Florida's Republican-led Legislature is latest to act, approving new House districts that could help the GOP win several additional seats in this year's elections. That could offset Democratic gains in Virginia, where voters recently approved a new U.S. House map designed to flip several seats to Democrats.

Next up could be Louisiana, where Republican state lawmakers plan to revise congressional districts in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after each census. But President Donald Trump last year urged Texas Republicans to redraw House districts to give the GOP an edge in the midterms. California Democrats reciprocated, and redistricting efforts soon cascaded across states.

Republicans believe they could win up to 13 additional seats from new congressional districts in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Florida. Democrats, meanwhile, think they could gain up to 10 seats from new districts in California, Utah and Virginia. But that presumes past voting patterns hold in November. And that’s uncertain, especially since the party in power typically loses seats in the midterms and Trump faces negative approval ratings in polls.

Democrats need to gain just a few seats in November to wrest control of the House from Republicans, potentially allowing them to obstruct Trump’s agenda.

Next up: Louisiana

Current map: two Democrats, four Republicans

New map: Republican state lawmakers will be working in May to revise U.S. House districts in response to an April 29 U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down a majority Black congressional district.

Challenges: Time is short. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has postponed the May 16 congressional primary to allow for new districts to be drawn.

Where new House districts were approved

New U.S. House districts have passed in eight states since last summer. Six took up redistricting voluntarily, one was required to by its state constitution and another did so under court order.

Texas

Current map: 13 Democrats, 25 Republicans

New map: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a revised House map into law last August that could help Republicans win five additional seats.

Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in December cleared the way for the new districts to be used in this year’s elections. It has since overturned a lower-court ruling that blocked the new map because it was “racially gerrymandered.”

California

Current map: 43 Democrats, nine Republicans

New map: Voters in November approved revised House districts drawn by the Democratic-led Legislature that could help Democrats win five additional seats.

Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in February allowed the new districts to be used in this year’s elections. It denied an appeal from Republicans and the Department of Justice, which claimed the districts impermissibly favor Hispanic voters.

Missouri

Current map: two Democrats, six Republicans

New map: Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a revised House map into law last September that could help Republicans win an additional seat.

Challenges: A Cole County judge ruled the new map is in effect as election officials work to determine whether a referendum petition seeking a statewide vote complies with constitutional criteria and contains enough valid petition signatures. The Missouri Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit claiming mid-decade redistricting is illegal. It's scheduled to hear arguments in May on claims the new districts violate compactness requirements and should be placed on hold pending the potential referendum.

North Carolina

Current map: four Democrats, 10 Republicans

New map: The Republican-led General Assembly gave final approval in October to revised districts that could help Republicans win an additional seat.

Challenges: A federal court panel in November denied a request to block the revised districts from being used in the midterm elections.

Ohio

Current map: five Democrats, 10 Republicans

New map: A bipartisan panel composed primarily of Republicans voted in October to approve revised House districts that improve Republicans’ chances of winning two additional seats.

Challenges: None. The state constitution required new districts before the 2026 election, because Republicans had approved the prior map without sufficient Democratic support after the last census.

Utah

Current map: no Democrats, four Republicans

New map: A judge in November imposed revised House districts that could help Democrats win a seat. The court ruled that lawmakers had circumvented anti-gerrymandering standards passed by voters when adopting the prior map.

Challenges: A federal court panel and the state Supreme Court, in February, each rejected Republican challenges to the judicial map selection.

Virginia

Current map: six Democrats, five Republicans

New map: Voters approved a constitutional amendment on April 21 authorizing new U.S. House districts backed by Democrats that could help the party win up to four additional seats.

Challenges: The state Supreme Court allowed the referendum to proceed, but it has yet to rule whether the effort is legal. The court is considering an appeal of a Tazewell County judge’s ruling that the amendment is invalid because lawmakers violated procedural requirements.

Florida

Current map: eight Democrats, 20 Republicans

New map: The Republican-led Legislature passed revised House districts on April 29 that could improve the GOP's chances of winning four additional seats.

Challenges: The state constitution says districts cannot be drawn with intent to favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent.

Where redistricting efforts were denied

Governors, lawmakers or partisan officials pushed for congressional redistricting in numerous states. In at least five states, those efforts gained some initial traction but ultimately fell short in either the legislature or court.

Maryland

Current map: seven Democrats, one Republican

Proposed map: The Democratic-led House in February passed a redistricting plan backed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore that could help Democrats win an additional seat.

Challenges: The legislative session ended in April without the Democratic-led Senate voting on the redistricting plan. The state Senate president said there were concerns it could backfire on Democrats.

New York

Current map: 19 Democrats, seven Republicans

Proposed map: A judge in January ordered a state commission to draw new boundaries for the only congressional district in New York City represented by a Republican, ruling it unconstitutionally dilutes the votes of Black and Hispanic residents.

Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in March granted Republicans' request to halt the judge’s order, leaving the existing district lines in place for the 2026 election.

Indiana

Current map: two Democrats, seven Republicans

Proposed map: The Republican-led House passed a redistricting plan in December that would have improved Republicans’ chances of winning two additional seats.

Challenges: Despite pressure from Trump to adopt the new map, the Republican-led Senate rejected it in a bipartisan vote on Dec. 11.

Kansas

Current map: one Democrat, three Republicans

Proposed map: Some Republican lawmakers mounted an attempt to take up congressional redistricting.

Challenges: Lawmakers dropped a petition drive for a special session on congressional redistricting in November, after failing to gain enough support.

Illinois

Current map: 14 Democrats, three Republicans

Proposed map: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in October proposed a new U.S. House map that would improve Democrats’ chances of winning an additional seat.

Challenges: The Democratic-led General Assembly declined to take up redistricting, citing concerns about the effect on representation for Black residents.

The White House had warned that temporary funding Trump had tapped to pay Transportation Security Administration and other agency personnel would “soon run out,” and that sparked new threats of disruptions for travelers at airport. DHS has been without routine funds since Feb. 14, causing hardship for workers, though much of Trump’s immigration agenda that is central to the dispute is being funded separately.

“It is about damn time,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, who proposed the bill more than 70 days ago.

The House swiftly voted by voice earlier Thursday, without a formal roll call, to pass the measure. It brought an abrupt end to the standoff that began months ago after Trump's deadly immigration crackdown in Minneapolis launched a reckoning on Capitol Hill over the money being sent to fuel the president's agenda.

The movement in Congress comes as DHS is under intense scrutiny after Trump ousted Kristi Noem as the department's leader, installing Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin in the middle of the shutdown. The agency counts some 260,000 employees, across TSA, the Coast Guard, FEMA and other operations.

Many workers have endured repeated turmoil with potential furloughs and missed paychecks in May as the congressional stalemate dragged on. This shutdown came on the heels of last year's governmentwide closure, which itself had set a record at 43 days. Countless employees have struggled with bills or simply quit their jobs.

Trump's deportation strategy fueled the dispute

In the aftermath of the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both U.S. citizens, by federal agents during protests against the immigration actions in Minneapolis, Democrats refused to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol without changes to those operations.

At the same time, Republicans would not go along with a plan pushed by Democrats to fund TSA and the other parts of DHS without the money for ICE and Border Patrol. They insisted that immigration operations must not be zeroed out.

After the shutdown intensified, with hourslong lines at airport security screening, the Senate unanimously approved the bipartisan package in a middle of the night vote a month ago. Then the bill languished in the House.

Johnson, R-La., himself had called the legislation a “joke.”

To break the impasse, Republican leaders in both the House and Senate decided to tackle the immigration enforcement funding on their own through what is called budget reconciliation, a cumbersome weekslong process ahead.

By beginning that path, Johnson was able to unlock the broader bipartisan bill for the rest of DHS. House Republicans late Wednesday adopted a budget resolution, on a largely party-line vote, that focused on eventually providing $70 billion for immigration enforcement and deportations for the remainder of Trump’s time in office. His term expires in January 2029.

Johnson acknowledged on Thursday that while he had trashed the bipartisan bill before, the new budget process ensure that the immigration money eventually will flow “with no crazy Democrat reforms.”

“We threw a fit,” the speaker said. “We had to.”

But not all Republicans were pleased. During the quick floor action Thursday, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said isolating the immigration-related money on a separate track is “offensive to the men and women who serve in ICE and Border Patrol, and are serving this country every single day.”

White House warns paychecks at risk, again

The White House had urged Congress this week to act, warning that the money Trump tapped to temporarily pay TSA and other workers through executive actions was drying up.

Immigration enforcement workers have largely been paid through the flush of new cash — some $170 billion — that Congress approved as part of Trump’s tax cuts bill last year. Others, including at the TSA, have had to rely on Trump’s intervention through executive action to ensure their paychecks. Most of its employees are considered essential and have remained on the job.

But with salaries topping a combined $1.6 billion every two weeks, Mullin said recently that the money was dwindling.

On Thursday, he said in a social media post that the shutdown "NEVER should have happened."

More than 1,000 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began, according to Airlines for America, the U.S. airlines trade group that on Wednesday called on Congress to fully fund the Cabinet department.

Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said while workers are "pleased that Congress finally stepped up to do their jobs and fund DHS, it is unacceptable that it took them this long to do so.”

He said "federal employees are not political pawns. They are not leverage. They are Americans -– and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”

Complicated budget strategy ahead

The go-it-alone strategy under the budget resolution process is the same that was used last year to approve Trump’s tax cuts bill, which all Democrats opposed.

With the budget resolution now adopted by the House and Senate, lawmakers will next draft the actual $70 billion ICE and Border Patrol funding bill, with voting expected in May.

Trump has said he wants it on his desk by June 1.

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Associated Press writer Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced earlier this month he will be stepping down from the role, with Apple’s head of hardware engineering, John Ternus, assuming the role later this year.

The January-March results announced Thursday reflect the continued momentum of iPhone sales. Cook said in a statement that it was the company's best March quarter ever, with "double-digit growth across every geographic segment."

The company earned $29.58 billion, or $2.01 per share, in the January-March period, up about 22% from the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose about 17% to $111.18 billion from $95.36 billion a year earlier. iPhone sales made up the bulk of revenue, bringing in $56.99 billion.

The Cupertino, California company beat analyst expectations this quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research forecast earnings of $1.95 per share on revenue of $109.46 billion.

In the previous quarter that ended in December, the company said it reached record-high iPhone sales, even though it still hasn’t delivered on its long-promised revamp of Siri assistance with AI. iPhone achieved a March quarter revenue record, fueled by “such extraordinary demand" for the iPhone 17 lineup, Cook said in a statement.

This March, Apple introduced the new iPhone 17e and the MacBook Neo, an entry-level laptop, products that represent the company’s most aggressive attempt at moving into the affordable market.

Cook has helmed Apple for 15 years, inheriting the CEO role from the late Steve Jobs. During his tenure at the head of the company, the company’s market value soared by more than $3.6 trillion during an iPhone-fueled era of prosperity.

Ternus will start as CEO on Sept. 1, and Cook will remain involved with the Cupertino, California company as executive chairman.

Ternus briefly joined a call with analysts after the results were posted Thursday, with Cook introducing him and emphasizing the confidence he has in his successor. Cook said he and Ternus will be working together closely over the next few months to make the transition as smooth as possible.

“This is the most exciting time in my 25 year career at Apple to be building products and services,” Ternus said. “There are so many opportunities before us, and I couldn’t be more optimistic about what’s to come.”

The three-foot-wide (1 meter) Bridger Pipeline Expansion would carry up to 550,000 barrels (87,400 cubic meters) of oil a day from the Canadian border with Montana down through eastern Montana and Wyoming, where it would link with another pipeline.

The project would require additional state and federal environmental approvals before construction, which company officials expect to start next year. Environmentalists hope to stop the project over worries that the pipeline could break and spill.

At peak volume, the 650-mile (1,050-kilometer) pipeline would move two-thirds as much oil as the better-known Keystone XL pipeline that got partially built before President Joe Biden, citing climate-change concerns, canceled its permit on the day he took office in 2021.

“Slightly different from the last administration. They wouldn’t sign a pipeline deal. And we have pipelines going up,” Trump said after signing the Bridger Pipeline Expansion cross-border approval.

Trump in his first term approved the Keystone XL project in 2020 over the concern of Native American tribes about possible spills and environmental groups about fossil fuels' contribution to climate change.

Biden's Keystone XL permit cancellation the following year frustrated Canadian officials, including Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, after Alberta invested more than $1 billion in the project.

Sometimes called “Keystone Light," the Bridger Pipeline Expansion would not cross any Native American reservations. More than 70% would be built within existing pipeline corridors and 80% on private land, Bridger Pipeline LLC said in a statement.

The Casper, Wyoming-based company operates more than 3,700 miles (5,950 kilometers) of gathering and transmission oil pipelines in the Williston Basin of North Dakota and Montana and the Powder River Basin of Wyoming.

A subsidiary of True Companies, Bridger Pipeline could avoid a reversal by a future administration if it’s able to complete its project before Trump leaves office. It hopes to start construction in the fall of 2027 and finish it by late 2028 or early 2029, Bridger spokesperson Bill Salvin said.

Trump’s term ends Jan. 20, 2029.

True Company subsidiaries have been responsible for several major pipeline accidents including more than 50,000 gallons (240,000 liters) of crude that spilled into the Yellowstone River and fouled a Montana city’s drinking water supply in 2015, a 45,000-gallon diesel spill in Wyoming in 2022 and a 2016 spill that released more than 600,000 gallons (2.7 million liters) of crude in North Dakota, contaminating the Little Missouri River and a tributary.

Subsidiaries of True agreed to pay a $12.5 million civil penalty to settle a government lawsuit over the North Dakota and Montana spills.

Salvin said the company has developed an AI-driven leak detection system that allows it to be notified more quickly when there are problems. It also plans to bore 30 to 40 feet (9 to 12 meters) beneath major rivers including the Yellowstone and Missouri to reduce the chances of an accident. The 2015 accident occurred on a line that was constructed in a shallow trench at the bottom of the river.

“We designed the pipeline with integrity and safety in mind. We have emergency response plans should something happen where oil happens to get out of the line, which is fairly rare,” Salvin said.

Environmental groups opposed to the project include the Montana Environmental Information Center and WildEarth Guardians.

“The biggest concern we see right now is the concern inherent in all pipeline projects which is the risk of spills,” said attorney Jenny Harbine with the environmental law firm Earthjustice. “Pipelines rupture and leak. It’s just a fact of pipelines.”

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Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

The discovery prompted the closure of Wells Hall through May 1 and left students, many of whom were preparing for final exams, scrambling for answers.

Suspicious person prompts police response

MSU officers were dispatched to Wells Hall after receiving reports of a suspicious person, an odor, and substances on the floor.

Officers located Xin Tong, 31, and identified him using an expired MSU ID.

They seized several bottles of chemicals from bags he was carrying, chemicals authorities say are commonly used to make meth.

The chemicals caused roughly $20,000 in damage to Wells Hall, specifically to doors and flooring.

Student reaction

Students received an alert on their phones on Monday notifying them of the situation.

Sophomore Mohita Katta was among those trying to make sense of what happened.

“It’s going to be weird coming back to the building in the fall, and I feel like it will have a lasting reputation for years to come,” Katta said.

Senior Colin Koot said the incident caught him off guard.

“Since Wells Hall, there’s not really any science labs, I figured it wasn’t something like that, but it was just very strange,” Koot said.

Charges, bond

Tong faces felony charges, including operating or maintaining a methamphetamine lab and causing more than $20,000 in damage.

He is being held at the Ingham County Jail on a $500,000 bond. His next court appearance, a pretrial hearing, is scheduled for May 8.

Police say the investigation remains ongoing and that there is no risk to the campus community.

On Thursday morning, visitors snapped photos as the Steller sea lion flopped on the pier, surrounded by dozens of much smaller California sea lions that call the docks home.

“He’s like a Volkswagen! He’s so huge!” said Oluwaseyi Akinbobola, a visitor from Los Angeles who had an extra half hour so she ran down to the pier for a hopeful peek of the elusive sea lion. “I have heard everywhere about this big giant sea lion, and I like to look at things, so just thought I’d check it out.”

Chonkers likely came from up north off the coast of Washington or Oregon and is estimated to weigh between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds (680 and 907 kilograms), said Laura Gill, public programs manager at The Marine Mammal Center in nearby Sausalito. Chonkers has been one of the few Steller sea lions to venture to the pier, which is protected from predators and crashing waves while providing a fish-filled buffet.

“There's plenty of food in San Francisco Bay for them, so the fish, the rockfish, the anchovies, the herring, there’s a lot of easy prey for them,” she said.

The giant sea lion, which was first spotted on the pier last month, has brought the community together, said San Francisco resident Danielle Ovadia. “He’s so precious, and he’s quite literally humongous," she said.

Sea lions have become synonymous with the popular tourist pier, but they didn't start gathering there until after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, according to the marina. One lone male was quickly joined by dozens more and by February 1990, the pinniped population had grown to more than 300.

Chonkers has been spotted at the docks early in the morning but is harder to pin down during the rest of the day, Gill said. She said it is endearing to watch him try to snuggle with the regular sea lions for warmth and it will be interesting to see if other Steller sea lions follow suit.

“He's trying to fit in, but he sticks out like a sore thumb,” she said.

Consumers are paying for the Iran war 's disruption of global energy production as the conflict enters its third month. Steeper gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices are making driving and air travel more expensive.

Many companies warn there's more to come: the cost of fuel and of materials derived from petroleum could drive up prices for food and for household items.

Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers, keeping them pent up in the Persian Gulf and away from customers worldwide, while a U.S. Navy blockade is preventing Iran from selling its own oil. Prices surged overnight on worries that the war will affect the flow of crude for a long time.

Here’s how the growing cost of oil and gas is impacting consumers.

Gas surges to highest level since 2022

As the cost of crude climbs, so do the prices of gasoline and other fuel that keep equipment, cars, buses, delivery trucks and airplanes running.

Across the U.S., gas prices are at their highest level since 2022. The national average hit $4.30 a gallon on Thursday, compared with $2.98 before the war started, according to AAA. That's a 44% increase since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.

Diesel prices are making shipping cost more

Steep diesel prices are making it more expensive to haul everyday goods. Diesel is now at an average of nearly $5.50 a gallon, up from $3.76 before the war, AAA says.

Shippers have started adding surcharges to cover the cost. The U.S. Postal Service implemented a temporary 8% charge on some of its services, including Priority Mail, to help blunt the impact of rising transportation costs. Amazon added a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on third-party sellers using its platform to offset fuel prices as well.

Shoppers may see more sticker shock for clothing, cosmetics, furniture and other goods.

"Diesel’s the one that you want to watch out for for prices of consumer goods,” said Peter Zaleski, professor of economics at Villanova University.

Plane tickets are getting pricier

After jumping to $209 a barrel in early April, the global price of jet fuel eased last week to around $179, still well above the roughly $99 at the end of February.

Fuel is one of the largest expenses for airlines. Its prices are pushing up airfares, baggage fees and add-on charges.

Major U.S. carriers including Delta, United, American and Southwest have raised checked baggage fees. United is expanding its “pay for what you want” model from economy to premium cabins, charging separately for options like seat selection. American is adding fees for seat assignments in basic economy, even for its elite-tier loyalty members.

Outside the U.S., carriers in Asia and Europe have added or raised fuel surcharges, in some cases tacking on hundreds of dollars to long-haul tickets.

Many airlines also have trimmed flight schedules, cut less profitable routes or reduced seat capacity. The Lufthansa Group has said it plans to cancel about 20,000 flights across its network over the next six months.

Consumer goods makers may raise prices

Procter & Gamble, the maker of such household products as Crest toothpaste, Tide detergent and Charmin toilet paper, estimated last week the war could cause a $1 billion hit to profits during its next fiscal year if Brent crude were to stay around $100 per barrel. Many of P&G’s products and packaging are made of resin or other petroleum-based material, Andre Schulten, P&G’s chief financial officer, told reporters on April 24. He said the company may have to pass on some of the costs to shoppers.

London-based Unilever, which makes everything from Dove soap to Hellmann's mayonnaise, plans to raise prices around 2% to 3% in “small doses,” CFO Srinivas Phatak said in an earnings call on Thursday.

Groceries could be next

Grocery prices have yet to be affected, according to government figures. But they are expected to rise with tightening supplies of fuel and fertilizer.

Fuel accounts for roughly 15% to 30% of the total cost of food, according to the Independent Grocers Alliance, a grouping of 7,500 global supermarkets. Fertilizer is also essential to farmers, and about 30% of the world’s fertilizer shipments typically pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Ken Foster, a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University, said there is typically a 3- to 6-month lag between an energy price shock and an increase in retail food prices. The lag can be up to a year for packaged foods with a longer shelf life.

Increased hunger in Asia and Africa is possible

The U.N. World Food Program estimates that 45 million additional people — the majority of whom live in Asia and Africa — could tip into hunger if the war doesn’t ease by the middle of this year. That would bring the global total of people facing food insecurity to 363 million, the highest level on record.

“Delays and higher transport costs push up food prices, and families who spend 50% to 70% of their income on food are the first to go without,” Corinne Fleischer, the program’s supply chain director, said in a statement.

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Associated Press writers Cathy Bussewitz and Anne D'Innocenzio in New York, Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit and Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

The 44-year-old pop star was charged with a single misdemeanor count of driving under the combined influence of alcohol and at least one drug, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said.

A Spears representative had no immediate comment.

The criminal complaint does not specify what kind of alcohol or drugs, or what amount, Spears is accused of having used.

Spears, who has since entered substance abuse treatment, was arrested March 4 after she was pulled over for driving her black BMW fast and erratically on U.S. 101 near her home, the California Highway Patrol said. She appeared to be impaired, took a series of field sobriety tests, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs and was taken to a Ventura County jail, the CHP said.

She was released on bail the following day. Police completed their investigation and presented it to prosecutors on March 23.

A representative at the time called Spears’ actions “completely inexcusable” and said it would ideally be “the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney’s life.”

Spears voluntarily checked into a substance abuse treatment facility just over a month after the arrest, her representative said.

Spears’ arraignment is set for Monday. Because it is a misdemeanor charge, she will not be required to appear in court, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the case will be handled according to their standard protocol for defendants with no DUI history, no crash or injury on the road and a low blood-alcohol level.

In court on Monday, Spears will be offered what is commonly known as a “wet reckless,” allowing a defendant to plead guilty and get a year of probation, credit for any time served in jail, a required DUI class and state-mandated fines and fees, prosecutors said.

The offer is common especially for defendants who have independently shown motivation to address their problems and seek treatment, the district attorney’s office said.

The singer has a home in Ventura County just outside the Los Angeles County line. Her arraignment will be held in the city of Ventura, a seaside community of about 110,000 people about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of downtown LA.

The onetime teen pop phenomenon and “Mickey Mouse Club” alum became a defining superstar of the 1990s and 2000s with hits like “Toxic,” “Gimme More” and “I'm a Slave 4 U.” Most of Spears' albums have been certified platinum, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, with two diamond titles: 1999’s “ … Baby One More Time” and 2000's “Oops! … I Did It Again.”

Spears became a tabloid focus in the early 2000s, and a source of public scrutiny, as she battled mental illness and paparazzi documented the details of her private life.

In 2008, Spears was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship, run primarily by her father and his lawyers, that would control her personal and financial decisions for well over a decade. It was dissolved in 2021.

Since then, she has married and divorced, and released a bestselling, tell-all memoir, “The Woman in Me.”

She has essentially been retired as an artist in recent years, releasing only a few collaborative singles since her last full album in 2016.

The trial centers on the 2015 birth of the ChatGPT maker as a nonprofit startup primarily funded by Musk. It pits the world’s richest person against Sam Altman, a fellow OpenAI co-founder he accuses of betraying promises to keep the company as a nonprofit dedicated to humanity’s benefit.

Tempers have flared on both sides of the high-stakes trial, as the morning began with an existential discussion about the future of humanity — complete with references to “The Terminator” movies — and how much witness testimony would focus on AI safety.

“Your client, despite these risks, is creating a company that is in the exact same space,” Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers told Musk's lawyers, referring to the billionaire's xAI, which launched in 2023. People, she said, “don't want to put the future of humanity into Mr. Musk's hands,” and instructed the parties not to discuss the dangers of AI to humanity during the course of the trial.

“This is not a trial on the safety risks of artificial intelligence. This is not a trial on whether or not AI has damaged humanity,” she said. “It could be one day in a federal court in this country that we may have that trial. That is not this trial and we are not going to get sidetracked on that issue in this trial.”

On the stand, Musk has taken issue with the cross-examination by opposing attorney William Savitt, accusing him of asking misleading questions designed to trick him and the jury. At one point Thursday, Savitt asked Musk about earlier testimony where he said that as long as investor profits were capped, OpenAI wasn’t in violation of agreements to keep it a nonprofit.

“It depends on how high the cap is,” Musk replied. Savitt then said that “wasn’t your complete answer yesterday right?” In response, Musk said “few answers are going to be complete, especially if you cut me off all the time.” He added that if the cap is “super high,” then OpenAI is “really a for-profit at that point.”

Lawyers for OpenAI have rejected the allegations brought in Musk’s civil lawsuit and said there were never promises that the company would remain a nonprofit forever. The company has argued Musk’s legal challenge is aimed at undercutting OpenAI’s rapid growth and bolstering Musk’s xAI, which he launched in 2023 as a competitor.

The trial in federal court in Oakland, California, is scheduled to continue through late May. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers excused Musk from the witness stand Thursday, but he may be called back later.

During the cross-examination, Savitt also asked Musk about his companies — Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and X — and whether they were all for-profit. Musk replied yes, and affirmed that he believes all of these companies are “socially beneficial.”

Savitt then asked why Musk hasn't started a nonprofit himself, eight years after he left OpenAI.

“I thought I had started a nonprofit with OpenAI but they stole it,” Musk replied, adding that this is “the entire basis of this lawsuit.”

“It happened overnight, and we are light ouch,” said Lynnette Rodgers, owner of the Nacho Grill.

Rodgers runs both a fixed location at 9 Mile and Livernois and a mobile truck for events.

“Just doing my best behind the scenes like the Wizard of Oz, not to pass the prices on to the customer,” Rodgers said.

In Cadillac Square, food trucks line up nearly every day during the summer months -- a staple of Detroit’s downtown lunch scene.

But behind the scenes, operators say the math is getting harder to work out.

Richard Zemola has owned Hero or Villain since 2013 and says this latest fuel surge is a tough one.

“It hurts. Every time we go, I’m playing that game of like, do I put a quarter tank in?” Zemola said.

He recently had no choice but to bite the bullet.

“After avoiding it for as long as I possibly could, we were at about a quarter tank left. I filled up this truck, and it was about $120. We are going to sell a lot of sandwiches today and hopefully make some of that back,” Zemola said.

Kaylah Polidori, senior manager of Impasto, says her team is spending anywhere from $80 to $160 per fill-up, depending on which rig they are running.

For now, Impasto is not passing those costs on to customers — but the margin for flexibility is shrinking.

“We’ve been pretty fortunate to be able to maintain, but it’s definitely something we have to factor a lot more now,” Polidori said.

Still, these operators say they are not going anywhere. The trucks will keep showing up, and the food will keep coming -- but they are asking for a little extra support from their loyal customers.

“We need the help just like anyone else,” Zemola said.

“The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!” Trump posted on social media.

Trump said people had wanted this change, especially with regard to the wooden barrels in which the spirits of Scotch and bourbon can be aged. His post left it unclear if the tariffs were being lifted on bottles of Scotch or on the materials used to produce alcohol in both countries.

“I will be removing the Tariffs and Restrictions on Whiskey having to do with Scotland’s ability to work with the Commonwealth of Kentucky on Whiskey and Bourbon,” Trump said.

The White House did not respond to emails seeking clarification about the details of what Trump announced, though the post was interpreted in Scotland and by industry lobbyists as removing the tariffs on Scotch.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer later said in a Thursday statement that the U.S. would give “preferential duty access for whiskey produced in the United Kingdom.” The administration did not immediately respond to questions about whether that meant eliminating the tariffs or lowering them.

The Trump administration in 2025 reached a trade framework that put a 10% tax on most goods imported from Britain. The Scotch Whisky Association said its export volume to the U.S. fell 15% after the tariffs were announced in April of last year.

The president, answering questions from reporters in the Oval Office, said the tariffs were lifted to specifically enhance the trade of barrels between Scotland and Kentucky, which produces almost all of the world's bourbon. The barrels are used to age the alcohol.

“I just took all the restrictions off so Scotland and Kentucky can start dealing again,” said Trump, who added that he's “not a big drinker."

Still, John Swinney, Scotland's first minister, interpreted the president's statement as a removal of tariffs on Scotch itself, calling it a “tremendous success” for his country.

“People’s jobs were at stake. Millions of pounds were being lost every month from the Scottish economy," said Swinney, expressing gratitude to both Trump and King Charles III.

Trump has used alcohol as a pressure point in his tariff threats. Last year, he threatened a 200% tariff on European wine — a major potential blow to French and Italian vineyards that never came to fruition.

Foreign countries have responded in turn with threats on bourbon and other American products.

In the end, the Trump administration exempted cork from tariffs, a huge relief to Portugal, the leading supplier of the material used to cap wine bottles.

Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council in the U.S., also interpreted Trump’s post as a removal of the 10% tariff on whisky from the United Kingdom.

“We applaud President Trump for working to restore a proven zero‑for‑zero model of fair, reciprocal trade between our two nations,” Swonger said in a statement. “This action strengthens transatlantic ties, brings much‑needed certainty to our industry and allows spirits producers on both sides of the Atlantic to grow, invest and support jobs at a critical time.”

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AP correspondent Jill Lawless contributed from London.

Coe's wife, Kimberly Hastings Coe, confirmed his death to Rolling Stone on Wednesday.

She described him as one of the best singers and songwriters of our time.

“My husband, my friend, my confidant and my life for many years. I’ll never forget him and I don’t want anyone else to ever forget him either,” she wrote to the publication.

A statement from a Coe representative to People said he died around 5 p.m. Wednesday. The cause of death wasn't disclosed.

Whether he was labeled outlaw or underground, Coe was clearly an outsider in Nashville's music establishment, even throughout his successes as an in-demand songwriter and singer, eventually developing a core following around his raw, often obscene lyrics and a checkered, somewhat mysterious past.

His wife posted on Facebook in September 2021 that he had been hospitalized with COVID-19, and he made few appearances after that.

Coe toured over the years with Willie Nelson, Kid Rock, Neil Young and others. He wrote “Take This Job and Shove It,” a hit by Johnny Paycheck in 1977, and “Would You Lay With Me (in a Field of Stone),” a hit by Tanya Tucker in 1974. He was also the first country singer to record “Tennessee Whiskey,” penned by Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove, which has since become a genre standard and a hit for both George Jones and Chris Stapleton.

Coe also appeared in a handful of movies, including “Stagecoach” and “Take this Job and Shove It,” which was named after his song.

“Spent so much time with David over the years, touring, writing songs and just hanging out,” Kid Rock wrote Thursday on X. “I knew a side of Dave most people never got to see. He was such a deep thinker, kind and about as real as an outlaw can get!”

Coe, born in Akron, Ohio, spent time in reformatories as a youngster and served time in an Ohio prison from 1963 to 1967 for possession of burglary tools. He also said he spent time with the Outlaws motorcycle club, but some tales about his prison time and his personal life have been wildly exaggerated over the years.

“I’d have never made it through prison without my music,” he said in a 1983 interview with The Associated Press. “No one could take it (music) away from me. They could put me in the hole with nothing to do, but I could still make up a song in my head.”

He recorded his first album, a blues album called “Penitentiary Blues,” using songs he wrote in prison. He later told reporters that he tried not to lean too heavily on prison as a song topic because of similarities to Merle Haggard's backstory, but that his criminal history was all people seemed interested in.

Coe recorded next for Columbia Records and made the album “The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy,” which became his nickname after he performed in a rhinestone suit while wearing a mask.

In his debut at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Coe performed “Get a Little Dirt on Your Hands” and “You Never Even Called Me By My Name.”

During the outlaw movement heyday, Coe placed himself at the center of the scene with songs like “Longhaired Redneck,” which featured lyrics about performing in dive bars, “where bikers stare at cowboys who are laughing at the hippies who are praying they’ll get out of here alive.”

He was featured in the acclaimed documentary about the outlaw country movement called “Heartworn Highways,” in which he performed a concert at a Tennessee prison.

Coe, himself heavily tattooed and sporting long hair, claimed a diverse fan base that included bikers, doctors, lawyers and bankers. His last record, released in 2006, was a collaboration with Dimebag Darrell and other former members of the heavy metal group Pantera.

He released two R-rated albums, 1978′s “Nothing Sacred” and 1982′s “Underground Album,” that he sold via biker magazines. The songs on these albums have been criticized for being racist, homophobic and sexually explicit. He told “Billboard” magazine in 2001 that author and songwriter Shel Silverstein convinced him to record the songs he had written, something he had come to regret.

“Those were meant to be sung around the campfire for bikers, and I still don’t sing those songs in concert,” he said.

David Wade, a friend who worked on several projects with Coe, said the singer wanted people to be talking about him.

“He always said any press is good press,” said Wade, who runs music management company Neon Deuce.

They met in 1988 and Wade said he began working occasionally with Coe in 1996. Wade said a close family friend of Coe's told him of the singer's death.

“I learned a lot from David,” Wade said of Coe. “He was very complicated. I never found him to be racist. I never found him to be any of those things.”

They collaborated on a documentary about Coe that’s still in the works, according to Wade, who said he's producing it along with actor Johnny Knoxville.

“David did hours of interviews for it,” Wade added. “It all comes down to money and getting the rights and clearances and everything for the songs.”

The documentary looks at Coe “being in prison, to being a biker gang member to being a songwriter,” Wade said.

In 2016, Coe was ordered to pay the IRS more than $980,000 in restitution for obstructing the tax agency and was sentenced to three years’ probation. Court documents say Coe earned income from at least 100 concerts yearly from 2008 through 2013 and either didn’t file individual income tax returns or pay taxes when he did file.

Dorothy Carey, 71, who moved to Canton Township in November, said the encounter happened early last week while she was home watching television.

“He come up on the porch and I went outside to talk to him,” Dorothy said. “He said, ‘I’m from DTE,’ and here’s my ID.”

The man showed what appeared to be an employee badge featuring a photo and the DTE logo. Dorothy said he also wore an orange safety vest and a shirt with what looked like a DTE patch.

“It looked normal -- looked like a regular DTE logo,” she said.

The man told Dorothy that DTE had discovered residents in the area were being overcharged and said he needed to see her utility bill to verify the charges.

Dorothy went inside to look for her bill but couldn’t immediately find it. She then mentioned that her DTE charges might be bundled with her lot payment.

“He says, ‘Oh, okay then, thank you,’ and he left real fast,” she said.

At first, Dorothy said she didn’t suspect anything unusual, but later realized the whole encounter felt odd.

“Why would he ask to see the bill if they overbilled me,” she said. Dorothy also said the man told her he was going door-to-door, but said she never saw him go to any other homes.

The next morning, Dorothy contacted DTE and described the interaction. She said a representative checked the area.

“She said, ‘Ma’am, no, nobody was scheduled to be in that area at all,’” Dorothy said. “And I said, ‘Well, he looked like he was from DTE.’ And she said, ‘Oh, believe me, they are good. They are good now. They’re scammers.’”

Local 4 also contacted DTE and they confirmed “This is certainly not a DTE employee.”

The whole encounter has left Dorothy shaken.

“I was scared,” she said. “My God, I’m outside with him. My door is unlocked. He could’ve just pushed me inside.”

Dorothy described the man as tall, African-American, with short, curly hair. She said she never saw a vehicle and believed he was walking/cutting through the neighborhood.

DTE and Canton Township police said scammers impersonating utility workers are continuing to target residents across Michigan and the country, often focusing on seniors, new homeowners and people living alone.

DTE officials said customers should always ask for identification before speaking with anyone claiming to be a company employee. While scheduled work is often announced ahead of time, unscheduled visits can happen if crews are working nearby or filling gaps between projects.

The company said it is rare for employees to need access inside a home, though it can happen for indoor meter work, pipe inspections or relighting appliances.

DTE employees will never request payment at a home, ask customers to purchase prepaid debit cards, threaten immediate shutoffs, sell solar panels or request to see billing information at the door, according to the company.

Neighbors who are uncertain about a worker’s identity are encouraged to keep their doors locked and call DTE directly at 800-477-4747 to verify whether crews are in the area.

Anyone who refuses to show identification, acts aggressively or behaves suspiciously should be denied entry and reported to police.

Dorothy now hopes others will learn from her experience.

“If anybody comes to your door -- DTE, a gas company, whatever — keep them outside,” she said. “You call the place they say they’re from to make sure they got somebody at your house.”

Looking back, she said the situation is still unsettling.

“You don’t know what he’s trying to do,” Dorothy said. “He could’ve had a gun or something. I don’t know.”

Local 4 spoke further with DTE and they said it would be a violation if anyone -- even other gas companies -- were to present themselves as a DTE worker. DTE stressed that even aggressive salespeople go after seniors and lower-income residents.

“It’s a common thing and it’s happening every day,” a spokesperson said. “It’s actually the time of year, where it’s ramping up — in the summertime.”

Additional information:

• Natural gas customers in Michigan have the option to choose who supplies their natural gas through the Gas Customer Choice program.  
• You can select the natural gas supplier of your choice or do nothing and continue to get your natural gas supplied by DTE under regulated rates. Regulated rates are those that the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) must review and approve on behalf of customers. The rates of alternative gas suppliers are not regulated. Unregulated rates are whatever the supplier chooses to charge, with no MPSC review or approval.  
• DTE will not contact you to offer special deals on rates – like lower rates for a limited time – and we do not solicit by phone or at your door. If you receive a call or encounter a door-to-door salesperson detailing a discount, please know that this is not DTE and may be an alternative gas supplier offering an unregulated rate.  
• Alternative gas suppliers sometimes offer promotional rates at the onset of your contract; but remember, promotional rates may not last for your entire contract. For instance, you may be offered free natural gas for a few weeks or months – perhaps during the summer when you may not use much natural gas anyway – and the normal, unregulated rate could start as temperatures drop and you begin using more gas.  
• If you wish to use an alternative gas supplier, you should shop around just as you would for any product. Look at the MPSC’s comparison site at Michigan.gov/compareMIgas, which compares unregulated rates with DTE’s regulated rate. Call suppliers and get their prices and contract terms. Read all information provided by the supplier before you sign the contract.  
• Do not give your DTE account number over the phone to an alternative gas supplier until you are sure you are signing up.  
• If you use an alternative gas supplier, regularly review your bill and gas choice rate. Alternative gas supplier rates are unregulated, so they are subject to change.

The House sent the extension to President Donald Trump’s desk Thursday after the Senate cleared it earlier in the day. The move comes despite passage through the House of a longer three-year extension, with lawmakers needing more time to negotiate a final agreement. The temporary patch extends the program through June 12.

“I don’t like kicking the can down the road. Not my jam. But that’s where we are,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Trump and intelligence officials have for weeks urged Congress to renew a key provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that allows agencies like the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to collect communications from foreign targets without a warrant.

But negotiations have stalled over concerns that the program can incidentally sweep up Americans’ communications. Critics want a warrant requirement when those communications are accessed.

The short-term extension was passed Thursday by unanimous consent in the Senate. In the House, it received bipartisan support, with many Democrats joining the Republican majority in the 261-111 vote.

“I won’t oppose this short extension, but only because it is my fervent hope and determination it will give us the time to work together across the aisle to implement meaningful reforms,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

Some House Republicans did speak against it ahead of the vote. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie has been among the Republicans pushing for a warrants requirement.

“A short term infringement of the Constitution is still an infringement of the Constitution,” Massie said on the House floor.

Thune said Thursday he believed the extension into June would allow Congress to work with the White House on reforms to the program.

“We’ll get to work in earnest and try to find something you actually are able to do a long term extension of the authorization with,” Thune said.

Concerns about warrantless surveillance have made passage of a long-term renewal a heavy lift for Republican leadership. Earlier this month, lawmakers approved a short-term extension through April 30 after a chaotic late-night session.

House GOP leaders appeared to make headway Wednesday, clearing a key procedural hurdle on a three-year renewal after flipping several Republican holdouts. The bill later passed with bipartisan support.

But House leaders added separate legislation banning a central bank digital currency to win more votes. Senate leaders made clear that provision would not pass their chamber.

Thune said he told Johnson Wednesday that “what they sent us, we weren’t going to be able to process over here.”

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Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed.

Austin-based Infowars is facing liquidation because of the more than $1 billion in defamation lawsuit judgments Jones owes relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for calling the Connecticut massacre a hoax. The proposed licensing deal would give The Onion temporary authority to use Infowars' trademarks, copyrights and intellectual property while a state receiver in Texas works toward liquidation.

A state judge in Austin had scheduled a hearing Thursday on whether to approve The Onion deal with the receiver. But the proceeding fizzled into a status conference because the Texas Third Court of Appeals late Wednesday approved an emergency motion by Jones’ lawyers that temporarily blocked the transfer of any Infowars assets. The judge set another hearing for May 28.

Lawyers for the Sandy Hook families had asked the Texas Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court ruling, but the high court did not issue a decision before Thursday's hearing.

“This newly insane, unprecedented legal stalling does nothing but delay our deal with the receiver to take control of InfoWars,” Ben Collins, The Onion's CEO, said in a social media post ahead of the hearing. “We now expect new traps in Alex Jones’ amoral war to deny paying the Sandy Hook families, but we’re freshly surprised by the U.S. legal system’s appetite to put up with it.”

The Onion already has been selling Infowars merchandise on its own website, including T-shirts and tote bags with an Infowars logo that replaces the “o” with its trademark onion image. It wants to turn the Infowars platforms into comedy sites that would include spoofing Jones, conspiracy theories and right-wing talking points, while giving revenue to the Sandy Hook victims’ relatives.

Jones declared victory in videos posted on his social media sites after the appellate court ruling. He called The Onion's plan illegal, citing pending appeals and his continuing personal bankruptcy case.

“I said days ago there’s no way the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas doesn’t overturn this — you know they’re all Democrats — because it’s so outrageous what you’ve done,” Jones said.

After Thursday’s hearing, Mark Bankston, a lawyer for some of the Sandy Hook victims’ relatives, accused Jones of delaying the liquidation of Infowars numerous times with court filings.

“As far as the world is concerned, Infowars is dead. Everybody knows that,” he said. “He’s trying to keep the bloated corpse of a media organization alive. It’s all a joke. Everybody knows where this is going.”

It’s not the first time The Onion has hit a legal setback in plans to take over Infowars.

In November 2024, the Chicago-based satirical outlet was named the winner of a bankruptcy court auction of the assets of Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, aimed at helping pay some of the defamation judgments. But a federal judge overturned the auction results, citing problems with process and The Onion’s bid.

Jones said on his show this week that he has a new studio nearing completion. He already has set up a new phone app and websites, including one that sells the dietary supplements, clothing and other merchandise he hawks on his shows. And his personal X account, where he posts videos of his shows and has 4.5 million followers, is not affected by any of the court cases.

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Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.

The time off gave the FIA time to make changes to the regulations that drivers heavily criticized after the first three races of the year because of how the electrical battery power has changed the cars and competition.

Will it help?

“It's a tickle,” said Max Verstappen, who has been so vocal about his dislike of the current cars that he's openly considering leaving F1.

“It's not what we need yet to really make it flat out. It's complicated to get everyone to agree,” he continued. “I just hope for next year we can make really big, big changes. Like I said, it's a tickle, but it needs to be more than a tickle, for sure.”

Drivers won't be able to truly get a feel for the changes until Friday when practice begins, so everything they have learned so far has been limited to simulator work. While the drivers were able to offer opinions on how the FIA should attack the complaints about the car, they aren't sure how much influence they really had.

“The fact is, we don’t have a seat at the table. We do engage with the FIA and F1 more often,” said seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. "We’re not stakeholders. I say to them, when I was doing the early tests, I was like, ‘You guys should come and speak to us and collaborate with us.’

“We’re like, ‘Speak to us, we’ll work, and we can work together.’ We want this sport to succeed. It’s like small baby steps each time.”

Verstappen acknowledged that the drivers did have quality conversations but there is room for a stronger relationship moving forward.

“The positive thing about it is we have had some nice meetings with Formula 1 and the FIA and I think that’s probably like a starting point,” Verstappen said. "In a few years time, where maybe I’m not here anymore, I’d really hope that for the future drivers as well, there’s more input to come from the drivers to the organizers in general. I do think that most of the drivers here, we have a good understanding and a good feel of what is needed to make Formula 1 a good product, a fun product.

“I think everyone has tried their best to at least do something. But of course, it won’t change the world.”

Upgrades everywhere

The break allowed the 11 teams in the paddock to assess their season after three races and update their cars ahead of Sunday's race. That's another uncertainty the field is attempting to navigate.

“It’s going to be pretty unusual to see so many upgrades on so many different teams,” said Charles Leclerc. “I’m pretty sure most of the people will have kind of new cars for here. Whether it will change significantly the pecking order that we have seen since the beginning of the year, I doubt so.”

The Ferrari driver believes Mercedes will still have the early season control over the rest of the field. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli combined to win the first three races of the season and Antonelli is the current points leader.

“I think the package will make a difference on that, hopefully for us better, but at the point of going and get Mercedes, I think they are, they were too ahead for us to actually get them only with what we are bringing here,” said Leclerc.

Weather concerns

And then there's the added threat of heavy rain on Sunday and the forecast is so unpleasant that it dominated conversation three days before the race.

The National Weather Service is calling for thunderstorms for all of South Florida throughout Sunday, while AccuWeather is showing a 55% chance of thunderstorms on race day. It could disrupt the event because conditions must be stable enough for a medical helicopter to be able to fly when cars are racing, plus the NWS recommends seeking shelter if the delay between thunder and lightning is shorter than 30 seconds.

The NWS recommends waiting at least 30 minutes before leaving shelter and cited Florida as the state that "specifically leads the U.S. in lightning deaths, injuries, and casualties.” The weather service also says lightning is Florida's number one “weather killer.”

“In the wet we are really passengers,” said Leclerc. “In the rain, it’s not about being brave or not. You stay flat out and you hope that no cars in front of you are slower than you and you just assume they are on the same speed as you. So it’s not such a nice feeling.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

The move now thrusts political newcomer Graham Platner, an oyster farmer almost no one knew a year ago, as the expected Democratic front-runner against longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins, whose seat Democrats are targeting in their effort to win control of the closely divided Senate.

“While I have the drive and passion, commitment and experience, and above all else – the fight – to continue on, I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources," Mills said in a statement. “That is why today I have made the incredibly difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the United States Senate.”

Mills, a two-term governor and longtime Maine politician, was seen as one of Democrats' top 2026 recruits when she entered the Senate race last year. She had the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and prominent left-leaning advocacy groups hoping to unseat Collins in the chamber, which has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who caucus with the Democrats.

But Mills struggled to outshine first-time candidate Platner, her opponent in the June 9 Democratic primary. Platner has maintained strong popularity despite facing controversy over past comments he made online and a tattoo he had that is widely recognized as a Nazi symbol.

Mills did not endorse Platner in her campaign suspension announcement, but she said in a follow-up statement that she would “continue to hear and watch how Graham Platner works to earn the support of Maine voters.”

Meanwhile, Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, both of New York, said they would work with Platner to defeat Collins.

“Our North Star is winning a Democratic Senate majority, and over the past year, Senate Democrats have carved out multiple paths to do that,” their statement said.

Democrats debate how to win back some power

The contest between Platner and Mills was part of a broader debate within the Democratic Party over how best to defeat Republicans and win back some power in President Donald Trump's Washington, where the GOP controls the White House and both chambers of Congress.

While Schumer backed Mills, his caucus did not fall in line.

Platner is backed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, and Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.

Platner held a series of events Thursday thanking Mills for her service and acknowledging he's going to face potentially millions of dollars in attack ads from Republicans in the coming months.

"The Republican Party is going to come after us with everything they’ve got,” Platner said. “The way we break through that is by connecting with people directly.”

Mills had tried to convince voters that she was the best candidate to stand up to Trump, repeatedly noting she told the president she would see him in court, a reference to Maine officials' lawsuit against the Trump administration over federal funding and a dispute over transgender athletes in sports.

Yet the message appeared at times drowned out by the popularity Platner attracted on the campaign trail. His events have attracted thousands of supporters as he pitched his populist message and flooded airwaves with his ads. He consistently outraised Mills every step of the way, raising $4 million while Mills raised $2.6 million in the latest fundraising quarter. Collins raised $3.1 million but has $10 million in the bank.

Age also became an issue in the race, as some Democrats want younger candidates to lead the party going forward. Mills is 78, while Plater is 41. Collins is 73.

“I’m sure this was a difficult decision for Governor Mills, and I thank her for her decades of service to the people of Maine,” Collins said in a statement.

So far this year, Democrats have largely avoided messy internal fights in their bid to retake the Senate. The Maine race was an exception, and with Mills’ decision, the Michigan Democratic primary could be the most heated campaign this year. Abdul El-Sayed, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow are locked in a competitive race there ahead of the August primary.

Many political observers initially anticipated that it would be Platner, not Mills, who would be forced to bow out of the race.

Questions about Platner

Platner has been dogged by questions about the skull-and-crossbones tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol that he said he got on his chest during a night of drinking while on military leave in Croatia. He has said the tattoo has been covered to no longer reflect that image. Additionally, there have been lingering questions about inflammatory comments he made in old online postings, which he has since disavowed.

Yet, Platner's willingness to talk about his past mistakes has helped propel his favorability.

Republicans had already begun attacking Platner ahead of Mills' campaign suspension announcement, pointing to his old social media posts that were dismissive of sexual assault. Among the posts, Platner once wrote on Reddit that people shouldn’t get so drunk “they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to.”

“Now with Chuck Schumer‘s reluctant support, Platner’s attempt at the Senate will be yet another fantasy that will end when Susan Collins grinds this fraudster into dust,” said Alex Latcham, executive director of the Senate Leadership Fund, in a statement.

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Kruesi reported from Providence. R.I. Associated Press writer Steven Sloan contributed from Washington.

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

The announcement from Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, cited searches by federal agents on Tuesday at childcare and learning centers and other sites in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area that receive federal Medicaid funding.

“Minnesota state-run programs have raised serious red flags,” Oz said in a video statement on social media.

Gov. Tim Walz called the action part of the Trump administration's retribution campaign against Minnesota.

Vice President JD Vance notified Walz in February that CMS was temporarily withholding $243 million because of fraud concerns that have dogged the Democratic governor's administration. Minnesota sued in response, warning it may have to cut healthcare for low-income families. A judge declined to grant a restraining order.

The deferral of $91 million comes in addition to the funds Vance said were being withheld earlier this year.

Of the latest tranche, $76 million is tied to 14 service categories that are considered highly vulnerable to fraud, Oz said. Another $14 million involves program integrity concerns, such as payments for ineligible individuals, including those who might be in the country illegally, he said.

Right-wing influencer Nick Shirley posted a video in December that said members of Minnesota’s large Somali community were running fake childcare centers to collect federal subsidies. The video caught the eye of the administration and conservative activists, though state inspectors discounted the allegations. Oz cited the video Thursday.

Walz — the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024 — dropped out of the governor’s race in January, promising to devote his energy to fighting fraud rather than seeking a third term.

“While Minnesota is working to stop fraud, the Trump Administration is working to exploit it," Walz said in a statement. "This is a transparent effort to cut funding for the same working people and rural Minnesota hospitals they’ve had in their crosshairs for months. Minnesota will not stand for this continued campaign of retribution.”

But Oz said the action was about protecting taxpayer money.

“This isn’t about punishment, it's about partnership and accountability,” Oz said. “We’re offering Minnesota the support they need to fix these problems. But at the same time, we cannot and will not pay claims that don’t meet federal standards. So we’re asking for additional documentation to verify these charges.”

The Minnesota Department of Human Services, which administers Medicaid in the state, defended its record, saying it has been taking “aggressive action” for more than a year to stop fraud and recoup improper payments.

“We have been reporting to our federal partners and the public about those efforts,” Commissioner Shireen Gandhi said in a statement. “We are disappointed to learn that CMS will extend deferrals of needed funds for another quarter. Nonetheless, the department will continue to fight against the criminals who target Medicaid programs.”

CMS approved the state’s corrective action plan in March but has yet to free up any of the $243 million it withheld earlier.

The announcement comes a week after Oz said CMS would require all states to explain their plans to revalidate some of their Medicaid providers in an escalation of the Trump administration's anti-fraud campaign.

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Associated Press reporter Ali Swenson in Washington, D.C., contributed.

Nowhere did the note mention the alleged sexual assault days before at a Manhattan hotel, a Weinstein lawyer pointed out in confronting accuser Jessica Mann with the missive — which hasn't emerged at two previous trials about her allegation.

Weinstein, 73, is on trial for the third time on a charge accusing him of raping Mann in a New York hotel in March 2013. He was initially convicted in 2020, but an appeals court overturned that verdict. During his first retrial, the jury couldn’t reach a decision on the rape charge.

In the sketchy, journal-like note on her cellphone testified about on Thursday, Mann mused about budding feelings of attachment in a non-exclusive relationship with someone she didn't name. She reflected on how she wanted a mutual and loving relationship and said her feelings toward the unnamed person were creating inner conflict for her.

After describing fears of rejection, unworthiness and being a “'bad' person,” she appealed for God's guidance.

“I know that I was struggling with some of the decisions I was making that were different than what I was raised with,” Mann explained in court, adding that there was “a lot going on at this time in my life." She emphasized what she had written about seeking freedom: “I was feeling very controlled.”

Through questions, Weinstein attorney Teny Geragos suggested that the note reflected Mann's conflicted feelings about being involved with the then-married Weinstein. Mann has acknowledged the two had a consensual, on-again-off-again sexual relationship but alleges it descended into rape.

Weinstein’s lawyers maintain that everything that happened between the two was consensual and part of a supportive, caring relationship. They say Mann benefited from associating with an Oscar-winning producer, only later accusing him after allegations about him powered the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct. He denies ever sexually assaulting anyone.

The first several hours of back-and-forth were tense but didn't hit the emotional boiling points of Mann's prior cross-examinations. By midafternoon Thursday, as she began to answer questions about the leadup to the alleged rape, Mann, 40, said she was feeling “spacey” from the stress of testifying. The court quickly took a break.

Geragos began questioning Mann on Wednesday by seizing on her complicated feelings about Weinstein.

Mann had said earlier that despite the alleged rape, she loved “a part of him” because he could be kind and encouraging about her personal struggles and professional dreams, and that the two had “some pretty human moments” together.

“What did he do for you that made parts of you really love him?” Geragos asked.

“It was the validation,” Mann said.

When Geragos went on to ask about the “human moments," Mann said she once slapped Weinstein, thinking he was inviting it as sex play, but that he later told her, “Jess, that's not you.”

“So when you were talking about the validation that you received … and the human moments that you shared with Harvey, it was that you slapped him?” Geragos asked.

Mann said she instead was referring to his remark that “that's not you.”

Court ended for the day soon afterward. As it resumed Thursday, Geragos quizzed Mann about her early interactions with Weinstein.

Mann and Weinstein met at a Los Angeles-area party around early 2013. At the time, she was a financially struggling hairstylist and actor aspiring to make it big in show business.

The then-married Weinstein invited her to a bookstore, where he bought her volumes about movies. Not long afterward, he took her to dinner at a hotel in Beverly Hills, and other get-togethers followed.

Mann acknowledges that she accepted his sexual advances at times and decided to pursue a relationship with him. But she said he raped her in March 2013 in Manhattan — and then again some months later in Beverly Hills, California — as she protested and pleaded with him to stop. He has never been charged with any crime related to the California allegation.

“He just treated me like he owned me,” she told jurors this week.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they agree to be named, as Mann has done.

Early voting had been scheduled to begin Saturday for Louisiana's May 16 primaries. But Republican Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order postponing the U.S. House primary in response to a ruling Wednesday by the court that struck down a majority Black congressional district.

“Allowing elections to proceed under an unconstitutional map would undermine the integrity of our system and violate the rights of our voters,” Landry stated. “This executive order ensures we uphold the rule of law while giving the Legislature the time it needs to pass a fair and lawful congressional map.”

The Republican-controlled secretary of state's office, which declared an electoral emergency allowing for Landry's order, said it would post notices at early voting sites alerting the public about the suspended congressional primary. All other races on the ballot will proceed as scheduled.

The governor's order postponed the congressional primary until either July 15 or a date to be set by the Legislature. The state's Republican House and Senate leaders said they are prepared to pass new congressional voting districts — and set a new election date — before their regular session ends in a month.

President Donald Trump, in a series of social media posts Thursday, praised Landry for moving quickly to revise the state's congressional districts and urged Republicans in Tennessee to do likewise in response to the Supreme Court's decision.

Democrats say the delay could cause confusion

While civil rights activists denounced the potential for diminished minority representation in Congress, top Republicans cited the Supreme Court's decision as justification to spur an already intense national redistricting battle among states before the November elections.

“I think all states who have unconstitutional maps should look at that very carefully, and I think they should do it before the midterm,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters in Washington.

The election suspension in Louisiana was denounced by some Democrats.

“This is going to cause mass confusion among voters -- Democrats, Republicans, white, Black, everybody,” said Louisiana state Sen. Royce Duplessis, a Democrat who represents the New Orleans area. “What they’re effectively doing is changing the rules of the game in the middle of the game. It’s rigging the system.”

Delaying an election is unusual but not unprecedented.

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, several states pushed back elections because of health concerns. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who led Louisiana at the time, postponed Louisiana’s April 4 presidential primary three weeks before it was supposed to occur — then delayed it again until July 11.

More states could join a national redistricting wave

Louisiana currently is represented in the U.S. House by four Republicans and two Democrats. A revised map could give Republicans a chance to pick up at least one more seat in the November midterms — adding to Republican gains elsewhere from redistricting.

Voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after each census. But Trump last year urged Texas Republicans to redraw House districts to give the GOP an edge in the midterms. California Democrats reciprocated, and redistricting efforts soon cascaded across states.

On Wednesday, Florida lawmakers became the latest to redraw U.S. House districts, adopting a new map backed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that could give the GOP a chance at winning several additional seats.

The Florida vote occurred just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority issued a ruling that significantly weakened minority protections under the federal Voting Rights Act. The court said Louisiana officials had relied too heavily on race when drawing a congressional district that is represented by Democrat Cleo Fields.

Trump wants Tennessee to also take up redistricting in response to the court's ruling. The president posted on social media that he had spoken with Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who he said would work hard for a new map that could help Republicans gain an additional seat. Democrats currently hold only one of the state's nine House seats — a district centered in Memphis, which is majority Black.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican, said he is in conversations with the White House and others while reviewing the court's decision.

Louisiana has a history of redistricting challenges

After the 2020 census, Louisiana officials had drawn House voting district boundaries that maintained one Black majority district and five mostly white districts, in a state with a population that is about one-third Black.

A federal judge later struck down the map for violating the Voting Rights Act. And the following year the Supreme Court found that Alabama had to create its own second majority Black congressional district.

In response, Louisiana’s legislature and governor adopted a new House map in 2024 that created a second Black majority district. But that map also was subsequently challenged in court, leading to the most recent Supreme Court ruling.

After the ruling, Landry called U.S. House candidates on Wednesday and told them that primaries would most likely be stalled, according to Misti Cordell, a Republican running in a crowded race to fill U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow’s vacated seat.

“It’s an inconvenience for a candidate for sure, but you know they want to do it right versus having to go through all this again,” Cordell said. She added that she appreciated the heads up before she and other candidates began “spending their war chest” during the final weeks leading up to Election Day.

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Brook reported from New Orleans and Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri. AP reporter Travis Loller contributed from Nashville.

The order is intended to help more people gain access to retirement plans before next year, when the federal government will start matching retirement contributions made by lower-income workers.

That new matching contribution, known as the Saver’s Match, comes from 2022 legislation passed under Democratic President Joe Biden. Starting in January, it will offer a match of up to $1,000 for workers who make less than $35,000 a year.

Trump’s order is meant to help make the match available to roughly 50 million people who do not have retirement plans offered by their employers. The Republican president directed the Treasury Department to launch TrumpIRA.gov, where workers will be able to compare private-sector retirement plans.

“For millions of Americans who lack employer-sponsored plans, this will be really revolutionary, because they’ll be covered,” Trump said at an Oval Office signing ceremony.

He is not offering a new government retirement plan but helping match workers with existing plans from private companies.

Details of the order were first reported by the news outlet Semafor.

Trump discussed the idea during his State of the Union address in February, when he noted that about half the people in the country do not have access to employer-provided retirement plans with matching contributions.

“To remedy this gross disparity, I’m announcing that next year my administration will give these often-forgotten American workers — great people, the people that built our country — access to the same type of retirement plan offered to every federal worker,” Trump said.

The Saver’s Match program will offer a maximum match of $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for married couples who file jointly. The maximum will be limited to single filers earning less than $20,500, with smaller matches offered for those earning up to $35,500. It applies to contributions made toward 401(k) plans, IRAs and Roth IRAs.

Trump said he wants to take the match “to the next level” by asking Congress to expand it to those with incomes higher than $35,000 a year. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, said many middle-income earners also lack access to employer retirement plans.

“We’re working with Congress to significantly expand this program and are looking forward to legislation this year,” Hassett said at the ceremony.

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This story has been corrected to show that the income threshold for the Saver’s Match benefit is $35,500, not $46,000.

According to DPPS on Thursday (April 30), officers did not locate a methamphetamine laboratory inside the building during their investigation.

However, the suspect, Xin Tong, 31, was found to be in possession of chemicals and equipment that could be used in the production of methamphetamine.

Officials said the materials were contained within the individual’s personal property.

Police also stated that the felony charge of malicious destruction of a building stems from allegations that the suspect intentionally damaged or destroyed property within Wells Hall between April 10 and April 26.

While law enforcement has identified Tong, university officials said no additional information about him is being released at this time.

The investigation remains ongoing.

FREEZE WATCH: All of Southeastern Michigan from 12:00 AM until 9:00 AM Saturday Morning.

Temperatures in the 30s tonight in our Northeastern Communities will give way to temperatures that could go below the freezing mark by Saturday morning, and that could lead to patchy frost in the advisory area on Friday Morning and the potential for another freeze by the time we get to Saturday morning. If you have plants outside, be sure to bring them in, and/or cover them up, as temperatures are potentially into the 30s the next few mornings.

THURSDAY NIGHT: Partly to mostly cloudy skies. A chance of rain showers South of M-59, patchy frost possible in our Northeastern Communities. Low: 36.

FRIDAY: Mix of sunshine and clouds, a chance of rain showers. Continued cool. High: 54.

FRIDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy skies. A chance of a widespread freeze overnight. Continued cold. Low: 32.

SATURDAY: Mix of sunshine and clouds. Temperatures a little bit warmer. High: 52.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy skies. Low: 33.

After a little bit of cloud cover and a little bit of sunshine, and a few scattered rain showers throughout the day on Thursday, we will keep the chance of a few rain showers in the forecast for some of us overnight tonight, while some of us could be waking up to some patchy frost early on Friday morning.

We’re going to watch an area of low pressure work south of the region overnight tonight, too early on Friday morning. This will bring the chance of a few rain showers late tonight into the overnight, along and south of M-59. North and east of Metro Detroit, a frost advisory is in effect overnight into early Friday morning, as temperatures will drop into the low to mid 30s by the time you wake up tomorrow morning.

Once that area of high pressure moves east of the region, a northwesterly flow will continue, bringing cooler air into the forecast for the next few days. This will also keep a few rain showers in the forecast for Friday afternoon and Friday evening. We will keep some cloud covering in the forecast and a little sunshine as well. High temperatures remaining well below average, into the middle 50s by Friday afternoon.

Any rain shower activity will wind down by late Friday evening, and we will see some breaks in the clouds overnight Friday night and early Saturday morning. Those breaks, along with the northwesterly flow, will continue to bring colder air into the region. This will allow overnight lows by Saturday morning to drop to near or below the freezing mark. With that in mind, a freeze watch is in effect for the entire region from 12:00 AM until 9:00 AM on Saturday morning.

We will keep an extra of sunshine and clouds in the forecast looking ahead throughout the weekend. The colder temperatures remain to start the weekend on Saturday, as high temperatures will only warm to the low 50s by Saturday afternoon. Then, we’ll tack on around 10° by the time we get to the end of the weekend on Sunday, with high temperatures warming into the lower 60s by Sunday afternoon.

Chances for showers and thunderstorms, rolling into the forecast late Sunday night and continuing into the start of next week on Monday. High temperatures are going above average by Monday afternoon, warming into the upper 60s to near 70°. We will keep the chance of rain showers in the forecast, looking ahead into the middle of next week. After a cold front moves through the region, we are expecting another dipping temperatures. The 60s are in the forecast through Wednesday, and will drop into the lower 50s by the time we get to Thursday afternoon, with yet another round of colder air that looks to move into the region.

“We put ourselves in a bad position, but we can still make history and come back one game at a time,” Houston big man Alperen Sengun said. “Play at home, come back here, just do the same thing we’re doing.”

That game is one of three Game 6 matchups in the NBA on Friday night starting in the Eastern Conference with underdog Orlando Magic trying again to close out its series against the top-seeded Detroit Pistons. The second game of the night features James Harden and the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers looking to wrap up their series against the fifth-seed Toronto Raptors.

In Friday’s nightcap the Rockets will try to get a win to become just the fifth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after losing the first three games of a series. None of the 159 teams that were in a 0-3 hole have won the series.

They’ll likely do it without superstar Kevin Durant, who has missed the last three games with an ankle injury after sitting out of the series opener with a bruised knee.

“You cannot take off days anymore,” Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr. said. “If you lose, you go home, and on this team, nobody wants to go home. Everybody is here to fight.”

The Lakers couldn’t finish off the Rockets on Wednesday night despite the return of Austin Reaves, the team’s second-leading scorer in the regular season who had been out since April 2 with an oblique injury.

He scored 22 points on 4-of-16 shooting in 34 minutes off the bench in the 99-93 loss.

LeBron James expects him to be more dynamic on Friday night after shaking the rust off in Game 5.

“A few of his jump shots were short. That makes sense. He hasn’t played in a month,” James said. “He gives us another ball-handler, another attacking threat at the point of attack, so it’s great for us.”

In Toronto, the Raptors are also feeling confident despite their 125-120 loss in Game 5 and some injury concerns.

“I like our odds 100%,” Toronto’s Scottie Barnes said. “We’re going to go home and we’re going to get it done.”

They could have to do that without All-Star Brandon Ingram, who left Wednesday night’s game in the second quarter with right heel inflammation and didn’t return. Ingram scored just one point before his early exit. Barnes is also not 100% after being kneed in the quadriceps while driving to the rim during the second quarter.

“Obviously, we need (Ingram) out on the floor,” Barnes said. “His playmaking ability and his defense and everything he brings.”

Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson knows another huge mental test is coming up for this group after rallying to win on Wednesday night.

“These are high pressure moments,” he said. “You’re down, you can feel the crowd getting nervous. So, I think we took a step (Wednesday). Now the big one is can you go and beat this team on the road? Can we go in there and go take this because we haven’t shown we can yet.”

The Pistons avoided elimination behind Cade Cunningham’s franchise playoff-record 45 points in a 116-109 win in Game 5.

Now the Magic will try and close it out again to win a playoff series for the first time since 2010. If they’re able to pull it off, they’ll be only the second No. 8 seed to win its first-round series after advancing through the play-in tournament and first since Miami in 2023.

Detroit Pistons at Orlando Magic

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, 7 p.m. EDT (Prime Video).

Series: Magic lead 3-2.

Betting line: Pistons by 3 ½

What to Know: Cunningham, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft, played like a franchise player should Wednesday night to allow the Pistons to extend the series. Now they’ll need another big performance from the 24-year-old to force Game 7 as they chase their first playoff series win since 2008. He has taken 23 shots in each of the last three games but was much more efficient in Game 5. Cunningham made 13 shots Wednesday after making just eight and seven respectively in the previous two games. Orlando’s Paolo Banchero, the top pick in the 2022 draft, also scored 45 points in Game 5 but missed 7 of 12 free throws. The Magic will have to depend on his scoring again in Game 6 with Franz Wagner’s status uncertain after he missed the last game with a strained right calf. Wagner averaged 17 points and 5.5 rebounds in the first four games of the series as the Magic built a 3-1 series lead.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, 7:30 p.m. (Prime Video)

Series: Cavaliers lead 3-2.

Betting line: Cavaliers by 3 1/2

What to Know: The Cavaliers look to close out the series by doing something that hasn’t been done in the first five games, winning on the other team’s home floor. This is the only first-round series where home court has held serve. A major point of emphasis for Atkinson is reducing turnovers. Cleveland railed from a 12-point second-half deficit for the win despite the Raptors scoring 28 points off 15 Cavaliers turnovers. The Raptors look to avoid elimination despite having Ingram and Barnes being injured.

Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, 9:30 p.m. EDT (Prime Video).

Series: Lakers lead 3-2.

Betting line: Rockets by 3 1/2.

What to Know: With Durant out, the Rockets have relied on a balanced scoring attack to win the last two games with each starter scoring at least 12 points in both games. They know they’ll have to continue that to keep the series alive and they also must continue their strong 3-point shooting. The Rockets have made 26 3-pointers combined in the last two games after managing just 18 in the previous two games. The Lakers need to play much cleaner to end the series after they had 38 turnovers combined in their two losses. “You give credit where credit is due,” James said. “They played well the last two games, exceptionally well, and we’ve got to answer the call.”

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AP Sports Writers Greg Beacham and Joe Reedy contributed to this report.

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

The resumption of a nonstop commercial flight between the two countries comes months after the U.S. capture of then President Nicolás Maduro in a stunning nighttime raid on his residence in Caracas in early January.

It also comes a month after the U.S. formally reopened its embassy in Caracas following the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Venezuela.

“I'm very excited to go and see the family and I'm looking forward to see the country,” said passenger Lennart Ochoa of Miami shortly before boarding. He said that he was “ready to go" and got his ticket as soon as they were available. “Just to go and see the family on a direct flight from Miami to Caracas is priceless.”

The director of the U.S. National Energy Dominance Council, Jarrod Agen, was among the passengers on the inaugural flight. Agen is scheduled to meet with Venezuelan officials and executives from energy and mining sectors as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to facilitate the entry of U.S. companies into the South American country, reported the Venezuelan government.

At Miami International Airport, American Airlines staff handed passengers small Venezuelan flags. Balloons with its colors — yellow, blue and red — adorned the gate door leading to the plane.

Flight AA3599 operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, departed Miami at 10:11 a.m. EDT (1411 GMT), five minutes ahead of its scheduled time, according to Miami International Airport flight departure information. It arrived around three hours later in the Venezuelan capital, returning to Florida later in the afternoon.

Earlier, the airline said that a second daily flight between Miami and Caracas will start on May 21.

In late January, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he informed Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez that he would open up all commercial airspace over the country, allowing Americans to visit.

“American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they’ll be safe there,” Trump said at the time.

The flights mark the resumption of nonstop travel between the U.S. and Venezuela for the first time since diplomatic ties were severed in 2019. For the past seven years, passengers have relied on international airlines and indirect routes through neighboring Latin American countries.

In January, when the airline announced the resumption of flights, it said it would give customers the opportunity to reunite with families and pursue new business opportunities.

American Airlines was the last U.S. airline flying to Venezuela. It suspended flights in 2019 between Miami and Caracas, as well as flights to the oil hub city of Maracaibo. Delta and United Airlines pulled out in 2017 amid a political crisis that forced millions to flee the country.

“Parents will be able to connect with children, grandparents with grandchildren, and entire families with a home that shaped and raised them,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a news conference before boarding started. “Miami-Dade is home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States.”

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

Cole Tomas Allen did not enter a plea during his brief appearance in federal court days after authorities say he ran through a magnetometer at the Washington Hilton while holding a long gun and disrupted one of the highest-profile annual events in the nation’s capital.

Allen was injured during Saturday night's attack but was not shot. A Secret Service officer was shot but was wearing a bullet-resistant vest and survived, officials say. Prosecutors have said they believe Allen fired his shotgun at least once and that a Secret Service agent fired five shots. They have not publicly confirmed that it was Allen’s bullet that struck the agent’s vest.

In court papers pressing for Allen's continued detention, prosecutors wrote Wednesday that Allen took a picture of himself in his hotel room just minutes before the incident, and that he was outfitted with an ammunition bag, a shoulder gun holster and a sheathed knife. In a message that authorities say sheds light on his motive, Allen referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin” and alluded obliquely to grievances over a range of Trump administration actions.

Allen’s lawyers agreed during the brief hearing before U.S. Magistrate Moxila Upadhyaya to keep their client behind bars for now after initially arguing in court papers that Allen should be released.

In a court filing Wednesday, the defense wrote that the government’s case is “based upon inferences drawn about Mr. Allen’s intent that raise more questions than answers" and noted that Allen’s writings never mentioned Trump by name. The defense left the door open to pressing in the future for Allen’s release before trial.

“The government’s evidence of the charged offense –- the attempted assassination of the president –- is thus built entirely upon speculation, even under the most generous reading of its theory,” defense lawyers wrote.

Allen's lawyers alleged that some of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's statements “indicate that the recovered ballistics evidence is inconsistent with aspects of the government’s theory, evidence collected by the government and/or statements made by witnesses.”

The Justice Department, in response, said the evidence shows Allen fired his shotgun at least once in the Secret Service agent's direction. Investigators recovered at least one fragment at the crime scene that is consistent with a buckshot pellet, prosecutors wrote.

"The government is aware of no physical evidence, digital video evidence, or witness statements that are inconsistent with the theory that your client fired his shotgun in the direction" of the officer or that the officer "was indeed shot once in the chest while wearing a ballistic vest," prosecutors wrote.

Allen was charged on Monday with that crime, as well as two additional firearms counts, including discharging a weapon during a crime of violence. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the assassination count alone.

Allen, 31, is from Torrance, California. He is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.

In a statement read by a state television anchor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said the only place Americans belonged in the Persian Gulf is “at the bottom of its waters" and that a “new chapter” was being written in the region's history. Khamenei has not been seen in public since taking over as supreme leader following the killing of his father in the war’s opening airstrikes.

His remarks come as Iran's economy is reeling and its oil industry is being squeezed by a U.S. Navy blockade halting its tankers from getting out to sea. The world economy is also under pressure as Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all crude oil is transported. On Thursday, the global benchmark for oil, Brent crude, traded as high as $126 a barrel.

That shock to oil supplies and prices is putting pressure on Trump, who is floating a new plan to reopen the critical passageway used by the U.S.'s Gulf allies to export their oil and gas.

Under the plan, the U.S. would continue its blockade on Iranian ports, while coordinating with allies to impose higher costs on Iran’s attempts to subvert the free flow of energy, according to a senior administration official.

Trump is weighing multiple diplomatic and policy options to push Iran to end its chokehold, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

The new proposal, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, is Trump's latest effort to persuade other nations to help reopen the strait.

Ceasefire shaken as strait remains shut

The U.S. blockade is designed to prevent Iran from selling its oil, depriving it of crucial revenue while also potentially creating a situation where Tehran has to shut off production because it has nowhere to store oil.

A recent Iranian proposal would push negotiations on the country’s nuclear program to a later date. Trump said one of the major reasons he went to war was to deny Iran the ability to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has long maintained its program is peaceful, though it enriched uranium at near-weapons-grade levels of 60%.

Pakistan on Thursday said it was still facilitating indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran aimed at easing tensions, but Islamabad would also welcome direct communication between the two sides, even by phone.

“If the two parties can engage in real-time conversations, that could ease the sticking points,” said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Tahir Andrabi at a weekly news briefing. He declined to share details of any Iranian or U.S. proposals.

Speaking to mark Persian Gulf Day in Iran, Khamenei's remarks signaled that nuclear issues and Iran's ballistic missile program wouldn't be traded away.

“Ninety million proud and honorable Iranians inside and outside the country regard all of Iran’s identity-based, spiritual, human, scientific, industrial and technological capacities — from nanotechnology and biotechnology to nuclear and missile capabilities — as national assets, and will protect them just as they protect the country’s waters, land and airspace,” Khamenei said.

Khamenei referred to America as the “Great Satan,” a long hurled insult by Iranian leaders toward the U.S. since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He said Americans should have no business in the Persian Gulf.

“Foreigners who come from thousands of kilometers away to act with greed and malice there have no place in it — except at the bottom of its waters," said Khamenei, who was reportedly wounded in the Feb. 28 attack that killed his father, the 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Khamenei signals strait will remain shut

In his remarks, Khamenei seemed to signal Iran would maintain its control over the waterway, which sits in the territorial waters of Iran and Oman. Iran had been charging some ships reportedly $2 million apiece to travel through the strait.

He said that Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz will make the Gulf more secure, and that Tehran's “legal rules and new management” of the strait will benefit all the region’s nations.

However, the world considered the strait an international waterway, open to all without paying tolls. Gulf Arab nations, chief among them the United Arab Emirates, have decried Iran's control of the strait as akin to piracy.

Crackdown intensifies

Iran announced Thursday it hanged a 21-year-old man over charges stemming from the nationwide protests in January, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported.

The agency identified the executed man as Sasan Azadvar, from Isfahan. It said he was hanged for the crime of “effectively cooperating with the enemy by attacking police officers” during the protests.

Activists and rights groups say a crackdown on dissent, including a wave of executions, has further intensified since the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.

The U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said on Wednesday at least 21 people have been executed since the start of the war on Feb. 28, including nine in connection with the protests and 10 for alleged membership in opposition groups. At least two others were hanged on espionage charges.

The Human Rights Activist News Agency said Azadvar, a Karate athlete, was arrested in Isfahan on Jan. 1 during the nationwide protests and sentenced to death in March.

Iran routinely holds closed-door trials in which defendants are unable to challenge the accusations they face, rights groups say, warning that several other people remain at risk of execution.

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Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, and Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

The S&P 500 rallied 1% and topped its prior all-time high to close out its best month in more than five years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 790 points, or 1.6%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.9% to its own record.

Alphabet led the way and rallied 10% after the owner of Google and YouTube reported profit for the latest quarter that almost doubled analysts’ expectations. Investments in artificial intelligence “are lighting up every part of the business,” CEO Sundar Pichai said.

It’s the latest company to deliver fatter profits for the start of 2026 than analysts expected, even with very high oil prices and uncertainty about the economy.

Wall Street’s strength followed manic swings in the oil market, where prices surged overnight on worries that the Iran war will affect the flow of crude for a long time. Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers, keeping them pent up in the Persian Gulf and away from customers worldwide, while a U.S. Navy blockade is preventing Iran from selling its own oil.

Traders are buying and selling contracts for different kinds of oil, going out for many months. In the most actively traded part of the market for Brent crude, for delivery in July, the price got as high as $114.70 per barrel overnight. It then fell back toward $107 before settling at $110.40, nearly unchanged from the day before.

So far during the war, the peak price for the most actively traded Brent contract is $119.50, which was set last month.

In a less actively traded corner of the Brent market, the price for a barrel to be delivered in June briefly went above $126 overnight before pulling back toward $114.

Brent’s price is still much more expensive than its roughly $70 level from before the war. But the morning’s easing in prices and the continuing flood of better-than-expected profit reports from U.S. companies helped keep Wall Street at its records.

Caterpillar soared 9.9%, Eli Lilly jumped 9.8% and O’Reilly Automotive leaped 8.4% after all delivered profits for the latest quarter that topped analysts’ expectations. That’s big because stock prices tend to follow the track of corporate profits over the long term.

Still, a better-than-expected result isn’t always enough to boost a stock’s price if it’s already shot much higher.

Meta Platforms tumbled 8.7% even though the company behind Facebook and Instagram made more profit last quarter than expected. Investors focused more on its increased forecast for how much it will spend on data centers and other investments as it builds out its AI capabilities.

Doubts are still high among some investors about whether all the AI spending by Meta and other companies will produce enough profit and productivity to make it worth it.

Microsoft fell 3.9% after likewise raising its forecast for investments and other capital spending. But analysts also said accelerating trends at its Azure business were encouraging.

Amazon rose 0.8% after swinging between gains and losses through the day. It blew past analysts’ expectations for earnings in the latest quarter.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 73.06 points to 7,209.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 790.33 to 49,652.14, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 219.07 to 24,892.31.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after oil prices gave up their big overnight gains. Reports also suggested the U.S. economy’s growth accelerated by less in the first three months of the year than economists expected, while a measure of inflation worsened in March by about as much as expected.

A separate report said that fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week in an indication of fewer layoffs even though companies are announcing large cuts to workforces.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.38% from 4.42% late Wednesday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in Europe following a weaker finish in Asia.

London’s FTSE 100 jumped 1.6% after the Bank of England kept its main interest rate on hold. That followed similar decisions by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday and the Bank of Japan on Tuesday to keep their rates unchanged.

Germany’s DAX returned 1.4%, and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.5% after the European Central Bank also held its own interest rates steady.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.3%, while stocks added 0.1% in Shanghai after a report said China’s factory activity slowed slightly in April but remained in expansion territory for the second month.

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

He just didn’t yet know her name.

“He goes, ‘you know the young girl from ‘House of the Dragon’? The young queen or princess? That’s how I picture it, like a young punk rock girl who is just totally badass and tough,’” Safran told The Associated Press. “I was like, yeah, that sounds fantastic, and we haven’t seen that before.”

Milly Alcock, now 26, had just started to break out playing Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (later portrayed by Emma D’Arcy) in the “Game of Thrones” prequel, when she got a request for a self-tape for the secretive Supergirl project. Alcock had been working in her native Australia since she was a teenager, but her world was suddenly getting bigger very quickly.

A few weeks later, she was summoned for a screen test (her first ever). She boarded a 24-hour flight from Sydney to Atlanta and gave it her best shot.

“I kind of had a feeling, I remember I like got back to my hotel room and I like sat down and I was like, ‘Oh, this is gonna, something’s gonna happen,’” Alcock said. “I just had like an intuition that like, this is going to be a very exciting challenge if it goes in my favor.”

‘This is crazy, what have I done?’

Ten days later, Gunn texted her an article in the trade publication Deadline: “‘Supergirl’: New Woman Of Steel Is ‘House Of The Dragon’s’ Milly Alcock.” No phone call. No context. And all she could think was, “This is crazy, what have I done?” A few days later, she was back on that 24-hour flight to film her cameo in “Superman.”

And things have not slowed down. If shooting the film was a marathon of stunts and action and emotion, the promotion of new DC’s second major film is going to be its own non-stop ride.

When Alcock spoke to the AP earlier this month, she had just arrived in Las Vegas from Kyoto, where she was filming another movie, and on just two hours of sleep had to muster the energy to get up on stage in front of thousands of movie theater owners to hype “Supergirl,” which is out June 26.

“It’s a really original and unique take on a superhero movie,” Safran said. “I think it’s just a great movie for audiences. It’s not just for superhero fans.”

‘She’s just that girl’

The character might be less widely known than her famous cousin, but the response to her appearance in “Superman” was encouraging.

“She’s in the ‘Superman’ movie for, you know, 12 seconds, yet one of the things audiences wanted to see ... more of was her,” Safran said. “And Milly in real life, she’s just that girl … she is authentically a badass.”

Perhaps part of the intrigue is that she’s not straightlaced Superman, who got to be raised by loving and gentle parents on Earth. Supergirl saw her planet destroyed and everyone she knew killed and had to fend for herself.

Directed by Craig Gillespie, best known for two other films about complicated young women, “I, Tonya” and “Cruella,” this film finds the jaded Kara on an intergalactic odyssey with Krypto the Superdog and a young woman seeking revenge against the murderous Krem of the Yellow Hills.

“Kara surprisingly reminded me a lot of myself, which I never thought I would get from playing like a superhero, from playing someone who isn’t human. There’s a lot of humility in her and that kind of made me fall in love with her immediately,” Alcock said. “Sometimes you can get swept up in what other people expect, and then you kind of lose your intrinsic you-ness. And that’s why people hire you in the first place, because of what you bring to something just innately being who you are.”

‘Why would someone have a toy of my face?’

Alcock didn’t grow up a big film fan, but in acting found a lifeline and an outlet to communicate feelings that she struggled to in real life. It helps her exist as a person, she said.

Recently, Alcock has been living in London, where she said she has a great group of friends, none of whom are actors. And she’s adjusting to the reality that her face is going to be everywhere for a bit.

“It’s been kind of disorientating,” she said. “I do this job because it gives me the ability to disappear. So then to like suddenly be so visible and so exposed is a very vulnerable experience. I’m just trying to learn how to deal with that relationship. But I mean, it’s exciting. Of course it’s exciting. But like anything exciting, it’s also terrifying.”

When she was on the “Superman” set, she remembered talking to David Corenswet briefly and realizing that they had very different perspectives about the experience.

“I remember him being like, ‘We’re gonna have action figures, isn’t that cool?’” she said. “And I was like, ‘That’s so weird. Why would someone have a toy of my face?’”

The country's official terror threat level was raised from substantial to severe after Wednesday's stabbing attack in London, which police have called an act of terrorism with potential links to Iran. Severe is the second-highest rung on a five-point scale and means intelligence agencies consider an attack highly likely in the next six months.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his government “will do everything in our power to stamp this hatred out” after two Jewish men, ages 34 and 76, were seriously injured in a stabbing in Golders Green, an area in north London that is an epicenter of Britain's Jewish community. Both men are in a stable condition.

But some in the community turned their anger on the government, which they say is failing to tackle antisemitism. Starmer was heckled by about 100 protesters holdings signs saying “Keir Starmer, Jew harmer” when he visited Golders Green on Thursday.

The prime minister said in response that “I absolutely understand the high levels of anxiety and concern that there are.”

“Antisemitism is an old, old hatred. History shows that the roots are deep, and if you turn away, it grows back," he said during a televised statement at 10 Downing St. “Yet far too many people in this country diminish it.”

Police have arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder over the attack. Detectives are working to determine a motive and whether there is any link to Iranian proxies.

The suspect, whose name hasn’t been released, had “a history of serious violence and mental health issues,” police said. In 2020, he was referred to the government’s Prevent program, which tries to steer individuals away from extremism. The police force said that his file was closed later the same year, and didn't disclose the reason for the referral.

Stabbing follows arson attacks

Britain’s Jewish community, which numbers about 300,000 people, has faced growing attacks online and in the streets.

The number of antisemitic incidents reported across the U.K. has soared since the attack by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza, according to the Community Security Trust charity.

In October, an attacker drove his car into people gathered outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur and fatally stabbed one man. Another man died during the attack after being inadvertently shot by police.

Since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, there have been a string of arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in London as well as on opponents of the Iranian government.

Police say that 28 people have been arrested over those attacks, which did not cause any injuries. A handful have been charged and one teenager has been convicted after pleading guilty.

Police investigate potential link to Iran proxies

Several arson attacks have been claimed online in the name of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia. Israel’s government has described the group, whose name means the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, as a recently founded group with suspected links to “an Iranian proxy” that has also claimed responsibility for synagogue attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands.

An online post under the same name also claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s stabbing. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said that authorities were investigating whether that claim is credible or “opportunistic.”

Security experts say its claims should be treated with caution, but the U.K. has accused Iran of using criminal proxies to conduct attacks on European soil targeting Iranian opposition media outlets and the Jewish community. Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence service says that more than 20 “potentially lethal” Iran-backed plots were disrupted in the year ending in October.

The government said the increased threat level was not solely a result of the Golders Green attack, but also due to increased danger “from Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist threat from individuals and small groups based in the U.K.”

The threat level stood at severe for much of the time between 2014 and February 2022, when it was lowered to substantial.

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of counterterrorism policing at the Metropolitan Police, said "we are seeing an elevated threat to Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions in the U.K. We’re also working against an unpredictable global situation that has consequences closer to home, including physical threats by state linked actors.”

Government under pressure to tackle antisemitism

Starmer pledged that the attacks would bring a “swift and visible” criminal justice response. Mahmood said that she's treating antisemitism as “an emergency,” describing it as the top security issue she faced.

The government announced 25 million pounds ($34 million) for more police patrols and protection around synagogues, schools and community centers, and Starmer said that the courts would speed up sentencing on antisemitic attacks as a deterrent.

But some Jews and others say the government has allowed an atmosphere of antisemitism to grow. They say pro-Palestinian protests, held regularly since October 2023, have gone beyond criticism of Israel's actions to foster an atmosphere of intimidation and hatred against Jews.

The protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful, but some say chants such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” incite anti-Jewish hatred. Some protesters have been arrested for displaying support for Hamas, a banned organization in the U.K.

Jonathan Hall, the government’s reviewer of terrorism legislation, called for pro-Palestinian marches to be temporarily banned, saying they had helped “incubate” antisemitism.

The government hasn't backed a ban, but Starmer said that protesters who used the phrase “globalize the intifada” — seen by some as a call for attacks on Jews — should be prosecuted.

Starmer said that the government would fast-track powers “to tackle the malign threat posed by states like Iran — because we know for a fact that they want to harm British Jews."

The three-hour hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee mostly traced the well-worn positions of Republicans and Democrats on the conflict, Hegseth’s leadership and the ways in which President Donald Trump has used the American military.

In his opening statements, Hegseth called Democratic lawmakers “reckless naysayers” and “defeatists from the cheap seats” who have failed to recognize the many successes of the U.S. military against the Islamic Republic.

Hegseth said Trump has had the courage “unlike other presidents to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon and that their nuclear blackmail never succeeds. We have the best negotiator in the world driving a great deal.”

Democrats peppered Hegseth with questions about his efforts to remake military culture, U.S. support for Ukraine and whether Trump would seek congressional approval for the war. The defense secretary said the ceasefire postpones the deadline for securing such approval.

Hegseth seemed to emerge with solid Republican support, though a few GOP senators asked about the dismissal of a top Army general and sought assurances that the Pentagon is doing everything possible to prevent civilian deaths.

The hearing was convened to discuss the Trump administration’s 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defense spending to a historic $1.5 trillion. Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, stressed the need for more drones, missile defense systems and warships.

Top Democrat argues that war has left US in worse position

Sen. Jack Reed, the committee's ranking Democrat, argued that the war has left the U.S. in a worse strategic position, with 13 American troops killed, more than 400 injured and equipment destroyed.

The Strait of Hormuzremains closed, sending fuel prices skyrocketing, Reed said. Iran still has enriched uranium and retains enough combat effectiveness to keep the conflict locked in an impasse, while Iran's hard-line regime is still in charge.

“I am concerned that you have been telling the president what he wants to hear instead of what he needs to hear,” Reed said. “Bold assurances of success are a disservice to both the commander in chief and the troops who risked their lives based on them."

Reed also lambasted Hegseth for his firing of top military leaders and suggested the defense secretary had failed to recognize the accomplishments of women and people of color in the military. Reed noted that 60% of some two dozen officers fired by Hegseth have been female or Black.

Hegseth said any firing is based on performance and that previous Pentagon leaders "were focused on social engineering, race and gender in ways that we think were unhealthy for the department.”

Republican chairman offers warmer welcome

Hegseth received a warmer welcome from Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the committee, and other GOP lawmakers. Wicker kicked off the hearing by noting that the U.S. is in the most dangerous security environment since World War II.

Through the war against Iran, Trump “has worked to remove the regime’s conventional military capabilities and force it back to the table for a permanent solution,” Wicker said.

He also commended the budget proposal for 2027, saying it "is chock full of important programs and initiatives that are absolutely necessary to secure American interest in the 21st century.”

Sen. Deb Fischer, a Republican from Nebraska, praised Hegseth's statement on the need for nuclear deterrence as well as the development of Trump's Golden Dome missile defense program.

“For years, this committee has known that we must improve our ability to defend our homeland against a wider variety of threats,” Fischer said.

Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, asked Hegseth whether he ever lied to Trump, pushing back against Reed's claim that Hegseth tells the president what he wants to hear.

“I only tell the truth to the president,” Hegseth said.

Questions about civilian deaths

Senators also focused on civilian deaths in the Iran war and the Pentagon decision to hollow out a congressionally mandated office set up specifically to reduce civilian casualties.

The Associated Press has reported that growing evidence points to U.S. culpability for a deadly strike on an Iranian elementary school adjacent to a Revolutionary Guard base that killed more than 165 people, including children.

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand asked Hegseth, “What is your response to targeting that has resulted in the destruction of schools, hospitals, civilian places? Why did you cut by 90% the division that’s supposed to help you not target civilians?”

Hegseth responded that the Pentagon has an “ironclad commitment” to do more than other countries to prevent civilian deaths.

A day earlier, Hegseth battled with Democrats during a nearly six-hour House Armed Services Committee hearing, where he faced sharp questioning over the war's costs in dollars, lives and diminishing stockpiles of critical weapons.

Hegseth said Wednesday that the strike on the Iranian school remains under investigation.

War powers resolutions fail to pass

Democrats have called the conflict a costly war of choice that lacks congressional approval or oversight. But they have failed to pass multiple war powers resolutions that would have required Trump to halt the conflict until Congress authorizes further action.

Under the War Powers Act of 1973, Congress must declare war or authorize use of force within 60 days — a deadline that arrives Friday. The law provides for a potential 30-day extension, but the Republican administration has not indicated publicly whether Trump will seek it.

Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, asked Hegseth if Trump will seek congressional authorization or ask for the 30-day extension. The defense secretary said the clock pauses during a ceasefire. Kaine disagreed based on his reading of the law.

The Trump administration is in “active conversations” with lawmakers on addressing the 60-day timeline, according to a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

___

Kinnard reported from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.

The Treasury and State departments announced Thursday that they had targeted Kabila, who served as Congo’s president from 2001 until 2019, with a freeze on all assets he may have in the United States or that transit through financial institutions in U.S. jurisdictions.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that Kabila had been supporting the Rwanda-backed M23 and Congo River Alliance rebel groups, which are seeking to topple the current Congo government.

Congo and Rwanda agreed last year to a U.S.-mediated peace deal aimed at ending the long-running conflict in eastern Congo. President Donald Trump has often referred to his success at negotiating the deal, but the agreement has been hindered and brought near collapse by numerous violations.

“President Trump is paving the way for peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and he has been clear that those who continue to sow instability will be held accountable,” Bessent said. “Treasury will continue to use its full range of tools to support the integrity of the Washington Accords.”

The State Department issued its own statement, saying, “The United States stands with the Congolese people and calls on all regional leaders to reject those who perpetuate violence and instability. Today’s action sends a clear message: we will hold accountable anyone who obstructs peace efforts in the DRC."

The Biennale said in a statement that the jury, made up of the president, Solange Farkas, and Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma and Giovanna Zapperi, had resigned. The brief statement didn't provide an explanation for the highly unusual move.

It came just days after the jury had announced it would not award prizes to countries charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. That includes Israel and Russia, whose participation in the first Biennale since its 2022 Ukraine invasion has been opposed by the Italian government.

The Russia participation has been a particular sore point, with Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli saying he would not attend previews of the exhibition next week or the May 9 opening day.

The Biennale's director, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, has refused to back down from allowing Russia to participate, even in the face of a visit by cultural ministry officials Wednesday to gather information about the reopening of the Russian Pavilion.

The Culture Ministry said the officials' visit was aimed at collecting documents to respond to an EU request for information after it cut 2 million euros last week in funding to the Biennale over Russia's participation. It added that the ministry had no role in the jury's resignation.

Giuli, meanwhile, has demonstrated strong support for Israel. The minister had a phone call Wednesday with the Israeli Pavilion's artist, Belu-Simion Fainaru, to express solidarity in the face of “recent attacks.”

The minister also “confirmed the Italian government's commitment against every form of discrimination and antisemitism in Italian cultural institutions,” his office said in a statement.

Fainaru said in a statement that he opposes “discrimination, racism, and boycotts in all their forms. I believe in the fundamental principles of freedom of creation and freedom of expression, which must remain at the core of any artistic platform.”

The jury was due to select winners of the highly prestigious Golden Lion for the best national pavilion and best participant in the main curated show on the official opening day, May 9.

Instead, the Biennale announced that visitors will select winners of two awards: Best Participant in the 61st Exhibition “In Minor Keys,” curated according to a plan by the late Koyo Kouoh, and the Best National Participation among the 100 national pavilions. It will be awarded on the closing day, Nov. 22.

Premier Giorgia Meloni, asked about the resignations, reiterated that the government didn’t agree with the Biennale’s decision to allow the Russians to participate, but acknowledged the Biennale's autonomy. Her government appointed Buttafuoco.

She said that she didn’t know if the resignations were connected to the Culture Ministry’s decision to send inspectors to Venice.

Cabinet Minister Matteo Salvini backed the decision to have visitors award the winners.

“So it will be an autonomous and democratic Biennale,” he said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”

The Biennale has in the past refused pressure to exclude countries, including Iran and Israel, from participating and this year reiterated that it “does not have the authority to prevent a country from participating. Any country recognized by the Italian Republic may request to participate.’’

Since Russia owns the pavilion built in 1914 in the historic Giardini, it was required only to send notification of its request to participate, the Biennale said.

Russian artists withdrew their participation in 2022, and Russia did not present an exhibition in 2024 for its permanent pavilion, which it instead lent to Bolivia. Russia last participated in the International Art Exhibition in 2019.

The Biennale contemporary art exhibition is the world’s oldest and most important, comprising a main curated exhibition alongside national pavilions, which are curated separately by the participating nations.

___

Nicole Winfield contributed to this report from Rome.

For the first time in almost five decades, there will be a former chair on the central bank's board, potentially creating an alternate center of power. And on Wednesday multiple officials dissented from the Fed's statement, a sign they won't easily roll over for a new chair who has sharply criticized recent policy. Outgoing chair Jerome Powell — who announced he will remain on the board of governors for a “period of time, to be determined” — has also shown a new outspokenness since the White House launched an unprecedented legal investigation into a Fed building renovation.

Warsh “is inheriting an institution that will fight for independent, consensus-driven decision-making, a potential obstacle to his vision of wholesale ‘regime change,’” said Jon Hilsenrath, a senior advisor to StoneX and visiting scholar at Duke University.

It's all a sharp contrast to the previous three Fed chairs — Ben Bernanke, Janet Yellen, and Powell — who were all Fed governors before becoming chairs in relatively smooth transitions.

At a news conference Wednesday, Powell indirectly acknowledged the unusual nature of his decision, when asked how it would work to have a current and former chair on the board: “I don’t know what the exact specifics of it will be," he said.

He also said he would move to the background as a governor, yet his presence could make it a bit harder for Warsh to cut the Fed's short-term rate, as Trump has loudly demanded. While Powell is considered by economists to generally favor lowering rates, he said inflation is “misbehaving” and signaled it could be months before a cut is considered.

“We no longer anticipate a rate cut in December,” said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, but expect the Fed to stay "on hold through the remainder of the year.”

On Wednesday, Powell emphasized that he is staying at the Fed to protect its political independence from the White House's legal attacks, rather than to push for any particular interest-rate policies.

“These legal actions by the administration are unprecedented in our 113-year history,” Powell said. “I worry that these attacks are battering the institution and putting at risk the thing that really matters to the public, which is the ability to conduct monetary policy without taking into consideration political factors.”

Trump has sought to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud, which she has denied, in what has become a test case regarding how much power the White House has to remove Fed governors. Should Trump succeed in firing Cook, he would be able to fill her seat and have much more sway over the central bank's interest rate decisions.

Three of the seven governors are already Trump appointees. So far, courts have allowed Cook to remain in her position and the Supreme Court in January appeared to lean in her favor.

By staying on as governor, Powell will also deny Trump an opportunity to appoint a new governor. The president won't have another shot at filling a seat on the Fed's board until Powell leaves. While his term as chair ends May 15, he can serve as a governor until January 2028.

On Thursday, Trump said he didn’t care if Powell remained at the Fed: “If he stays on, he stays on,” the president told reporters. “I just wanted to make sure that Kevin became the head.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday criticized Powell's decision on Fox Business, calling it “highly unusual” and “a violation of all Federal Reserve norms.”

Powell, however, rejected the notion that his decision has injected politics into the Fed.

“I’m literally staying because of the actions that have been taken,” he said Wednesday. “I had long planned to be retiring and the things that have happened really in the last three months have left me no choice but to stay.”

Still, Powell said he planned to keep a “low profile” in his remaining time on the board, and would not be a “shadow chair.”

“That's just something I would never do,” he said. "There is only ever one chair of the Federal Reserve board. When Kevin Warsh is confirmed and sworn in, he will be that chair.”

The Senate is likely to confirm Warsh on a narrow, party-line vote the week of May 11. In a sign of the increasing politicization of the Fed, when Powell was confirmed for a second four-year term in 2022, the Senate vote was 80-19 in favor.

Warsh told a congressional committee last week that he would be an independent chair, but Trump has continued to say he expects his choice to reduce the Fed's key rate.

Yet on Wednesday Powell said the “center” of the committee was moving away from a bias toward cutting rates toward a more neutral stance. Three policymakers dissented from Wednesday's statement because they wanted to make that shift more explicit. A fourth official, Stephen Miran, voted to cut rates immediately, but he will be replaced by Warsh.

The four dissenting votes were the most since October 1992.

"A 34-year high in dissents is not exactly the welcome mat Mr. Warsh was hoping to see upon his arrival," Stephen Douglass, chief economist at NISA Investment Advisors, said in a note to clients. “He might want to wear a hard hat at his first meeting, and not only because the (Fed building) is still under construction.”

Update: Man found with meth-making materials inside MSU’s Wells Hall during finals

On Monday, April 27, Wells Hall was evacuated for a chemical leak. Police then found Xin Tong, 31, with substances used to make meth.

Investigators said he bought it illegally in stores and online. He was arrested and is now facing charges.

The building is closed while crews make sure it’s safe.

Camara was killed during last weekend's coordinated militant attack in the West African nation, the largest in over a decade.

His death, and the major setback endured by the Malian army and its Russian mercenary allies, risk creating divisions within the junta and could lead it to reconsider its partnership with Moscow, analysts say.

After two days of national mourning, a funeral ceremony for Camara was attended by junta leader Gen. Assimi Goita and broadcast live on national television. The coffin was draped in the green, yellow and red of the Malian flag while large portraits of the former defense minister lined the ceremony hall.

Camara was born in 1979 in Kati, the same garrison town near the capital Bamako where he was killed when a car bomb exploded outside his home on Saturday.

As a field officer, he was deployed to northern Mali in the late 2000s, amid a rise in rebellions by armed groups, some linked to Al-Qaeda. After graduating from a military academy, he went abroad on several training assignments, including at a military academy in Russia.

Malians first became familiar with Camara when, as a colonel, he appeared on national television in August 2020 among a group of five officers who had overthrown President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

The officers accused Keita of being propped up by France and not doing enough to contain the rampant militant attacks in the country. They pledged to provide more security.

Following the coup, the new junta turned to Russia as its new security partner, expelling French troops and U.N. peacekeepers.

Camara quickly came to play a central role in establishing Russia as Mali's main security partner. He served as defense minister under both of Mali’s successive military governments — first following the 2020 coup and then reappointed after a second coup in May 2021 which brought Goïta to power.

Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Germany-based Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said Camara was the “architect of cooperation with Russia,” proposing the deployment of Russian mercenaries in 2021 and the expulsion of the U.N. peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSMA.

Camara, who made frequent trips to Moscow, played a key role in the coups and his stewardship of the war effort made him an indispensable figure for the junta despite a deteriorating security situation, according to Laessing.

On Monday, the recently created Africa Corps — a Russian military unit that reports to the defense ministry in Moscow, estimated to have around 2,000 troops in Mali — said its fighters had withdrawn from Kidal, two days after separatists said they had taken the key northern city.

Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank, said Camara's death and a growing frustration from the population and military leadership over the Russian mercenaries inability to curb the insurgencies, could result in the junta reconsidering its partnership with Moscow.

Goita, who met with the Russian ambassador to Mali on Tuesday, “seems open to collaboration with some Western countries, such as the United States,” said Laessing.

The analysis by the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator obtained exclusively by The Associated Press details how insurers are paying out less on claims after an accident, natural disaster or other misfortune than they did decades ago. For every $1 collected in premiums, insurers reimbursed 62 cents for claims in 2024, down from an average loss ratio of 80 cents in the 1980s and 1990s.

The analysis wades into a thorny set of economic and political questions as insurance companies are managing the potential risks of climate change when the cost of groceries, gasoline and housing are a frustration for many voters. Insurance companies say they have hiked premiums because of rising prices for homes and autos and the expenses of fixing them.

“The fact that the loss ratios are so low means that the insurance industry is charging too much,” said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt University think tank and a former senior adviser at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The insurance industry said its current loss ratio reflects the costs for insurers in recent years and the steps deemed necessary for ensuring that insurance funding is stable and solvent.

“Current loss ratios reflect the impact of enormous financial losses over the last several years and the steps insurers have taken (to) maintain and restore financial strength so funds are available to pay future claims," Don Griffin, vice president for policy and research at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, said in an emailed statement. “Loss ratios in the 1990s were driven to nearly unsustainable levels by Hurricane Andrew in particular.”

After reviewing the analysis, Griffin added in a statement that the “state-based regulatory system is best suited” for overseeing the insurance industry as opposed to the federal guidelines in the report. He also said that mandates on loss ratios would harm customers.

“We have seen what happens when government limits insurers’ ability to appropriately price policies: markets deteriorate and policyholders are left with fewer options for coverage at higher prices,” he said.

While President Donald Trump won a second term on the promise to contain inflation, he has also gutted institutions such as the CFPB that sought to find potential savings. Housing costs have been particularly acute. Average mortgage rates remain above 6%, and an executive order by Trump to increase construction of new homes would still take years to bend the curve on housing prices.

When Trump, a Republican, signed the order on housing regulations in March, he emphasized that he was eliminating the heightened standards to protect homes against damage from natural disasters and improving energy efficiency because he said they were increasing construction costs.

“We will slash many of these pointless regulations that do nothing for safety and add lots of costs,” he said at the signing.

Research by the economists Benjamin Keys and Philip Mulder found that average premiums for home insurance climbed an inflation-adjusted 28% between 2017 and 2024 to an annual cost of $2,750. Their research found reasons for the increases: Roughly a third came from higher construction costs, and another 20% came from greater disaster risks. But it also noted the higher costs for financial instruments such as reinsurance, which insurers purchase to protect them from catastrophic financial losses.

The Vanderbilt analysis by contrast looks at the gap between what insurers charge and what they pay out to customers. By returning to the loss ratio of 80 cents paid out for each $1 collected, it estimates that households and businesses could have saved roughly $150 billion from the $1 trillion-plus paid in premiums in 2024.

The analysis includes proposed legislative language for the federal government to set a higher loss ratio for insurers. Currently, state governments primarily regulate insurance, but a federal mandate would be harder for companies to challenge.

The analysis further argues that insurers are using the premiums “to pay for corporate perks, corporate jets, stock-buy backs, excessive executive compensation, excessive dividends, excessive advertising, and excessive agent commissions.”

“Companies are competing against each other, not based on price but just based on brand awareness,” said Shearer, the author of the analysis, arguing that too much money is spent on marketing.

James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Hitchcock was initially sentenced to death in 1977 after being convicted of first-degree murder in the July 31, 1976, killing of Cynthia Driggers.

Then came years of appeals: Hitchcock's lawyers argued that the trial judge had barred consideration of mitigating evidence, that they weren’t allowed to keep three people off the jury and that he was falsely portrayed as a pedophile. He was resentenced to death in 1988, 1993 and 1996. After that, no governor signed his death warrant until Gov. Ron DeSantis sought to empty Florida’s Death Row.

Hitchcock woke up about 4:45 a.m. and has been compliant all day, a prison spokesman said during a news conference Thursday afternoon. Hitchcock met with a cousin but no spiritual adviser. He had a meal of chicken, salad, ice cream, pie and soda.

This would be Florida’s sixth execution so far this year. Four of the other five received their death sentences in the 1990s. DeSantis also oversaw a record 19 executions in 2025, more than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record had been eight executions, in 2014.

Five decades is an outlier — it generally takes at least 20 years, but usually closer to 30, from sentencing to execution. How much it cost Florida taxpayers to enforce Hitchcock's capital punishment over the years would be difficult to calculate, but it's far more expensive than a sentence of life without parole.

“It requires a higher degree of scrutiny, more careful legal proceedings, and expert attorneys and investigators,” Grace Hanna, executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said in an email Thursday. “There’s a misconception that the death penalty saves money by closing cases. In reality, it extends them -- often for decades -- while draining public resources at every stage.”

According to court records, Hitchcock was unemployed and had moved into his brother's Orlando home several weeks before the killing. He told police following his arrest that after several hours of drinking beer and smoking marijuana with friends, he returned to the home, entered the 13-year-old girl's room and raped her, investigators said.

When the girl told Hitchcock, then 20, that she had been injured and planned to tell her mother, Hitchcock tried to stop her from leaving the room and began choking her, officials said. Hitchcock then took the girl outside, where he beat and choked her until she stopped moving, and left her in some nearby bushes. Hitchcock then took a shower and went to bed.

Hitchcock recanted during his trial, and blamed his brother instead. He testified that his brother had walked into the girl's room shortly after they had consensual sex, and that his brother beat and choked her in a fit of rage. He said she was already dead by the time he pulled his brother off the girl, and that he had initially taken the blame to protect his brother.

The Florida Supreme Court denied another appeal last week. His attorneys had argued that he was innocent and that the state had illegally refused to grant him access to public records related to the death penalty. The U.S. Supreme Court denied another appeal on Thursday morning.

A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025, with Florida leading the way. Alabama, South Carolina and Texas tied for second with five executions each.

Also Thursday evening, a man who claimed he was not the shooter in a fatal robbery that killed two people nearly 18 years ago — and who says prosecutors misused rap lyrics he wrote to secure his death sentence — faced execution in Texas.

Another Florida execution is planned for May 21. Richard Knight, 47, is scheduled to received a lethal injection for his conviction in the fatal stabbing of his cousin's girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter.

All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection, using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.

Hospitals are consolidating. Technologies are reshaping workflows. Staffing shortages persist. Patients are more informed, more frustrated and more demanding of transparency.

Meanwhile, the population is aging, chronic disease rates are climbing, and mental health needs continue to surge.

In the middle of all that revolution, one thing remains consistent: health care systems rise or fall based on leadership.

For students and professionals thinking about what comes next, health care leadership offers something rare in today’s job market: impact that’s tangible and stable, and a sense of purpose that goes far beyond the typical definition of a career.

“Health care is one of the few industries where your work affects quality of life every single day,” said James O’Neill, Interim Dean of Lawrence Technological University’s College of Health Sciences. “The most meaningful leadership roles are the ones that improve outcomes for patients while also strengthening the teams who care for them.”

The backbone of modern care

Few leadership roles carry as much direct influence as health care leadership.

Managers, directors and executives shape everything from staffing models to patient safety. Leaders are responsible for translating big-picture strategy into day-to-day operations. Their decisions influence not only outcomes, but also workplace culture and team resilience.

And as workforce challenges continue, the importance of health care leadership is only growing.

“Health care leaders are at the center of what makes health care work,” O’Neill said. “When health care teams are supported, patient care improves. When leadership is strong, entire organizations become more resilient.”

This is one of the most stable leadership pathways in the field because health care leadership is foundational. Every care setting depends on it.

Operations: Keeping care accessible

Health care is mission-driven and complex. Leadership isn’t just one role -- it’s a wide range of career paths, each with a distinct impact.

Operations leaders -- such as clinic administrators, hospital operations managers, service line directors and practice managers -- ensure care systems run efficiently and remain financially sustainable.

These roles are sometimes misunderstood as being “behind the scenes,” but in reality, their decisions are some of the most important that get made. Operations leaders determine how patients move through a system, how quickly they can be seen and how efficiently resources are used.

“Good operations leadership isn’t about cutting corners,” O’Neill said. “It’s about building systems that allow clinicians to focus on care, not chaos.”

As health care grows more complex, strong operations leaders will remain in demand. They are the people who turn good intentions into reliable execution.

Quality and safety: Protecting patients

There is no such thing as a health care organization that can afford to treat quality and safety as optional. This is one of the fastest-growing areas of leadership because the stakes are high and the public expects accountability.

Leaders in quality improvement, patient safety, infection prevention and risk management focus on reducing harm, strengthening protocols, improving outcomes and ensuring compliance with standards. Their work might not always be visible, but it is often the reason patients receive safer, more consistent care.

“Health care runs on trust,” O’Neill said. “Quality and safety leaders protect that trust. Their work is what keeps systems honest, consistent and safe.”

As health care continues to face pressure from regulators, insurers and public expectations, these roles will only expand.

Public health: Solving problems early

Some of the most impactful health care leadership happens long before a patient ever reaches a hospital.

Public health leaders focus on education and prevention, addressing issues like vaccination, maternal health, chronic disease management, substance abuse prevention and health equity. They often collaborate across government, nonprofits, schools and health care systems to reduce the root causes of illness and improve long-term outcomes.

“The future of health care will depend on who is willing to lead outside the hospital walls,” O’Neill said. “Community health leadership is where we address the upstream issues that shape entire populations.”

As the U.S. health care system increasingly shifts toward value-based care and prevention, these roles are becoming central, not secondary.

Behavioral health: Meeting a growing need

Mental and behavioral health has become one of the most urgent challenges in health care today.

Leaders in this space -- including program directors, mental health administrators, crisis response coordinators and leaders who integrate behavioral health into primary care -- work to expand access, improve coordination and integrate care across systems.

“Behavioral health is one of the areas where leadership can make the most immediate difference,” O’Neill said. “It’s not just about treatment; it’s about access, coordination and creating pathways where people can get help before they reach a breaking point.”

This is one of the most purpose-driven leadership tracks in the industry, and one of the most urgently needed.

Patient experience: Shaping how care feels

Health care isn’t just clinical -- it’s personal. It’s about the experience of navigating a system when you’re vulnerable, stressed or in pain.

Leaders in patient experience focus on improving communication, reducing barriers, streamlining scheduling, improving service recovery and building trust with diverse communities. These roles matter because patients judge health care not only by what happens clinically, but by how they are treated as human beings.

“Patients remember whether they were listened to,” O’Neill said. “They remember whether the system respected their time and their dignity. Patient experience leadership is really about leading compassion at scale.”

Preparing the next generation of leaders

As demand grows, so does the need for professionals who understand both care delivery and the systems behind it.

LTU has developed a range of academic pathways designed to prepare professionals for these evolving leadership roles in health care, including:

• Associate of Science and Bachelor of Science in Allied Health Sciences
• Associate-to-BSN completion pathway for registered nurses
• Master of Healthcare Administration
• Doctor of Health Sciences

Together, these programs reflect the evolving nature of health care -- where leadership requires a blend of clinical care, operational expertise and strategic thinking.

A career built around purpose

Some careers rise and fall with the economy. Health care leadership is different.

It’s built on something more constant: human need.

The most effective leaders balance complexity with clarity and urgency with long-term thinking. And right now, that kind of leadership is in short supply.

“Health care needs leaders who can think strategically, communicate clearly and lead with integrity,” O’Neill said. “When you step into these roles, you’re not just building a career -- you’re building a system that people depend on.”

For those seeking a path defined by impact, stability and purpose, health care leadership remains one of the strongest options available. Not because it is easy, but because it matters. And because the people who do it well don’t just fill roles -- they shape the future of care.

Advance into health care leadership at Lawrence Technological University.

Add into it that this weekend's race is in Miami — traditionally one of the most-viewed of the season not only in the U.S. but worldwide — and hopes are high that casual viewers of the sport will be able to increase audiences.

“I think it’s a relaunch in a way. We’re treating it and we were treating it in a huge way anyway, and we’ve kind of probably even done a little more, but we’ve got a lot of things coming up for the race, so we’re very excited about it,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services.

Apple reached a five-year deal with the global motorsports series last fall, averaging $150 million per year. ESPN, which had carried F1 races since 2018, paid nearly $90 million during a three-year extension signed in 2022.

Miami is the first race since the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29. The Iran war forced F1 to call off April's races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Apple is showing the races in 4K Dolby Vision with immersive 5.1 surround sound. Viewers can watch up to four live feeds at once during practices, qualifying and races via multi-view displays. In addition to in-car cameras, there are timing and scoring channels.

Viewers can also choose either the commentary team from F1 TV or Sky Sports. ESPN used the Sky Sports feed when it aired the races.

“I think the first feedback that we’ve gotten in general is how good the video quality is because we do Dolby Atmos and we do 4K and we really don’t compress at the levels that all of the others do. The first time you watch a race, you’re like, ‘Wow, this looks amazing.’ The video and sound quality is just really, really good,” Cue said. "We’ve had almost a third of the people that are watching the race are taking advantage of multiview, because we’ve made it easy to do that where you can watch the key feed and watch your favorite cars."

Apple TV is also adding two shows before and after race weekends.

“Circuits in Focus” debuted on Thursday and features 2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg and creator Emelia Hartford previewing the circuit where the race will be run heading into the weekend, including strategy and key areas of the track that could define the race. Rosberg and Hartford will use the EA Sports F1 25 video game to take viewers into the driver's seat to show where there will be chances for drivers to overtake or defend their position.

“POV” will take place after races. It features former Red Bull Racing senior technician Calum Nicholas as well as content creator and engineer Christina Roki as they react and analyze key points from the weekend from a technical point of view.

Apple is also adding an on-demand, 10-minute recap of qualifying to join its race reviews.

In addition to content in its sports app, Apple also offers detailed circuit layouts in its Maps app, driver-curated playlists in Apple Music, and content in Apple News and podcasts.

Besides the content on Apple, Sunday's race will be shown nationwide from 50 IMAX locations. The race will also be shown in Times Square in New York.

The Tubi streaming “The Fast Lane: Miami” altcast features YouTube influencers Michelle Khare and Jeremiah Burton along with F1 expert Scott Mansell.

Apple is not part of Nielsen’s ratings system, and the company has not released ratings on the first three races. Cue said they have been pleased with viewer figures.

“I think fans have in some ways been surprised by how good everything’s turned out. We haven’t released any numbers yet or anything. We’ve been very happy with it and you’ll soon see more about that,” Cue said.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Japan is pouring tons of money into everything from breeding to training and racing, with a turn to dirt-track runners over the past decade or so after turf was the focus for so long. Following a near miss with Forever Young in 2024, the investment could soon pay off in the form of a Kentucky Derby winner, with Danon Bourbon and homebred Wonder Dean the country's hopes in the race this year.

“We are getting closer,” racing manager Hiroshi Ando told The Associated Press outside the Japanese horses' barn Thursday. “For Japan, I think we’re able to change Japanese racing history again, like we did with Forever Young in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Our ambition is the Kentucky Derby right now, if possible.”

The ambition for a longer period of time has been the Arc De Triomphe on grass in Paris, because Japan's roots in racing are on turf. The Japanese Racing Association launched the Japan Cup in 1981 to promote the sport and get more national interest in it, and it has become the richest turf race in the world with a purse of $8.2 million.

“We tried to learn a lot of things from the techniques and lots of things from foreign countries, not only U.S. — from European countries,” said Tom Hashimoto, general manager of the JRA's New York Representative Office. “Developed not in a short period, (but) we make it. It took step by step and learn from other countries, and now we are very lucky to have so many good thoroughbreds.”

That history of quality thoroughbreds there dates to the early ‘90s, when 1989 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Sunday Silence drew little breeding interest in the U.S. and was exported to Japan to stand as a stallion. He was Japan's leading sire for 13 consecutive years from 1995-2007, and his ancestors have won races all over the world.

Interest in mainstream dirt racing ramped up a little after that, around the time Victoire Pisa delivered Japan's first Dubai World Cup championship in 2011. American Pharoah, who won the Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in 2015 to end a 37-year Triple Crown drought, is in Japan breeding until July.

“Obviously he produced a lot of good horses in Japan, too, so Japanese people love American Pharoah babies,” Ando said. "I’m really interested to see how his babies perform because we have many good Japanese mares."

While the result of his stay in Japan won't be evident for a few years, the country is churning out strong horses on a regular basis, coming a long way from its debut Ski Captain finishing 14th in 1995. Master Fencer in 2019 and Derma Sotogake in '23 each were sixth, and Forever Young was a very close third two years ago when Mystik Dan beat Sierra Leone by a nose.

The post time just before 7 p.m. at Churchill Downs makes the Kentucky Derby a first Sunday morning in May event in Japan, and all the horses coming from there running in it is making fans take notice.

“Last couple years, Japanese racing people understand the Kentucky Derby,” Ando said. “Even the public knows the Kentucky Derby now, which is great for betting, great for the industry.”

Ando just wants to keep experiencing the Derby, which he called the best atmosphere in racing — and addictive. The chance to have a Japanese presence almost annually is certainly no accident, given how intentional Japanese stakeholders have been about getting to the elite level of the sport.

“The important thing is, how does the money fund the horse racing industry as a whole?” Hashimoto said. “Not only the racing: breeding, training, training, training and racing and back to breeding. We have to invest the money to all the aspects of horse racing.”

___

This story has been updated to show Sunday Silence was Japan’s leading sire from 1995-2007, not 2008.

___

AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

In a social media post, Trump said he would nominate Saphier, whom he called “a STAR physician who has spent her career guiding women facing breast cancer through their diagnosis and treatment.”

Saphier is director of breast imaging at Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth, according to her profile on the New York-based institution’s website. She has a doctor of medicine degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Barbados along with fellowships at the Mayo Clinic, the profile said.

The withdrawal came after tense exchanges between Means and lawmakers of both parties threw into question whether she could secure enough votes to advance out of the Senate health committee.

Her nomination had languished since her confirmation hearing in late February, even as activists from the Make America Healthy Again movement orchestrated a push to support her bid by surging phone calls to Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. They had both indicated reservations with the pick.

Means pitched ideas popular with MAHA

In nominating Means last May, Trump sought to hire a close ally of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the nation’s doctor. The 38-year-old Means, a Stanford-educated physician who became disillusioned with the health care system and pivoted to a career as an author and entrepreneur, promotes ideas popular with the MAHA movement, including that Americans are overmedicalized and that diet and lifestyle changes should be at the center of efforts to end widespread chronic disease.

But Means, who did not finish her surgical residency program and doesn’t currently have an active medical license, also had faced scrutiny for her lack of experience and potential conflicts. On top of those concerns, senators grilled her in February about Kennedy’s effort to pull back vaccine recommendations — leading to some contentious moments as Means toed the line between support for vaccines and calling them a decision best made by patients and their doctors.

In her confirmation hearing, Means was repeatedly asked about the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped recommending for all children late last year in a move criticized by scientific and medical groups nationwide and currently blocked during a lawsuit. Means has raised doubts about the birth dose, posting on social media in 2024 that giving the vaccine to a newborn whose parents don’t have hepatitis B was “absolute insanity.”

In another post earlier Thursday, Trump called Means “a strong MAHA Warrior” and also criticized the “intransigence and political games” from GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the chair of the Senate health committee, who is facing a tough reelection this year and who interrogated Means about vaccines during the hearing.

Means' brother, Calley Means, a health adviser to the Trump administration, blamed Cassidy in a social media post, claiming his “constant delay tactics” sank the nomination because he didn't bring Means' nomination to a committee vote. Cassidy didn't respond to a request for comment.

Now Trump will try to fill the post a third time

Means is the second U.S. surgeon general pick whose nomination has been withdrawn in Trump’s second term. Trump withdrew his first nominee, Fox News medical contributor Janette Nesheiwat, after questions were raised about her academic credentials.

Saphier, like Means, has questioned whether every child needs to get the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.

“I don't necessarily think it's necessary,” she said on a podcast in September. “My opinion is if a woman recently tested negative for hepatitis B and they’re living a low-risk lifestyle, no IV drug use, not a sex worker, they don’t have a hepatitis B positive person living in the home, then the newborn probably doesn’t need this vaccine and we can have a conversation about whether or not they should get the vaccine later in life.”

She also has criticized COVID vaccine booster requirements, arguing on a radio show in September that they were not always rooted in evidence.

In at least one case, Saphier has diverted from Trump’s medical messaging. Last year, as Trump advised pregnant women, “Don’t take Tylenol” — promoting unproven and in some cases discredited ties between the medication, vaccines and autism — Saphier said that while pregnant women generally are advised to take acetaminophen only under medical supervision, when necessary and at the lowest effective dose, equally important was that untreated fever or severe pain can also pose serious risks to mothers and babies. She noted that part was missing from Trump's message, delivered at a press conference with top U.S. health officials.

“For decades, women have endured a paternalistic tone in medicine. We’ve moved past dismissing symptoms as ‘hysteria,’” Saphier wrote in an email to The Associated Press at the time. “The President’s recent comments on Tylenol in pregnancy are a prime example. Advising moderation was sound; delivering it in a patronizing, simplistic way was not.” On a podcast at the time, Saphier said the press conference was “full of hyperbole” and “really painful to watch

Means and Saphier did not respond to requests for comment. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services referred inquiries to the White House.

___ Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C.

Traveling different paths, they all got to the Kentucky Derby this year, where Father's Day is coming early at Churchill Downs. The Delgados have The Puma, the elder Mott is looking to go back to back with Chief Wallabee, and his 34-year-old son has his first two Derby horses in Albus and Incredibolt.

“You always want your children — you hope they’re better than you,” Bill Mott told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “And I think that’s probably the case. We’re very proud of him.”

Bill Mott has two Kentucky Derby titles already, though Country House getting elevated to first in 2019 when Maximum Security was disqualified made Sovereignty's triumph feel more like his first. A competitor in his own right, he acknowledges it would be quite special to see Riley do it.

That's the goal, now.

“It was extremely special for Sovereignty because I’m still part of the family, part of the team,” Riley said. “But to do it on my own, this is my baby — our stable, our business. It’s my brainchild, my baby. It’s like my life’s work, so naturally to do it on your own would be tenfold special.”

The Puma is set to be the Delgados' fourth horse in the Kentucky Derby and their first since winning it with Mage in 2023. The horse, named for Gustavo Sr.'s nickname for his resemblance to popular Venezuelan artist José Luis Rodríguez, occupies the same stall as Mage did, and the occasion has the father-son training duo reliving all the delightful memories from three years ago.

“It feels great just to be back to Churchill at this time of the year with a horse going to the Derby,” Gustavo Jr. said. “I'm happy to be back here.”

They own part of The Puma, along with Ramiro Restrepo and others, and jockey Javier Castellano is riding again after Mage was his first Derby win on his 16th try. The Deglados' partnership has reached a stage where they don't even argue with one another and see things the same way.

“My dad and I, we work so (well) together and we share the same passion,” Gustavo Jr. said. “We are also best friends. When you have that kind of chemistry, everything works so well, especially when a good horse comes around.”

A lot of good horses came around for Bill Mott since Riley began working for him full time out of college in 2014, so much so that it looked like he'd train for the rest of his life.

“He’s never going to retire: He’s going to die in his boots, so to speak,” Riley said of his dad, who's 72. “I knew it was never going to be a situation where he’d retire and I’d take over. He loves the game, he’s passionate about the horses and he’d probably get very bored if he retired.”

Through Country House, Tacitus and Sovereignty, it has not been boring for Bill, who doesn't believe he specifically taught his son particular lessons along the way.

“There would be things I needed him to do, and he would carry out the whatever it was that we needed to have done, but I never drilled anything into him,” Mott said. “He just picked it up. Like a sponge, he just absorbed everything on his own. He’s a good horseman who knows what’s going on.”

Naturally, the credit goes to pops, who's most proud of how Riley treats everyone from grooms to executives with respect and maintains the same even-keeled demeanor.

“I’ve learned almost everything that I know about horses, about life,” Riley said. “My lifetime’s worth of knowledge comes from him.”

___

AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

Activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla said Israeli forces stormed their vessels overnight, smashing engines and detaining some of those onboard while they were sailing in international waters near Greece, hundreds of miles (kilometers) from Gaza and Israel.

Israel officials said they needed to take early action against the flotilla before it reached Israeli waters because of the high number of boats involved.

The flotilla set sail earlier this month from Barcelona, Spain. Organizers have said more than 70 boats and 1,000 people from around the world would be participating, with more vessels joining the original boats as the flotilla sailed east across the Mediterranean.

Flotilla organizers condemned Israel’s interception as “a dangerous and unprecedented escalation," describing it in a news release as "the abduction of civilians in the middle of the Mediterranean, over 600 miles from Gaza, in full view of the world."

In a separate statement late Thursday, organizers said 31 of the 53 vessels had reached safe waters and would continue their attempts to "break the illegal siege of Gaza.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry originally said in a post on X that it was taking about 175 activists from more than 20 boats participating in the flotilla to Israel. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar later wrote on X that the activists would be transferred to Greece in coordination with Greek authorities.

The Greek foreign ministry issued a statement saying it had asked Israel to withdraw its ships from the area and has offered its “good services” for the activists to disembark in Greece and be repatriated.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated the Israeli Navy in a statement saying the mission to keep the flotilla away had been a success. “They will continue to watch Gaza on YouTube,” he said.

Protests, condemnation in support of detained flotilla activists

Protests in solidarity with the flotilla were called across several capitals. In Rome, crowds gathered outside the Colosseum holding Palestinian flags. In Athens supporters chanted in support of the flotilla outside the Greek foreign ministry.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry condemned the seizure as “an act of piracy." Spain summoned the Israeli charge d’affaires in Madrid “to convey its strongest condemnation of the detention of the flotilla,” which included Spanish citizens, the ministry said in a statement. Italy and Germany said they were following developments with “great concern."

In a post on Telegram, Hamas also condemned the interception, accusing Israel of committing a crime without accountability and calling for the release of those detained.

Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of a blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms, while critics say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s Palestinian population.

Israel had thwarted previous efforts to break its blockade

The activists' attempt comes less than a year after Israeli authorities foiled a previous effort by the group to reach Gaza. That attempt involved about 50 vessels and around 500 activists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela, and several European lawmakers.

Israel arrested, detained and later deported the participants, who claimed Israeli authorities abused them while in detention. Israeli authorities denied the accusations.

The Israeli action had raised questions about what any nation can legally do to enforce a blockade in international waters. Several world leaders and human rights groups had condemned Israel, saying it violated international law.

Previous efforts to breach the blockade have also failed. In 2010, Israeli commandos raided the Turkish boat Mavi Marmara, which had been participating in an aid flotilla attempting to reach Gaza. Nine Turkish citizens and one Turkish-American on board were killed. The last time an activist boat succeeded in reaching the strip was in 2008.

Activists say Israeli forces boarded and disabled the boats

The Sumud Flotilla described the interception as a “violent raid in international waters.” In a social media post, the group said that “after smashing engines and destroying navigation arrays, the military retreated— intentionally leaving hundreds of civilians stranded on powerless, broken vessels directly in the path of a massive approaching storm.”

It also said the vessels' communications had been jammed, hindering them from signaling for help. Asked about the accusations, the Israeli military declined to comment.

Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oren Marmorstein said that “early action was required in accordance with international law” due to the large number of vessels in the flotilla. “The operation was carried out in international waters peacefully and without any casualties,” he said.

Marmostein accused the Hamas militant group in Gaza of being the “driving force” behind the flotilla, “with the aim of sabotaging (U.S.) President (Donald) Trump’s peace plan transition to its second phase and intended to divert attention from Hamas’ refusal to disarm.”

Flotilla aims to draw attention to the situation in Gaza

A fragile six month-old ceasefire in Gaza has halted the most intense fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas-led militants in the Palestinian enclave. Around 2 million Gaza residents are still living in ruins with shortages of food and medicine, and only limited aid entering through a single, Israeli-controlled border post.

Flotilla organizers have said they hope their latest attempt to reach Gaza will help highlight the living conditions endured by Palestinians in the territory, particularly as global attention has shifted its focus to the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran.

___

Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain. Associated Press writers Natalie Melzer in Mitzpe Hila, Israel, Cinar Kiper in Istanbul and Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed to this report.

The law, which goes into effect in July, is the strictest bathroom ban in the nation, subjecting people to time behind bars if they knowingly enter a bathroom, locker room or changing area that does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth — even if the bathroom is in a privately owned business. Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and sentenced to a year in jail for a first offense, or a felony with up to five years in prison for a second offense.

The plaintiffs, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal, say the law forces them to either stay at home or risk harassment, assault or arrest when using public restrooms.

“I’ve been enjoying life as a man and using the men’s restrooms hasn’t been a big deal,” Diego Fable, one of the plaintiffs, said in a news release. “But this law would force me to use the women’s facilities, and doing so would only invite suspicion, questions, and raised eyebrows. I would have to face tough choices every time I leave my home: Do I know the restroom situation when I go out to eat with my friends? Do I know the restrooms available when I go to public parks to go birding? What do I do while I’m at work all day?”

Republican Sen. Ben Toews, one of the sponsors of the legislation behind the law, said in March that the law was needed to protect women and children. He suggested that transgender people could simply find and use a single-occupancy gender -neutral restroom if they wanted.

Few gender-neutral restrooms available

But in the lawsuit, Fable said the only restrooms available at his work, local grocery stores and some restaurants, conference centers and gas stations are multi-occupancy gendered facilities. Other people also perceive Fable as a man, according to the lawsuit — and he is worried he will face violence if he goes into a women's restroom facility as required by the new law.

“Ultimately, complying with this law would be extremely isolating,” Fable said. "The only safe option truly available is to just stay home –- or leave the state entirely, leaving my treasured friends and community behind.”

The other plaintiffs expressed similar concerns. Peter Poe is a transgender man with a beard, and said using a women's restroom would be disruptive. Amelia Milette, a transgender woman, says her job requires her to assist clients at their own offices, and most of those offices only do not have gender-neutral restrooms. She said she will have to limit her food and liquid consumption to reduce the need to use the restroom in public places if the law goes into effect.

At least 19 states, including Idaho, already have laws barring transgender people from using bathrooms and changing rooms that align with their gender in schools and, in some cases, other public places. The LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Movement Advancement Project’s tracking of the laws shows that three other states — Florida, Kansas and Utah — have made it a criminal offense in some circumstances to violate the bathroom laws.

Idaho's law applies broadly to private businesses

But none of the others apply as broadly to private businesses as the Idaho law, which covers any “place of public accommodation,” meaning any business or facility that serves the public. The legislation includes nine exceptions for situations like performing janitorial work, responding to emergencies, helping children or cases when someone has “dire need” of a restroom.

The plaintiffs say the ban will cause emotional harm, exacerbate gender dysphoria and could lead to medical problems like kidney and urinary tract infections caused by being forced to avoid using restrooms. They contend the law is overly vague, that it discriminates based on sex and transgender status, and that it violates their constitutional right to privacy because it will force them to disclose their transgender status.

“This law is a dangerous and discriminatory effort to push transgender people out of public life,” said Barbara Schwabauer, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project.

Schwabauer said they would try to have the law completely blocked. “If you cannot use the restroom at work, you cannot go to work. If you cannot use the restroom at school, you cannot go to school," she said.

Attorney General Raúl Labrador is named as a defendant in the case along with multiple county prosecutors.

“We look forward to defending the law,” Labrador’s office said in an email to The Associated Press.

Trump then posted on his social media platform Truth Social congratulating Ali al-Zaidi and wishing him “success as he works to form a new Government free from terrorism that could deliver a brighter future for Iraq.”

“We look forward to a strong, vibrant, and highly productive new relationship between Iraq and the United States," the post said. "This is the beginning of a tremendous new chapter between our Nations — Prosperity, Stability, and Success like never seen before.”

The call and post signal that Washington has given its blessing to al-Zaidi, a businessman and political newcomer, after Trump had announced his disapproval of a previous leading candidate for the post.

Iraq’s dominant parliamentary bloc, the Coordination Framework — a coalition of Shiite parties allied with Iran — on Monday nominated al-Zaidi to be the country’s prime minister after weeks of internal debate among its member parties.

The coalition had previously said it would back former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who the U.S. administration views as too close to Iran. Trump publicly announced his opposition to al-Maliki and threatened to cut off aid to Iraq if he was appointed.

While al-Maliki remained defiant after Trump’s intervention, the bloc decided to shift to a compromise candidate.

Al-Zaidi, who is chairman of Al-Janoob Islamic Bank, emerged in the final stages of discussions as one of the leading candidates — bolstered by his economic background and business and investment connections. He hasn't previously held political office.

In 2024, Al-Janoob was one of a number of banks that were banned by Iraq’s central bank from dealing in dollars amid pressure from the U.S. to crack down on money laundering and funneling of funds to Iran. However, neither the bank nor al-Zaidi are under U.S. sanctions.

Following his nomination, al-Zaidi promised to focus on making Iraq “a balanced country, regionally and internationally.”

“This appointment comes at a sensitive time that requires concerted efforts from all political and social forces,” he said.

Under the constitution, the designated prime minister has 30 days to present a Cabinet lineup to the parliament, which requires 167 votes to secure a vote of confidence.

The next government will have to deal with the political and economic fallout of the Iran war, which spilled over into Iraq, while the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted the oil exports on which Iraq’s economy depends.

The decision, a striking reversal of the camp owners' determination to reopen, follows weeks of testimony in court hearings and legislative investigations. Those hearings laid bare the camp’s lack of detailed planning for a flood emergency, reliance on poorly trained staff, and missed chances for an evacuation that came too late as floodwaters ripped through the camp over the July 4 weekend last year.

“We never imagined a world without our daughters, and no decision made now can change that," Matthew Childress, father of 18-year-old counselor Chloe Childress who died, said in a statement.

The camp’s owner, Dick Eastland, also died in the flooding.

“No administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July’s tragedy,” Camp Mystic said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed Thursday that the camp has withdrawn its application.

The decision was praised by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who opposed the camp's reopening while investigations were ongoing.

“I am thankful to hear that, today, the Eastland family withdrew their application,” Patrick said in a statement. “Given the tragic circumstances, this is the correct decision to protect Texas campers and to allow time for all investigations to be completed.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has not weighed in publicly on whether the camp should reopen, noted in a statement Thursday that the result of ongoing investigations into Camp Mystic by DSHS and the Texas Rangers “will be made public as soon as possible.”

The families of the victims packed the court and legislative hearings, often wearing “Heaven’s 27” pins with photographs of their daughters. They listened to the details of missed flood warning signs, the descriptions of the flood and the decision to leave the girls in their cabins until it was too late. The testimony included video of the raging floodwaters as a girl repeatedly screamed for “help!” somewhere in the distance.

Edward Eastland, one of the camp directors and a member of the Eastland family that owns and operates the 100-year-old camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River, offered a tearful public apology to the victims’ families on Tuesday.

“We tried our hardest that night. It wasn’t enough to save your daughters,” Eastland said, with the victims' families sitting behind him. “I’m so sorry.”

Still, Camp Mystic seemed determined to reopen. Camp officials invited journalists and lawmakers to review safety improvements at the camp, promised that no camp activities would take place in the low-lying area that was devastated and impressed that hundreds of families wanted to return, underscoring how special a place it was for generations of Texans.

A least 850 campers signed up to return this year. Reports that so many families were prepared to send their daughters back this summer caused divisions within the close-knit community of Mystic alumni.

All told, the destructive flooding killed at least 136 people along a several-mile stretch of the river, raising questions about how things went so terribly wrong.

Texas health regulators have said they are investigating hundreds of complaints against the camp's owners. The Texas Rangers are also looking into allegations of neglect, according to the Texas Department of Safety, although the scope of the state’s elite investigations unit was not immediately clear.

The camp, established in 1926, did not evacuate as the storm rolled in and was hit hard when the river rose from 14 feet (4.2 meters) to 29.5 feet (9 meters) within 60 minutes.

___

Murphy reported from Oklahoma City.

Watch the video above to hear about some of the events Happening Around the D.

A Michigan native plays one of the disciples on the hit series. Giavani Cairo takes on the role of Thaddeus on “The Chosen.”

Watch the video above to see Cairo’s appearance on “Live In The D” where talks about the series and what’s next.

Over the last several weeks, the Saudis have bailed on a Winter Olympics-style sports festival and sold one of their best soccer teams, all while shifting the strategy of their multibillion-dollar investment fund that bankrolls it all.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund, helmed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, recently delivered a new prospectus outlining its strategy for 2026-30. The strategy focuses on more internal investment while “maximizing financial returns, strengthening investment efficiency and increasing private sector participation.”

The ultimate goal is to fulfill the prince's “Vision 2030,” which seeks to enhance and overhaul Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure and make tourism a more focal point of an oil-based economy.

It follows an era in which the fund poured staggering sums of money into various sports ventures around the world. Soccer has been a centerpiece — the country is hosting the 2034 World Cup, while PIF owns a majority stake in Newcastle of the Premier League and bolsters the Saudi Pro League. The fund has also spent big on men's and women's pro tennis, Formula 1, boxing and more.

LIV Golf, though not the most expensive, is the highest profile among them; the fund has reportedly poured some $5 billion into LIV without receiving any return.

“For the past two years, we've seen the beginning of the scaling back of some of the mega projects that were announced in 2021, 2022,” Kristian Ulrichsen, a Middle East expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy “That's exactly when LIV Golf began, as well.”

LIV Golf has new leadership and a new business strategy

The PIF announced Thursday it would withdraw funding for LIV Golf after 2026, ending weeks of speculation and reporting that the Saudis were about to cut the cord. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor who was behind the creation of LIV Golf, is no longer listed as chairman of LIV Golf amid reports he has resigned from that role.

Staff and players have been aware for the last two weeks the PIF was only going to support LIV Golf through the end of this year. LIV responded with a new board and a plan to diversify into an investment model with hopes of finding long-term partners.

The PIF's deep pockets were integral for LIV in prying some of the sport's best players from the PGA Tour. It spent $1 billion to land the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith and eventually Jon Rahm, the last big signing at the end of 2023.

In an interview earlier this week with The Wall Street Journal, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said: “We’re interested in having the best players who can help our tour. Not every player can do that.”

Already, five-time major winner Koepka has moved back to the tour from LIV, and Masters champion Patrick Reed plans to return later this year.

In a sign of the times, Saudis scale back multibillion-dollar plans for super-city

About three months ago, Saudi Arabia scaled back plans for a futuristic super-city project called The Line inside a bigger project called “Neom” that was supposed to span more than 100 miles and run from the Red Sea across the desert mountains.

One feature of the project was a resort called Trojena, which was envisioned as a year-round ski resort that would host the 2029 Asian Winter Games (which themselves were moved instead to Kazakhstan). It could have served as a dress rehearsal for future Olympics or, at the very least, the 2034 World Cup that has already been awarded to the kingdom.

More recently, PIF sold 70% of its Saudi Pro League soccer club Al-Hilal to a company owned by Saudi royalty, a move that sent shock waves through that sport — namely raising questions as to whether the fund was still committed to Newcastle of the English Premier League, of which it owns about 85%.

"Whether due to the war or reasons related to economic feasibility, we continuously reassess our priorities,” Al-Rumayyan told the state-owned Al Arabiya news channel shortly after the Al-Hilal sale.

Mohammed Soliman, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, told The Associated Press “Saudi Arabia is constantly reassessing its priorities, and its investment strategy will shift accordingly."

“The PIF has always been a vehicle of national transformation first, global sports deals were part of that story, but so is pulling capital closer to home when the moment calls for it,” Soliman said.

War's impacts only add to questions about Saudi's sports future

There's a healthy debate over what impact the U.S. war in Iran is having on the Saudi decision-making.

Some of these decisions — such as the scaling back of the Neom project — were being made earlier in the year when a barrel of oil was selling for $60 — a lower price that can cause the country to endure budget deficits that might have to be financed by cutting into profits of Aramco, the country's national oil producer.

The war, meanwhile, raised oil prices to above $100 but reduced the Saudis' ability to sell it while Iran and the U.S. battle over control of the Strait of Hormuz, the key chokepoint through which up to 25% of the world's oil must pass.

“Ironically, the fact that the Saudis are still able to export maybe two-thirds of their oil at much higher prices over the last six weeks maybe actually means that their revenues may have gone up,” Ulrichsen said. “But this won’t be forever. The war has definitely heightened the element of uncertainty, and the closer it gets to 2030, the more they’ll want to deliver one or two key things, rather than maybe falling short on six or seven in general.”

Golf captures headlines, but soccer and World Cup hover over Saudi decisions

The Saudis have made major inroads into sports other than golf and soccer.

They host a $15 million season-ending tournament on the Women's Tennis Association, and the PIF has naming rights for both the WTA and the men's ATP tour.

Saudi Arabia has hosted the Dakar Rally and an F1 event came to the country in 2021. (It was cancelled this year because of the war.)

It has shown interest in hosting the Summer Olympics, maybe as soon as 2036.

All that pales in comparison to its biggest sports undertaking — hosting the World Cup in 2034. That project calls for building 10 or 11 new stadiums across the country, including one in Neom that is planned to hover a quarter-mile above ground.

All those stadiums and all that investment make LIV's $5 billion look small. Still, it hasn't gone unnoticed that the vision LIV began with — as a league that would create teams, then sell them to make the endeavor profitable — hasn't materialized.

“The expense is not on the scale of what they spent on The Line or the (Asian) winter games,” Ulrichsen said. “But it’s significant, and I don't think there's an appetite for the prospect of losses continuing for at least another five or 10 years.”

___

AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contributed.

___

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

It was a period of painful rejection that is familiar to exonerees. Some see their own struggles reflected in Calvin Duncan, who won elected office in New Orleans after clearing his name but likely won't serve. Louisiana lawmakers sent a bill to the governor's desk Wednesday abolishing his job.

“We’re still kind of like looked at as an inmate that did a particular crime. It further deteriorates our ability to believe that the system can heal itself,” said Miles, who eventually found a job through a minister at his church. “When cases like in Louisiana occur, it just shows us that the system is not healing itself.”

The fight in Louisiana has touched a nerve among exonerees in the U.S. who see Duncan's plight as reflective of the biases and stigmas they have to confront as they try to rebuild their lives.

Duncan served nearly 30 years in prison before his murder conviction was vacated in 2021 after evidence emerged that police officers had lied in court. He was elected to become the Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court in November, vowing to fix the system that failed him. He had been set to take office May 4.

Louisiana Republicans who want to dissolve the office say it isn't about Duncan's past but a necessary step toward government efficiency.

“Even if they are seen as somebody who is exonerated, there is still a stigma as somebody who has been in prison,” said Jon Eldan, the founder and executive director of After Innocence, a California-based nonprofit.

On Wednesday, Duncan sued Gov. Jeff Landry and other state officials, accusing them of conspiring to prevent the “Black exoneree and supporter of racial justice" from taking office. Duncan asked a federal judge to let him take office as scheduled on May 4.

A spokesperson for Landry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Lester Duhe, a spokesperson for Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying Murrill “had nothing to do with the bill.”

Nonprofits and others offer help to exonerees

According to the National Registry of Exonerations, more than 3,800 people have been exonerated in the U.S. since 1989.

But unlike those released on parole or probation, exonerees don’t have access to government-provided services such as employment or housing assistance and mental health services.

“I was turned down by many prisoner reentry organizations because they said, ‘Look, you’re not on parole, you’re not on probation,'” said Jeffrey Deskovic, who was wrongly convicted of rape and murder in Peekskill, New York, and spent 16 years in prison before being freed in 2006.

Thirty-eight states compensate wrongfully convicted people, although that process can take years.

After Innocence works directly one-on-one with exonerees nationwide, helping them to get healthcare and dental services, and providing them with financial and job counseling and resume prep. It also tries to clean up their records to accurately represent what happened in their criminal cases, Eldan said.

Miles, who spent more than 14 years in prison, now runs Miles of Freedom, a nonprofit in Dallas that helps formerly incarcerated individuals, including exonerees, rebuild their lives.

The challenges Miles faced as an exoneree looking for employment — including a lack of work history, viable skills and training — are not unusual, but it also appears some employers simply don't want someone who has been behind bars on their workforce.

There are no government statistics that track the employment rate of exonerees. Multiple studies have shown the unemployment rate for people who were in prison is much higher than the national rate. A 2018 study from the Prison Policy Initiative found that formerly incarcerated people are unemployed at a rate of over 27%. A 2021 Bureau of Justice Statistics study found that 33% of federal prisoners released in 2010 did not find employment for four years. Nationally, the unemployment rate in March was 4.3%.

Finding employment remains a challenge

Deskovic used the compensation he received five years after his 2006 release from prison to start the Deskovic Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit that helps free wrongfully convicted people. He later got a law degree so he could represent them in court.

Exonerees tell Deskovic little has changed since the years following his release when he applied for jobs, including as a doughnut shop worker and a weekly newspaper reporter, but could never find consistent work.

Supporters of exonerees point to Duncan as someone who has rebuilt his life and won elected office but still faces pushback about his innocence and post-incarceration accomplishments.

“If he wasn’t an exoneree, would they be doing this to him? I’m sure that they would not,” Deskovic said.

Groups push for legislative help for exonerees

Eldan's organization worked with a state senator to help write and pass a law in Delaware that provides compensation for wrongful imprisonment, as well as a stipend and help with housing, food benefits, and health and dental insurance. It also provides exonerees with a certificate from the state saying they were wrongly incarcerated and found innocent.

Eldan said his group is working with legislators in several other states, including California and New Mexico, where lawmakers are focused on passing bills to provide similar innocence certificates and update exonerees' criminal records.

More states should fund programs to help exonerees after their release, Eldan and Miles said.

“But it’s hard to write into a statute, something that actually translates into real benefit for these people,” Eldan said. “It's not because the state is bad, but because the state just is not well-suited to deliver those services.”

Ben Spencer spent 34 years in prison for a murder in Dallas he didn’t commit before being exonerated and released in 2021. He applied for jobs at an Amazon warehouse and as an airport baggage loader but failed to secure a position.

Eventually, someone who had taken an interest in his case helped get him a job as a facilities engineer, doing repairs for a company. He’s worked there five years.

“I think I’m kind of settling in a little more now. I’m still trying to figure out the cellphone and computers,” Spencer said. “When I walked out of the jail, it was like waking up out of a coma or a bad dream. And of course, I still had to try to get some financial stability. I guess I won’t say I’m there now, but I’m closer to where I wanna be now than I was.”

___

Associated Press writer Jack Brook in New Orleans contributed.

___

Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://x.com/juanlozano70

He and another officials with the group accused Ankara of failing to enact legal and political reforms needed to move the process forward, contradicting recent optimistic statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Murat Karayilan, a co-founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and one of its most senior leaders, said in an interview with the PKK-linked ANF news outlet that his group had taken major steps as part of the peace effort, including declaring a ceasefire and an end to its armed struggle.

“The process is currently frozen. That’s what we’ve been able to see and what has been reported to us," the outlet quoted Karayilan as saying. “We, as a movement, have fulfilled our responsibilities at this stage. It is clear that we have done everything necessary for the government to take action.”

There was no immediate reaction from officials in Turkey to Karayilan’s remarks.

Last year, the PKK declared that it would disarm and disband as part of the new peace effort with Turkey, following a call by its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan. The PKK then staged a symbolic disarmament ceremony in northern Iraq, and later announced that it was withdrawing fighters from some key locations in Turkey to Iraq.

Earlier this year, a Turkish parliamentary committee recommended a series of reforms to advance the initiative, including the reintegration of PKK members who renounce violence, while stressing that legal steps should be tied to state security institutions verifying that the group has surrendered its weapons.

Karayilan said that Turkish government and ruling party officials had set April as the month in which legislation advancing the process would be brought to parliament, a deadline that has now passed with no bill introduced.

He accused the Turkish government of failing to implement even basic measures recommended by the committee, including releasing opposition politicians and activists from prison.

Ocalan himself also remains imprisoned. Karayilan said that the PKK’s decision at its 12th Congress to end its armed struggle and dissolve itself was approved on the condition that Ocalan personally manage the disarmament process, meaning, he said, that the group’s own internal mandate can't move forward while its leader remains in prison.

In a separate statement to The Associated Press, Zagros Hiwa, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Communities Union, a political organization linked with the PKK, said that the organization had taken several steps in line with Ocalan’s call. But Hiwa said that Turkish forces continue to operate in parts of northern Iraq, government-appointed administrators still occupy the seats of elected Kurdish mayors in Turkey and that thousands of Kurdish and Turkish political prisoners remain jailed.

“The Turkish state has taken no legal and political steps towards peace and has been continuing war-time policies under new rhetoric,” he said, adding that Ocalan remains under solitary confinement on Imrali island off Istanbul, where he has been imprisoned since his capture in 1999.

Hiwa accused the Turkish government of “instrumentalizing” the process to consolidate the governing party's grip on power and boost its standing in upcoming elections, rather than seeking a genuine settlement.

“What happens next totally depends on the attitudes of the Turkish state,” Hiwa said. He warned that the impasse could carry “precarious implications.”

The PKK officials' suggestion that the peace process has stalled contradicted a statement by Erdogan, who a day earlier told legislators from his governing party, that the peace efforts were moving in a positive atmosphere.

“The process is proceeding as it should,” Erdogan said. “Those who write pessimistic scenarios about the process are acting entirely on their delusions, not on facts.

The PKK has waged an armed insurgency since 1984, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives and spilled into neighboring Iraq and Syria. It's designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The group initially sought an independent Kurdish state but later shifted to demands for autonomy and expanded rights in Turkey.

___

Suzan Fraser contributed to this report from Ankara, Turkey.

The stabbing happened near Greenfield and Nine Mile Road at around 9:30 a.m. on April 30.

Police said the 28-year-old Detroit woman got into a fight with a 24-year-old Taylor woman, whose children share the same father. The fight led to the Detroit woman being stabbed in the back and side. She tried to drive away, but crashed into a tree.

The Detroit woman was taken to a local hospital and is expected to be okay.

The women’s children’s father, who lived in an apartment in the area where the stabbing happened, was not involved in the altercation, police said.

The suspect was later found in Detroit and was taken into custody. The investigation is ongoing.

The Rev. Adam Hamilton enters the race as a potentially formidable candidate, though it appears likely that at least a few of the eight other, lesser-known Democrats who previously launched campaigns would remain in the Aug. 4 primary race. The winner will face incumbent Republican Roger Marshall, who aligned himself closely with President Donald Trump in his first run for the Senate in 2020.

Hamilton, 61, has a national following among mainline Protestants, and he’s built his Church of the Resurrection over the past 35 years in the Kansas City area with about 22,000 members — giving him a base from which to tap volunteers and donors.

Hamilton weighed an independent run first

He had considered running as an independent candidate, telling his congregation that he could bridge partisan divides in a highly polarized political climate. However, many Democrats believed that would simply split the anti-Marshall vote, giving Marshall a second term.

“Every week, it seemed there was another news story in the last year where I would find myself shaking my head and thinking, we have to do better,” the self-described fifth-generation Kansan said.

While Democrats and Republicans have traded off the Kansas governor’s office for the past 60 years, Republicans haven’t lost a U.S. Senate race in the state since 1932. Democrats gave Marshall a vigorous challenge in 2020, but he still prevailed by more than 11 percentage points, even as Democrat Joe Biden ousted Trump and his party won control of both houses of Congress.

In some ways, Hamilton’s candidacy would be similar to that of the Democratic nominee in Texas, state Rep. James Talarico, a Presbyterian minister in training who speaks often of his faith and how it guides his positions. However, Hamilton is a generation older.

Hamilton has been registered as both a Democrat and a Republican previously, according to voter records, but switched to unaffiliated in February. He has registered as a Democrat again, his campaign said Thursday.

Run greeted with skepticism on both sides

The Kansas Republican Party quickly signaled that it plans to portray Hamilton as liberal and out of step with the state, however he identifies himself.

“His so-called ‘independent’ exploration was little more than a political marketing strategy to mask a radical left agenda,” its executive director, Rob Fillion, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, two Democratic primary opponents were skeptical of Hamilton's return to their party.

A spokesman for state Sen. Patrick Schmidt of Topeka noted that Hamilton registered as a Republican for the August 2020 primary and argued that the pastor was not a Democrat “when it counted most.”

Noah Taylor, a Wichita-area veteran who served in Afghanistan, said Hamilton's return was “not a conversion.”

"That's a calculation,” he said.

Hamilton started massive church from nothing

But other Democrats — and Marshall — must reckon with Hamilton's ability to attract followers and raise money.

Hamilton was a graduate of Oral University in Tulsa and then Southern Methodist University in Dallas when his denomination tapped him at age 25 to start a church in suburban Kansas City for nonchurchgoers.

Worshippers initially met in the small chapel of a local funeral home and now gather at nine campuses. The main one, on 76 acres in an affluent suburb, resembles a small college. The Christmas Eve offering — devoted to mission work — sometimes tops $2 million.

Hamilton also has written and published dozens of books, and his video-based lessons are popular for Sunday school classes in churches across the country. In 2013, he preached at the National Prayer Service.

He's running in what promises to be a challenging midterm election year for Republicans. Polling shows most Americans believe the U.S. military action against Iran has gone too far and voters are increasingly worried about what they see as Trump’s failure to address affordability issues.

Hamilton’s home of Johnson County is the state’s most populous, with 643,000 people, more than one in every five Kansas residents. Once overwhelming Republican, it has grown increasingly blue, voting against Trump in the last two presidential elections.

The county is a key reason why a state with an overwhelmingly GOP Legislature has a Democratic governor.

Hamilton's views shaped through decades as a pastor

How voters view Hamilton’s politics is a key question, because he’ll need to win over disaffected Republicans as well as unaffiliated voters — the formula for Democrat Laura Kelly’s successful bid for governor in 2018 and narrow reelection win in 2022.

Hamilton’s congregation is a nearly equal mix of Republicans, Democrats and Independents, and he describes himself as “a liberal conservative and a conservative liberal.”

Although Hamilton hasn’t run for public office before, he isn’t a blank slate, with decades of sermons, and more recently podcasts and Facebook videos.

Following a surge of federal law enforcement in Minneapolis, for instance, Hamilton cited an Old Testament verse that commands Israelites to treat foreigners with love and fairness.

On abortion, the father of two married to his high school sweetheart said during the final stop of a listening tour earlier this month that he voted in 2022 against a state constitutional amendment that would have cleared the way for tougher abortion restrictions or a ban in Kansas.

He said lawmakers should not be “the ethicists and the spiritual guides” for women and that he has counseled rape victims. However, he also said his mother considered an abortion when she got pregnant with him as a teenager.

“I feel both of these things at the same time,” he said.

But Taylor said Hamilton “couldn't decide he was pro-choice until last week,” and Democratic state Rep. Alexis Simmons, of Topeka, focused on abortion in a Facebook post and reacted to Hamilton's announcement with, “Why would we go backwards?”

“Sorry but no," she posted. "It’s 2026.”

___ Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas.

The measure that passed unanimously by voice vote Thursday was written as a change to the Senate’s rules, so it will go into effect immediately. It comes a week after a U.S. special forces soldier was charged with using classified information to bet on the January capture of Venezuela's then-president, Nicolas Maduro, and as lawmakers increasingly voice concerns about who might be making public wagers on the war with Iran.

“United States senators have no business engaging in speculative activities like prediction markets while collecting a taxpayer-funded paycheck, period,” said Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who sponsored the resolution. An amendment by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., broadened the measure to include staff.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the move was a “no-brainer.” He encouraged the House and Trump administration to do the same.

“We must never allow Congress to turn into a casino where members representing the public can gamble on wars or economic crises or elections,” Schumer said. “That would destroy the very principle of representative government.”

Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., have introduced a bill to ban all federally elected officials and government employees from using insider information to make prediction market bets. Young said the resolution was “a good first step” and he encouraged the Senate to take up their bill.

Prediction markets, including the betting platform Polymarket and its chief rival Kalshi, have come under scrutiny as the business has expanded. Polymarket has received particular criticism as a venue for offshore trades that are beyond the reach of U.S. regulators.

Earlier this month, The Associated Press reported that a group of new accounts on Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed bets on whether the United States and Iran would reach a ceasefire on April 7, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for the new customers. On the same day the AP published the report, the White House warned staff against using private information to trade on prediction markets.

The administration has been a key ally of the growing prediction market industry in a legal fight with states seeking to ban the platforms. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, is an adviser for both Polymarket and Kalshi. Trump’s social media platform Truth Social is also launching its own cryptocurrency-based prediction market called Truth Predict.

“The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino, and you look at what’s going on all over the world and Europe and every place, they’re doing these betting things,” Trump said this month.

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Alejandro Jacomino Gonzalez, 41, went missing while heading to Miami with a shipment of vehicles he picked up April 16 at the Port of Brunswick on the Georgia coast, according to the FBI.

He was last spotted at a rest stop along Interstate 95 in Brevard County, Florida, in the early morning hours of April 17. His tractor-trailer was found later that day about 320 miles (515 kilometers) away in Port Wentworth, Georgia, west of Savannah. The FBI said Gonzalez and several of the cars he was hauling were missing.

A body was discovered that day in coastal Glynn County, Georgia, nearly 80 miles (128 kilometers) south of where the semitrailer was found. Investigators confirmed it was Gonzalez's body, Tony Thomas, an FBI spokesman in Atlanta, said Thursday.

Thomas said he couldn't provide further details, citing the active investigation. No charges or arrests have been announced.

Gonzalez, a commercial truck driver, pulled into the Florida rest stop on April 17 at about 1:20 a.m., the FBI said when it posted a missing person bulletin for Gonzalez last Friday. He had completed more than half his trip to Miami.

The semitrailer's GPS showed it began moving again hours later, at about 7:50 a.m., the FBI said. The truck drove south a short distance on I-95, taking the first available exit. It then turned north, heading back toward Georgia.

The FBI said three of the vehicles missing from Gonzalez's truck when it was located in Georgia were later found in Florida, but others haven't been found.

James Broadnax was sentenced to death for the 2008 shooting deaths of two men outside a suburban Dallas music studio. Prosecutors say Broadnax and his cousin, Demarius Cummings, fatally shot and robbed Stephen Swan and Matthew Butler in the parking lot of Butler’s recording studio in Garland. Cummings was sentenced to life without parole.

Prosecutors say Broadnax, 37, confessed to the shooting, telling reporters during jailhouse interviews that “I pulled the trigger” and that he had no remorse.

Broadnax was scheduled to receive a lethal injection after 6 p.m. CDT at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Houston.

About five hours before the scheduled execution, the U.S. Supreme Court issued brief orders rejecting Ricks’ final appeals to block the execution. No reason was given for the rejection. Broadnax's attorneys have also asked Gov. Greg Abbott to issue a one-time 30-day reprieve. But in his more than 11 years as governor, Abbott has halted only one imminent execution.

His lawyers had focused his final appeals on two issues: Cummings has recently confessed to being the shooter; and Broadnax’s constitutional rights were violated because prosecutors eliminated potential jurors during his trial on the basis of race.

“I’m really gonna tell it like it’s supposed to be told, that it was me, that I was the killer. I shot Matthew Bullard, Steve Swann,” Cummings said recently from prison in a video created as part of the efforts to stop Broadnax’s execution.

Broadnax’s attorneys say in filings with the high court that Cummings’ confession is “corroborated by the fact that his DNA, and not Mr. Broadnax’s, was found on the murder weapon and in the pocket of one of the victims.”

In the video, Broadnax said his confession was false as at the time he didn’t care about his life. Broadnax’s lawyers say he was under the influence of drugs during the television interviews.

He also apologized to the families of Butler and Swan for taking part in the robbery.

“I wish I could show them my soul, so they could see just how sorry I am. I am very much remorseful for everything that happened,” Broadnax said.

His attorneys also allege prosecutors dismissed all seven potential Black jurors on the basis of their race, “utilizing a spreadsheet during jury selection that bolded only the names of every Black juror,” according to court documents. One Black juror was later reinstated to the jury. Broadnax is Black.

In a 1986 ruling known as Batson v. Kentucky, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that excluding jurors because of their race violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Broadnax’s attorneys had argued in an earlier appeal that prosecutors had violated his constitutional rights by using some of the rap lyrics he wrote to portray him as a violent and dangerous person in order to secure a death sentence. A number of A-list rappers, including Travis Scott,T.I. and Killer Mike, had filed briefs at the Supreme Court in support of Broadnax’s appeal.

But the high court rejected that appeal as well as another that focused on how forensic evidence was presented at his trial.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday denied Broadnax’s request for a 180-day reprieve or to commute his death sentence.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office has described Cummings’ confession as the shooter as “questionable new evidence.” It also said in court documents that Broadnax’s claims that potential Black jurors were targeted for removal are “entirely meritless” as these jurors were stricken not because of race but because of their answers during questioning, including that some opposed the death penalty.

Theresa Butler, Matthew Butler’s mother, has asked that the execution proceed.

“This so called confession from cummings is just a stall tactic by broadnax’s desperate defense team. Its all a lie,” Butler wrote in a post on social media.

If the execution is carried out, Broadnax would be the third person put to death this year in Texas, which has historically held more executions than any other state.

About an hour before Broadnax's scheduled execution on Thursday, Florida is set to put to death James Ernest Hitchcock, 70, for beating and choking his 13-year-old step-niece to death.

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Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://x.com/juanlozano70

According to the lawsuit filed on April 29, a woman went to Goldfish Swim School’s Rochester location in July 2023, where she was recorded nude without her consent while she was changing in the changing room.

The business, founded in 2006, provides public aquatic facilities dedicated to teaching children swim lessons and programs for children ages 4 months and up.

Dr. Oumair Aejaz was charged with secretly recording former patients and others, including minors, at hospitals, Goldfish Swim School in Rochester and private homes. He was also charged with assault.

The lawsuit stated Aejaz set up a camera to record the woman undressing in the changing room next to her.

Aejaz was sentenced to 35 to 60 years in prison on 31 charges he pleaded no contest to in October in connection with secretly recording people and assault.

Read more --> Secret recordings, assaults lead to long prison term for ‘sadistic’ Oakland County doctor

The lawsuit accuses Goldfish Swim School of negligence and a lack of security for people changing in the community changing room at the business, stating there were no assigned employees to monitor to see who was coming in and out of the changing room, and there were no proper policies, procedures or guidelines in place to ensure the safety and security of the changing room.

Goldfish Swim School “failed to take reasonable measures to ensure that individuals using private changing rooms and disrobing were safe from being recorded without their consent,” the lawsuit alleged.

The lawsuit also stated that Aejaz was able to walk freely into the facility without children present and with no reason to be on the premises.

A jury trial was demanded for the lawsuit.

Local 4 reached out to Goldfish Swim School officials regarding the lawsuit, who provided no comment pending litigation.

The woman represented in the lawsuit provided the following statement:

“Goldfish Swim had every opportunity to protect the families and children in its facilities, and it failed. A man walked into a children’s swim school dozens of times with a hidden camera, and no one ever stopped him. I’m bringing this case so that real changes are made to protect the families and children who walk through those doors every day.   

I want other families to know that they are not alone. I encourage any families who attended Goldfish Swim in Rochester with their children to reach out to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office to find out if they were recorded. Together, we can advocate to create lasting change for our children.” 

“Parents across the country trust Goldfish Swim Schools with their children,” said Lisa Esser-Weidenfeller of Sommers Schwartz P.C., who is co-counsel for the plaintiff in the lawsuit. “Our investigation has found that Goldfish had no policies or procedures whatsoever to secure its changing rooms or adequately screen who entered the facility. It takes tremendous courage to step forward as Ms. Dean has, and we hope other families who were affected will feel empowered to come forward as well. We are filing this class action to hold the company accountable and to ensure meaningful reforms are made to protect families at its more than 150 locations nationwide.”

“While Aejaz set up the secret camera, Goldfish Swim School created the environment that allowed this to happen,” said Megan Bonanni of Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers, who is co-counsel for the plaintiff in the lawsuit. “We are disappointed, but not surprised, that more people have been harmed by Goldfish’s negligence. Aejaz is not the first person to commit this kind of crime, and he won’t be the last, which is exactly why Goldfish must be held accountable so that no one else is given the opportunity to do this.”

Staff and players have been aware for the last two weeks the Public Investment Fund was only going to support LIV Golf through the end of this year. LIV responded with a new board and a plan to diversify into an investment model with hopes of finding long-term partners.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor who was behind the creation of LIV Golf, is no longer listed as chairman of LIV Golf amid reports he has resigned from that role.

“PIF has made the decision to fund LIV Golf only for the remainder of the 2026 season,” PIF said in a statement. “The substantial investment required by LIV Golf over a longer term is no longer consistent with the current phase of PIF's investment strategy.”

The newsletter “Money in Sports” reported earlier this year LIV Golf has spent $5.3 billion since it began in 2022, a figure likely to exceed $6 billion by the end of the year. LIV Golf spent about $1 billion in luring top names away from the PGA Tour when it launched — Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, among them.

Prize money was increased this year to $30 million at each event.

PIF two weeks ago revealed a new five-year investment strategy geared toward “sustained value creation, with a strengthened focus on maximizing impact, raising the efficiency of investments, and applying the highest standards of governance, transparency and institutional excellence."

LIV Golf, which announced this week it has postponed its Louisiana tournament from late June until the fall, is scheduled to play May 7-10 in northern Virginia.

The new LIV Golf board

Gene Davis of Pirinate Consulting Group and Jon Zinman of the strategic advisory firm JZ Advisors are leading a newly created board, with Davis as chairman. The focus is on securing long-term financial partners.

LIV Golf has said it expects 10 of its 13 teams to be profitable this year, and it has five title sponsors of tournaments this year after not having any the previous three years.

“The executive leadership team, along with Jon and I, see a clear opportunity to help the league formalize its structure, attract and secure long-term capital, and position the business for growth while continuing to promote the game across the world,” Davis said in a statement. "We look forward to positioning LIV Golf for future success.”

Scott O'Neil, the CEO at LIV Golf, had told Britain-based TNT two weeks ago during the Mexico event: “The reality is that you’re funded through the season, and then you work like crazy as a business to create a business and a business plan to keep us going.”

That raised questions whether LIV Golf could keep some of its top players once their lucrative contracts expired.

Future of LIV Golf players

Koepka left LIV after last season and the PGA Tour granted him a path back with stipulations that included no access to equity grants for five years, a $5 million charity donation and no bonus money this year.

The tour offered it to three other LIV players who had won majors since 2022 — Rahm, DeChambeau and Cameron Smith — and gave them a Feb. 4 deadline to accept. None did.

In an interview earlier this week with The Wall Street Journal, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said: “We’re interested in having the best players who can help our tour. Not every player can do that.”

Patrick Reed, a former Masters champion and three-time Ryder Cup player, chose not to renew his LIV contract and is playing a European tour schedule. He is all but certain to finish on a points list that will get him PGA Tour membership.

Unclear is the path back for anyone else from LIV Golf who would want to return. DeChambeau and Rahm — both multiple major champions — are considered LIV’s top two players.

DeChambeau said in an interview with the Flushing It social media site last week that “as long as LIV is here, I would figure out a way for it to make sense.”

“There’s a lot of moving parts like in any business,” DeChambeau said. “It’s a startup, right? And so there’s going to be times where we’re squeezed and punched. This is one of those moments. But I’m going to do everything in my power to make it work and I really see the value in franchise golf.”

The loss of Al-Rumayyan from LIV Golf

Al-Rumayyan leaving his post as LIV Golf chairman costs the players their biggest ally. Many referred to him simply as “H.E.” (His Excellency). He is passionate about golf and long wanted a seat at the table with the sport's leadership.

Al-Rumayyan signed a framework agreement in June 2023 intended to unify the commercial assets of golf. Under the agreement with the PGA Tour and European tour, he was set to join the PGA Tour Enterprises board if it was approved.

The deal never materialized, except for ending antitrust lawsuits. PGA Tour Enterprises instead got a minority investment from a consortium of North American sports owners.

Al-Rumayyan was at the White House in February 2025 to meet with President Donald Trump along with a PGA Tour team that included Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Commissioner Jay Monahan. But it was clear LIV and the PGA Tour could not find common ground, mainly because the Saudi league wanted to stick with a team component.

Al-Rumayyan was all about team golf when he and former CEO Greg Norman launched the league, even though the team concept was one reason it took more than three years for LIV to get recognized by the Official World Golf Ranking.

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

The soldiers are members of the 10th Infantry Battalion Guard Security Corps National Reserve on a weekend exercise to hone their skills as the Netherlands bolsters its military with new recruits and volunteers. The Dutch government and top brass have committed to raising military personnel from 80,000 to 120,000 by 2035 — plans that have broad political support.

The recent enlistment by the country's queen and her eldest daughter as reservists look to be helping, with authorities now scrambling to arm and train new recruits.

The recruitment drive in the Netherlands reflects moves across Europe to expand and modernize militaries as leaders warily eye the grinding war launched by Russia against Ukraine and the disenchantment expressed by U.S. President Donald Trump with the NATO alliance that has been the cornerstone of the defense and security architecture of the continent since World War II laid ruin to much of it.

Trump on Wednesday suggested that he could soon reduce the U.S. military presence in Germany as he continues to feud with Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war.

A corporal in the Dutch reserve battalion, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the nature of her service, said that she's seen a shift in priorities as the global security outlook has become more volatile and less predictable.

“When I first joined, there was almost no risk or almost no threat ... and now it’s changing so we are more aware of it," she said. That has meant a mindset shift toward “more what we call ‘green things,’ infantry things.”

She added: “We are here to defend our country and to make sure to keep the threat down.”

The threat is very real, according to European Union and NATO officials, who believe Russian President Vladimir Putin could be ready to launch an attack elsewhere in Europe in three to five years, especially if he wins the war in Ukraine.

New NATO plans aimed at countering that threat require allies to prepare their armies for big battles, focused on more mobile forces that can be quickly deployed.

Getting the House of Orange into military green

Dutch recruitment got a significant boost when Queen Maxima and her eldest daughter and heir to the throne Amalia, Princess of Orange, enlisted as volunteer reservists. Photos of Maxima in training and aiming a pistol on a shooting range were published around the world.

That royal seal of approval, together with recruiting campaigns running everywhere from newspapers and billboards to social media, has proved so successful that the military is now working overtime to arm, train and accommodate all the newcomers.

At the Defense Ministry, it's known as “the Amalia effect.”

“It's really a thing, yes,” State Secretary for Defense Derk Boswijk told The Associated Press. “It’s very inspiring to see how members of our royal family inspired people to join our armed forces.”

Boswijk said that there are about 9,000 reservists in the Netherlands, and recruiters aim to have at least 20,000 in 2030.

“We have more applications than we can handle,” Boswijk said. Now the military has to battle “a lack of training capacity, a lack of housing. You have to give them all uniforms, you have to give them weapons.”

But, he said: “It’s a luxury problem.”

Other nations boost recruitment

German lawmakers are considering a government plan to offer better pay and conditions for people who join up on a short-term basis, along with better training and more flexibility on how long recruits must serve.

The aim is to draw sufficient recruits without reviving conscription, which was suspended for men in 2011. The plan leaves the door open for limited compulsory recruitment, if not enough people volunteer.

Like the Netherlands, France is leaning into voluntary service to boost the military. A program starting in September seeks to recruit 3,000 volunteers from ages 18-25. They will serve in uniform for 10 months in France’s mainland and overseas territories only. The plan seeks to attract up to 50,000 volunteers per year by 2035.

In northern and eastern Europe, where the threat from Russia is felt most keenly, some nations still have some conscription.

Finland has a draft for all males and a voluntary system for women. Sweden reinstated a gender-neutral partial military service in 2017. If not enough people volunteer, a lottery is held to select people for the remaining slots. Neighboring Denmark has a similar system, as does Latvia since it revived its draft in 2023 in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Netherlands never fully abolished its draft, but call-ups have been suspended since 1997 and there are no immediate plans to reintroduce them. Instead, the Defense Ministry is seeking to make the military more attractive to a broad cross section of society.

Threats have expanded from traditional battlefields into cyberspace and the digital world, he said, “so we need all kind of skills, to keep our society, our country, our allies safe. So, yes, we need also people wearing hoodies, having blue hair, who can game perfectly.”

Motivated by Dutch history and modern instability

For some among the new generation of answering their country's call to arms, a bitter lesson from Dutch history is motivating them.

"When I was in primary school, we were taught that in the Second World War it took (German forces) five days to take over Holland," Lisette den Heijer said at a recent information evening run by the Dutch military for reservist volunteers, adding that she doesn't want history to repeat itself.

At the exercise in the eastern Netherlands, a private first class in the reserve battalion who also spoke on condition of anonymity, because he works for a defense-related company, said he too has seen a shift in recent years.

“So where we were just focused on peaceful operations in 2018, we’re now more focusing on protecting vital infrastructure,” he said. That included duty in the massive security operation to guard last year’s NATO summit in The Hague.

A weekend mission accomplished

Reservists in the Netherlands commit to 300 hours of service each year, including regular weekend exercises. Traditionally, they are deployed to secure and guard domestic sites and aren't sent to combat missions overseas. They also can be used in national emergencies, such as piling up sandbags in cases of severe flooding.

Back in the forests of the eastern Netherlands, the reservists suddenly stop and point their weapons at an innocent looking mound of earth covered in dry leaves and wood.

A soldier — a member of their unit — crawls out of the foxhole where he was hiding and surrenders. The volunteers exchange high-fives before preparing to break down their camp and return to their day jobs.

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Associated Press reporters across Europe contributed to this report.

Myanmar’s military information office confirmed the news through a text message to the press. Accompanying the announcement was a photo of the 80-year-old leader dressed in a traditional white blouse and skirt. She is seen sitting on a wooden bench, behind a low table facing two unidentified men, one in a police uniform and the other wearing another kind of uniform. The photo was also displayed on the TV broadcast, but it is not clear when or where it was taken.

Suu Kyi has been in detention since Feb. 1, 2021, when the army seized power from her elected government. She has not been seen publicly since then, and the last official photo showing her was released on May 24, 2021, showing her in court.

Earlier Thursday, authorities had announced her prison sentence was being reduced as part of a prisoner amnesty marking a Buddhist religious holiday, the Full Moon day of “Kason,” known as Buddha’s Birthday and Demise. It covered 1,519 prisoners, including 11 foreigners, with the sentences of convicts remaining in prison cut by one-sixth.

Suu Kyi was originally sentenced to 33 years in prison in late 2022 for several offenses that her supporters and rights groups described as attempts to discredit her and legitimize the army takeover that removed her from office, as well as to prevent her return to politics.

Thursday's amnesty, the second applied to her in recent weeks, would bring her sentence down to 18 years, with more than 13 years left to serve according to the calculation.

The message announcing her transfer says she was moved from the main prison in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw to house arrest, with the action “made to celebrate Buddha Day, to show humanitarian concern, and to demonstrate the kindness of the state.”

It does not specify her exact location but says that according to the law on designating a place of imprisonment “she will now serve the remainder of her sentence at a specific home instead of in prison.”

The amnesties come after Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing was sworn into office as president on April 10 following an election that critics say was neither free nor fair and was orchestrated to maintain the military’s tight grip on power.

In his inauguration speech, he said his government would grant amnesties aimed at promoting social reconciliation, justice and peace. Actions including the amnesties and Suu Kyi's transfer are widely seen as an effort to burnish his image.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres appreciates Suu Kyi’s movement from prison to house arrest, calling it “a meaningful step toward conditions conducive to a credible political process,” his spokesperson said Thursday.

The U.N. chief reiterates his call for the swift release of all political prisoners, U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said, stressing that this is “a fundamental step” toward a political process and solution that “must be based on an immediate cessation of violence and a genuine commitment to inclusive dialogue.”

Information about Suu Kyi's condition has been tightly controlled. Reports in 2024 and 2025 indicated declining health, including low blood pressure, dizziness and heart problems, but these claims could not be independently verified. Her legal team was allowed to meet her in person after December 2022.

Kim Aris, her younger son living in London, and Myanmar democracy activists launched an international online campaign named “Proof of Life” to demand for evidence that she is still alive and well-being, following the last mass amnesty on April 17.

The 2021 army takeover triggered massive public resistance that was brutally suppressed, triggering a bloody civil war that has killed thousands of people.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights monitoring organization, 22,047 people had been detained for political reasons since the army takeover.

Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar’s martyred independence hero Gen. Aung San, spent almost 15 years as a political prisoner under house arrest between 1989 and 2010.

Her tough stand against military rule in Myanmar turned her into a symbol of nonviolent struggle for democracy, and won her the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

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Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

“Being on the ground is essential. It allows journalists to question official accounts on all sides, to speak directly with civilians and report back what they witness firsthand,” said the statement from the executives, released Thursday. “That is why news organizations send their reporters into the field, often at great personal risk.”

From the AP and the BBC and Sky News to CNN to MS NOW, from Reuters to German news agency dpa to The New York Times and The Washington Post, the top editors of more than two dozen organizations said the Israeli government has so far not responded to their efforts to discuss the situation. They questioned the country's rationales for why the restrictions are still in place.

The letter was released at 5 a.m. ET by the local foreign press association.

Israel had said ban was necessary

Initially, Israel said the ban was necessary because foreign journalists allowed into Gaza could give away the positions of Israeli soldiers and endanger them. Other rationales have included that as an active battle zone, it was too dangerous. The army has occasionally brought foreign reporters in on highly controlled trips, but media outlets want independent access.

An email seeking comment was sent to New York-based representatives of the Israeli government. There was no immediate response.

Currently, “the heaviest fighting is over and there is a ceasefire in place," the editors' statement said. "The hostages have come home. Journalists do not pose a threat to Israeli troops. There is a mechanism in place—however restrictive—that allows aid workers to enter and exit the territory. Why not journalists?”

There have been attempts at legal action to force the issue. The Foreign Press Association, which represents international media in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, has been waiting on a decision from the Israeli Supreme Court on a petition for independent access to Gaza. That action was filed in 2024, but a ruling has been repeatedly delayed, most recently in January.

With foreign journalists kept out of Gaza, coverage of the conditions on the ground there has been possible only for local Palestinian journalists. While covering war would be fraught for any reporter, the Palestinian correspondents have also had to experience it on a personal level — their homes destroyed, their loved ones killed.

Gaza-based reporters face big risks

When access to food became severely restricted last year they also had to deal with hunger, to the point that the Agence France-Presse news agency in July raised an alarm about their Palestinian colleagues' continued survival. That concern was echoed by the AP and Reuters for the reporters in Gaza they work with.

The editors raised that point in the statement Thursday, saying “this has pushed the responsibility for covering this devastating war and its aftermath almost entirely on our Palestinian colleagues ... They should not have to shoulder this burden alone, and they should be protected.”

Their lives have also been put at risk from military actions. Well over 200 journalists and media workers have been killed according to a tally from the Committee to Protect Journalists organization, far more than in conflicts elsewhere like the Russia-Ukraine war.

Among them was Mariam Dagga, a 33-year-old visual journalist who worked as a freelancer for the AP and other news organizations. She and four other journalists, including Reuters cameraman Hussam al-Masri and Moaz Abu Taha, a freelance journalist who worked with Reuters, were among those killed last August in an Israeli strike on a medical facility.

The AP's reporting on the strike raised questions about the rationale used by the Israeli government to carry out the action against the hospital, which was known as a place where journalists gathered. AP and Reuters later issued a statement calling on Israel to explain what took place and what steps would be taken to protect reporters. The Israeli military says it is still investigating.

The statement from the editors on Thursday came during Press Freedom Week, which they noted. “Freedom of the press is a basic value in any open society. It is time for the delays to end. Let us into Gaza.”

To honor that, he took the unusual step of leaving the Oval Office and going to Capitol Hill for the signing ceremony. It was Aug. 6, 1965, five months after the “Bloody Sunday” attack on civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama, gave momentum to the bill that became known as the Voting Rights Act.

In the six decades since, it became one of the most consequential laws in the nation's history, preventing discrimination against minorities at the ballot box and helping to elect thousands of Black and Hispanic representatives at all levels of government.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court knocked out a major pillar of the law that had protected against racial discrimination in voting and representation. It was a decision that came more than a decade after the court undermined another key tenet of the law and led to restrictive voting laws in a number of states. Voting and civil rights advocates were left fearful of what lies ahead for minority communities.

“It means that you have entire communities that can go without having representation,” said Cliff Albright, a co-founder of the group Black Voters Matter. "It is literally throwing us back to the Jim Crow era unapologetically, and that’s not exaggeration.”

Kareem Crayton, vice president of the Brennan Center for Justice’s Washington office, said the court’s steady work to erode the Voting Rights Act, culminating in Wednesday’s decision, amounted to “burying it without the funeral.”

Hollowing out America's ‘greatest legislative landmark’

The Supreme Court’s ruling came in a congressional redistricting case out of Louisiana after the state created a district that gave the state its second Black representative to Congress.

It found that map to be an unconstitutional gerrymander because it took race into account to draw the lines. In an opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, the court's conservative majority said the provision of the Voting Rights Act in question, called Section 2, was designed to protect voters from intentional discrimination.

Justice Elena Kagan in her dissent said the bar to show intentional discrimination is “an almost insurmountable barrier for challenges to any voting rights issues to prove discrimination.”

Voting rights experts said the ruling leaves the Voting Rights Act only a shell of what it had been and will provide an open door for political mapmakers at every level — from local school districts to state legislatures to Congress — to undermine minority representation.

“We’re witnessing the evisceration of America’s greatest legislative landmark at the hands of a far right Supreme Court,” Democratic U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York said.

Maria Teresa Kumar, president of Voto Latino, said the decision will allow more aggressive “cracking and packing” of populations to dilute their votes, “not just in congressional districts but also in state legislatures, county commissions, school boards and city councils.”

On Thursday, several civil rights groups held a joint news conference to condemn the Supreme Court ruling and pledge to fight its impacts.

Marc Morial, National Urban League president and CEO, cautioned against framing the current moment as merely a battle for political control between Democrats and Republicans.

“This decision is a continuation of a frontal assault on the gains of the Civil Rights Movement that began in 1954 with the Brown versus Board of Education decision,” he said.

VRA was the key tool to fight dilution of voting strength

Voting rights experts said there is no doubting the law's impact over the decades.

Sherrilyn Ifill, a law professor at Howard University and the former president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said there were about 1,500 Black elected officials throughout the country in 1970. Today, that stands at more than 10,000.

"And it isn’t because of the goodness of people’s hearts,” she said.

She said that success was a direct result of Black communities, civil rights activists and lawyers having the tools, through the Voting Rights Act, to file challenges to efforts to diminish the voting strength of Black and Hispanic voters. Most of the Section 2 cases have been over representation in local governments.

It’s not just the numbers.

A loss of representation, especially in state legislatures and Congress, will translate into minority communities losing a voice on issues that matter to them, such as healthcare, education and needed public works upgrades, said Sophia Lin Lakin, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project.

“States can now point to partisan objectives to justify maps that strip voters of color of representation, and federal courts will have little basis to intervene,” she said.

A steady erosion by the court, a future in doubt

The landmark law signed by Johnson 61 years ago had been amended over the years, but the biggest change was in 2013, when the Supreme Court released its ruling in Shelby County v. Holder. That decision essentially ended a provision of the Voting Rights Act mandating the way states and local jurisdictions were included on a list of those needing to get advance approval, or preclearance, from the U.S. Justice Department for voting-related changes.

That decision paved the way for mostly Republican states to pass a wave of restrictive election legislation, especially after President Donald Trump, a Republican, falsely claimed widespread fraud cost him reelection in 2020 against Democrat Joe Biden.

In a surprise ruling in 2023, the Supreme Court upheld Section 2 in a redistricting case out of Alabama, a ruling that it essentially reversed on Wednesday.

The question now is what comes next, for minority representatives and the communities they represent.

In Louisiana, the decision puts Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields on the endangered list. The state's top elected leaders, all Republicans, already are planning to postpone the state's May 16 primary so they can redraw the congressional maps.

This isn’t the first time redistricting has complicated Fields’ political plans. He served for two terms in the 1990s before the state redrew his congressional district.

“I’ve been down this road before, you know, 33 years ago,” he said.

Shomari Figures, who won the seat created in Alabama after the court’s 2023 decision, said the decision doesn’t make changes to that state’s current congressional districts, but it has made proving future racial discrimination in redistricting cases significantly tougher.

“It will lead to states, primarily in the South, launching immediate efforts to redraw districts in ways that will dilute the impact of Black voters and drastically reduce the number of realistic opportunities to elect Black members to Congress,” he said.

Shalela Dowdy, an Alabama resident who was a plaintiff in the lawsuit that resulted in the creation of a new district now represented by Figures, said she is worried the decision will lead to the rollback of the district created in 2023, which she said gave Black voters a greater voice.

“Putting it in the hands of the states on this level is dangerous,” Dowdy said. “There’s just been a history of the states not doing the right thing based off their state population.”

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Chandler reported from Montgomery, Ala. Associated Press writers Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Joey Cappelletti, Matt Brown and Haya Panjwani in Washington; and Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a May 9 ceasefire to coincide with Victory Day in Russia in a phone call with Trump the previous day, according to the Kremlin.

“We have instructed our representatives to contact the United States president’s team and clarify the details of the Russian proposal for a short-term ceasefire,” Zelenskyy said.

Meanwhile, Russian attacks overnight killed one person in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro and wounded dozens more in the southern port city of Odesa, as Ukraine continued to strike industrial facilities inside Russian territory for a second day in a row.

A ship that created a brief diplomatic scuffle between Israel and Ukraine has departed Israel without unloading what Zelenskyy said were grains Russia stole from occupied areas of Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said.

Potential short-term ceasefire

Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov said that the Russian president had discussed a ceasefire for the May 9 holiday, when Russia celebrates victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, during a phone call with Trump Wednesday.

But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that no definite decision had been made, and that it would be for Putin to decide on the specific terms.

“For now, no concrete decision has been made,” Peskov said.

Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is proposing a longer-term ceasefire. “We will find out exactly what is being discussed, whether it’s a few hours of security for a parade in Moscow or something more," he said in a post on Telegram.

Controversial ship does not unload

The ship that Ukrainian officials said was carrying stolen grain had anchored close to the Haifa port for several days, but departed from Israel on Thursday morning, according to MarineTraffic.com, which tracks ships.

The Israel Grain Importers Association said that the country’s largest grain import company rejected the shipment, due to the sensitive situation with Ukraine, Israeli media reported. “The Russian supplier of the wheat cargo will be forced to find another destination to unload the cargo,” the association said.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the development was welcome.

“This demonstrates that Ukraine’s legal and diplomatic actions have been effective,” he said in a post on X.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had threatened sanctions against Israel on Tuesday if the vessel unloaded. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said earlier in the week that the country’s tax authority had opened an investigation into the ship.

Russian attacks continue in Ukraine

In Dnipro, a drone attack killed one person and injured five, Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said in a post on Telegram. He said a shop, a residential building and vehicles were damaged.

In Odesa, region head Oleh Kiper said Russian forces launched waves of drone attacks on residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in Odesa overnight, wounding 20 people.

He added that Ukrainian air defenses had downed many of the incoming targets but hits and falling debris damaged residential buildings, a hotel, a kindergarten and an administrative building. They also caused fires at several locations which were later extinguished.

Ukraine strikes inside Russia

Units of Ukraine's Security Service, or SBU, struck Russia's Perm region in the Ural Mountains for a second day in a row, according to a security official.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, said the drone attack disrupted the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez refinery, located over 1,500 kilometers from Ukraine.

Gov. Dmitry Makhonin said an industrial facility was hit, and there were no casualties or any significant damage. He didn’t provide any further details.

Separately, Krasnodar regional governor Veniamin Kondtratyev said in an online statement that a fire caused by a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian oil refinery at the Black Sea port of Tuapse has been put out after raging for almost two days, with oil products spilling out on the streets of the city.

Ukraine’s Navy said it struck two Russian vessels in the Kerch Strait using sea drones overnight into Thursday.

It said as a result of the strike, a Russian patrol boat called “Sobol” and another vessel named “Grachonok” were hit.

The Kerch bridge which was completed in 2018 links mainland Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Local 4 has teamed up with Best in Games to offer an unforgettable Father’s Day experience for three father-son duos!

Our winning duos will get to spend a morning of fun and games at Best in Games in Warren. You’ll also be on live TV! Winners will also receive vouchers for their own Best in Games experience.

Here’s what to do

If you’d like to win this Father’s Day prize, here’s what you need to do:

1. Make sure you’re a WDIV Insider. If you’re not already a member, join here.
2. In the form below, write a quick paragraph or two about why your dad is the Best Dad in The World. Submissions will begin May 10 at 9 a.m. and remain open until May 27 at noon.
3. Ten semi-finalists will be selected by May 29 and asked to submit a video entry -- once again explaining why their dad is the Best Dad in the World. Deadline for video submission is Friday, June 5, at noon.
4. From these video submissions, three winning duos will be selected.
5. Winners must accept the prize and agree by June 15, 2026, to appear on TV the morning of Father’s Day.
6. You must be available to be at Best in Games in Warren (28300 Dequindre Road) at 5:30 a.m. Sunday, June 21, 2026, to participate in the broadcast.

The winners will be announced on Local 4 News Morning and ClickOnDetroit.com on June 7.

We’re pretty sure it will be a Father’s Day you won’t ever forget!

Click here to read the full contest rules and regulations.

Enter contest here

Input your email address below to start your submission -- it’ll only take a few moments!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

General. By submitting an entry to the Father’s Day Fun & Games Celebration sweepstakes (“Sweepstakes”), brought to you by WDIV (“Sponsor”) and Best in Games (the “Co-Sponsor”), entrant acknowledges and agrees that entrant has read, understands, and agrees to be bound by these official Sweepstakes rules (“Official Rules”). By entering the Sweepstakes, entrants agree to waive any right to claim any ambiguity or error in these Official Rules, or the Sweepstakes itself, and agree to be bound by all decisions of the Sponsor, whose decisions are binding and final in all matters related to the Sweepstakes. Failure to comply with these Official Rules or any Sponsor instructions relating to the Sweepstakes’ Official Rules may result in disqualification from the Sweepstakes. 

Eligibility. The Sweepstakes is open only to legal U.S. residents who reside in Sponsor’s Designated Market Area, as defined by Nielsen Media Research, Inc. (“DMA”). Employees of Sponsor and Co-Sponsor and each of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising agencies, promotion agencies, prize suppliers, and any other vendors providing services in connection with this Sweepstakes and members of these employees’ immediate families (spouses, parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings and their spouses) and those living in the same household with these employees, are not eligible to enter or win.

How To Enter. The Sweepstakes begins at 9 a.m. on May 10, 2026, and runs through 9 a.m. June 5, 2026 (the “Sweepstakes Period”). Sponsor’s time clock will be the official time clock of the Sweepstakes. To enter, you must completely and accurately fill out the Sweepstakes entry form provided on the Sponsor’s Sweepstakes page at https://www.clickondetroit.com/contests/2026/04/30/win-a-day-of-fun-and-games-on-live-tv-with-your-dad-for-fathers-day/ (“Entry Form”). Entrants must be the natural person assigned to any submitted email account by the provider responsible for the assigning email addresses for the domain associated with such email account. Entrant must also be an authorized account holder for any submitted telephone number. Limit one entry per person and per email address and per telephone number during the Sweepstakes Period. Any attempt by any entrant to obtain more than the stated number of entries using multiple/different email addresses, identities, registrations and logins, or any other methods will void such entries and that entrant may be disqualified if discovered by Sponsor. Entries generated by a script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified if discovered by Sponsor. The use of automated or third-party software or web site to enter and/or play is prohibited. Entries that are inaccurate, incomplete, illegible, or corrupted are void and will be disqualified if discovered by Sponsor. If Entry Form permits or requires submission of user-generated content (“UGC”),  by entering into the Sweepstakes, entrant represents and warrants as follows: (1) that they created and fully own or have properly licensed all UGC materials or information, can submit such UGC without violating any applicable law, agreement with any third-party, and/or third-party right of any kind (including without limitation any intellectual property, data protection, privacy, or publicity right); and (2) that all UGC entries hereunder will be true and correct in all respects. UGC may not contain personally identifiable information or other similar sensitive/confidential information of any third-party, or content that is offensive, inappropriate, or inconsistent with the Sponsor/Co-Sponsor’s image or the spirit or purpose of the Sweepstakes. By submitting UGC, entrant represents and warrants that all UGC content complies with the User Conduct section of the Sponsor station websites Terms of Use available at https://www.grahammedia.com/terms. UGC may not have been previously published or otherwise made public elsewhere. Furthermore, without limitation on anything set forth herein to the contrary, Sponsor will have the irrevocable, transferable, and fully sublicensable right and license (but not the obligation) to exploit all such UGC in any manner it so elects to promote the Sweepstakes, its business, brand, products, and/or services, throughout the world in perpetuity, and in all media, now or hereafter known. All received entries become the property of the Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned except as disclosed in these Official Rules. By checking the relevant box or selection in the registration form, entrants agree that the Sponsor and Co-Sponsor may contact the entrant via email with advertising information for selected goods or services. If you do not wish to receive these materials, do not check the relevant box in the Entry Form. If at any time you do not wish to receive these materials in the future, please use the unsubscribe procedures contained in the email message.

Selection of Winners. Initial paragraph entries must be submitted by May 27, 2026 at 12 p.m. WDIV staff members will select and notify Ten (10) potential semi-final winners by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 29, 2026.  The semi-finalists will be asked to submit a video entry by Friday, June 5 at 12 p.m. explaining why their dad is the Best Dad in the World.  Among these video submissions, WDIV staff members will select three (3) winning duos as potential winners. 

Winner Notification and Verification. Potential winner(s) will be announced on Local 4 News and/or ClickOnDetroit.com on June 7, 2026, subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules. In addition, Sponsor will attempt to notify the potential winner(s) via the telephone number or email address provided on the Entry Form (“Notification”). Potential Sweepstakes winner(s) must completely and accurately execute and return any required affidavit of eligibility, release of liability, publicity release and/or prize acceptance form (“Forms”) within six days of Notification. Potential winners may be required to display a copy of a valid government photo ID in addition to the submission of any Forms. A potential winner may be disqualified and, time permitting, an alternate winner may be selected by random drawing from among all remaining entries if: (1) a potential winner cannot be contacted/does not respond to Sponsors’ first Notification attempt as directed; (2) a winner does not fulfill the eligibility requirements; (3) a winner does not adhere to the Official Rules; (4) a winner does not sign and return the Forms or provide required ID by the deadline set forth above; and/or (5) if the Notification is returned as undeliverable, refused, or declined. A POTENTIAL PRIZE WINNER IS NOT A WINNER UNTIL HIS OR HER ELIGIBILITY AND COMPLIANCE WITH THESE OFFICIAL RULES HAS BEEN VERIFIED BY THE SPONSOR. Sponsor reserves the right to contact all Sweepstakes entrants using the contact information provided in the Entry Form in connection with the Sweepstakes entry. The official record(s) of entries will remain the property of Sponsor. If a printing, programming, or other error leads to more prize claims than there are prizes provided for in the Official Rules, prize(s) will be awarded in a random drawing from among all eligible prize claims received at each prize tier.

Prize(s) A morning of fun and games on live TV on Father’s Day morning, plus vouchers for their own Best in Games experience. One Best in Games activity experience valued at $64.99 per person for two and a $30 food credit. Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of prize: $159.98 per duo. Unless otherwise stated, subject to winner verification and compliance with these Official Rules, all prizes will be claimed in person at 5:30 a.m. June 21, 2026, as part of the broadcast of Local 4 News Morning.

Sponsor and Co-Sponsor not responsible for loss, delay, or damage in shipping. There will be no substitution, transfer, or cash equivalent for prizes, except at the sole discretion of Sponsor, which may substitute prizes of comparable value. Limit one prize per person and per household. Payments of all federal, state, and local taxes related to the award of the prize are solely the responsibility of the winner. Prizes may not be sold, bartered, or auctioned. Prize is awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied. All properly claimed prizes will be awarded provided a sufficient number of eligible entries are received, but in no event will Sponsor award more prizes than are provided for in the Official Rules. Unclaimed prizes will not be awarded. For tax purposes, the winner of a prize (or prizes) with an ARV of at least $600 within one calendar year, will be required to accurately complete and submit IRS Form W-9 to the Sponsor, and Sponsor will arrange to issue an IRS Form 1099 MISC to winner reflecting the value of the prize(s).

Disclaimer and Representations. Each winner assumes all liability for any injuries or damages caused or claimed to be caused by winner’s participation in the Sweepstakes and/or the acceptance and/or use of any prize, and releases the Sponsor and Co-Sponsor and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, and affiliates, and all of their officers, directors, agents, and employees (collectively, “Releasees”), from any such liability. Releasees are not responsible for: the failure of any entry to be received by the Sponsor because of electronic device errors or failures of any kind, internet disruption, telecommunications, network, electronic, telephone or mobile service outages, delays, busy signals, or any equipment malfunctions or other technical difficulties that may prevent the Sponsor from receiving any entry submission; entries that are illegible, unintelligible, incomplete, stolen, misdirected, garbled, delayed by computer transmissions, lost, late or damaged; any injury or damage to the entrant’s or any other person’s electronic device related to or resulting from participation or accessing or downloading any materials related to the Sweepstakes; or any human errors, any inaccurate transcription of entry information, errors in any promotional or marketing materials or errors in these Official Rules. If you choose to enter using your mobile phone, standard message and data rates may apply.

Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any individual from participation in the Sweepstakes if Sponsor concludes, in its sole discretion, that such person: (a) has attempted to tamper with the entry process or other operation of the Sweepstakes; (b) has failed to comply with or has attempted to circumvent these Official Rules; (c) has committed fraud or attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes; or (d) has acted toward Sponsor, any other entity affiliated with the Sweepstakes, or any other entrant in an unfair, inequitable, threatening, disrupting, or harassing manner. If a dispute arises regarding compliance with these Official Rules, Sponsor may consider, in its sole discretion, data reasonably available to Sponsor through information technology systems in Sponsor’s control, but Sponsor will not be obligated to consider any data or other information collected from any other source. Any failure by Sponsor to enforce any of these Official Rules will not constitute a waiver of such Official Rules. If there is a conflict between any term of these Official Rules and any marketing or entry materials used in connection with the Sweepstakes, the terms of these Official Rules will govern.

Sponsor also reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify these Official Rules for clarification purposes without materially affecting the terms and conditions of the Sweepstakes. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, terminate or modify the Sweepstakes if an insufficient number of entries are received or if the Sweepstakes is not capable of running as planned, including, without limitation, as a result of infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, or technical failures of any sort, or for any reason beyond Sponsor’s control. If due to circumstances beyond the control of the Sponsor, any event related to the Sweepstakes or prize is delayed, rescheduled, postponed, cancelled or has a change of venue, the Sponsor reserves the right, but is not obligated, to cancel or modify the Sweepstakes. Notice of cancellation or modification of the Sweepstakes will be published on Sponsor’s website. If cancellation occurs prior to Sponsor’s receipt of any entries, Sponsor will not be obligated to award prize(s). If cancellation occurs after Sponsor’s receipt of entries, winner(s) will be selected by random drawing from among all eligible, non-suspect entries received prior to cancellation, provided Sponsor is able to do so.

Entry constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) to use winner’s name, home city and state, likeness and/or voice for commercial purposes including advertising, promotion and publicity without additional compensation. The winner’s name and city of residence may be posted online and disclosed to those who make a timely request for a winners list.

By accessing these Official Rules or entering the Sweepstakes on ClickOnDetroit.com, you are deemed to agree to be bound by ClickOnDetroit.com’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

In Case of Dispute. EXCEPT WHERE PROHIBITED, ENTRANTS AGREE THAT ALL DISPUTES, CLAIMS AND CAUSES OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR CONNECTED WITH THIS PROMOTION, OR PRIZE AWARDED, WILL BE RESOLVED INDIVIDUALLY WITHOUT RESORT TO ANY FORM OF CLASS ACTION, AND ALL CLAIMS, JUDGMENTS, AND AWARDS WILL BE LIMITED TO ACTUAL OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS INCURRED BY ENTRANT WITH REGARD TO THIS PROMOTION, BUT IN NO EVENT SHALL DAMAGES INCLUDE ATTORNEYS’ FEES, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of entrants and Sponsor(s) in connection with the Sweepstakes will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of state where the Sponsor is located as set forth below (“State”), without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules or provisions that would cause the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction. The state and federal courts located in the State will be the exclusive forum for any dispute relating to these Official Rules and/or this Sweepstakes. All entrants and winner(s) agree, by their participation in the Sweepstakes, to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in the State and waive the right to sweepstakes jurisdiction. 

Severability: If any provision(s) of these Official Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect.

Winner List. For the name(s) of the winner(s), send request and a self-addressed stamped envelope to ATTN: WDIV,  550 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit, MI 48226. Or request it online at news@wdiv.com. Be sure to specify the name of the contest for which you are requesting the list of winner(s). Request must be postmarked after Contest Period and received by Sponsor no later than 60 days after the close of the Contest Period.

Sponsor/Administrator: WDIV, 550 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit, MI 48226

Co-Sponsor: Best in Games participating locations — 4095 Carpenter Road, Ypsilanti, MI; 43680 Van Dyke Avenue, Sterling Heights, MI; 28300 Dequindre Road, Warren, MI; Farmington, MI, location coming soon.

Derby hats are another tradition surrounding the horse race. Local 4 Lifestyle Editor Jon Jordan shared some DIY tricks to create your own derby hat at home.

Watch the video above to see what happened when “Live In The D” hosts Tati Amare and Kim DeGiulio put their hat decorating skills to the test.

Don’t forget, you can catch the Kentucky Derby on Local 4. Coverage starts at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 2nd.

Oklahoma City and San Antonio, they made quick work of Round 1.

The six other higher-seeded teams, they're in battles. There will be six Game 6s in Round 1 this season, the most the NBA has seen since 2014. A trio of Game 6s await on Thursday, followed by three more Game 6s on Friday.

On Thursday, New York (up 3-2) goes to Atlanta, Boston (up 3-2) visits Philadelphia and Denver (trailing 3-2) plays at Minnesota.

Then on Friday, Detroit (trailing 3-2) plays at Orlando, Cleveland (up 3-2) goes to Toronto and the Los Angeles Lakers (still up 3-2 after losing closeout chances in Games 4 and 5) head to Houston.

Thursday’s games

— Game 6, New York at Atlanta, 7 p.m. EDT (ESPN)

Series: New York, 3-2.

Odds: New York by 2.5.

The Hawks went 2-0 in Games 2 and 3 by a combined two points. The Knicks went 2-0 in Games 4 and 5 by a combined 45 points. Now Atlanta is back home, looking to keep its season alive.

— Game 6, Boston at Philadelphia, 8 p.m. EDT (Peacock/NBCSN)

Series: Boston, 3-2.

Odds: Boston by 5.5.

Philadelphia hasn't gone 0-3 at home in a Round 1 series since 1984, a best-of-five against New Jersey when road teams won all five games. The 76ers need a Thursday win to avoid it here.

— Game 6, Denver at Minnesota, 9:30 p.m. EDT (ESPN)

Series: Minnesota, 3-2.

Odds: Denver by 5.5.

Shorthanded Minnesota gets a home closeout chance in the 18th playoff game between the rivals since 2023. Minnesota is 9-8 in them. Average score of those games: Wolves 106.4, Nuggets 105.9.

Friday's schedule

— Game 6, Detroit at Orlando, 7 p.m. EDT (Prime)

Series: Orlando, 3-2.

Odds: Detroit by 3.5.

Eighth-seeded Orlando let a 3-1 lead slip away against top-seeded Detroit in Round 1 in 2003. The Magic get another chance Friday night to ensure that such a fate won’t happen again this time.

— Game 6, Cleveland at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. EDT (Prime)

Series: Cleveland, 3-2.

Odds: Cleveland by 3.5.

The Raptors pushed Cleveland to the limit in Game 5 even with Brandon Ingram (heel) limited to one point in 11 minutes. The Cavaliers went 18 of 36 from 3-point range to win Game 5 at home.

— Game 6, LA Lakers at Houston, 9:30 p.m. EDT (Prime)

Series: Lakers, 3-2.

Odds: Houston by 4.5.

The Lakers are 0-2 in closeout chances in this series, and a Rockets team that isn’t lacking for swagger suddenly looks to be brimming with confidence. Lakers do not seem to be panicked, yet.

Wednesday recaps

— Pistons 116, Magic 109 to get within 3-2 in series. The stars put on a show.

— Cavaliers 125, Raptors 120 for a 3-2 series lead. Dennis Schroder came up big.

— Rockets 99, Lakers 93 to get within 3-2 in series. LeBron James is not worried.

Awards watch

A breakdown of this season's NBA awards:

— Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year: DeAndre Jordan, New Orleans.

— Hustle Award: Moussa Diabaté, Charlotte.

— Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio.

— Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City.

— Sixth Man of the Year: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio.

— Sportsmanship Award: Derrick White, Boston.

— Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta.

— Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg, Dallas.

— Executive of the Year: Brad Stevens, Boston.

Among the announcements still to come:

— Most Valuable Player: Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama or Denver's Nikola Jokic.

— Coach of the Year: Detroit's J.B. Bickerstaff, San Antonio's Mitch Johnson or Boston's Joe Mazzulla.

A scoring duel like only one other

Cade Cunningham of Detroit and Paolo Banchero of Orlando both finished with 45 points on Wednesday night, when the Pistons beat the Magic in Game 5 of their East first-round series.

It was the second time that opposing players scored 45 or more points in the same NBA playoff game. The other was Aug. 23, 2020, when Utah's Donovan Mitchell scored 51 and Denver's Jamal Murray scored 50 in Utah's 129-127 win.

Betting odds

Defending champion Oklahoma City (-130) is favored to win the NBA title, oddsmakers say.

The Thunder are followed by San Antonio (+500), Boston (+525), Cleveland (+1400), New York (+2200), Denver (+3000), the Los Angeles Lakers (+3500) and Detroit (+4000).

Orlando and Minnesota, even with 3-2 series leads, were at +40000.

Key dates

— Saturday, Sunday and/or Monday: Conference semifinals begin.

— May 10: NBA draft lottery.

— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.

— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.

— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.

— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).

— June 23: Round 1, NBA draft

— June 24: Round 2, NBA draft

Quote of the day

“I was going to put Donovan and Evan back in and they said, ‘No, this group’s rolling.’ I was like, ‘What?’ That never happens in the NBA.” — Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson, on how Cavs stars Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley briefly delayed subbing back into the game in the fourth quarter Wednesday night because the unit on the floor at that time was playing so well.

Stats of the day

— There will be at least 45 games needed to complete Round 1, the most since 2018.

— Underdogs have won 41% of games in Round 1, the most since 2014.

— The Lakers lost Games 4 and 5 with a chance to eliminate Houston. This is the second time a LeBron James team has lost two closeout-opportunity games. Cleveland lost Games 6 and 7 to Detroit in the 2006 East semifinals.

___

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

Watch the video above to see her in-studio appearance on “Live In The D” where she talked about the upcoming music festival, new music, and more.

Trump's threats came after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in comments this week that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by Tehran in negotiations to end the Iran war.

The mercurial U.S. leader has mused for years about reducing the American military presence in Germany, and has railed against NATO for its refusal to assist Washington in the war, which began on Feb. 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Trump wrote Wednesday on social media that the U.S. was reviewing possible troop reductions in Germany, with a “determination” to be made soon. On Thursday, he was still thinking about Merz, posting that the German leader should “spend more time on ending the war with Russia/Ukraine” and “fixing his broken Country” than concerning himself with Iran.

US military presence in Europe

American allies in NATO have braced for a U.S. troop withdrawal since just after the Trump administration took office, with Washington warning Europe would have to look after its own security, and that of Ukraine, in the future.

Depending on operations, exercises and troop rotations, around 80,000-100,000 U.S. personnel are usually stationed in Europe. NATO allies have expected for more than a year that U.S. troops deployed after Russia launched its all-out war on Ukraine in February 2022 would be first to leave.

Germany hosts several U.S. military facilities, including the headquarters of its European and Africa commands, Ramstein Air Base and a medical center in Landstuhl, where casualties from wars in places like Afghanistan and Iraq were treated. U.S. nuclear missiles are also stationed in the country.

Ed Arnold, an expert in European security at the Royal United Services Institute, or RUSI, in London, said that the U.S. gets a lot out of its presence in Germany — like logistics and support for Middle East combat operations — and was unlikely to withdraw.

Nico Lange from the Center of European Policy Analysis agreed, and said that there are approximately 36,000 U.S. soldiers in Germany who primarily serve U.S. interests, including “the projection of American power globally,” rather than helping with the defense of Germany.

The U.S. has invested “substantial funds” in high-quality infrastructure in Germany that can't be moved overnight, and a different deployment would cost Washington a huge amount of money, which would require Trump to get approval from U.S. Congress, Lange said.

As early as 2020, Trump announced plans to withdraw 11,900 U.S. troops from Germany, but that didn't happen partly because U.S. Congress didn't provide the necessary funds and a withdrawal would have required enormous investments elsewhere.

That's why Trump’s post is most likely “bluster,” Arnold said.

“There is a difference between the military view and the political view,” Arnold said. “The issue with some of these threats is that they are not quite as galling as they were a couple of years ago.”

Merz, visiting troops Thursday at a military training area in Munster, in northern Germany, didn't directly address Trump’s comments, but alluded to working “shoulder to shoulder for mutual benefit and in deep trans-Atlantic solidarity,” and said that his government has “made great efforts to strengthen Germany’s security.”

Arnold, the expert at RUSI, said that Europe is more concerned about issues like a U.S. redeployment of Patriot missile systems and ammunition from Germany to the Middle East, and notifications to NATO countries such as Estonia and Belgium that orders for American weapons will be delayed as the U.S. government is prioritized.

A senior Western official told The Associated Press that they weren't aware of any discussions between the U.S. and Germany or other allies regarding the possibility of troop reductions in Germany.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said that Europe and Germany, which recently announced its new military strategy, is taking more responsibility for security on the continent.

In October, the U.S. confirmed that it would reduce its troop presence on NATO’s borders with Ukraine. The move to cut 1,500-3,000 troops came on short notice and unsettled NATO ally Romania, where the military organization runs an air base.

As Russia looks on, Iran war has had an impact

The U.S. administration informed the allies early last year that it has been reviewing its military “posture” in Europe and elsewhere. The findings of that review had been due to be made public in late 2025, but still haven't surfaced.

However, the U.S. did commit to inform its allies in advance about any changes to ensure that no security gap is created at a time when Russia is increasingly confrontational.

The Iran war only made the prospect of a withdrawal more likely, and a flurry of meetings has been held between administration officials, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European leaders since the conflict started more than two months ago.

Over the last year, European allies and Canada have understood that they will have to provide Europe’s conventional defenses. The main U.S. contribution to NATO deterrence going forward will be the presence of American nuclear weapons and some troops.

Trump's Greenland fixation

Beyond the uncertainty over U.S. personnel, the allies have become accustomed to Trump’s outbursts, having weathered insults as “cowards” or hearing NATO branded as a “paper tiger” by their most powerful ally in recent weeks.

Repeated threats to leave altogether, or over things like defense spending, have inured them to social media posts that Trump might be considering some action or another.

The real damage to NATO unity was done by Trump’s fascination over Greenland, and his intent to annex the island, which is a semiautonomous part of ally Denmark, including sending family members and administration officials there.

___

Emma Burrows reported from London, and Lorne Cook from Brussels. Jamey Keaten in Geneva, and Aamer Madhani in Washington, contributed to this report.

· General. By submitting an entry to this contest, brought to you by [WDIV] (“Station”) and Festival of Trees (the “Sponsor”), the entrant acknowledges and agrees to all of these official contest rules (“Official Rules”). NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. By entering the contest, entrants agree to waive any right to claim any ambiguity or error in these Official Rules, or the contest itself, and agree to be bound by these Official Rules and by all decisions of the Station, whose decisions are binding and final. Failure to comply with these Official Rules or any contest specific rules may result in disqualification from the contest.

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· How To Enter. Contest begins at [11am] on [05/ /26]. Deadline to enter is at 10am on [05/ /26]. To enter, go to contest page on Clickondetroit.com]. Entrants must be the registered subscriber of the e-mail or telephone account from which the entry is made. You may enter [ “once”] during the contest period. Multiple entries received from any person or e-mail address or telephone number will void all such additional entries. Entries generated by a script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified. Entries that are incomplete, illegible or corrupted are void and will not be accepted. All entries become the property of the Station and will not be acknowledged or returned. By checking the relevant box or selection in the registration form, entrants agree that the Sponsor may contact the entrant via email with information about pre-selected goods or services. If you do not wish to receive these materials do not check the relevant box in the entry form. If at any time you do not wish to receive these materials in the future, please use the unsubscribe procedures contained in the email message.

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The massive retail chain is breaking out of its no-frills service model by staffing its beauty aisles with trained specialists who can suggest foundation shades to match a shopper's skin tone or knows about a moisturizer trending on TikTok.

The roles were filled at 22 stores in Arkansas and Texas in recent months, and Walmart expects to have them in more than 400 of its 4,600 namesake U.S. stores by year-end.

The addition of “beauty experts” comes as Walmart, rival Target, specialty chains like Sephora and department stores all are vying for a bigger slice of the $129 billion U.S. beauty and personal care market, including by offering customized advice and playful, interactive spaces to encourage consumers to shop in person as well as online.

A year ago, Walmart set up areas in 40 stores where customers could sample makeup and speak with beauty advisors. The pilot “beauty bar” concept is now in hundreds of stores, according to Vinima Shekhar, vice president of beauty merchandising for Walmart’s U.S. division. As part of plans to remodel 650 locations by the end of the year, the company is moving beauty departments to the front of stores and installing displays to showcase products getting attention on social media.

“We’re not trying to be an Ulta or Sephora,” Shekhar told The Associated Press. “We have the breadth of assortment that no one else has. We have convenience that no one else has. What we also then want to do is layer on a level of service for both our associates and our customers: ‘Here’s what trending. Here’s what’s new.’”

The importance of a human touch

Department stores and beauty product chains always have employed people to assist customers with testing and buying cosmetics. Pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens added beauty experts to many of their locations in the last decade or so. Walmart's decision to join them highlights how retailers with physical stores rely on a human touch to distinguish themselves from online shopping platforms and AI chatbots.

Walmart has added more premium brands to its beauty assortment in the last year, including French pharmacy skin care brand La Roche Posay, Australian natural makeup brand Nude by Nature, and FHI Heat hair tools. They are not cheap. Some La Roche Posay sunscreens cost just under $40 for 1.7 oz.

The beauty refresh is part of a broader Walmart initiative to upgrade its merchandise and ambience as it attracts higher-income shoppers. Customers who buy higher-end products and not only everyday skin and hair staples are looking for inspiration when they shop, Shekhar said.

Target announced in early March that it planned to expand its assortment of upscale beauty products and to deploy staff members with enhanced product expertise this fall in 600 stores. In those stores, a new department called Target Beauty Studio will partly replace in-store Ulta shops. As part of a Target partnership ending in August, Ulta had beauty consultants in Target stores.

Experts providing enhanced customer service may become a feature in other departments of mass market retail stores. Whitney Hunt, vice president of Walmart's U.S. operations, notes there could be other departments like electronics that could benefit from experts.

Target began launching a “baby boutique” experience last month in nearly 200 stores where a concierge helps shoppers find products registries created by expectant parents.

Advice that's in demand

While artificial intelligence threatens to eliminate jobs across industries, online job postings for beauty experts and beauty advisers remained fairly stable between February 2020 and this month, according to Cory Stahle, an economist with the research arm of jobs site Indeed. Online postings for both marketing and software development jobs fell more than 20% in the same period, Indeed said.

The median wage for beauty expert roles was $19.54 per hour in March, roughly $2 more than the hourly wage for all other retail jobs, according to Indeed data. Walmart said its beauty experts can earn $14 to $35 an hour, depending on the store location. That's similar to the hourly range of $14 to $37 for all of Walmart's hourly workers, the company said.

Walmart's beauty advisers undergo a day of training at a company academy and receive ongoing instruction on products, seasonal trends and working with customers. They don't apply products on shoppers or do makeovers, unlike some of the employees at department stores and specialty beauty chains.

Walmart is providing online tools to help the advisers understand the beauty department's top-selling brands and how their store compares with the business generated in other Walmart locations, Hunt said.

Helena Bacon, 21, a University of Arkansas junior studying biology, said the training she had last fall made her feel more empowered to help customers. Before then, she helped out in the area that covers pharmacy, health and personal care items like basic shampoos and toothpaste of a store in Fayetteville and occasionally helped customers find items in the beauty area.

Bacon said she now understands product ingredients, knows how to identify lipstick shades that flatter different customers and is on top of TikTok trends.

“I was kind of everywhere before,” she said. “But now that I’m just in my section, if someone does come up to me and asks for a recommendation for something, ... I could go over with them into that section and say, 'This what I know is good for the problem you’re trying to fix.'”

The appeal filed Wednesday was a response to a March 16 court order that blocked the decision by President Donald Trump's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, to end broad recommendations for all children to be vaccinated against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis and RSV, a respiratory virus.

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy's order also stopped a meeting of a Kennedy-appointed vaccine advisory committee.

The judge's order remains in effect while the appeal is considered.

The government's one-sentence filing did not say why the block should be lifted. U.S. health officials did not immediately comment on the filing, or respond to a question about why they waited six weeks to file an appeal.

The appeal is the latest development in a lawsuit filed in July by the American Academy of Pediatrics and some other medical groups. The lawsuit in federal court in Boston originally focused on Kennedy’s decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccinations for most children and pregnant women.

The lawsuit was updated as Kennedy took more steps that alarmed medical societies, causing the plaintiffs to ask Murphy to take steps to address those policy changes too.

For example, the plaintiffs amended the lawsuit to stop the scaling back of the nation’s childhood vaccination schedule. They also asked the court to look at Kennedy’s actions concerning the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises public health officials on what vaccines to recommend to doctors and patients.

Kennedy, a leading anti-vaccine activist before becoming the nation’s top health official, fired the entire 17-member panel last year and replaced it with a group that includes several anti-vaccine voices.

Murphy, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Joe Biden, said Kennedy’s reconstitution of ACIP likely violated federal law. The judge ordered the appointments — and all decisions made by the reformulated committee — put on hold.

Earlier this month, the Republican administration updated the committee's charter to broadens qualifications for panel members in ways that would allow the inclusion of Kennedy allies. That move did not resolve the legal challenge, according to Richard Hughes IV, a lawyer representing the pediatrics group.

Hughes this week said he was disappointed that the government decided to appeal but said he expected to prevail. He pledged to bring an end to Kennedy's “steady destruction of vaccine policy and public health.”

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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.

But one distinguished guest — even if his fleeting stop consisted of a three-and-a-half-minute speech — brought a buzz that had some members of high society lining up along velvet ropes and craning their necks inside Christie's New York auction house. That would be King Charles III, who made his first appearance in the five-year history of the event supporting his nonprofit that helps young people find work.

The excitement was evident from the red carpet. Charlotte Tilbury, the British cosmetics entrepreneur, asked Martha Stewart, who wore a sparkling blue dress, if she would tell Charles that she wore “royal blue just for you.” Natasha Poonawalla — the executive director of the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer — said “everyone's been waiting for him."

“I think the fact that he’s here is going to strengthen the presence of the foundation so much more," Poonawalla said.

It appears so. Organizers reported a record fundraising total exceeding $3 million, affirming hopes that the arrival of the monarch and Queen Camilla might boost the sum collected Wednesday as the nonprofit tries to establish an endowment for its work in the United Kingdom and deepen its relationships in more than two dozen countries.

Charles is wrapping up the first visit to the U.S. since his coronation, a four-day trip intended to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence from Britain and strengthen the countries' fraying relationship.

The King's Trust counts 1.5 million people worldwide who have been reached in some way by its education and employment programs over the past 50 years. In brief remarks before guests sat for dinner, Charles noted that many of their beneficiaries return to support disadvantaged young people much like themselves.

“Only now do quite a lot of them actually admit they were started (here),” he joked.

Edward Enninful, the former editor-in-chief of British Vogue and a co-chair of the gala, has seen the trust's impact in West London. He said his cousins and brothers have been able to make something of their lives despite being classed by society as “not worthy.”

He described Charles' appearance as the nonprofit's “glory moment."

“He’s set the example that philanthropy matters," Enninful told The Associated Press. "No matter how well you are doing, you’re not doing enough unless you’re passing it on to a newer generation.”

The event was more intimate than previous years with just about 160 guests. There weren't musical performances either; Richie informed guests from the get-go that he wouldn't be singing, prompting Charles to joke that the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer “must gargle with port.” Other attendees included supermodels Karlie Kloss and Iman, actors Leo Woodall and Meghann Fahy as well as designers Donatella Versace and Stella McCartney.

Stewart recalled her own luck as she built a multi-million-dollar media empire centered around cooking, entertaining and homemaking. The lifestyle entrepreneur said she paid for her “fine education” through scholarships. And she was fortunate that all of her jobs were “excellent.”

“But I know today there’s a big challenge in getting a good job, a big challenge in getting a good education,” she said. "And we’re here to help those people.”

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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits 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. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

Teachers are using it to create lesson plans and grade papers. Marketing professionals are harnessing it to work a room and learn about the needs of potential clients. Product managers are asking AI to serve as an interpreter when technical conversations went over their heads in meetings.

Some people who employ AI tools are concerned that widespread use of the technology could erode critical thinking skills, especially among children. They also caution that AI-assisted work needs to be checked carefully because the tools have been known to hallucinate and make mistakes.

Here are some ways that people with a range of jobs use artificial intelligence to save time and generate ideas.

Unpacking jargon

One creative way Kristin Moore, a technical product manager at PERQ, a digital marketing platform for property management companies, uses AI is to help ensure she understands her colleagues’ technically advanced conversations. If she’s in a meeting and engineers talk through a topic in a way that she doesn't grasp, she can upload the recorded conversation through Claude, AI assistant built by Anthropic, and ask it to summarize what she needs to do to follow up.

“It picks up on all of that terminology that I don’t understand, and it can simplify it into something that I can consume,” Moore said.

She also asks the AI tool to read through emails, support tickets, recorded meetings and conversations to determine what her clients would like her company to build.

“It’s definitely freed up hours and hours of my week,” Moore said.

Grading papers

Kyle Weimar, an elementary school teacher for Charter Schools USA, serves as coordinator of a Florida school’s multi-tiered support system, a position that involves creating plans to help children performing at the bottom 20% of the student population.

In that role, he uploads test scores, report cards and health information into his school district's AI tool. Then he asks it before meetings to help brainstorm what the district can do to help each child.

Weimar has also used AI to grade papers. He says he can upload 100 to an AI agent, give it a scoring guide, and let it grade and give students instant feedback. “I can do that in 30 minutes, whereas it would have taken me a week before,” he said.

Teachers are really overwhelmed with work, “so any tools that we can use to make that a little bit more viable, we’re really excited about using,” Weimar said.

Working a room

Ashley Smith, head of marketing at HireQuest, a staffing and recruiting company with about 400 franchises, used Claude to build a dashboard that analyzes website traffic data and social media trends. It reports what the HireQuest’s followers are reacting to or ignoring, and Smith uses the information to inform franchisees about how to win more business, she said.

When members of her sales team attended a huge manufacturing trade show recently, she asked them to take screenshots of the companies they wanted to pursue. She uploaded the images to an AI platform and prompted it to build a list including company names and, based on press releases and stock reports, insights on what their staffing needs might be over the next 18 to 24 months.

The hours Smith said she saved by handing off that research task to AI let her spend more one-on-one time with her franchisees.

“AI has not replaced anything. It’s only expanded what we’re able to offer to our franchisees,” Smith said. “It allows us to do things that, candidly, we just weren’t able to deliver even as short as two years ago.”

Rebranding the Brawny paper towel man

A design leader at Georgia Pacific, the pulp and paper company that makes Dixie cups, Quilted Northern toilet paper and other consumer products, says he uses AI to create quick visuals. When brainstorming how to modernize the Brawny paper towel brand, for example, Andrew Markle said his team asked AI to depict what the man shown on their packaging would look like with a longer or shorter beard.

Using AI helped people on the team review ideas more quickly, and the tool also offered predictions for how target consumers might respond, Markle said.

“It’s not replacing the creative eye of what’s good and what’s appropriate for our business,” Markle said. “Ultimately, we knew we were going to partner with our ad agency. We have an illustrator that’s going to do the final vision.”

Creating quizzes to help learn material

Kenneth Lynch, a special education coach in Tulsa, Oklahoma, teaches developmentally disabled students life skills to help them live independently. He uses AI to develop quizzes as learning materials. For example, when he was working with a student who wanted to pursue automotive work, Lynch uploaded a book of mechanical instructions to an AI tool that generated quizzes for each chapter.

He is more reluctant to trust AI when it comes to soliciting guidance on psychological conditions. “When I look up different types of diagnosis and try to connect comorbid diagnoses together, it really struggles with understanding how those fit together,” Lynch said.

Preparing for meetings and drafting emails

Ravi Pendse, the University of Michigan's chief information officer, has used AI to prepare for meetings by asking the tool to predict what questions he might get asked.

“It has made me a lot more efficient,” Pendse said. “It gives me more time to focus on my own mental health and wellness.”

The University of Michigan also created an AI tutor that professors can tailor to help students with coursework material around-the-clock, he said. But Pendse is mindful to use AI responsibly.

“We all should be thinking about how we ensure that AI does not erode our critical thinking skills, especially those of our children,” Pendse said. “As we grew up, we learned from our mistakes. We wrote bad papers, and we got better.”

One way that Bob Jones, the university's assistant vice president of emerging technology and support services, uses AI is making sure his emails are succinct enough for the intended audience.

“If I'm communicating about a particularly sticky topic, I want to make sure that I’m neutral and thoughtful,” Jones said. “So the idea of really assessing how I’m presenting myself, AI is really good at that.”

Understanding customer needs

The marketing director at SumnerOne, a company that delivers printers, copiers, and IT services, asks her AI tool to help create email campaigns, social media posts and slide decks. Natalie Blythe said she also uses it to help understand her ideal customers.

For example, when aiming to sell printing services to universities, she asked chatGPT, an AI tool created by OpenAI, to create a probable demographic profile of an admissions director at a university. Then she asked it to predict what the director's top five problems might be and to identify ways her company's products could help solve them.

“When it first started up, I was in the camp of, ‘Oh my God, this is the end for us,'” Blythe said about the early days of AI. But rather than just fear it, she dug in and started learning.

“The efficiencies gained out of it have been tremendous," she said.

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

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.3% from 6.23% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s still down from one year ago, when the rate averaged 6.76%.

The increase ends a three-week slide, bringing the average rate back to where it was two weeks ago.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also moved higher this week. That average rate rose to 5.64% from 5.58% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.92%, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation.

This week’s uptick in the average rate on a 30-year home loan follows a rise in the yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

The 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.39% in midday trading on the bond market Thursday, up from 4.34% a week ago. The yield was at just 3.97% in late February, before the war with Iran broke out.

As recently as late February, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage had slipped just under 6% for the first time since late 2022. It's hasn’t fallen below that threshold again in the weeks since the conflict in the Middle East began, sending energy prices soaring and heightening worries about higher inflation.

Bond yields, and mortgage rates, have remained volatile as the conflict drags on.

High oil prices helped push the Federal Reserve to announce Wednesday that it’s continuing to hold off on cuts to interest rates.

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

While lower rates could give the economy a boost, they simultaneously risk worsening inflation, which could in turn lead to higher mortgage rates.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes were essentially flat last year, stuck at a 30-year low. They have remained sluggish so far this year, declining in January and February and March from a year earlier.

Even with its recent swings, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage remains nearly half a percentage point below what it was a year ago.

Still, the mortgage rate uncertainty has clouded the outlook for the spring homebuying season, traditionally the busiest stretch of the year for the housing market.

A recent measure of pending U.S. home sales, which tracks when a buyer signs a contract to buy a home, showed a mixed picture of the housing market.

Pending home sales rose 1.5% compared to February, but fell 1.1% compared to March last year, the National Association of Realtors reported earlier this week. There’s usually a month or two lag between a contract signing and when the sale is finalized, which makes pending home sales a bellwether for future completed home sales.

“There are some signs of life among buyers, as pending sales have inched up ever so slightly over the past four weeks,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS. “But the fact remains that we are not going to see rates fall below 6% anytime soon, and the spring housing market is going to be much more subdued than forecasts suggested at the end of last year.”

These drones — used widely in the war in Ukraine — are small, hard to track and lethal. Drones killed an Israeli soldier in southern Lebanon and injured at least a dozen others in northern Israel on Thursday, two seriously. A soldier and defense contractor were killed in Lebanon earlier this week.

Many drones are susceptible to electronic jamming by air defenses. Jamming can cause a drone to crash or return to its point of origin.

Fiber-optic drones are not piloted via GPS signals or radio control. They have a thin cable spooling out behind them that connects the operator's console directly to the drone, making it impossible to electronically jam.

The drones are not infallible because the wind — or other drones — can cause the cables to tangle.

But, “if you know what you’re doing, it’s absolutely deadly,” said Robert Tollast, a drone expert and researcher at the Royal United Services Institute in London, explaining how the drone can fly low and creep up on a target.

Experts say militaries must either intercept the drones, which is difficult due to their small size and short flight path, or find a way to snip the nearly invisible cable.

Hezbollah — the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon — announced it has been using the fiber optic drones on Israeli soldiers operating in southern Lebanon or towns on the border.

Here’s a closer look at these weapons.

A new weapon with a long trail

An Israeli military official told AP the fiber optic drones are a relatively new threat during the latest round of fighting with Hezbollah. Hezbollah seems to have turned to them because Israeli air defenses have been successful against larger and more powerful rockets, missiles and other drones, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military guidelines.

Israel believes the drones are made locally and are easy to produce – requiring little more than an off-the-shelf drone, a small amount of explosives, and transparent wire that is readily available on the consumer market, he said.

He called the drones the biggest threat to troops inside Lebanon but said the Israeli military is working on technological solutions. In the meantime, Israel is taking measures on the ground to defend troops, such as adding nets and cages to military vehicles.

The fiber-optic drones are the latest part of a cat-and-mouse race as Israel’s high-tech defenses race to intercept new threats, especially ones that are less sophisticated.

Ran Kochav, a former head of the Israeli military’s air defense command, said Israel is failing in its attempts to defend against the fiber-optic drones.

“They fly very low and very fast, and they are very small, it’s very difficult to detect them, and even after they’re detected, they are really hard to track,” he said.

Kochav said Israel spent years focusing on strengthening its air defense systems to improve protection against rockets and missiles. But drones were not seen as a top priority.

He said Israel should have been following the advances in fiber-optic drones in the war in Ukraine and assumed that like Russia, other Iranian allies would eventually use them.

A technology race in the war in Ukraine

Throughout the war in Ukraine, Moscow and Kyiv have been engaged in a race to develop new technology.

Russia pummels Ukraine almost nightly with Shahed long-range attack drones — originally from Iran. Although Moscow has made many improvements to the drones, some can still be taken down by electronic jamming.

Fiber-optic drones were developed to get around that problem — although they do not have the same range as a drone that uses a radio link or artificial intelligence to navigate.

In some cases, fiber-optic drones have been recorded with cables extending as far as 31 miles (50 kilometers) said Tollast, the expert in London.

Russia and Ukraine are using many different types of drones “at a phenomenal scale,” he said.

In Ukraine, some fields are coated with drone cables

The fiber-optic drones are in such wide use that footage shows front-line Ukrainian towns coated with shiny, fishing line-like strings, resembling massive spiderwebs shimmering in the sunlight.

Israel has sufficient firepower to intercept drones, but the key is early detection, Kochav said.

He explained that Israel already has suitable technology that tracks changes in light, identifies signals and communications, and can recognize the sound of drone propellers.

But he said these monitoring systems haven’t been widely deployed along the northern border.

Hezbollah has posted videos of the new drone attacks

Over the past weeks, Hezbollah has aired videos through social media platforms and its Al-Manar TV station of attacks with these new drones, especially against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

These attacks have captured public attention. One attack killed one Israeli soldier and wounded six others, some of them seriously, last weekend. Another attack, on Tuesday, killed an Israeli civilian contractor in southern Lebanon.

In the attack that killed the soldier, Hezbollah issued a video taken by the drone until it exploded in the middle of troops gathering near a vehicle. Another drone was fired at the same location as a military helicopter landed to evacuate the wounded but narrowly missed.

Ali Jezzini, a journalist specializing in security and military affairs who closely follows Hezbollah’s capabilities, estimated that some of the drones used by the group cost between $300 and $400 each. He added that they appear to be manufactured locally using 3D printing technology, in addition to readily available electronic components typically used for civilian purposes but capable of dual-use applications.

Hezbollah announced that it began using fiber-optic guided drones for the first time during the round of fighting that began March 2, after using other types of drones for years.

Israel also has a fleet of drones that carry out surveillance and attacks, though not necessarily with the fiber-optic cables, to target Hezbollah militants.

At a northern Israel home, a drone left coils of cable in the backyard

Zevik Glidai, a 78-year-old math teacher and volunteer ambulance driver, discovered coils of the translucent fiber-optic cables surrounding a drone that crashed into his backyard in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona on April 13.

His house is 2 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the Lebanon border. He was sitting at home when he heard a high-pitched shriek and a small crash. His neighbor yelled that the yard was on fire.

The two of them put out the fire with a garden hose but noticed something new: The destroyed drone was surrounded by loops and curls of a white thread.

“We are very worried about these drones because there's no way to shoot it down, because we can’t detect it,” Glidai said.

He said there was no warning siren before the drone crashed, and the bomb squad that responded called it a miracle that nearly 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of explosives failed to detonate.

“They told me, ‘You have a lot of luck,’” said Glidai, who noted that he's lived through several iterations of Hezbollah weapons in his 48 years in Kiryat Shmona. “They picked up all of the pieces that they could pick up, and they left me a few optical fibers as a keepsake.”

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Mroue reported from Beirut; Burrows from London.

Dr. Yuliya Malayev, a DO and OB-GYN with the Detroit Medical Center, says the body sends early signals - if women know what to look for. She advises patients to treat their menstrual cycle like a vital sign, taking note of any changes in length, heaviness, or pain, and to bring those changes to a doctor’s attention promptly.

Fibroids are smooth muscle growths that can form anywhere within the uterus, ranging from the size of a blueberry to, in extreme cases, a basketball. While any woman of reproductive age can be affected, some face far higher odds. African American women are among the most at risk, with Malayev noting rates as high as 75%. A family history also raises risk - the condition can run through generations.

Diagnosis typically begins with a conversation about symptoms and a physical exam, often followed by an in-office ultrasound. MRI is reserved for more complicated cases.

Treatment depends heavily on a woman’s age, symptoms, and family plans. Hormonal and non-hormonal medications are often the first line of defense. But for women who want more lasting relief without major surgery, options have expanded significantly in recent years.

The DMC recently introduced the Sonata radiofrequency procedure - the first in Michigan to offer it - an incisionless treatment performed in a single day with no required downtime. Women may see up to a two-thirds reduction in bleeding and pressure symptoms.

Malayev says the range of available treatments marks a dramatic departure from what was once a binary choice between managing symptoms and undergoing a hysterectomy. Today, patients can explore medication blockers, minimally invasive procedures, and targeted fibroid removal before considering more definitive surgical options.

Women experiencing changes in their cycle or other symptoms can schedule an appointment at dmc.org/womenshealth.

“The sport has changed a lot, the world has changed a lot,” Bottas said Thursday, a day after he discussed his own struggles in an essay for “ The Players' Tribune."

“There's better ways for people to communicate and share their issues, or anything from the past. It's definitely a more welcoming environment for everyone in F1, but I think also the whole world.”

Bottas said he was approached by the outlet late last year and began the process of writing the essay titled “Born Crazy” that was released ahead of the rookie Cadillac team making its North American debut this weekend at the Miami Grand Prix. Bottas, who is from Finland, and Sergio Perez of Mexico are the drivers for the team that considers itself the only true American team in the global series.

He said he agreed to open up to the publication in an effort to show the intense personal battles drivers work through in the ultra-competitive racing world.

“I think it's important to highlight that we're all humans and no one is perfect. Everyone has their struggles or their issues,” Bottas said. “Hopefully somebody can learn from other people's mistakes. Part of life is learning about your mistakes.”

Being a wingman broke Bottas

In the piece, Bottas revealed that during his time as a driver for Mercedes he was pushed to the brink of depression and despised F1 when he was relegated to “wingman” for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. He also disclosed an earlier two-year struggle with an eating disorder.

Bottas spent five seasons as Hamilton’s teammate following a 2017 promotion from Williams.

“First season was good,” he told the Players’ Tribune. “I started the 2018 season thinking that I was the best driver on the grid, and that I was going to win the championship.”

But he instead went winless and sacrificed track position often to help Hamilton win the title.

“Do you know how badly I wanted to just say no?” he said. “But I had to be a good teammate. I let him through, and of course he had an incredible season. He was the champion. I was ‘the wingman.’

“To this day, I have complicated feelings about it. I don’t know how to answer when people ask me about it, because Lewis is an incredible driver and a friend. I have no bad blood with Mercedes ... but the whole situation almost made me walk away from the sport."

The situation nearly broke him mentally.

“The old me came back. The negative Valtteri. The obsessive Valtteri. I was reading too many comments on social media, and I started to become very self-loathing," he said in the essay. "Thankfully, I had the tools from my experience in 2014 to understand what was happening, and I had plenty of support.”

Early career eating disorder

The 2014 reference was to Bottas' battle with an eating disorder that “completely consumed” him.

“It was like a game to me. I’d wake up and weigh myself every morning, and when I’d see the number go down, I’d feel a deep satisfaction," he said. "After two months of spiralling, my nerves were shot. I would wake up at 4 a.m. on my own, no alarm. I was like a drug addict, ‘I’ve never felt better!’ Ha. Completely delusional. The actual reason I was waking up so early was that my body was in starvation mode.”

He said he had struggled to find any joy and was “just so angry and negative about everything.” Bottas said his then-wife asked him if he feared the risks of racing, but he'd become so detached that he told her “‘No. If I die, I die.’”

“At that moment, I realized that I genuinely did not care what happened to me anymore," he revealed. "Not long after that, I decided to get some help. I started seeing a psychologist, and I finally admitted out loud that I was unwell. It took me almost two years to feel like myself again.”

His descent into depression began again in 2018 when it became clear he would only ever be in the shadow of Hamilton.

“I was definitely depressed and burnt out. I hated racing. During that winter break before the 2019 season, I did not think that I was going to come back," he said. "That winter break, I made the decision that I was going to retire. Then I went for a walk one day in the forest. I walked in the deep snow for maybe three hours and I walked out of those woods with a completely different mindset.”

Help is out there

Bottas said Thursday he isn't sure what sort of reaction his essay has received because it had only been released the day prior and he has avoided social media. But he hopes the essay shows others there are resources available and the stigma surrounding mental health has changed.

“The whole sport has evolved a lot. Everything is more professional,” Bottas said. “I also think when it comes to coaching, physical coaching, mental coaching, that level also has gone up. There is more support available. There's better packages for drivers when it comes to mental coaches. I think people are less afraid of seeking for help, seeking for support, because these things are now talked about more.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Prices rose at the fastest pace in almost three years last month, U.S. economic growth is steady and layoffs fell last week, according to a slew of economic data released Thursday.

The inflation gauge favored by the Federal Reserve — the Commerce Department's Personal Consumption Expenditures price index — rose 0.7% from February to March and 3.5% from a year earlier. The year-over-year gain was the biggest since May 2023.

No secret what was driving the increase: Gasoline prices shot up 21% in March from February after Iran responded to U.S. and Israeli attacks by closing the Strait of Hormuz and creating the biggest disruption of oil supplies in history.

The same data showed that prices outgrew American incomes — wages, business income and government benefits — for the second straight month in March.

The Commerce Department also reported Thursday that U.S. gross domestic product — the output of goods and services — grew at a steady 2% annual pace from January through March, slower than economists expected, but a rebound from lackluster 0.5% growth during the final three months of 2025. In the October-December quarter, the 43-day federal government shutdown had slashed more than a percentage point off growth.

Business investment is surging because of the AI boom. Excluding housing, business investment surged 10.4% in the first quarter, biggest jump in nearly three years.

From January through March, consumer spending — accounting for 70% of U.S. economic activity — expanded at a 1.6% annual pace. Americans were helped by big tax refunds, the result of President Donald Trump's 2025 tax cuts.

But the boost might not last long. “Rising tax refunds were outpacing the increased burden of gasoline spending two to one in March and most of April,” wrote Michael Pearce, the chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. "With tax refund season winding down and gas prices still climbing, the hit to consumer spending will become more evident from May.''

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline jumped another 7 cents overnight to $4.30. The price on this date last year was $3.18. In each of the past three days, gasoline prices have set new multi-year highs.

Forced to spend more on gasoline, consumers are likely to cut back their spending on other goods and services. Economists are already expecting GDP to take a hit as they do. Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, a tax and advisory firm, has downgraded his forecast for U.S. economic growth this year to 1.7% from the 2.4% he'd expected earlier.

“A year that was set to benefit from tail winds associated with a large tax cut and boom in artificial intelligence-led investment has been partially derailed by the impact of what as of today is an adverse and growing supply shock caused by the war in Iran,” Brusuelas said. “Unfortunately, war and the supply shock that ensued has altered the probable growth path this year.”

The combination of rising prices — and the threat to economic growth — has put the Fed and other central banks in a bind. Should they cut interest rates to help their economies? Or hold off — or even consider raising rates — to combat the threat of inflation?

So far, they are staying put. The Bank of England kept its main interest rate on hold at 3.75% Thursday and hinted of hikes to come as policymakers assess the war's economic impact. Likewise, the Fed, the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank, with all opting for no change as they assess the economic fallout from the conflict.

Still, U.S. workers enjoy considerable job security. The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits — a proxy for layoffs — tumbled last week to the lowest level in more than 50 years.

Companies aren't letting workers go — but they aren't necessarily eager to hire much either. Job growth last year was the weakest outside a recession since 2002. And it's been up and down so far this year — strong in January (160,000 new jobs) and March (178,000) but weak in February when employers slashed 133,000 jobs.

Economists describe “no-hire, no-fire’’ scenario that locks young applicants out of the job market. At the same time, there are growing worries that AI is taking entry-level jobs.

____

AP Business Writer Matt Ott in Washington contributed to this story.

Hegseth battled with Democrats — and some Republicans — a day earlier during a nearly six-hour House Armed Services Committee hearing, where he faced sharp questioning over the war’s costs in dollars, lives and the diminishing stockpiles of critical weapons.

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hear a similar presentation on the Trump administration’s 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defense spending to a historic $1.5 trillion. Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, will again stress the need for more drones, missile defense systems and warships.

Here's the latest:

Sen. Ernst lists accomplishments of ousted top Army uniformed officer

Saying she was “disappointed” to see Gen. Randy George’s retirement “hastened,” Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa noted that the officer “pulled the Army out of its worst recruiting crisis since the Vietnam era” and trimmed “nonessential” Army positions.

George is one of several top military officers to be dismissed since Trump returned to office. In early April, the Pentagon said George would be “retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately.”

George had held the post of Army chief of staff, which typically runs for four years, since August 2023.

“He had 38 years of honorable service. He achieved the greatest Army recruitment and modernization effort in a generation,” Ernst said. “So I want to thank him for his service.”

Senators question whether the Pentagon has resources to prevent civilian casualties

Senators wanted to know what the Defense Department is doing to prevent deaths of civilians, especially after outdated intelligence contributed to the U.S. striking an elementary school in Iran and killing over 165 people.

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand asked Hegseth, “What is your response to targeting that has resulted in the destruction of schools, hospitals, civilian places? Why did you cut by 90% the division that’s supposed to help you not target civilians?”

Hegseth responded that the Pentagon has an “ironclad commitment” to do more than other countries to prevent civilian deaths.

Still, Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican, continued Gillibrand’s line of questioning. He asked Hegseth whether the Pentagon still has the resources necessary to protect civilians.

Hegseth said it has “every resource necessary” and that humans are kept in the loop when AI is involved in military decisions.

Democratic senator grills defense officials on release of Ukraine funding

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, pushed Hegseth and other defense officials for details on how the Pentagon plans to use $400 million that Congress has allotted for Ukraine.

Hegseth told lawmakers a day earlier that the funding had been released. His actions came after Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former Senate Republican leader, penned an op-ed slamming the delay in releasing the funds.

But Shaheen pointed out that the Pentagon has not given Congress details on how it plans to spend the money. Hegseth told her that it would also be used as part of a program to sell military equipment first to NATO allies.

Shaheen shot back that it “was not the intent of Congress in providing that $400 million.”

The Defense Department’s current budget request includes no funding for Ukraine.

Top defense official confirms Russian involvement in Iran war

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, told senators Russian President Vladimir Putin has aided Iran’s war effort.

He declined to go into details, citing the public nature of the hearing, but said, ”There’s definitely some action there.”

The chair of the committee, Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, agreed, saying “there’s no question that Vladimir Putin’s Russia is taking serious action to undermine our efforts for success in Iran.”

Hegseth again has harsh words for critics

“As I said yesterday, and I’ll say it again today, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless naysayers and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” Hegseth said in his opening statement to the Senate panel.

Defending Trump’s budget request, Hegseth said the president “inherited a defense industrial base that had been hollowed out by years of America last policies, resulting in a diminished capacity to project strength.”

Similar to his Wednesday remarks to a House committee, Gen. Dan Caine said it was his duty as Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman “to ensure our civilian leadership has a comprehensive range of military options and the associated risks required to make the nation’s hardest and most complex decisions.”

Man accused of trying to kill Trump at correspondents’ gala agrees to remain jailed for now

Cole Thomas Allen did not enter a plea during his brief appearance Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Moxila Upadhyaya.

Prosecutors allege Allen planned his attack for weeks and tracked Trump’s movements online before he ran through a magnetometer at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night while holding a long gun and disrupted one of the highest-profile annual events in the nation’s capital.

Allen was injured during the attack but wasn’t shot. A Secret Service officer was shot but was wearing a bullet-resistant vest and survived, officials say. Prosecutors have said they believe Allen fired his shotgun at least once and that a Secret Service agent fired five shots. They have not publicly confirmed that it was Allen’s bullet that struck the agent’s vest.

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Chinese foreign minister speaks with Rubio ahead of Trump’s planned China trip

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Thursday spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and called leader-level diplomacy the “guiding star” of the China-U.S. relations, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

The call came just about two weeks before President Trump plans to travel to China for the first time since 2017 and hold talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Wang credited the “strategic leadership” by Xi and Trump for the overall stability in China-U.S. relations and said both sides should cherish it and well prepare for “high-level interactions.”

Wang urged the U.S. side to make the “right choice” over the Taiwan issue, which he said is the most risky in China-U.S. relations. Beijing considers the self-governed island part of Chinese territory and vows to seize it by force if necessary, while Washington opposes use of force in the Taiwan Strait.

Anti-war protester disrupts Hegseth hearing

A protester in a pink shirt disrupted Hegseth’s opening statement before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The man stood, unfurled a hand-written sign and yelled, “Pete Hegseth, you’re a war criminal.”

Within seconds, he was removed by Capitol Police officers. Several other people dressed in similar pink shirts have also left the hearing room.

The committee chair, Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, continued the hearing by saying he respected First Amendment rights to free speech, but that anyone who disrupts the hearing would be removed.

Top Democrat on military panel gives sweeping critique of Hegseth’s leadership

Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, did not hold back in his opening statement directed toward Hegseth.

From the war with Iran to Hegseth’s efforts to remake military culture, Reed dressed down the defense secretary’s actions and warned they could do long-term harm.

Reed argued that the war with Iran has left the U.S. in a worse strategic position than when it was started because the Strait of Hormuz is closed and 13 U.S. military members have been killed. Many others have been injured, and equipment has been destroyed.

“The American people’s trust in our military took 250 years to build. You are dismantling it in a fraction of that time,” Reed concluded.

Panel chairman decries ‘axis of aggressors’ in Hegseth Senate hearing

In opening remarks, GOP Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi outlined threats to the United States he said were a “growing alliance” of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, saying the current moment represents “the most dangerous security environment since World War II.”

Saying Chinese President Xi Jinping led a “growing alliance” among the countries, Wicker said they shared a goal ”to oppose America’s interests and the interests of other like minded, democratic countries across the globe.”

“Ties have never been closer among these four dictators,” Wicker said. “Among these four dictatorships, they support each other’s aggressive endeavors.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he’ll sign redistricting bill when he gets it

The Republican Florida governor told reporters Thursday he would not delay signing the new congressional map the GOP-dominated Legislature passed Wednesday at his and President Trump’s urging.

There had been some speculation that DeSantis could hold the bill for as long as possible — as much as two weeks or so depending on when the Legislature adjourns — to delay when the bill’s critics can file lawsuits challenging the measure.

The new map is intended to help Republicans gain as many as four more U.S. House seats in November, making the GOP advantage in Florida up to 24-4.

DeSantis said Wednesday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision curtailing the strength of nonwhite voters in redistricting vindicated his decision to call a special session for what he insists is a “race neutral” map.

Hegseth’s Senate hearing is starting

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is sitting before senators in what’s expected to be another fiery hearing on the Hill.

The defense secretary’s hearing is ostensibly to discuss the Pentagon’s $1.5 trillion budget request to Congress, but it’s the first time that senators will get to publicly question him since the Iran War began nearly two months ago. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, is also seated beside Hegseth.

The defense secretary also appeared for a House hearing Wednesday and he drew a large crowd of anti-war protesters to the hallways of the House office building where the hearing was held.

On Thursday, things feel a bit more low-key in the Senate, although there are a handful of people in the hearing room wearing pink shirts that state “Peace with Iran.”

Top Chinese and US trade officials speak ahead of planned state visit

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Thursday spoke by video with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, China’s state media reported, ahead of a planned state visit by President Trump to Beijing in mid-May.

The two sides had a “candid, in-depth and constructive” exchange, the state broadcaster China Central Television said. The Chinese side lodged “solemn concerns” over recent restrictive trade measures imposed by the U.S. on China, but the statement didn’t specify the measures.

Last week, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned a China-based oil refinery and 40 shippers involved in transporting Iranian oil. The U.S. Trade Representative Office this week held a hearing on the use of forced labor in foreign goods.

Trump takes another dig at German leader

The president is continuing to pillory German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who’s been increasingly critical of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran.

Trump in a social media post said Merz “should spend more time on ending the war with Russia/Ukraine” and “fixing his broken Country, especially Immigration and Energy” and less time concerning himself with the Iran war.

The latest criticism by Trump of Merz came the day after the U.S. president announced he was reviewing the U.S. military presence in Germany, a NATO ally that hosts several American military installations.

Trump administration appeals order blocking government from cutting vaccine recommendations

U.S. officials are appealing a judge’s order that blocks the government from cutting the number of vaccines recommended for every U.S. child.

Government lawyers on Wednesday filed the one-sentence appeal.

It was a delayed response to a March 16 order by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, who blocked an order by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — announced in January — to end broad recommendations for all children to be vaccinated against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis and RSV.

Murphy’s order also stopped a meeting of a Kennedy-appointed vaccine advisory committee. The stay continues while the appeal is considered.

White House is facing a War Powers Resolution deadline

The Trump administration is constrained by the 1973 law, which requires several notification and approval steps meant to keep a commander-in-chief’s military powers in check.

One of its provisions is that military action authorized by the president must end after 60 days unless Congress has explicitly approved it, or has declared war. That 60-day clock runs out Friday.

One White House official said the administration is in “active conversations” with lawmakers on addressing the deadline, but did not elaborate. The official was granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations. The administration can request a 30-day extension by telling Congress in writing that there’s a continued need for military action. The White House, which has long stressed that the president is working toward a diplomatic option in Iran, hasn’t indicated publicly whether Trump will seek that extension.

— Seung Min Kim

Trump floats a new plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Under the plan, the United States would continue its blockade on Iranian ports, while coordinating with allies to impose higher costs on Iran’s attempts to subvert the free flow of energy, according to a senior administration official.

Trump is weighing multiple diplomatic and policy options to push Iran to end its chokehold on the waterway, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

— Aamer Madhani

US jobless aid filings fall to 189,000 last week despite multiple economic headwinds and Iran war

U.S. jobless aid applications for the week ending April 25 fell by 26,000 by to 189,000, down from the previous week’s 215,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s well below the 214,000 new applications analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet were expecting.

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

The four-week moving average of jobless claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, came in at 207,500, about 3,500 lower than the previous week.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending April 18 fell to 1.79 million, a decrease of 23,000.

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US economy grew 2% from January-March, recovering from last fall’s federal shutdown

But the outlook is clouded by the Iran war.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services — rebounded from a lackluster 0.5% expansion the last three months of 2025. The federal government’s spending and investment grew at a 9.3% annual rate in the first quarter, adding more than half a percentage point to growth after lopping off 1.16 percentage points in fourth-quarter 2025.

Growth in consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of U.S. economic activity, slowed to 1.6% in the first quarter from 1.9% at the end of 2025. But business investment, likely driven by investments in artificial intelligence, rose at an 8.7% pace.

Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes. That has driven energy prices higher, fueling inflation and hurting consumers.

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A key inflation gauge jumps in March as Iran war-driven gas prices squeeze budgets

It’s the latest sign that the Iran war is pushing up the cost of living and delaying any interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

An inflation gauge monitored by the Fed rose 0.7% in March from February, up slightly from the previous month. Compared with a year ago, prices rose 3.5%, the biggest increase in almost three years.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core inflation rose 0.3% in March from February, and it was 3.2% higher than a year earlier. The annual figure is above February’s reading of 3%.

Rising gas prices have caused inflation to move further away from the Fed’s 2% target, which has caused the central bank to keep its key short-term interest rate unchanged after cutting it three times last year. The Fed typically keeps rates elevated — or even raises them — to combat higher inflation.

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New ‘bluster’ from Trump? Germany faces new threat about reduced US military presence in Europe

President Trump has again threatened that the United States could reduce its military presence in Germany, a key NATO ally and the European Union’s largest economy. Europeans have heard this before.

Trump’s social media post on Wednesday followed comments by Chancellor Friedrich Merz that the U.S. was being “ humiliated ” by Tehran as it slow-walks its diplomacy over the U.S.-Israel war against Iran.

Trump has mused for years about reducing America’s military presence in Germany, and has recently repeatedly railed against NATO for the its refusal to assist the U.S. in its two-month-old war.

U.S. allies at NATO have been waiting for the Trump administration to pull troops out since just after it came to office, warning that Europe would have to look after its own security, and that of Ukraine, in the future.

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Full federal appeals court won’t rehear $83 million defamation verdict against Trump

A divided federal appeals court said Wednesday it won’t grant a rare meeting of its active judges to hear an appeal of an $83 million verdict against President Donald Trump for defaming a magazine advice columnist over an encounter three decades ago.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to reject a so-called “en banc” hearing comes several months after Trump appealed to the Supreme Court another jury’s decision to grant $5 million the writer, E. Jean Carroll, after concluding he had sexually abused her in a department store dressing room in 1996 and later defamed her. The high court hasn’t yet decided whether to hear the case.

Lawyers for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, said in a statement that her client was “eager for this case, originally filed in 2019, to be over so that she can finally obtain justice.”

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Environmental Protection Agency boss backs big budget cuts but Congress will get the final say

Senate Democrats accused the Trump administration of abandoning the Environmental Protection Agency’s mission to protect human health and the environment at a congressional hearing Wednesday, slamming agency leadership over a proposal to cut its budget in half.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s appearance before the Senate environment committee was his last of three budget hearings this week where he argued for sharply reduced funding for the agency, which already has seen its staffing reduced to its lowest level in decades under his leadership. During much of the week, the former Republican congressman from New York took an aggressive approach, responding to Democrats in the House and Senate with his own questions and at times accusing them of being unprepared or failing to care about the EPA’s track record.

Zeldin has eliminated major climate change programs, promoted deregulatory efforts he calls the biggest in American history and canceled billions of dollars in Biden-era environmental justice grants to halt what he calls “EPA’s radical diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.”

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Brent crude surges over $120 a barrel on Iran war worries, while world stocks are mixed

The price of Brent crude oil briefly surged past $126 a barrel early Thursday as stalled U.S.-Iran talks raised doubts over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a permanent end to the Iran war.

Brent crude to be delivered in June jumped 3.3% to $121.90 after briefly soaring past $126 per barrel. Brent to be delivered in July rose 1.4% to $112.02.

Benchmark U.S. crude climbed 1.3% to $108.28 per barrel.

Before the war began in late February, Brent crude was trading around $70 per barrel.

There’s no clear path to an end to the war. The U.S. has continued its blockade of Iranian ports while the Strait of Hormuz is closed, pushing oil prices higher. Reports Thursday suggesting a possible escalation by Trump doused hopes for a quick end to the conflict.

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BET announced Thursday that the 31-year-old comedian and digital creator will lead the ceremony, which airs live June 28 from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

Druski surpasses Kevin Hart, who previously held the distinction as the BET Award's youngest host when he emceed in 2011.

“I grew up watching the BET Awards,” Druski said in a statement. “To know the comedic legends that hosted before me set the bar so high, I’m just grateful to be a part of the history. But I’m still bringing my brand of comedy to the stage.”

Best known for his viral sketches and improvisational style, Druski has built a massive following across social media, translating that momentum into sold-out tours and high-profile collaborations with artists including Drake and Snoop Dogg, as well as appearances alongside figures like Tom Brady and Timothée Chalamet.

Druski has been named to Forbes’ Under 30 list and Rolling Stone’s Most Influential Creator list, and in 2025 became the first comedian to cover Billboard’s No. 1s issue.

Now in its 25th year, the BET Awards has long served as a major stage celebrating Black achievement across music, film, television and sports, and is known for its performances, tributes and culturally defining moments.

“As one of the most exciting comedic voices of his generation, Druski brings a unique ability to connect with audiences through humor that feels both fresh and deeply rooted in culture,” said Connie Orlando, BET’s executive vice president of specials, music programming and music strategy.

The show will be produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment, with Jesse Collins,Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay serving as executive producers.

The U.S. Surface Transportation Board rejected Union Pacific's initial application as incomplete in January because regulators wanted more details about how the deal would affect the competitive balance between the five remaining major freight railroads and the impact on customers. The STB has 30 days to decide whether to accept this application, and then it will move forward into its detailed review of the deal that will likely last more than a year.

Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena said the new application makes an even stronger case for the benefits of the merger that he believes would shave a day or two off the delivery time for many shipments because they would no longer have to be handed off between two railroads in the middle of the country. The Omaha, Nebraska-based railroad projects that the merger could lead to shifting 2.1 million truckloads off the highway onto trains, and doing that could save shippers $3.5 billion because over long distances, rail is cheaper than trucking.

Critics that include some current major rail shippers like chemical companies and agricultural groups and two of the major competing railroads worry that the shipping rates existing customers pay could soar if Union Pacific gains monopoly power all across the country. Competitors BNSF and CPKC railroads joined a new coalition Wednesday to highlight concerns that the deal could hurt shippers and eventually consumers if it leads to higher rates for companies that have few options besides rail to get their raw materials and deliver their products.

But Vena said CSX and BNSF are already improving their operations to ensure they can compete ,and shippers will benefit from that if the deal is approved. Plus, he pointed out that since BNSF is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway it has the financial resources to do whatever is needed because Berkshire is sitting on nearly $400 billion cash.

“The first few years after this, it’s gonna be like one of those old 15-round boxing fights. Prices are gonna be used, the service is going to be used, everything. And I think the customer’s going to be the winner in all this while we knock down, drag it out, to see who can win and grow their market share,” Vena said.

But the STB established a high bar for major railroad mergers like this one around the turn of the century after past rail mergers snarled freight and led to prolonged disruptions while two railroads worked to integrate their networks. Now Union Pacific has to demonstrate that this deal will enhance competition.

Vena said he's confident the railroads can avoid the integration problems of past mergers because they will take it slow while listening to a new board of customers about the impact. Plus this would be a combination of two successful railroads instead of many deals of the past where one thriving railroad took over another nearly bankrupt one in disrepair.

The deal includes a provision that if the STB requires more than $750 million in concessions Union Pacific can consider walking away, but it won't automatically doom the deal, the railroads disclosed Thursday as they submitted a copy of their merger agreement. Norfolk Southern would be entitled to a $2.5 billion breakup fee if the deal falls apart.

Currently, Norfolk Southern and CSX serve the eastern U.S. while Union Pacific and BNSF serve the west, and the two major Canadian rails compete where they can with their tracks crossing Canada and extending into the United States and Mexico.

A merged Union Pacific would likely control nearly 40% of the nation’s freight, but the railroad said that currently BNSF delivers that much of the nation's freight. So the railroads said the deal would shift which railroad dominates the market but wouldn't dramatically change the competitive balance.

Several trade groups have joined with the unions that represent engineers and track maintenance workers and the other railroads to raise concerns about the deal.

“This did not begin with a customer asking for a UP-NS merger to happen,” BNSF CEO Katie Farmer said. “It’s driven by Wall Street on the promise of a big shareholder payout. It will eliminate competition, raise costs for consumers, and destabilize the supply chain that powers the American economy.”

But the biggest rail union and hundreds of shippers have backed the deal that would cut the number of major freight railroads across America down to five.

Union Pacific has promised that every union employee who has a job with either railroad at the time of the merger will have a job for life although the workforce could still shrink through attrition if the number of shipments slows down. But UP sounded an optimistic note Thursday and predicted that more than 1,200 new jobs will be created by the third year after the deal to handle the increased freight.

Previously, the railroads predicted 900 new jobs. But the new traffic data the railroads analyzed from all the major freight railroads convinced executives that more job growth is likely.

Union Pacific also said it will ensure that the merged railroad will never control more than 50% of the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis after competitors questioned that. Currently, UP owns nearly 43% of that railroad that operates 170 miles of track and two bridges over the Mississippi River, and Norfolk Southern owns more than 14%. Previously, Union Pacific had suggested temporarily becoming the majority owner of that railroad as part of the transition after the merger.

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But beneath these panels is lush pasture instead of gravel, enjoyed by a small herd of cattle that spends its days munching grass and resting in the shade.

Silicon Ranch, which owns the 40-acre farm in Christiana, outside of Nashville, believes cattle-grazing is the next frontier in so-called agrivoltaics, which mostly has involved growing crops or grazing sheep beneath the panels.

The solar company debuted the project this week and will spend the next year working to demonstrate to farmers that much larger cattle also can thrive at solar sites. If successful, advocates say, that could jump-start new projects to meet the soaring electricity demand driven by rapidly expanding data centers — without contributing climate-warming carbon emissions — and help cattle producers hold onto their land and livelihoods.

“Solar is one of the most powerful tools we have for cutting emissions and ... is cost-competitive with fossil fuels,” said Taylor Bacon, a doctoral student at Colorado State University who has studied ecological outcomes at solar grazing sites. “I think we’re starting to see enough research that, when you do it well, the land use can be more of an opportunity than a downside."

Making room for cattle

Though there are far more cattle than sheep in the U.S., their size poses challenges at solar sites, where both expensive equipment and the animals, which can weigh more than half a ton, must be protected.

Solar panels often pivot to near-vertical angles to capture the sun’s rays, leaving little room underneath for cattle; simply raising the panels is cost-prohibitive because of the amount of steel required. So Silicon Ranch raised the panels a little but also developed software that workers activate to turn the panels close to horizontal when cattle are grazing, giving them room to wander, said Nick de Vries, the company's chief technology officer.

Workers rotate the cattle — currently 10 cows and their calves — between paddocks every few days so panels on the ungrazed portion of the site operate normally, generating a supply of roughly 5 megawatts of electricity for Middle Tennessee Electric, a rural electric co-op.

The hope is that the technology eventually will be adopted more broadly, company officials said.

“We know it works," said de Vries. "But you need to prove it to other people."

What are the benefits for farmers?

For solar companies, agricultural land is generally easier to develop than other types of sites. But many farmers — and communities — will need to be convinced that solar grazing will benefit them because of past practices that destroyed topsoil and took land out of production permanently.

"For many agricultural stakeholders, it is offensive to see high-quality farmland getting graded and piled when that’s a farm family’s legacy,” said Ethan Winter, national smart solar director at American Farmland Trust.

But he sees potential for solar grazing partnerships to help farmers keep their land in production and earn extra income at a time when it's increasingly difficult to earn money farming and ranching alone.

“Agriculture is in a really tough spot right now" including because of trade wars, climate extremes, increased costs and pressure to sell, Winter said. "So maybe this is our moment where we can be helping states meet their energy needs and do that in a way that’s providing new opportunities for farmers.”

Silicon Ranch this year will have almost 15,000 acres of pasture being grazed — mostly by sheep — since launching five years ago, and is working with ranchers, farmers, university researchers and others to adopt best-practices for keeping soils and animals healthy.

What they're finding is that pasture beneath solar panels retains more moisture, making it more drought tolerant, said Anna Clare Monlezun, a rancher and rangeland ecosystem scientist who's working on the Tennessee project. Grazing in the shade leaves animals less prone to heat stress, enabling them to gain more weight and drink less water.

“There are more win-wins than trade-offs,” she said.

Sheep already have proven to be a good fit for solar sites, with more than 130,000 acres grazed as of 2024, a number that certainly has grown, said Kevin Richardson, senior director of the American Solar Grazing Association.

But for cattle, the industry still has to overcome site-design challenges and be able to scale up operations while also developing appropriate economic incentives for ranchers, Richardson said.

“Once we have that, I think we’ll see more solar sites using cattle or multi-species grazing with sheep and cattle,” he said.

Farmers often earn about $1,000 an acre by leasing their land for solar, easily 10 times more than what they historically earned through traditional agriculture, said Winter, from the Farmland Trust. That can help them to diversify operations, pay down debt and buy more land.

“I think you’ll start to hear more interest from farmers who are up against a serious financial wall right now and looking for income diversification opportunities that keep land in production,” Winter said. “We need and want to grow America’s energy capacity but not at the expense of our best farmland or at the expense of agricultural livelihoods.”

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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.

According to authorities, Robert Farrug had been the subject of an active search by Shelby Township police and was facing warrants from Shelby Township, Rochester, Washtenaw County, Georgia, and a nationwide extradition order out of Florida.

The warrants included charges related to possession of a weapon and ammunition, burglary, and theft of a firearm.

Police said they knew Farrug had been visiting family in the area and were alerted just after 4 a.m., April 25, that his vehicle was spotted near Dequindre Road and 24 Mile Road.

Officers located his vehicle and conducted a traffic stop.

Police said they demanded that Farrug exit the vehicle, but he refused.

A Taser was reportedly used when he shifted the vehicle into drive, causing it to roll forward.

A police officer pulled Farrug from the vehicle as another one put it back into park.

After a struggle, police said they were able to handcuff him.

A search of his vehicle reportedly resulted in the seizure of personal identifying information and credit cards that did not belong to Farrug.

Farrug was arrested on his outstanding warrants.

On Monday, April 27, Farrug was charged with resisting and obstructing an officer and illegal use of a financial transaction device. His bond was set at $650,000.

Annual inflation in the eurozone — the 21 countries that use the shared euro currency — rose to 3% from 2.6% in March, fueled by a 10.9% increase in energy prices, the European Union statistical agency Eurostat reported Thursday. Crude oil is trading above $120 per barrel, up from around $73 before the outbreak of the war on Feb. 28.

Meanwhile, eurozone growth for the first three months of the year disappointed with a marginal increase in economic output of 0.1% over the quarter before.

The war is dealing a huge shock to the global economy because Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which around 20% of the world’s oil formerly passed on its way to customers from producers in the Persian Gulf. The surge in oil prices has been quickly reflected at gas stations and in the price of jet fuel.

Rising inflation has raised concerns it may become built into the economy along with slow or nonexistent growth, a policy conundrum dubbed “stagflation” that leaves central banks like the ECB with few attractive choices. The usual antidote to inflation is for the central bank to raise its benchmark interest rate, but that can slow growth by raising credit costs for buying things.

ECB policymakers left their benchmark interest rate unchanged Thursday even though the annual rate of inflation is now clearly above the bank’s target of 2%. The bank’s benchmark rate has been unchanged at 2% since June 2025.

ECB President Christine Lagarde said at a post-decision news conference at the bank's headquarters in Frankfurt that the bank's governing council had debated a rate rise Thursday. She said the council would revisit the bank's stance with new information at the next meeting June 11 without committing to any particular path for rates.

Although some economists have used the term recently, she said the eurozone was not facing stagflation like that afflicting Western economies after the oil shocks of the 1970s.

Lagarde said the situation today was not comparable, with inflation less ingrained and a stronger labor market supporting an economy that is not in recession. She said the term was “something that I park in the '70s... this is not something we're seeing for the moment.”

"We don't apply that flashy term, ‘stagflation,’ to the circumstances that we have.”

Western economies suffered high inflation after twin oil shocks from the 1973 Arab oil embargo against the US and the 1979 Iranian revolution - bad memories revived by the Hormuz closure.

Other central banks are also on pause. The Bank of Japan and the U.S. Federal Reserve both left rates unchanged at meetings this week, and the Bank of England also held steady Thursday.

The indictment named a number of sitting officials in Sinaloa, including members of Sheinbaum's progressive Morena party, fueling a political firestorm at a time when Sheinbaum has sought to offset U.S. pressures while appeasing her own base. Shortly after, Mexico's government said that it had seen extradition request from the U.S. for 10 citizens, without naming them.

The highest profile official implicated was Sinaloa Gov. Rubén Rocha Moya, a top Morena official and close ally of Sheinbaum's mentor and predecessor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Sheinbaum on Thursday said that Mexican prosecutors would investigate the cases and gather their own information to “determine whether there is evidence establishing that the allegations made by U.S. authorities have a legal basis for requesting arrest warrants.”

The president previously said that she had seen no evidence to back up the U.S. allegations.

She added that she was ready to put her foot down if they find “no clear evidence” in their investigation that those charged committed a crime.

“If it is evident that the Justice Department’s charges are politically motivated, let there be absolutely no doubt: under no circumstances will we allow a foreign government to interfere in decisions that are the exclusive prerogative of the Mexican people," Sheinbaum said.

Minutes from the Bank of England meeting showed that eight of the nine rate-setters voted to keep rates on hold while one member opted for a quarter-point hike. But there was a clear signal that interest rates could rise in coming months.

“We think this is a reasonable place given the situation of the economy and the unpredictability of events in the Middle East,” said Bank Gov. Andrew Bailey. "Whatever happens, our job is to make sure that inflation gets back to the 2% target after the initial impact of the war on energy prices has passed.”

In an unusual development, the bank published a range of forecasts given the geopolitical uncertainties. It said that in a worst-case scenario where oil and gas prices stay higher for longer, U.K. inflation could rise to as much as 6.2% by early 2027 from 3.3% currently. It also considered several ways that events could unfold with a worst-case scenario leading to multiple rate rises and an increased risk of recession. Before the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, there had been an expectation in financial markets that the Bank of England would cut rates given that inflation was predicted to fall back toward its 2% target during the spring. The war has since upended the bank’s predictions and wider global economic forecasts as the price of oil and other costs have spiked sharply higher. Energy prices have raced up again over the past few days as traders price in a growing expectation that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed for a long time to come. Brent crude, the international standard, briefly jumped to over $126 a barrel at one point Thursday, its highest level since the aftermath of Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine four years ago.

Bank of England policymakers will be keeping an eye on whether the inflation spike starts to spread through the economy, by way of higher wages, for example. They will also monitor how the oil price shock hits the economy and whether it leads to a recession, which would keep a lid on price rises.

Luke Bartholomew, deputy chief economist at asset management firm Aberdeen, said he thinks the recessionary risks will limit any second-round inflation effects.

“But if oil prices continue to move higher, it is hard to see how the Bank avoids having to hike later this year,” he said.

Policymakers will also be alert to any upcoming action from Britain's Labour government to limit the inflation impact on households and businesses. Treasury chief Rachel Reeves, whose hopes over the cost-of-living have been blown off course by the crisis in the Middle East, has said she is ready to provide support when and if needed.

“The war in the Middle East is not our war, but it is one we have to respond to,” said Reeves.

In a three-page letter, prosecutors said they would allow the appeals court judges to consult the material. But they didn’t deposit the documentation for the defense to see in the chancery as ordered, saying it was “irrelevant” to the trial and could harm the Vatican’s interests.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the appeals court would respond. The next hearing is scheduled for June 22.

A vast inquiry

Prosecutors had acquired the material during their sprawling investigation into a 350-million-euro (around $410 million) investment by the Vatican Secretariat of State into a London property. In December 2023, after a two-year trial, a cardinal and eight other people were convicted of several financial charges. But the prosecutors’ overarching theory of a grand scheme to defraud the Holy See was thrown out.

Defense lawyers had argued from the start of the trial that their clients couldn't get a fair trial with key evidence either redacted or withheld entirely by the prosecution. They cited in particular the full interrogations of a key prosecution witness and contents of his sequestered laptops and cellphones.

Prosecutors had argued that the redactions were necessary to preserve the integrity of other, ongoing investigations and refused an initial Oct. 6, 2021 court order to turn over the documentation.

An order to turn over the evidence

Attorney Luigi Panella, defending money manager Enrico Crasso, had argued from the very start of the trial, in July 2021, that the indictment was null because prosecutors had withheld evidence from the defense.

Five years later, the appeals court on March 17 agreed with him and other defense lawyers. The court ordered the prosecutors to deposit in the chancery “all the acts and documents of the investigation in their integral version” by April 30.

In response Thursday, the prosecutors repeated their objection to the court ruling and reasoned that the material was “irrelevant” to the case. They said it “could pose a grave danger” to the public interest, if given over to the defense lawyers. Prosecutors told the judges the material remained in their offices and was available for “consultation” to the judges via USB drive.

Court calls for retrial

The appeals court had determined that the refusal of prosecutors to provide all the evidence to the defense in the first round of the trial had nullified the original indictment. The appeals court declared a partial mistrial and ordered a retrial.

Defense lawyers said the prosecutors’ response to the appeals court order amounted to contempt.

“In what country in the world can it be that the acts (of an investigation) are shown to the judge but not to the defense?” Panella said in a telephone interview. “What concept of ‘fair trial’ can this type of statement represent?”

A request to end the trial

Attorneys Cataldo Intrieri and Massimo Bassi, defending former Vatican official Fabrizio Tirabassi, said that the prosecutors’ response was unprecedented.

“We wonder how a fair judgment can be reached under these conditions,” they said in a statement that urged the court to throw out the trial entirely.

Attorneys Fabio Viglione and Maria Concetta Marzo, representing Cardinal Angelo Becciu, said that the prosecutors’ response constituted a failure to comply with the court order.

“This is precisely the selective discretion that the court has ruled out: the prosecution cannot unilaterally decide which documents the defense has the right to access,” they said. “The right to defense, the equality of the parties, and the adversarial process require full access to the documents.”

A separate blow to the Vatican

Swiss federal prosecutors shelved an investigation initiated in 2020 after the Vatican Secretariat of State accused Crasso, its former money manager, of embezzlement, fraud and disloyal administration in a complaint filed with Swiss prosecutors. The accusations paralleled those against Crasso in the Vatican tribunal.

Crasso had managed the Secretariat of State’s assets while employed at Credit Suisse Italia and Credit Suisse in Switzerland, before he launched his own company and fund that took over the Vatican accounts.

In a decision dated April 23, Swiss federal prosecutor Annina Scherrer noted that the Vatican tribunal itself had acquitted Crasso and his company and fund of the same charges definitively and shelved the Swiss case.

But in her 31-page ruling, Scherrer noted “with a certain surprise” that her requests to Vatican prosecutors to question some of the key witnesses had been refused after clearly being sent to the Vatican Secretary of State to evaluate. She said that demonstrated the Secretariat of State’s “influence” over the entire Vatican judicial system, which is supposed to be independent.

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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.

According to authorities, Alijah Hicks-Carter was last seen Tuesday, April 28, near the intersection of Monica and Elmhurst streets.

Anyone who has seen Alijah Hicks-Carter or knows of her whereabouts is asked to contact the Detroit Police Department at 313-596-1040 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.

All tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous. Click here to submit a tip online.

More: Missing in Michigan

In a humorous video posted Thursday on his Instagram account, Banksy showed snippets of how the sculpture was put up in the dead of night. The sculpture appeared to have been erected in the early hours of Wednesday on a plinth on a traffic island in Waterloo Place, near Buckingham Palace.

Before the artist's post, locals and tourists gathered to inspect the statue on the assumption it was Banksy's work because his signature was scrawled at the base of the plinth.

The statue is situated close to those of King Edward VII, who reigned between 1901 and 1910, and legendary nurse Florence Nightingale, as well as the Crimean War Memorial.

Statues are not what Banksy is primarily known for. He is far more famous for his spray-painting on buildings, with his first creations appearing in the early 1990s in his hometown of Bristol in southwest England. He has since gone global and his paintings and installations have sold for millions of dollars at auction. His street art is often targeted by thieves and vandals.

Banksy, who has never publicly revealed his identity, is part of a tradition of street artists who viewed the undercover act of posting their art in public as a subversive form of expression.

Race officials announced the change Thursday, and trainer Brad Cox told The Associated Press that Fulleffort will undergo surgery and is expected to recover and return to racing. Cox said an X-ray revealed fluid in the ankle and called it an easy decision because Fulleffort showed some lameness.

“That’s part of the game,” Cox said. “It was a problem that needed to be addressed."

Fullefort’s exit means jockey Tyler Gaffalione will have to wait for another chance to win the race for the first time. Cox went into the week with three Derby horses and is now down to two: Commandment and Further Ado.

"I love 'em," Cox said. “Both had a great morning. I’m excited about Saturday.”

With Fulleffort out, Ocelli draws in off the also-entered list. Trainer Whit Beckman found out after the colt galloped at Churchill Downs around 7:15 a.m.

“I kind of had the expectation all along that if you’re within a couple spots that you have a chance,” Beckman said. “Especially in this day and age, it just seems there’s always a lot of changes from the time we draw to the time we run. We were kind of quietly confident that things would go our way.”

Beckman has been training Ocelli all along as though the colt would be participating in the Derby. Ocelli is coming off a third-place finish in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Race Track on April 4.

“He’s been training great since we got back here from New York after the Wood,” Beckman said. “Around the barn, he’s a very mature, easy-going horse. Sometimes he could be a little quirky on the track, but it seems like we’re getting a little bit close to perfection every time.”

Ocelli follows Great White into the field, who got in Wednesday when Silent Tactic was scratched because of a foot injury. Like Great White's John Ennis, Beckman was unsure if he'd have a horse in the Derby but was unbothered by the situation.

“The certainty of it to me was more stressful because things can only go wrong,” Beckman said. “In this case, when things can only go right and if something did go wrong, well, it didn’t matter: We weren’t in the race anyway. ... Coming in knowing you could — maybe, maybe not — go, you just kind of let the cards fall and let the universe do its thing.”

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AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

Sanford, 65, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he was shuttering his campaign just a month after he launched it, a decision inspired by his desire to focus on combating the national debt and deficit.

“What I hope to do is to indeed build a grassroots organization — start small, but I have a fair size circle of friends and folks with whom I have some degree of influence and contacts,” Sanford told the AP, also noting that, with his first grandchild on the way, he realized as he mounted this campaign that he wanted to be able to spend more time with his family.

The pivot comes after Sanford mounted a bid to reclaim his former seat in South Carolina's 1st District. He entered a primary on the last day of candidate filing, when the race already was chock full of other Republican candidates, many of whom had spent months laying the groundwork for their campaigns.

That territory was familiar to Sanford. An outsider with almost no name recognition when he launched his first congressional campaign for the 1994 contest, the real estate investor finished second in the GOP primary before winning the runoff. He served for six years before his outside run at governor, again pushing his way through a crowded primary, then knocking off the last Democrat to hold the office.

Sanford’s eight years as governor were overshadowed by the Appalachian Trail, which became shorthand for his disappearance to go to Argentina to see his lover. Sanford’s wife, family and staff didn’t know where he was.

Beating back both an impeachment inquiry and calls to resign, Sanford held fast, leaving office on his own terms. His wife at the time, Jenny Sanford, moved out of the governor’s mansion in Columbia, relocated with their four sons into the family’s beachfront home near Charleston and later sued him for divorce.

In a 2013 special election, Sanford won back his old congressional seat, beating 15 other candidates in a primary and runoff. He won two more full terms before falling in 2018 to a GOP challenger who had President Donald Trump’s backing.

A year after his primary loss, Sanford reemerged again, launching a long-shot primary challenge to Trump and offering his determination to bring fiscal restraint into the national conversation as a counterpoint to what he described as Trump’s incendiary rhetoric. Just ahead of the New Hampshire primary, Sanford dropped out of the contest.

Sanford, who had appeared at county GOP meetings and candidate forums, said he had been getting "a warm reception” on his recent campaign. But with the experience of knowing that in Congress he wouldn't be able to singularly focus on debt-related issues, he said he felt he would have more impact from the outside.

“There are no guarantees with life, but I think that this has a better chance of elevating that issue, if I worked earnestly on it, than I was going to with the course that I was on with the campaign," Sanford said.

In setting up the new organization, which he said would be centered in South Carolina, Sanford will be able to utilize the more than $1.3 million that had remained in his federal account since he left Congress in 2019. Depleting those resources, Sanford said, is a signal he’s moving away from running for office himself.

But is he done with politics forever? Maybe — and maybe not.

“Look, if there’s ever a guy who would say, ‘Never say never,’ it’s me,” Sanford said. “But I think, realistically, yeah, and it’s recognition of that being the case."

Sanford's decision was first reported by The Post and Courier of Charleston.

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

An inflation gauge monitored by the Fed rose 0.7% in March from February, up sharply from the previous month, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Compared with a year ago, prices rose 3.5%, the biggest increase in almost three years.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core inflation rose 0.3% in March from February, and it was 3.2% higher than a year earlier. The annual figure is above February’s reading of 3%.

The jump in gas prices has pushed inflation further away from the Fed’s 2% target. Outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled at a news conference Wednesday that the central bank would likely be on hold for months as it evaluates the impact of the Iran war. The Fed has kept its key short-term interest rate unchanged after cutting it three times last year. The central bank typically keeps rates elevated — or even raises them — to combat higher inflation.

At the same time, Thursday's report showed that Americans' incomes — wages, business income, and government benefits — increased 0.6%, a solid increase but slower than the rate of inflation, for the second straight month.

The decline illustrates the other risk created by higher gas prices: The extra costs will likely siphon away spending that would have gone to other products and services, potentially slowing the economy. For now, consumers have been bolstered by healthy tax refunds, which were lifted by last year's tax cut legislation, but much of that benefit is being eaten up by higher prices at the pump.

“A year that was set to benefit from tail winds associated with a large tax cut and boom in artificial intelligence-led investment has been partially derailed by the impact of what as of today is an adverse and growing supply shock caused by the war in Iran,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, a tax and advisory firm. “Unfortunately, war and the supply shock that ensued has altered the probable growth path this year.”

Brusuelas now expects the economy to expand just 1.7% this year, down from an earlier estimate of 2.4%.

Gas prices jumped nearly 21% in March from the previous month, the report said, while grocery prices actually slipped 0.1%. Clothing costs climbed 1% just in March.

The average price of gas nationwide rose to $4.30 a gallon Thursday, according to AAA, up from $2.98 before the war began. U.S. oil prices cooled a bit Thursday morning but still topped $105 a barrel, up from about $67 before the war.

Still, the Fed typically pays more attention to core prices, and how much higher energy costs feed through to core inflation in the coming months will be a major factor in how the central bank decides on its next moves.

“We’re very well aware that people are experiencing higher gas prices all over the country now,” Powell said Wednesday. “And that hurts.”

Thursday’s report also showed that consumer spending soared 0.9% last month, with most of the increase reflecting the sharp jump in prices. But it also indicates Americans lifted their spending a bit even after adjusting for inflation, a sign of consumer resilience.

The economy expanded at a modest 2% annual rate in the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department also said Thursday, up from an expansion of just 0.5% in last year’s final quarter, when growth was held back by the six-week government shutdown. Still, consumer spending growth slowed compared with the final three months of last year.

“Every time I get a paycheck, it’s all already spoken for,” said Jones, a 21-year-old who works at a deli and a nonprofit in Springfield, Massachusetts. Being a homeowner is one of Jones’ dreams, and his inability to save for it frustrates him.

Currently, 65% of working-age renters can’t cover their monthly expenses after paying for housing, according to an analysis from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Nearly half of all renters were cost-burdened by rent in 2024, that means they spent more than a third of their income on housing and utilities, which is based on data from the most recent census.

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EDITORS’ NOTE: The Money Happens series explores challenges and anxieties around money and offers helpful tips for dealing with them. Each episode features a case of an individual experiencing a challenging financial problem, whether it’s student loan or credit card debt, and an expert who can help provide strategies for working through these issues. You can listen to all of the episodes here.

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Anxiety about the possibility of never being able to own a house can make some people give up on organizing their finances altogether, said John Hankins, a certified financial therapist.

Sometimes "anxiety becomes kind of a self-perpetuating cycle,” he said.

If you hope to buy a house in the future but don’t know where to start, here are some expert tips for you:

1. Feel comfortable facing your finances

Getting a handle on your finances is the first step towards planning and achieving a financial goal. If you’re looking to buy a home in the future but that goal feels unattainable, start by figuring out how much money you’re bringing in, how much you’re spending, and where you can cut back to start saving.

For Jones, the anxiety of possibly being evicted from his current apartment because he lives paycheck to paycheck has been a barrier to making future plans for homeownership.

“I’d want to come back to this anxiety, this sadness that stopping him from getting his arms around his finances,” Hankins said.

Don’t let your anxieties stop you from facing your finances. The longer you avoid solving a financial worry, the longer it will take to solve it down the road.

2. Avoid debt if you can, but build a credit history

After watching his parents get into large amounts of debt and have to deal with the consequences, Jones has avoided any type of debt, including student loans and credit cards. But he needs to build a credit history to buy a home in the future.

Learning to find a middle ground between building credit and falling into credit card debt is key, Hankins said.

“Once you have a credit card, it’s a dangerous thing," he said. "So let’s be really understanding how you’re going to manage this so that it doesn’t get out of control."

3. Don’t compare yourself to others

Jones often compares his journey to his parents'. They became homeowners in their mid-twenties while working in the restaurant industry. But that type of comparison isn't helpful, Hankins said.

“It’s not a reflection on you that you haven’t been able to achieve what your parents achieved," Hankins said. “They were operating under a whole different set of rules."

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The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

Former Florida walk-on Olivier Rioux, a 7-foot-9 center from Canada and one of the most recognizable student-athletes in North America, announced Thursday he has signed with UC Irvine. The school in Southern California announced his arrival hours earlier.

“Olivier is a high-character young man whose presence will elevate our team, our university, and our community," UC Irvine coach Russell Turner said in a statement. "He embodies the values that have defined our success at UC Irvine.

"We’ve built a strong relationship with Olivier and his family over the years, dating back to his high school recruitment, and that familiarity gives us tremendous belief in who he is both on and off the court. Olivier’s unique skill set and physical presence align perfectly with the tradition of dominant front court players in our program. We believe he will have an immediate impact and continue to grow within our system, and we are thrilled to have him join the Anteater family.”

Rioux played sparingly in two years with the Gators, redshirting as a true freshman during the team’s national championship season and then getting on the court in mop-up duty this past season. He played 15 total minutes, finishing with seven points, six rebounds and an assist.

He set a Guinness World Record as the world’s tallest teen before he stepped foot on campus. Now 20, he’s looking for a chance to play more as a third-year sophomore.

Rioux became the tallest person to ever play college basketball when he made his debut in a 104-64 victory over North Florida last November. He scored three games later, making a free throw after getting fouled. He also recorded his first rebound.

Rioux is 2 inches (5 centimeters) taller than former NBA giants Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol, and 3 inches taller than popular big men Yao Ming, Tacko Fall and Shawn Bradley.

Florida coach Todd Golden gave Rioux the option of playing sparingly as a true freshman or taking a redshirt season and working on his game. Rioux chose the latter. Nonetheless, he was a walking viral video, from riding his custom-made bike on campus, to ducking under every doorway, to cutting down nets while standing flat-footed during Florida’s NCAA Tournament run.

Golden made it clear before last season that Rioux would only play late in blowouts, the result of having all four frontcourt players returning. But Rioux doubled down on wanting to be at Florida and welcomed the challenge of playing against Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu and Micah Handlogten in practice and behind them in games.

Now he will try to get on the court more often in Southern California.

UC Irvine won the Big West regular-season title last season but lost in the conference tournament and ended up in the NIT.

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She has undergone eight surgeries after suffering a complex left leg fracture — one that nearly led to a leg amputation — in the women’s downhill skiing race on Feb. 8. She needs at least one more to repair a torn ACL in that same knee.

So if the 41-year-old races again — and she’s not ready to make that decision — a return is at least a year and a half away, Vonn told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday.

“I just don’t want to jump to any conclusions or even speculate on what I might do,” Vonn said. “I may retire. I may never race again and that would be completely fine, but I’m not in a position emotionally to make that decision at this point.”

A return to retirement was an option after a comeback season

Vonn thinks she would have returned to retirement had she been able to complete a comeback season that rivaled one of the best of her career. She ended a six-year absence from the sport largely to race at Cortina, Italy, one of her favorite courses, and the venue for the Milan Cortina Games.

The winner of three Olympic medals, including a downhill gold in 2010, crashed just 13 seconds into the race and suffered a complex tibia fracture, shocking a star-studded crowd and ending a season in which she led the World Cup downhill standings and hadn’t finished worse than fourth in any race.

She’s returned from an assortment of injuries before — she has a titanium implant in her right knee — but this one was different. The pain was different. The eight surgeries are just one shy of the total she had for all the others combined.

“It’s a much different injury in that way, again, like the severity of the injury and understanding that I could have lost my leg and how bad things were,” Vonn said. “I can deal with a lot of pain, but this was so extreme. It’s not even been in the universe of pain with this injury as what I’ve had before.”

Vonn is making progress in and out of the gym, though not as quickly as she would like. She has moved beyond a wheelchair and now is on crutches — she is weary of both — and next week will be able to begin walking short distances.

‘Tell me I can’t and I'll prove you wrong'

She is able to travel again, making a trip to New York this week to discuss her support for the biopharmaceutical company Invivyd's “Antibodies for Any Body” campaign, and she has an upcoming vacation planned.

Beyond that, the future is hard to see.

Vonn said she hasn't spoken to her doctor about what a return to skiing would look like, saying they both prefer to focus on this phase of her recovery.

“Regardless, nothing would really happen until '27-28 because I still have one more surgery left to take out the metal and to replace my ACL. That still needs to happen,” Vonn said. “Once I get my ACL fixed, then that’s another six months, so I have at least I would say a year and a half ahead of me before I could really be back to 100%, even just training in the gym.”

Vonn knows there could be risks in a return, and family members don't want her to take them. It was only a day after her crash, when she was still in the hospital, that her father said her career would be over if it were up to him. Said Vonn: “He means the best. He forgot the cardinal rule with me is that if you don’t want me to do something, you shouldn’t tell me I can’t. Tell me I can’t and I’ll prove you wrong.”

A risk Vonn has ‘always taken happily,’ but she doesn't ‘want a do-over’

Vonn has never shied from taking chances — she raced in the Olympics a little more than a week after tearing her ACL — no matter how they turned out.

“Downhill skiing is one of the most dangerous sports in the world, and that’s a risk that I’ve always taken happily, and this is the result, and I don’t regret it,” said Vonn, who noted she had done all she could to be fully prepped for the race. “I don’t want a do-over.”

But she will at some point decide if she wants to race again.

For now, Vonn said she's focused simply on getting her leg healthy. Only after that's done can she start thinking about a career that may or may not be over.

“I’m still, like I said, in survival mode that I just want to get through this phase and be able to assess where I am in my life,” said Vonn, whose 84 World Cup wins are second-most among women, trailing only teammate Mikaela Shiffrin (110). "And take count of what I’ve done and take count of what could be and make decisions in a much better place than where I am now.

“I don’t want to make a decision now because I think that would be rash and probably too emotional and I don’t want to make a mistake, you know?”

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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Denver contributed to this report.

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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Man arrested for operating meth lab on Michigan State University’s campus

A meth lab was discovered in a Michigan State University academic building.

On Monday, April 27, Wells Hall was evacuated for a chemical leak. Police then found Xin Tong, 31, with substances used to make meth.

Read more here.

Man charged after $2K Meijer shoplifting incident turns into police pursuit in Clinton Township

Jaelon Jones, 25, of Clinton Township, has been arraigned on multiple felony charges after officials say a shoplifting incident at a Meijer escalated into a police chase and crash.

Peter J. Lucido said 25-year-old Jaelon Jones was arraigned Wednesday in 41B District Court on charges including third-degree fleeing and eluding a police officer and first-degree retail fraud.

Read more here.

Michigan assisted living facility administrator bound over in resident’s death after missed insulin

An administrator at an adult assisted living facility in Michigan has been bound over on charges, including involuntary manslaughter, in connection with a resident’s death, officials said.

Kristi Tucker-Fleischfresser, 40, was bound over on one count of involuntary manslaughter, a 15-year felony, and one count of obstructing an investigation, a 2-year misdemeanor, according to a release from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office.

Read more here.

Swim school in Oakland County sued after doctor put hidden camera in changing room

A swim school in Oakland County is facing a lawsuit after a doctor placed a hidden camera in the changing room and secretly recorded people, including children.

According to the lawsuit filed on April 29, a woman went to Goldfish Swim School’s Rochester location in July 2023, where she was recorded nude without her consent while she was changing in the changing room.

Read more here.

Weather: Rain chances, frost conditions possible in Metro Detroit

Waking up to scattered sprinkles. It will be cool again today with highs in the low 50s. There is a slight chance for isolated showers this evening and again tomorrow. There will also be the potential for some wet snowflakes or graupel to mix in. Lows tonight fall into the mid to upper 30s.

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Seafra Kent was charged on April 29 with six counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, four counts of child sexually abusive activity, two counts of aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material and two counts of using a computer to commit a crime.

Northfield Township police received a complaint in December 2025 that Kent was allegedly having inappropriate conversations with young girls.

After further investigation, police executed a search warrant at a Northfield Township home on April 27, where Kent was arrested and taken to the Washtenaw County Jail.

Kent was arraigned on Wednesday and was given a $10 million bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on May 7 for a probable cause conference.

The investigation is ongoing.