records exemption for addresses and telephone numbers of those who provide public emergency shelter during a storm or catastrophic event.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 23

SB 7006 — Public Records (Florida PSC)

Senate Bill 7006 continues a public records exemption for for portions of hearings conducted by the Florida Public Service Commission.

More specifically, this exemption extends to proprietary confidential business information that is already exempt under state law.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 1

HB 7011 — Public Records (Aquaculture)

House Bill 7011 continues a public records exemption for certain aquaculture records held by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

That exemption refers to the following:

• Shellfish receiving and production records generated by licensed shellfish processing facilities
• Audit records and supporting documentation required for submerged land leases
• Aquaculture production records and receipts generated by certified aquaculture facilities

DATE OF EFFECT: March 27

SB 7016 — Public Records (Loan Programs)

Senate Bill 7016 continues a public records exemption for certain details held by an economic development agency pursuant to the administration of a state/federally funded small business loan program.

More specifically, the exemption protects tax returns, financial information and credit information.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 1

SB 7022 — Public Records (Exam Instruments)

Senate Bill 7022 expands the public records exemption for examination and assessment instruments.

It does so by adding public schools, district school boards, university boards of trustees, the State Board of Education, and the Board of Governors as additional records custodians.

The law also extends the existing public records exemption through 2031.

DATE OF EFFECT: May 11

SB 7026 — Public Records (Trade Secrets)

Senate Bill 7026 continues a public records exemption for trade secrets held by an agency, which are kept confidential.

DATE OF EFFECT: April 23

U.S. Reps. Clay Fuller and Andrew Clyde filed the resolutions against U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross. Clyde wrote Tuesday on social media that Ross' “deeply disturbing actions prove she is incapable of displaying integrity or impartiality. She must be impeached and removed from the bench.”

It is up to the House Judiciary Committee to decide whether to start impeachment proceedings against Ross. Federal judges are appointed for life and can only be removed from the bench through impeachment.

A person who answered the phone in the judge’s chambers Tuesday afternoon said Ross had no comment.

Ross was nominated to the Northern District of Georgia in January 2014 by then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and she was confirmed by the Senate in November of that year. She had previously served as a state court judge in DeKalb County, which includes a small part of Atlanta, since 2011. Before taking the bench, she had worked as a state and federal prosecutor, mostly in Atlanta, for more than a decade.

The investigation of Ross began after one of her law clerks reported that on multiple occasions the judge had engaged in sexual activity with a high-ranking uniformed police officer in her office within earshot of staff. It also was alleged that the judge didn’t properly supervise clerks and on one occasion yelled and cursed at staff.

Ross received a “private reprimand” after the investigation confirmed the sexual activity and found she attended a partisan event and initially lied to deny the allegations.

The court’s investigation did not publicly identify the judge or the court location within the 11th Circuit’s jurisdiction, which includes Alabama, Florida and Georgia. A person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter confirmed to The Associated Press that Ross was the judge who was disciplined.

Separately, the Atlanta Police Department has said it has opened an investigation to determine whether the “high-ranking law enforcement officer” found to have had sex with a federal judge in the judge’s chambers is a member of their department.

William Pryor, the chief judge of the 11th Circuit, opened the initial investigation of Ross. He asked her to respond to the clerk's allegations and she replied the same day and “specifically denied” each allegation. In a follow-up email the next day, the judge speculated to Pryor that the law clerk may have invented things in retaliation for being required to work in the office.

Pryor appointed a special committee to investigate. That investigation was detailed in a report attached to the disciplinary order.

The committee’s review of logs and security footage showed an officer had frequently visited the judge’s chambers in uniform around lunchtime. Six clerks recalled seeing someone who fit the officer’s description, with three remembering overhearing what may have been sexual activity in the judge’s office.

Three clerks remembered bringing summer interns on their first day to watch the judge presiding over a hearing in a criminal case. Right after that, they told the committee, the judge declined to have lunch with the interns, acknowledging having too many martinis the night before at a primary election victory party for a district attorney friend.

The clerks said the judge didn’t provide sufficient guidance and “rarely, if ever, substantively edited civil orders the clerks drafted.” While clerks described an “eggshell culture,” the committee didn’t find evidence of abusive behavior.

The judge ultimately admitted to having an extramarital sexual relationship with the officer but denied the allegations about mistreatment of staff, the committee wrote. The judge acknowledged to the committee having gone to a “mixer” of former employees of a district attorney’s office, where the judge used to work but said it was in a separate room from the victory party.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the move was not announced.

The restructured deal was first reported by ESPN and NFL Network.

Cincinnati gains around $10 million in cap space by spreading out some of his base salary over the final three years of the deal (2027 through '29). Burrow signed a five-year, $275-million extension in 2023.

The Bengals found themselves low on cap space after acquiring defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence from the New York Giants before the NFL draft and signing him to a one-year extension worth $28 million.

Cincinnati is also trying to get some of its key players from its 2023 draft class still under rookie deal signed to extensions before the start of training camp. That group includes DE Myles Murphy, RB Chase Brown, and defensive backs Jordan Battle, DJ Turner and Dax Hill.

Burrow, the top overall pick in the 2023 draft, is going into his seventh season. He led the Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance in the 2021 season and the AFC championship game the following year, but Cincinnati has missed the playoffs the last three seasons.

Burrow played in only eight games last season. He suffered a turf toe injury in a Week 2 win over Jacksonville and was out until late November. He threw for 1,809 yards with 17 touchdowns and five interceptions that included three pick-6s.

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

Human towers, or “castells” in the Catalan language, are not only a feat of equilibrium, strength and teamwork, but a crucial part of the proud identity in this northeastern Spanish region.

One of the most celebrated groups to uphold this tradition, the Castellers de Vilafranca, was tapped to perform for the pope during his seven-day trip to Spain and allowed The Associated Press to tag along on their journey, from the long bus ride to the backstage jitters to the sweaty, grinning high-fives after Leo's applause.

“A fundamental richness of castells is that anybody can take part, independently of their age, their culture, their weight or height, their beliefs or ideologies,” said Ernest Gallart Pérez, the group’s president. “Every person has their place on the structure.”

Bruna’s mom, Maria Vall Camell, joined at 18 and later met her husband in the group, where everyone dons trademark jade green shirts, white pants, tight black sashes and red bandannas with white dots. The bandannas and sashes provide crucial gripping points as members climb up — and down — each other’s bodies as the tower rises.

“The human towers are like the skyline of Catalonia,” Vall told the AP on the bus as more than 130 castellers traveled from their small town, Vilafranca del Penedes, deep in Cava wine country about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Barcelona. “They are an identity, very important for our culture, and they represent very well our society, that we work together as a team.”

Castells are an integral part of Catalan celebrations, whether patron saint days or competitions with hundreds of participants. But at their core, they are family traditions, passed down for generations.

“It’s union, family, strength,” said Aida Ibañez Sadurní, who participated in Tuesday’s tower with her father, Xavier Ibañez Sanz. “When we get everybody down, we hug each other crying, and it’s the biggest emotion.”

It takes months to practice, and mere minutes to create the towers, starting with a large base, people pressed shoulder to shoulder in tight circles, their heads against their neighbors’ shoulders, their arms intertwined.

On Tuesday, smaller groups of four climbed up and formed a first standing circle, and more crawled up until Bruna — in her function as the “anxaneta,” a girl who serves as the pinnacle — went all the way to the top and waved, before climbing down.

When the castell successfully disbanded, Leo smiled broadly and the approximately 40,000 people in the stadium erupted in football-volume cheers.

“It’s a relief, I’m very happy, very joyful,” said Àngel Grau, the “cap de colla” or coach of the group, as the sweaty, cheerful group made their way back out to their buses and long ride home.

“There were a lot of people watching us from around the world, and whether you believe a lot or believe less, it’s such an occasion for pride for us.”

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

The Associated Press obtained exclusively the list of hospitals that since April have either received letters of warning or, in more severe cases, requests to submit plans to provide transparent pricing. Failing to comply with the warnings comes with penalties as high as $2 million annually for each recipient that doesn't create a plan to post clear pricing data.

The letters are meant to fix a fundamental problem that patients, employers and insurers might not know ahead of time the cost of blood work, an imaging test or another form of treatment, and as a result pay more than they should have. The AP has posted the list of hospitals that have received letters.

A senior administration official who requested anonymity to provide the list said President Donald Trump plans to tighten enforcement of price transparency standards made possible by a 2019 executive order signed by Trump. More hospitals are likely to receive letters regarding the absence of pricing data, the official said.

The warnings are the latest example of Trump leaning into the message that his administration is fixing the problem of healthcare expenses that can drain a family budget. It's a calculated pitch ahead of the November midterms at a time when affordability is a top concern for voters. But Trump is also vulnerable on this particular issue, as his administration allowed subsidies to lapse for people buying insurance through the 2010 Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare.

Just 29% of U.S. adults approved of Trump's healthcare policies according to the most recent survey on the issue by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The president fared slightly worse on that issue in the December survey than on the economy, immigration or his management of the federal government.

Data on healthcare prices can be confusing

Gary Claxton, senior vice president and the director of the program on the healthcare marketplace at KFF, said the pricing data is more useful for benefit consultants and others in the sector with access to additional information than it would be for consumers. But he said the standards in reporting pricing data can still create difficulty in making accurate comparisons about the costs and quality of the services being provided.

“There’s a pretty widespread belief that prices are more divergent than they should be in a competitive market — and this is one way of trying to understand that more," Claxton said. “It’s moving in the right direction, but that doesn’t mean it has gotten to where it needs to be.”

The American Hospital Association said in a statement that its members have long supported price transparency and the majority of hospitals are complying with the federal requirements that went into effect this year.

Still, Ashley Thompson, senior vice president for policy at the association, noted in the statement that “the current system is not working as well as it could for patients” and that hospitals would continue working with the administration to improve pricing information and transparency.

The push for price transparency could have a particular impact on Republican strongholds like Texas, Florida, Indiana, Alabama and Louisiana, which are among the states with the highest count of hospitals that have not provided adequate information on the costs of medical services.

Texas had 42 hospitals that received warnings, more than any other state. Baptist Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, among the state's largest hospitals with 1,585 beds, received a letter, as did the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center said that after it received notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, it found “a minor formatting issue involving a date field” that was “quickly corrected.” The center said the government accepted the updated documentation and there “were no concerns regarding the integrity or completeness of the data.”

Missouri-based Ascension, one of the country’s largest hospital systems, had 13 hospitals in multiple states that received letters. Ascension said the warning letters identified a “minor technical error” and it's committed to giving patients “the information they need to make informed decisions.”

The Republican state of Indiana had 34 hospitals that received letters, nearly as many as the 38 in Democratic-led California, even though California has five times more people than Indiana.

Administration officials interviewed for this article noted that Christiana Hospital in former President Joe Biden's home state of Delaware also received a warning letter.

Different approaches to tackling high costs

The letters reflect two competing philosophies between Republicans and Democrats over how to handle the ballooning expense of healthcare, which is also a growing risk for the federal government's own balance sheet.

Biden's team put more emphasis on record enrollment in Obamacare programs that increased the percentage of people with health insurance. Biden also signed a bill that allowed the government to begin negotiating prices for some Medicare drugs directly with pharmaceutical companies. That program, which has continued into Trump’s second administration, has helped knock down the list prices of some of Medicare’s costliest drugs.

The Trump administration, by contrast, has focused more on trying to find ways to provide details on pricing — such as promoting the TrumpRx site for prescription drugs — betting that doing so will lead to better and more efficient spending on healthcare as the data gets crunched.

Critics have said Trump's negotiated prices on prescription drugs might not produce genuine savings for many Americans with insurance, while the administration has estimated savings in excess of $500 billion over 10 years.

With the various lists of hospital prices, the administration wants providers to make it easier to access the files and to ensure the information in them is legitimate, instead of being based on estimates or omitting numbers for key procedures.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has a hearing planned for Wednesday on price transparency.

“Transparency is the foundation of a healthcare system that rewards competition based on cost and quality,” Shawn Gremminger, CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, plans to say in his prepared remarks.

The temporary injunction issued Monday by a Texas district court prevents the NCAA from enforcing its ban of Sorsby. The transfer QB had been ruled ineligible for what will be his final college season after he acknowledged years of gambling that included at least 40 bets on his own team while a freshman at Indiana.

Since NCAA rules call for a permanent loss of eligibility for any player who wagered on his own team, the judge's decision sent shockwaves through college sports, including in Texas Tech's own league.

Yormark said there was a “thoughtful and productive conversations” with the athletic directors as “we continue to work through the broader implications of this situation.”

In a statement without getting into specifics, the commissioner said many of the ADs voiced their opinions.

"We will continue to have open and honest dialogue amongst the group, and until there is something to report, these conversations will remain within the conference,” he said.

Next will be a meeting of the league's executive board, when there is expected to be a discussion to present options, but no immediate action is expected then. The full board of directors, made up of presidents and chancellors from the league's 16 members, is expected to meet next week.

Part of the injunction from the 99th District Court against the NCAA includes a two-game suspension for Sorsby. He would miss games against Abilene Christian and Oregon State, but eligible to return when the Red Raiders play their Big 12 opener at home Sept. 18 against Houston.

The NCAA is appealing to a higher Texas court.

Sorsby made thousands of impermissible bets on college and pro sports that were worth at least $90,000 while at Indiana, Cincinnati and Texas Tech. Those bets include the ones he made while a freshman with the Hoosiers in 2022, though none were on games in which he played that season.

“I think that’s the unpardonable sin,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said Tuesday. "And I think everyone in America grew up knowing that was the unpardonable sin when it comes to sports and gambling.”

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AP Sports Writer Mark Long contributed to this report.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

The helicopter went down after colliding with an Iranian drone, according to a U.S. official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. It wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional, and official statements only said the crash is under investigation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded on social media, saying Iran “will leave no attack or threat unanswered.”

“Leave our region if you want to be safe,” he said on X.

The attack comes after President Donald Trump blamed Iran for downing the helicopter and vowed that the U.S. would respond.

Meanwhile, a bill to provide nearly $70 billion for immigration enforcement narrowly passed the House on Tuesday and now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature, fueling the administration’s deportation agenda for the remainder of his time in the White House.

The Latest:

Trump’s getting close to picking a more permanent intelligence director, Johnson says

The speaker spent hours with Trump in the Situation Room earlier on Tuesday, and told reporters he believes Trump is nearing an announcement on a nominee to permanently lead the office of national intelligence.

“He’s been interviewing the people — there’s five candidates, as was discussed today, and yesterday,” Johnson said. “I do think — very close to getting that done. It’s an important position and one that I think will be filled by a highly qualified person.”

Johnson’s remarks came within minutes of Trump posting that he was naming Pulte as acting director, as of June 19, a choice that has angered lawmakers from both parties and put reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a spy tool known as FISA, at risk.

Iran ‘will leave no attack or threat unanswered,’ its top diplomat says

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded on social media after the U.S. military carried out strikes following the crash of an American Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.

“Leave our region if you want to be safe,” he said on X.

Iranian state media has reported that explosions were heard on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane that Iran has effectively closed during the war, before saying that the wave of American attacks in the south has “subsided.”

Speaker Johnson says he was notified ahead of US strike on Iran

Johnson said he spent several hours earlier in the Situation Room with Trump, the vice president, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the CIA director discussing the Iran war and other matters, including the FISA surveillance program.

The Republican speaker called the strikes on Iran “targeted” and “defensive in nature.”

“We lament that has become necessary,” he said.

But he said after Iran struck U.S. assets and personnel in the region, “We can’t allow that.”

He said the U.S. response was “proportional.”

Hegesth to visit Guantanamo Bay Navy base as US continues to apply pressure on Cuba

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel to an American military base on the island of Cuba Wednesday as the U.S. continues an oil blockade against the country and following Trump’s threats to oust its leaders by force.

The Pentagon said Hegseth will visit troops on the U.S. Navy base on Guantanamo Bay, which the U.S. operates despite diminished relations since the 1960s. Hegseth will also visit troops at U.S. Central Command headquarters in Florida.

The top U.S. commander in Latin America met with Cuban military leaders in May in a “brief exchange on operational security matters.”

Trump has warned of using military force against Cuba, while American warships operate in the Caribbean Sea. The U.S. also indicted former Cuban President Raúl Castro on federal charges.

Trump doubles down on ally Pulte to serve as acting intelligence director

The president said on social media that Bill Pulte will takeover as acting intelligence director on June 19, sticking by the provocative pick even as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle say the selection could sink reauthorization of a critical surveillance tool used by the intelligence community.

Trump added that Pulte is “working closely” with Tulsi Gabbard, the current director of national intelligence, and will remain in his role as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Republicans have been warning the White House that a critical surveillance authority is likely to lapse on Friday without reauthorization because of the bipartisan backlash over Trump’s pick of Pulte to temporarily lead the nation’s intelligence community.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, set to lapse June 12, allows agencies including the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to collect communications from foreign targets overseas without a warrant.

US Army helicopter that crashed off the coast of Oman went down after colliding with an Iranian drone, US official says

A U.S. Army Apache helicopter that crashed off the coast of Oman went down after colliding with an Iranian drone, according a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

It is not clear whether the collision was intentional, and official statements only said the crash is under investigation. CNN, CBS News and other outlets earlier reported the Iranian drone collision.

President Donald Trump said Iran shot down the aircraft while it was on patrol over the Strait of Hormuz and declared that the U.S. “must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” in a post to social media.

The U.S. military later announced that it had begun strikes against Iran. Iranian state media is reporting that explosions have been heard on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

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— Jon Gambrell, Darlene Superville, Konstantin Toropin

US says it has begun strikes against Iran following crash of Army Apache helicopter off Oman coast

The U.S. military announced that it has begun strikes against Iran following the crash of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter off the coast of Oman.

In a statement posted to social media, U.S. Central Command said the strikes would be “a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.”

It comes after President Donald Trump blamed Iran for downing the helicopter and vowed that the U.S. would respond.

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Cuba’s top envoy to US calls Trump’s sanctions on Cuban leaders a ‘pretext’ for military action

Recent U.S. sanctions targeting Cuba’s leadership and the indictment of former President Raúl Castro are a “pretext” for the Trump administration to persuade the American people to support a military intervention, Cuba’s top diplomat to the United States told The Associated Press.

In an interview on Tuesday, Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera repeated accusations against the Trump administration made by other Cuban officials, including the foreign minister and the president, and complained bitterly that the U.S. is targeting Cuban civilians with its decades-old embargo and new blockade of energy shipments to the island.

“The sanctions against our leaders, we see as a pretext to make the American people think we are a threat,” she said at Cuba’s embassy in Washington. “We are not a threat to the U.S., and we don’t want confrontation.”

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Speaker Johnson says he had a ‘very productive’ meeting at White House

Johnson met for several hours with the president as Congress is racing to ensure the FISA foreign surveillance tool does not expire by Friday’s deadline.

Lawmakers have objected to Trump’s pick of Pulte as director of the office of national intelligence putting the vote to reauthorize FISA at risk.

Pressed if he believed Pulte was qualified for the job, Johnson said, “We talked about all that, I’m going to let the president speak.”

Asked if Trump would dump Pulte, Johnson deferred to the president.

US tells Europe to step up measures to prevent spread of Ebola virus from Africa

The Trump administration is telling European nations that they need to step up their travel restrictions for people entering the continent from Ebola virus-hit countries in Africa, warning that failure to do so may result in increased U.S. regulations regarding travel from Europe, including for the World Cup football tournament.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday called European Commission President Ursala von der Leyen to convey the concerns, “to discuss U.S. and European coordination and response efforts to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda,” the State Department said in a statement.

“The department’s highest priority and focus remain protecting the health of the American people and preventing this Ebola outbreak from reaching our shores,” it said.

There are relatively few direct flights between Africa and the United State per day but more than 300 direct daily flights between Europe and the United States.

Trump says US ‘must’ respond after Iran downed US Army helicopter near Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump blamed Iran for downing a U.S. Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday and said the United States must respond to the attack.

A drone boat rescued two Army aviators who were aboard the Apache attack helicopter when it went down near the waterway that Iran has effectively closed during its war with the U.S. and Israel. Trump said in a social media post that both service members “are safe and uninjured.”

“Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” Trump wrote.

The helicopter went down as the Middle East was still reeling after Iran and Israel exchanged fire the previous day in the biggest blow yet to the strained ceasefire in the Iran war. Iranian state television reported Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country’s air-defense units.

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Melania Trump tells students to ‘keep using artificial intelligence as a muse’

The first lady spoke at the White House while recognizing the winners of a nationwide contest in which students were asked to complete a project using an AI method or tool to address a challenge in their communities.

“Today is about opening doors,” she said. “When new doors open, passions flow, courage blossoms and dreams are realized. AI inspires.”

More than 20,000 students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and more than four dozen Defense Department schools in 10 countries participated in the inaugural Presidential AI Challenge.

Melania Trump recognized six elementary, middle and high school champion teams, along with about 120 finalists.

The first lady is a proponent of using artificial intelligence in education and also has warned of the risks posed by the technology.

Trump’s push for healthcare price transparency aims to address a major concern for voters

The warnings are the latest example of Trump leaning into the message that his administration is fixing the problem of healthcare expenses that can drain a family budget. It’s a calculated pitch ahead of the November midterms at a time when affordability is a top concern, and Trump is vulnerable on this after allowing subsidies to lapse for Affordable Care Act insurance, widely known as Obamacare.

Just 29% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s healthcare policies in the most recent survey on the issue by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Price transparency could have a particular impact in the Republican strongholds of Texas, Florida, Indiana, Alabama and Louisiana, which have among the most hospitals warned about inadequate price information.

Trump administration warns more than 500 hospitals to provide more price information or face fines

The administration argues that the lack of basic pricing information for consumers to access is keeping healthcare costs higher than they should be.

The Associated Press obtained exclusively the list of hospitals that since April have either received letters of warning or requests to submit plans to provide transparent pricing. Penalties range up to $2 million annually for each hospital that doesn’t create a plan to post clear pricing data.

The letters are meant to fix a fundamental problem: Patients, employers and insurers might not know ahead of time the cost of blood work, an imaging test or another form of treatment, and as a result pay more than they should have. AP has posted the list of hospitals that have received letters.

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House GOP leader says they’re ‘moving forward’ on passing $70 billion immigration enforcement funds

Pressed if the Republicans would be able to approve the package during afternoon votes, Majority Leader Steve Scalise appeared confident, despite their already slim advantage potentially being narrowed as lawmakers from several states dash home to campaign on primary election day.

“We always have to deal with absences, a narrow majority, that’s life in the big city,” Scalise, the Republican from Louisiana, told reporters.

Democrats oppose the package, which would fuel Trump’s immigration enforcement and deportation agenda through the rest of his time in the White House.

“We’re just going keep working through but, you know, we’re going to get our work done,” he said.

Thune says White House ‘weighing seriously’ a long-term DNI pick

Lawmakers in both parties are pressing the White House to reconsider its decision to install Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday he does not believe the administration is considering replacing Pulte in the acting role, and is instead weighing a permanent nominee to lead the intelligence community.

“I think they’re weighing seriously making a long-term pick,” Thune told reporters.

Thune added that it’s his “hope” the decision would come sooner rather than later.

Salt Lake City lawsuit is latest against DHS plan to use giant warehouses to detain immigrants

Salt Lake City and its county are suing to block a giant warehouse where Homeland Security plans to detain as many as 10,000 immigrants. Their federal lawsuit is the latest brought by local officials around the country who were not consulted before DHS purchased industrial warehouses to convert into regional immigrant processing and detention centers.

The lawsuit targets the most expensive yet: $145.4 million for a warehouse roughly the size of 15 football fields. The March purchase, from a real estate group partially owned by Deutsche Bank, cost nearly 50% more than the property’s 2025 assessed market value, records show.

In all, DHS purchased 11 warehouses for more than $1 billion in the final weeks of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem’s tenure. The DHS Office of Inspector General is investigating whether that was wasteful, and Noem’s successor, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, has put it on hold.

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US military says a drone boat brought the 2 helicopter crew members to shore

A U.S. Navy drone boat rescued two Army aviators after their Apache helicopter went down near the coast of Oman, a U.S. military official said Tuesday.

Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said a 24-foot unmanned boat located the crew members, who had spent two hours in the water, and brought them to shore.

Military officials have not said what caused the helicopter to go down. The military said the incident is under investigation.

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House Speaker Johnson at White House as US surveillance tool risks a lapse

Rep. Mike Johnson is meeting with Trump now that the president’s choice of Bill Pulte for director of national intelligence has upended debate over extending an expiring foreign surveillance program.

Lawmakers in both parties are pushing the White House to drop Pulte, saying he lacks the congressionally mandated national security expertise.

Johnson expects the Foreign intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, will be part of the talks.

FISA is set to expire Friday, risking an interruption of the surveillance tool if Congress fails to extend it.

Trump says pilots are fine after US helicopter crashes near Strait of Hormuz

Trump says two U.S. Army members were not injured when their Apache attack helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz.

“The pilots are fine,” Trump said after watching the NBA finals in New York Monday night. “Nobody injured.”

What caused the crash remains unclear in a Middle East still reeling after Iran and Israel exchanged fire the previous day in the biggest blow yet to the straining ceasefire in the Iran war. Iranian state television reported Tuesday the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of Iran’s defense units.

A statement from the U.S. military’s Central Command said the crew were rescued within two hours and were in stable condition.

Trump insists, again, that an Iran deal is coming

“We have a good chance” of signing a deal in “two or three days,” Trump said Monday night, without providing any detailed reason for new optimism.

Trump has repeatedly predicted that a deal is near over the two months since the U.S. and Iran agreed to an initial ceasefire. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, however, said Monday that Trump’s remarks have “contradicted the agreed-upon sections, showing that (the U.S. is) neither seeking a ceasefire nor dialogue.”

“We’re very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal,” the president said. “If we go and bomb — which we could do very easily if we want, and we spend another two or three weeks bombing — they’ll have nothing left whatsoever. But you won’t have the strait open for months.”

He added: “If we do the bombing, you know, a lot of people are going to be killed. Who wants to do that? I don’t.”

Trump’s enforcers are poised to ramp up deportations

The Senate completed its work last week, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the only Republican to oppose it. If the House approves, Trump’s signature would all but assure an essentially uninterrupted flow of funds for his immigration enforcement and deportation agenda into 2029.

The Department of Homeland Security is under new leadership after Trump replaced Kristi Noem with new Secretary Markwayne Mullin. He has vowed to keep the department out of the headlines, but the administration is under pressure from anti-immigration advocates to deliver on Trump’s campaign promise of the largest deportation operation in American history.

So far, the administration has not hit its goal of 1 million deportations a year, but Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has promised more to come, including hinting at enforcement in New York, the nation’s biggest city, which is heavily Democratic.

House Majority leader says ICE funding is long overdue. Top Democrat calls it a blank check

“We have to fund border security and immigration enforcement, and it’s sad that Republicans have to do it on our own,” Johnson said.

The Republican-controlled Congress already provided nearly $140 billion for ICE and Customs and Border Protection as part of Trump’s tax and spending cuts bill.

Democrats wanted significant changes after the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis — insisting for example that agents be required to display their ID badges and get a judicial warrant before entering private property. Instead, the funding will come with virtually no strings attached.

“We believe that taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for the American people – not give ICE another $70 billion blank check so that they can unleash brutality on American citizens and violently target law-abiding immigrant communities,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.

Court of International Trade Judge Richard Eaton said he wanted to hear details that would help him decide whether to order the government to speed up and expand its system for issuing tariff refunds.

Eaton praised the online system that CBP developed to process refund claims, saying it was working well and that he believed the government wanted to return all of the import tax money it collected without constitutional authority to do so. But he said a Justice Department appeal of his order requiring the agency to refund all companies that paid tariffs, not just those that filed lawsuits, threatened to derail the process.

“Sometimes lawyers push legal positions beyond what is useful for the client,” the judge said during a 90-minute hearing in the New York-based trade court. “The legal position pushed by the government may not be in the government's best interest.”

The Justice Department is arguing that only companies that were parties in any of the more than 4,000 lawsuits that challenged the legal mechanism Trump used to set higher tariff rates were entitled to seek refunds. That question is now in the hands of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

First phase of tariff refunds is still ongoing

Eaton ordered Customs and Border Protection in March to create a system by which “all importers of record” could apply for their share of the $166 billion CBP estimated it had collected before the Supreme Court struck down the global tariffs. But he allowed the agency to roll out the system in phases while it developed the necessary technology to handle various kinds of refund claims.

The agency launched the online system April 20, saying it would first review applications from importers whose tax bills had not been finalized. Eaton scheduled Tuesday's hearing to help him weigh whether he should compel CBP to refund all the money the government owes immediately or give the agency more time.

The pace and scope of the process became a contentious matter, however, when Eaton directed CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott to appear in court to discuss the agency's timeline for complying with the judge's “universal” order. The Justice Department objected and asked if one of Scott's deputies could attend the hearing instead.

When Eaton insisted on hearing directly from the head of the agency, Justice Department lawyers appealed both that mandate and the judge's broader ruling on refund eligibility. Last week, the Federal Circuit agreed to temporarily suspend the requirement for Scott to testify. Susan Thomas, CBP’s executive assistant commissioner for trade, appeared before Eaton instead.

Who gets access to the next phase of tariff refunds

The hearing focused on CBP's capability and willingness to open the refund process to companies with tariff payments that date back the farthest.

Claims for refunds totaling $90 billion had been accepted for processing as of Tuesday, and the agency has directed the Treasury Department to issue $23 billion in refunds, Thomas told the judge.

So far, CBP has limited applications to businesses that either did not have their tax bills finalized by the time the Supreme Court invalidated Trump's “reciprocal” tariffs in late February or whose bills had been settled within the preceding 80 days.

Thomas said CBP was developing a way to handle refunds involving older shipments that was likely to be finished by the end of July. But she said the agency would not process cases beyond the 80-day window while Eaton's order requiring refunds for all duty payers is on appeal.

“I can't speak to the appeal, but I can tell you I will be prepared,” she said. “I am pushing our teams to the limit.”

Lawyers for the government argued it unnecessary for Eaton to try to hasten the process by enforcing his order. They said the appeal involves 6.9% of the $166 billion collected and that the vast majority of taxed imports eligible for refunds can either be processed by the existing system or are part of pending lawsuits.

Lawyers for the five companies behind the lawsuit that produced the judge's order said $11 billion was still a lot of money, and it would be unconstitutional for them to pay less tariffs than other companies that also paid the invalidated duties, which the Supreme Court held Trump improperly imposed by citing an emergency powers law to usurp Congress' taxmaking authority.

One of the plaintffs' lawyers said a possible solution would be for Eaton to certify their case as a class action on behalf of “potentially tens of thousands of identically situated importers.”

Eaton said that question would need to wait for another time, and he did not make any rulings Tuesday. He added that “it would be disappointing if we have to find our way into the world of class action” instead of allowing CBP to make progress that would ultimately accomplish the goal of his broad order requiring refunds for all.

“Let the Customs and Border Patrol be the Customs and Border Patrol,” Eaton said. “Let them do their job, let them do what I believe the government actually wants to do.”

Delegates elected Florida pastor Willy Rice to be its next president. He won 58% of the votes over South Carolina pastor Josh Powell on the opening day of the two-day annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

Rice, senior pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, drew support from advocacy groups such as the Center for Baptist Leadership which have argued SBC leadership has gone “woke” on issues ranging from race to gender to immigration.

The denomination is already staunchly conservative in areas ranging from its advocacy against abortion to its faith statement declaring the office of pastor is limited to men. But the main debates within the SBC have been over how far to move on the religious and political right.

On his webpage, Rice called on Southern Baptists to hold to core convictions rather than occupying a “mushy evangelical middle ground.”

Rice had led efforts last year to abolish the denomination's public-policy arm, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, saying it had failed to heed member criticisms, such as allegations of receiving funding from progressive organizations.

The motion failed, but the organization's president resigned soon afterward.

Rice has also contended that moves for reform on the handling of sexual abuse in the denomination have “gone off the tracks almost from the start.” He has written that the effort was not about stopping sexual abuse, contending that it was instead about introducing secular ideologies and “stopping the nation’s largest group of conservative Christians.”

Rice has also called for an addition to the Baptist Faith and Message, the denomination’s statement of faith, declaring gender to be biologically determined and unchangeable.

More than 11,000 delegates, known as messengers, were registered on Tuesday.

They are expected to vote Wednesday on a proposed constitutional amendment that would formally ban churches with women pastors.

Rice has supported that amendment along with creating a task force to study the issue, saying it is important to clearly separate the role of pastor from other legitimate ministry roles for women.

It will be the fourth year in a row that messengers vote on an amendment regarding women pastors, after the previous three fell short of supermajorities needed for passage. The Baptist Faith and Message opposes women pastors.

SBC churches are independent, and the denomination can't tell them what to do. But the denomination can exclude a church from its ranks, and it has already expelled some churches with women in senior pastoral positions, contending that they are out of sync with the SBC's statement of faith.

But opinions have been more mixed on the status of churches with women in associate pastoral roles. The currently proposed amendment specifically bans churches where women have the office of pastor or are functioning as one, including “preaching to the assembled congregation.”

The latest version of the amendment is being proposed by Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky. He has said a constitutional amendment would provide clarity and prevent the long and time-consuming debates that the issue has drawn in recent years.

The meeting will also address resolutions on antisemitism and immigration.

The annual gathering follows the release of internal statistics showing a continuation of a nearly two-decade-long decline in membership. It’s down to 12.3 million, the lowest since 1973.

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

Madrid President Florentino Pérez had vowed to bring Mourinho back as part of his campaign promises that led to his re-election on Sunday.

In a note to shareholders, Benfica said that Madrid had formally agreed to pay Benfica 15 million euros ($17.3 million) for Mourinho with the Portuguese coach agreeing to the move.

Benfica added: "Thank you, José Mourinho."

Madrid has made no official announcement.

Benfica said it had agreed a two-year deal with former Fulham manager Marco Silva to replace Mourinho, with the option of an extra year.

Mourinho, who was featured in promotional material for Pérez during the campaign, would be back for a second stint at Madrid. He coached the club from 2010-2013.

Arbeloa’s departure was already expected and he had talked about it at the end of the season.

Madrid said Tuesday it was “deeply grateful” to Arbeloa, “who throughout his career at the club, from the time he joined our academy, has always demonstrated loyalty, commitment, and professionalism.”

Arbeloa took over the helm in January to replace Xabi Alonso amid the team's struggles.

Arbeloa was not able to put Madrid back on track and the club endured a second straight season without a major trophy.

Last month, Arbeloa gave his blessing to former boss Mourinho's return to Madrid, saying he would "be happy to see him back home.”

Arbeloa played for Madrid when Mourinho was in charge of the club — a tumultuous time in which Madrid won Spanish league and Copa del Rey titles but was overshadowed by Pep Guardiola’s great Barcelona side. Mourinho’s abrasive attitude to opponents like Guardiola as well as some of his own players turned off many in Spain. He also had his faithful backers, like Arbeloa and some hardcore fans.

Arbeloa saw Madrid struggle toward the end of the season and watched some of his players get into altercations during training. The team was eliminated by Bayern Munich in the Champions League and couldn't catch up with Barcelona in the Spanish league.

Pérez's campaign promises included a high-profile signing. On Tuesday, the club said that city rival Atletico Madrid rejected an offer of 150 million euros ($173 million) for Argentina forward Julián Álvarez.

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

This year, that planning comes with an unusual backdrop: a proposed budget that is, by most measures, steady and conservative — yet overshadowed by a statewide ballot measure that could dramatically reshape county finances starting in 2028.

The county’s capital and operating budget — excluding interfund transfers and reserves — totals $836.2 million, a 4.9% increase from the prior fiscal year.

Unlike last year, when Seminole County raised its property tax rate for the first time in more than a decade, the county is not planning a rate increase in FY27.

Sustaining, not cutting — for now

When asked how to characterize the FY27 spending plan, Chairman Andria Herr did not hesitate.

“I’d like to see us be a sustaining year, but take advantage of natural attrition that will cause cuts,” she said. “And I’d like to see us not build into the future, future spending that we may or may not have the revenue for.”

The budget reflects that approach. County Manager Darren Gray credited department heads and constitutional officers for embracing the conservative direction set by the BCC early in the process.

“I want to acknowledge the efforts of our Constitutional Officers and County departments, who embraced that direction and submitted lean, responsible budget requests,” Gray wrote in the budget summary.

General Fund departmental budgets increase 4.5%, driven by rising personnel costs, operational expenses, deferred maintenance, and capital needs. Major operating funds — including Fire Rescue, Solid Waste, Water Utilities, Transportation, Tourism, and Building Services — remain stable, with increases generally capped at 5% or less.

Public safety commands nearly half the budget

Public safety remains the county’s top expenditure priority, accounting for approximately 46% of the operating and capital budget.

The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office FY27 certified budget totals $202,607,000 — a 3.8% increase over the current fiscal year. Personnel services, which make up approximately 85% of the Sheriff’s total budget, increased 4.0%, while operating and capital expenditures combined rose 2.9%.

For every property tax dollar collected, 41 cents supports the Sheriff’s Office, and 31 cents funds Fire Rescue, Emergency Medical Services, and dispatch operations. Eleven cents goes toward transportation infrastructure, 5 cents supports parks and libraries, and the remaining 12 cents funds other county operations, including the courts, constitutional officers, and the Board of County Commissioners.

Laying groundwork for what’s ahead

Even with FY27 on stable footing, Herr said the county has already begun taking steps to prepare for potential future reductions — most notably by keeping a close eye on staffing levels.

“We’re asking about FTE — not growing the underlying cost of doing business,” she said. “And a huge portion of that is the number of employees that we maintain on all of our budgets, constitutional as well as the county.”

Herr added that the county is looking at natural attrition as a tool — allowing vacant positions to go unfilled rather than making abrupt cuts.

“Through natural resignations, etc., potentially not filling positions — you already see our county manager doing that, as well as we did that last year,” she said.

For Herr, the math is straightforward, even when the decisions are not.

“Budgets only have two line items, from my perspective,” she said. “Revenue in and revenue out. And that’s all that we would be considering.”

‘Seminal Moments’ initiative drives efficiency savings

Since its 2025 launch, the county’s Seminal Moments continuous improvement initiative has identified 53 projects across 12 departments, with projected savings of approximately $60 million over the next five years.

The county says switching to SCOUT, Seminole’s on-demand micro-transit service, reduced LYNX service hours by approximately 80,000 annually and cut operating costs by $9 million. After accounting for the cost of the new service, the county projects net savings of approximately $2.2 million in FY27, with those savings expected to grow.

Property tax reform: A community conversation

Herr said a potential “yes” vote on the November 2026 property tax referendum wouldn’t just be a budget disruption — it would be a signal from residents about the services they value.

“Seminole County voters have historically wanted and treasured quality of life,” she said. “We want a safe community. We want to be able to travel from one end of any county road to the other without sitting in excess traffic. We want our communities to look good.”

She said the Board would follow the community’s lead, whatever direction voters go statewide.

“If they’re good with cutting services, we’ll cut services,” Herr said. “If they’re not good with cutting services, we won’t. We’re here to serve our residents.”

“I do think that the long-term view of this has to come into play this year, even if it doesn’t happen,” Herr said. “It’s to the best interest of the citizens for us to be thinking that way every year.”

Looking ahead

The FY27 budget continues funding the county’s share of SunRail and investments in Scout micro-transit, while maintaining what officials say is one of the lowest millage rates in the region — unchanged from last year.

Gray said the path forward will require continued fiscal discipline and a willingness to adapt.

“Through conservative budgeting practices, strategic planning, and a continued focus on operational efficiency, Seminole County remains well positioned to adapt to changing circumstances while protecting its long-term financial stability,” he wrote.

Herr echoed that sentiment, framing the county’s approach as less about reacting to crisis and more about consistent, principled planning.

“I don’t know that that’s the case in all 67 counties,” she said, “but in the counties that are fiscally responsible, we’re doing what we do every year — with a view to the future.”

Haji Najibullah's sentencing capped a daylong proceeding in Manhattan federal court that featured a dramatic few moments when the reporter, David Rohde, faced Najibullah and described how Najibullah took part in the abduction of him and two other men in 2008 in Afghanistan but was now “refusing to take responsibility as I look at him today.”

Rohde, who is MSNOW’s national security reporter and previously worked for The New York Times and other publications, told Judge Katherine Polk Failla that he was “surprised and disappointed” that Najibullah was trying to blame others and circumstances for his role in the kidnapping of Rohde, another journalist and a driver.

The men were held for more than seven months before making a dramatic escape from a Taliban-controlled compound in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

In April 2025, Najibullah pleaded guilty to providing material support for acts of terrorism and conspiring to take hostages.

The bearded Najibullah, 50, who wore a black skull cap in court Tuesday, admitted that he provided material support including weapons to the Taliban from 2007 to 2009, knowing it would be used to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

Speaking through an interpreter, Najibullah apologized to Rohde and his family, saying “what happened to him was terrible, and I deeply regret my role in it.”

Standing at a lectern just feet from Najibullah, Rohde said it was Najibullah's lies that led him to go to what he thought was an interview but what turned into an ambush.

“Hostage taking is a cruel and cowardly crime. Family members spend weeks and months thinking they have the power to save their loved one's life,” Rohde said, noting it's “an illusion” because families lack the leverage and vast sums needed to meet ransom demands.

Still, Rohde said, the pain he and those who know him have suffered is dwarfed by the deaths of three U.S. soldiers who were killed by Najibullah's cohorts in a separate operation.

Three times, he named the soldiers as he spoke, becoming emotional about their deaths, the pain his family endured and his love for journalism.

In a statement afterward, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the case proves that “those who harm Americans and engage in acts of terrorism will be hunted down and brought to justice, no matter how long it takes.”

As she announced the sentence, the judge praised Rohde for the work that he and his wife have done on behalf of the families of others who were kidnapped.

She said she stopped short of giving Najibullah the life prison sentence that federal sentencing guidelines called for because he had pleaded guilty, sparing more trauma for his victims, and because he was subjected to harsh prison conditions for six years, including during the pandemic.

But she rejected most of the arguments for leniency made by his defense lawyer, who requested an 18-year prison term for his client as he portrayed him as doing what was necessary to protect his homeland during war.

She said fighters under his control attacked a convoy of soldiers, killing three of them.

“I don’t think he needed to pull the trigger, to decapitate a body, to be responsible for what happened,” Failla said.

Rohde called it the “biggest mistake of my life” to set up an interview with Najibullah that resulted in the kidnapping and said he would not have done it if he knew Najibullah was behind the killing of American soldiers.

He noted during his statement in court that the hostage takers had claimed he was a spy “when in fact I was a journalist” who was trying to get the viewpoint of a Taliban commander “to understand their hopes, their lives and their worldview.”

Then, he repeated that he remains “a journalist and I could not be prouder of being part of this profession,” a statement that briefly caused him to get choked up.

Kasey Keller. Brad Friedel. Tim Howard. Brad Guzan. They all played on major international club stages, and their national team could always count on having elite talent in net, even when the rest of the roster wasn't world-class.

That's no longer the case as the current American team prepares for its home World Cup.

While Matt Freese and Matt Turner are both solid domestic professionals, they have yet to match their esteemed predecessors' level of international accomplishment for club or country. Both are hoping they can summit that obstacle over the next few weeks — as soon as coach Mauricio Pochettino lets them know who's starting Friday night, that is.

“It’s fair to say the U.S. has a great goalkeeping corps, historically,” said Freese, the New York City FC keeper. “I was a fan of that goalkeeping corps for most of my life. Still am. And so it’s an honor to be on this team and be a part of that group to hopefully continue that great legacy.”

The U.S. arrived at its final World Cup training base in Orange County this week, but Pochettino has yet to announce which of his goalkeepers will start when his team opens the group stage against Paraguay in Inglewood, California — and it's tough not to see that as an indicator of the state of the U.S. situation in net.

Freese has been the Americans' regular starter since the CONCACAF Gold Cup last summer, while Turner was their starter at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar under coach Gregg Berhalter. Freese seems likely to be Pochettino’s pick for Friday, but the fact that it hasn’t been made yet is interesting for both competitors for the job.

“Not a ton of clarity, but I think the messaging for me is just to always be ready,” Turner said Tuesday. “It’s about training really well, keep fighting, and then the decision will be made."

No matter who gets the nod, the U.S. will have a Major League Soccer goalkeeper in net at the World Cup for the first time. That's a coup for MLS, but the Americans are used to fielding goalies who had success beyond their shores.

The 27-year-old Freese has spent his pro career in MLS since he left Harvard in early 2019. The 31-year-old Turner is also back in North America's top league with the New England Revolution after his European career stalled before it really got rolling.

Pochettino has split up the time in net in the Americans’ four matches in 2026, even working third-stringer Chris Brady into the mix. Turner started their friendly against Senegal last month, while Freese got his turn last weekend against Germany.

Turner knows he is probably behind Freese on Pochettino's depth chart, but the lack of a starting announcement has him working just that much harder.

“Given the fact that I haven’t played a ton in the last year for the national team, of course, for me, that makes me feel like the door is always cracked,” Turner said. “Everyone has a chance. But I think the coach will always pick the guy that’s playing the best, and he’s going to make the right decision for the team, and whatever my role is going to be, I’m going to be ready to do it to the best of my ability.”

Turner made his U.S. debut in early 2021, while Freese only got his first U.S. callup in January 2025, finally making his debut last June. But he quickly seized the starting job and played all six Gold Cup matches, earning praise for a run that included two clean sheets and three penalty saves during a successful shootout.

“I dream of this opportunity,” Freese said. “You work for this opportunity, but you never know if it’s going to come. I learned probably nine years ago, the ones that work hard without the promise of reward are the ones that usually succeed.”

NOTES: All 26 players participated in a full practice Tuesday for the first time in this World Cup training cycle. Tyler Adams, who sat out Monday's light workout for a maintenance day, was in the mix along with defender Chris Richards, who went through his second straight full practice while recovering from an ankle injury he picked up last month with Crystal Palace.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

In orders filed Tuesday, Wake County Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins dismissed claims against Robert M. Murphy Jr., as well as multiple N.C. State athletics officials tied to their oversight rules, citing procedural reasons.

The lawsuit was filed in February in state court in a case that began with a federal lawsuit from a single athlete filed in 2022. That complaint alleged years of misconduct by Murphy, including improper touching of the genitals during massages and intrusive observation while collecting urine samples during drug testing.

Collins granted the motion seeking a dismissal from Murphy’s attorneys, ruling that the statute of limitations had expired in claims dating back as early as 2013.

Collins also dismissed claims against multiple athletics officials such as former athletic director Debbie Yow and current AD Boo Corrigan on jurisdictional grounds. His ruling stated any complaint should go through the North Carolina Industrial Commission — a state agency that deals with workplace matters with N.C. State as a public university — rather than civil court.

Jared Hammett, a Raleigh-based attorney representing Murphy, issued a statement to The Associated Press describing his client as “someone who dedicated his life to working with athletes" while referring to a “rush to judgment” that can impact “real people's lives.”

“The truth is nothing happened but a man’s career being ruined for money,” Hammett said. “As a lawyer I am just glad that we have been able to help another person who needed support and found himself needing that defense.”

Durham-based attorney Kerry Sutton, who has represented players going back to the original case, said the athletes plan to appeal.

“This dismissal has nothing at all to do with Mr. Murphy’s sexual abuse of these 31 former student-athletes,” Sutton said in a statement to the AP. “It was decided based only on questions of legal procedure. We plan to appeal this outcome and in coming days will be adding new claims against NCSU for men who have recently come forward.”

All but two of the 31 athletes are “John Doe” plaintiffs to protect anonymity, while two former men’s soccer players are named.

One is Benjamin Locke, who filed the original complaint in August 2022. The other is one of two athletes who filed their own federal lawsuits in February 2023 and April 2023. The AP typically doesn’t identify those who say they have been sexually assaulted or abused unless the person has spoken publicly about it, which Locke has done.

Sutton, who has represented plaintiffs in each lawsuit, filed to dismiss those pending Title IX lawsuits before moving the case to state-level jurisdiction in September 2025.

Murphy, at N.C. State from 2012-22, was among nine defendants originally named individually. Others were school officials accused of negligence in oversight roles, saying concerns about Murphy’s conduct reached senior levels of the athletic department but the school’s response was insufficient.

Sutton and co-counsel Robert O. Jenkins filed in April to dismiss former N.C. State chancellor Randy Woodson as a defendant.

“N.C. State does not condone sexual misconduct of any kind,” the school said in a statement Tuesday evening. "The health and safety of our students and student-athletes is paramount to the university and our athletic programs.

“We agree with the court’s analysis and the decision that the law supports dismissal of the plaintiffs’ claims in this case. We recognize the immense courage it takes for someone to come forward, and our hearts go out to any student or student-athlete who has been impacted by distressing experiences.”

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

News 6 originally received a tip about the evacuation from a viewer, though the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said it was “working on gathering information.”

Meanwhile, News 6 Community Correspondent Jayna Manohalal went out to Gatorland around 4 p.m. to see what was going on.

Upon arrival, she discovered from people at the scene that they’d been evacuated into the parking lot but weren’t initially told why.

Deputies later revealed that a bomb threat had been reported, which prompted the evacuation.

“Our deputies conducted an extensive search and did not locate any devices,” investigators wrote. “Our detectives are investigating this incident.”

As a result, people were cleared to head back in.

Later Tuesday evening, Gatorland released the following statement about the incident:

“Gatorland® Orlando received a bomb threat this afternoon. We immediately evacuated the park, including remaining guests and staff. Park leaders worked with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to secure the premises. Based on their full inspection of the park, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office believes the threat was not credible.

As a result of the clearance given by the Sheriff’s Office, Gatorland will open tomorrow, June 10, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, for summer extended hours.

The safety of our staff, guests, and animals is always our top priority, and we will continue to follow our protocols to ensure the park is a safe and fun place for all.

We appreciate your support and understanding."

Gatorland CEO & President Mark McHugh

No additional information has been provided at this time.

Attorneys representing the family of Thomas Farley, including civil rights attorney Ben Crump, allege officers used excessive force during a June 2024 encounter that left Farley with a broken neck and permanent paralysis. Farley died nearly a year later from complications related to his injuries, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit stems from an incident outside a Palm Bay gas station, where Farley and several friends were accused of loitering. According to police, Farley ran from officers and was tasered multiple times while attempting to flee.

The complaint alleges the repeated use of a Taser caused Farley to fall from a fence, breaking his neck and leaving him paralyzed from the mid-chest down. The lawsuit also says that Farley was unarmed and did not pose a threat to officers at the time force was used.

“This police encounter with Thomas Farley was an excessive use of force,” Crump said during a news conference announcing the lawsuit. “We believe this fatal tasing violated his civil rights and ultimately led to his death.”

Farley’s mother, Pamela Farley, described the toll the injuries took on her son and family.

“I watched my son fight for over a year for his life,” she said. “My children and I watched him take his last breath on June 19, 2025, and I promise I will not let his life be in vain.”

Palm Bay police declined to provide additional comment but referred to a statement released following the incident in 2024. In that statement, the department said Farley repeatedly refused commands to stop while fleeing officers.

Police also stated that an internal review of the encounter determined the officer’s use of a Taser was lawful and justified under department policy.

The case is expected to be filed in federal court.

You'll usually be in the money — at least if recent history holds.

The New York Knicks, after two straight wins in the finals against the San Antonio Spurs, lost at home 115-111 on Monday night with Trump, a longtime fan of the Big Apple's NBA team, in a luxury suite at Madison Square Garden.

He similarly may have had a jinxing role for MLB's Washington Nationals during his first term, when the home team lost Game 5 of the World Series to the Houston Astros 7-1.

In November, the president was on hand when the NFL's Washington Commanders hosted the Detroit Lions, and the visitors romped 44-22. And he was front and center at Bethpage Black when Europe topped the U.S. golf team in last fall's Ryder Cup.

It’s a glaring irony for a president fanatical about sports but also especially obsessed with winning.

Trump frequently mentions his own election victories, even boasting of a 2020 win over Joe Biden that never happened, and touts his record of endorsing winning Republican primary candidates. His love of sports also sometimes leads him into hostile territory, including heavily Democratic Manhattan, where his very presence led to sustained booing before Game 3's tipoff.

The White House called the suggestion that Trump's attendance might not bode well for home teams “foolish” and called him “the people's president.”

“President Trump is the greatest champion for sports of any president in American history, and he loves them," spokesperson Olivia Wales said in a statement.

To be fair, Trump's attendance doesn't guarantee the home team will lose.

Last September, the New York Yankees beat the visiting Detroit Tigers 9-3 as the president marked the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Trump was also there when Navy beat Army 17-16 in Baltimore last fall, when the Midshipmen were technically the home team — though Navy wasn't playing in its home stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

He's also been to plenty of sporting events where home field advantage isn't a factor.

That was true for his attending the U.S. Open in September and the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans, where the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as that year's Daytona 500. Ditto for 2025s NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia and the FIFA Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

It also won't be an issue Sunday, when the White House's South Lawn will host a UFC show to mark Trump's 80th birthday.

If the trend holds, however, it may not be great news for the U.S. national team in the World Cup, which opens Thursday.

The Americans have never made it past the semifinal stage in the tournament's modern history anyway — and they'll have to contend this time with Trump playing an outsize role in organizing the event. He has pledged to attend the final and award the trophy to the winning team.

Trump getting blamed for New York's loss

Some Knicks fans have faulted the president for the Game 3 defeat, even though their team still leads the series. Game 4 will also be played in New York on Wednesday, though this time Trump isn't expected to attend.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate and frequent foil for the president, playfully picked up on the theme of Trump as a jinx, reposting a past White House post on X declaring “Call it the Trump effect” alongside discussion about the Knicks' loss.

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith — himself mentioned as a possible future presidential hopeful — suggested before Game 3 that it'd be Trump's fault if the Knicks didn't win. Afterward, he said, “What I feared would happen ended up happening.”

“The president disrupted our mojo,” said Smith, a longtime Knicks fan, before adding, “The man messed things up.”

Asked after the game about Smith potentially blaming him for a Knicks loss, Trump dismissed the commentator's political aspirations and questioned his intelligence.

“I think he’s a nice guy. But you need a certain aptitude to run for president,” Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One for his flight back to Washington early Tuesday

“You need a high IQ. I’m not sure that Stephen has that,” he said. “I don’t think he does, actually.”

Frequent booing hasn't kept Trump away

Before he was a politician, Trump, a native of the New York City borough of Queens, frequently attended Knicks games, sometimes sitting courtside. His return to the Garden nonetheless drew long and loud boos when his face was shown on the jumbotron during the national anthem.

In fact, he's been roundly booed repeatedly, though it has more to do with his politics than any role he might have in jinxing the home team. Trump drew boos at the Nationals' World Series game and during the Commanders game and the U.S. Open. At some events he's cheered and the crowd reaction can also be mixed — though Trump just as likely to simply claim a more friendly reception than he actually gets.

After the Knicks game, the president tried to suggest that the boos were “I think, mostly cheers.” The White House similarly attempted to spin the incident into a political show of strength, posting a photo of Trump at the game with the caption “King of New York.”

Offering a different assessment was New York's Daily News tabloid. It featured a cartoon of an exaggeratedly rotund Trump wearing a No. 38 Knicks jersey — with a bubble emerging from his mouth saying “approval rating.”

Frank Bisignano is expected to face pointed questions from lawmakers at a hearing on his agency’s customer service performance, its ability to pay Americans their benefits, protect their privacy, and other questions about the inner workings of the SSA.

He plans to tout shorter wait times and other customer service metrics to a House Ways and Means Committee hearing slated for Wednesday, and slam his predecessor, Martin O'Malley, for requiring appointments for field office visits, in a letter to lawmakers viewed by The Associated Press.

In the letter, Bisignano states that the SSA has cut phone wait times by 75% under his leadership, fixed frustrating website issues, and served 50% more people.

“I’ve been very clear. We will meet clients where they want to be met. You want to call us on a phone, we’ll have technology on the phone, or you can talk to somebody on the phone. You want to come to a field office, you can come with an appointment, or without,” Bisignano told The Associated Press in an interview.

Critics argue that recent gains are being achieved through temporary staffing shifts, increased reliance on online services, and workforce reductions that have created longer-term service risks, shifting bottlenecks around rather than solving staffing problems.

Bisignano dismisses the criticism. “People boo at Yankee Stadium, even when they’re winning,” he said.

Bisignano in his letter also said the Biden-era Social Security Administration, run by O’Malley, “turned people away who travelled to field offices” in a “failure to have consumer-centric service.”

O’Malley told the AP that the SSA under his tenure never turned away walk-in customers. “We encouraged appointments, but we were not turning away walk-ins.”

“He lies a lot,” O’Malley said about Bisignano. “He’s in the habit of lying.”

Bisignano took over the agency after a series of chaotic customer service changes, leadership exits, and false allegations made by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk — who ran the Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting program — that millions of dead people were receiving benefits.

The SSA cut 7,000 workers at the start of the Trump administration. Roughly 2,000 employees were reassigned last year into direct-service positions, including staff whose jobs don't normally involve answering calls.

The SSA's Inspector General — its internal watchdog — has identified ongoing errors in benefit administration and claims processing. But its latest semiannual report to Congress also shows the agency has made measurable progress in improving telephone service and deploying technology to speed disability claims processing.

The union representing SSA employees and field office workers says some offices are severely understaffed. That includes Ironwood, Michigan; Decorah, Iowa; Havre, Montana; Big Spring, Texas; Sheridan, Wyoming; Glasgow, Montana; Pierre, South Dakota; Cedar City, Utah; and Cody, Wyoming, according to the American Federation of Government Employees Council 220.

But Bisignano said no field offices have been closed and noted that the agency is committed to meeting clients where they prefer.

“What I’m trying to achieve is to have a better way for the American public to interact with the Social Security Administration,” Bisignano said.

Bisignano also serves as chief executive of the IRS, in a role that was created by the Trump administration. Asked about a new tax audit immunity deal for Trump and his family that was part of the controversial settlement crafted to resolve Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, Bisignano referred The Associated Press to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s recent comments to a congressional committee, where he refused comment on ongoing litigation.

The Tuesday announcement follows several incidents where traders have used inside information to profit on prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket. Just last week, it was disclosed that former Congressman George Santos was under investigation for allegedly illegally betting he wouldn't attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address after initially saying he would. In April, a U.S. Army soldier was charged with using classified information to make a $400,000 profit trading on Polymarket on the timing of the U.S. military operations in Venezuela earlier this year.

Kalshi will now assign a score to new markets, and the score will determine how much Kalshi believes that particular market is at risk of insider trading or market manipulation. If a market scores high on these metrics, Kalshi will require its customers to provide employment information to trade on that market. Those who Kalshi identify as a presumptive insider on that particular market will be banned from trading in those markets as they are created, the company said.

“By implementing these new integrity measures, we continue to lead the industry on the issue of market integrity among federally regulated prediction markets,” said Robert DeNault, head of enforcement at Kalshi, in a statement.

The employment information collected on users will only be used if suspicious activity is seen on the market in question, the company said. The company says these new screening tools have stopped at least 100 potential insider trades.

“This lets us identify presumptive insiders – people who have material, nonpublic information about a market’s outcome – and screen them out before a trade is ever placed,” Kalshi said in a statement.

Prediction markets have been pushing hard to gain legitimacy among the public and policymakers as a legitimate platform where users can bet on everything from sports to the weather to elections. Kalshi, in particular, has been trying to differentiate itself from its major competitor Polymarket, whose primary operations are outside of U.S. jurisdiction. Kalshi also disclosed that it has made at least 20 referrals to law enforcement or securities regulators for market manipulation or insider trading.

Kalshi announced in February that it was creating an Independent Surveillance Audit Committee to help it combat market manipulation and insider trading. The changes announced this week resulted partly from the committee's work, the company said.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Kalshi's changes earlier Tuesday.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Gordie Howe International Bridge, jointly owned by Canada and the U.S. state of Michigan, is set to take place on Friday, while the bridge itself is expected to open to traffic later this month.

Invitations for a Friday afternoon event to “mark the next step for the Gordie Howe International Bridge” have been sent, according to an invitation obtained by The Associated Press.

The event follows a recent conversation between Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks.

In February, Trump demanded that Canada turn over at least half the ownership of the bridge to the U.S. federal government and agree to other unspecified demands in one of his many salvos over cross-border trade issues.

The bridge, which would connect Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit and would be a vital economic artery between Canada and the United States, had been expected to open early this year, according to information on the project’s website.

The bridge is named after Howe, the late Canadian hockey great who spent 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

The project was negotiated by former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder — a Republican — and paid for by the Canadian government to help ease congestion over the existing Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Work has been underway since 2018.

“Obviously the bridge will be open at the end of the week. A symbol of, but also a fact of, cooperation between our countries,” Carney told reporters as he walked into Parliament.

“Great for Canadians going across the border, Americans coming across the border, and for commerce,” he said, calling it “positive news.”

Trump threatened the bridge as the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement is up for review this year, and Trump has been taking a hard-line position before those talks, including by issuing new tariff threats.

Carney, meanwhile, has spoken out on the world stage against economic coercion by the United States.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, has said that the Canadian-funded project is a “huge boon” to her state and its economic future.

Michigan is a swing state that Trump carried in both 2016 and 2024, but lost to Biden in 2020.

Snyder wrote in an op-ed in The Detroit News earlier this year that Trump was wrong in asserting that Canada owns both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the bridge.

“Canada and the state of Michigan are 50/50 owners of the new bridge,” Snyder wrote. “Canada was wonderful and financed the entire bridge. They will get repaid with interest from the tolls. Michigan and the United States got their half-ownership with no investment.”

The Gordie Howe bridge will join the privately owned Ambassador Bridge as the second span connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

The rival Ambassador Bridge was long the busiest U.S.-Canadian border crossing, carrying 25% of all trade between the two countries. It plays an especially important role in auto manufacturing.

Companies controlled by the Moroun family, owners of the rival Ambassador Bridge, previously sued to prevent the Howe bridge from being built.

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Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed to this report.

The stronger than expected performance was an improvement from April’s 14.1% year-on-year increase.

Imports in May jumped 27.4%, also at a faster pace compared with April’s 25.3% year-on-year expansion.

Exports to the U.S. in May surged more than 35% from the year before — the strongest pace since early 2021 — after an 11% increase in April.

China's shipments to the U.S. had fallen sharply for most of the months since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, as shipments to regions like Southeast Asia and Europe surged.

The strength in exports has been supported by shipments of autos and technology and artificial intelligence-related products such as semiconductors and computing equipment.

Exports are a “shock‑absorber” for China, helping its economy weather a spike in global energy prices that have driven inflation worldwide, said Wei Li, Head of Multi-Asset Investments at BNP Paribas Securities (China).

The global AI boom and a rising worldwide shift to green technology are also helping.

“Ships, chips, autos, and batteries continue to find strong demand amid the global tech boom, and higher prices along the tech supply chain have helped support the value growth for trade,” said Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at Dutch bank ING.

By product categories, overall exports of semiconductors in May more than doubled year-on-year by value while autos were up almost 40%. China’s biggest electric vehicle maker BYD said it sold more than 160,600 vehicles abroad in May, up 80% from a year earlier.

Advanced semiconductors and EV shipments are likely to help power China's export growth for the rest of this year, Li of BNP Paribas said.

Trump's visit to Beijing and his meetings there with Chinese President Xi Jinping in mid-May have raised hopes for improved relations between the world's two largest economies after the two leaders agreed to set up boards of trade and investment.

But analysts said the recent year-on-year improvement in Chinese exports to the U.S. probably has more to do with the base effect, after Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs that came into effect in April 2025 caused a sharp drop in China's shipments.

Chinese leaders have set a 4.5% to 5% annual economic growth target for 2026, slightly below the “around 5%” goal for 2025, and the slowest expansion goal since 1991. ING's Song said a strong start to the year should help China stay on track to meet its full-year growth target.

Rising healthcare costs and government spending have contributed to a projected depletion date that is less than 10 years from now.

The looming challenge for the programs is a partial funding gap, not a collapse. Even after trust fund depletion, the system will continue issuing benefits, albeit at reduced amounts.

Last year, Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund go-broke date was pushed to 2033 from 2036 the year before that, according to the report from the programs’ trustees.

Meanwhile, Social Security’s combined trust funds — which cover old age and disability recipients — will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2034, unchanged from the 2025 report. After that, incoming revenue would cover about 83% of scheduled benefits.

Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano said President Donald Trump's administration is “committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security” and “eliminating waste, fraud, abuse and ensuring program integrity.”

The new funding shortfall is mainly the result of lower projected birth rates, reduced immigration and reduced trust fund revenue due to the costs of Republicans’ massive tax and spending bill that Trump signed into law last summer, according to the report.

Nancy Altman, president of the Social Security Works advocacy group, said the latest report takes “Donald Trump’s second term policies into account: A tax bill that largely benefited the wealthy, economy-wrecking tariffs, a needless war with Iran, and hostility to immigrants. All of these have reduced the amount of money going into Social Security, weakening the system’s finances.”

The trustees, who include the treasury secretary, labor secretary, health and human services secretary and the Social Security commissioner, say the latest findings show the urgency of needed changes to the programs, which have faced dire financial projections for decades. But making changes to the programs has long been politically unpopular, and lawmakers have repeatedly kicked Social Security and Medicare’s troubling math to the next generation.

AARP's CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan said in a statement that the latest numbers “should be a wake-up call. Congress needs to act."

“Americans have worked hard and paid into Social Security their entire lives, and they deserve to count on it when they retire,” she said. “No family should see any cuts to what they’ve earned in Social Security. ”

About 70.1 million people are enrolled in Medicare, the federal government’s health insurance that covers those 65 and older, as well as people with severe disabilities or illnesses.

Social Security benefits were last reformed roughly 40 years ago, when the federal government raised the eligibility age for the program from 65 to 67. The eligibility age of 65 has never changed for Medicare.

Some slept in sleeping bags, face masks over their eyes to block out the afternoon sun. Others sat on the sidewalk eating from cereal boxes. Shoes lay scattered alongside empty mini-liquor bottles. A boom box blasted a Jay-Z song: “This can’t be right, there’s gotta be more.”

Atlanta announced an ambitious plan last summer to end encampments and other street sleeping downtown ahead of the 39-day soccer spectacular that begins Thursday. Called Downtown Rising, the program said it has housed nearly 500 people. But the scene on a recent afternoon outside this shelter on Pryor Street was a visceral reminder that Atlanta has not reached everyone.

Atlanta is one of several of the cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico using the attention that comes with hosting the world's premier soccer tournament to address homelessness. Seattle announced a housing push and said it was using the World Cup to gauge its progress. Dallas said it was expanding a successful effort to house homeless people living downtown.

A survey by The Associated Press found, however, that most of the 16 venues, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Houston, Toronto, and Vancouver, British Columbia, are relying on existing programs — most without any new funding tied to the World Cup — to address homelessness.

Growing tent encampments have bedeviled urban leaders for years. Federal data showed a double-digit percentage increase in homelessness nationwide from 2023 to 2024, when 770,000 people were counted as homeless — a number acknowledged as an undercount. That was followed by a slight decrease last year to 745,652.

In the past, many cities have treated the homeless as an eyesore to be removed ahead of big sporting and political events.

During last year's Super Bowl, New Orleans spent millions of dollars clearing away tent encampments near the Superdome and moving the homeless into a temporary warehouse. Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, migrants were bused out of the city until the Games ended. Chicago removed one of its biggest encampments ahead of the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

“These events provide a choice for communities,” said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “They can do the easy thing and sweep people out of encampments and into jails or other neighborhoods, or they can do the harder work that will benefit everyone in the community — housed or unhoused.”

Atlanta seeks to house downtown homeless

As host of the 1996 Olympics, Atlanta removed some 9,000 homeless people to a newly built detention center. It gave others one-way bus tickets out of town and launched “Operation Olympus,” detaining hundreds of people to reduce crime.

But this time around, the city was determined to do things differently.

It has raised $185 million in state and city funding, as well as corporate grants and other donations, toward a goal of $235 million, with the aim of housing 3,900 people citywide by next year. The latest city count last year showed there were some 2,900 homeless people citywide, about a third living in encampments or on the street.

“There will always be homeless people on our streets, more than likely, unfortunately,” said Cathryn Vassell, the CEO of Partners for HOME, the organization tasked with creating and executing Atlanta’s homelessness strategy. The goal is “to be able to identify them and quickly exit them into shelter, resources, services, and then ultimately housing.”

Downtown Rising has helped Michael Sutton turn his life around. In foster care since he was an infant, he bounced from family to family. For most of the past decade, the 31-year-old slept in train stations, parks, abandoned buildings and homeless shelters.

Since September, Sutton has had a one-bedroom apartment in an Atlanta suburb and a case worker.

“Everyone has rough days, and being able to go home or vent to yourself about it, relaxing in your own home … is priceless,” Sutton said.

But not everyone can be helped.

Some homeless people recoil at shelter rules, lack the documents to quickly move into permanent housing or have complicated drug and mental health challenges, or nomadic lifestyles that make them difficult to reach.

Tommy Elam said he's been on numerous housing lists, but nothing has happened — though he's hard to find. His phone was stolen countless times and he doesn’t currently have one.

“They don’t know where I’m at,” said Elam, who's been homeless since early 2020 and spent the last three months sleeping on the sidewalk near the Pryor Street homeless shelter, his latest spot since a crackdown on the encampment where he lived near the Georgia State Capitol building.

Standing outside the downtown supportive housing center where he now lives, Willie Jackson, who spent years on the streets, said he knows people who’ve been helped by the Downtown Rising initiative. But he's skeptical it will lead to lasting change after the World Cup — or that it’s made a significant impact on downtown’s homelessness problem.

“Just look around,” he said.

No more tents in Dallas

Two years ago, it was hard to miss the hundreds of tents around Dallas City Hall.

But ahead of the World Cup, there were no tent encampments downtown, where FIFA’s broadcast center is set up, or at the nearby fan zone. The matches will be played at Dallas' stadium in suburban Arlington.

Sarah Kahn, president and CEO of Housing Forward, which leads the homelessness response for Dallas and nearby Collin counties, said a $30 million campaign since 2024 reduced the number of people sleeping on downtown streets by 87% and placed some 2,000 into permanent housing.

In March, an additional $28 million was allocated to expand countywide, with a goal of providing 1,100 people housing, the agency said. Outreach workers deploy daily within a quarter-mile of transit hubs, the fan zone and the FIFA broadcast center to find anyone sleeping outside and offer services, it said.

Elisabeth Jordan, founder of The Human Impact, which helps the chronically homeless, praised the initiative as “the single greatest change ... in homeless response in Dallas.”

But she criticized Dallas police tactics that included zip-tying and removing people who remained after their encampments were cleared. Dozens of people from one encampment were housed in May, but about 20 who remained were detained, she said. In a statement, the Dallas police department called such detentions “standard practice” for people “violating the prohibited camping law” and who refuse housing.

Kacey Coker, who spent years on the streets or in jail, described a dramatic improvement in how the homeless are treated. Authorities used to “come through with a bulldozer and take our stuff and throw it away,” said the 51-year-old, who lost her birth certificate and social security card in those sweeps.

In May, she was offered a subsidized one-bedroom apartment for a few hundred dollars a month. For the first time, Coker feels safe.

“I can actually build something,” she said.

Tiny homes emerge in Seattle

At a vacant lot several miles from Seattle's stadium, workers were putting the final touches last week on 75 tiny homes.

The 70-square-foot units with a bed, space heater and air conditioner are part of Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's ambitious plan to open 500 units of new shelter by the start of the World Cup.

It's a goal she acknowledges she has missed — by 425 units.

“The World Cup .... provided just kind of a good goal post,” Wilson told the AP in an interview, saying the city will open an additional 228 beds by the end of the summer.

“When you put a number out there, that has the advantage of galvanizing people,” but it can also be framed as a failure if you miss it, Wilson said. “So, I really hope that the message ... is look, we are making progress.”

Homelessness advocates said they weren't surprised Wilson didn't meet such a lofty goal within six months of election. The World Cup isn't what's important; getting people housed is, they added.

“I’m just happy that anything has happened so far,” said Bruce Drager of Ballard Community Task Force on Homeless and Hunger near where the tiny homes were built.

Camped out with his wife between a sidewalk and train tracks just blocks from the stadium, Chris Moore said he hasn't heard about the city's housing plans.

A large encampment nearby has been cleared twice in the five months since he's been there, said Moore, who's been homeless for eight years. But dozens of tents were back again a week before the first game.

“I guess because the World Cup’s coming, you don’t want homeless people around,” he said.

Inglewood spruces up the stadium area

In Inglewood, California, site of the Los Angeles area stadium, roads were squeaky clean and paved with fresh asphalt. Bright flowers filled planters downtown and near the stadium.

“There’s no homeless in Inglewood,” Mayor James Butts told the AP when asked about the city's plans for housing people living on the streets ahead of the World Cup. “Just look at the numbers.”

Indeed, Inglewood's' homeless count last year was small — just under 400, about a third of whom were living on the street in the city of 100,000 people — compared to LA, where 43,695 homeless were counted in the city of 3.8 million-plus.

But less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the stadium and just outside Inglewood city limits, the nonprofit St. Margaret’s Center was handing out dozens of sack lunches for the homeless on a recent morning.

Carter Hewgley, who oversees strategic partnerships at LA County’s Homeless Services and Housing Department, said it has secured three motel sites ahead of the World Cup — “not because there's games, but because there's homeless.” The sites, including in Inglewood, range from 54 to 104 rooms. The agency also maintains tens of thousands of shelter beds, he said.

In Toronto and Vancouver, business as usual

In Canada, Toronto and Vancouver said they were relying on their already extensive services to provide thousands of shelter beds and temporary housing rooms, as well as outreach to those living on the streets. Vancouver has also set up centers where matches will be shown. Both said there were no plans to relocate homeless people ahead of the games.

Still, there were sporadic reports by advocates of crackdowns targeting homeless people.

In Toronto, where Canada's largest shelter system supports more than 8,500 people each night, advocates held a rally last month denouncing what they said were transit police tactics aggressively targeting the homeless at the city’s main train station.

Toronto Underhoused and Homeless Union said its survey of dozens of homeless people found some forcibly removed from lavatories and elsewhere, and subjected to verbal abuse by transit police. In a statement to the AP, the city did not directly address the complaints but said it doesn't “tolerate, ignore, or condone discrimination or harassment.”

In Vancouver, hundreds of activists held a protest in April over increased security ahead of the World Cup. A 2025 count showed 2,715 homeless people, some in Vancouver's Downtown East Side area near the stadium.

Last month, at a downtown park where homeless people are allowed to stay overnight, Harley Ransom was resting in his tent and said he's seen aggressive tactics.

Nearby, Francesca Crane, who said the van she lived in with her pet rabbits had been towed away, accused the city of “sweeping the homeless people under the carpet for FIFA to make it look like a clean city, no homelessness.”

“They are catering to people from other countries but stepping on the people of their own city and province,” she said. “What they’re doing is wrong.”

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Casey reported from Boston. Associated Press reporters Manuel Valdes in Seattle; Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon; Jim Morris in Vancouver, British Columbia; Robert Gillies in Toronto; Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri; Jamie Stengle in Dallas, and Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed.

When they fell behind against Atlanta in the first round of the NBA playoffs, desperation turned into domination. The Knicks won 13 straight games, many of them blowouts, in one of the most impressive postseason stretches in NBA history.

They don't need to do anything so dramatic now. With a 2-1 lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, a simple 2-2 record the rest of the season would give New York its first championship since 1973.

So after dropping Game 3, the Knicks don't need an overhaul. But they do need to be better.

“We have a veteran group. Nobody is quote-unquote panicking or anything like that,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said Tuesday. "Everybody is disappointed that we didn’t go out and execute and play to what we feel our standard is. That’s not taking anything away from San Antonio, but we feel like we can play a lot better than what we did.

“We’re looking forward to going out on the floor and showing it.”

Game 4 is Wednesday in a series in which the road team has won all three games, only the second time that's happened in the NBA Finals.

The Spurs jumped on the Knicks right at the start and then outplayed them late in their 115-111 victory on Monday. Victor Wembanyama controlled the action on both sides with 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots.

Showing no fear of a rowdy road environment in the first NBA Finals game in Madison Square Garden since 1999, just as they didn't in winning a Game 7 on the road against defending champion Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals, Wembanyama and the Spurs again looked like a team that might be able to win a title without first experiencing the growing pains that other young groups have.

“We will see. But my bet would be yes, it’s possible,” Wembanyama said.

The Spurs thought so even after dropping two games in San Antonio, which means to win the title they would have to become the first team to do so after starting 0-2 in its own building. It's a belief built from having one of the best players in the world and loads of talent around him, a group so confident that the players didn't think much of their accomplishment Monday.

“I didn’t want us to get too happy about one win and get satisfied and take our foot off the gas a little bit for the next game,” said guard Stephon Castle, who scored 23 points. “But I think since the end of Game 2 we’ve still been confident that we’re going to win this series, and that’s what we plan to do.”

The Knicks' first loss since April 23 didn't send them scrambling for solutions, because they were constantly looking for ways to improve even when all they did was win.

“Each game, no matter what the situation is, we’re growing as a team. I think we’re learning and we’re getting better — obviously before last night,” Jalen Brunson said. “No matter what the situation is, we’re going to stick together. We’re going to execute, we’re going to be better. That’s just how our mindset has to be going forward.”

There are things to fix. Karl-Anthony Towns isn't scoring in the fourth quarter. Wembanyama has clearly figured out ways to hurt the Knicks in the last 1 1/2 games after struggling by his standards before that. They have to turn the ball over less and defend better without fouling — no matter what Brown thought of the officiating in Game 3.

The Knicks did enough of those things well to run off the second-longest winning streak in postseason history. Now they have to recover quickly from a loss, or they'll head to San Antonio for Game 5 with the series tied.

“We have, what, 13 games in a row, 50 days of film to show what it looks like when we’re at our best. So we’ve got good film,” Towns said. “We’ll get back to our fundamentals, what makes us great, what made us great, and get back to work."

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This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Stephon Castle's first name.

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

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% after careening between an initial gain of 1% and a midday loss of 2.3%, pulling further from its all-time high set a week ago. After similar yo-yo moves, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 86 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 1%.

Indexes swung lower after companies selling computer chips, memory and other building blocks of the AI boom broke from early gains to losses. Micron Technology went from a jump of 4% to a plummet of 10%, for example, before finishing with a drop of 1.4%. That’s a day after it soared 9.9% and two days after it plunged 13.3%.

The computer memory company’s stock has already tripled so far this year, raising criticism that it’s gone too far, too fast. Following last week’s industrywide sell-off, the question is whether AI stocks broadly are heading for a long downturn or just needed a shake-out to get rid of excessive optimism.

Marvell Technology dropped 7.6%, and Advanced Micro Devices sank 3% after both AI winners also erased early-morning gains.

All the while, several big-name AI companies are racing to list their stocks on a U.S. exchange and sell them at high prices. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, said Monday it was the latest to file confidential paperwork with U.S. regulators top open the door for an initial public offering. SpaceX’s IPO could happen later this week.

The weakness for AI stocks drowned out the benefit Wall Street got from easing oil prices. Nearly three out of every four stocks within the S&P 500 rose, despite the sharp swings for the overall index, as the price for a barrel of Brent crude oil sank 3% to $91.45.

Oil prices have been unsteady as hopes rise and fade that the United States and Iran can reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. A reopening would allow oil tankers to resume delivering crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

Oil prices pared their losses, though, after President Donald Trump said Iran was responsible for downing an American military helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz and that the United States “must” respond to the attack.

High oil prices caused by the war with Iran have already created a painful acceleration of inflation for U.S. shoppers. They have also pushed bond yields higher worldwide, raising the pressure on stock prices.

Treasury yields eased Tuesday with the fade in oil prices, relaxing some of that pressure. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.52% from 4.56% late Monday, though it’s still well above its 3.97% level from before the war with Iran.

The latest monthly updates on U.S. inflation will arrive later in the week, with one on consumer prices coming Wednesday and one on wholesale prices coming Thursday.

Inflation is high enough, and the U.S. job market looks strong enough, that traders on Wall Street largely expect the Federal Reserve will have to raise its main interest rate at least once by the end of this year. Higher interest rates would keep a lid on inflation, but they would also threaten to slow the economy and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments.

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate recently hit its highest level in nine months, and high costs to borrow money could discourage the building of AI data centers that are fueling the U.S. economy’s growth.

On Wall Street, airline stocks flew higher after the drop in oil prices hinted at less pressure on their fuel bills. American Airlines rose 3.6%, and Delta Air Lines gained 3.8%.

J.M. Smucker jumped 10.4% after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company behind the Folgers, Hostess and other brands benefited from higher prices charged for coffee and sweet baked goods. It joined a long list of U.S. companies delivering stronger profit growth than analysts expected, which has helped drive the S&P 500 to record after record this year.

Nuvalent soared 39.3% after GSK agreed to buy the biotech company for $10.6 billion. The shares of U.K.-based GSK that trade in New York added 1.2%.

All told, the S&P 500 slipped 19.08 points to 7,386.65. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 86.10 to 50,872.11, and the Nasdaq composite fell 250.84 to 25,678.82.

In stock markets abroad, indexes dipped in Europe following bigger moves in Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 8.2% and nearly recovered Monday’s plunge of 8.3%. It’s been beholden to the performance of big tech stocks like SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.

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

The law requires government agencies and private companies to integrate cattle-tracking, land ownership and deforestation-monitoring systems to identify livestock linked to forest loss and keep them out of supply chains.

Supporters say the measure could help tackle one of the leading causes of deforestation in Colombia’s Amazon, where cattle ranching has long been associated with land grabbing and the clearing of forests for pasture.

The law comes as Colombia seeks to reverse decades of forest loss, much of it driven by the expansion of cattle ranching into previously forested areas. Supporters say it could close longstanding loopholes that have allowed cattle raised on illegally cleared land — including inside protected areas and national parks — to enter legitimate supply chains and eventually reach supermarkets and export markets.

A demand for beef not linked to deforestation

Susanne Breitkopf, director of forest campaigns at the Environmental Investigation Agency U.S., an environmental watchdog that has investigated deforestation linked to Colombia’s cattle industry, said the law could become a model for other tropical forest nations.

“It is a victory for forests, for the communities that protect them, and for consumers who demand that the beef they purchase does not contribute to deforestation and illicit economies,” Breitkopf said.

The legislation also arrives as governments and businesses face growing pressure from international markets to demonstrate that commodities such as beef are not linked to deforestation. Environmental advocates say traceability systems are increasingly becoming a prerequisite for access to some overseas markets and could help authorities better identify land grabbing and illegal forest clearing by cutting down or burning forest.

Colombia has lost about 3.3 million hectares (8.2 million acres) of forest — an area roughly the size of Belgium — according to organizations that supported the legislation, with the problem particularly acute in the Amazon region.

Creating a nationwide legal framework

Brazil’s Amazonian state of Para has adopted traceability requirements for cattle producers and committed to tracking individual animals throughout the supply chain, but environmental groups say Colombia’s law goes further by creating a nationwide legal framework.

A 2025 analysis by the Environmental Investigation Agency found that hundreds of thousands of cattle were transported between 2020 and 2024 from municipalities overlapping national parks.

The law is the result of years of campaigning by environmental organizations, researchers and lawmakers who argued that weak oversight allowed cattle linked to illegal deforestation to move through Colombia’s fragmented supply chain.

Natalia Katixa Escobar, a researcher at Dejusticia, a Colombian legal and policy research center that has studied links between cattle ranching and deforestation, said the law helps bridge a longstanding divide between environmental and agricultural oversight.

“One of its first achievements is that it creates a bridge between environmental and agricultural policy,” she said. “The control mechanisms associated with cattle ranching and cattle traceability had no environmental perspective.”

Colombia's environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres told The Associated Press the government hopes the measure will help distinguish producers who operate responsibly from those linked to forest destruction.

“This means it will become increasingly difficult for the destruction of forests or economies associated with illegal activities to hide behind seemingly legitimate supply chains,” Vélez said.

A 2-year timeline for implementation

Within six months, the government must establish programs to help suppliers comply with the new requirements, create a certification system for deforestation-free products and provide funding to strengthen monitoring systems in active deforestation hot spots.

Within a year, authorities must regulate procedures governing the country’s cattle identification and traceability systems and establish due diligence requirements for deforestation-free cattle ranching.

By the end of the second year, slaughterhouses, meat processors, cattle auctions, traders and live cattle exporters will be required to implement due diligence policies and best practices aimed at ensuring their supply chains are free from deforestation.

The legislation also requires the gradual integration of government databases, allowing officials to compare information on land tenure, cattle ownership and forest loss for the first time.

Supporters say those measures could significantly improve authorities’ ability to identify cattle raised on recently deforested land and prevent them from entering legal markets.

But the law’s success will depend largely on implementation, including whether the government can adequately fund new systems and enforce the rules in remote regions where illegal deforestation remains widespread.

If fully implemented, supporters say, the law could become a model for other tropical forest nations seeking to protect forests while maintaining access to increasingly demanding international markets.

“The real test will be what happens on the ground,” Escobar said, noting that while the law could improve oversight and information-sharing, reducing deforestation will also depend on governance and enforcement in remote regions of the Amazon.

“Whether it will significantly reduce deforestation in the Amazon remains to be seen,” she said.

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The announcement came two months after Artemis II's record-breaking trip around the moon that surpassed the distance record of Apollo 13.

NASA's Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas and the European Space Agency's Luca Parmitano won't fly to the moon or land on the surface. Instead, they’ll orbit Earth while practicing docking their Orion capsule with two lunar landers.

“To the Artemis III crew, we wish you Godspeed on the journey ahead,” said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are racing to deliver the lunar landers. The two-week demo is targeted for 2027. Blue Origin suffered a recent setback when its massive rocket exploded during an engine-firing test on the launch pad in Florida, shaking nearby homes and illuminating the sky with an orange fireball.

NASA's Jeremy Parsons said the setback is a learning opportunity and that the space agency is confident Blue Origin's rocket will be ready in time.

NASA's Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the moon's surface for the first time since the 1970s. A recent revamp of the program announced by Isaacman aims to fast-track it similarly to the Apollo era, adding the upcoming spaceflight around Earth before eyeing a lunar landing in 2028.

“We are certainly humbled as a crew to be able to be your crew that executes this Artemis III mission in space,” said Bresnik, Artemis III commander.

Added Douglas, mission specialist: “My brain — it is going a mile a minute right now. But my heart, it is so warm. It is so full."

In May, NASA awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to four companies, including Blue Origin, to build landers, rovers and drones for a future moon base. Isaacman said the goal of the moon base is to lay the foundation for a Mars expedition.

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

In an interview on Tuesday, Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera repeated accusations against the Trump administration made by other Cuban officials, including the foreign minister and the president, and complained bitterly that the U.S. is targeting Cuban civilians with its decades-old embargo and new blockade of energy shipments to the island.

“The sanctions against our leaders, we see as a pretext to make the American people think we are a threat,” she said at Cuba's embassy in Washington. “We are not a threat to the U.S., and we don’t want confrontation.”

Torres Rivera, who holds the formal title of chargé d’affaires, described the situation as “a war without bombs.” She said efforts to change Cuba’s government by coercion or force would be met by fierce resistance.

“Raúl is sacred,” she said of the indictment by a federal grand jury last month of Castro. The 95-year-old former president faces conspiracy and murder charges related to the 1996 shootdown of two unarmed civilian planes operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue while he was serving as Cuba’s defense minister.

“Raúl is a sacred symbol of the revolution, and we will defend Raúl — as we will the country — until the end,” Torres Rivera said. “If we are attacked, we are going to respond, and we are prepared for that. But we don’t want it.”

Her comments reflect a belief among many Cubans and Cuba analysts that the charges against Castro and the sanctions imposed on others in the socialist government's leadership are similar to those the Trump administration touted as a reason for the military intervention in Venezuela in January that deposed then-President Nicolás Maduro.

On Thursday, the same day the U.S. Treasury Department leveled sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Castro’s son and grandson, along with others, U.S. President Donald Trump said of Cuba: “We’re going to handle that as soon as we’ve finished” military operations in Iran.

Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since ousting Maduro and then ordering an energy blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba. That has led to severe blackouts, food shortages and an economic collapse across the island.

Torres Rivera said the moves by the Trump administration to tighten the screws on Cuba’s already faltering economy have resulted in untold misery for ordinary Cubans who are struggling to survive with power cuts of up to 20 hours a day and exorbitant costs for gasoline, kerosene and everyday goods, including food and medicine.

“What is happening now is tough,” she said. “It is heartbreaking.”

Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other administration officials have repeatedly denied that Cuba’s economic strife is America’s fault and repeatedly cast the blame on the Cuban government’s socialist policies. They have not ruled out military action against the island but have said they are willing to give Cuban authorities time to make reforms.

Torres Rivera said that recent discussions between senior U.S. and Cuban officials in Havana and elsewhere have been “professional and respectful.” But she said that Cuba is not willing to change unless reforms are made from within and not under duress.

A former Cuban ambassador to Vietnam, another socialist country with which Cuba has long-standing ties, she noted that Washington and Hanoi have forged a positive relationship over the past four decades, but only because the Vietnamese enacted reforms at their own pace. The same should be permitted for Cuba, she said.

“We want to make sure that the only changes to the system are done by us,” she said.

Rubio, however, has said Cuba poses a serious national security threat to America because of its security and intelligence ties with China and Russia and friendly relations with U.S. foes in Latin America.

“I really don’t believe this system is capable of reform unless new people take over or a new mindset takes hold,” he told lawmakers at a congressional hearing last week.

The State Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the Cuban ambassador's comments.