The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail earlier this month from Barcelona. 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.

According to the ships’ tracker published on the activist group’s website, 22 vessels were intercepted in international waters west of the southern Greek island of Crete, while a further 36 were still sailing midday on Thursday.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a post on X that it was taking about 175 activists from more than 20 boats participating in the flotilla to Israel.

“Israel’s actions … mark a dangerous and unprecedented escalation, the abduction of civilians in the middle of the Mediterranean, over 600 miles from Gaza, in full view of the world,” the group said in a press release. The distance is more than 1,000 kilometers from Gaza.

On Thursday, Turkey’s foreign ministry condemned the seizure as “an act of piracy.”

“By targeting the Global Sumud Flotilla, whose mission is to draw attention to the humanitarian catastrophe faced by the innocent people of Gaza, Israel has also violated humanitarian principles and international law,” the ministry said in a statement.

Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli wrote on X that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had discussed the raid over the phone with his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares Bueno.

Spain’s ministry of foreign affairs 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.

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.”

Activists in Greece said they planned a protest rally Thursday afternoon outside the Greek foreign ministry in Athens, saying Israel's interception of the boats occurred within the maritime zone that falls under Greece's responsibility for search and rescue operations and that the country's coast guard had not reacted.

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. But despite the ceasefire, Israeli attacks have killed more than 790 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants.

Overall, the health ministry says 72,300 Palestinians had been killed since the war in Gaza began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on Oct. 7, 2023.

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.

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Natalie Melzer in Mitzpe Hila, Israel, Cinar Kiper in Istanbul and Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed to this report.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said "an attack on our Jewish community is an attack on all of us" after two Jewish men, aged 34 and 76, were stabbed and seriously injured 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 a government 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.

Police have arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder and labeled the stabbing attack as an act of terrorism. 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” and may have been involved in an “altercation” in another area of London hours before the Golders Green attack, the force said.

In 2020 he was referred to the government’s Prevent program, which tries to steer individuals away from extremism. The police force said his file was closed later the same year, and did not 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.

Last October, an attacker drove his car into people gathered outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur and fatally stabbed one person. Another person 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 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 probe 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 authorities were investigating whether that claim is credible or “opportunistic.”

Security experts have warned that the name may be a flag of convenience rather than a coherent group, and its claims should be treated with caution.

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.

Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley said Wednesday: “Whilst I can’t comment on live investigations, we know that some individuals are being encouraged, persuaded or paid to commit acts of violence on behalf of foreign organizations and hostile states.”

Government under pressure to tackle antisemitism

Starmer pledged Thursday that the attacks would bring a “swift and visible” criminal justice response. Mahmood said she is 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.

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 former reviewer of terrorism legislation, called for pro-Palestinian marches to be temporarily banned, saying they had helped “incubate” antisemitism.

Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch backed calls for a ban, saying the marches “are used as a cover for violence and intimidation against Jews.”

The government has not backed a ban but said it would bring in legislation to prosecute “individuals and groups acting on behalf of state-sponsored organizations.”

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 move now thrusts political newcomer Graham Platner 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 instead promised to keep defending the Constitution and democracy while she's governor for the remainder of her term.

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.

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.

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.

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 the oyster farmer's comments about his old social media posts that were dismissive of sexual assault. Among the comments, 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 resumption of a 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.

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, was scheduled to depart from Miami at 10:16 a.m. EDT (1416 GMT) and arrive 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

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 a gallon of gas nationwide rose to $4.22 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.

___

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.

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei maintained his defiant tone since taking over following the killing of his father in the war's opening airstrikes. In a written statement read by a state television anchor, Khamenei — who has not been seen in public since becoming supreme leader — 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.

His remarks come as Iran's oil industry is being squeezed by a U.S. Navy blockade halting its oil tankers from getting out to sea. But 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 on Thursday floated a new plan to reopen 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.

Ceasefire shaken as strait remains shut

With a fragile ceasefire in place, the U.S. and Iran are locked in a standoff over the strait. 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.

The strait’s closure is also problem for the U.S.'s Gulf allies, which use the waterway to export their oil and gas.

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 long has 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 was 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.

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Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Washington, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

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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The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and inched closer to its all-time high set earlier this week, as companies continue to deliver stronger profits for the start of 2026 than analysts expected despite high oil prices and uncertainty about the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 342 points, or 0.7%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.

Alphabet helped lead the way and rose 6.7% after the owner of Google and YouTube reported profit for the latest quarter that almost doubled analysts’ expectations. Amazon added 1% after likewise blowing past analysts’ expectations for earnings.

Those gains came after manic swings in the oil market, where prices surged overnight on worries that the Iran war will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and tankers carrying crude pent up in the Persian Gulf and away from customers worldwide.

Traders are always 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, the international standard, the price got as high as $114.70 for a barrel of Brent to be delivered in July. It then regressed to $108.64, down 1.6%.

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

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

That easing, along with the continuing flood of better-than-expected profit reports from U.S. companies, helped Wall Street to rise. Caterpillar, Eli Lilly and O’Reilly Automotive and Royal Caribbean all rallied more than 5% after delivering profits for the latest quarter that topped analysts’ expectations.

That’s crucial for investors 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 10.1% even though the company behind Facebook and Instagram made more profit last quarter than expected. Investors focused more on Meta’s increased forecast for how much it will spend on data centers and other investments this year as it builds out its artificial-intelligence capabilities, up to a range of $125 billion to $145 billion.

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

Microsoft fell 2.8% after it likewise raised its forecast for investments and other capital spending, while also highlighting some potentially discouraging trends for business related to personal computers. But analysts also said accelerating trends at its Azure business were encouraging.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after oil prices gave up their big overnight gains. Reports also suggested that U.S. economic 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.

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

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

London’s FTSE 100 jumped 1.5% after the Bank of England kept its main interest rate on hold. The decision was widely expected and echoes the decisions of the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday and the Bank of Japan on Tuesday to keep rates unchanged.

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.

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.

U.S. jobless aid applications for the week ending April 25 fell by 26,000 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.

According to High Frequency Economics, this week’s number for new jobless aid applications was the fewest since September of 1969.

“There is nothing to worry about in this report. YET!,” HFE’s Chief Economist Carl Weinberg wrote in a note to clients. “At some point, elevated energy costs and prices for materials will cause firms to lay off marginal workers to protect profit margins.”

Despite dwindling layoffs shown in government data, the Iran war, now in its ninth week, has injected a large degree of uncertainty about how it will affect the U.S. and global economies even as Iran and the U.S. remain under a ceasefire agreement.

U.S. financial markets have rebounded near record levels and prices for a barrel of U.S. crude oil remain elevated around $104 per barrel. That’s better than the $112 earlier this month, but still 50% higher than before the war began. Gas prices also much higher since the war began — AAA says the national average Thursday was at $4.30 a gallon —- saddling businesses and consumers with higher costs.

Also Thursday, the government reported that a key inflation measure jumped in March as gas prices soared, the latest sign that the Iran war is driving the cost of living sharply higher.

An inflation gauge monitored by the Federal Reserve rose 0.7% in March from February, up sharply from the previous month, the Commerce Department said. 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 also rose.

This comes at a time when U.S. inflation was already above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. On Wednesday, the Fed opted to leave its benchmark rate where it was, citing economic uncertainty caused by instability in the Middle East and persistently high inflation.

Lower interest rates can boost the economy and hiring, but also tend to fuel inflation. Fed officials voted to cut rates three times to close 2025 out of concern for a weakening job market.

More government data released Thursday showed that the U.S. economy expanded at a modest 2% pace from January through March. That’s up from a lackluster 0.5% expansion the last three months of 2025, hampered by the 43-day government shutdown.

The Labor Department reported earlier this month that U.S. employers added an unexpectedly strong 178,000 new jobs in March, nudging the unemployment rate back down to 4.3%. That followed a surprisingly large loss of 92,000 jobs in February. Revisions also have trimmed 69,000 jobs from December and January payrolls, a sign that the labor market remains under strain.

A number of high-profile companies have cut jobs recently, including Morgan Stanley,Block, UPS, Amazon and several other tech companies.

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

Employers added fewer than 200,000 jobs last year, compared with about 1.5 million in 2024, according to the data firm FactSet.

The American labor market appears stuck in what economists call a “low-hire, low-fire” state that has kept the unemployment rate historically low, but has left those out of work struggling to find a new job. The recent artificial intelligence boom and the investment required to develop it is also making companies reluctant to hire.

The Labor Department’s report Thursday showed that 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.

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

Race officials announced the change Thursday. Ocelli draws in off the also-entered list.

Trainer Brad Cox went into the Derby with three horses and is now down to two: Commandment and Further Ado. Fullefort's exit means jockey Tyler Gaffalione will have to wait for another chance to win the race for the first time.

Ocelli trainer Whit Beckman said he found out after the colt galloped at Churchill Downs around 7:15 a.m. Beckman figured there was a good chance Ocelli would get in, given the likelihood of defections during Derby week, and has been training him all along as if he were running.

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

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. Spending on goods, including food and clothing fell slightly. Spending on services slowed.

But business investment, likely driven by spending in artificial intelligence, rose at an 8.7% pace. A weak housing market continues to weigh on the economy. Residential investment fell at an 8% annual pace — the fifth straight quarterly drop and the biggest since the end of 2022. Excluding housing, nonresidential investment surged 10.4%, biggest jump in nearly three years.

An uptick in imports, which rose at an annual rate of 21.4% from January-March, slashed more than 2.6 percentage points off first-quarter growth.

“This is a split-screen economy,” Heather Long, chief economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote. “Companies and investors involved in AI are on fire. Meanwhile, middle and moderate income households are struggling with high gas prices ... Consumption is slowing as people are struggling to manage all their bills and growing more concerned about the future.’’

Still, a category within the GDP data that measures the economy’s underlying strength grew at a solid 2.5% clip, accelerating from 1.8% in fourth-quarter 2025. This category includes consumer spending and private investment, but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending.

The first quarter included about a month of the clash in Iran. 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. The Federal Reserve, announcing Wednesday that it was keeping its benchmark interest unchanged, cited “a high level of uncertainty″ arising from the conflict.

Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, did not even bother to forecast first-quarter GDP growth. “The truth is that we do not have any defensible basis for trying to project how these indicators will print,” Weinberg wrote in a commentary Monday. President Donald “Trump’s war with Iran has led to a total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. We do not know how to model the impact of that event, as we have never seen anything quite like it.″

Thursday’s report was the first of three Commerce Department estimates.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the Public Investment Fund governor who was behind the creation of LIV Golf, is no longer listed as chairman of LIV Golf.

LIV announced 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 when Saudi funding ends after this season.

LIV said it was seeking to move toward an investment model involving multiple partners and team franchises. The league has said it expects 10 of its 13 teams to be profitable this year.

“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.”

Sports Business Journal reported Wednesday night Al-Rumayyan has resigned as LIV chairman. There has been no official announcement from PIF on Al-Rumayyan or LIV Golf funding.

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. With financial muscle from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, LIV was able to spend $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.

The newsletter Money in Sport reported earlier this year that LIV Golf already had spent $5.3 billion since the league launched in 2022, a figure that would be $6 billion by the end of this year.

LIV staff and players have been aware Saudi funding was only through the 2026 season. Thursday's announcement was to outline plans to seek other sources of funding for a league that currently offers $30 million prize funds at each tournament.

Al-Rumayyan is passionate about golf and long wanted a seat at the table with the sport’s leadership. He signed a framework agreement in 2023 with the PGA Tour and European tour and 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.

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 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.”

LIV Golf earlier this week said it was postponing its June 25-28 event in Louisiana to the fall. The next event is scheduled for May 7-10 in northern Virginia, and O’Neil had said in a memo to staff two weeks ago the season would be uninterrupted and “full throttle.”

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.

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 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.”

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

“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 to CNN to MS NOW, from Reuters to German news agency dpa to 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.

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.”

And while many feel new startups might belong in San Francisco or New York, that’s changing. Digital tools are making it possible to launch and run a business from anywhere, and many are looking at places like Michigan.

In Michigan, there are nearly 1 million small businesses that employ nearly 2 million Michiganders.

Recently, the state wrapped up Pitch MI, a startup pitch competition that awards $1 million to a startup focused on making digital ads for video games.

So you might be thinking, “What does it take to get started?”

Alison Todak, the vice president of entrepreneurship and innovation at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, joined Local 4 Live to explain more.

You can watch the full interview in the video at the beginning of this article.

These drones — used widely in the war in Ukraine — are small, hard to track and lethal. Drones injured at least a dozen soldiers in northern Israel on Thursday, two seriously, and the Israeli military said it had attempted to intercept multiple drones. In the past week, Hezbollah drones killed an Israeli soldier and defense contractor operating in southern Lebanon.

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, for example, GPS signals or radio control. They have a thin cable that connects an operator 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 — has mostly 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.

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.

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.

Stories of note

— NBA moves closer to lottery changes

— Jones enters guilty plea in gambling case

— Edwards (knee) officially week to week

— NBA going through bids from Europe

— Pat Riley says Heat will be ‘aggressive’

— Some news, notes going into the postseason

— Heat equipment manager needs transplants

Awards watch

DeAndre Jordan of the New Orleans Pelicans is an Olympic gold medalist, an NBA champion — and now, the best teammate in the NBA, too. Jordan was announced Wednesday as the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year, as selected by players around the league.

It was an extremely close vote, with three-time winner Jrue Holiday of Portland finishing second and Jeff Green of Houston finishing third.

On Thursday, the NBA will announce this season's Hustle Award winner.

A breakdown on the awards handed out to this point:

— San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama became the youngest Defensive Player of the Year, and the first to win the award in a unanimous vote.

— Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nearly became the first unanimous winner of the Clutch Player of the Year award. He got 96 of a possible 100 first-place votes.

— San Antonio's Keldon Johnson topped Miami's Jaime Jaquez Jr. for Sixth Man of the Year, getting 63 first-place votes.

— Boston's Derrick White was revealed as the Sportsmanship Award winner, as selected by the league's players. Indiana's TJ McConnell — who got more first-place votes than anyone else — was second.

— Atlanta now has back-to-back Most Improved Player winners, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker taking that trophy this year. Dyson Daniels won for the Hawks last year.

— Dallas' Cooper Flagg edged fellow former Duke player Kon Knueppel of Charlotte for Rookie of the Year.

— Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics won the NBA’s Executive of the Year award, his second time receiving that honor in the last three seasons.

Among the announcements still to be scheduled:

— Most Valuable Player, which will be either Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama or Denver's Nikola Jokic.

— Coach of the Year, which will be either 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 Eastern Conference first-round series.

It was just the second time in NBA history that opposing players scored 45 points in the same playoff game. The other was Aug. 23, 2020, in the bubble near Orlando, when Utah's Donovan Mitchell scored 51 and Denver's Jamal Murray scored 50. The Jazz won 129-127.

Betting odds

The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder (-130) are favorites to win the NBA title, according to oddsmakers.

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, even with a 3-2 series lead on Detroit, is at +40000. Minnesota, even with a 3-2 series lead on Denver, is also at +40000 after injuries to Donte DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards.

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

This is the problem they are solving: when someone is arrested for domestic violence and released on bond, that window right after they’re released can be dangerous for survivors. They call, text, and show up at their home.

Under the old system, it was up to the victim to report that, show up to court and relive everything. But in Warren, that’s now different.

In October, Warren passed an ordinance making it a misdemeanor to violate a no-contact order, up to 90 days in jail, and a $500 fine. And the big one -- the court can now move forward without the victim ever having to set foot in a courtroom. No reliving the trauma, no facing the person who hurt them.

Six months into the ordinance, 27 charges have already been authorized, and other cities are now calling Warren, trying to figure out how they did it.

Warren Police Commissioner Eric Hawkins, Detective Sergeant James Twardesky with Warren police, and Christina Boyland with Turning Point, an organization dedicated to providing free and confidential services to survivors of domestic violence, joined Local 4 Live to talk more about the ordinance.

You can watch the full interview in the video at the beginning of this article.

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 Millie 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 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 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?’”

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.

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. 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. Walmart is considering adding experts in electronics, for example, according to Whitney Hunt, vice president of Walmart's U.S. operations.

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 sales targets they should meet, 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.'”

Nicky Jackson Colaco, Roblox’s vice president and global head of public policy, announced the changes in a press conference in Jakarta, describing them among the strictest that the company has implemented anywhere in the world.

She said the company has introduced tailored, age-based accounts in Indonesia: Roblox Kids for ages 5 to 12 with no chat features and Roblox Select for ages 13 to 15, with chat features limited to parents or approved family and friends.

The rollout involves automatically transitioning the 23 million accounts that identified as belonging to users under 16 by implementing age verification through facial scanning.

“Any user in Indonesia who has not used that tool, who has no facial age estimated, will be automatically placed in a Roblox Kids account and will not have access to chat," the Roblox executive said.

The age verification tool requires players to take a video selfie that will be used to estimate their age. Jackson Colaco said the date would be immediately deleted. “We don't keep anything,” she said.

The number of Roblox users in Indonesia has reached approximately 45 million, with about 23 million of them being children, said Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid.

Roblox was the only gaming platform classified as high-risk by the Indonesian government, and its access restrictions for children differ from those of other social media platforms.

In addition to account categories and interactions based on age, the interactive gaming platform will also categorize the types of games played by age. The government regulations have prompted Roblox to limit usage time in the hope of reducing children’s addiction to the platform.

“To address concerns about addiction, screen time limits are now in place. Parents can set specific times or hours for their children to play games,” Hafid said.

Indonesia began implementing a new government regulation at the end of March banning children younger than 16 from accessing digital platforms that could expose them to addiction, pornography, online scams and cyberbullying.

Seven of the eight platforms classified as high-risk, including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, have committed to restricting children’s access to their services.

In addition to restricting access based on age, Indonesia is urging social media companies and digital platforms to report the number of accounts that have been suspended as part of the implementation of government regulations restricting access for children.

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 oft 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 evident 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.

The U.S. Surface Transportation Board rejected Union Pacific's initial application 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.

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.

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.

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.

But 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. The coalition also includes trade groups for chemical and agricultural shippers and the unions that represent engineers and track maintenance workers.

“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.

If the STB accepts this new application, regulators will likely spend more than a year analyzing every aspect of the deal.

.

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:

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.”

▶ Read more

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.

▶ Read more

Powell plans to remain on Fed board, cites legal actions by Trump administration

Jerome Powell said Wednesday he plans to remain on the board of the Federal Reserve after his term as chair ends next month “for a period of time, to be determined,” saying the “unprecedented” legal attacks by the Trump administration have put the independence of the nation’s central bank at risk.

“I worry these attacks are battering this institution and putting at risk the things that really matter to the public,” Powell said in remarks at a press conference after the Fed announced its decision to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged.

Powell’s decision to stay — the first time a Fed chair will remain on the board as a governor since 1948 — denies Trump a chance to fill a seat on the central bank’s seven-member governing board with his own appointee. The Senate Banking Committee earlier approved Powell’s successor as chair, Trump appointee Kevin Warsh, on a party-line vote. Powell will continue as a Fed governor, possibly until January 2028. Warsh, if confirmed, will take a seat currently held by Stephen Miran, a previous Trump appointee, whose term ended in January.

▶ Read more

Hegseth faces a second day of Democrats grilling him over the Iran war

Hegseth will face a second day of grilling from Democrats on Capitol Hill, with senators getting their first opportunity on Thursday to confront or praise the Pentagon chief over his handling of the Iran war.

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.

They are now also likely to face tough questions about American troop levels in Europe after President Donald Trump on Wednesday leveled a new threat against NATO ally Germany, suggesting he could soon reduce the U.S. military presence in the country as he feuds with Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war.

▶ Read more

Attorney Terrel Butler said on Monday (April 13) officials had “no evidence” to hold her client, Brian, 58, and were required to release him.

NBC News said Hooker did not respond to reporters’ questions as he left the central police station in Grand Bahama with Butler, who described him as “very emotional” and in need of time to recover from the experience.

Hooker had been taken into custody on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, days after telling authorities his wife, Lynette Hooker, 55, fell from a dinghy on April 4.

NBC News reported that Brian said Lynette went overboard with the vessel’s key, forcing him to paddle from Elbow Cay to a marina in Marsh Harbour, where he alerted police.

Shanta Knowles, commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, told NBC News that authorities decided to release Hooker after consulting with prosecutors.

Knowles said he remains a suspect as the investigation continues and that officials are still working to locate Lynette.

Butler told NBC News that police did not present any new evidence during a follow-up interview with her client on Monday, which lasted less than an hour.

She described to NBC News that the questioning was largely repetitive of prior interviews.

On April 10, Brian was questioned for more than three hours about his relationship with his wife, and whether he had caused her harm, Butler said, per NBC News.

Lynette’s body has not been recovered, and authorities have not confirmed her death.

Brian has denied any wrongdoing.

Search efforts for Lynette, per NBC News, have continued for more than a week.

Origin Deleveaux of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force told NBC News crews are searching by land, air, and sea, despite challenging weather conditions, including strong winds and rough waters.

Family members have raised questions about Brian’s account.

--> Daughter speaks out as Lenawee County mother goes missing in the Bahamas, father arrested

Lynette’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, has been posting on social media, urging people to help find her mother and sharing a GoFundMe to support the search.

“I’m still in a lot of shock, right now, that this is even a conversation,” Aylesworth said.

Aylesworth said her stepfather told her what happened about 24 hours after her mother disappeared, and she has not spoken with him since.

“He’s the one that told me this happened. I have not talked to him since. I don’t really feel comfortable at the moment until I find out more information on what happened to my mom,” Aylesworth said.

Aylesworth said her mother and stepfather had been together for about 25 years and described the relationship as “rocky at best.”

“There had been problems in their relationship in the past that makes this seem a little too fishy,” Aylesworth said.

Aylesworth also said she is concerned alcohol may have played a role, citing past issues when they drank.

“I just know that they fight more when they drink, that he did something that you can’t undo,” Aylesworth said.

In the GoFundMe description, Aylesworth said any funds would be used to support continued search efforts or to help cover funeral expenses if needed.

She said the U.S. Coast Guard is also involved, and she is trying to travel to the Bahamas to assist.

“We secretly hope that she’s on an island somewhere, just being happy,” Aylesworth said.

Brian’s attorney has said he is cooperating with investigators.

In a statement released to NBC News, Butler said Hooker “categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing,” including allegations raised by Aylesworth.

Aylesworth has said the couple had a history of conflict, particularly when drinking, but noted both were experienced boaters who had spent more than a decade sailing together.

Both Brian and Lynette have had prior legal issues in Michigan.

Court records show Brian Hooker was acquitted of a child abuse charge in 2006. Lynette Hooker was arrested in 2015 on assault-related charges, though a warrant was denied due to insufficient evidence.

In a recorded phone call shared publicly, a man identified as Brian described the night of the incident, saying his wife fell from the dinghy amid strong winds and choppy waters shortly before sunset.

Brian said neither was wearing a life jacket and described the incident as a “cascade of failures.”

Authorities have not confirmed those details and continue to investigate.

After Thursday, April 30, we will have recorded 21 days this April with at least a trace of precipitation.

What may come as a surprise is that this is not one of the rainiest months on record, though.

To crack the top 20 rainiest Aprils in Metro Detroit, we would need a monthly precipitation total of 4.44 inches.

As of April 29, we have recorded 3.35 inches. That is about 0.20 inches above normal and nearly half an inch more than we had at this point last year. We will add to the total on Thursday, but very minimal numbers.

So, overall, we will come up about an inch shy of the top 20 rainiest Aprils.

Hegseth battled with Democrats — and some Republicans — a day earlier during a nearly six-hour House Armed Services Committee hearing, at which 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 Republican 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.

They are now also likely to face tough questions about American troop levels in Europe after President Donald Trump on Wednesday leveled a new threat against NATO ally Germany, suggesting he could soon reduce the U.S. military presence in the country as he feuds with Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war.

If Wednesday is any indication, Republican senators may focus on the details of military budgeting and voice support for the operation in Iran. Democrats are expected to press for answers on strategy in the conflict, now in a tenuous ceasefire, and Hegseth's firing of top military leaders.

Democrats call it a costly war of choice that lacks congressional approval or oversight. But Congress has failed to pass multiple war powers resolutions that would have required lawmakers to approve military action.

Questions that lawmakers have wanted to ask since the war began on Feb. 28 were answered — or evaded — at Wednesday's hearing.

For example, the war has cost $25 billion, mostly in munitions, Pentagon officials said. But Hegseth refused to answer questions about how much longer the war would last or how much more it could cost.

Hegseth also said a deadly strike on an Iranian elementary school that killed more than 165 people, including children, remains under investigation. The Associated Press has reported that growing evidence pointed to U.S. culpability for the strike, which hit a school adjacent to a Revolutionary Guard base.

Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan of New York questioned Hegseth over whether the deaths of six American soldiers by a drone strike in Kuwait could have been prevented. Hegseth didn't answer the question directly but said the military took proactive measures to protect American forces.

In another tense exchange, Hegseth told Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington that Iran’s nuclear facilities were obliterated in U.S. strikes last June. That led Smith to question the Trump administration’s reasoning for starting the war in Iran less than a year later.

“We had to start this war, you just said 60 days ago, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat,” said Smith, the ranking Democrat on the committee. “Now you’re saying that it was completely obliterated?”

Hegseth responded by saying that the Iranians “had not given up their nuclear ambitions” and still had thousands of missiles.

Smith said the war “left us at exactly the same place we were before.”

The defense secretary also faced questions about his decision to oust the Army’s top uniformed officer, Gen. Randy George, one of several top military officers to be dismissed since Trump returned to office.

Hegseth said “new leadership” was needed, a claim that failed to satisfy Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat.

“You have no way of explaining why you fired one of the most decorated and remarkable men,” Houlahan began before Hegseth interrupted her.

“We needed new leadership,” he repeated.

Child Protective Services contacted Fowlerville police on April 27 at around 10:40 a.m. for assistance at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor regarding a 2-month-old baby who was admitted there with life-threatening injuries.

Police said based on preliminary findings, there were indications consistent with child abuse and neglect. Medical personnel also found evidence of prior injuries that appear to be in various stages of healing.

The baby’s parents are minors, police said. Therefore, additional identifying information will not be released due to their age and the sensitivity of the case.

Fowlerville police are waiting for more medical records and expert evaluations before sending the case to the prosecutor’s office for possible charges. No arrests have been made.

The investigation is ongoing.

The tax accountant said he “got the same high” on those platforms that he got from gambling. “That was how I relapsed — with Kalshi and Polymarket. I lost a bunch of money.”

The rapid growth of prediction markets has sparked a high-stakes debate that is playing out in courts and legislatures all over the country. Operators of those companies believe they should be regulated like the stock exchange because of federal law and their customer-to-customer structure, while sportsbooks and state officials think they should be supervised the same way as sports gambling platforms.

While that argument continues with no sign of resolution, the clinicians who treat gambling disorders are more concerned about what they are seeing with their patients. In their spaces, when it comes to sports gambling and prediction markets, the end result is virtually the same.

Two gambling addicts who spoke to The Associated Press — the soccer coach and tax accountant — say they had relapses on prediction markets after they took legal action to protect themselves from the allure of sports betting. They are being identified by their occupations because of the sensitivity of their situations. Their stories reflect what experts say they see with some of their clients.

“There may be real differences in how these products are defined or regulated, but in the therapy room, we are often seeing the same cycle of anticipation, action and reaction play out again and again,” said Dr. Cynthia Grant, the vice president of clinical for Birches Health, which operates a national network of providers for treating gambling addiction.

“I sometimes think of it like different doors into the same room. The label on the door may change, but once someone’s inside, the experience can feel very familiar.”

The road from sportsbooks to prediction markets

Sportsbooks and prediction markets offer a lot of similar options. Wagers on games, individual performances and other possibilities. But the format is different.

Sportsbooks have in-house experts who set odds that dictate payouts for winning bets. It's the house versus the gamblers. Traders on predictions markets swap contracts of yes-or-no questions, and profits and losses are dictated by the market. Win a “yes” holding on an event contract where most of the market guessed “no,” and the payout is bigger. Prediction markets generally make money through fees on contracts.

For addicts, they are two paths to the same result.

The soccer coach who spoke to the AP started gambling when he was 16. Small bets against friends in his New York neighborhood, everything from cards to basketball and tennis. When he turned 18, he started going to casinos and making bets at sportsbooks. Amid mounting losses, he turned to prediction markets.

“I would be in all this debt and get a paycheck for $2,000 on a Friday and it would be gone by Saturday or Sunday,” said the coach, 21. “I wouldn’t have money to fill up my gas tank.”

He was struggling with loans and maxed-out credit cards while working and going to college before he stepped away in January to confront his addiction problems, which also included smoking marijuana.

He joined Gamblers Anonymous, and he was told he had to stop associating with people who gamble.

“For a younger crowd, that’s difficult because it’s everywhere,” the coach said. “My friends from childhood — most of them all gamble."

The coach and the tax accountant had formally self-excluded from sportsbooks before they started trading on prediction markets. Self-exclusion programs provide an opportunity for gamblers to ban themselves from gambling facilities and betting apps. They are offered in many states as part of gambling regulations, but there is no widely adopted national system.

The landscape for self-exclusion programs becomes even more fragmented when predictions markets are included. Kalshi started a voluntary opt-out program when it launched a customer protection hub in March 2025, and it's one of several platforms — including Polymarket — collaborating on a national self-exclusion program for prediction markets. But it's not clear if that program would ever overlap with the systems used by state gambling regulators.

The accountant, 33, said his gambling problems started after New York launched legalized mobile sports betting in January 2022. He had “a boatload of debt” in August 2023 when he told his then-fiancée about what was going on with him.

She married him anyway. Looking to save money after the wedding, they moved into a rental house owned by his parents. He self-excluded from sportsbooks. Then, after the couple lost their first pregnancy, the accountant started day-trading before signing up for Kalshi.

“Prediction markets are the same thing packaged in a different way,” the accountant said. “It’s a dangerous loophole. ... How can you do all that and say you’re not a sportsbook?”

Tennis was his go-to sport — he liked the speed of the matches — before he went to rehab in Virginia last year.

He had a relapse in December when he downloaded Polymarket and made a free $10 wager. He was confronted by his wife, who had his email connected to her phone and reached out to his sponsor.

While there has been no substantive research into the effect of prediction markets on sports gambling addiction, the experiences of the coach and the accountant are not uncommon for treatment experts.

“You’re seeing a lot of the same behaviors, whether it’s a prediction market or it’s gambling,” said Jody Bechtold, the CEO of The Better Institute, a Pennsylvania practice that works with people impacted by gambling disorders. “You’re seeing, you know, wagering more and more. Chasing losses, so ‘Oh, today was a bad day, I have to work tomorrow at the prediction markets to get my money back.’ ... The lies, the secrecy, and that it’s impacting everyday life.”

Kalshi spokeswoman Elisabeth Diana highlighted its programs for responsible trading — such as trading breaks and self-limits — and said it's working on other measures to further facilitate healthy trading behavior.

Compared to casinos, Diana said, Kalshi is “fairer, more transparent, and less predatory.”

"There is no house that wins when customers lose,” she said. "This means that Kalshi doesn’t hook losers and penalize winners.”

A message was left seeking comment from Polymarket.

Event contracts are increasingly popular on prediction markets

Sports have become a major category for prediction markets. Kalshi had more than $2 billion in total trading volume on this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament, according to Diana. Michigan’s 69-63 victory over Connecticut in the championship had $10.6 million in volume on Polymarket.

The U.S. market for sports-focused event contracts could grow to approximately $1.1 trillion in annual volume, according to a Bank of America report.

“A year ago, if you said prediction markets, I mean I don’t know what that is, I don’t see it,” said Dr. Timothy Fong, the co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program. “Now we’re starting to see it more and more in our patients that come into the clinic. And it’s usually not one, it’s multiple platforms they’re betting on, right? ... When you have something that’s available, that’s accessible, that’s anonymous, is super easy to use, multiple times in a day, of course that’s going to raise the risk of addiction for any human on Earth.”

There are multiple ongoing lawsuits involving states and prediction markets, and the ramifications of the legal dispute are being felt on a variety of levels.

Marlene Warner, the CEO of the Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health — a private nonprofit health organization that provides educational programs on gambling along with other services — said the situation with prediction markets “feels a bit like the wild, wild west right now.”

“We’re very used to like going to our state regulator or, you know, seeing a process go through where all of a sudden now you’re like, ‘OK, a piece of legislation has outlined what is appropriate for a licensed sports betting operator to do,’" Warner said. “And then you see the regulation come into place. And so you can track it. But right now, nobody knows kind of what the limits are.”

In most states with legal sports gambling, it is limited to ages 21 and older, while prediction markets are open for 18- to 20-year-olds with some exceptions. Prediction markets also have a presence in states where sports betting is illegal, including Texas and California.

“I don’t know enough frankly, we don’t know enough, nothing’s been studied about them, I can’t tell you whether they’re more less or exactly the same in terms of risk level,” Warner said. “But what I do know is they're in a very gray, unregulated space and that alone makes it difficult.”

Prediction markets fall under the jurisdiction of the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which has a regulation that prohibits an event contract “that involves, relates to, or references terrorism, assassination, war, gaming, or an activity that is unlawful under any state or federal law.”

CFTC chairman Michael Selig is backing prediction markets in their legal proceedings against several states, asserting the commission's “exclusive jurisdiction over these markets.”

While that argument continues, the soccer coach and tax accountant are rebuilding their lives — while doing their best to stay vigilant with their addictions.

“You have to face this stuff or it just keeps getting worse,” the coach said.

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

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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.

Wednesday's decision clears the way for Republican-led states to redraw U.S. House districts without regard to race, potentially creating many more GOP-friendly seats.

Rep. Yvette Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, told reporters that its members and Democrats would fight the effects of the ruling.

“The Supreme Court has opened the door to a coordinated attack on Black voters across the country,” Clarke said. “This is an outright power grab.”

Under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, voters could challenge electoral maps that appeared to dilute the ability of minority communities to elect representatives of their choosing. The expected wave of congressional redistricting by Republican-controlled states after Wednesday's ruling, especially for the 2028 election and beyond, is likely to result in a much smaller Black Caucus.

Changes are coming, but how quickly is unknown

Clarke was joined by over a dozen of the 60 Black Caucus members, including Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Their responses to the court's decision ranged from outrage to defiance to mourning.

It's not clear how many seats will ultimately be affected by the ruling, but redistricting experts predict that more than a dozen now held by minorities could be swept away.

Rep. Troy Carter, one of two Black Democrats from Louisiana, the state at the center of the case, called the ruling “a devastating blow to our democracy, plain and simple.”

Republican leaders in several Southern states already have been discussing how to apply the ruling and create new GOP-friendly congressional maps. In Florida, Republicans wasted no time approving a new U.S. House map, part of which redrew one district created to elect a Black representative.

“I would be surprised if we do not see former slave-holding states moving at lightning speed to target districts that provide Black voters and other voters of color an equal opportunity to elect candidates,” said Kristen Clarke, general counsel for the NAACP and the first Black woman to be assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights division.

It's not clear whether state-level voting laws or constitutional prohibitions against racial discrimination will provide any protection, she added.

Republican officials and Black conservatives praised the decision as a victory against race-based mandates. Linda Lee Tarver, of the Project 21 Black Leadership Network, said in a statement civil rights laws were not intended “to institutionalize racial line-drawing as a default feature of our political system.”

Voting Rights Act expanded Black representation

The Congressional Black Caucus was formed in 1971 as court-ordered redistricting under the Voting Rights Act, passed just six years earlier, sent more minorities to Congress.

The number of Black representatives in Congress jumped from nine to 13. Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, decided to expand the Democracy Select Committee created in the 1960s by Democratic Rep. Charles Diggs into the more formal Congressional Black Caucus.

The CBC raised its profile in its first year when it boycotted President Richard Nixon's State of the Union address after he refused to meet with the group. Nixon eventually acquiesced. The group created a list of over 60 recommendations to help the Black community, including counteracting racism and building adequate housing. It earned the nickname the “conscience of the Congress.”

“That caucus has had such an important voice in American politics — the things that we’ve been able to achieve together, the creation of equity and access," Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia said during a separate news conference Wednesday. “And I’m afraid that with this ruling, we could see that caucus shrink in a hugely significant way.”

What can Black constituents do

The ruling upset Thomas Johnson when he heard about it while visiting Louisiana's Capitol in Baton Rouge. Johnson, who is Black, is from New Orleans and represented by Carter. He fears Republicans could redraw the state’s congressional map in a way that dismantles predominately Black districts.

“I feel like this is an embarrassing attack upon the minorities, particularly the Black community,” Johnson said. “We have very little (voice) in Congress.”

Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist who advises the Black Caucus, said he expects the group will be involved in multiple legal fights for members whose districts will be targeted after the Supreme Court ruling. He also said the ruling makes voter turnout efforts even more important "if we want to change course on some of the things that are likely to happen because of this decision.”

Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama, whose state was at the center of a major Voting Rights Act case decided in favor of Black representation nearly three years ago, agreed that the party now needs to focus on getting voters motivated ahead of this year's midterm elections.

“Now more than ever, we need communities across this nation to mobilize — in state legislatures, in the courts and at the ballot box,” Sewell said. "We need to vote like we’ve never voted before." ___ Associated Press writers Leah Askarinam, Matt Brown and Ali Swenson in Washington and Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, contributed to this report.

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.”

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, 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. 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.

Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 18, was charged April 24 and hasn’t entered a plea, the city-state’s largest English-language newspaper, The Straits Times, said. He allegedly committed the offense at a shopping mall on March 12, and his video spread rapidly when it surfaced, the report said.

The teen was granted court permission Wednesday to travel to Manila from May 2-25 for a school trip required for his graduation, the Straits Times said. He is due back in court on May 29.

Mischief carries a penalty of up to two years in prison or a fine, or both, while public nuisance is less severe with up to three months in prison or a fine, or both.

IJooz, the company operating the juice vending machine, filed a police report, and sanitized the dispenser while replacing all 500 straws in the machine. It said it would upgrade its machines to include measures such as individually packaged straws and straw compartments that unlock only after the transaction is completed.

Lawyers for the teen, who is studying in a French business school in Singapore, declined to comment on the case when contacted.

Singapore, a small, densely populated city-state, tightly regulates public behavior and cleanliness. This includes restrictions like limits on chewing gum and strong penalties for littering and vandalism.

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.

His attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his execution, filing multiple final appeals after lower courts declined to stop the lethal injection.

His lawyers have 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

April Showers

Does it feel like this month has been especially soggy? Well it could be due to the frequency of rainfall.

After today, we will have recorded 21 days this April of at least a trace of precipitation. What may come as a surprise is that this is not one of the rainiest months on record though. To crack the top 20 rainiest Aprils in Metro Detroit, we would need a monthly precipitation total of 4.44 inches. As of yesterday, we have recorded 3.35 inches. That is about .20″ above normal and nearly a half inch more than what we had at this point last year. We will add to the total today, but very minimal numbers. So overall, we will come up about an inch shy of the top 20 rainiest Aprils.

It’s “Gonna Be May”

Friday will be much like today as the stretch of well below average temperatures will persist into this weekend. This will bring potential for frost/freeze conditions each morning Friday through Sunday, so protect your plants.

Temperatures top out in the low 50s again on Friday while the afternoon could bring a few more scattered showers before drier air builds in this weekend.

Warmer Weather Ahead

Seasonal sixties return next week with off-and-on rain chances Monday through Wednesday.

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. Following a series of appeals, he was resentenced to death in 1988, 1993 and 1996.

This would be Florida’s sixth execution so far this year, following a record 19 executions in 2025. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The previous record was set in 2014 with eight executions.

According to court records, Hitchcock was unemployed and had moved into his brother's Orlando home several weeks before the July 31, 1976, killing of Cynthia Driggers, the stepdaughter of Hitchcock's brother. After several hours of drinking beer and smoking marijuana with friends, Hitchcock returned to the family's home, he told police after his arrest. Hitchcock, who was 20 at the time, went to the 13-year-old girl's room and raped her, investigators said.

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

Hitchcock later recanted during trial, testifying that his brother walked into the girl's room shortly after she and Hitchcock finished having consensual sex. Hitchcock said his brother took the girl outside and began beating and choking the girl in a fit of rage, and she was already dead by the time Hitchcock pulled his brother off the girl.

Hitchcock said he had initially taken the blame to protect his brother.

The Florida Supreme Court denied an appeal last week to halt Hitchcock's execution. 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.

A final appeal was still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis. Alabama, South Carolina and Texas tied for second with five executions each.

Also Thursday evening, a man who claims 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 execution is planned in Florida on 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 if a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.

A national study by the Media Insight Project finds 36% of U.S. adults say they get news from social media at least once a day. But for people ages 13 to 17, that number rises to 57%.

Similarly, 43% of adults say they get information on national issues and events from influencers or independent content creators at least “sometimes," compared with 57% of teenagers. The project is a collaboration among The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, the American Press Institute and journalism schools at Northwestern University and the University of Maryland.

The new poll points to the pervasiveness of social media in teenagers’ lives and shows how more teens are consuming their news from these platforms or independent content creators, rather than directly from national or local news sources.

While Americans haven't abandoned traditional journalism, they are reevaluating what sources they trust, said Robyn Tomlin, executive director of the American Press Institute.

“Traditional national and local outlets continue to stand out as a trusted source, but people, especially younger audiences, are also building relationships with younger creators they believe are transparent and authentic,” Tomlin said. “That reality has enormous implications for the future of news.”

More teens turn to social media and search for news

Besides social media, teenagers are also more likely to turn to search engines and artificial intelligence chatbots as they hunt for news.

The survey found that about 4 in 10 teens get news daily from search, while about 2 in 10 say that about AI chatbots.

There's little difference among age groups in people who said they get news from digital sites or apps, and television and streaming, the survey found. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults and a similar share of teenagers are getting news from TV at least once a day, with a similar share tuning into digital news sites.

“The idea that television is going away is a misapprehension,” said Tom Rosenstiel, journalism professor at the University of Maryland who worked on the survey. “Watching news through video is not going away. It's changing. The way you see it on YouTube is different than on the ‘CBS Evening News.’”

Many teens approach AI and influencers with some doubts

Despite the fact that many teenagers are getting news from influencers and AI, many have a healthy dose of skepticism.

Though teens are more likely than adults to say they have “a great deal of confidence” in the information they are getting from AI chatbots, relatively few have high confidence in AI’s output. Just 11% of teenagers have a high level of certainty in the information coming from AI, compared with 4% of adults.

Teens are also more confident in their ability to determine whether something was made by a human or AI. About one-third of teens expressed a high level of confidence in their ability to distinguish AI-generated content from human-generated content, compared with about 2 in 10 adults.

When it comes to influencers, there are similar doubts. Only 12% of teenagers also have “a great deal of confidence” in the information they get from independent creators or influencers, whether that’s coming from TV, social media or other sources. That’s higher than the 6% of U.S. adults who say the same, but still very low.

Teens are more engaged with celebrity and gaming news

Not surprisingly, the survey also found that teenagers are more interested in news about celebrities, music, movies, sports and other entertainment. Adults have more interest in political news, business issues or the economy.

For teenagers and adults alike, there’s a significant news fatigue, particularly around political news, Rosenstiel said. Most U.S. adults and teenagers say they “often” or “sometimes” try to avoid news stories about national government and politics, and about 6 in 10 say they try to sidestep news related to President Donald Trump.

“People are tired of the feeling that things are spinning out of control that they’re very judicious in what they’re spending their time on,” Rosenstiel said.

Rosenstiel said many teens also hunt for news and information in different ways. They are much less likely than adults to say they avoid celebrity news or news that is delivered via social media. It’s possible, Rosenstiel added, that the most important journalism for some people is what helps them live their lives, even if it falls outside conventional news sources.

“Part of the problem for traditional journalism," Rosenstiel said, “is the traditional journalism definition of what is real news.”

___

Sanders reported from Washington. David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.

___

The Media Insight Project survey is an initiative of the American Press Institute, Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, Local News Network at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The poll of 2,101 Americans included 1,092 U.S. adults ages 18 or older and 1,009 teenagers ages 13 to 17. The poll of adults was conducted Feb. 5-8 and the poll of teens was conducted Feb. 2-16 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points, and the margin of sampling error for teenagers overall is plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

Experts warn that this surge is approaching new records for 2026.

Cheapest gas in Metro Detroit

Here’s where to get the cheapest gas in Metro Detroit on April 30, according to GasBuddy:

Macomb County

The Meijer on Gratiot in Chesterfield

• Gas price: $3.86/gallon

Oakland County

Sheetz on 12 Mile and Haggerty in Novi

• Gas price: $3.89/gallon

Wayne County

The Marathon gas station on Dix Highway near Champagne Road and I-75 in Lincoln Park

• Gas price: $3.95/gallon

Facing elimination, Cunningham set the tone early with what he described as a “never-die mentality,” pairing aggressive scoring with his usual playmaking to force a Game 6.

“I just wanted to have controlled aggression all night and make sure they feel me,” Cunningham said. “I don’t want this season to end right now, so I’ve got to put it all on the line.”

Cunningham, a two-time All-Star, balanced his role as both scorer and facilitator, especially in a high-stakes fourth quarter.

While known for creating opportunities for teammates, he acknowledged the challenge of knowing when to take over.

“That’s the balance you have to find,” Cunningham said. “I know I can get us points by scoring, but also by making sure I’m using my playmaking ability. Sometimes in the fourth quarter, the ball has to be in my hands more. It’s about having that feel and making the right play.”

Cunningham was 13 for 23 from the field and 14-14 from the charity stripe in the pivotal Game 5 victory.

Tonight's game is Cade Cunningham's fifth-straight game with 25+ Pts, passing Isiah Thomas (1987-88) and Bob Lanier (1976-77) for the longest streak in Pistons playoff history 🔥 pic.twitter.com/adJSlbCIZT

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) April 30, 2026

The duel between Banchero and Cunningham was the second game in which two No. 1 overall picks each had over 40 points against one another, since former Pistons star Allen Iverson and Shaquille O’Neal in the 2001 NBA Finals.

Banchero finished with 45 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.

This is only the second game where two No. 1 overall picks each had 40+ PTS against each other in the SAME game 😳

The first: Allen Iverson and Shaquille O'Neal in Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals 🔥 pic.twitter.com/1M9kWb3Ch7

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) April 30, 2026

Detroit also got a major boost from Ausar Thompson, who contributed 15 rebounds, five steals, and two blocks in a dominant defensive effort.

“He was great,” Cunningham said. “That’s what we need from him, to impose himself on the game like that. He’s beyond capable.”

The night also featured a high-scoring duel, with Cunningham trading big shots with Paolo Banchero, marking one of the most prolific head-to-head playoff performances in recent memory.

CADE CUNNINGHAM IS CLUTCH 💰 pic.twitter.com/uFFVKGs9Zz

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 30, 2026

Despite the individual milestone, Cunningham emphasized the bigger picture: extending the series and building momentum.

“We dug ourselves a hole,” Cunningham said. “Now it’s time to climb our way out. It’s possible. We handled our business tonight, and now we’ve got to go to Orlando and do it there.”

Cunningham, who recently returned from injury, logged 44 minutes and said he continues to feel stronger as the postseason progresses.

“I feel strong and stronger,” Cunningham said.

Beyond the statistics, Cunningham reflected on embracing pressure-filled moments.

“Not everybody’s blessed with these opportunities,” Cunningham said. “To have pressure and things on the line like that, I’m just thankful for it and try to make the most of it.”

The Pistons played with renewed energy and freedom, a shift Cunningham said was critical in avoiding elimination.

“We played freer tonight,” Cunningham said. “There wasn’t as much tightness. Everybody was locked in, but we were still able to go out there and execute.”

Detroit will now look to carry that momentum into Game 6 on the road, where Cunningham expects a tougher challenge.

“They’re going to make adjustments,” Cunningham said. “We’ve got to be ready for adversity. But we’re excited for the opportunity.”

🍇 Grapevine

🌅 Good morning! On this day in 1997, at exactly 12:11 pm, London’s iconic Big Ben clock stopped ticking. For 43 minutes, the most famous clock in the world, which strikes the note of E every hour, failed to keep time.

Here are a few things to know about for Thursday, April 30, 2026:

⛅ 4Warn Weather: 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. Check the 10-day forecast.

⛽ High Gas Prices: Gas prices across Metro Detroit are climbing well above $4 a gallon, and the pain at the pump is spreading far beyond commuters — it’s now threatening the operations of a Westland-area charity that feeds families in need. Read more.

🚨 Edibles Investigation: An ongoing problem on some local school campuses is raising new concerns: children ingesting marijuana edibles. Read more.

⚖️ Misconduct Lawsuits: A Detroit civil rights attorney has filed two lawsuits against the Detroit Police Department and the Warren Police Department, alleging officers used excessive force in two separate incidents involving his clients. Read more.

🔎 Driving School Investigation: People’s lives and futures have been put on hold as the state of Michigan investigates the Detroit Training Center and finds “multiple violations.” Read more.

🏀 Pistons Win: Lamented in the locker room after Game 4, spoken about repeatedly at shootaround, and played into existence immediately in Game 5, the Detroit Pistons kept their season alive with a 116-109 win over the Orlando Magic and urgency from their stars. Read more.

🏊 Morning Dive

Good morning ☀️

An invasive beetle is continuing to spread across Michigan, and scientists at Michigan State University want to hear from you if you spot it.

The lily leaf beetle, also known as the scarlet leaf beetle, is an invasive insect that feeds on the leaves, stems, and flowers of lily plants.

Originally from Eurasia, it has been spreading across North America for decades and is continuing to spread across Michigan.

Which plants are at risk?

The beetle’s preferred targets are plants in the Lilium and Fritillaria families. If you’re growing tiger lilies, Easter lilies, Asiatic lilies, oriental lilies, or fritillaries, those plants face the greatest risk of serious damage, according to an article from MSU Extension.

The beetle can also cause minor feeding damage on a wider range of plants, including lily of the valley, Solomon’s seal, hollyhock, hosta, and even potato plants.

The lily leaf beetle doesn’t attack daylilies, calla lilies or canna lilies.

Lifecycle of lily leaf beetles

Adults spend the winter buried in soil or leaf litter, then emerge in early spring to start laying eggs, according to MSU Extension.

A single beetle can lay between 250 and 450 eggs, depositing them in small, irregular rows on the undersides of leaves.

After hatching, which takes just one to two weeks, the larvae feed aggressively for up to 24 days.

The orange-green colored larvae cover themselves in their own excrement to deter predators.

The adults have a single generation and live for several weeks before they go back into the soil, typically near lilies.

How it got here and how it spread

The lily leaf beetle first turned up in North America in Montreal in the 1940s.

It crossed into the United States in 1992, and by the mid- to late 1990s, it had spread rapidly across New England, according to MSU Extension.

The movement of plant bulbs between countries is believed to be the primary way the beetle has traveled so far, so fast.

Michigan got its first confirmed detection in 2016 in Jackson County.

By 2022, the beetle had spread significantly across Southeast Michigan, triggering a wave of reports to MSU Extension.

What Michigan scientists are doing about it

Michigan State University scientists are actively studying how far the beetle has spread and whether a biological control program, one that proved effective on the East Coast, could work in Michigan.

Researchers at the University of Rhode Island had success using a small parasitoid insect that targets lily leaf beetle larvae, significantly reducing beetle populations in that region.

The beetle is widespread across Southeast Michigan, but gardeners in other parts of the state who spot the beetle are asked to report sightings, with photos of plant damage, to the Midwest Invasive Species Information Network.

How to protect your garden

Because this beetle has no significant natural enemies in North America, control falls largely on the gardener. Here are the main options:

• Hand-picking: If only a few beetles are present, removing them by hand and dropping them in soapy water can help.
• Contact insecticides: Products containing permethrin, cyhalothrin, deltamethrin, pyrethrin, or spinosad have shown strong results. Azadirachtin (neem oil) and insecticidal soaps can also help control young larvae.

If your plants are flowering, always read the pesticide label carefully and follow directions to avoid harming bees and other pollinators.

🗞️ Other headlines to know today

• Man charged with trying to kill Trump at dinner took photo with knife in hotel, investigators say
• Woman accused of driving through Macomb County child’s bedroom learns sentence
• Swim school in Oakland County sued after doctor put hidden camera in changing room
• Sterling Heights man now facing murder charges in 100 mph crash that killed 2
• Push for raw milk intensifies across the US, despite illness outbreaks and scientists’ warnings
• Survey finds nearly half of parents feel stressed often, worry it’s affecting their kids
• Michigan assisted living facility administrator bound over in resident’s death after missed insulin
• Find more Local News headlines here
• Find more Entertainment headlines here
• Find more Health headlines here
• Check out the latest ClickOnDeals here
• Introducing the ClickOnDetroit Help Desk: How it works and how to use it

🌎 Meanwhile

News from around the world via the Associated Press:

Anne O’Connor just kept counting sheep, and it made her anything but sleepy.

A sheep owned by O’Connor, who runs Clover & Bee Farm in Underhill, Vermont, with her husband, Gunnar, gave birth to a rare batch of six lambs earlier this month. The sextuplets and their mother are all doing well, making the lamb windfall even more remarkable.

The same ewe previously had quadruplets, and while a recent checkup indicated she would have two lambs this time, O’Connor suspected more. When the big day came, the baby lambs seemed to have kept coming and coming, she said.

“I was a little bit suspicious, just given how big she was and that she was going a little earlier, that she might have more than two,” she said. “Six is great, but it’s definitely — it’s plenty.” (Read more)

----

Two Jewish men were stabbed and injured on a London street on Wednesday, in what police called an act of terrorism. Police arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder in the city’s latest antisemitic attack.

The Metropolitan Police said the attack in the Golders Green area left two men, ages 34 and 76, hospitalized with knife wounds.

Counterterrorism police are investigating whether the stabbings are linked to recent arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in the British capital. Detectives are probing a potential Iranian link to those incidents, but police said it’s too soon to say whether Wednesday’s attack is connected. (Read more)

----

Want to see the Liberty Bell this semi-quincentennial but don’t have the time or cheese for a pilgrimage to Philadelphia? Have no fear: Chances are, there’s one at a state Capitol, museum or even a fire station near you.

It won’t be the original, but it’ll be a dead ringer.

For a savings bond drive in 1950, the Treasury Department commissioned copies of the famously broken bell, one for each U.S. state and several territories. Except for the serial numbers, they were faithful replicas — right down to the Pass and Stow trademark and a faux crack. (Read more)

---> Find more headlines from around the world right here <---

📝 Word Up

Today’s Word Up is: Imbroglio /im-BROHL-yo/ (noun) -- defined as “A complicated disagreement; a confused or chaotic situation. From the Italian ‘imbrogliare,’ meaning to tangle.”

Example: “Sudanese diplomats seem to think that if they look the other way long enough, their destructive domestic imbroglio will simply disappear.”

🧹 Housekeeping

Hey, if you like this newsletter, let us know. We’d love your feedback. We also offer several other newsletters, including Live in the D, All 4 Pets and more. Hopefully, we have one that caters to your interests -- unless you’re only interested in Mexican-Spanish musical drama films. We don’t have one for that, sorry.

✍🏽 Written and curated by: Samantha Sayles (Have something to say? Feel free to send an email here.)

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.”

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.

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 and somewhat mysterious past.

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

He did concert tours 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, that has since become a genre standard and hits for George Jones and Chris Stapleton.

His own country hit recordings included “You Never Even Call Me by My Name,” written by Steve Goodman and an uncredited John Prine; “The Ride,” and “Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile.” Coe also appeared in a handful of movies, including “Stagecoach” and “Take this Job and Shove It,” which was named after his song.

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 has said he spent time with the Outlaws motorcycle club, but some of the 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 an AP interview in 1983. “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 that he wrote in prison. He later told reporters that he tried not to lean too heavily on prison as a topic for songs because of the similarities to the backstory of Merle Haggard, but that his criminal history was all people seemed interested in focusing on.

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

During the heyday of the outlaw movement, 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 performs 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.

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.

Nipper, a 28-foot (9-meter) tall white dog with black ears has sat conspicuously atop a warehouse for almost seven decades — recreating the famous image of a terrier listening attentively to a phonograph that was long used by electronics and communications company RCA.

Over time, the statue has grown into a source of local pride around this city on the Hudson River. Parents point it out to their kids from the highway. Nipper's image, with his head cocked to one side, appears on items like key chains, ball caps and hoodies.

“When I think of Nipper, I think of Albany. When I think of Albany, I think of Nipper,” said Cody Hitt, who was out with friends recently at a bar right by the statue.

Now that pride is tempered with concern for Nipper's future. After years of litigation, the unused four-story warehouse on which Nipper sits was recently marked by a red placard with white slash — a warning to firefighters and other first responders to use caution when entering.

“It’s definitely not a good thing for Nipper. He is attached to that building, so if something happens to it, it’s going to be kind of hard to take him off,” said Cara Macri, director of preservation services for the Historic Albany Foundation.

The history of Nipper

The flesh-and-blood Nipper lived in late 19th century England and earned his name after trying to bite people's ankles. His owner's brother, Francis Barraud, immortalized the dog posthumously in the painting “His Master’s Voice,” which shows Nipper intrigued by the recorded sound coming from a phonograph horn.

The Gramophone Company in London purchased a version of the image in 1899 and it was registered soon after for use in the United States. The “His Master’s Voice” trademark was acquired in 1929 by the company that became RCA.

Albany's Nipper, with a composite body over a steel frame, was placed by a crane atop the building in the late 1950s to advertise the location of an RCA appliance distributor.

There were many Nipper statues made during his heyday, including a 1958 Nipper statue now at the Maryland Center for History and Culture in Baltimore that's 14 feet (4 meters) high and paired with a larger-than-life phonograph.

But Albany’s is bigger. It stands out in a skyline otherwise notable for a modernist state government complex adjacent to the state Capitol, which features a 44-story office tower and theater shaped like a giant egg.

The beloved dog appears on socks, caps, stickers and shot glasses for sale downtown at the Fort Orange General Store, where store owner Erica Cubello said the items are bestsellers.

“He is kind of like our unofficial mascot here at Fort Orange, as well as the city of Albany,” said Cubello, who was wearing a Nipper hoodie.

The dog statue in Albany

Nipper still looks fresh after all these years. But the building below him has sat unused for at least a decade, with paint chipped off the front exterior.

Nothing ever became of plans announced a decade ago to develop apartments and retail space in the newly purchased building. Foreclosure litigation has been going on for years and city tax documents show an attorney acting as a receiver.

Lawyers involved in the litigation didn't immediately respond to calls for comment.

By 2024, the Historic Albany Foundation put the building on its list of places in peril. In March, the city put the red-and-white caution placard up on the building's entrance. Times-Union columnist Chris Churchill soon after sounded the alarm in a piece headlined: “Nipper has our love, but needs more protection.”

Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs' office said she is working to add Nipper to the city’s list of historic landmarks, which could help protect the dog and the building from damaging changes. Separately, a state board last month nominated the warehouse district that includes Nipper's building for state and national historic registers. That would make the building eligible for state and federal historic preservation tax credits.

There is no serious talk of moving Nipper from his forever home, which would be logistically challenging and expensive.

Besides, where would the roughly four ton (3,600 kilogram) statue go?

“There’s a whole redevelopment downtown. You could put him there. You could put him on the riverfront,” Macri said. “But he’s a big dog.”

York launched his stick and watched it soar like the Schwarbombs routinely hit across the street, only no one was really sure in the moment where it landed.

“I hope everyone's OK,” York said with a laugh. “Definitely don't want a lawsuit. Just honestly blacked out. I didn't know what to do. I was so excited.”

How does one celebrate a Flyers' playoff series victory?

York roared back like he was going to fling a boomerang. Flyers fans blew horns and whistles around the concourse and belted out on repeat the opening “oh oh oh” of the White Stripes' “Seven Nation Army.” Flyers forward Christian Dvorak's celebration hit a little too hard — a cut busted open above his right eye during the victorious on-ice party and blood streamed down his cheek.

Like he went a few rounds in a fight.

More like six grueling games with Sidney Crosby and a Penguins team that has hoisted Stanley Cups and kicked their cross-state rival to the curb so many times over the last 15-plus years that the matchups often felt less like a heated rivalry and the Flyers treated more like a pesky speed bump in a long regular season.

Not this season. Not in Philadelphia.

Not even when the resurgent Penguins threatened to make a run at playoff history and storm back from a 3-0 series deficit and crush the spirit of a Flyers' team that became the NHL’s first to make the playoffs after being 10 points out of contention with 22 or fewer games remaining.

York and goalie Dan Vladar and his 42 saves had other plans.

The Flyers' 1-0 Game 6 overtime victory over the Penguins on Wednesday night served as early validation that general manager Danny Briere was astute in orchestrating an overdue rebuild and the payoff was a first playoff series win in a full NHL season since 2012. The Flyers accelerated their postseason timeline — in large part due to the late-season arrival of teen sensation Porter Martone — and are essentially playing with house money as they gear up for a second-round series with the top-seeded Carolina Hurricanes.

“We played a great series,” Flyers forward Travis Konecny said. “Now we get a chance to play again.”

Flyers coach Rick Tocchet and the rest of the players said to a man when they held a 3-0 series lead that Crosby and the veteran Penguins were too good, too playoff-tested to go down without a fight. Crosby was everywhere in Pittsburgh’s 3-2 victory in Game 5 and had the Penguins believing that, yes, they could become just the fifth team in NHL history to win a series after trailing 3-0.

Vladar, a journeyman turned Olympian voted the team's MVP this season, turned away everything the Penguins threw at him in much of the series. He had his first shutout of the season (with 27 saves) in Game 2, shook off an unspecified arm injury in Game 3 and put the Flyers on his back in Game 6 — getting the better of a fantastic Arturs Silovs — to steady a position long an albatross for the franchise since the Stanley Cup championship days of Bernie Parent.

All Vladar did was shut out the NHL’s third-highest scoring team during the regular season.

“There was never a doubt,” Vladar said. “Good things happen to good people, and we are good people here.”

Vladar also gave a nod to the odds the Flyers faced just to reach this point of the season and pointed out teammates wearing their good-luck gear.

The Flyers celebrated wearing T-shirts emblazoned with Parent's 1970s mask with sleeves that had “3.8 percent” printed on them as a nod to their slim postseason chances a couple months ago.

Vladar — the fifth goalie in franchise history with a series-clinching shutout — also made the fourth-most saves in a series-clinching shutout win over the past 70 years. The only goaltenders with more are Patrick Roy (63 in Game 4 of 1996 Stanley Cup Final), Andrei Vasilevskiy and Carey Price.

“danvladar you are a BAADDDDD man!!” former Phillies World Series champion Jimmy Rollins wrote on social media.

The Flyers were still feeling sky high well after the final horn.

As for York's stick? Well, it did stick the landing and was gleefully grabbed by a man wearing a white Flyers sweatshirt.

He high-fived fans around him and boasted one heck of a postseason souvenir.

The Flyers can only hope there's so much more fun to come in May.

___

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

Here is a timeline of some significant events in the hostilities between the two:

1982: Israel invades Lebanon in an offensive against the Palestine Liberation Organization and allied groups. Hezbollah is formed, with Iranian backing and based on the Iran's Islamic Revolution model, to fight Israel’s ensuing occupation of southern Lebanon. It launches a guerrilla war against Israel.

1992: Hezbollah leader Abbas Mousawi is killed by an Israeli helicopter attack. His successor is Hassan Nasrallah, who will lead the group for the next three decades.

1996: Israel launches an offensive aiming to push Hezbollah north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border. Israeli artillery shelling on a United Nations compound housing hundreds of displaced people in Qana kills at least 100 civilians and wounds scores more.

2000: After a long war of attrition, Israel withdraws its forces from southern Lebanon, which is heralded around the Arab world as a major victory for Hezbollah.

2006: Hezbollah fighters ambush an Israeli patrol, killing three Israeli soldiers and taking two hostage in a cross-border raid, sparking a monthlong war between Hezbollah and Israel that ends in a draw. Israeli bombardment razes villages and residential blocks in southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs, a scorched-earth approach that is dubbed the “Dahiyeh Doctrine.”

2008: Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah’s military chief, is killed when a bomb planted in his car exploded in Damascus. The assassination is blamed on Israel.

2012: Hezbollah enters the Syrian civil war in support of then-President Bashar Assad. In the years that follow, Israel begins periodically carrying out airstrikes in Syria targeting Iranian and Hezbollah facilities and officials or weapons shipments that it said were bound for Hezbollah. Israel still avoided carrying out strikes on Hezbollah on Lebanese territory during this period.

OCT. 8, 2023: One day after the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel sparks the war in Gaza, Hezbollah fires missiles across the border. Israel responds with airstrikes and shelling and the two enter into a low-level conflict that initially remains mainly confined to the border area.

SEPT. 17, 2024: Israel launches an attack in Lebanon using remotely-triggered explosive-laden pagers issued to Hezbollah fighters and civilian employees. A day later, a similar attack targets walkie-talkies. The attacks kill dozens of people and maim thousands, most of them Hezbollah members but also including women and children.

SEPT. 27, 2024: Hassan Nasrallah is killed in a series of massive airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs.

NOV. 27, 2024: A U.S.-brokered ceasefire nominally ends the Israel-Hezbollah war. Israel continues to carry out regular strikes in Lebanon that it says aim to stop Hezbollah from rebuilding.

MARCH 2, 2026: Two days after Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran, triggering a wide-reaching war in the Middle East, Hezbollah launches missiles toward Israel. It says the salvo is in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and for “repeated Israeli aggressions” in Lebanon.

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This story was first published on Apr. 9, 2026. It was updated on Apr. 30, 2026, to correct the date of the start of the most recent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. It is March 2, 2026, not March 2, 2025.

The 6-3 ruling effectively gutted the Voting Rights Act's requirement that districts be drawn to give minority voters a chance to elect representatives of their choosing. One practical effect of that requirement was the protection of reliably Democratic-voting majority-minority districts, even in solidly red states where lawmakers could otherwise favor the GOP.

With that mandate now largely gone, Republican lawmakers across the country — and especially in the South — have a freer hand to eliminate Democratic-leaning districts and pad the total number of seats they can win to hold the U.S. House. There are more than a dozen such seats in Republican-controlled states.

Shortly after the ruling, Republicans were urging a review of their congressional maps in Louisiana, Tennessee and elsewhere.

Their immediate challenge is that the ruling came down well after filing deadlines for this year's primary elections — and in some cases, after those primary elections have been held. That means ballots are set and in some states early and absentee voting has already begun.

‘No time to waste’

The timing makes it difficult to tear up maps and draw new ones. In Louisiana, where the mandate to draw a second, Democratic-leaning majority-Black House district led to Tuesday's decision, the primary election for federal offices is set for May 16 — and early voting is scheduled to begin Saturday. Nevertheless, the state's governor, attorney general and legislative leaders were meeting to discuss how the state would respond.

Republicans have been scrambling to comply with President Donald Trump's directive to redraw maps to add more winnable House seats to stave off losses in the midterms. In a sign of the pressure for Republicans to take advantage of the opportunity, multiple hopefuls running for governor in GOP primaries called for immediate redraws.

“There is no time to waste," Rick Jackson, a businessman and GOP governor candidate in Georgia, said in urging a redraw there even as voting is underway for the May 19 primary. "Georgia must act now to ensure secure elections in Georgia and counter the Democrats’ national assault on our elections.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, running for the GOP nomination for governor in Tennessee, called for redrawing that state's congressional map to replace its lone, majority-Black Democratic congressional seat with one more winnable for Republicans — even though that state's deadline for candidates to get on the ballot was March 10.

In a social media post, Trump praised the opinion by “brilliant Justice Samuel Alito” for returning “the Voting Rights Act to its Original Intent, which was to protect against intentional Racial Discrimination.”

Primary calendar is the main obstacle to redrawing maps

Democrats have managed to largely counter Republicans' push to draw more winnable seats in the round of mid-decade redistricting that started last year, but there is no clear way they could match the GOP's potential gains from the effective loss of the Voting Rights Act.

“It should not be lost on anyone that the Roberts court makes this decision at a time when Republican leaders across the country are foaming at the mouth to draw the American people out of a meaningful say in our elections,” former Attorney General Eric Holder, chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said in a statement, referring to the court's Republican-nominated chief justice, John Roberts. "They want to retain illegitimately obtained power through the use of, among other things, now Supreme Court-sanctioned racial and partisan gerrymandering.”

Only one Republican state has a relatively clear path to gaining seats from the decision in time for the midterms — Florida. GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis has called a special session to adopt his map that could give his party four new winnable House seats. DeSantis had been counting on the Supreme Court ruling as it did Wednesday, and his state's primary is not until August.

The Florida Legislature approved the new congressional map Wednesday.

Other states have to confront the unprecedented possibility of revising maps even as voters are casting ballots or the legal process of declaring intent to run for office has concluded.

“I don’t know what the implications are going be for the fall. It's pretty late,” said Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

He said any redistricting decisions in the weeks ahead would be up to governors and legislatures.

Voting Rights Act ‘essentially dead’

In the longer term, the ruling clears the way for a drastic reshaping of the nation's political geography, at least by the time of the next presidential election year in 2028.

“The Voting Rights Act as a means to protect minority voters from vote dilution is essentially dead,” said Jonathan Cervas, a political scientist at Carnegie Mellon University who has worked as the court-appointed special master and mapmaker in multiple Voting Rights Act cases. “It's hard to imagine how this decision does not lead to additional GOP districts into the future.”

Cervas noted the Voting Rights Act isn't necessarily a partisan benefit for Democrats. Its most frequent use comes in local, nonpartisan races for offices such as school board or city council. But Republicans have long complained that Democrats have used the law to get winnable districts for their Black voters in red states that Republican-leaning white voters could never receive in blue states.

“For decades the left has spent hundreds of millions of dollars seeking to divide Americans along racial lines in a cynical pursuit of partisan power masquerading as civil rights,” Adam Kincaid, the National Republican Redistricting Trust’s executive director, said in a statement. “Today’s decision rebukes that divisive and unconstitutional effort.”

Democratic states might want to preserve minority districts

While the Voting Rights Act has helped preserve Democratic-leaning districts, those voters don't vanish just because of Wednesday's ruling. Republicans in some states cannot just eliminate all those districts without spreading enough Democratic voters around to jeopardize their own incumbents.

Likewise, the requirement that Democratic-leaning minority voters be concentrated in certain districts has occasionally hurt Democrats in states such as Michigan, lowering the number of swing districts they might win. The party could partly counter Republican gains by spreading minority voters wider in states it controls.

But there will be political pressure against that from some Black and Hispanic Democrats who want to ensure their communities still command the majority in certain districts. Democratic-controlled states also are more likely to have nonpartisan redistricting commissions that make their congressional maps less partisan and increasingly have adopted state-level versions of the Voting Rights Act to protect sometimes marginalized communities.

That will take time, but it all points to a far less regulated environment for mapmaking in the years to come.

That worries Thomas Johnson, a Black voter in New Orleans who was at the state Capitol to lobby on unrelated legislation Wednesday when the Supreme Court ruling came down. The majority-Black congressional district in which he lives can now be diced up by that state's Republican legislature.

“We are going to do all we can and continue fighting so our voices are heard,” Johnson said. “That’s all we want, to be heard.”

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Associated Press writers Jeff Amy in Atlanta, Lisa Mascaro in Washington, Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, and Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, contributed to this report.

A dyslexic teenager from a working-class background, Welch struggled with his college entry exams and took a job installing tires after leaving school at age 15. When he lost that gig, he lined up at the Liverpool job center. The job board featured a funeral director's listing — a “great career," he's sure, but “pretty grim" — and an advertisement for a charity event where entrepreneurs could win business grants.

Welch took that one and, less than 24 hours later, found himself inside a church filled with vintage furniture and friendly grandparents. It looked nothing like ABC's “Shark Tank," but he recalls feeling very much like one of the reality show's contestants as he described his proposal to sell cheaper tires to niche customers like his friends who drove souped-up cars.

That was Welch's first interaction with the then-Prince's Trust, which became known as The King's Trust when King Charles III became Britain's ruling monarch in 2023. “It wasn’t a well thought out plan, really,” said Welch, who is now based in Florida. “But they backed me. And they backed my enthusiasm. And they gave me a chance.”

Generations of Brits can tell stories similar to Welch, thanks to The Prince's Trust and The King's Trust, which have been supporting young people launch their careers since 1976, when then-Prince Charles took his Royal Navy severance pay and established the charity at a time of great economic distress for the United Kingdom. In the past 50 years, the King's Trust says it has reached more than 1.3 million young Brits through its education and employment initiatives, creating numerous success stories including those of celebrated actor Idris Elba and noted fashion designer Ozwald Boateng.

As Charles and Queen Camilla continued their first state visit to the U.S. since he became king, they nodded to The King's Trust with a gala Wednesday in New York, as the charity works to deepen its impact in more than two dozen countries including the United States. Attendees included Anna Wintour, Charlotte Tilbury, Donatella Versace, Lionel Richie and Martha Stewart.

At the event, Charles emphasized that “potential and latent talent truly knows no bounds once you help develop it.”

“I won't see the long-distance future,” he told attendees. "But I'm enormously grateful to you all for what you can all do as supporters to help this vital endeavor, to champion the next generation, ensuring their talent and ambition continue to strengthen our societies for many years to come.”

Members of the British Royal Family have traditionally served as patrons of charities, boosting awareness and fundraising for existing organizations in the areas where they rule as nobles. Observers say Charles' lasting interest in young people's employment is evident as he continues lending his title to its expanding work.

Giving young people an opportunity

The trust's programs reach young people through schools and established nonprofit partners. They include Get Hired, which helps young people land their first jobs, and the Development Awards, a grant that helps them afford purchases to advance their careers such as a laptop or professional clothing.

The Enterprise Challenge is an afterschool program where students develop businesses that address a problem in their community.

“What we see every time is that young people want to be helped. They want to be taken seriously,” said Jeremy Green, a trustee of the King’s Trust Group Company and chair of the King’s Trust USA. "And it’s not just giving them money. It’s giving them opportunity.”

LaKenya Sharpe, principal of The Collins Academy High School in the Chicago neighborhood of North Lawndale, said being taken seriously by such an organization has meant the world to her students. They won the King's Trust US' Enterprise Challenge for launching a business that grows and sells fresh vegetables to stores in their area, which lacked access to stores that sold produce.

The “babies” in her community often feel as if no one pays attention to them, she said.

“This shows that they can achieve anything," Sharpe added. "Their belief now is ‘Oh, other people are watching. Other people are seeing this.’ And they ask ‘How far can this go?’ My answer is, 'It can go as far as you guys take it. Don’t let anything limit you.'”

Highlighting philanthropic ties between the US and UK

Wednesday's gala arrived at a moment of unusual tension between the elected leaders of the two longstanding allies. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s refusal to support the United States’ war in Iran has angered President Donald Trump.

Charles noted the “wonderful opportunity” to celebrate “the enduring cultural bond” between the two countries, whose relationship he said is “rooted in shared creativity, enterprise and values.”

“Reminding us we are truly greater together. That's the point,” Charles told attendees.

The trust’s leaders emphasized they'd been planning anniversary celebrations long before the recent rift. But Charles' emphasis on the country’s deep philanthropic ties could serve as a reminder of their shared interests, said JP Tribe, a senior lecturer in law at the University of Liverpool who has written about royal patronages.

Tribe hoped the gala showed “that both countries have and can continue to engage in very positive public benefit activity that helps the most disadvantaged in our society.”

Expanding in the United States

The King's Trust US has set a goal to reach 1,000 young people in the United States this year.

Their biggest partner in that effort is City Year, the education nonprofit that introduced The Collins Academy to The King’s Trust and sends young adults to help teach in schools nationwide. AmeriCorps members are helping them pilot a version of the “Get Hired” program. They're also relying on the nonprofit Per Scholas and Maryland school districts to test some other programs.

Gore said student participants tend to be very focused on their immediate communities. The goal is to show them they can have an impact where they live.

"Keeping employment in communities and keeping people in communities is actually the key to everyone’s success," Gore said.

Welch said it doesn't require giant investments to make an impact. He received a 500 pound ($677) grant and, perhaps more importantly, a mentor who provided office space for the nascent company that he’d eventually sell for 50 million pounds ($68 million) to Michelin.

He said the blueprint for The King's Trust's expansion to succeed already exists. It's just a matter of building relationships with on-the-ground partners who can reach the people with the most need.

“What we see in Chicago, what we see in Orlando, is really no different -- with obvious local nuances," said Welch, who launched his latest venture the Anglo Atlantic advisory and investment firm. "But it’s not very different to what we see in Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester.”

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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.

“I don’t think I’ve seen one like that in person,” Bickerstaff said. “To know the moment, understand the moment, and then just do whatever was necessary to help us get that win, that’s why he’s special.”

Cunningham led the Pistons with a dominant performance, taking control in key stretches, including late in the fourth quarter, to help seal the win in a must-win game.

It was the Cunningham show on Wednesday (April 29) inside Little Caesars Arena, as he finished with a franchise record 45 points, five assists, four rebounds, one steal, and five turnovers, including a dagger jumper with 31.3 to play in the fourth quarter in the victory.

Cunningham was 13 for 23 from the field and 14-14 from the charity stripe in the pivotal Game 5 victory.

It was Cunningham’s fifth-straight game with 25 or more points, passing Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers Isiah Thomas (1987-88) and Bob Lanier (1976-77) for the longest streak in Pistons playoff history.

Bickerstaff said Cunningham’s leadership and composure set the tone for the team.

“He wasn’t going to let us go down tonight,” Bickerstaff said. “There’s a handful of guys in this league who can meet the moment like that. He understands his responsibility and what he means to this team.”

Detroit built a double-digit lead in both the second and fourth quarters but had to withstand runs from Orlando, which has hit timely shots throughout the series.

Bickerstaff pointed to defense and rebounding as critical factors in the win, noting the Pistons controlled key possessions despite minor lapses.

“When you put the possession game together, keeping them off the offensive glass, creating turnovers, you give yourself a chance,” Bickerstaff said.

Bickerstaff also highlighted the impact of Ausar Thompson, who contributed across the stat sheet with rebounding, defense, and playmaking.

“He sacrifices himself every night to do whatever the team needs,” Bickerstaff said. “He takes on tough assignments, rebounds, creates deflections, and just causes chaos.”

The Pistons had a key contribution in the matchup from Thompson, who was all over the floor in the victory.

Thompson had six points with 15 rebounds, six assists, five steals, two blocks, and five turnovers in the victory.

With Detroit facing elimination entering the game, Bickerstaff emphasized the team’s urgency and mindset.

“It was do or die,” Bickerstaff said. “We knew if we wanted our season to continue, we had to give everything we had. Now it’s about going to Orlando and getting one more.”

Bickerstaff said his team’s resilience and mindset were on display as it continues to fight to extend its season.

“You don’t want to put yourself in this situation, but this is what we expected,” Bickerstaff said. “Our backs have been against the wall, and we come out swinging, kicking, scratching, biting, whatever is necessary to get it done.”

Detroit has leaned on its energy and collective effort in high-pressure moments, with Bickerstaff emphasizing the team’s refusal to back down.

“That spirit carries over,” Bickerstaff said. “The want to not let your teammate down carries over. We’ve got a locker room full of guys that feel that way.”

Despite facing elimination pressure, Bickerstaff said the Pistons have maintained belief throughout the series.

“I feel like we’ve always had life,” Bickerstaff said. “Until that fat lady starts singing, we’ve got life.”

The series shifts back to Orlando for Game 6, where the Pistons will look to extend their season again.

The 2026 Kentucky Derby is scheduled for Saturday, May 2, 2026, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, with post time listed at about 6:57 p.m. ET.

Derby weather has a little bit of everything in its history.

According to the National Weather Service in Louisville, the coldest Derby morning temperature was 36°F, recorded in both 1940 and 1957.

The coldest high temperature was only 47°F, in 1935 and 1957.

On the other end, the hottest Derby Day reached 94°F in 1959.

Rain is also a big part of history. 72 of the first 150 Derby Days, or 48%, had rain at some point during the day.

The wettest Derby was in 2018, when 3.15 inches of rain fell in Louisville.

That made the track sloppy, but Justify still splashed his way to victory.

For the 2026 forecast, Derby fans should plan for a cooler-than-average spring day.

As of Wednesday, April 29, the National Weather Service forecast for the Louisville area calls for mostly sunny skies on Saturday with a high near 60°F and a Saturday night low near 39°F.

Around race time, temperatures should likely be in the mid-50s, so a light jacket would be smart.

The good news: this forecast looks much drier than many past Derbies.

So, this year’s Derby weather may not be hot, muddy, or stormy.

Instead, it looks cool, bright, and comfortable, great weather for hats, horses, and the Run for the Roses.

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.

Prosecutors allege that on March 28, Jones entered a Meijer store and selected nearly $2,000 worth of merchandise before leaving without paying.

Authorities say he then fled in a vehicle when a marked patrol unit attempted a traffic stop with lights and sirens activated.

During the pursuit, the vehicle allegedly accelerated and ran at least two traffic signals before crashing. Jones is accused of fleeing on foot after the crash.

Investigators say the vehicle contained the alleged stolen merchandise and a police scanner.

Jones also faces charges related to the use and possession of a police radio scanner in connection with a felony.

He has been charged as a fourth habitual offender, which could increase potential penalties if convicted.

At Wednesday’s (April 29) arraignment, bond was set at $200,000 cash/surety, with a 10% option permitted.

If released, Jones must comply with several conditions, including electronic monitoring, no contact with witnesses, and a ban from entering any Meijer stores or possessing weapons.

A probable cause conference is scheduled for May 11.

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.

The charges stem from the 2022 death of a resident at Pleasant Lake Lodge in Cadillac, where Tucker-Fleischer was serving as administrator.

The 60-year-old woman was allegedly admitted to the facility on Nov. 1, 2022.

She had been diagnosed with diabetes and prescribed two types of insulin, but allegedly never received the medication.

Officials said she was found dead in her bed on the morning of Nov. 5, 2022; her death was attributed to complications from diabetes.

Tucker-Fleischfresser is accused of failing to provide the medication and of obstructing an investigation by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Michigan State Police also investigated the case.

She was arraigned in February and bound over on April 27.

“Failing to provide life-saving medication to vulnerable adults is unacceptable, and I am pleased that this case will now move forward to trial,” said Nessel. “My office remains focused on ensuring adult foster care administrators understand the weight of their responsibilities and the consequences that follow when they fail those in their care.

A pretrial date hasn’t been scheduled yet.

The amnesty is the second in two weeks, following an earlier one on April 17 when more than 4,500 prisoners were granted amnesty. It was not immediately clear how many people imprisoned for opposing military rule in Myanmar were included in Thursday’s amnesty.

Two legal officials, who insisted on anonymity for fear of being punished by the authorities, said Thursday’s measure would further reduce Suu Kyi’s sentence by one-sixth, but did not specify the exact remaining term. Based on previous reductions, the 80-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is expected to have more than 13 years left to serve.

State media said Thursday that in addition to the amnesty granted to 1,519 prisoners, including 11 foreigners, the sentences of remaining convicted prisoners were cut by one-sixth to mark the Full Moon day of “Kason,” known as Buddha’s Birthday and Demise.

The amnesties come after Senior General 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.

Suu Kyi was arrested on Feb. 1, 2021 when the army seized power from her elected government.

She 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.

Her term was reduced to 27 years in August 2023 and then further cut by more than four years on April 17, when prison terms of less than 40 years were cut by one-sixth.

Suu Kyi is serving the prison term at an undisclosed location in the capital Naypyitaw.

There were reports last week that she might be transferred to house arrest as part of the clemency, but there was no confirmation from the government.

Information about her condition remains 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 has not been allowed to meet her in person since December 2022.

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 have been in detention in Myanmar 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.

The Golden Knights take a 3-2 lead into their best-of-seven NHL playoffs series on Friday night in Salt Lake City.

Vegas' Pavel Dorofeyev's six-on-five goal with 52.7 seconds left in regulation forced overtime and gave him the sixth playoff hat trick in franchise history. Dorofeyev had two goals in 13 career playoff games before this one.

“That was a huge game by him,” Golden Knights center Jack Eichel said. “He's a huge part of our team, and it was awesome to see him find the back of the net a few times. It seems like he's been playing pretty well these last few nights and it's great to see him get rewarded.”

Neither team scored in the first overtime, the first time this series either side failed in a period to hit the back of the net.

“I think that was a hell of a game,” Mammoth coach André Tourigny said. “I think both teams played really hard. We were really close. Unfortunately, we gave that six-on-five goal and could not get it done in overtime, but I'm really proud of the way the guys played.”

Also for the Golden Knights, Shea Theodore has a goal and assist and Eichel had two assists. Carter Hart stopped 34 shots.

John Marino, Lawson Crouse and Dylan Guenther scored for the Mammoth and Clayton Keller had two assists. Karel Vejmelka made 31 saves.

Utah rallied in the third period when Guenther tied it at 5:54 on a rush play and Michael Carcone on a two-on-one with 7:18 left.

Both teams have continued to struggle on the power play, combining to go 1 for 10. Vegas ended a scoring drought of 13 power plays when Dorofeyev scored from the right circle to make it 1-1 with 40.2 seconds left in the first period. But the Golden Knights are just 3 for 18 for the series, which is better than Utah's 1-for-14 showing.

Vegas also has two short-handed goals this series, both from Howden that included his shot from the slot to win Game 5. The Golden Knights forced the action that resulted in a faceoff in Utah's zone. Vegas won the faceoff, Mitch Marner dug the puck from the boards and fed Howden for the winner.

“(Marner) did a good job of getting the stick in there and interrupting play,” Howden said. “It just kind of popped out and I just tried to get a shot. After that, just kind of blacked out.”

The Golden Knights twice rallied in the first two periods, and goals 1:38 apart by Dorofeyev and Theodore late in the second put them ahead 3-2. It's the first time Vegas took the lead into the third period in this series, but the Golden Knights were the NHL's best third-period team in the regular season with a plus-47 goal differential.

But both teams have been resilient — and physical.

They combined for 86 hits, each side determined to assert itself. But those also sometimes resulted in unnecessary penalties, with the Mammoth taking three in the first period on an open-ice interference by Nick Schmaltz, a clothesline takedown of Ivan Barbashev by Logan Cooley officially called holding and a boarding minor on Mikhail Sergachev.

The Golden Knights were hardly blameless. Cole Smith picked up a double-minor high-sticking penalty just 11 seconds into third period, but Vegas killed off the four minutes.

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

On Thursday, he was awarded $61,000 and a car by the president.

Sawe, the first person to officially break the two-hour barrier in an marathon, was welcomed home by his parents and Sports Minister Salim Mvurya, who hailed the runner's accomplishment at the London Marathon as “a win for Kenya.”

President William Ruto held a more formal welcoming ceremony Thursday, where he described Sawe's win as “a defining moment in the history of human endurance.”

Sawe gave President Ruto an autographed Adidas Adizero shoe worn during Sunday’s marathon. He also autographed a photo of the moment he broke the world record.

Sawe made history on Sunday when he won in a time of 1 hour, 59 minutes, 30 seconds. He bettered the previous men’s world record by 65 seconds.

On arrival Wednesday at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Sawe told The Associated Press he was proud to have “made a great achievement in life” and was planning to “try and lower the record further.”

He was adorned with a traditional wreath made from twigs to symbolize victory.

Traditional dancers sang his praises as he then climbed into a luxury government vehicle as part of the “heroic welcome” hailed by the sports minister.

Sawe's parents told The AP they knew their son was destined for greatness even as a child. His mother recounted how he sprinted during bath time.

“He would run too fast. So, I would say to myself, this boy will shine for me one day,” Emily Sawe said.

His father recounted some tension watching Sunday’s marathon because of the television lacked a clear signal.

“The moment my son pulled in front, I walked out and didn’t see him finish the race. I watched the replay afterwards. I was so happy, extremely happy. We screamed so much that now it is hard to swallow anything,” Simion Kiplagat Sawe said.

Sabastian Sawe was introduced to professional running by his uncle, Abraham Chepkirwok, who ran the 800 meters for Uganda at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Sawe won the Valencia Marathon in 2024, clocking 2:02:05. He went into Sunday's race in London as the defending champion.

His father says Sawe is disciplined and determined: “Even now, he still says that record was not enough; he wants to lower it further."

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

“I worry these attacks are battering this institution and putting at risk the things that really matter to the public,” Powell said in remarks at a press conference after the Fed announced its decision to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged.

Powell’s decision to stay — the first time a Fed chair will remain on the board as a governor since 1948 — denies President Donald Trump a chance to fill a seat on the central bank’s seven-member governing board with his own appointee. The Senate Banking Committee earlier approved Powell’s successor as chair, Trump appointee Kevin Warsh, on a party-line vote. Powell will continue as a Fed governor, possibly until January 2028. Warsh, if confirmed, will take a seat currently held by Stephen Miran, a previous Trump appointee, whose term ended in January.

Powell's move could make it a bit harder for Warsh to engineer the rate cuts that Trump has demanded, and Warsh advocated for last year, economists say.

“It probably means it will take Warsh a little bit longer to build the consensus he is trying to build,” said David Seif, chief economist for developed markets at Nomura, an investment bank.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said on X Friday that her office was ending its probe into the Fed’s extensive building renovations because the Fed’s inspector general would scrutinize them instead. But she added that her office could reopen the investigation if “the facts warrant doing so.” And Pirro had said previously that she would appeal a court ruling that threw out subpoenas her office had issued.

Powell said Wednesday he had been assured by the Justice Department that the appeal wouldn't result in a reopening of the probe unless a separate investigation by the Fed's inspector general finds evidence of criminal activity.

Apparently, that didn't bring Powell the closure he felt is needed.

“I’m waiting for the investigation to be well and truly over with finality and transparency," he said. "I’m waiting for that and I will leave when I think it appropriate to do so.”

The Fed Wednesday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the third straight meeting but signaled it could still cut rates in the coming months, moves that attracted the most dissents since October 1992. Three officials dissented in favor of removing the reference to a future cut, while a fourth, Miran, dissented in favor of an immediate rate cut.

The dissents underscore the level of division on the Fed's 12-member rate-setting committee ahead of the end of Powell's term as chair on May 15.

“Developments in the Middle East are contributing to a high level of uncertainty about the economic outlook,” the Fed said in a statement after its two-day meeting. “Inflation is elevated, in part reflecting the recent increase in global energy prices.”

Trump responded to Powell's decision late Wednesday on his social media website: “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell wants to stay at the Fed because he can’t get a job anywhere else — Nobody wants him,” Trump posted, using his nickname for the Fed chair.

Warsh has promised “regime change” at the central bank and may make sweeping changes to its economic models, communications strategies, and balance sheet. He has argued in favor of rate cuts, as Trump has demanded, but he will likely find it harder to implement them with inflation topping 3%, above the Fed’s target of 2%.

When asked if he believed Warsh would stand up to political pressure from Trump, Powell answered, “He testified very strongly at his hearing, and I take him at his word.”

The three officials who dissented against hinting that the Fed may reduce borrowing costs were Beth Hammack, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland; Neel Kashkari, president of the Minneapolis Fed; and Lorie Logan, president of the Dallas Fed. The regional Fed bank presidents have historically been more likely to dissent, while the Washington-based governors more often support the chair.

The dissents could renew tension between the Trump administration and the bank presidents, who White House officials have previously criticized.

Beth Ann Bovino, chief economist at US Bank, said the dissents demonstrated that Fed policymakers are “very independent" and will likely be on hold for months longer. She has forecast a rate cut in December but now isn't sure. Wall Street investors on average don't expect a reduction until well into next year, according to futures pricing.

Powell's decision to stay on could worsen tensions with the Trump administration and would create what some analysts refer to as a “two Popes” scenario, with a chair and former chair both on the Fed’s board. In that case, divisions among policymakers could increase, if some decided to follow Powell's lead rather than Warsh's.

Powell dismissed the notion that his staying on could cause dissension, saying, “My intention is not to interfere," later adding that, “I’m not looking to be a high profile dissident or anything like that."

Still, Powell said he remained concerned about the Fed's independence from the White House, which he said is essential to its ability to set rates to benefit the public, rather than in response to political pressure. When the Fed raises or cuts its short-term rate, over time it affects the cost of mortgages, auto loans, and business borrowing.

Fed independence remains “at risk,” he said. "We’re having to resort to the courts to enforce our ... ability to make monetary policy without political considerations. We’ve had to do that and we’ve been successful so far, but that’s not over, none of that has concluded yet.”

The unusual situation comes while the economic picture remains unusually murky, putting the Fed in a difficult spot. Inflation has jumped to 3.3%, a two-year high, as the war has sharply raised gas prices. That makes it harder for the central bank to reduce rates. The Fed typically leaves rates unchanged, or even raises them, if inflation is worsening.

At the same time, hiring has ground almost to a halt, leaving those without jobs frustrated by the difficulty of finding new ones. Typically, the Fed cuts rates when the job market is weak, to spur more spending and job gains.

But layoffs also remain low, as employers appear to be following a “ low-hire, low-fire ” strategy. Many Fed officials have suggested that as long as the unemployment rate is low, the central bank doesn't need to cut rates to spur more spending and hiring. Unemployment declined to 4.3% in March, from 4.4%.

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AP Writer Alex Veiga contributed to this report.

It will be the first time in nearly two decades — and in Russia’s 4-year-old war in Ukraine — that no military equipment will rumble through Moscow’s Red Square on May 9, the day Russia celebrates its most important secular holiday. The Kremlin has used it to showcase its military might and global clout, and it is a source of patriotic pride.

Victory Day parades on Red Square have involved military equipment and various weaponry every year since 2008. Smaller parades are held elsewhere across the country, including in cities like St. Petersburg.

The ministry cited the “current operational situation” as a reason for excluding military equipment, as well as cadets, from this year’s parade on the 81st anniversary of the victory. Ukraine has launched drone attacks deep inside Russia to counter Moscow’s more than 4-year-old invasion.

While the ministry did not elaborate, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday blamed Ukraine, accusing it of “terrorist activity,” in an apparent reference to the drone strikes. In recent months, attacks have reached locations deep inside Russia, like the Baltic port of Ust-Luga to the north of Moscow, the Samara region near the border with Kazakhstan, and the Perm region in the Ural mountains.

“All measures are being taken to minimize the danger,” he told reporters.

The parade will feature “servicemen from higher military educational institutions of all kinds and certain service branches of the Russian Armed Forces” and a traditional military aircraft flyover, the ministry said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call later Wednesday that he was ready to declare a ceasefire with Ukraine for the Victory Day holiday, according to presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov.

Ushakov said the Trump had supported the idea as the holiday marked “our common victory over fascism” in World War II.

Boosting national pride

World War II remains a rare point of consensus in the nation’s divisive history under Communist rule, and the Kremlin has leveraged that sentiment to encourage national pride and underline Russia’s position as a global power.

The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in what it calls the Great Patriotic War in 1941-45, an enormous sacrifice that left a deep scar in the national psyche.

President Vladimir Putin, who has ruled Russia for over 25 years, has turned Victory Day into a key pillar of his tenure and has tried to use it to justify the war in Ukraine.

“Traditionally, the parade of tanks, missile systems and other military hardware across Red Square has been central to these celebrations, providing powerful optics and reinforcing Russia’s image as the heir to Soviet victory in World War II," said Natia Seskuria, associate fellow with the Royal United Services Institute.

"Removing this important element weakens the propaganda value of the event, particularly for domestic audiences, as it reduces one of the most visible symbols of Russian power and military prestige,” she told The Associated Press.

Security concerns are the most likely explanation, Seskuria said.

But there also could be practical military considerations, "including the need to preserve equipment, avoid highlighting battlefield losses, and reduce the exposure of valuable military assets,” she said,

"This decision signals a degree of vulnerability rather than strength, because even last year, Russia demonstrated a range of new tanks and drones in front of invited world leaders,” Seskuria added.

An 80th anniversary drew dignitaries

Last year’s parade on the 80th anniversary was the largest since Russia sent troops into Ukraine, and drew the most global leaders to Moscow in a decade, including high-profile guests like Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Fico will attend this year, too, along with other foreign dignitaries, Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said Wednesday.

It featured over 11,500 troops and more than 180 military vehicles, including tanks, armored infantry vehicles and artillery used on the battlefield in Ukraine, as well as huge Yars nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles as well as drones carried on military trucks. Fighter jets flew over Red Square, too.

Putin had declared a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire starting May 7, 2025, and authorities blocked cellphone internet in Moscow for several days to avert Ukrainian drone attacks.

In 2023, the parade was scaled down, with fewer troops and military equipment on display and no flyover.

In the Soviet era, the first Red Square parade marking the defeat of Nazi Germany took place on June 24, 1945. Then it was held on May 9 several times after that, with the last Soviet-era parade taking place in 1990.

After the USSR collapsed, the parades resumed in 1995. That year, troops and veterans marched through Red Square, and a separate parade of military equipment took place at the sprawling Poklonnaya Gora World War II memorial. After that, parades were held every year. In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities moved the parade to a later date, and it was held on June 24.

Alperen Sengun had 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the fifth-seeded Rockets, who sent the series back to Houston for Game 6 on Friday night with a gritty performance to overcome Austin Reaves' return to the Lakers.

Houston has won two straight even without top scorer Kevin Durant, who has missed four of the series' five games with injuries.

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

No team has ever recovered from an 0-3 deficit to win an NBA playoff series, but the Rockets are halfway. Only four of the 159 teams to start a series down 0-3 have ever even forced a Game 7.

LeBron James scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half and added seven assists, but Los Angeles lost its second straight after stealing Game 3 with an improbable rally in the final seconds of regulation.

James’ teams have never blown a 2-0 series lead in his entire 23-year NBA career.

“Listen, it’s one game,” James said. “You give credit where credit is due. They played well the last two games, exceptionally well, and we’ve got to answer the call.”

Reaves had 22 points and six assists in his return from a nine-game injury absence for the Lakers, but they committed 15 mostly atrocious turnovers in their worst performance of the series and only their second loss in 16 home games since February.

Los Angeles awoke for a late 11-1 run and trimmed Houston’s lead to 88-85 on a driving layup by James, but Reed Sheppard hit a jumper before ripping the ball away from James for a dunk with 2:20 to play. The moment looked like redemption for Sheppard, who committed a turnover forced by James that led to the Lakers' last-minute comeback to tie Game 3.

"After what happened in Game 3, we could have very easily shut it down and pouted and quit," said Sheppard, who was ill with congestion and a headache during the day. “That's not what we did. We watched it and we learned from it. We keep fighting and keep giving ourselves a chance to win.”

Deandre Ayton had 18 points and 17 rebounds for Los Angeles, which is still without Luka Doncic. The NBA scoring champion doesn't appear to be close to a return from a strained hamstring.

Strained oblique muscles had sidelined Reaves since April 2, but he had 11 points and six assists in the first half of Game 5. Yet the Rockets coolly carried an advantage into the second half and led 87-74 with 5:55 to play.

Ayton's putback dunk made it 96-93 after James and Reaves both missed open 3-pointers. But Thompson hit one of two free throws, and James badly missed another 3-point attempt that allowed Houston to ice it.

The Rockets shot particularly poorly while losing the series' first two games in Los Angeles, but they've rediscovered their collective touch while running a balanced offense in Durant's absence. Houston has played with the confidence exemplified Tuesday by Smith, who claimed the Rockets were “obviously the better team” despite their 3-1 series deficit.

The Rockets' resilience is also good news for the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, who are resting and awaiting the series winner after sweeping Phoenix.

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

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 its current 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.

A corporal in the reserve battalion, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the nature of her service, said she's seen a shift in priorities as the global security outlook has gotten 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 proven 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 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 added: “It’s a luxury problem.”

Other nations boost recruitment

German lawmakers are considering a government plan to offers 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 that 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 aged 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 remain slots. Neighboring Denmark has a similar system, as does Latvia since it revived its draft in 2023 in response to Russia’s 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 added, “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 summit of NATO leaders 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 are not 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.

Danylo Tsvok said AI is already helping Ukraine hold territory, while reducing risks to its soldiers as it faces a larger, better-resourced adversary.

“We need to be faster than the enemy in decision-making,” he told The Associated Press, adding that AI is “not only a competitive advantage. It’s about our survival.”

Tsvok, 35, leads the Defense Artificial Intelligence Center, which was established last month by the Defense Ministry. He previously served in the government’s top civilian AI role.

Ukraine and Russia are locked in an intensifying race to deploy increasingly automated systems — from aerial drones to ground and maritime platforms. At the center of that race is the ability to maintain operations under heavy electronic warfare.

Many newer systems are designed to shift toward autonomous functionality, maintaining target focus even under hostile jamming.

Ukraine’s rapidly expanding domestic arms sector now includes more than 2,000 manufacturers and military technology firms. Developers are testing tools that enable coordinated drone swarms, aiming to boost efficiency while easing the burden on human operators.

“We need to understand that the future belongs to autonomous systems,” Tsvok said. “AI makes it possible to automate parts of the kill chain.”

In its more mature form, he said, AI could underpin a networked battlefield in which smart weapons operate in coordination under a unified assessment platform.

“That could happen within three to five years,” he said. “Within that time frame, front lines could be secured by tightly integrated hardware and software systems.”

In the nearer term, he pointed to wider deployment of autonomous interceptors, expanded use of ground-based robotic systems, and an escalation in electronic warfare capabilities.

Some elements are already in place. Unmanned ground platforms are increasingly used in logistics, evacuation and combat roles.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently said land drones supported more than 20,000 battlefield missions — including medical evacuations, supply runs and direct combat — over a three-month period this year. Among them, he said, was a successful attack carried out without any human soldiers.

Tsvok insisted the objective is not fully autonomous ‘killer robots,’ but a more coordinated system that accelerates decision-making and integrates more closely with Western partners.

“It’s not about reaching 100% autonomy, it’s about being efficient on the battlefield,” he said.

Ukraine is deepening partnerships with Western allies and Gulf states to secure funding, scale production and embed itself in security alliances, while also opening access to its extensive battlefield data.

Tsvok’s department receives financial support from the U.K. Ministry of Defence — the type of relationship he described as both militarily and politically significant.

“Democracies must develop strong defensive capabilities,” he said. “Without AI, they cannot effectively protect peace. This is not only about Ukraine. It’s about global security.”

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Volodymyr Yurchuk and Vasilisa Stepanenko in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed.

However, the Cavaliers would have been in dire straits Wednesday night without Dennis Schroder.

Schroder scored 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers came back to beat the Toronto Raptors 125-120 in Game 5 of their first-round series.

“This guy’s played in huge games in the NBA and then on the international scene, so this type of game fits him,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I think it started with him getting to the rim and then that loosened up the jumper for him. And then I thought his defense on (RJ) Barrett really got under him, harassed him. He really was Dennis the Menace tonight.”

Schroder — acquired from the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 1 along with Keon Ellis — finished with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including three 3-pointers, in 21 minutes. This is the 17th time Schroder has scored at least 19 points in a playoff game. He had 20 for Detroit in Game 2 of its first-round series against New York last year.

It was the third-most points Schroder has scored since joining the Cavaliers.

“I love big games, I love the playoffs. You’ve just got to embrace it,” Schroder said. “I’ve been through a lot of big games of my career, and I’ve seen it. I think experience matters, but at the end of the day, the urgency and the energy, you’ve got to have it.”

Schroder’s biggest contribution came before the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers trailed 74-67 at halftime. The 13-year veteran gave a detailed 2-3 minute breakdown in the locker room on what was needed to come back.

“I just wanted to see Cavs basketball, how we played when we first got here. We did a great job even throughout this season when we first got here, but I think we got a little bit away from that,” Schroder said. “We need the big guys. Jarrett (Allen) and Evan Mobley are the key to our team. We’ve got two superstars with Don (Donovan Mitchell) and with Uno (James Harden), but those two big guys, we’ve got to use them.”

Mobley had six of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, both on 3-pointers. His 3 with 10:21 remaining off an assist by Schroder gave Cleveland a 106-103 lead that it would not relinquish.

Schroder added a layup to extend the Cavs’ lead to five points.

“I was just trying to be aggressive. I just wanted to come out and bring the energy, try to help as much as I can to get the W,” Schroder said.

Schroder played the final 16 minutes. Atkinson tried to get Mitchell and Mobley back in during the fourth quarter, but Mitchell said the group on the floor was playing well.

“Sometimes the best offense is just going to stand over there. There’s a trust level that I have, and we all have with this group,” said Mitchell, who had 19 points. “And like I said, it’s the playoffs, man. It doesn’t matter if it’s me, whoever it is, as long as we’re getting quality looks and figuring it out. And that’s what we saw throughout tonight.”

Schroder said he did not realize Mitchell chose to stay on the bench until someone mentioned it after the game.

“ I’m the same way, though. When somebody is balling and even when the coach tells me to get in, I’m letting the guy cook. Whoever cooks, and I appreciate that from Don,” Schroder said. “That means a lot. He is a superstar. Not a lot of superstars do that who I’ve been around.”

Schroder and the Cavaliers will try to close out the series Friday night in Toronto

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

Rookie Jakub Dobes stopped 38 shots to help Montreal move within a victory of advancing for the first time since losing to the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2021.

Brendan Gallagher got his first goal in his first game this series and Kirby Dach also scored for the Canadiens.

“It's obviously exciting,” said Gallagher, who was a healthy scratch the first four games. “It's been a fun series to watch. I tried to follow their lead and find a way to contribute and I did that.”

Game 6 is Friday night in Montreal, where the teams split Games 3 and 4. All five games have been decided by one goal, including overtime in the first three.

Dominic James scored his first career playoff goal and Jake Guentzel also connected for the Lightning. They are one loss from being eliminated in the first round for the fourth straight season.

Tampa Bay has lost 10 of its last 12 home games in the postseason despite 460 consecutive sellouts.

“We got no choice now. We got to show up or we're out,” Lightning forward Brayden Point said.

Texier took a long pass from Lane Hutson, skated into the left circle and ripped a shot that bounced off Andrei Vasilevskiy’s glove and into the net for a 3-2 lead early in the third.

“I'm not a 50-goal scorer,” Texier said. “When I have a chance, I just try to put it on net and sometimes you're lucky it's in and sometimes not.”

The Canadiens jumped ahead three minutes into the game when Gallagher wristed in a rebound after Vasilevskiy kicked away Alex Newhook’s backhander. Gallagher, the 14-year veteran, spent time the first four games giving the young players advice.

“I was happy for him and happy for us,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said about Gallagher. “Really happy the way he's handled everything and not surprised the way he played.”

Seconds after James blasted a slap shot past Dobes on a 2-on-1 breakaway, the Canadiens regained the lead. Dach skated down the left side, went around a defender, lost the puck, kicked it from his skate to his stick in front of the net and put it in.

Dach deactivated his Instagram account after receiving online criticism because his defensive lapse led to the winning goal in overtime in Game 2. He had a goal and an assist in Montreal’s 3-2 overtime win the next game.

Guentzel fired a slap shot between Dobes’ legs on another 2-on-1 breakaway to tie it at 2 late in the second. Guentzel has the best playoff goal-scoring ratio among American-born players in NHL history with 43 goals in 79 games.

The Lightning killed off a four-minute disadvantage after Ryan McDonagh’s double minor for high-sticking in the first period. The Canadiens managed just one shot on net during the power play.

Montreal had better scoring chances on two of Tampa Bay’s power plays in the second period. Vasilevskiy stopped Jake Evans on a short-handed breakaway on one of them. ___

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

Some officials were members of Mexico's progressive ruling party, Morena, posing a political conundrum for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum as she seeks to offset mounting pressures from the Trump administration. Some of those politicians called the indictment a political attack on their party.

U.S. federal officials announced the charges in a news release. None of the defendants were in custody, but Mexico's government said shortly afterward that it had received multiple extradition requests from the U.S. without identifying those requested. It did not say how it would respond.

Morena party members indicted

The 10 people charged in Manhattan federal court are current and former government or law enforcement officials in Sinaloa, including Rubén Rocha Moya, 76, who has been governor of Mexico's Sinaloa state since November 2021.

Charges against Moya included narcotics importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices, along with another conspiracy count. If convicted, he could face life in prison or a mandatory minimum of 40 years behind bars.

Rocha was a staunch ally of Sheinbaum's mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The governor enthusiastically backed the ex-president's “Hugs, Not Bullets” policy, which involved avoiding direct confrontation with powerful drug cartels. López Obrador built a political platform by railing against endemic corruption plaguing Mexican politics.

Rocha, the highest profile official charged, said he “categorically and completely rejects” the accusations as baseless and called them an “attack” on Mexico’s ruling party and its leaders.

“It is part of a perverse strategy to violate (Mexico’s) constitutional order, specifically on national sovereignty, ” he wrote in a post on X on Wednesday afternoon. “We will show them that this slander doesn’t have any sort of foundation.”

Later in the day, he told reporters that he planned to stay in Sinaloa and wasn’t worried.

Ties to Sinaloa Cartel

Some of those named, according to the indictment, have themselves participated in the Sinaloa Cartel's campaign of violence and retribution.

Those charged included a Mexican senator, a Sinaloa state deputy attorney general, a former Sinaloa secretary of public security, a former deputy director of the Sinaloa State Police and the mayor of Culiacan.

According to the indictment, the defendants shielded cartel leaders from investigation, arrest, and prosecution, fed the cartel with sensitive law enforcement and military information, directed members of state and local law enforcement agencies to protect drug loads and let the cartel commit brutal drug-related violence without consequence. In return, it said, the defendants received millions of dollars in drug money.

The indictment alleged that they were closely aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel faction known as “Los Chapitos,” which is run by the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the ex-cartel leader now serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

Authorities said the defendants played critical roles in helping the cartel ship fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico into the U.S. The Sinaloa Cartel is among eight Latin American crime groups designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.

“As the indictment lays bare, the Sinaloa Cartel, and other drug trafficking organizations like it, would not operate as freely or successfully without corrupt politicians and law enforcement officials on their payroll,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a release.

The indictment of Rocha, who was born in the same town as “El Chapo,” was particularly notable because the governor was embroiled in a scandal in 2024 involving the Sinaloa Cartel. His name was published in a letter written by a then-Sinaloa Cartel capo who was kidnapped by leaders of a rival faction of the cartel and handed off to law enforcement in the U.S. In the letter, the capo said that when he was kidnapped he believed he was on his way to meet with Rocha.

In the years since, the cartel's two warring factions have ravaged the northern Mexican state in their struggle for territorial control.

Among those indicted, at least three officials — Rocha, the mayor of Sinaloa’s capital, and a senator — were affiliated with Sheinbaum’s party, Morena. A number of other officials held positions unaffiliated with Mexican parties.

It's not the first time the U.S. has brought drug trafficking charges against ranking Mexican officials. Genaro García Luna — a former Mexican public security secretary under former President Felipe Calderón — was convicted by a U.S. court and sentenced to 38 years in prison after he was accused of taking bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel. He denied the allegations and is appealing his conviction.

Another balancing act for Sheinbaum

The indictment unsealed Wednesday come after U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson last week said that the U.S. administration would launch an anti-corruption campaign targeting Mexican officials he said were linked to organized crime.

"Corruption not only hinders progress, it distorts it. It increases costs, weakens competition, and erodes the trust upon which markets depend. It is not a problem without victims,” Johnson said.

Sheinbaum responded Monday by saying her government has not seen “any evidence” of the charges of corruption.

“Any investigation in the United States against any person in Mexico must have evidence reviewed by the (Mexican) Attorney General’s Office,” Sheinbaum said.

Sheinbaum’s government has already detained several local officials across Mexico in its ongoing crackdown against the cartels, fueled by pressure by the Trump administration.

The indictment has once again forced the Mexican leader to walk a political tightrope, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Washington-based Brookings Institution who specializes in organized crime.

If Sheinbaum doesn’t go after Rocha, it will put strain on relations with the U.S. ahead of renegotiations of a free-trade agreement with the U.S. crucial to the Mexican economy, the analyst said. If she does arrest him, “it carries tremendous consequences for her politically” ahead of next year’s midterm elections in Mexico.

“Is she going to move to arrest Gov. Rocha and the other eight indicted politicians and attempt to extradite him to the United States? This is certainly what the United States wants,” Felbab-Brown said.

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This story has been corrected to show the scandal that embroiled Rocha was in 2024, not 2023.

Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writers María Verza and Fabiola Sánchez in Mexico City and Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed.

The rookie left fielder's latest saved the game for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Church ended a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates by robbing Nick Gonzales of what would have been a walk-off, two-run homer by making a leaping catch at the left-field wall Wednesday night.

Just four days earlier, Church took a potential tying homer away from Seattle's Mitch Garver in the sixth inning. The 25-year-old also had his first career two-homer game in that 11-9 loss to the Mariners.

On opening day, Church made a dazzling catch at the top of the wall against Tampa Bay's Ryan Vilade. A homer then also would have tied the game.

Gonzales’ drive above the top of the 6-foot wall — 373 feet from home plate — would have been a home run in 27 of the 30 big league ballparks, according to MLB Statcast, all but PNC Park, Baltimore's Camden Yards and Texas' Globe Life Field.

Reliever Riley O'Brien, who got his eighth save thanks to the grab, held his arms over his head with a stunned look toward left as Church casually jogged away from the wall with the ball in his glove.

Church earned a reputation as an elite defender in the minor leagues as an 11th-round draft pick by the Cardinals in 2022. He's on his best stretch at the plate, hitting .281 with four homers in the past eight games.

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

The government established the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion after father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram allegedly opened fire with legally-owned guns at the celebration at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14., 2025. Authorities say their attack was inspired by the Islamic State group.

Royal Commissioner Virginia Bell made 14 recommendations on Thursday in her first interim report, five of which were not made public because they were classified as confidential for national security reasons.

The report also noted there had been a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents in Australia since the war between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 7, 2023.

The United States and Israel’s attack on Iran in February was “likely to have increased the risk of attacks directed at the Australian Jewish community,” it said.

Report proposes new limits on gun ownership and follow-up on gun licenses

The recommendations included that the federal and state governments prioritize implementing nationally consistent gun laws and a gun buyback.

Sajid Naveed was shot dead by police at the crime scene. He was a licensed shooter who legally owned the guns used.

Under new restrictions proposed by the federal government, the Indian-born Australian permanent resident would have been banned from holding a gun license because he was not an Australian citizen.

His son was wounded but survived. Naveed Akram has been charged with committing a terrorist act, 15 counts of murder and 40 counts of attempted murder. He has entered no pleas.

The government has also proposed limiting the number of guns someone can own to as few as four and implementing periodic reviews of existing gun licenses.

The new restrictions would be accompanied with a gun buyback scheme to compensate gun owners who must hand in weapons. The government has proposed sharing the cost of the buyback with the six states and two territories. But some states have said they won’t pay.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government had agreed to implement all the recommendations that were relevant to federal authorities.

Albanese said he hoped the recommended gun reforms were implemented.

“I certainly hope that that occurs and would continue to engage constructively with state and territory governments to say that this is reform which is necessary,” Albanese told reporters.

Albanese noted that Australia commemorated on Tuesday the 30th anniversary of Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in modern times.

A landmark national firearms agreement virtually banned rapid-fire rifles after a gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania state on April 28, 1996.

“The nation is safer because of that,” Albanese said.

Government moves to increase protection of Jewish sites

Albanese noted that despite concluding that risks to Australian Jews were rising, the report found that no urgent changes were required to keep Australians safe.

“There has been a rise in antisemitism. That is a global phenomenon,” Albanese said.

“That is something that has happened right around the world. Governments need to respond to it. We are responding to it,” he added.

The report noted that the government had allocated 102 million Australian dollars ($73 million) to increase security at Jewish sites including synagogues and schools.

The money is administered by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the community’s peak organization.

The council’s co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said the report was an important part in the process of making Jewish Australians feel safe again.

“We need to get to a point where Jewish Australians at Hanukkah this year … feel safe, that we can gather again, that we won’t be targeted,” Ryvchin told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“It’s going to be a long process to get us to that point. There’s a deep sense of trauma in the community and … a lot of unanswered questions, bit this is an important step in the process,” he added.

Public hearings in the inquiry begin on Monday next week.

The panel of three judges dismissed Brenton Tarrant’s claim that harsh prison conditions prompted him to make an involuntarily admission to terrorism, murder and attempted murder charges. His bid to withdraw his guilty pleas and seek a trial was “utterly devoid of merit," they wrote.

The Australian man, who is now 35, killed 51 worshippers and injured dozens more in March 2019 when he drove to two Christchurch mosques and opened fire with semiautomatic weapons during Friday prayers. Tarrant’s guilty pleas in March 2020 brought relief to bereaved families and survivors of the attack, who feared he would use a public trial to air his hateful views.

The dismissal of his appeal appears to end the possibility of Tarrant ever facing a trial, a prospect that lawyers representing some of his victims — who included men, women and children as young as three — said in a statement Thursday had been “unimaginably traumatic.”

The court noted the gunman's bid was made 505 days after the legal deadline for it to be filed. Tarrant had “failed by a considerable margin to adequately explain the extraordinarily long delay” in seeking an appeal, the judgment said.

His claim of mental illness was rejected

At the court's five-day hearing in February, the attacker argued his admissions of guilt were provoked by “irrationality” induced by poor mental health, which led him to desert his racist views for a time. The judges concluded, however, that his claims of mental illness weren’t supported by prison staff, mental health professionals or lawyers who had earlier represented him.

The court added that Tarrant also didn't meet the legal definition of unfitness to plead guilty, a point he had admitted.

“He was not suffering from a mental impairment or any other form of mental incapacity which rendered him unable to voluntarily change his pleas to guilty,” the judges wrote in Thursday's ruling. “He endeavoured to mislead us about his state of mind in a weak attempt to advance an appeal in circumstances where all other evidence demonstrated that he made an informed and totally rational decision to plead guilty.”

The court's decision also revealed that Tarrant sought to abandon his appeal shortly after making his case at the hearing in February. The judges rejected that bid too, writing that the case was “of significant public interest and should be finally determined.”

They suggested that Tarrant “began to form the opinion that the hearing was not proceeding in his favour, and as a result decided to file a notice of abandonment after the hearing concluded.” New Zealand law doesn’t automatically allow an appellant to quit an appeal bid once it’s underway.

Judges say his pleas weren't forced

The shooter's complaints about his prison conditions included that he was kept away from other prisoners without anything to do and was constantly surveilled. The judges, however, said his solitary confinement was necessary because Tarrant was at risk for suicide or self-harm.

“He was monitored because of concerns about his welfare and not to torment him or treat him cruelly,” they wrote.

The shooter “was not coerced or pressured in any way” to plead guilty, the judges said. In fact, they added, Tarrant rejected his lawyers' offer to attempt to negotiate away the terrorism charge because he wanted to be known as a terrorist.

He will remain in jail for life

Tarrant, who has fired the lawyers who were acting for him in February, remains in Auckland Prison, where he was sentenced in August 2020 to spend life in prison without the chance of parole. The judges allowed him to abandon his appeal of that sentence, which was scheduled to be heard later in 2026.

The killer was radicalized online and moved to New Zealand in 2017 with a plan to commit a mass shooting. He amassed a cache of weapons and made a reconnaissance trip to the sites of his planned crimes before the attack.

His previous lawyers told the appeals court in February that Tarrant, an immigrant from Australia, had wanted to argue during a trial that he had been defending New Zealand from immigrants. Such a defense is not available under New Zealand law, a fact that the judges suggested Thursday had influenced his decision to plead guilty.

They wrote that Tarrant hadn't disputed the facts of the case against him, which they described as “overwhelming” and “beyond dispute," or identified any legitimate defense he would have offered at a trial. Evidence included footage of the attack that the gunman filmed himself and livestreamed on the internet, in which he showed his own face, and a document outlining his racist views that he published online before the attacks under his real name.

Cleveland leads the series 3-2. Game 6 is Friday night in Toronto.

James Harden scored 23 points and Donovan Mitchell added 19 for the Cavaliers.

“This was a step for us from a mental toughness point of view. I thought we showed good poise and resiliency,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “When you could have let your guard down, our guys kept with it.”

RJ Barrett led Toronto with 25 points while Ja’Kobe Walter added 20 and Jamal Shead had 18 off the bench.

The Raptors led 74-67 at halftime and scored the first five points of the third quarter. The Cavaliers slowly rallied but trailed 103-100 going into the final 12 minutes.

Cleveland seized control by scoring the first eight points of the fourth quarter. Jaylon Tyson hit a step-back 3-pointer to tie it at 103-all, and a 3 by Mobley gave the Cavaliers a 106-103 lead.

“He’s ready for those moments. He wants those moments. He works relentlessly on the 3-ball. Those were big shots for us for sure,” Mitchell said of Mobley.

Toronto missed its first 11 shots and was 7 of 28 from the field in the fourth while Cleveland made 7 of its first 11 and was 9 of 19.

“I would not just blame the fourth quarter. We cannot allow this team to score 125 points,” coach Darko Rajakovic said.

The Raptors were hobbled in the final period. Forward Brandon Ingram left the game in the second quarter with right heel inflammation. Fellow All-Star Scottie Barnes also was not at full strength after getting kneed in the quadriceps by Thomas Bryant while driving to the basket in the first half.

Barnes scored just 3 of his 17 points in the second half.

“For the most part, I thought we had this game. We played good enough to win. Just in the fourth quarter, they played a little better,” Barrett said. “What can you do? It’s the playoffs. Now, it’s do or die. Give them credit. We’ll be ready Friday.”

The Cavaliers won despite committing 15 turnovers that resulted in 28 Toronto points. They had 10 in the first half which the Raptors converted into 23 points.

“In the second half, I think ball-handling and Dennis helped relieve some of the pressure off (Mitchell) and (Harden) so I think that was part of it. If we are going to win on the road, we've got to find a way to clean that up,” Atkinson said.

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

In a 6-3 ruling, the court’s conservative majority found that the Louisiana district represented by Democrat Cleo Fields relied too heavily on race. Chief Justice John Roberts had described the 6th Congressional District as a “snake” that stretches more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) to link parts of Shreveport, Alexandria, Lafayette and Baton Rouge.

“That map is an unconstitutional gerrymander,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the six conservatives.

The effect of the ruling may be felt more strongly in 2028 because most filing deadlines for this year's congressional races have passed. Louisiana, though, may have to change its redistricting plan to comply with the decision.

It is unclear how much of the provision — known as Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — remains.

When he signed the bill —the main way to challenge racially discriminatory election practices —into law more than 60 years ago, President Lyndon Johnson called it “a triumph for freedom as huge as any victory on any battlefield.”

In her dissent for the three liberal justices, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the court's “gutting of Section 2 puts that achievement in peril.”

Her sentiment was shared by former President Barack Obama, who said the decision showed “how a majority of the current Court seems intent on abandoning its vital role in ensuring equal participation in our democracy.”

In a statement, Fields said the decision's "practical effect is to make it far harder for minority communities to challenge redistricting maps that dilute their political voice.”

Potential political fallout

The voting rights law succeeded in opening the ballot box to Black Americans and reducing persistent discrimination in voting. Nearly 70 of the 435 congressional districts are protected by Section 2, election law expert Nicholas Stephanopoulos has estimated.

Alito wrote that "allowing race to play any part in government decisionmaking represents a departure from the constitutional rule that applies in almost every other context.” He said Section 2 is effectively limited to instances of intentional discrimination, a very high standard.

Kagan said the upshot of the decision is that states "can, without legal consequence, systematically dilute minority citizens’ voting power.”

Reaction to the decision broke along partisan lines.

“This is a complete and total victory for American voters. The color of one’s skin should not dictate which congressional district you belong in. We commend the court for putting an end to the unconstitutional abuse of the Voting Rights Act and protecting civil rights,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson wrote in an email.

The chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee called the decision “appalling.” Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington state said it was the latest in a long line of attacks by President Donald Trump and the conservative court “against the fundamental right of every American citizen to vote.”

She said Democrats remained poised to regain the House majority in November “despite this corrupt and targeted assault on the voting rights of Black and Brown Americans from the Supreme Court.”

A ruling Trump likes

Trump had touched off a nationwide redistricting competition this year to boost Republican chances of preserving their House edge. The president said some states should redraw their maps and he called the decision the "kind of ruling I like.”

Legislatures already are free to draw extremely partisan districts because of a 2019 Supreme Court decision.

Wednesday's ruling came out as Florida legislators debated a proposed redrawing of the state’s congressional lines, submitted by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and intended to give the GOP a chance to pick up as many as four seats in the state’s U.S. House delegation.

Democrats in the Florida Senate urged the Republican supermajority to delay debate, at least long enough to allow lawmakers to read the decision and consult lawyers about how it might affect DeSantis’ proposal. Republicans refused and the Legislature approved the new map.

In the Supreme Court's Louisiana ruling, the justices did an about-face from a decision in a similar case from Alabama less than three years ago that led to a new congressional map for the state that sent two Black Democrats to Congress.

The Alabama decision also prompted Louisiana lawmakers to add a second majority Black district. About a third of Louisianans are Black and they now form majorities in two of the state’s six congressional districts. Alabama has a separate appeal pending at the Supreme Court

Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the three liberals to form a majority in the Alabama case, the same term in which the conservative-dominated court ended affirmative action in college admissions. Both joined Alito's opinion Wednesday.

Roberts has long eyed Voting Rights Act

The chief justice has been at the center of the effort to limit the use of race in public life. He has had the Voting Rights Act in his sights since his time as a young lawyer in the Reagan-era Justice Department.

“It is a sordid business, this divvying us up by race,” Roberts wrote in a dissenting opinion in 2006 in his first major voting rights case as chief justice.

In 2013, Roberts wrote for the majority in gutting the law’s requirement that states and local governments with a history of discrimination, mostly in the South, get approval before making any election-related changes.

“Our country has changed, and while any racial discrimination in voting is too much, Congress must ensure that the legislation it passes to remedy that problem speaks to current conditions,” Roberts wrote.

Barring extraordinary action, the broader impact probably will be felt in 2028, when Republicans potentially can replace more than a dozen Democratic-held House districts that were previously protected under the Voting Rights Act.

“The Voting Rights Act as a means to protect minority voters from vote dilution is essentially dead,” said Jonathan Cervas, a political scientist at Carnegie Mellon University who has served as an outside legal expert in multiple Voting Rights Act cases.

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Associated Press writers Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, La., Nicholas Riccardi in Denver, Bill Barrow in Tallahassee, Fla., and Lisa Mascaro and Seung Ming Kim contributed to this report.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

Overnight skies will remain cloudy with a few passing showers early. Lows stay in the mid to upper 40s.

A mix of clouds and sun for Thursday, with highs running well below normal around 52 degrees.

Our average high is now 65.

But it’s those morning lows that are really going to put us in a deep chill.

Lows Thursday and Friday night will be close to freezing in many areas, with the threat of frost both nights.

The weekend looks sunny but cool with highs staying in the 50s until early next week.

Find the latest forecast from the 4Warn Weather team here

Remember to download the free 4Warn weather app -- it’s easily one of the best in the nation. Just search your app store under WDIV, and it’s right there, available for both iPhones and Androids! Or click the appropriate link below.

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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.

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 have laws that compensate wrongfully convicted people. But it can be years before they receive that money.

After Innocence works to connect exonerees with organizations that help with job training, housing, medical and dental care. 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 several other states, including California and New Mexico, to get laws passed 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 particularly good at delivering 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.”

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Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://x.com/juanlozano70

Both Paul and her former partner, Dakota Mortensen, have asked a Utah court to turn short-term protective orders into long-term arrangements as the two have accused each other of domestic violence.

Third District Court Commissioner Russell Minas said at an April 7 hearing that he had “concerns going both ways” about the competing allegations. For now, Paul cannot spend unsupervised time with her son because of a history of volatile behavior directed at Mortensen while kids were present, Minas ruled.

Paul and Mortensen, whose tumultuous relationship was featured heavily on the show, have been ordered to stay at least 100 feet (30 meters) away from each other until the hearing Thursday afternoon. Both were expected in person after attending the previous hearing virtually, a court spokesperson said.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the national domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233 in the U.S.

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Eleven fights between the exes were under examination in their protective order requests. A recently leaked video of one fight from 2023 prompted ABC to make the unprecedented move last month of shelving an already-filmed season of “The Bachelorette” starring Paul. Hulu also paused production of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” and resumed filming last week.

In the video, Paul appeared to punch, kick and throw chairs at Mortensen while her daughter watched and cried. Paul was charged with aggravated assault and other offenses, including domestic violence in the presence of a child. The police body camera footage of her arrest was featured in the first season of the Hulu series.

Paul pleaded guilty to an assault charge, which will be reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor if she stays out of legal trouble for a three-year probationary period that ends in August. The other counts were dismissed.

Earlier this month, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office declined to file new charges against Paul in recent fights with Mortensen. Any new charges would have violated Paul's probation from the 2023 assault.

The lack of prosecution could help Paul and her attorneys make her case to the court commissioner as she fights to regain custody of her son.

A protective order in Utah can restrict or eliminate a parent’s ability to see their child. When one parent receives a protective order against the other, a court commissioner may also decide it is in the child's best interest give that parent custody. If both parents have protective orders against each other, the court relies heavily on the recommendations of an attorney appointed to investigate the child's best interests.

Paul and Mortensen's son, Ever, will have a court-appointed attorney present at Thursday’s hearing to help the commissioner determine the safest arrangement for the boy.

The lawyer, Michael McDonald, said during the April 7 hearing that he had concerns about Paul’s tendency to fight with Mortensen in front of their son.

Eric Swinyard, a lawyer for Paul, has argued that Mortensen is the aggressor in the relationship. He showed photos in court of Paul's bruises after a fight in a truck in which Paul alleges Mortensen slammed her head into the dashboard.

Daniela Diaz, a lawyer for Mortensen, described other altercations between the pair and argued that Paul uses their son “as a pawn to start fights.”

York snapped the tension and a scoreless tie with the goal of the former first-round pick's career, burying the winner 17:32 into overtime that ignited a wild celebration and sent the Philadelphia Flyers into the second round for the first time in six years with a 1-0 Game 6 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.

The Flyers are set for a second-round showdown against Carolina.

“Just tried to put it there,” York said. “We knew that it was going to be a greasy one. It felt really good to see that one go in.”

Dan Vladar was again sensational in the net and stopped all 42 shots and prevented the Penguins from playing for a shot at playoff history.

Sidney Crosby and the Penguins tried to become just the fifth team in NHL history to win a series after trailing 3-0. They won two straight to force Game 6.

It is the Flyers who are moving on in coach Rick Tocchet's first season.

“It's been a long time,” Tocchet said. “I know there's been a lot of frustration.”

Arturs Silovs made 31 saves. Crosby skated over and consoled Silovs on the ice as the Flyers' theme song — Olivia Dean's “Man I Need” — blasted throughout the arena.

“We were a shot away from going back to Pittsburgh for Game 7,” Crosby said. "It comes down to bounces sometimes. Putting yourself in that position is tough. I think we all had a lot of belief we could dig ourselves out of it. It's just unfortunate we got behind early in the series.”

The last playoff game to head to overtime scoreless was Winnipeg and Edmonton in a 2021 first-round series. The Jets won 1-0 in the first OT.

The Flyers are in the playoffs for the first time since 2020, when they last reached the second round in the bubble season. They are in the second round in a full NHL season for the first time since 2012.

“So happy for the guys in that room,” York said. “We battled all year long for this position.”

Silovs, who allowed about four goals per game over his last 10 starts of the regular season, steadied the Penguins in place of the ineffective Stuart Skinner with wins in Games 4 and 5 and about played like a Vezina Trophy winner in Game 6.

Matvei Michkov, the Flyer's leading scorer after the Olympic break, was scratched in Game 5. He returned to the lineup determined to be a postseason difference-maker. He had a great chance in the second period on a breakaway but was stopped. The Flyers kept the puck in the offensive zone and Michkov swooped in and tried to poke the puck into the corner of the net, only for Silovs to again clamp down and deny the goal.

The Flyers, the last team in the Eastern Conference to clinch a playoff spot, had 10 giveaways in the first period and made it six straight games in the series without a goal in the first period.

They can try to end that streak against a Hurricanes team that just swept the Ottawa Senators.

Kris Letang dropped Travis Konecny with a right hand as the second period ended and the long-time Penguin started the third in the penalty box. No matter. The Flyers came up empty with the man advantage — Michkov was wide on a one-timer — and they fell at that point to 2 for 17 on the power play in the series.

Vladar played like the team MVP he was in the regular season, willing the Flyers to the second round. Crosby early in the third flicked the puck from behind the net at Vladar. Perhaps auditioning for a spot in the World Cup, Vladar headed it like a soccer star over the back of the net and the game remained scoreless.

That was just one sign the night belonged to the Flyers.

“It's a lot right now,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “At no point am I expecting the season to end today.”

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

Chants of “MVP, MVP, MVP” rained down around Little Caesars Arena in the final minutes in praise of No. 2, now No. 1 in franchise playoff scoring history.

Cade Cunningham took command with 45 points on 13-for-23 shooting from the field and a perfect 14-for-14 at the free-throw line, setting the franchise record for most points in a single playoff game.

J.B. Bickerstaff has never seen anything like it in person.

“To know the moment, understand the moment, and just do whatever was necessary to help us get that win, that’s why he’s special,” the head coach said after pulling the series to within 3-2 heading back to Orlando.

“A never-die mentality,” Cunningham said after leaving the floor. “Just wanted to have controlled aggression all night and make sure they felt me. I didn’t want the season to end, so I had to put it all on the line.”

Cunningham passed Isiah Thomas (1987-88) and Bob Lanier (1976-77) as the only players in franchise history to score 25 points or more in five consecutive playoff games.

“There’s only a handful of them in the league,” Bickerstaff continued on his praise of Cade. “They’re unique. They’re special. To put the work in, to have the talent as a teammate, to understand the responsibility and what he means to this team—he wasn’t going to let us go down tonight.”

“I’m also not surprised,” Isaiah Stewart said at his locker. “I looked up and saw he had 45, and I was like, ‘Okay. It’s what you do.’ He’s built for the moment. This is how he’s been since day one, being a rookie. He takes on any challenge, he’s always calm about it, and does it to the best of his ability.”

Twenty-seven of Cunningham’s 45 points came in the first half, helping the Pistons take a six-point edge into the locker room.

Although the Magic trimmed the deficit to 71-69 two minutes into the third quarter, the Pistons led the game by as many as 17 and never trailed, keeping Orlando at arm’s reach by playing their style to perfection from the get-go.

“Our defense is going to be key for us,” Bickerstaff said. “I still thought there was room for improvement tonight. They made some tough shots, but the rebound battle? We did a hell of a job. We lost the turnover margin by one, but if you put the possession game together, keep them off the offensive glass, and create turnovers, you’re going to give yourselves a chance.”

Detroit out-rebounded the Magic at both ends, winning the battle on the boards 33-25 on defense and 16-8 on the offensive glass.

Plagued by turnovers and a lockdown defense that had forced Cunningham into an average of eight per game in the last three matchups, the Pistons forced 16 turnovers with a tenacity evident from the opening tip.

“Do what we’re supposed to do,” Ausar Thompson told Local 4 News in the locker room. “Move the ball. Keep the ball hot. Push the pace. That’s what we did tonight, so that’s why we scored as many points as we did.”

Thompson, who briefly left the game to re-tape, was a defensive whirlwind.

In 36 minutes of action, Thompson hauled in 15 rebounds with 5 steals, a pair of blocks, and 6 assists to go along with 6 points.

“Ausar was awesome,” Bickerstaff added. “Understand how he impacts the game, and just doing that, that’s one of the things that stands out. He sacrifices himself every single night to do whatever needs to be done.”

Orlando’s Paolo Banchero dueled with “Deuce” shot-for-shot, tying the game-high with 45 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Banchero’s scoring total comes up just one point shy of the Magic’s playoff scoring record, shared by Dwight Howard in 2011 and former Pistons guard Tracy McGrady against Detroit in 2003.

Held in check for much of the series, Jalen Duren scored seven of the team’s first 18 points, launching a 9-2 run off the opening tip and setting a charge for the best opening quarter of the series.

The big man wound up with 12 points and nine rebounds—five on the offensive glass.

Tobias Harris contributed 23 points with eight rebounds, the only other Pistons to exceed 12 points on Cunningham’s night to shine.

The Pistons will have to keep shining—together—to keep the season going.

“We handed out business tonight,” Cunningham said. “Now we have to handle our business there.”

Game 6 is scheduled for Friday in Orlando, with Game 7 Sunday in Detroit, if necessary.

Reaves had been out since April 2 with strained oblique muscles, missing the final five games of the Lakers' regular season and the first four games of the postseason. But Reaves returned to practice last week, and he warmed up for the previous two games in the series in Houston before being ruled out.

Reaves came off the bench for the Lakers in Game 5, who kept the same starting lineup that had taken them to a 3-1 series lead. Reaves immediately made an impact when he checked in midway through the first quarter, making a 3-pointer from 30 feet away on his first shot.

Reaves finished the first half with 11 points and six assists, sharing the Lakers' scoring lead with Marcus Smart. But Los Angeles trailed Houston 51-47 after committing nine turnovers.

Reaves was injured in the same game in which NBA scoring champion Luka Doncic strained his right hamstrings. Doncic doesn't yet appear to be close to a return.

The Lakers won the first three games of the series without their top two scorers, but the Rockets took Game 4 to push the series back to Los Angeles.

Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds this season, but played in just 51 games thanks to the oblique injury and a strained left calf that sidelined him for 19 straight games from Christmas to February.

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

Update: Two families sue Detroit, Warren police over alleged warrantless home entries, excessive force

Attorney Todd Perkins said on Wednesday (April 29) the cases involve alleged violations of constitutional rights during attempted arrests in which officers pursued suspects into private homes.

One incident occurred on April 2 in Detroit.

Police said officers initially stopped a young man believed to be violating the city’s curfew for minors.

According to authorities, the situation escalated after officers determined the individual had a gun, and he fled into a residence.

Body camera video shows officers entering the home, where a struggle broke out involving family members.

At one point, an officer is seen striking Carnell Givens multiple times while he was being restrained.

Givens was initially charged with felony assault and resisting police, but those charges were dismissed last week.

“Before I knew it, I’m in handcuffs,” Givens said. “One officer choked me with a headlock, two other officers put me in handcuffs, another officer decided to use me as a punching bag.”

Givens, Et. Al. v. City of Detroit, Et. Al. - Complt and Jury Demand by brandon carr

The second incident took place in September 2024 in Warren. Police conducted a traffic stop involving two individuals who then ran into a relative’s home, according to the lawsuit.

The suit alleges officers forced entry into the home without a warrant or explanation. The homeowners, Sandra Hall and Willie Hall, were arrested during the encounter.

According to the complaint, Sandra Hall, who had recently undergone surgery and was using crutches, was forced to the ground and sprayed with pepper spray. Both were charged with resisting and obstructing an officer; those charges were later dismissed.

“They’re making me, forcing me to get up, to walk,” Sandra Hall said. “I’m trying to limp, they’re throwing me on the ground. They maced me. I couldn’t even see.”

In a statement, the Warren Police Department said the lawsuit is without merit and alleged the Halls attempted to physically interfere with officers making arrests. The Detroit Police Department declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

The lawsuit seeks damages and alleges violations of constitutional protections against excessive force.

Hall, Willie, Et. Al. v. City of Warren, Et. Al. (Complt&Jury Demand) by brandon carr

Previous report:

Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed a fluke goal on the day he was nominated for the Vezina Trophy, the Lightning struggled to win faceoffs, lucky bounces went the other way and they lost to the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Wednesday night to fall behind 3-2 in the series.

Game 6 is Friday night in Montreal. The Lightning are trying to avoid a fourth straight first-round elimination since falling two wins short of a Stanley Cup three-peat in 2022.

“We got to drag them back here,” forward Corey Perry said. “You know it’s going to be a hostile environment. It’s loud but block it out and just go play. We found a way last game there. We got to do it again.”

The Lightning won Game 4 in Montreal but have lost 10 of their last 12 home games in the playoffs.

Alexandre Texier scored the winning goal 1:06 into the third period on a slap shot from the left circle that bounced off Vasilevskiy’s glove and trickled behind one of the NHL’s best goaltenders.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper blamed the goal on the defense.

“It stems way before that. It doesn’t stem from when Texier gets down the ice. It stems from the change and how we went about it and the mistakes we made on the way there,” Cooper said. “Forever, all Vasy does is bail us out of those. The rare time sometimes he doesn’t. He should’ve never got that deep into our zone and he got a lot on it. It wasn’t like Vasy got beat. He had it and it took a Montreal bounce, unfortunately for us.

The Canadiens dominated the faceoff circle, winning 66%. In another tight game - all five have been decided by one goal and the first three went to overtime - every puck possession matters.

“Possession is huge,” forward Brayden Point said. “There’s not a lot of room out there. Starting with the puck is massive.”

The Lightning had 40 shots on rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes but only Dominic James and Jake Guentzel could get the puck past him.

They had shots hit the post, crossbar and Nikita Kucherov had the puck bounce over his stick with an open net.

“We need other guys to score and haven’t been able to do it,” Point said. “It is frustrating. Just got to keep doing the right things and keep working hard.”

The Lightning have lost their last two elimination games. If they can win again in Montreal, they’ll host Game 7 on Sunday.

“I understand the next game is a potential elimination game but the last game we played there, we lose that one and we’re down 3-1 (and) you’re really chasing the series,” Cooper said. “They’ve been in that building twice now and have a pretty good feeling of what to expect. How it’s going to go? I can’t say for sure but I’ll bet we play better than we did tonight.” ___

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

Cunningham had a franchise playoff-record 45 points and the top-seeded Pistons held off the eighth-seeded Magic for a 116-109 win on Wednesday night in Game 5 of their first-round series, avoiding elimination for at least a couple of days.

“We dug ourselves a hole and now it’s time to climb our way out,” Cunningham said. “It’s possible.”

Orlando leads the series 3-2 and will get a second chance to advance at home on Friday night. If the Pistons win their first road game of the series, they will host a decisive Game 7 on Sunday.

Banchero also scored 45 points for a playoff career high — but missed 7 of 12 free throws — and fell one point short of equaling the franchise postseason record shared by Tracy McGrady and Dwight Howard.

The Magic were out-rebounded by 16 and made just 16 of 30 free throws.

“We got to be better on the glass and obviously, better on the free-throw line,” said Banchero, drafted No. 1 overall by Orlando in 2022. “If we make our free throws, we got a real chance of winning the game. We lost by seven, and missed 14 free throws. That’s the game.”

Cunningham set a single-game playoff scoring record for Detroit that had stood since Dave Bing had 44 points in 1968. Isiah Thomas approached that mark with a 43-point performance in 1988.

In NBA history there was only one other playoff game with two players scoring 45 or more.

Donovan Mitchell scored 51 points for Utah in a win over Denver in 2020, while the Nuggets' Jamal Murray had 50 points.

When Detroit drafted Cunningham first overall in 2021, it was hoping he would have games like this one.

He was 13 of 23 from the field, made a playoff career-high five 3-pointers and was 14 of 14 at the line.

“We’re going to see this a long time,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He’s going to do a lot of special things.”

The 24-year-old Cunningham came up short in late-game situations with the ball earlier in the series and in last year's first-round series against the New York Knicks, but he was clutch in key moments to extend the matchup with the Magic.

The Pistons never trailed, going ahead by 17 points in the first half and by 15 early in the fourth quarter.

The Magic pulled within three points on Banchero’s sixth 3-pointer with 1:09 left.

On the ensuing possession after Ausar Thompson hustled for an offensive rebound, Cunningham made a step-back, 16-foot jumper to help seal it.

“Not everybody is blessed with those opportunities to have pressure and have things on the line like that,” Cunningham said. “I’m just thankful for it and trying to make the most out of it.

“We’ve had a great season so far and none of us want it to end.”

The Pistons are hoping to bounce back from the brink of elimination as they did against the Magic two-plus decades ago.

Detroit’s comeback in 2003 as a No. 1 seed against eighth-seeded Orlando was the first of seven times NBA teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit this century. The Nuggets were the last team to pull off the feat six years ago — in the same series that featured Mitchell and Murray each scoring 50-plus point — and they became the first team in the league to do it twice in one postseason.

“You don't want to put yourself in this situation, but this is what we expected,” Bickerstaff said. “When our backs are against the wall, we come out swinging. We come out kicking. We come out scratching, biting, clawing.”

___

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

Update: Two families sue Detroit, Warren police over alleged warrantless home entries, excessive force

Attorney Todd Perkins said on Wednesday (April 29) the cases involve alleged violations of constitutional rights during attempted arrests in which officers pursued suspects into private homes.

One incident occurred on April 2 in Detroit.

Police said officers initially stopped a young man believed to be violating the city’s curfew for minors.

According to authorities, the situation escalated after officers determined the individual had a gun, and he fled into a residence.

Body camera video shows officers entering the home, where a struggle broke out involving family members.

At one point, an officer is seen striking Carnell Givens multiple times while he was being restrained.

Givens was initially charged with felony assault and resisting police, but those charges were dismissed last week.

“Before I knew it, I’m in handcuffs,” Givens said. “One officer choked me with a headlock, two other officers put me in handcuffs, another officer decided to use me as a punching bag.”

Givens, Et. Al. v. City of Detroit, Et. Al. - Complt and Jury Demand by brandon carr

The second incident took place in September 2024 in Warren. Police conducted a traffic stop involving two individuals who then ran into a relative’s home, according to the lawsuit.

The suit alleges officers forced entry into the home without a warrant or explanation. The homeowners, Sandra Hall and Willie Hall, were arrested during the encounter.

According to the complaint, Sandra Hall, who had recently undergone surgery and was using crutches, was forced to the ground and sprayed with pepper spray. Both were charged with resisting and obstructing an officer; those charges were later dismissed.

“They’re making me, forcing me to get up, to walk,” Sandra Hall said. “I’m trying to limp, they’re throwing me on the ground. They maced me. I couldn’t even see.”

In a statement, the Warren Police Department said the lawsuit is without merit and alleged the Halls attempted to physically interfere with officers making arrests. The Detroit Police Department declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

The lawsuit seeks damages and alleges violations of constitutional protections against excessive force.

Hall, Willie, Et. Al. v. City of Warren, Et. Al. (Complt&Jury Demand) by brandon carr

Previous report:

House Republicans adopted a budget resolution on a largely party-line vote, 215-211. The action doesn't automatically fund the department — it's focused on eventually providing $70 billion for immigration enforcement and deportations for the remainder of President Donald Trump's time in office, which Democrats oppose.

But launching the GOP budget process, which will play out over weeks to come, has been what Speaker Mike Johnson needed to unlock a broader bipartisan bill for TSA agents and others that has languished during the longest-ever agency shutdown in history. That bill is expected to come to a vote Thursday to fund much of the agency.

“It takes time,” Johnson, R-La., said after another day of start-stop action in the chamber that dragged for hours into the evening. “We will get there.”

The House's narrow Republican majority has repeatedly stalled out under Johnson's gavel, with his own party tangled in internal disputes on a range of pending issues, including the Homeland Security funding.

Democrats refused to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol without changes to those operations after the deaths of Americans protesting Trump’s deportation agenda. Republicans refused the broader Democratic-backed bill to fund TSA and the other aspects of Homeland Security without the money for ICE and Border Patrol.

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

“DHS will soon run out of critical operating funds, placing essential personnel and operations at risk,” said a memo from the Office of Management and Budget.

Homeland Security shutdown is longest ever

Homeland Security has been operating without regular funds for more than two months, since Feb. 14, in a broader dispute over Trump’s immigration agenda.

In the memo late Tuesday to lawmakers, the White House called on the House to quickly approve the budget resolution that GOP senators had approved in an all-night session last week to kickstart the process.

“Restoring funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has never been more urgent, as demonstrated by recent events,” the White House memo said, a nod to the situation over the weekend when a man armed with guns and knives tried to storm the annual White House correspondents’ dinner that Trump, the vice president and top Cabinet officials were attending.

But the day wore on as Johnson huddled privately with lawmakers sorting out other issues that stalled voting.

Next steps are expected Thursday when the House is likely to consider the Democratic-backed bill to fund the department, minus the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement funds, which are expected to come later this summer in the budget resolution process.

Immigration enforcement operations central to the debate

While 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 TSA, have had to rely on Trump’s intervention through executive action to ensure their paychecks.

But with salaries topping $1.6 billion every two weeks, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said recently, those funds are drying up.

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, the chairman of the Budget Committee, argued that the Democrats are making “ridiculous and even dangerous demands” as they push for changes to immigration operations.

But Democrats have held firm in the aftermath of the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the budget panel's top Democrat, said, “We know there are reforms that need to happen with ICE and CPB in order to rein in the abuses we have seen.”

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

“The urgency to provide predictable and stable funding for TSA is growing stronger by the day,” the group said in a statement. “Time and time again, our nation’s aviation workers and customers have been the victim of Congress’ failure to do their jobs.”

Complicated budget strategy ahead

House and Senate Republicans have embarked on a go-it-alone strategy, attempting to approve funds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol for the remainder of Trump's term to ensure no further interruptions from Democrats.

It's a cumbersome process, the same that was used last year to approve Trump's tax cuts bill, and it will play out over several weeks.

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.

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Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at https://apnews.com/hub/us-department-of-homeland-security.

It was the Cade Cunningham show on Wednesday (April 29) inside Little Caesars Arena, as he finished with a franchise record 45 points, five assists, four rebounds, one steal, and five turnovers, including a dagger jumper with 31.3 to play in the fourth quarter in the victory.

CADE CUNNINGHAM IS CLUTCH 💰 pic.twitter.com/uFFVKGs9Zz

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 30, 2026

Cunningham was 13 for 23 from the field and 14-14 from the charity stripe in the pivotal Game 5 victory.

It was Cunningham’s fifth-straight game with 25 or more points, passing Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers Isiah Thomas (1987-88) and Bob Lanier (1976-77) for the longest streak in Pistons playoff history.

Tonight's game is Cade Cunningham's fifth-straight game with 25+ Pts, passing Isiah Thomas (1987-88) and Bob Lanier (1976-77) for the longest streak in Pistons playoff history 🔥 pic.twitter.com/adJSlbCIZT

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) April 30, 2026

Cunningham set the tone in the first half, as he had 27 points to help Detroit take a 68-60 lead, but he was matched by Magic star Paulo Banchero, who finished the game with 45 points in the matchup, 18 coming in the fourth quarter.

The duel between Banchero and Cunningham was the second game in which two No. 1 overall picks each had over 40 points against one another, since former Pistons star Allen Iverson and Shaquille O’Neal in the 2001 NBA Finals.

Banchero finished with 45 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.

This is only the second game where two No. 1 overall picks each had 40+ PTS against each other in the SAME game 😳

The first: Allen Iverson and Shaquille O'Neal in Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals 🔥 pic.twitter.com/1M9kWb3Ch7

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) April 30, 2026

The Pistons had a key contribution in the matchup from Ausar Thompson, who was all over the floor in the victory.

Thompson had six points with 13 rebounds, six assists, four steals, and two blocks.

Detroit came out aggressively in the first quarter, building a 38-26 lead while putting early pressure on Orlando’s defense and jumping ahead 9-2 to start the game.

The Pistons set the tone early by going to Jalen Duren on the opening possession, where he converted an and-one against Wendell Carter Jr.

Duren finished the first quarter with seven points and ended the game with 12 in the victory.

Cunningham had two turnovers in the first four minutes but still scored nine points in the opening period, later drilling a 3-pointer in the second quarter as Detroit pushed its lead to 43-29.

The Pistons extended the margin to 48-31 before Orlando responded behind Banchero, who scored 20 of the team’s 41 first-half points.

Detroit led 50-41 with 5:37 remaining in the second quarter after having been up by as many as 17.

Cunningham paced Detroit early with 22 points, helping the Pistons take a 60-50 lead with 2:49 left in the first half.

After starting the game 4-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line, Detroit hit 14 straight foul shots during a key stretch, with Cunningham extending his total to 27 points after a 3-pointer and two free throws.

The Pistons’ free-throw streak ended when Isaiah Stewart split a pair with 1:21 left, giving Detroit a 66-53 advantage.

Orlando trimmed the deficit late in the half.

Stewart was called for goaltending on a Jalen Suggs drive, then committed a foul on Carter Jr. on a defensive rebound—his second foul of the game, as Carter made both free throws to cut it to 66-57 with 1:08 remaining.

Anthony Black hit a 3-pointer to pull Orlando within 66-60, but Jamal Cain missed two free throws in the closing seconds, leaving Detroit ahead by six at halftime before both teams went on a master class, offensively in the once-defensive series in the second half.

The series now shifts back to Orlando for Game 6.

Orlando leads the series 3-2 and will get a second chance to advance at home on Friday night.

The Magic fell to 0-10 in franchise history on the road in a Game 5.

Detroit never trailed and went ahead by 15 early in the final quarter. The Magic made one more run, pulling within three points on Paolo Banchero's sixth 3-pointer with 1:09 left. Banchero matched Cunningham with 45 points, also a playoff career high — but he missed 7 of 12 free throws.

The Pistons are hoping to bounce back from the brink of elimination as they did against the Magic two-plus decades ago.

Detroit’s comeback in 2003 as a No. 1 seed against eighth-seeded Orlando was the first of seven times NBA teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit this century. The Denver Nuggets were the last team to pull off the feat in 2020, when they became the first franchise in the league to do it twice in one postseason.

Magic forward Franz Wagner was sidelined with a strained right calf. He had 19 points in two-plus quarters before he departed late in the third quarter on Monday night and averaged nearly 17 points and 5.5 rebounds over the first four games of the series.

Cunningham was 13 of 23 from the field, making a playoff career-high five 3-pointers, and was 14 of 14 at the line in what proved to be the difference in a duel with Banchero, also a former No. 1 overall pick.

Tobias Harris scored 23 points for the Pistons, All-Star center Jalen Duren snapped out of a slump with 12 points and nine rebounds, and Duncan Robinson also scored 12.

Anthony Black had a playoff career-high 19 points, Desmond Bane scored 18 points and Jalen Suggs added 10 for the Magic.

The Pistons played with a sense of urgency at the start after being rusty or flat early in previous games.

Detroit led by 17 in the second quarter, but the Magic cut the deficit to six points by halftime. Orlando pulled within two points early in the third and Cunningham’s fifth 3-pointer late in the quarter helped the Pistons take an 89-79 lead into the fourth.

___

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

A large group of Democrats joined most Republicans in passing the bill by a 235-191 vote. The law's renewal still faces an uncertain path to passage, with a sign-off needed from the Senate and President Donald Trump.

While the Senate could eventually be amenable to oversight measures added by the House, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said late Wednesday that another short-term extension will likely be needed ahead of the Friday deadline. House leaders added separate legislation banning a central bank digital currency to win more votes, and Thune said that part of the bill is “dead on arrival” in the Senate.

Still, the passage in the House was a breakthrough for Republican leaders after Speaker Mike Johnson earlier in the day secured the support of several Republican holdouts to advance the bill to a final vote. The chamber had been unable to pass a long-term extension since Republican leaders earlier this month staged a hectic late-night effort to extend the surveillance program, only to see multiple bills fail on the floor.

“Two-thirds of the president’s daily national security briefing comes from intelligence collected by that statute,” Johnson said about the program. “We cannot allow it to go dark.”

Warrants remain central to the fight

The debate centers on a provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, that allows the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI and other agencies to collect and analyze communications from foreign targets without a warrant. In doing so, the agencies can incidentally sweep up communications involving Americans who interact with foreign targets, an element of the program many lawmakers find unacceptable.

“The intel community always just comes in and says, ‘People will die if you do this,’” Republican Rep. Chip Roy said Tuesday, arguing in favor of a warrant requirement. “Well, I’m sorry. A lot of Americans died to give us and protect that Fourth Amendment right that we don’t have government looking at our stuff.”

The House bill does not include the warrant requirement. Instead, it would impose new oversight measures, including a monthly civil liberties review of U.S. person queries by an official within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, with any violations referred to the Intelligence Community’s inspector general.

The bill would also create criminal penalties for officials who knowingly misuse the system or falsify compliance, order a government audit of targeting practices and require new procedures to expand congressional access to FISA court proceedings.

House Democrats took turns criticizing the extension on the floor ahead of Wednesday evening’s planned final vote. Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, derided the measure as a “three-year blank check” that comes “without any meaningful guardrails.”

“Under this bill, FBI agents will still collect, search and review Americans' communications without any review from a judge,” said Raskin.

Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, spoke in favor of the extension, calling the program “without question, the most important foreign intelligence tool." Himes, who voted for the extension, said the bill makes guardrails on the program "marginally and modestly stronger.”

There are hurdles ahead in the Senate

Both chambers are expected to scramble Thursday to pass a short-term extension of the law ahead of the Friday deadline — even as they continue to negotiate the longer-term renewal.

Thune said Wednesday afternoon that the Senate would try to quickly pass a 45-day extension. But any one senator can hold that up, and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has already indicated he won't go along. Wyden, who has long pushed to reform the law, will instead seek to pass a three-week extension with some additional provisions, according to his office.

Another obstacle in the Senate is that the House linked the surveillance renewal with the separate digital currency legislation — a proposal Thune has said would be “very, very hard to pass."

Senators from both parties said they were committed, though, to ensuring that the law doesn't expire.

“There is clear consensus in the Senate as to how important it is,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.

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Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.

The review was conducted as part of the Food and Drug Administration’s Operation Stork Speed project — billed as the “largest and most rigorous” to date. It found that the infant formula supply is safe, agency officials and outside experts said.

“There’s no reason not to use any available formula” in the U.S., said Dr. Steven Abrams, a pediatrics professor at the University of Texas at Austin who reviewed the findings.

FDA officials tested more than 300 samples of commercial infant formula between 2023 and 2025 for heavy metals, including lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury. They also tested for pesticides, chemicals found in plastics known as phthalates, and PFAS, also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, sometimes called “forever chemicals.”

Levels of all the contaminants were undetectable or very low, the agency reported. The heavy metals detected were well below U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limits for drinking water, the agency reported. No pesticides were detected in 99% of samples. The FDA found no detections for 25 of the 30 PFAS compounds tested.

Outside experts generally agreed with the government’s assessment, noting that small amounts of substances such as heavy metals are naturally occurring in the environment. But others, such as phthalates and PFAS, are not.

“These chemicals are completely synthetic,” said Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana, a pediatrics professor at UW Medicine and the Seattle Children’s Research Institute. “The detection of some of these compounds at all is concerning.”

It points to the need for further monitoring of formula — and of the larger U.S. food supply, she added.

The Trump administration launched Operation Stork Speed in March 2025, promising to review safety and quality standards for infant formula in the U.S. for the first time in decades.

It built on previous FDA efforts to review substances like heavy metals in infant foods, which can cause problems with brain development, learning and behavior in children, Abrams said.

To date, the FDA does not have enforceable limits for heavy metals in infant formulas, unlike the European Union, Canada and Australia.

Some consumer advocacy groups have called on the FDA for years to establish firm limits for contaminants. Last year, Consumer Reports published an analysis of 41 U.S. infant formulas with results suggesting that many had worrisome levels of heavy metals and other contaminants.

However, that analysis used its own level of concern, setting it far below European Union standards. That report garnered wide public attention and prompted some parents to stop using commercial formula, even when it was necessary, Abrams noted.

Abrams called for the FDA to continue monitoring infant formula for contaminants and to share the results.

Abbott, one of the nation's largest formula makers, urged the FDA to set scientific standards for contaminants in infant formula.

“We believe that producing infant formula at scale in the U.S. is a matter of national security,” Abbott spokesman John Koval said in an email. “These results affirm the safety of our current domestic supply.”

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

The allegations in the disturbing case stretch back to 2023 — just a year after the singer's first single made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The 21-year-old has pleaded not guilty and his attorneys have said he did not cause her death.

Here's a look at the timeline of the investigation, the allegations and the career of D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke.

2022: Burke's music goes viral

Burke, a content creator who began making his own music to accompany the video game montages he would post online, goes viral on TikTok for his song “Romantic Homicide.” The song ultimately peaks at No. 4 on Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, and Burke signs with Darkroom and Interscope Records.

November, 2023: Prosecutors say the abuse begins

Burke allegedly begins to sexually abuse Rivas Hernandez, who was 13, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. She was described by authorities as a runaway, and court documents say she lived with Burke in Los Angeles.

Feb. 17, 2024: Investigators first contact Burke about Rivas Hernandez

Investigators have said Rivas Hernandez was reported missing from her home in Lake Elsinore, a town about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles, several times before her death. According to prosecutors, Riverside County authorities contacted Burke about her during one disappearance. He told authorities he was unaware she was a minor and had last had contact with her a few days earlier. Los Angeles sheriff's deputies checked out Burke's house looking for Rivas Hernandez and also informed him she was 13.

She returned home two days later, prosecutors say, and her parents took her phone away. They allege that Burke paid $1,000 to a junior high classmate of Rivas Hernandez to give her a phone so he could keep in contact with her.

April 5, 2024: Rivas Hernandez is reported missing

Rivas Hernandez's family reports the seventh grader missing from her home in Lake Elsinore, for the last time.

Prosecutors allege that in the months that followed, she spent lots of time with the singer and traveled with him to Las Vegas, London and Texas to meet his family.

November 2024: The two break up

Burke and Rivas Hernandez “broke up” but continued to have contact, according to prosecutors. She returned to her home in Lake Elsinore at some point.

April 11, 2025: Burke makes his Coachella debut

Burke performs at the music festival Coachella and goes viral again — this time for face-planting hard on the stage during a failed backflip attempt. In an interview with The Associated Press during the festival, Burke talked about using social media feedback from fans to refine his set lists. “I am my fans and my fans are me. And we work in tandem with each other and it's such a beautiful poetic kind of thing that we have,” he said.

April 22, 2025: Rivas Hernandez and Burke argue in text messages

“The messages reveal the victim’s jealousy over defendant’s relationships with other women, as defendant led her to believe they had a future together,” prosecutors said in a document outlining evidence in the case.

April 23, 2025: Rivas Hernandez is last known to be alive

Prosecutors say they believe Burke stabbed Rivas Hernandez to death “on or about” April 23, the day they say she was last heard from. Prosecutors say Burke killed Rivas Hernandez because she threatened to expose their inappropriate relationship and posed a threat to his career.

Burke sent a rideshare car to pick up Rivas Hernandez from her Lake Elsinore home and drop her off at his Hollywood Hills home at around 10:10 p.m. that night.

Prosecutors allege Burke sent text messages beginning at 10:30 p.m. asking Rivas Hernandez where she was to conceal that he had killed her.

At 11:30 p.m., he texted Rivas Hernandez's cell again asking where she was and drove away from his home to a remote area of Santa Barbara County.

April 24, 2025: Burke ordered a shovel online

Prosecutors say Burke used the Postmates delivery app to have a shovel delivered to his home.

April 25, 2025: Burke releases debut album, ‘Withered'

Burke releases his first album, “Withered.” In social media posts and media interviews, he describes using a recurring motif in his music and videos — an alter ego character he calls “IT4MI,” after “itami,” a Japanese word for pain. “He's basically like the evil version of me," Burke said in a YouTube interview with the “Tape Notes” podcast published May 2025. Burke's videos sometimes depict the character blindfolded, in a shirt that appears covered in blood.

May 1, 2025: More tools are ordered

Burke ordered two chainsaws to be delivered to his home, according to prosecutors. They were ordered using a fake name.

May 5, 2025: Authorities say Rivas Hernandez's remains are mutilated

One of the felony charges against Burke is “unlawful mutilation of human remains." Prosecutors say Rivas Hernandez's arms and legs were severed from her body on or around May 5.

In a subsequent filing, prosecutors allege Burke cut up Rivas Hernandez in an inflatable pool in his garage. DNA evidence that matched hers was later found in the area.

Burke returned to the remote part of Santa Barbara County two more times, and Rivas Hernandez's passport was found in the area in January 2026, according to a prosecution filing.

They also allege that Burke kept the girl's body in the front trunk of his Tesla. “He lied to his friends, business associates, and others who noticed the strong smell of decay in and around his home and vehicle," prosecutors said in a filing.

In late July, before embarking on a tour, Burke parked the car around the corner from his home.

Aug. 5, 2025: Burke launches tour

Burke's tour for the album “Withered,” begins with a show in Del Mar, California. He also released an official Fortnite anthem, “Locked & Loaded,” on Sept. 3. The collaboration with video game creator Epic Games echoed his start in the music world, when he would create and post Fortnite montages online.

Sept. 8, 2025: Celeste Rivas Hernandez's body is discovered

One day after she would have turned 15, Rivas Hernandez's badly decomposed remains are discovered in body bags inside the trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke, prosecutors say. The 2023 Tesla Model Y had been towed from an upscale neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills where it had been sitting, seemingly abandoned. Police searching the vehicle found a cadaver bag covered in bugs with Rivas Hernandez's head and torso inside. A second bag containing her arms and legs was found underneath the first, according to court documents.

Sept. 17, 2025: Burke's home searched

Authorities searched Burke's home and found blood evidence that matched Rivas Hernandez's DNA. They also found the inflatable pool that they say was used to dismember her, with several cut marks in it, according to a court filing.

Sept. 19, 2025: Burke’s remaining tour dates are canceled

The remaining dates of Burke's tour, which had been scheduled to wrap up Nov. 4 in Warsaw, Poland, are canceled. The AP confirmed that he was also dropped by his label, Interscope Records, at some point in 2025.

Oct. 6, 2025: A funeral service is held for Rivas Hernandez

Multiple news outlets reported that Rivas Hernandez's family held a funeral service for her on at the Queen of Heaven Cemetery and Mortuary in Rowland Heights, California.

Nov. 24, 2025: Police block release of coroner's report

In an unusual move, police block the release of the coroner's report on Rivas Hernandez's death. The medical examiner's office said in a statement that it had received a “court order, initiated by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), to place a security hold” on the case. The order said no records or details, including the cause and manner of death, could be released until further notice.

February 2026: Burke revealed as the target of a secret grand jury probe

The grand jury investigation into the case was kept under seal, as is standard in grand jury proceedings. But some documents were made public by an appeal of subpoenas by Burke's mother, father and brother that was filed in Texas. The court filings said the Tesla was registered in Burke's name at the address of his subpoenaed family members, and that the “target may be involved in having committed the following criminal offenses against the laws of the State of California, to wit: One count of murder.”

April 16, 2026: Burke is arrested

Burke is arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with Rivas Hernandez's death and is held without bail. The Los Angeles Police Department announces the arrest on social media pages, posting photos of several officers wearing tactical gear and holding weapons approaching a home.

April 20, 2025: Burke is charged with murder

Burke is formally charged with murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and mutilating a body. The charging documents also allege several factors connected to the crimes that could lead to a harsher sentence if Burke is convicted. Those circumstances include allegations that Burke was “lying in wait” for Rivas Hernandez, who entered his home and was never seen again; that she was a witness to an investigation into the lewd and lascivious acts committed against her; and that Burke allegedly killed her for financial gain.

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Boone reported from Boise. AP Music Writer Maria Sherman and journalist Liam McEwan contributed.

At a Mobil gas station on Cherry Hill and Middle Belt in Garden City, the average fill-up has dropped to just $20 as drivers stretch every dollar.

“I just got a few dollars to pay, that’s what I got, $4 right now,” said Daniel McLean, a Garden City resident.

Many drivers say they’re only putting in what they absolutely need to get by.

“We know that as an adult, you got a car you have to pay to put gas in it, but five dollars for one gallon, that’s a bit much,” said Pilar May, a Taylor resident.

High prices hit those who drive for work — not just to work

From daily commuters to those whose jobs depend on driving, high gas prices are reshaping routines and squeezing already tight budgets. For Elizabeth Freeman, owner of Elmwood Blessing Box in Westland, the financial pressure is forcing conversations no one at the nonprofit wants to have.

“We’re probably going to have to cut out some of our further away pickups just because we’re not going to be able to afford to put gas in the vehicles to pick them up,” Freeman said.

Cutting those routes would also mean cutting fresh food from pantry shelves. Elmwood Blessing Box volunteers currently travel as far as West Bloomfield, Ann Arbor and Novi to collect donated food.

Freeman confirmed the fuel costs are coming directly out of her own pocket.

“Yeah. Yeah. It’s cutting in quite a bit,” she said.

How high could prices go?

GasBuddy reports Michigan could see gas prices spike by as much as 65 cents a gallon this week.

“I may as well get the bike out and start peddling. That will save on gas, you know,” McLean joked.

How to donate to Elmwood Blessing Box

Elmwood Blessing Box accepts donation here.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office shared what they said the evidence in the case would show in a court filing that provided the first detailed allegations of the killing and efforts to cut apart Rivas Hernandez's body and get rid of evidence.

The court filing said D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, met Rivas Hernandez when she was 11, began sexually abusing her when she was 13 and he was 18, and killed her when she threatened to reveal their inappropriate relationship.

“Knowing he had to silence the victim before she ruined his music career as she had threatened, very soon after her arrival at his home, defendant stabbed the victim to death multiple times and stood by while she bled out,” the filing said.

Burke has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other counts. His lawyers have said he is innocent and did not cause Rivas Hernandez’s death.

Her body was found decomposing in a Tesla towed from the Hollywood Hills in September of last year.

Prosecutors said they had obtained text messages that showed their sexual relationship, including child sexual abuse images of her on his phone.

“The messages reveal the victim’s jealousy over defendant’s relationships with other women, as defendant led her to believe they had a future together,” the document says. “She became extremely upset and threatened to disclose damaging information about her relationship with defendant to end his career and destroy his life.”

The filing said he sent a rideshare car to pick her up on the night of April 23, 2025, from her hometown of Lake Elsinore some 80 miles (129 km) outside of Los Angeles. The two exchanged messages until she arrived at his Hollywood home, after which her phone went silent permanently.

They allege he sent her a late-night message asking where she was in an attempt to cover up the killing.

The court filing is intended to outline the evidence that prosecutors plan to present at a preliminary evidentiary hearing beginning May 26, when a judge will determine whether there is probable cause to go to trial. The defense has not publicly provided its version of events.

The document says Burke bought two chain saws online used them to cut apart her body in an inflatable pool in his garage, where the girl's DNA was later found.

“Defendant took horrifying measures to destroy and discard the victim’s body,” prosecutors said in the brief.

Burke drove to Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County about 110 miles (177 kilometers) northwest of his home to get rid of evidence three times, the document alleges. Her passport was found there in January.

On April 24, the day after her death, he gave a radio interview and had a record-release party promoting his debut full-length album, “Withered,” which was released the following day, prosecutors said in the filing.

Prosecutors allege he kept her body in his Tesla, and lied to friends and business associates who asked about the smell.

The body of Rivas Hernandez had so degraded that examiners couldn’t even determine her eye color. She had braces at the time of her death, and a tattoo that read “Shhh ....” on the inside of a finger as well as his name, according to the report. Two fingers were missing — as were parts of her arms and legs.

Prosecutors had not previously described how they believed Rivas Hernandez was killed or given details on their relationship. An autopsy report said she was killed by penetrating wounds.

Prosecutors said the parents of Rivas Hernandez reported her missing from her home in Lake Elsinore in February 2024. After the February report, Riverside County Sheriff’s detectives contacted Burke, but he told them he had only met her once and did not know she was a minor.

After she returned home that February, her parents took away her cellphone but Burke drove to her hometown and paid a friend of Rivas Hernandez $1,000 to give her a phone so they could communicate.

She was reported missing again in April 2024. The document said that year, she spent much of her time at Burke’s home in the Hollywood Hills and traveled with him to Las Vegas, London, and Texas to meet his family.

The defense attorneys asked Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo at a hearing Wednesday to seal the document, but she declined. They had no comment outside court.

Burke was arrested on April 16 and pleaded to first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and mutilating a dead body. He is eligible for the death penalty, but prosecutors said they have not decided whether to seek it.

The singer began making music for YouTube videos he created of the video game Fortnite when he was a teenager.

The songs he wrote and recorded on his phone were a blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. The music made him a phenomenon on TikTok, Instagram, Soundcloud and Spotify, where his top songs, including his 2022 breakthrough “Romantic Homicide,” have more than a billion plays. In 2023, he released two EPs and opened for SZA on tour.

He performed at last year's Coachella music festival just a few weeks before prosecutors said Rivas Hernandez was killed and his album was released. He was on tour promoting it in September when the body was discovered and his name became publicly attached to the case. It would be seven months before he was arrested.

Thompson rolled his ankle in the third quarter at Little Caesars Arena as Detroit faced elimination, trailing 3-1 in the series entering the game.

The third-year player, known for his defense, had four points before exiting.

He was seen receiving treatment on the sideline and returned late in the quarter to make his presence felt, grabbing steals, rebounds, and assists to help Detroit keep its lead, taking an 89-79 lead into the fourth quarter.

Speaking of the fourth quarter, Thompson took the first possession to the hole for a reverse layup to add to his stat line of six points, 13 rebounds, six assists and four steals in the game.

Trump made the threat after Merz earlier this week said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized Washington’s lack of strategy in the war. Trump has also repeatedly railed against NATO for the alliance's refusal to assist the U.S. in its two-month-old war.

“The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time,” Trump said in a social media post.

Merz had said earlier Wednesday that his personal relationship with Trump remained “as good as ever,” but he had “had doubts from the very beginning about what was started there with the war in Iran.”

During his first term in the White House, Trump also moved to cut U.S. troops in Germany because he said the country spent too little on defense.

In June 2020, Trump announced he was going to pull out about 9,500 of the roughly 34,500 U.S. troops who were then stationed in Germany, but the process never actually started. Democratic President Joe Biden formally stopped the planned withdrawal soon after taking office in 2021.

The U.S. has several major military facilities in the country, including the headquarters for U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command, Ramstein Air Base and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest American hospital outside the United States.

Merz met with Trump at the White House in March, just days after the U.S. and Israel began their bombardment of Iran. At the time, Merz told Trump that Germany was eager to work with the U.S. on a strategy for when the current Iranian government no longer exists. Merz also expressed concern that an extended conflict could do great damage to the global economy.

His concern, like many other European leaders, has only grown as the U.S. and Iran have yet to come to a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway through which about 20% of the world global oil supply had flowed prior to the start of the war. It has been effectively closed since the conflict began on Feb. 28.

“We are suffering considerably in Germany and in Europe from the consequences of, for example, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” Merz said Wednesday, hours before Trump posted his threat on social media. “And in that regard, I urge that this conflict be resolved.”

Merz added that his government was "on good speaking terms" with the Trump administration.

Trump, for his part, has hardly been containing his frustration with Merz.

On Tuesday, he wrote: “The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” Trump added that it was no surprise “that Germany is doing so poorly, both economically and in other respects!”

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AP writer Pietro De Cristofaro reported from Berlin.

The Metropolitan Police said the attack in the Golders Green area left two men, ages 34 and 76, hospitalized with knife wounds.

Counterterrorism police are investigating whether the stabbings are linked to recent arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in the British capital. Detectives are investigating a potential Iranian link to those attacks, but police said that it's too soon to say whether Wednesday's stabbing is connected.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a meeting of the government's emergency committee and vowed to “deal with the roots of antisemitism and extremism.” Buckingham Palace said that King Charles III was “deeply concerned.”

Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley said that it was “another horrendous act of violence directed against our Jewish communities.”

But some British Jews expressed anger at authorities' failure to keep them safe. Rowley faced shouts of “shame on you” and “resign” from bystanders when he made a statement to media at the scene of the stabbings.

Attacker immobilized by police

The security organization Shomrim said that a suspect “was seen running along Golders Green Road armed with a knife and attempting to stab Jewish members of the public." It said that the suspect was detained by Shomrim members and arrested by police, who used a stun gun on him.

Surveillance camera footage showed a man beside a bus stop donning a kippah, or traditional skullcap, before a passerby with a knife lunges at him.

Rowley said the suspect, whose name hasn't been released, had “a history of serious violence and mental health issues.”

Arson attacks in recent weeks targeted Jewish sites in London, including a charity's ambulances in Golders Green and a synagogue a few miles away.

“Today is somewhat worse because it’s a physical attack against two human beings,” resident Anthony Silber said. “It’s shocking to hear, shocking to listen to, shocking to watch for those that saw, but it’s not a surprise.”

Britain’s Jewish community is long established, but tiny as a percentage of the population, numbering about 300,000. The northwest London suburb of Golders Green is one of its epicenters, home to kosher restaurants, Jewish schools and several dozen synagogues, as well as large Asian and Middle Eastern communities.

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. The group recorded 3,700 incidents in 2025, up from 1,662 in 2022.

In October 2025, an attacker drove his car into people gathered outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur and fatally stabbed one person. Another person died during the attack after being inadvertently shot by police.

Iran link to arson attacks under investigation

Since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, there have been a string of arson attacks on Jewish sites and opponents of the Iranian government. Several people, ranging in age from teens to people in their 40s, have been arrested and charged over the arsons, which haven't caused injuries.

Counterterrorism officers are investigating whether the arson attacks were the work of Iranian proxies. Several 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 claim in the same name also took responsibility for Wednesday's stabbing. But security experts say the name may be a flag of convenience rather than a coherent group, and its claims should be treated with caution.

However, 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.

Britain’s chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, said that Jews face a campaign of violence and intimidation and that words of condemnation are no longer sufficient.

“This must be a moment that demands meaningful action from every institution, every community, every leader and every decent person in our country," he said. “This is a hatred that we must face down together."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that the world must “wake up” to a rising wave of anti-Jewish hatred.

“In one of the great capital cities of the West, it has become dangerous to openly walk the streets as a Jew,” Herzog posted on X. “This is an unacceptable situation.”

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Kwiyeon Ha contributed to this story.

Charles laid flowers at the National 9/11 Memorial and the royal couple spoke with victims' relatives, first responders and local dignitaries before traveling to other events midway through a four-day diplomatic trip to the U.S. to mark 250 years of American independence.

The royal couple capped their whirlwind day in the city with an appearance at an early evening reception for one of the king’s charities, the King's Trust, where Charles spoke of the enduring cultural bond between the people of the U.K. and U.S. as one “rooted in shared creativity, enterprise, and values.

“Reminding us that we are truly greater together, that’s the point,” he said.

The four-day trip is Charles’ first state visit to the U.S. since he became king. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, made four state visits to the U.S. Her last visit to New York was in 2010.

Honoring victims at the 9/11 memorial

Charles and Camilla began their public schedule in the city by paying tribute to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, including 67 British nationals.

They were greeted at the National 9/11 memorial plaza in Lower Manhattan by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, then walked to one of the memorial’s two pools, where parapets bear the names of the victims of the attacks. Charles placed an arrangement of flowers on a parapet before the couple silently bowed their heads in a moment of reflection.

The king and queen then shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with a group of attack survivors, first responders and victims’ relatives, some of whom held photos of their lost loved ones. The gathering came ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks.

The visit to the memorial took place under the usual security precautions New York affords visiting world leaders and heads of state. Police snipers perched on rooftops. Heavy trucks were used as blockers to close off intersections. The memorial plaza and streets surrounding it were closed to the public.

Meeting New York's mayor

Among the crowd at the memorial were New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, all Democrats.

Mamdani — who was born in Uganda to parents from India, both former parts of the British Empire — shook hands with the king, and the two appeared to greet each other warmly. They spoke only for a few seconds.

Earlier in the day, Mamdani said he hoped to keep the event’s focus on 9/11 victims and not pursue a political conversation. But pressed by a reporter, Mamdani had said that if he were to speak with Charles under different circumstances, “I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond.”

The gem, one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, is part of the Crown Jewels. Seized by the East India Co. after the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1849, it was given to Queen Victoria and is on display in the Tower of London. Countries including India, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan have claimed ownership.

Spending time with 9/11 victims' loved ones

Anthoula Katsimatides was among the Sept. 11 victims' relatives who spoke with the royal couple. Her brother, John Katsimatides, died at the World Trade Center.

“I found it extremely sweet that I was allowed to hug the queen,” she said. “She was quite endearing, as was the king. I also told him that I thought he was adorable.”

Katsimatides said the queen asked her if she came to the memorial often.

“I said that I do because I find it to be a place of peace and calm and also remembrance,” Katsimatides said.

King visits an urban farm, queen goes to the library

The king also toured an after-school, urban farming effort in Harlem that works with young people affected by food insecurity.

At Harlem Grown’s 134th Street Farm, he planted lavender and mustard seeds with children, saw a chicken coop and watched a live food demonstration that educated children about food and nutrition.

“I like your hair,” a student told the king, who replied, “Do you? Good.”

Later, the king attended a gathering of business leaders at Rockefeller Center, including executives from top American companies, including Google, OpenAI, JPMorgan Chase, and Comcast.

The queen, meanwhile, visited the New York Public Library, where she chatted with actress Sarah Jessica Parker during a walk through the building as a crowd of onlookers watched from across Fifth Avenue.

Camilla delivered a new Roo doll to add to the library’s famed collection of Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed animals, as the beloved children’s character turns 100 this year.

The five dolls currently on display — Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore and Kanga — were the inspiration for the characters in A.A. Milne’s children’s books. They were owned by the English author’s son, the real-life Christopher Robin, in the 1920s. The dolls were donated to the library in 1987 and are a centerpiece of the library’s collection of children’s literature. Roo, in the books, was a small brown kangaroo and the son of Kanga.

A charity gala

Earlier in the week, the king and queen joined President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump for events at the White House. The king delivered a rare speech before Congress -- the first by a British monarch since his late mother in 1991 -- followed by a formal state dinner at the White House.

The monarchs are expected to make stops in Virginia before wrapping up their U.S. visit back at the White House on Thursday with a formal farewell from Trump. Charles then travels solo to Bermuda on his first visit as king to a British overseas territory.

In their last public event of the day in New York on Wednesday, the king and queen attended a gala reception at Rockefeller Center.

Singer and songwriter Lionel Richie, who has worked with the King's Trust for four decades, introduced the royal. Also present were Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, lifestyle icon Martha Stewart and fashion designer Donatella Versace.

The king closed his brief remarks in a packed wing of the gallery space by joking that he was disappointed he wouldn’t get to hear Richie sing.

“I don’t know how he does it. He must gargle with port or something.”

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Collins reported from Hartford, Conn.

___

Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo

The war has cost $25 billion so far, according to Pentagon numbers presented to the House Armed Services Committee during a contentious hearing ostensibly focused on the administration’s 2027 military budget proposal. It would boost defense spending to a historic $1.5 trillion.

While Republicans focused on the details of military budgeting and voiced support for the Iran operation, Democrats grilled Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the ballooning costs of the war, the huge drawdown of critical U.S. munitions and the bombing of a school that killed children. Some lawmakers also questioned President Donald Trump's dealings with allies and his shifting justification for the conflict.

Hegseth dismissed the criticism as political and rebuked lawmakers who pushed him for answers.

“The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” Hegseth said.

Democrats press Hegseth over reasons for war

Wednesday's hearing stretched nearly six hours as Democrats and some Republicans questioned Hegseth over the war and his ouster of several top military leaders.

In one tense exchange, Hegseth told Democratic Rep. Adam Smith that Iran’s nuclear facilities were obliterated in 2025 strikes by the U.S., prompting Smith to question the Trump administration’s reasoning for starting the Iran war less than a year later.

“We had to start this war, you just said 60 days ago, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat,” said Smith, the ranking Democrat on the committee. “Now you’re saying that it was completely obliterated?”

Hegseth responded that Iran “had not given up their nuclear ambitions” and still had thousands of missiles.

Smith said the war “left us at exactly the same place we were before.”

Iran’s closing of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping corridor for the world’s oil, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and posed problems for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. The U.S. has imposed a naval blockade of Iranian shipping and three American aircraft carriers are in the Middle East for the first time in more than 20 years.

Democrats accused Hegseth of misleading Americans about the reasons for the conflict and said rising gas prices are now threatening the pocketbooks of millions of people in the U.S.

“Secretary Hegseth, you have been lying to the American public about this war from day one and so has the president,” said Rep. John Garamendi of California, who called the war “a geopolitical calamity," a “strategic blunder" and a "self-inflicted wound to America."

Hegseth blasted Garamendi's remarks.

“Who are you cheering for here?” he asked the lawmaker. ”Your hatred for President Trump blinds you” to the success of the war.

Hegseth defends firings of top military officers

The defense secretary faced intense questions from Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat, about his decision to oust the Army’s top uniformed officer, Gen. Randy George, one of several top military officers to be dismissed since Trump took office again.

Houlahan said George was deeply respected by members of the military and Congress and asked why Hegseth fired him. Hegseth's response that “new leadership” was needed failed to satisfy Houlahan.

“You have no way of explaining why you fired one of the most decorated and remarkable men,” Houlahan began, before Hegseth interrupted her. “We needed new leadership,” he repeated.

The Pentagon also announced this month that Navy Secretary John Phelan was stepping down. Hegseth previously removed Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy’s top uniformed officer, Gen. Jim Slife, the Air Force's No. 2 leader and others, while Trump fired Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska said that while Hegseth is empowered to make personnel changes, he shared what he called “bipartisan concern” about the firings.

“We had a huge bipartisan majority here that had confidence in the Army chief of staff and the secretary of the navy,” Bacon said. “And I would just point out it may be constitutionally right ... but it doesn’t make it right or wise.”

Hegseth has said the changes are part of building a “warrior culture” at the Pentagon.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina defended Hegseth's personnel moves, saying he is “trying to innovate and trying to change the way we do business.”

“I’m glad that you’re firing people," Mace said. “There are people there that are getting in your way. They need to go.”

Democrats ask about war's cost, while Republicans back Trump on Iran

Hegseth detailed plans to increase pay for service members and upgrade munitions while also announcing that, as of Tuesday, the Pentagon had released $400 million in previously appropriated military aid for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

But the Iran war dominated the debate.

While a fragile ceasefire is in place, the U.S. and Israel launched the war Feb. 28 without congressional oversight. House and Senate Democrats have failed to pass multiple war power resolutions that would have required Trump to halt the conflict until Congress authorizes further action.

Republicans say they back Trump’s wartime leadership for now, citing Iran’s nuclear program, the potential for talks to resume and the high stakes of withdrawal. Still, GOP lawmakers are eager for the conflict to end, and some are eyeing future votes that could become an important test for the president if the war drags on.

Democrats questioned Hegseth over the war's economic impact and rising gasoline costs, noting Trump's promise to lower consumer costs. Hegseth responded by citing the threat posed by Iran.

“What is the cost of Iran having a nuclear weapon that they wield?” he said.

The U.S. and Iran appear locked in a stalemate. Trump told Axios on Wednesday that he is rejecting Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for lifting the U.S. blockade.

The “explosion of emotions inside” came after the 56th-ranked Potapova beat Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3 on Wednesday at the Madrid Open to become the first “lucky loser” to reach the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event.

She almost gave up the victory, squandering three match points in the second set and having to come back from 3-1 down in the third against the former No. 1-ranked player. It's been an impressive run considering Potapova lost in the qualifying tournament and only got a place in the main draw as a so-called lucky loser following the withdrawal of another player.

“I (had) a few match points in the second set, on serve, but I couldn't manage my nerves at that time,” she said. “It seems that this tournament keeps giving me second chances and I keep using them. So yeah, supper happy.”

Russia-born Potapova said she got a boost when her boyfriend, Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor, arrived to watch.

“I was a little bit gone mentally in the third set. I didn’t believe in myself at that moment,” she said. “But big respect to my boyfriend who came just on time. He kept telling me, ‘You can do this, we are all together here, just keep going.’”

Potapova said Griekspoor is “not scared” of telling her anything.

“I just played, and mentally he kept me there,” she said. “It just happened at the such important moment, and it gave me a lot of energy. Mentally, I think he got this match. I did it physically. He did it mentally.”

She next will face Marta Kostyuk, who defeated Linda Noskova 7-6 (1), 6-0.

The women's tour said Potapova was the first lucky loser to reach a WTA 1000 or Tier I semifinal since the format’s inception in 1990. She has won four straight matches, including against world No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the round of 16.

“I didn’t expect myself being in the draw again because at first they didn’t take my name as a lucky loser,” she said. “And then the days kept on going and nobody was injured or pulling out. Then the last moment I got the information, literally 30 minutes before the (first-round) match, that I was given a chance to step on court here again.”

She said she had been just enjoying “some nice days” in the Spanish capital, with no expectations.

“Maybe that’s the key. You don’t need to be always so zoomed in and so locked in on the tournament,” Potapova said. “Maybe it’s just a matter of sometimes just enjoy yourself and enjoy the journey.”

She said it feels like “a miracle” to have advanced so far.

“It’s pretty rare when you get the second chance and that you go almost all the way,” Potapova said. “But ... I always say, if you got it, maybe you deserved it. I’m happy that I didn’t waste it, and I was able to convert it and to be here now.”

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

Christopher and DeYanna Ostroushko and their daughter, Paige, were each charged by a federal grand jury with one count of assault. The indictment additionally charges Christopher and Paige each with one count of interfering with a federally protected activity.

Christopher Ostroushko also faces state charges of misdemeanor assault, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

Attorneys for the Ostroushkos said they will mount a strong defense, emphasizing that an indictment doesn't mean the family has been convicted of any crime.

Community members have continued to protest in opposition to immigration enforcement efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration in the weeks since federal officers’ presence in the Twin Cities was dramatically scaled back. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has used the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling as a short-term holding facility, and the area out front has become a hub of anti-ICE activity.

Widely shared video taken by Turning Point USA contributor Savanah Hernandez outside the Whipple building on April 11 begins with Paige blowing a whistle close to Hernandez’s face. Video from other vantage points shows Hernandez with her hand protecting her face, sometimes pushing back against Paige. The two then tussle.

Hernandez says, “Get away from me.”

Paige pushes Hernandez, who falls back against a fence.

In the moments after, DeYanna and Christopher separately confront Hernandez, as does Paige again.

Christopher Ostroushko “forcefully shoved the victim in the back, head first to the ground," the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said in its statement. It also said there was insufficient evidence to bring state charges against the others involved.

Throughout, others on the scene tried to de-escalate and separate them.

After the April 11 incident, Hernandez said her glasses were broken, she was concussed with a sore neck and back, and her legs were scraped, according to posts on the social platform X. She wrote that she was talking with police about pressing charges.

James Cook, an attorney representing the family, said the videos that have circulated don’t show everything, and he believes the family will be able to provide a “vigorous defense.”

“We think that there's a lot of things in the videos that provide a means to exonerate," he said.

The family was regular protesters at the Whipple building to provide “a voice and a demonstration against Metro Surge," Cook said. He added the Ostroushkos have since been threatened online, and DeYanna and Christopher have both lost their jobs.

“They wish they could turn back the clock,” Cook said. “They wish that things didn’t turn out how they did.”

The Ostroushkos were summoned to appear before a federal judge on May 12.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement Wednesday that the Department of Justice will always “punish unhinged acts of political violence.”

“Hernandez was allegedly surrounded, physically assaulted, and shoved to the ground — simply because she was identified by the defendants as a conservative journalist,” Blanche said. “That is NOT ‘peaceful protest.’”

Hernandez said in a post that she was “incredibly grateful to see our justice system at work.” Hernandez did not immediately reply to a request for comment via email or direct message.

Thomasz Szabo, 27, was a prolific participant in a dangerous form of online harassment that has become an increasingly common occupational hazard for public officials across the American political spectrum.

Prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of nearly five years for Szabo, who pleaded guilty last June to conspiracy and threats charges. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D.C., also sentenced him to three years of supervised release after his four-year prison term, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office.

“This administration will not tolerate attacks on the institutions and individuals who serve this country,” Pirro said in a statement.

Szabo gets credit for the roughly 20 months he already has served in jail.

In 2018, from Romania, Szabo began creating chat servers for him and like-minded users to engage in internet trolling. By late 2020, he had expanded his online activities to include swatting, which involves making hoax threats to provoke emergency police responses at targets' homes. Others joined him in making the bogus threats.

“Despite (or because of) the fact that they resulted in far greater harm to the victim and society, these activities offered much more entertainment value to the defendant and his followers, since swatting and bomb threats often resulted in an observable real-world impact,” prosecutors wrote.

Szabo was charged with Nemanja Radovanovic, of Serbia, whose case hasn't been resolved.

Another Szabo associate was charged separately in Florida. Alan Filion was sentenced at age 18 in February 2025 to four years in prison after pleading guilty to making approximately 375 swatting calls between August 2022 and January 2024. Filion was a juvenile at the time of his criminal conduct but pleaded guilty as an adult.

In December 2023, Szabo told Radovanovic that they should pick targets from both the Republican and Democratic parties because “we are not on any side,” their indictment says. A day later, Radovanovic and Filion embarked on a swatting spree targeting at least 25 members of Congress or their relatives and dozens more state and federal government officials, according to prosecutors.

“Over and over, police departments and other first responders were hijacked by the defendant and deployed to fictitious emergencies,” prosecutors wrote. “As a result, fewer personnel and resources were available to respond to real emergencies.

On Jan. 19, 2024, Secret Service agents questioned Szabo after Romanian authorities searched his home. He was extradited from Romania to the U.S. in November 2024, officials said.

The Ford will be leaving the Middle East in the coming days and returning to its home port in Virginia in mid-May, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive military movements. The Washington Post reported the development earlier.

The arrival of the USS George H.W. Bush to the region last week meant three American aircraft carriers were deployed to the Middle East — a number not seen since 2003 — during a tenuous ceasefire in the Iran war. USS Abraham Lincoln also has been in the region since January as tensions with Tehran ramped up.

This month, the Ford broke the U.S. record for the longest post-Vietnam War deployment, a nearly 10-month span after leaving Naval Station Norfolk in June.

The ship’s 295th day at sea surpassed the previous longest deployment by an aircraft carrier in the past 50 years, when the Lincoln was sent out for 294 days in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data compiled by U.S. Naval Institute News, a news outlet run by the U.S. Naval Institute, a nonprofit organization.

The Ford's long deployment has raised questions about the impact on service members who are away from home for long periods as well as increasing strain on the ship and its equipment, with the carrier already enduring a fire that forced it to undergo lengthy repairs.

Asked about the Ford's long deployment in a hearing Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he consulted with the Navy and those officials did mention readiness and maintenance tradeoffs.

"Multiple times the operational requirements — whether it was down in Southcom or up to Centcom — demanded additional assets in real time, which through a tough decision-making process led to an extension,” Hegseth said, referring to U.S. Southern Command, which oversees Latin America, and U.S. Central Command in the Middle East.

The Ford began its deployment by heading to the Mediterranean Sea. It was then rerouted to the Caribbean Sea in October as part of the largest naval buildup in the region in generations.

The carrier took part in the military operation to capture Maduro. Then it would see more battle, heading toward the Middle East as tensions with Iran escalated.

The carrier took part in the opening days of the Iran war from the Mediterranean Sea before going through the Suez Canal and heading into the Red Sea in early March.

However, a fire in one of its laundry spaces forced the carrier to turn around and return to the Mediterranean Sea for repairs, leaving hundreds of sailors without places to sleep.

The Ford’s 295-day deployment falls short of the longest deployment during the Cold War, a record held by the now-decommissioned USS Midway. It was deployed for 332 days in 1972 and 1973.

More recently, the crew of the USS Nimitz was on duty and away from home for a total of 341 days in 2020 and 2021. However, that included extended isolation periods ashore in the U.S. meant to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The company earned $26.77 billion, or $10.44 per share, in the January-March period, up about 61% from $16.64 billion, or $6.43 per share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 33% from last year to $56.31 billion. Meta was expected to earn $6.67 per share on revenue of $55.6 billion, per the estimates of analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.

“We had a milestone quarter with strong momentum across our apps and the release of our first model from Meta Superintelligence Labs,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. “We’re on track to deliver personal superintelligence to billions of people.”

About 3.56 billion people used at least one of Meta's apps on a daily basis in March, which declined slightly from December. That decline is due to internet disruptions in Iran and the restriction on access to WhatsApp in Russia, company leaders said in a post-earnings call.

Meta expects total revenue for the second and current quarter to be in the range of $58 billion to $61 billion, compared with the average analyst estimate of $59.48 billion.

The company also updated its projected capital expenditures for the year to be in the range of $125 billion to $145 billion, increased from the previously announced range of $115 billion to 4135 billion. Meta said the change reflects its expectations of higher component pricing and, “to a lesser extent,” additional data center costs.

Meta’s stock price was down more than 6% in extended trading after the numbers came out.

When Meta posted its initial forecast for 2026 spending at the close of last year, it said the year-over-year growth was driven by increased investment to support Meta Superintelligence Labs efforts. Since then, the company has said it is laying off about 10% of its workforce, or about 8,000 workers, as it continues to ramp up spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure and highly paid AI-expert hires.

“Investments in data centers are part of a massive gamble by Big Tech firms to win the AI race, to develop artificial general intelligence and to drive massive revenue and profits in the future," said J.P. Gownder, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, in a statement. “But the risks associated with alienating the top-tier human workforce that took years to build too often goes unnoticed.”

Meta ended March with nearly 78,000 workers, up 1% year over year.

While speaking on a post-earnings call about AI agents and AI-powered products Meta is developing, Zuckerberg said he doesn't believe AI will replace people, as many workers fear. “Instead, I think that AI is going to amplify people’s ability to do what you want, whether that’s to improve your health, your learning, your relationships, your ability to achieve your personal career goals and more,” he said.

Susan Li, Meta’s CFO, said on the same call that the first quarter showed strong execution across its core ads and engagement initiative, but also noted that legal and regulatory matters, could make a dent in progress moving forward.

The company is monitoring “ headwinds in the EU and the US that could significantly impact our business and financial results,” Li said as she noted that there has been increased scrutiny as of late on “youth-related issues.”

The jury in a landmark social media addiction trial in Los Angeles recently found the company liable for harms to a young woman who began using Meta’s platforms — as well as Alphabet's YouTube — as a child. Additional trials scheduled for this year and beyond “may ultimately result in a material loss,” Li said.

Trump, meanwhile, told Axios that he’s rejecting Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a lift of the U.S. blockade — a plan that would postpone discussions of Iran’s nuclear program.

Until now, Hegseth has avoided public questioning from lawmakers about the war, although he and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine have held televised Pentagon briefings. Hegseth has mostly taken questions from conservative journalists, while citing Bible passages to castigate mainstream outlets.

Democrats quickly pivoted to the ballooning costs of the Iran war, the huge drawdown of critical U.S. munitions and the bombing of an elementary school that killed children. Some lawmakers have also questioned how prepared the military was to shoot down swarms of Iranian drones, some of which penetrated U.S. defenses and killed or injured American troops.

Republicans have said they will keep faith in Trump’s wartime leadership, for now, citing Iran’s nuclear program, the potential for talks to resume and the high stakes of withdrawal. Still, GOP lawmakers are eager for the conflict to end, and some are eyeing future votes that could become an important test for the president if the war drags on.

Here's the Latest:

USS Ford aircraft carrier heading home after record-breaking deployment, AP sources say

The world’s largest aircraft carrier had been at sea for more than 300 days, including participating in the war against Iran and capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The Ford will be leaving the Middle East in the coming days and returning to its home port in Virginia in mid-May, according to two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive military movements.

The ship broke the U.S. record this month for the longest post-Vietnam War deployment, a nearly 10-month span after leaving Naval Station Norfolk in June.

— Konstantin Toropin and Ben Finley

Trump says US is weighing reducing American troop presence in Germany

The president leveled the new threat that he may reduce the U.S. military presence in Germany as tensions grow with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war.

“The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time,” Trump said in a social media post.

Merz on Monday said the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized Washington’s lack of strategy in the war. Trump attacked Merz in a social media post Tuesday, saying the German chancellor “thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon” and “doesn’t know what he’s talking about!”

In his first term, Trump also moved to cut U.S. troops in Germany because he said it spent too little on defense.

Araghchi works the phones

In the absence of substantive negotiations, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has been busy shoring up moral and rhetorical support in his country’s staring contest with America and Israel.

He spent Wednesday conducting a string of phone calls with the foreign ministers of India, Kenya and Poland, along with the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric and Nabih Berri, the speaker of the Lebanese parliament.

Official reports of these chats contained few details, but the Iranian government account of the meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Araghchi “informed his Indian counterpart about the situation in the region and the consequences of the continued illegal actions of the United States in threatening the freedom of international navigation, as well as the latest developments related to the negotiations to end the imposed war against Iran.”

Earlier this week, Araghchi conducted a whirlwind diplomatic tour, visiting Oman and Pakistan on Sunday then Moscow on Monday for a sit-down with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Vance acknowledges he’s questioned missile stockpiles in the wake of the Iran war

The vice president, in an interview airing Wednesday on Fox News Channel, was responding to a report in The Atlantic that said he, in private, has repeatedly questioned the Pentagon’s depiction of the war and the depletion of U.S. missile stockpiles.

Vance was dismissive of the reporting but said, “Of course I’m concerned about, you know, our readiness because that’s my job to be concerned.”

He praised the military, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, but said, “It’s of course my job to ask these questions. It’s of course my job to make sure that we’re on top of every issue.”

Hegseth hearing c

oncludes after nearly six hours

Hegseth is exiting the House Armed Services Committee after a nearly six-hour hearing.

The hearing showed the partisan divide on Capitol Hill over the war with Iran. As Democrats questioned him on the economic costs and strategy of the war, Hegseth fired back that lawmakers were being “feckless” in their questioning. Republicans mostly stood behind the defense secretary, although a few questioned his reasoning for removing several top officials.

“At the end of the day, the Iran war is the biggest issue that we face,” said Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the committee.

Hegseth will be back on Capitol Hill tomorrow for a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Hegseth says he ordered officers removed from promotion list

Hegseth told lawmakers that he ordered the names of two female and two Black officers from a promotion list.

Hegseth was asked the question because Army Secretary Dan Driscoll previously testified before a congressional committee that he refused to strike the officers’ names because of their exemplary service.

Hegseth, who has been criticized for the firings of top military leaders, said that he did it.

“Every officer serves at the pleasure of the president,” Hegseth said. “And when they need to be removed in order to ensure we have the right leadership in those services, I will make those calls, regardless of what you might say from the dais.”

Hegseth says Pentagon released Ukraine aid funds

Hegseth told lawmakers that, as of yesterday, the Pentagon is allowing $400 million of Ukraine aid to be spent after months of delay.

The admission comes a day after Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell called out the Pentagon for withholding the funds in an editorial with the Washington Post.

“The Ukraine aid we passed months ago is now collecting dust at the Pentagon,” McConnell wrote in the Post.

Jay Hurst, the Pentagon comptroller, told lawmakers the funds can now be spent, but when the aid will actually reach Ukraine “depends on what they buy with the money.”

“We’re going to take the advice of the (European Command) commander” on how to use the funds best, Hurst added.

Iran–India diplomatic call follows Araghchi’s Russia visit

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held a telephone conversation discussing rising regional tensions and diplomatic efforts, Araghchi’s official Telegram channel said in a post.

Araghchi said insecurity in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz stems from what he described as aggressive actions by the United States and Israel, adding they should be held accountable for global security and economic consequences. He also warned of the impact of U.S. actions on freedom of international navigation.

During his recent Moscow visit, Araghchi said Washington was seeking talks after failing to achieve its objectives. His regional tour included Pakistan and Oman, amid attempts to revive stalled negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

2 people killed in a clash with police in Iran

An armed group in the Gach Berin area in the city of Iranshahr opened fire upon encountering a police patrol, prompting officers to respond with heavy gunfire that stopped the group’s vehicle and killed two people, according to provincial police, as reported by the semi-official news agencies, Tasnim News Agency and Fars News Agency. Both Iranian outlets are close to state institutions.

Two others were wounded in the exchange, the police said.

The police added that a Kalashnikov rifle and ammunition were recovered from the vehicle after it was searched.

Iranshahr is in southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan. The province has been the site of occasional deadly clashes involving militant groups, armed drug smugglers and Iranian security forces. It is one of the least developed provinces of Iran.

Hegseth deflects questions on cost of gas by pointing to California

Americans saw the largest monthly jump in gas prices in six decades during the war with Iran. Yet, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth refused to engage on that issue and instead pointed to typically higher gas prices in California.

Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee have asked Hegseth several times about the rise in gas prices. When Rep. Maggie Goodlander asked whether Hegseth knew the current nationwide average price for a gallon of gas, he responded that it’s “much higher in California.”

Republicans routinely lambast California’s higher gas prices that result from higher state taxes and environmental regulations in the Democratic-led state.

Goodlander responded that the current average is $4.23 a gallon and argued the defense secretary is ignoring the “impacts of this war on the American taxpayer.”

Trump cheers UAE plan to exit OPEC as ‘great’

The president said the oil-rich nation’s decision to leave OPEC and OPEC+ on May 1 could help calm the volatile oil market shaken by the Iran war.

“I think ultimately it’s a good thing for getting the price of gas down, getting oil down, getting everything down,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump says Putin offered to help US handle Iran’s enriched uranium as part of potential nuclear deal

Trump said Putin, during a phone call Wednesday, renewed his offer for Russia to serve as a third country that could deal with Iran’s 970 pounds of enriched uranium that the U.S. leader is demanding Tehran must surrender.

“He told me he’d like to be involved with the enrichment — if he can help us get it,” Trump said Putin told him. “I said, ‘I’d much rather have you be involved with ending the war with Ukraine.’ To me, that would be more important.”

Top military advisor for Trump says troops should always follow lawful orders

The House Armed Services Committee hearing touched on a debate over how U.S. military members should evaluate whether orders they have received are lawful and should be followed under military protocol, especially as the military has carried out strikes on boats allegedly carrying narcotics.

The question, which came as the hearing reached over four hours, was asked by Rep. Chris Deluzio, a Democrat who was part of a group of lawmakers investigated by the FBI last year after releasing a video reminding U.S. military members to defy illegal orders. Deluzio asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff what commanding officers should do if an enemy is trying to surrender.

Caine declined to discuss the issue in detail, saying that it would take him into a “partisan place,” but added that “officers and enlisted service members always follow lawful orders. There’s a checklist for them to do that.”

Life of imprisoned Iranian human rights activist in ‘imminent danger,’ foundation says

Dangerously high blood pressure and losing about 44 pounds (20 kilograms) rapidly have placed Narges Mohammadi’s life in “imminent danger,” according to a report by her foundation.

Mohammadi, an Iranian human rights activist and Nobel laureate, has been imprisoned for several periods since 2016 over her opposition to the death penalty and compulsory veiling. She is back in prison after being sentenced on Feb. 8 to 7 1/2 years on charges including collusion against state security and propaganda. The foundation said she suffers from persistent chest pain. She also experienced high blood pressure over the past three days, without responding to medication.

Despite confirmation from Iran’s medical examiner that she needs at least one month of specialized cardiac care, Tehran prosecutors have refused to grant a temporary suspension of her sentence, the report said. It added that her legal team, after a recent visit, said her condition has reached a critical point.

Congressman blasts Hegseth over troop deaths, says secretary should resign

Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan criticized Hegseth over the deaths of six American soldiers who were stationed in Kuwait and killed by an Iranian drone.

Ryan pressed Hegseth on whether intelligence showed the location was high on Iran’s target list and was indefensible from aerial attack.

“Yet you sent our soldiers from the 103d Sustainment Command there anyway. Is that true or false?” Ryan asked.

Hegseth said the military took proactive measures to protect American forces and that the soldiers who died are remembered every day.

Ryan quoted survivors of the attack who told CBS that they weren’t prepared to defend against a drone attack. The congressman also accused Hegseth of downplaying what happened and said he should resign.

Ultra-orthodox protests against draft law ripple across Israel

Ultra-orthodox Jews are protesting Israel’s draft law throughout Israel this week, including in Jerusalem, where police used stun grenades to disperse demonstrations on Wednesday.

The draft remains a political powder keg in Israel. The Ultra-Orthodox make up 13% of the population and oppose enlistment because they believe studying full-time in seminaries is their most important duty. Courts have demanded the government enforce a law mandating conscription. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — facing elections this year — relies on ultra-Orthodox parties to maintain his coalition.

The arrest of yeshiva students accused of draft dodging kindled this week’s demonstrations, including in Ashkelon, where ultra-Orthodox protesters broke into a military commander’s yard Tuesday, prompting condemnation from Netanyahu.

“It is unacceptable what they are doing to yeshiva students as if they were the worst criminals,” protestor Menahem Adri said in Jerusalem. “All we want is to sit and study Torah.”

Kremlin warns of ‘dire consequences’ if hostilities against Iran resume

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Iran war in a phone call with Trump on Wednesday, with the Kremlin stressing the “dire consequences” if hostilities resumed.

Speaking to journalists, presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov said that Putin had told the U.S. president that a ground operation on Iranian territory would be completely “unacceptable and dangerous.”

Hegseth refuses to say why Army general was fired in tense exchange

Houlahan pressed Hegseth on why he fired the Army’s top uniformed officer, Gen. Randy George.

Hegseth refused to answer and didn’t deny the Democratic representative’s suggestion that he fired George via text.

Hegseth said he wouldn’t talk about the removal out of respect.

“However, I will note it’s very difficult to change the culture of a department that’s been destroyed by the wrong perspectives,” Hegseth said.

“So, Gen. George destroyed a culture?” Houlahan asked.

Hegseth said the department “needed new leadership.”

The congresswoman responded: “You have no way of explaining why you fired one of the most decorated and remarkable men who’s ever served this nation?”

“We needed new leadership,” Hegseth said. “That’s my answer.”

“And so your answer is a very immature way of responding to my request,” Houlahan said.

Hegseth hearing takes a 10-minute break

The testimony before the House Armed Services Committee has been going on for about three hours.

Democrats who urged troops to defy illegal orders face Hegseth

Four House Democrats are getting their first opportunity to publicly question Hegseth after they were part of a group of Democratic lawmakers who the FBI investigated after releasing a social media video last year that urged U.S. service members to follow military protocol and defy any illegal orders.

Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio and Maggie Goodlander, who all previously served in the military or intelligence agencies, now sit on the House Armed Services Committee.

Houlahan, who was the first Democrat in the group to question Hegseth, reminded the defense secretary that “Democrats, even Democrats in Congress, are patriots as well” and “admire and love our uniformed services.”

Still, they confronted Hegseth with tough questions about how long the U.S. would be at war with Iran and how he has led the Pentagon.

Hegseth refuses to say how much longer the Iran war could last or cost

Democratic Rep. Chrissy Houlahan asked Hegseth, “How many more months, just by order of magnitude, do you think that you’re going to need to be able to conclude operations successfully? And how many more billions of dollars do you think you’re going to ask this body for?”

Hegseth refused to answer the question, saying that the U.S. military would never tip its hand to an adversary about how long it would be committed to the mission.

Trump says he’s rejecting Iran’s latest proposal, keeping blockade in place

The president told Axios on Wednesday that he’s rejecting Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a lift of the U.S. blockade. Iran’s proposal, shared with U.S. leaders this week, sought to postpone discussions around Iran’s nuclear program.

Trump told Axios he doesn’t want to lift the blockade until Iran addresses its nuclear ambitions.

“The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing,” Trump said. “And it is going to be worse for them. They can’t have a nuclear weapon.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hegseth faces criticism over firings of US military leaders

Republican Congressman Don Bacon criticized the defense secretary over his ousting of admirals, generals and other top Pentagon officials. They’ve included Navy Secretary John Phelan and the Army’s top uniformed officer, Gen. Randy George, and several others.

“We had a huge bipartisan majority in here that had confidence in the Army chief of staff and the Secretary of Navy,” Bacon said. “And I would just point out … you may have the constitutional right to do these things, but it doesn’t make it right or wise.”

Deadly Iran school strike still under investigation

Hegseth says that two months after a deadly strike on an Iranian elementary school killed more than 165 people, including many children, the incident remains under investigation.

That answer came after California Democrat Ro Khanna pressed the defense secretary on the costs associated with the strike.

Hegseth replied that “that unfortunate situation remains under investigation” but that he “wouldn’t tie a cost to that.”

Hegseth told reporters last month that the military assigned a general from outside of U.S. Central Command to investigate the strike. Still, he refused questions about what led to it while arguing that the U.S. does not target civilians.

Those comments came just days after The Associated Press reported that there was growing evidence that pointed to U.S. culpability for the Feb. 28 strike, which hit a school adjacent to a Revolutionary Guard base in Minab, Iran.

Hegseth responds to economic costs of war with Iran

The defense secretary faced intense questions from Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, about what American households would have to pay due to the economic repercussions of the war with Iran.

“Do you know how much it will cost Americans in terms of their increased cost in gas and food over the next year because of the Iran war?” Khanna asked.

Pete Hegseth retorted, “I would simply ask you what the cost is of an Iranian nuclear bomb.”

Khanna then accused Hegseth and the Trump administration of failing to live up to the president’s campaign promises of lowering the cost of living for Americans. He argued that Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would cause American households to pay thousands more dollars for gas and food.

“I’m sad for all the people who voted for Trump. I’m sad for them because you betrayed them,” Khanna said.

Hegseth says it’s unfair to call Iran war a quagmire

The defense secretary pushed back on Democratic criticisms that the Trump administration has led Americans into a “quagmire,” pointing out that the conflict is only two months old and asserting it has had great success against the Islamic Republic. The U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan dragged on for years, he said.

Trump said in early March that operations are likely to last four to five weeks but that he was prepared “to go far longer than that.”

The U.S. and Iran do appear to be locked in a stalemate. Trump seems unlikely to accept Tehran’s latest offer to reopen the strait if the U.S. ends the war, lifts its sea blockade and postpones nuclear talks. The Iranians seem unwilling to give up their nuclear ambitions before ending the conflict.

Hegseth says US military considered that Iran might close the Strait of Hormuz

He said the Pentagon “looked at all aspects” of the risk that Iran would blockade the strait. The claim came after Rep. Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts, asked Hegseth if he considered “Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz winning.”

“I would say the blockade that we hold that doesn’t allow anything to come in or out of Iranian ports,” Hegseth replied.

So “we’ve blockaded their blockade,” Moulton said — that’s “like saying tag, you’re it.”

Caine declined to say if the risk of Iran closing the critical waterway was considered, but said the military always offers “a full range of military options that are carefully considered with the associated risks.”

The heated exchange was the latest between Hegseth and Democrats who have used the hearing to ask broader questions on the strategy behind the war in Iran and the Trump administration’s use of the military. Meanwhile, House Republicans have largely used their time asking very specific or detailed questions about the Pentagon’s budget and spending.

As TotalEnergies reports huge profits, protesters call for windfall taxes on fossil fuel companies

Climate activists protested outside a TotalEnergies petrol station in Paris on Wednesday after the French energy giant reported $5.4 billion in adjusted first-quarter profit, up 29% from a year earlier, as it “captured higher prices” despite production challenges due to the war in Iran.

The 350.org group said about 30 activists from several environmental organizations unfurled a banner reading, “TotalEnergies profits, we foot the bill.”

The group said war-related price spikes have cost French consumers and businesses more than $2.3 billion so far, urging the French government to “show political courage” by permanently taxing excess fossil fuel profits.

“While families watch their bills skyrocket, TotalEnergies posts some of its best financial results without even paying its fair share of taxes,” 350.org country manager Fanny Petitbon said in a statement. “We are witnessing an obscene transfer of wealth: the war enriches shareholders as it impoverishes citizens.”

Hegseth claims Americans support Iran war despite polling

The hearing has resumed, with a heated exchange between Democratic Rep. John Garamendi and Hegseth.

The secretary said the American people have supported the war’s mission of depriving Iran of a nuclear weapon, “despite your loose talk and words like quagmire.”

While an AP-NORC poll from March found that about two-thirds of U.S. adults said it’s “extremely” or “very” important to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, other polling suggests that most Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling the issue of Iran more broadly.

Garamendi had lambasted Hegseth and Trump for the Iran war, calling it “a political and economic disaster at every level.”

1.24 million projected to face acute insecurity in Lebanon, UN report says

That’s nearly one in four of the population analyzed, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released by Lebanon’s Agriculture Ministry with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program.

The figures are projections and it remains unclear how the estimates were reached. The report notes that the current crisis follows seven years of compounded economic collapse and conflict.

“Compounded shocks are undermining agricultural livelihoods and impacting food security, highlighting the urgent need for emergency agricultural assistance to support farmers,” said Nora Ourabah Haddad, FAO Representative in Lebanon.

The e-commerce and technology company said that sales in its cloud computing unit were up 28% in the January-March period, the fastest increase in 15 quarters. Amazon Web Services had 24% sales growth in the fourth quarter, which followed the division's 20% growth in the third quarter.

The Seattle-based company also offered a bullish outlook for net sales in the current quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates. However, shares slid nearly 2% in after-hours trading before rising about 3%.

Investors were closely watching Amazon’s quarterly earnings to see if the company’s $200 billion investment in artificial intelligence, robots, semiconductors and satellites is starting to pay off. The planned expenditure for the year marked a 60% increase from Amazon’s $128 billion in capital spending last year and spooked investors, sending the stock down 11% in after-hours trading when it was announced in February.

CEO Andy Jassy defended the spending during the previous quarterly earnings call, saying Amazon expected long-term returns on its invested capital.

The results from the latest quarter underscored that demand keeps growing for Amazon's services and technology.

“We’re in the middle of some of the biggest inflections of our lifetime, we’re well positioned to lead, and I’m very optimistic about what’s ahead for our customers and Amazon,” Jassy said in a release Wednesday.

Amazon came out with its first-quarter earnings the same day as three other tech giants — Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet — were reporting theirs, giving investors a read on AI spending and cloud growth across the industry.

Big deals that Amazon signed with OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta this month gave the company solid momentum.

Amazon announced what it called a “major expansion” of its partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI on Tuesday, a day after the artificial intelligence company said it was loosening its ties to longtime backer Microsoft.

Last week, Anthropic agreed to commit more than $100 billion to Amazon’s AWS cloud platform over the next 10 years to train and run the artificial intelligence company’s Claude chatbot. The partnership will allow Anthropic to secure up to 5 gigawatts of Amazon’s Trainium chips to train and power their artificial intelligence models, Amazon said.

Also last week, Amazon said that Meta, which owns Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook, signed an agreement to power agentic AI on AWS’ Graviton chips.

Like other retailers, however, Amazon is experiencing higher tariff costs because of President Donald Trump’s foreign trade policies. Rising shipping costs as the Iran war affects oil and fuel prices also could cut into the company's e-commerce revenue.

Amazon this month said it would impose a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on some third-party sellers using its platform. The temporary charge was effective April 17 for many of the sellers that use Amazon’s fulfillment services, the company confirmed to The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Amazon has been speeding up order delivery times through a combination of robotics, AI technology and more efficient warehousing. In fact, speedier delivery helped Amazon dethrone Walmart in February from its status as the nation’s largest company by revenue, according to Fortune, which compiles a ranking of the top 500 U.S. corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years.

A new ultra-fast service called Amazon Now offers deliveries of orders from a selection of thousands of items in 30 minutes or less. The service is now available in various cities in India, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates and is being tested in several communities in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, the company said in February.

The company said on Wednesday that the service has expanded to parts of Tokyo and eight major cities in Brazil, bringing the total availability of Amazon Now to tens of millions of customers across nine countries. It plans to continue expanding the service in the U.S. and around the world this year, Amazon noted.

Amazon reported earnings of $30.3 billion, or $2.78 per share, for the three-month period ended March 31. That compared with $17.1 billion, or $1.59 per share, in the year-ago period.

Net sales rose 17% to $181.5 billion in the quarter, compared with $155.7 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Analysts were expecting $1.63 per share on sales of $177.28 billion, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Revenue from Amazon Web Services reached $37.58 billion. Analysts were expecting $36.6 billion, according to FactSet.

For the current quarter, Amazon said it expected net sales will be in the range of $194 billion to $199 billion.

That would mean an increase of between 16% to 19% from the year-ago quarter. Analysts were expecting $188.96 billion in the current period, according to FactSet.