It happened near I-94 and 16 Mile Road in Harrison Township on May 12, just before 6 a.m.

Black smoke was seen coming off the balcony of one of the units.

It’s unclear if anyone was injured.

The Labor Department's consumer price index rose 3.8% from April 2025, according to data released Tuesday. On a month-to-month basis, April prices rose 0.6% from March as gasoline prices rose 5.4% during the month; the month-over-month gain was down from 0.9% increase from February to March.

Labor Department figures showed that gasoline prices are up more than 28% compared with a year ago. However, the AAA motor club listed the average regular gallon of gasoline above $4.50 on Tuesday, about 44% more than it cost last year at this time.

Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called consumer core prices rose 0.4% last month from March and 2.8% from April 2025, relatively modest readings that suggest the energy price burst has yet to spill over more broadly into other prices.

Grocery prices rose 0.7% from March to April as meat prices rose. Those prices had retreated slightly the month before.

“Inflation is the key drag on the U.S. economy now,” Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union wrote. “There is a real financial squeeze underway. For the first time in three years, inflation is eating up all wage gains. This is a setback for middle-class and lower-income households and they know it. They are having to cut back on spending and stretch every dollar.”

In April, average hourly wages fell 0.3% from a year earlier after accounting for inflation – the first year-over-year drop in three years.

Inflation had been dropping more or less steadily since peaking with a 9.1% year-over-year spike in prices in June 2022, a surge caused by supply chain bottlenecks at the end of COVID-19 lockdowns and an energy price shock following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But inflation remained above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

Then, the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, and Tehran responded by shutting off access to the Gulf of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes. Energy prices rocketed in response.

The Fed, which had been expected to cut its benchmark interest rates in 2026, has turned cautious as it waits to see how long conflict lasts and whether higher energy prices spill over into other products and cause a broader inflationary outbreak.

President Donald Trump has lambasted the Fed and its outgoing chair, Jerome Powell, for refusing to slash rates to boost the economy. Kevin Warsh, the president’s hand-picked choice to succeed Powell, is expected to be confirmed by the Senate this week; but it’s unclear whether Warsh would pursue lower rates given the uncertainties arising from the war — or whether he could persuade his colleagues on the Fed’s rate-setting committee to go along if he tried.

Some companies are also starting to feel the pain. For example, Whirlpool, which makes KitchenAid and Maytag appliances, reported last week that revenue dropped nearly 10% in its most recent quarter and said that the war has caused a “recession-level industry decline″ that has undermined consumer confidence.

Grace King, 31 of Ames, Iowa, said that higher prices in the food aisle and at the pump are making her cut back on spending for things like clothing. The administrative assistant used to spend $200 per month on clothing, mostly on Amazon, but not anymore.

"There’s pressure basically everywhere from the groceries that I buy to the gas to fill up the tank,” she said.” I’ve severely cut back on my frill spending.”

For example, King noted that while it’s only a five minute drive to work, she makes the trip twice a day. And if she needs to do any big shopping, that’s a 40-minute drive to malls in Des Moines, Iowa.

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AP Retail Writer Anne D'Innocenzio in New York contributed to this story.

For this part, the Pentagon chief softened his tone from previous hearings on Capitol Hill in his opening remarks, which notably lacked criticism of lawmakers and outlined the Trump administration’s efforts to expand the military’s industrial base.

The powerful House and Senate subcommittees that oversee defense spending are holding back-to-back hearings to review the Trump administration’s 2027 military budget proposal, which calls for a historic allocation of $1.5 trillion. The discussions in the House quickly veered into the handling of a war that appears locked in a stalemate as higher fuel prices pose political problems for Republicans in the midterm congressional elections.

Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, told Hegseth that the "question must be answered at the end of this crisis: What have we accomplished and at what cost?”

“This administration has not presented Congress with any kind of clear or coherent strategy week to week, day to day, hour to hour," DeLauro said. "The rationale shifts, the objectives change. The end game is ill defined when it is defined at all.”

California Republican Rep. Ken Calvert, the House subcommittee's chair, also asked about the impact of the Iran war on funding as well as the U.S. military's weapons stockpiles.

“Questions persist about whether we are building the depth and reliance required for a high end conflict,” Calvert said.

“The world has grown more dangerous, more complex, and more interconnected in its risks," Calvert said. "China is modernizing its military at a pace and scale that is alarming. Russia continues to wage a brutal war of aggression. And while Iran and their proxies have been dealt a severe blow, they remain a threat.”

Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum, the subcommittee's ranking Democrat, asked for a breakdown of funding needs for the Iran war.

“We’ve asked several times for a complete update on munitions levels, and it has not been provided,” she said.

McCollum also pressed Hegseth on whether the U.S. military has a plan to draw down troops if Congress passes a war powers resolution to end the conflict.

Hegseth said the military has a plan to pull out, but also to escalate or shift assets if necessary.

“But certainly in this setting, we wouldn’t reveal what the next step may be, considering the gravity of of the mission that the president is undertaking to ensure that Iran never has a nuclear bomb,” Hegseth said.

The defense secretary also said that concerns over the military's weapons stockpiles, drawn down from the Iran war, have been “unhelpfully overstated.”

“We know exactly what we have. We have plenty of what we need,” Hegseth told lawmakers.

He said the defense industry has been told to "build more and build faster,” while blaming the military industrial base's inadequate capacity on previous administrations and U.S. aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia.

“We are rebuilding a military that the American people can be proud of, one that instills nothing less than the unrelenting fear in our adversaries and confidence in our allies,” Hegseth said.

President Donald Trump is facing increasing pressure from the economic shocks of Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping corridor where 20% of the world's oil normally flows. The U.S. military in turn has blockaded Iranian ports and the two sides have traded fire, with American forces thwarting attacks on their warships and disabling Tehran-linked oil tankers.

Trump said Monday that the ceasefire is on “massive life support” and criticized Iran for its latest proposal, pointing to his demands that Iran significantly limit its nuclear program.

“I would call it the weakest right now after reading that piece of garbage they sent us,” Trump said.

The Republican president also said he wanted to suspend the federal gas tax to help Americans shoulder surging fuel prices. He has previously said higher costs are worth it to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

Tuesday's hearings will give a mostly new group of lawmakers the chance to grill or applaud Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the planning and execution of the war.

That includes Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a Republican whose reelection this year is far from guaranteed. She voted with Democrats on an effort to halt the conflict late last month, saying she wants to see a defined strategy for bringing the war to a close.

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, another Republican on the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee, has voted against the string of unsuccessful war powers resolutions but spoken of the need for congressional authorization so Americans will know the war’s limits and objectives.

Hegseth and Caine had faced marathon hearings two weeks ago before the House and Senate Armed Services committees, which mostly traced the well-worn positions of both parties.

In the previous hearings, Hegseth notably said the ceasefire paused a 60-day deadline for congressional approval of the war, which is required under the 1973 War Powers Act. The U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, while the fragile truce began April 8.

Hegseth's reasoning faced pushback from Democrats and will likely encounter similar criticism Tuesday. But he will face plenty of friendly Republicans, including the Senate subcommittee's chair, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and perhaps the Iran war's biggest booster in Congress, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

Hegseth and Caine are expected to outline the proposed defense budget and stress the need for more drones, warships and missile defense systems whose stocks have been drawn down during the conflict.

——

Barrow reported from Atlanta.

President Donald Trump is facing increasing pressure from the economic shocks of Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping corridor where 20% of the world’s oil normally flows. Trump said Monday that the ceasefire is on “massive life support” and criticized Iran for its latest proposal, pointing to his demands that Iran significantly limit its nuclear program.

Here's the latest:

The cost of the Iran War climbs to nearly $29 billion

The Pentagon’s top budget official told Congress the Defense Department now believes the cost of Operation Epic Fury is “closer to $29 (billion).”

Jules Hurst, the Pentagon comptroller, told Congress in testimony Tuesday that the estimate has climbed from the $25 billion he provided lawmakers nearly two weeks ago “because of updated repair and replacement of equipment ... and also just general operational costs.”

Hegseth claims reports of munition shortages are ‘overstated’

In response to lawmakers arguing the U.S. military is facing issues in replenishing the bombs and missiles it has expended in the war with Iran, Hegseth said the Pentagon is “well aware of all those dynamics.”

“The munitions issue has been foolishly and unhelpfully overstated,” Hegseth claimed before adding “we know exactly what we have, we have plenty of what we need.”

The comments come just days after Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly told “Face the Nation” on Sunday that it’s “shocking how deep we have gone into these magazines.”

Hegseth fired back on social media saying Kelly was “blabbing on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a (asterisk)CLASSIFIED(asterisk) Pentagon briefing he received.”

Hegseth sidesteps question about scaling back the Iran war

The defense secretary wouldn’t say anything specific about the next steps in Iran.

“We have a plan to escalate if necessary. We have a plan to retrograde if necessary. We have a plan to shift assets,” Hegseth told the subcommittee.

He was responding to Rep. Betty McCollum, the panel’s ranking Democrat, asking whether the administration has a “Plan B” to scale back operations.

US consumer prices rise 3.8% as Iran war sends energy prices higher

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its consumer price index rose 3.8% from April 2025. On a month-to-month basis, April prices rose 0.6% from March as gasoline prices rose 5.4%.

Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called consumer core prices rose 0.4% last month from March and 2.8% from April 2025, relatively modest readings that suggest the energy price burst isn’t spilling over much yet into other prices.

Inflation had been dropping more or less steadily since peaking with a 9.1% year-over-year spike in prices in June 2022, a surge caused by supply chain bottlenecks at the end of COVID-19 lockdowns and an energy price shock following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But inflation remained above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

Then, the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, and Tehran responded by shutting off access to the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes. Energy prices rocketed in response.

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Defense Secretary Hegseth defends ‘historic’ budget request

Hegseth said the “admittedly a historic budget” the Pentagon is requesting from Congress is “a fiscally responsible budget, and it is a warfighting budget.”

Hegseth argued that the Trump administration inherited a defense industrial base that had been “hollowed out by years of America last policies, resulting in a diminished capability and capacity to project strength.”

However, in contrast with his Congressional testimony two weeks ago, Hegseth struck a much softer tone and did not personally criticize lawmakers in his initial remarks.

Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democrat from Minnesota, specifically noted that “it was disappointing that you referred to members of both parties as defeatist” in previous testimony.

“I will not question your patriotism, nor will you question mine,” she added.

The defense secretary said the $1.5 trillion request also includes a large troop pay increase and “eliminates all poor or failing barracks” while investing heavily in projects championed by President Trump such as the Golden Dome and Golden Fleet.

House Appropriations Committee chair subtly pushes against Trump approach

Rep. Tom Cole, the top Republican on the powerful House money committee, added his concerns about Trump’s approach on the world stage, saying “America First has never meant American alone.”

“American power is most effective when it’s exercised in concert with like minded nations who share our interests and our values,” the chairman said in his opening remarks.

He added an endorsement of NATO as a “critical pillar of collective defense” in the world.

“American strength is not diminished when allies shoulder their share,” he said. “It’s multiplied, and we must continue to sharpen our strategic advantages.”

Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, did not explicitly mention the president or his criticism of NATO and traditional U.S. allies. But his remarks stood as a clear contrast to Trump’s statements and approach.

Top Republican and Democrat open with concerns about Pentagon strategy

Subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert, a California Republican, and Ranking Member Betty McCollum, a Democrat from Minnesota, opened the hearing expressing bipartisan worry over the Pentagon’s budget requests, especially to fund the Iran war.

They repeated their request that the Trump administration offer a more detailed breakout of what the war costs and how the Pentagon would spend any budget increase.

“The subcommittee needs to understand how the resources requested in this budget translates into real, measurable improvements in warfighting capability,” Calvert said, adding that he has “serious concerns” about the request.

“Questions persist about whether we are building the depth and reliance required for a high end conflict,” he said.

McCollum noted that lawmakers have “asked several times for a complete update on ammunition levels, and it has not been provided.”

Lawmakers begin hearing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine

The House Appropriations’ defense subcommittee has opened its Tuesday session to hear from President Trump’s top advisers on the Iran war.

The hearing is part of a series of congressional budget deliberations. The Pentagon is asking for $1.5 trillion for fiscal 2027, a roughly 44% increase from the current U.S. defense budget.

Hegseth has had contentious exchanges with Democrats in recent appearances on the Hill. But he’s been a staunch defender of the Iran war even as public opinion sours on the conflict.

Trump is getting another medical checkup at the end of May, the White House says

Trump is scheduled to see doctors for a medical and dental checkup this month — his fourth publicized visit to medical experts since returning to office — in what the White House describes as an annual physical and regular preventive care.

Trump, who turns 80 next month and was the oldest person elected U.S. president, will see his doctors at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on May 26, the White House said in a brief statement Monday evening.

The president’s health has been the subject of tremendous scrutiny, so much so that Trump said he regretted getting imaging on his heart and abdomen last year because it raised public questions about his health.

Trump has recently remarked how good he feels despite his years. Earlier Monday, Trump that he feels the same as he did 50 years ago. “I feel literally the same,” he said at an Oval Office event. “I don’t know why. It’s not because I eat the best foods.”

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Supreme Court halts order for Alabama to use US House map with 2 largely Black districts

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday set the stage for Alabama to eliminate one of two largely Black congressional districts before this year’s midterm elections, creating an opening for Republicans to gain an additional U.S. House seat in a partisan battle for control of the closely divided chamber.

The decision follows a Supreme Court ruling in April that struck down a majority-Black U.S. House district in Louisiana as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, significantly weakening a provision of the federal Voting Rights Act.

Alabama officials had pointed to the Louisiana case as a reason for the Supreme Court to end a judicial order to use a court-imposed House map until after the 2030 census. The high court on Monday overturned that order and directed a lower court to reconsider the case in light of the Louisiana decision. That could free the state to instead use a map approved in 2023 by the Republican-led legislature that includes only one district where Black residents comprise a majority.

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Trump and Xi appear intent on keeping deep differences over Iran war from overshadowing China summit

Trump is set to leave Tuesday for Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping after weeks of trying, and failing, to persuade the Chinese government to use its considerable leverage to prod Iran to agree to U.S. terms to end the two-month war, or at the very least, reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has veered between venting that China, the world’s biggest buyer of Iranian oil, hasn’t done more to get the Islamic Republic in line, and acknowledging that Xi’s government helped de-escalate the conflict last month by nudging Tehran back to ceasefire talks when negotiations wobbled.

But ahead of the U.S. leader’s high-stakes visit, the White House has set low expectations that Trump will be able to persuade Xi to change China’s posture.

Instead, the administration seems determined not to let differences on Iran overshadow efforts to make headway on other difficult matters in the complicated relationship — ranging from trade to further Chinese cooperation to block exports of fentanyl precursors.

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Andriy Yermak is suspected in an alleged 460-million-hryvnia ($10.5 million) money-laundering scheme, the agencies announced late Monday.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy met with the CEO of Palantir Technologies, part of Ukraine’s growing cooperation with the U.S. defense sector, as a three-day U.S.-brokered ceasefire that decreased the fighting but failed to stop it altogether ended Monday.

Russia’s invasion of its neighbor is now in its fifth year, with no sign of a peace settlement within reach.

Graft investigation embarrasses Zelenskyy

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office said in a Telegram announcement that the investigation into Yermak is ongoing.

The move is a step short of formally charging Yermak, who resigned in November. He was the country’s lead negotiator in talks with the U.S and left during the scandal that brought the biggest threat to Zelenskyy’s government since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The investigation is deeply embarrassing for the Ukrainian leader as he pushes for his country’s admission to the European Union, a process that will likely take years. Endemic corruption is one of the obstacles slowing Ukraine’s admission.

Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council and a key negotiator in U.S. diplomatic peace efforts, has been questioned and is a witness in the case revolving around a luxury real estate development near the capital, prosecutors told a media briefing in Kyiv.

Several other senior officials, including former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Chernyshov, are “implicated” in the case, according to the prosecutors, as is prominent Ukrainian businessman Tymur Mindich.

The graft investigation also involves suspected wrongdoing in Ukraine’s energy sector, the defense industry, and the procurement of drones and other military equipment, they said.

Yermak was a trusted confidant of Zelenskyy, who resisted persistent pressure to replace him, and a powerful figure in the government. Investigators searched his home in November.

Zelenskyy made no public comment on the anti-graft agencies’ announcement, but his press officer, Dmytro Lytvyn, said: “The investigation is ongoing, it’s early to draw conclusions.”

Yermak’s attorney, Ihor Fomin, called the suspicion notice groundless and denied his client’s involvement in the alleged laundering of 460 million hryvnias through an elite construction project outside Kyiv.

“In my view, this entire situation has been provoked by public pressure,” Fomin said in an interview with Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.

A decision on whether to bring formal charges against Yermak could still take months.

Zelenskyy holds talks with CEO of US firm Palantir

Zelenskyy said Tuesday he met in Kyiv with Alex Karp, as part of Ukraine’s growing cooperation with the U.S. defense sector.

The Ukrainian leader said in a social media post that Ukraine and Palantir “can be useful to each other.”

“We discussed directions of technological development both in the context of combat operations and civilian needs,” Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app.

Palantir Technologies is an artificial intelligence software company that helps global defense agencies. It specializes in software platforms that collate and analyze large volumes of data and has partnered with Ukraine for several years.

AI can help combatants quickly sift and decipher a huge volume of battlefield information, enabling more accurate attacks, among other things.

Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said after meeting with Karp that cooperation with the company is giving Ukraine a technological edge in the war.

It has enabled detailed analysis of air attacks, AI solutions for handling large volumes of reconnaissance data, and the integration of technology in the planning of Ukraine’s deep-strike operations on Russian soil, Fedorov said on Telegram.

Also, Ukraine and Palantir have created a platform for developers to get battlefield data to train AI models, with more than 100 companies currently involved, he said.

Russia launches strikes on Ukraine after relative lull

Ukraine offered to extend the pause in hostilities, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said. But he reported Tuesday that Russia launched over 200 drones against Ukraine overnight, striking civilian infrastructure and killing at least one person and wounding another six.

“It is time to strengthen our positions and force Moscow to end the war,” Sybiha said on X. Russian President Vladimir Putin “must realize that it will only get worse for him.”

Western analysts say Ukraine’s battlefield position has recently improved as it deploys cutting-edge drone technology to hold Russia’s bigger army at bay.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its air defenses intercepted 30 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions on the border with Ukraine.

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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.

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

Our story begins in Flint, November 1983. Michael Jackson’s Thriller had just come out. A Christmas Story was about to hit theaters. And 16-year-old Sheri Jo Elliot was a part-time babysitter attending Carman High School — just trying to settle into a new life.

Sheri had just moved to Flint to live with her mom after living with her dad in Charlotte.

She was shy, smart and always careful around strangers. Then on Nov. 16, 1983, Sheri never came home from school.

She was last seen waiting for the bus, and then she was gone.

Four days later, her body was found along a rural road in Blumfield Township. She had been shot multiple times and sexually assaulted.

After an extensive investigation, the case went cold. And it stayed cold for 40 years.

Then, in 2023, MSP detectives reopened the case with something they had never had before: modern DNA technology. Using forensic-grade genome sequencing, they built a suspect profile.

At the same time, students from Western Michigan University’s Cold Case Program joined the investigation.

All of that work led to one man: Roni Collins. A 75-year-old from Grand Blanc who had lived in the same area as Sheri Jo and was a traveling musician at the time of her death.

DNA from his autopsy was tested — and it was a conclusive match to evidence recovered from Sheri Jo in 1983.

On April 13, 2026, Michigan State Police announced the case was solved, and the Western Michigan students were integral to making it happen.

Dr. Ashlyn Kuersten, the director of the Cold Case Program at Western Michigan, and Halli Warner, a student who was part of the team that helped solve this case, joined Local 4 Live to discuss the investigation.

We also spoke with the Michigan State Police liaison about how this case came together.

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

Host city Vienna has been bedecked in hearts and the contest’s “United by Music” motto for a week in which singers and bands from 35 countries will compete onstage for the continent’s musical crown. But five countries — Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland — are boycotting to protest Israel's inclusion.

Several pro-Palestinian demonstrations are planned in Vienna during Eurovision week, and security is tight, with police officers from across Austria deployed in the capital, and support from forces in neighboring Germany.

Last month a 21-year-old Austrian man accused of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group pleaded guilty to plotting to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024, and the head of Austria’s DSN intelligence service, Sylvia Mayer, said “the terror threat posed by Islamist terror groups, as well as Iran-affiliated groups, is still at a high level.”

Israel aiming for the Eurovision final

Israeli singer Noam Bettan is among 15 acts competing for votes from viewers and national juries in Tuesday’s semifinal at the Wiener Stadthalle arena. The top 10 will go through to Saturday’s grand final, along with 10 from Thursday’s second semifinal. The U.K., France, Germany and Italy automatically qualify because they are among the contest’s biggest funders. Austria, last year’s winner, goes through to the final as host country.

Bettan is seeking to get Israel, which came second in 2025, into Saturday’s final with the ballad “Michelle.” Like last year’s Israeli competitor, Yuval Raphael, he has practiced singing while being booed.

Hoping to cement its status as bookmakers’ favorite is Finland, with the intense “Liekinheitin” (“Flamethrower”) by violinist Linda Lampenius and pop singer Pete Parkkonen.

Other competitors in Tuesday’s semifinal include Greece’s Akylas with fan-favorite party-rap track “Ferto” (“Bring It”); Portuguese quintet Bandidos do Cante with the soulful “Rosa”; and singer Senhit, representing tiny San Marino with “Superstar,” a party anthem featuring a guest appearance by Boy George.

Long a forum for good-natured — and sometimes more pointed — national rivalries, Eurovision has found it hard to separate pop and politics in recent years. Russia was expelled in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The 2024 contest in Malmo, Sweden, and last year’s event in Basel, Switzerland, saw pro-Palestinian protests that called for Israel to be expelled over its conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza and allegations it ran a rule-breaking marketing campaign to get votes for its contestant.

The European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, has toughened voting rules in response to the vote-rigging allegations, halving the number of votes per person to 10 and tightening safeguards against “suspicious or coordinated voting activity.”

But the EBU declined to kick Israel out, spurring five countries to announce in December that they would not participate this year.

Protesters urge artists to withdraw

At a press conference on Tuesday the group No Music for Genocide urged participants to pull out of the contest.

“Israel will not withdraw. The Austrian government will not have Israel removed from the competition, from the Song Contest. So I think it is a moral obligation for each and every artist to take action and step away from the competition,” said Congolese-Austrian activist Patrick Bongola, a member of the group.

Israel strongly denies committing genocide in Gaza. Demonstrations in support of the country's participation are also planned this week in Vienna.

The five-country boycott is a revenue and viewership blow to an event that organizers say was watched by 166 million people around the world last year. Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania have returned after skipping the event for artistic or financial reasons in recent years, but the number of participants, at 35, is still the lowest since 2003.

Jonathan Hendrickx, a media researcher at the University of Copenhagen, said any more boycotts will stress the structure of the contest and raise doubts if the very show can still go on as usual.

“They really are at their limits now, in terms of what they can handle with the current format,” Hendrickx said.

Dean Vuletic, the author of “Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest,” is confident Eurovision can weather the latest storms.

“We’ll see demonstrations, but we’ll also see a lot of colorful events going on which will really represent what Eurovision is about, which is bringing Europeans together,” he said.

“If you look at the history of Eurovision, it’s gone through so many crises, so many political challenges, so many geopolitical changes in Europe, and it’s always managed to survive.”

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Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed to this story.

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For more coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/eurovision-song-contest

Trump has veered between venting that China, the world’s biggest buyer of Iranian oil, hasn't done more to get the Islamic Republic in line and acknowledging that Xi's government helped de-escalate the conflict last month by nudging Tehran back to ceasefire talks when negotiations wobbled.

But ahead of the U.S. leader's high-stakes visit, the White House has set low expectations that Trump will be able to persuade Xi to change China's posture.

Instead, Trump's Republican administration seems determined not to let differences on Iran overshadow efforts to make headway on other difficult matters in the complicated relationship — ranging from trade to further Chinese cooperation to block exports of fentanyl precursors.

“We don’t want this to be something that derails the broader relationship or the agreements that might come out of our meeting in Beijing,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Bloomberg TV last week.

US administration sanctioned China ahead of the trip

Beijing publicly insists that it wants to see the war end and has been working diplomatically behind the scenes to help its ally Pakistan push to broker a peace agreement. It has also sent a “subtle message of discontent to Iran” for closing the Strait of Hormuz and to the U.S. for its blockade of Iranian shipping, said Ahmed Aboudouh, a specialist on China’s influence in the Middle East with the London-based Chatham House think tank.

“They are very cautious, risk averse, and they don’t want to be involved in anything that would drag them into something that they don’t consider their problem,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kuwait on Tuesday accused Iran of dispatching an armed paramilitary Revolutionary Guard team to launch a failed attack earlier this month on an island in the Middle East nation that is home to a China-funded port project. Iran didn’t immediately acknowledge the allegation by Kuwait, which came under repeated attack by Iran in the war and even during the shaky ceasefire still holding in the region.

In recent days, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have stepped up their calls for China to use its influence to help reopen the strait, through which about 20% of the world's crude flowed before the war began.

The State Department announced on Friday it was sanctioning four entities, including three China-based firms, for providing sensitive satellite imagery that enables Iranian military strikes against U.S. forces in the Middle East. Earlier, the Treasury Department moved to target Chinese oil refineries accused of buying oil from Tehran, as well as shippers of the oil. The sanctions cut off the companies from the U.S. financial system and penalize anyone who does business with them.

Beijing has called the sanctions “illegal unilateral pressure” and enacted a blocking statute — passed in 2021 and never used until now — that prohibits any Chinese entity from recognizing or complying with the sanctions.

Ahead of Trump's arrival, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week hosted his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in Beijing. The Chinese foreign minister used the moment to defend Iran’s right to develop civilian nuclear energy.

Xi has also offered implicit criticism of the U.S. over the war. He has said that safeguarding international rule of law is paramount, adding it “must not be selectively applied or disregarded,” nor should the world be allowed to revert “to the law of the jungle.”

China and the US want to avoid a return to a tariff war

Trump on Monday downplayed differences with China over Iran and underscored that Xi wants to see the strait reopened. “He’d like to see it get done,” Trump said of the Chinese leader.

Like Trump, Xi also has plenty of reason to not let differences over Iran impact other facets of the relationship, analysts say. China imports about half of its crude oil and almost one-third of its liquefied natural gas from Middle Eastern countries affected by the closure of the strait, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.

Beijing wants to guard against further deterioration of the U.S.-China relationship — something that would add further challenges to its economy.

“(Xi) wants the summit to validate China’s superpower status, preserve the tariff predictability, and to reaffirm that Washington has to deal with Beijing on Beijing’s terms," said Craig Singleton, senior director for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ China program

Yet, since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February, there have been difficult moments between Trump and Xi that threatened to set back the relative stability in their relationship.

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

Last month, Trump threatened to impose a 50% tariff on China after reports that Beijing was preparing to deliver a shipment of new air defense systems to Iran, but he later backed away from the threat, claiming that he had received written assurance from Xi that he would not provide Tehran with weaponry. Days later, Trump said cryptically that the U.S. Navy had intercepted a Chinese vessel carrying a “gift” for Iran. He has not offered further explanation.

Both Trump and Xi may be eager to avoid creating dark economic clouds, as they did last year, when the two powers appeared on the precipice of a massive trade war.

Trump had set tariffs on Chinese goods at 145%, and China announced a further tightening of rare-earth export controls that would have hurt U.S. industry — before the governments backed off from inflicting maximalist penalties on each other. The two sides reached a fragile truce in their long-running trade disputes in October.

Trump and other administration officials have made the case that the Iran conflict — particularly the closure of the strait — has caused greater harm to China and its Pacific neighbors than it has to the United States, which is far less dependent on Middle East oil and has an export-driven economy.

“You can’t buy from them if you can’t ship it there, and you can’t buy from them if your economy is being destroyed by what Iran is doing,” Rubio told reporters last week, making the case that it was in China’s interest for Iran to let traffic resume.

But for now, China has shown little interest in wading deeper into the conflict and has appeared reluctant to be seen siding with Washington.

“It will be difficult to get the Chinese deeply involved under any circumstances,” said Kurt Campbell, a former deputy secretary of state during President Joe Biden's Democratic administration and chair of The Asia Group. “They will want to be careful because they can see political quicksand as well as the next guy.”

___

Associated Press writers Didi Tang in Washington, Adam Schreck in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this report.

A fisherman on the island of Lefkada found the craft inside a coastal cave on May 7 and towed it close to a nearby harbor. It was moved a day later to a naval base on the mainland for inspection and the explosives were later destroyed, according to Greece’s public broadcaster, ERT.

“We have certainty now that it is a Ukrainian USV,” Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said, referring to the drone as an unmanned surface vehicle.

Ukrainian authorities didn’t immediately return a request seeking comment.

Dendias made the remarks in Brussels at a meeting of European Union defense ministers, saying that he would raise the issue with his European colleagues and with the Ukrainian officials directly.

“You understand that the presence of that USV — the drone, the sea drone — affects the freedom of navigation and affects also the security of navigation,” Dendias said. “This is an extremely serious issue.”

Ukraine has used surface drones to attack Russian naval vessels in the Black Sea, and more recently to target tankers used to transport Russian oil as part of an illicit network when returning empty as part of a campaign to hammer Moscow's energy exports.

Greek authorities gave no further details of the drone, while Greek naval experts said that its features resemble Ukrainian Magura-type craft — a platform developed by Ukraine's intelligence service.

Lefkada, off the west coast of the Greek mainland, is on a busy waterway between Greece and Italy, and is popular with tourists traveling by yacht or ferry, as well as commercial vessels. “It appears that the (drone) suffered some malfunction and was moving in an uncontrolled way,” Stefanos Gikas, a Greek deputy minister for maritime affairs, told public television on Monday. “So this craft — a black thing without navigation and carrying explosives — could have struck a tourist vessel.”

The heightening drone-led confrontation between Ukraine and the invading Russian military has led to multiple incidents on the territory of NATO and EU member states — the incursions mostly involving suspected Russian drones entering their airspace.

“They are violating our airspace. And it’s very clear that inside the European Union we should rearrange our capacities, our capabilities, in order to decrease this type of violations,” Romanian Defense Minister Radu-Dinel Miruța said in Brussels on Tuesday.

“It is very important to understand that this is a common threat,” he said. “It is happening on the entire eastern flank.”

___

Lorne Cook reported from Brussels. Theodora Tongas contributed to this report.

’’Children crying, and even babies,” said Ross, the French widow of a U.S. military veteran, whose arrest last month as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown made international headlines.

Ross spoke to The Associated Press on Monday about her 16 days in federal immigration custody after being arrested on April 1 in Alabama following an alleged visa overstay, and the late-in-life love story that brought her to the United States. She has been released and returned to France.

The experience in detention, she said, changed her and her view of politics.

She was held in a dormitory-style room with 58 other women, mostly mothers. ‘’Some of them didn’t know where their children were,'' she said. ‘’I think it’s terrible for a woman not to know where her children are.”

Her arrest in Alabama unfolded so quickly that she barely understood what was happening. Five men, who identified themselves as immigration officers, banged on her door and windows at 8 a.m. before handcuffing her and placing her in a vehicle, she said. She was still wearing her bathrobe, slippers and pajamas.

She was transferred two days later to a facility in Basile, Louisiana. Later that month she was freed. She is now recovering in a suburb of Nantes in western France with her family. The French foreign minister had publicly called for her release, saying that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement methods are “not in line” with French standards.

Ross had entered the U.S. to start a new life with William B. Ross, a retired U.S. soldier she had met decades earlier when he was stationed in France in the 1950s and she was a secretary at NATO. They married in April 2025.

After he died of natural causes in January, a dispute emerged over his estate. An Alabama judge found that Ross’ stepson, a U.S. federal employee, allegedly intervened to prompt her placement in immigration custody.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Ross had overstayed her 90-day visa at the time of her arrest. The AP on Tuesday sought comment from DHS, which previously didn’t respond to requests.

Ross described strict rules and constant shouting from guards and condescending treatment at the detention facility in Louisiana.

“The prison was clean, the food was okay, but it was the way they spoke to us,” she told the AP. “The guards could not speak without yelling.”

She described the place as noisy. ’’Everybody was talking loudly so everybody could hear what they were saying, but when silence came, you could hear children crying and even babies crying,″ she said. ’’There’s babies in this jail.″

Despite the conditions, Ross described moments of solidarity among detainees. “During the night, if my bed cover slipped away, I felt a small hand putting it back,” she said. “I didn’t know who it was, but they pampered me because I was older than them.”

She said the women called her “Grandma.” She kept a handmade friendship bracelet given to her by another detainee, a gift she wears today.

Family members said Ross is still struggling with memory gaps and emotional distress following her detention. She said she wants to seek medical follow-up in France to address symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress and is receiving support.

Ross said she continues to think about the women she met in custody, most of them from South America. Many were mothers separated from their children.

Her experience changed the way she sees the United States and its immigration policies, Ross said. Her husband was a Trump supporter and they used to watch Fox News together. But she was shocked to learn firsthand how immigrants are treated inside immigration facilities.

She used to view the U.S. as a “country of freedom, where people are not arrested based on how they look, and where those who are detained are treated fairly and with respect.” But the women she met did not deserve to be detained, she said. “Their only fault was to be South American.”

As she recovers in France, Ross still thinks about them: “When I left this jail in Louisiana, I told them that if I ever had the chance to speak about them, I would do it, to help them.”

Dozens of Labour lawmakers are calling on Starmer to resign, though several ministers publicly spoke of their support for Starmer as they left a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

The prime minister has insisted he has no intention of resigning. Starmer could be forced out if one-fifth of sitting Labour lawmakers, or at least 80 or them, agree to back a lawmaker to challenge him. So far, no formal leadership challenge has been triggered.

In a blow to Starmer, a junior minister became the first member of his government to quit on Tuesday.

Here's the latest:

Another minister resigns

Alex Davies-Jones, the minister for tackling violence against women and girls, wrote in a letter to Starmer to “act in the country’s interest and set out a timetable for your departure.”

She called Starmer a “good and honest man,” but described the scale of Labour’s defeat at last week’s local elections as “catastrophic.”

“The country has spoken and we must listen,” she wrote. “We waited fourteen years to get into power and change the lives of those we represent. The time now is for bold, radical action.”

“We have needed to do more and therefore it is with a very heavy heart that I feel I have no choice but to resign,” she said.

Second minister resigns from Keir Starmer’s government

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has lost a second member of his government amid a growing chorus of Labour Party members to resign.

Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, announced her resignation in a letter Tuesday.

“I think you are a good man fundamentally, who cares about the right things,” she wrote. “However I have seen first-hand how that is not enough.”

“I know you care deeply, but deeds, not words are what matter,” she added. “I want a Labour government to work and I will strive as I always have for its success and popularity, but I’m not seeing the change I think I, and the country expect, and so cannot continue to serve as a minister under the current leadership.”

The king’s speech

The political crisis engulfing Starmer’s government comes just hours ahead of the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday.

King Charles III will deliver the King’s Speech to mark the beginning of a new parliamentary year. The speech, which is written by officials but read out by the monarch, will set out the government’s legislative agenda for the coming months.

“As far as I’m aware, the King’s Speech is going ahead tomorrow,” Starmer’s chief secretary, Darren Jones, said.

Growing number of lawmakers demand Starmer stand down

At least 80 out of Labour’s 403 lawmakers have now demanded the prime minister stand down, or at least set out a timetable for his departure, after Labour suffered heavy losses in local elections last week.

However, so far no Labour lawmaker has announced they will challenge Starmer for the leadership.

What to know about contenders who could replace Starmer as Britain’s Labour leader

While there is no clear frontrunner to replace Starmer, here are some of the leading contenders for the top job:

1. Wes Streeting - The health secretary is widely regarded as one of the government’s best communicators and has led on one of its key pledges, improving the creaky National Health Service.

2. Angela Rayner - the former deputy prime minister has long set herself apart as a different kind of politician with a compelling personal story. She was brought up in social housing and left school at 16 as a teen mother.

3. Andy Burnham - The former cabinet minister has long been seen as a potential rival for Starmer. But his leadership prospects were dented after Labour blocked him from standing as the party’s candidate for Parliament.

4. Ed Miliband - The energy secretaryis a former Labour leader, but his five years at the top of the party ended in the party’s 2015 election defeat.

5. Shabana Mahmood - The home secretary has become a favorite of many on the right of the Labour Party with her moves to tighten border controls and crack down on immigration.

British minister says ‘cabinet united’ around Starmer

A cabinet member in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government said there was no direct challenge to his leadership at Tuesday’s meeting.

Jenny Chapman, minister of international development, said she did not think Starmer’s authority had been destroyed by dozens of Labour Party members calling for him to step down.

“That’s not what I have just seen around the Cabinet table,” she told reporters outside 10 Downing St. “I saw a Cabinet united and focused on dealing with the issues that are confronting the British people.”

UK health secretary ignores shouted questions

U.K. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, long believed to be preparing for a leadership challenge against U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, didn’t comment as he left the Cabinet meeting at Downing Street.

“Wes Streeting, do you want the job, or not?” one person yelled from across the street. “Are you measuring the curtains?”

He was among senior ministers who dodged a barrage of shouted questions from a scrum of reporters gathered outside.

Starmer showing ‘steadfast leadership,’ Cabinet minister says

U.K. Business Secretary Peter Kyle has voiced support for embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Starmer is showing “really steadfast leadership,” Kyle told reporters as he left the Cabinet meeting.

Kyle says the meeting discussed the economy and issues facing society. He said that he was on his way to Brussels to deepen the U.K. relationship with the European Union — one of the goals Starmer announced Monday as he delivered a speech aimed at winning back support.

No one has made a leadership challenge yet, official says

A U.K. official says that nobody had yet made a challenge to the leadership of U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“The prime minister talked about the challenges we faced as a country, the crisis in the Middle East and the impact on the cost of living here,” Liz Kendall, the secretary of science, innovation and technology, told reporters as she left a Cabinet meeting.

“This government will do what we were elected to do, which is serve the British people. The prime minister has my full support in this,” Kendall said.

“There is a process to challenge the leader. Nobody has made that challenge,” she said.

Treasury chief pulls out of business event

U.K. Treasury chief Rachel Reeves won’t be taking part in a London risk summit that she was due to appear at after attending a Cabinet meeting.

Her place will be taken by Treasury minister Lucy Rigby.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government is in turmoil as dozens of Labour Party lawmakers joined calls for him to quit, after poor local election results for the party last week.

UK housing secretary urges support for Starmer

Housing Secretary Steve Reed has urged Labour Party colleagues to support Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he faces calls to step down.

Reed posted a message on social media during a meeting of Starmer’s Cabinet.

“This is not a game,” Reed said on X. “This instability has consequences for people’s lives. The people who will be hurt most will be those that elected us less than two years ago. We must unite behind the Prime Minister.”

Treasury chief pulls out of business event

The Treasury confirmed that Rachel Reeves has pulled out of a London risk summit she was expected to take part in after attending a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Her place will be taken by Treasury minister Lucy Rigby.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government is in turmoil as dozens of his Labour Party lawmakers joined calls for him to quit Tuesday.

Starmer resolves to stay in office

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer doubled down Tuesday on his resolve to stay in office, despite calls to step down.

Starmer told Cabinet ministers that he took responsibility for devastating losses that his center-left Labour Party suffered in last week’s local elections across the U.K., but he would fight on.

Starmer said there’s a process to oust a leader and that hadn’t been triggered.

“The country expects us to get on with governing,” he said. ”That is what I am doing and what we must do.”

Junior minister quits UK government

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer lost the first member of his government Tuesday as he faced pressure to step down following losses in local elections.

Housing, communities and local government minister Miatta Fahnbulleh stepped down and urged Starmer “to do the right thing for the country” and set a timetable to step aside.

Fahnbulleh, a junior minister who is considered to be on the left of the party, said that she was proud of her service, but that the government hadn't acted with the vision, pace and mandate for change it had been given by voters.

How Starmer could be replaced

The next U.K. national election doesn’t have to be held until 2029, but British politics allows parties to change leader midterm without the need for a general election.

If it comes to it, the simplest option would be for U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer to announce his intention to resign, triggering an election for the Labour leadership. A resignation announcement could possibly come if members of his Cabinet tell Starmer in their regular meeting on Tuesday that he has lost too much support within the party.

If Starmer doesn’t resign, he could face a challenge from one or more Labour lawmakers.

From above, the plant forms dense, almost carpet-like mats that stretch across the surface. Up close, its long strands extend deep below the water, with roots reaching toward the lagoon bed, making it difficult to remove completely.

The scenes are unfolding in Colombia’s Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta, a vast coastal wetland on the Caribbean coast about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the city of Santa Marta. What was until recently a lifeline for fishing and transport is now being choked by dense vegetation, turning it into what he describes as an unfolding environmental crisis.

“What we’re seeing here today is a problem. One that affects not only movement or fishing, but the community as a whole,” said 32-year-old Cantillo, a local environmental and social leader from Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta.

Over the past year, residents say the fast-growing invasive plant native to Asia — Hydrilla verticillata — has spread rapidly across the wetland after first appearing around mid-2025. The dense vegetation, which some locals refer to as “horse tail,” is choking fishing routes, clogging waterways and restricting access to areas where residents collect water, while driving up costs in communities that rely almost entirely on the lagoon for their livelihoods.

The Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta is one of Colombia’s most important fishing ecosystems, serving as a nursery for many species.

In Nueva Venecia and Buenavista — two isolated fishing communities built almost entirely on wooden stilts over the water — large swaths of open water are now covered by the invasive plant. The communities themselves are largely informal and exist outside many basic state services.

Nueva Venecia — the older of the two, founded in 1847 as a fishing settlement — is home to roughly 4,500 people living in about 500 colorful houses. Buenavista, which emerged in the 1950s, has around 1,150 residents and 163 similarly vibrant homes, where residents travel between houses, shops and schools by small boats or canoes.

"A year ago, there were canoes fishing here. Teachers and students crossing the lagoon. Today, what we see is a problem,” Cantillo said.

A growing crisis for fishing communities

The impact is rippling through already vulnerable communities. Fish catches have dropped, transport has become more difficult and families are facing rising costs as they are forced to buy potable water.

In Nueva Venecia, one small-scale fisherman stood shirtless in the midday heat, pulling brittle strands of dried vegetation from his fishing nets, which he had laid out in the sun to make them easier to clean.

“We can’t work because of this plant,” said 61-year-old Santander Cueto. “It doesn’t let us cast our nets — everything gets tangled.”

What was once a routine task now takes significantly longer.

“The lagoon's completely covered. There’s nowhere left to fish,” said Demóstenes Guerrero, 58, a fisherman and representative of a fishing association in Buenavista.

In some areas, groups of residents head out in wooden boats to cut narrow “lifeline” passages through the thickest vegetation, allowing canoes to pass without getting their propellers tangled. These efforts are labor-intensive and largely driven by the community itself, and must be repeated every few days as the fast-growing plant quickly closes the routes again.

The wetland spans about 428,000 hectares (1,600 square miles) of lagoons, mangroves and marshes — roughly the size of Los Angeles — and has been a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 2000.

Pollution and changing water flows fuel the spread

The Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta is fed by the Magdalena River — one of Colombia’s main waterways — which carries untreated wastewater from across much of the country, said Julián Arbelaez, a water and sanitation engineer working in the region.

That influx of nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus, creates ideal conditions for invasive species when water slows in wetlands like this one.

“That load causes the river to enter a state of eutrophication,” Arbelaez said, referring to a process in which excess nutrients fuel rapid plant growth.

The vegetation is also cutting off access to cleaner water sources. Residents typically travel by boat to collect freshwater from channels connected to the Magdalena River, but many of those routes are now blocked. As a result, Arbelaez said, people are increasingly collecting water closer to their homes — often in areas contaminated by untreated sewage.

Residents say another invasive plant, Eichhornia crassipes, which floats on the water’s surface, has long been present in the lagoon and also disrupts fishing and transport, though its impact has been less sudden.

Local leaders say changes in water flow have also contributed to the crisis, with freshwater now dominating areas where saltwater once helped suppress or kill Hydrilla verticillata.

Sandra Vilardy, a professor at Universidad de los Andes who has a doctorate in ecology and who has worked in the region for about 20 years, said there is still limited research on how the plant arrived and that current explanations remain hypotheses.

She said one of the most likely pathways is maritime transport, with the plant potentially entering through major river systems before spreading into wetlands through smaller vessels and dredging activity. A second possibility, she said, is the release of aquarium plants into waterways, a common cause of biological invasions globally, though she noted that explanation appears less likely in this case given the region’s environmental conditions.

Communities say response has been slow and insufficient

“This is a monster in terms of growth,” Cantillo said, describing how it spread from a limited presence early last year to surrounding entire communities within months.

Even attempts to remove it can make the situation worse, as fragments can break off and spread further. Residents say efforts to remove the plant have largely been limited to small-scale manual clearing by fishermen and sporadic pilot efforts by authorities, with no effective large-scale solution in place.

The crisis is now pushing some residents to consider leaving altogether.

“We now face a risk that we didn’t have 20 or 25 years ago — the risk of mass displacement,” Cantillo said.

Protests and road blockades have already taken place as frustration grows over what locals describe as a slow and insufficient government response.

Alfredo Martínez, director of CORPAMAG, the regional environmental authority, said Hydrilla verticillata is not officially classified as an invasive species in Colombia and that national guidelines for its control are still pending. He said monitoring and removal efforts are underway with local community involvement, adding that no further expansion has been observed since March and that lower water levels may be slowing its spread.

César Rodríguez Ayala, a community leader in Nueva Venecia, said the crisis is affecting nearly every aspect of life.

“If the fisherman can’t work, the shop doesn’t sell,” he said. “We are living a very difficult situation, economically and environmentally.”

While mechanical removal methods exist, complete eradication is unlikely in the short term due to high costs and limited capacity, according to Cantillo.

“We are part of Colombia too,” Rodríguez said. “We live on the water, but we also deserve to be seen — and helped — in a moment like this.”

___

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

The Associated Press was allowed to witness the Swedish-led military exercise this week as Europe faces not only the threat of Russia but the wavering of NATO’s most powerful member, the United States.

The war game that also involved U.S. forces played out with a real threat in mind. For months, Russia has ramped up sabotage including cyberattacks against critical infrastructure and disinformation against countries across Europe, as detailed by an AP investigation.

The war game scenario — with the Swedish island of Gotland in theory facing power outages and food shortages because of sabotage — tested what NATO members might do before NATO’s collective defense clause, Article 5, has been invoked.

“In theory, it could happen tomorrow,” said Rear Adm. Jonas Wikström, director of the exercise.

Europe considers Trump's volatile approach to NATO

Sweden’s chief of defense, Gen. Michael Claesson, noted that the U.S. is Europe’s most militarily capable ally so “any change in the American presence” affects the overall dynamics. He told the AP that announcements by President Donald Trump of troop reductions in Europe are interpreted “as the Americans are leaving — and they are not.”

Europe’s military leaders, however, are watching closely how Trump and his administration treat NATO, which Trump has described as a “paper tiger.” Most recently, he has ordered the withdrawal of at least 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany and threatens to remove more.

Trump also has criticized allies, and NATO, for not coming to the aid of the U.S. in the Iran war, while U.S. air defense systems and missiles have been moved toward the Middle East from Europe, raising concerns about gaps in protection. Some European nations have been told they will face delays to their orders of U.S. weapons.

Claesson denied that recent announcements — including that of a “hybrid navy” by a group of Nordic and Baltic nations, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands — was a hedge against a possible future where the U.S. does not come to the aid of NATO allies.

But, he said, “everything that offers European allies freedom of action is good.”

The U.K. and Norway also aim to build a combined frigate fleet, said Marte Gerhardsen, state secretary at the Norwegian Ministry of Defense.

Ukrainian drone forces destroy Swedish troops in exercise

Since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, he also has paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine and at times aligned with Moscow in negotiations to end the war.

In the war game scenario this week, Ukrainian forces had a chance to demonstrate what they have learned on the battlefield and why their country might be a worthy NATO member.

A group of Ukrainian drone pilots, invited to teach Western forces how to win at drone warfare, destroyed Sweden’s troops in an exercise, a 24-year-old drone pilot told the AP.

“They stopped the training three times” for troops to work out what to do better, but if it were real life they would have been dead, he said, giving his call sign Tarik in line with Ukrainian military regulations.

Swedish troops have potential but need to improve their drones and tactics and commanders need a deeper understanding of drone warfare, said another pilot with the call sign Karat.

He described flying small, first-person-view attack drones on the front line against Russian forces. Sometimes drone pilots are supported by reconnaissance drone teams but other times they are “working blindly.”

Western forces cannot understand what it is like, he added: “You need to see this with your own eyes.”

All Western forces need to “learn rapidly” how to perform drone and counter-drone operations, and the “fastest” way is to listen to the Ukrainians, Claesson said.

“What they’ve taught us is you have to really focus on your survivability and how you can’t be detected,” said Brig. Gen. Curtis King with the U.S. military. At the same time, he said, Western nations need to focus on “deep” detection capabilities to spot drones from far away.

Such knowledge is desperately needed along Russia’s border with NATO where there has been a spate of drone incursions in recent months, including from Ukrainian drones sent off course by Russian jamming.

The goal is to have systems that work together so that radar made by different companies in different countries can be integrated to share data and track threats, King said. That process has started but, “we’re not there yet.”

Putin could use Gotland to test the alliance

The war game exercise focused on the Swedish island of Gotland because it is strategically located in the Baltic Sea between the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad – where Moscow has stationed missiles – and Sweden.

“If you control Gotland, you pretty much control the central part of the Baltic Sea,” Claesson said.

The Baltic Sea is a financial lifeline for Russia as vessels with its “shadow fleet” carry oil and liquefied natural gas that Moscow uses to fund its war in Ukraine.

After the Cold War, Sweden effectively abandoned its military presence on Gotland but Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 prompted a rethink and a strengthened military presence there. And Sweden, along with Finland, decided to join NATO in 2024.

“A very reasonable scenario” is that Russian President Vladimir Putin could use Gotland to test NATO by trying to take a thin sliver of alliance territory to probe the collective reaction, Claesson said.

___

Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed.

The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) said the line was installed in 1975 to last about 100 years. It only reached 51 before bursting, leaving thousands without water.

Here’s everything we know about the water main break:

Water main break update

Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett is expected to provide an update on the water main break at 11 a.m. on May 12.

Local 4 will be at the press conference.

Water main replaced

The ruptured 42-inch water main was replaced Monday afternoon.

“The next step in the process is they’ve got to go in and actually weld the joints to the existing pipe,” GLWA CEO Suzanne Coffey said.

Coffey said this is ahead of schedule. But just because things are moving along doesn’t mean there isn’t a long road of testing ahead.

This pipe was installed in 1975 and was supposed to last 100 years. It’s only been about 50 years.

Related --> A 42-inch pipe broke 50 years too soon. Here’s where things stand for Oakland County communities

“A very small percentage of this kind of pipe can have a defect in it,” Coffey said. “They called it a ‘manufacturing anomaly’ that creates a condition where it ages more rapidly than it should. But 96% of the pipe is good. It’s $20 million a mile to replace the pipe.”

GLWA said the water main was discovered leaking on May 6. Crews were working to reroute water, but the water main broke at around 1:30 a.m. on May 10 before rerouting was completed.

Businesses reopening

Orion Township businesses are no longer required to close unless they are specifically notified by the fire department.

Related --> Water main break forces Oakland County businesses to close during busy weekend

Water restrictions

Residents in Orion Township, Lake Orion, Rochester Hills and Auburn Hills still cannot use water for nonessential activities such as watering lawns, washing cars, running dishwashers, using washing machines, etc.

Related --> ‘No showers, no laundry’: Oakland County residents line up for water as main break repair continues

Boil Water Advisories still in effect

Boil Water Advisories are still in effect for the communities affected: Orion Township, Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills and Oakland Township.

--> Here’s what to do during a boil water advisory

In Pontiac, residents are asked to avoid outdoor water use to reduce strain on the system. Higher demand can contribute to low water pressure in the city and nearby communities and may reduce water available for firefighting. Residents are urged to limit water use to essential needs only until the break is repaired.

Related --> Neighbors, agencies unite to provide clean water amid Oakland County boil advisory

Water pickup locations

GLWA said water trucks are distributing one-gallon containers at:

• Orion Township: Wildwood Amphitheater, 2700 Joslyn Court
• Auburn Hills: Auburn Hills Department of Public Works, 1500 Brown Road
• Lake Orion: Atwater Park, 426 Atwater Street

View a map of the locations here.

School closures

Lake Orion Baptist is closed on Tuesday, May 12.

Lake Orion Community Schools are closed through Thursday, May 14, due to the water main break.

See the list of school closures in Metro Detroit here.

Random House Children's Books announced Tuesday that Riordan is collaborating with different co-authors on each of four “Camp Half-Blood” middle-grade novels set during the time between Riordan's first two Percy books, “The Lightning Thief” and “The Sea of Monsters.”

Since “The Lightning Thief” was published in 2005, Riordan’s “Percy Jackson” novels have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide and have been translated into dozens of languages. His books feature such beloved characters as Percy, the boy whose father is the Greek god Poseidon; best friend Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. Riordan said in a statement that working on the Emmy-winning Disney+ adaptation of his work stirred his curiosity about Camp Half-Blood.

“It made me wonder what was happening back at camp between the books of the original series, when Percy, Annabeth, and Grover weren’t around,” he said. “This new series gives me a chance to explore that idea, while opening up Percy’s world by introducing a new group of demigod heroes, co-created with amazing authors who can write authentically about those heroes’ backgrounds. It’s been an incredible thrill!”

The first installment, “The Wild Zone,” was written with Annebelle Oh and comes out Sept. 29. Kyle Lukoff, Jade Adia and Pablo Cartaya are working with Riordan on the second, third and fourth books, respectively. Each will be published six months apart.

According to Random House, “The Wild Zone” tells of “ancient threats and long-buried secrets” and how “campers begin to disappear, unlikely new heroes must face monsters, curses, and impossible choices, all while discovering what it truly means to belong.”

The 81-year-old was sworn in Tuesday for a seventh consecutive term to extend his presidency over a further five years that may well be his last — although not necessarily for the Museveni family.

Army chief Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the president's son and presumptive heir, oversaw dayslong rehearsals of the military parade that animated the inauguration of Museveni, with Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets flying noisily over official ceremonial grounds in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.

Museveni took the oath of office and received the ceremonial instruments of power while being cheered by thousands attending the event in the Kampala suburb of Kololo. The president urged Ugandans to work hard and build wealth for their families, citing the stories of individuals whose entrepreneurial spirit had paid off.

“No more excuses,” he said.

Many Ugandans now accept that Museveni’s presidency — the only one that many millions of them have known — is nearing its end.

What remains uncertain is the nature of the transition and how orderly things would be in the time he has left in office.

Two possible routes to the top

Kainerugaba looks poised to take over. He has declared his wish to succeed his father and said recently that the mission is unstoppable.

Still, his path is narrow and could follow one of two ways: either a bloodless but unconstitutional takeover by Kainerugaba or a constitutional amendment that allows lawmakers with the ruling party — which has an overwhelming majority — to pick him as Museveni’s successor. An electoral win is seen as a hurdle too high for Kainerugaba, whose challengers would include opposition leader Bobi Wine, the popular entertainer who has twice run for president and rejected the outcome of the January election that gave Museveni his next term.

Anita Among, the parliamentary speaker, said last month that legislators would do everything possible to assist Kainerugaba in his pursuit of the presidency.

“For the sake of MK, just assure MK that we will do whatever it takes,” Among told a group of lawmakers celebrating the general's birthday, mentioning Kainerugaba's initials. “In the 11th parliament, the opposition got swallowed. In the 12th parliament, it is going to be walloped.”

In addition to the speaker, many other leaders have been scampering to show allegiance to Kainerugaba. While their moves display a quest for political survival, they also underscore Kainerugaba’s rise as Uganda’s de facto leader as his father ages and relies more on the army chief to exercise authority.

“Many Ugandans close to power have learned this lesson. That the president is old and exhausted, both intellectually and physically,” Andrew Mwenda, a close ally and friend of Kainerugaba, wrote last month in The Independent online newspaper. “He has a limited ability to monitor many things across a large spectrum of sectors.”

Kainerugaba, 52, joined the army in the late 1990s, and his rise to the top of the armed forces has been controversial, with critics dubbing it the “Muhoozi Project” to prepare him for the presidency.

Museveni and Kainerugaba denied the existence of such a scheme, but it has become apparent in the last two years that hereditary rule is possibly what the president prefers.

Museveni, who has not said when he will retire, has no rivals within the ruling party — the reason many believe the military will have a say in choosing his successor.

“While people are waiting for the legal transition from Museveni, the de facto transition has already happened,” said Angelo Izama, an analyst who runs the Uganda-based Fanaka Kwawote think tank. “Kainerugaba, more than the president, is the final voice on defense and security matters.”

A more confrontational style than his father's

Kainerugaba’s associates describe him as a dedicated military officer who often eschews ostentatious displays of wealth. He attended military schools in the U.S. and Britain before taking charge of a presidential guard unit that has since been expanded into an elite group of special forces.

In addition to his military duties, he is the founder of a political activist group known as the Patriotic League of Uganda. Its members and well-wishers range from government ministers to businesspeople.

But Kainerugaba lacks the public charisma and folksy style of Museveni, who has kept power in part by striking deals with his political rivals and even convincing some to serve in his government. Kainerugaba's style is more confrontational, expressed often in harsh online posts that can give offense. He has ordered the arrest over alleged corruption of multiple generals, including some known to have once been his friends.

Museveni first took power by force in 1986 as the leader of a guerrilla force whose goal was to democratize Uganda after years of chaos and civil war. He said at the time that Africa’s problem was leaders who overstayed their welcome. Much later, he changed his stance to say his criticism was of leaders who prolonged their rule without an electoral mandate.

Museveni, a U.S. ally on regional security, is often credited with presiding over relative peace and stability. But many others see an increasingly authoritarian streak at odds with his early promise of democracy. Term and age limits have been scrapped and some opponents jailed or sidelined.

Lawmakers recently passed a punitive bill whose stated purpose is to deter foreign interference, but which drew widespread concern over its potential to hurt the work of non-governmental organizations and opposition groups.

The legislation forbids an “agent of a foreigner” from obtaining grants or other monetary support from external sources exceeding 400 million Ugandan shillings — roughly $110,000 today — within a 12-month period without the approval of the interior minister.

Wine's party, the National Unity Platform, condemned the legislation as “unconstitutional, irrelevant and brought in bad faith to further persecute those with divergent views.”

___

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

Starmer is trying to shore up support within his Cabinet following a febrile few days in the wake of hefty losses for the Labour Party in local elections last week, which if repeated in a national election would see it overwhelmingly ejected from power.

Two junior ministers resigned from the government on Tuesday and called for a change in leadership, but no candidate has yet come forward to challenge Starmer directly.

Around 80 Labour backbenchers have now said Starmer should stand down or at least set out a timetable for his departure, but that’s not enough to trigger a leadership contest. Under Labour party rules, a fifth of its lawmakers in the House of Commons, or 81 members, must publicly give their backing to a single candidate, and that hasn’t happened yet.

First resignations

On Tuesday, Miatta Fahnbulleh, minister of housing, communities and local government, became the first member of his government to step down, urging Starmer “to do the right thing for the country” and set a timetable for his departure.

She was followed by Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, whose resignation letter called Starmer a “good man fundamentally” but vented about his inability to make bold changes.

“I know you care deeply, but deeds, not words are what matter,” Phillips said. “I’m not sure we are grasping this rare opportunity with the gusto that’s needed and I cannot keep waiting around for a crisis to push for faster progress.”

Despite winning a landslide election victory in July 2024, Labour’s popularity has sunk and Starmer is getting much of the blame.

The reasons are varied, including a series of policy missteps, a perceived lack of vision, a struggling British economy and questions over his judgment — especially over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador to Washington despite the envoy’s ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Starmer defiant

At the start of the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Starmer said he took responsibility for the losses in last week’s local elections across the U.K. but that he would fight on. Labour was squeezed from right and left, losing votes to both the anti-immigrant Reform UK and the “eco-populist” Green Party, as well as nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales. The result reflects the increasing fragmentation of U.K. politics, long dominated by Labour and the Conservatives.

Starmer said that there’s a process to oust a leader and that it hadn't been triggered.

Under Labour’s rules, candidates must have the support of a fifth of the party’s House of Commons lawmakers — a number that currently stands at 81.

“The country expects us to get on with governing,” Starmer said. “The past 48 hours have been destabilizing for government and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families.”

That cost was evident in financial markets on Tuesday, with the interest rate charged on British government bonds up by more than those of comparable nations — that shows that investors are putting a higher price on taking on government debt.

Some voices of support

As Cabinet ministers left 10 Downing Street, some voiced their support for the embattled prime minister.

Works and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said nobody publicly challenged Starmer at the meeting, while Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the prime minister was showing “really steadfast leadership.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, long believed to be preparing for a leadership challenge against Starmer, did not comment as he left the meeting.

“Wes Streeting, do you want the job, or not?” one person yelled from across the street. “Are you measuring the curtains?”

He was among senior ministers who dodged a barrage of shouted questions from a gaggle of reporters outside.

Though no one in his Cabinet has challenged Starmer, he will be aware that someone else within the parliamentary party could trigger the leadership process.

The next U.K. national election doesn’t have to be held until 2029, but British politics allows parties to change leader midterm without the need for a general election.

Starmer had hoped to regain momentum with a speech on Monday intended to kickstart his fightback, and an ambitious set of legislative plans to be set out by King Charles III at the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday.

___

Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.

Mathers, 51, of Chesterfield, pleaded no contest on Monday, May 11, in the 42-2 District Court in New Baltimore.

The crash happened on Feb. 16 when she was driving a white Range Rover and struck a silver Dodge Ram pickup truck parked on a street.

Police said the truck was pushed approximately 50 feet from where it was parked.

It is alleged that Mathers was impaired at the time of the crash.

Mathers was charged with:

• Operating – impaired, a 93-day misdemeanor
• Failure to stop after a collision is a 90-day misdemeanor

After the arraignment, Mathers immediately pleaded no contest to operating while impaired and to failing to report an accident.

Mathers is scheduled for a sentencing hearing at the 42-2 District Court on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at 9 a.m.

The Thunder — who trailed in the fourth quarter for the first time in these playoffs — eliminated LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night, winning 115-110 to close out another four-game sweep.

Oklahoma City also swept Phoenix in Round 1.

The Thunder join the New York Knicks as teams in the conference finals. Their opponents won't be known for at least a couple of days — with both remaining series tied at 2-2.

Game 5 in the Western Conference matchup between San Antonio and Minnesota is on Tuesday. Game 5 in the Eastern Conference semifinal between Detroit and Cleveland is on Wednesday.

Tuesday's schedule

— Game 5, Minnesota at San Antonio, 8 p.m. EDT (NBC, Peacock)

Series: Tied, 2-2.

Odds: San Antonio by 10.5.

San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama — who will play, after the NBA said nothing more than an ejection was merited after he elbowed Minnesota's Naz Reid in Game 4 — is about to face the most pressure-packed game of his career, with the Spurs looking to keep home-court advantage against the Timberwolves.

Wednesday's schedule

— Game 5, Cleveland at Detroit, 8 p.m. EDT (ESPN)

Series: Tied, 2-2.

Odds: Detroit by 3.5.

Home teams are 4-0 in this series, and the Pistons need to continue that trend. Everyone knows Game 5 in a tied-up series is a swing game, but the Pistons — who fended off elimination three times in the Round 1 win over Orlando — are used to playing amid pressure.

Monday's recap

— Cavaliers 112, Pistons 103 to tie series at 2-2. Donovan Mitchell ran wild after halftime.

— Thunder 115, Lakers 110 to win series 4-0. And now, all eyes are on LeBron James' future.

Sleepy, you have company

Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell backed up his talk.

He told teammates at halftime Monday night that he had to be better — so he went out and scored 39 of his 43 points in the second half to lead the Cavs to a Game 4 win.

Mitchell's 39 points tied the NBA record for points in a playoff half. Sleepy Floyd also had 39 in the second half for Golden State against the Lakers on May 10, 1987 — a record that was unmatched for, ironically enough, 39 years (and one day).

Charles Barkley (for Phoenix against Golden State on May 4, 1994) and Kevin Durant (for Golden State against the Los Angeles Clippers on April 26, 2019) both had 38-point first halves in playoff games.

Awards watch

A breakdown of this season's NBA awards:

— Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year: DeAndre Jordan, New Orleans.

— Hustle Award: Moussa Diabaté, Charlotte.

— Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio.

— Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City.

— Sixth Man of the Year: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio.

— Sportsmanship Award: Derrick White, Boston.

— Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta.

— Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg, Dallas.

— Executive of the Year: Brad Stevens, Boston.

Among the announcements still to come:

— Most Valuable Player: Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama or Denver's Nikola Jokic.

— Coach of the Year: Johnson, Detroit's J.B. Bickerstaff, or Boston's Joe Mazzulla.

Betting odds

Defending champion Oklahoma City (-165) is favored to win the NBA title, according to oddsmakers.

The Thunder are followed by San Antonio (+350), New York (+600), Detroit (+2000), Cleveland (+4000) and Minnesota (+5000).

Key dates

— Through Sunday: 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

“They threw a lot of pitches at us, and I think we’re a better team at the end of the series than we were at the beginning. And that’s a credit to them. So, just a tip of the hat to them. Deep respect.” — Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault, on the Lakers.

Stats of the day

— Oklahoma City got its first fourth-quarter comeback win of these playoffs — because the Thunder had not trailed in the fourth quarter in any of their first seven playoff games this year.

— LeBron James got his 147th playoff double-double Monday night, breaking a tie with Wilt Chamberlain for third-most in NBA postseason history. Only Tim Duncan (164) and Magic Johnson (157) have more.

___

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

Ex-wife of rapper Eminem charged after alleged hit-and-run crash, pleads no contest

The ex-wife of rapper Eminem, Kimberley Anne Mathers, 51, of Chesterfield, pleaded no contest after she was charged with an alleged hit-and-run crash.

Mathers pleaded no contest on Monday (May 11) in the 42-2 District Court in New Baltimore.

The incident occurred on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, when she was driving a white Range Rover and struck a silver Dodge Ram pickup truck parked on a street.

Read more here.

What northern Oakland County residents can expect after broken water main replaced

 broken 42-inch water main in Auburn Hills has been replaced. But the work is just starting, leaving northern Oakland County under a state of emergency.

The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) said the line was installed in 1975 to last about 100 years. It only reached 51 before bursting, leaving thousands without water.

Read more here.

Detroit man accused of killing punk rock singer in 1993 arrested in Panama after 30 years on the run

The U.S. Marshals Service’s Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Team has arrested a Detroit man who they said had been on the run for more than 30 years after being accused of a 1993 murder.

“He was a ghost since ‘94,” a federal source told Local 4 Monday. “He was very cunning, very crafty while on the run.”

Read more here.

Spain reports new hantavirus case in passenger evacuated from cruise ship as outbreak grows to 11

A Spanish passenger evacuated from the cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak has tested positive for the virus, Spain’s health ministry announced Tuesday as the World Health Organization said it has now confirmed 11 cases, including three people from the cruise who died.

Read more here.

Weather: Freeze warning and frost advisory in effect across SE Michigan, rain and storms arrive in afternoon

We are waking up to a chilly start across Southeast Michigan as a Freeze Warning remains in effect for the Thumb region, while a Frost Advisory covers the remainder of Southeast Michigan through 8 a.m. Sensitive plants could be impacted by the cold temperatures early this morning if they weren’t properly protected overnight.

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Where that game will be played was not part of Tuesday morning's announcement. The location has not been determined yet with the NFL still finalizing things ahead of Thursday night's 2026 season schedule release.

Another unknown is whether two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes will be available for that season opener. His goal is to be ready for Week 1. The Chiefs quarterback tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee on Dec. 14 in the final minutes of a loss to the Chargers, which effectively eliminated the Chiefs from playoff contention.

Quarterback Bo Nix is expected to be ready for training camp after breaking a bone in his right ankle on Jan. 18 during the AFC playoffs. Denver finished last season losing the AFC championship game to New England.

More matchups will be revealed in the coming days.

The trio of games announced Monday came as NBC, Fox and Prime Video made their upfront presentations to advertisers. The Buffalo Bills’ first regular-season game in their new stadium will be against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 17 and will kick off Amazon Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” schedule.

The Dallas Cowboys were part of the other two unveilings. The Cowboys will visit the New York Giants in the first NBC “Sunday Night Football” game of the season on Sept. 13 and they will host the Philadelphia Eagles on Fox on Thanksgiving Day on Nov. 26.

___

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

Bested in every way during a 112-103 runaway in Cleveland to even the Eastern Conference Semifinals in Game 4, the once certain, poised Pistons head back to Detroit in search of two wins and more answers.

“We were turning the ball over a lot. Couldn’t get stops,” Pistons forward Paul Reed said. “Donovan Mitchell was killing us. That was pretty much it.”

A 56-52 halftime lead evaporated as Mitchell sprang into superstar form.

Following a 1-for-8 shooting performance before the break, Mitchell led the Cavaliers on a 22-0 run out of the locker room, accounting for 20 of the team’s first 28 points in the third quarter.

Mitchell finished with 43 total points, his 39-point second half tying the record for most in any half during the NBA Playoffs set by Sleepy Floyd in 1987.

The 22-0 run opened an insurmountable lead. Held in check on the glass with just a 35-33 rebounding edge and turning the ball over five more times than Cleveland, the Pistons trailed by as many as 17 and returned the deficit to single digits with less than a minute to go.

“They played with more force and tenacity than we did to start the quarter,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “They came out very aggressive on both ends of the floor. We just didn’t match it.”

Cade Cunningham posted 19 points to go with six assists, outdueled by a combined 67 points courtesy of Mitchell and James Harden.

"It's unacceptable."

The #Pistons lost Game 4 vs. the Cavs for many reasons, but the free throw disparity did not help.

Cleveland shot 34. Detroit shot 12.

More from JB Bickerstaff & Jalen Duren on that stark difference while playing on the road.

🎥 @Local4News pic.twitter.com/tm12OxTSyy

— Hobie Artigue (@HeyItsMeHobie) May 12, 2026

The Pistons were whistled for 27 fouls to 15 by the Cavs, resulting in nearly three times the free throw attempts being awarded to Cleveland.

“It’s unacceptable,” Bickerstaff said. “There’s no way one guy on their team shoots more free throws than our whole team. We’re not a ‘sell’ team. We’re not a jump shooting team.”

“You wonder the reason why,” the Pistons coach continued. “It’s interesting since Kenny [Atkinson] made his comments publicly about us, the whistle has changed in this series.”

Players were measured in their response to the disparity in the locker room.

“Can’t blame it on the refs. We shot ourselves in the foot,” Jalen Duren told Local 4’s Hobie Artigue. “There are areas we could have been better in, including myself. I will be better for my teammates. We’ve been backs against the wall before.”

Game 4 vs. the Cavs was the fifth time Jalen Duren's been held to single-digit points in the playoffs.

He was held under 10 points in just six of his 70 games in the regular season. pic.twitter.com/1vzNqPbPBZ

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) May 12, 2026

Duren was limited to eight points and two rebounds.

Former Cavalier Caris LeVert brought his best out of necessity, netting a career playoff-high 24 points off the bench. Paired with 15 points from Paul Reed, the duo provided the most reliable scoring output down the stretch.

“I thought P-Reed earned the opportunity to be on the floor,” Bickerstaff explained. “Vert is a true competitor who understands the moment.”

Having come from 3-1 down in the first round, the Pistons are no strangers to playing through adversity. The battles of playoff basketball still provide tough learning experiences every night.

“It’s just about us figuring out what adjustment we need to make moving forward,” Reed said. “Against Orlando, we knew we had to come out and play with more urgency. Hopefully we win the next game with more urgency.”

“I think we learned from the Orlando series what it’s like to be down and the amount of urgency you have to play with, but now we’re on the other side of it,” Bickerstaff added. “Some of the hardest lessons you learn are the most frustrating ones, but you learn from them and you grow.”

As the old saying goes: a series doesn’t start until the home team loses on their court.

Even so, Pistons fans won’t stop thinking about two games that got away in Cleveland, and the team can’t stop working on how to right the ship for Game 5 at LCA on Wednesday.

The passenger with the new confirmed case of hantavirus was in quarantine in a military hospital in Madrid, where 13 other Spanish nationals evacuated Sunday — who all tested negative for the virus — also are staying.

With the evacuation of all passengers and many crew members completed, the MV Hondius is now sailing back to the Netherlands, where it will be cleaned and disinfected.

The director of the World Health Organization, who was in Madrid, said all 11 confirmed cases are among passengers or crew of the MV Hondius cruise ship, including three people who died. Nine of the 11 cases have been confirmed as the Andes virus.

“These numbers have changed little over the past week thanks to the governments of multiple countries and partners,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director general, said.

“At the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak,” he added, “but of course the situation could change, and given the long incubation period of the virus, it’s possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks.”

Meanwhile, 12 staff members at a Dutch hospital where a hantavirus patient is being treated were told to quarantine after incorrectly handling bodily fluids.

In a Paris hospital, a French woman evacuated from the stricken ship remained in intensive care in stable condition. The French government was holding two new hantavirus emergency meetings Tuesday, the prime minister said.

Health authorities say it’s the first hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. While there is no cure or vaccine for hantavirus, the WHO says early detection and treatment improves survival rates.

The evacuation of the MV Hondius is complete

A total of 87 passengers and 35 crew were escorted from the ship to shore in Tenerife by personnel in full-body protective gear and breathing masks in a carefully choreographed effort that ended Monday night. Remaining crew members then took on supplies and set course for the Dutch port city of Rotterdam, the ship’s operator Oceanwide Expeditions said.

Two aircraft arrived in the southern Dutch city of Eindhoven overnight. The first was carrying 19 of the ship’s crew and three medics. The Dutch nationals were taken home to quarantine and the others, including 17 crew members from the Philippines, were sent to a quarantine facility set up by Dutch health authorities.

A second plane landed later in Eindhoven chartered by Australian authorities and carrying six Hondius passengers — four Australians, one person from New Zealand and a British national who lives in Australia, according to the Dutch foreign ministry. It said the passengers will remain in quarantine near the airport and continue their journey toward Australia “as soon as possible.” Australian authorities did not immediately respond to a request for more details.

Hantavirus usually spreads from rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms — which can include fever, chills and muscle aches — usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.

WHO chief Tedros has advised that returning passengers should stay in quarantine, either in their homes or in other facilities, for 42 days. He added that WHO cannot enforce its guidance, and that different countries may handle the monitoring of passengers without symptoms in different ways.

Dutch hospital staff quarantined

Twelve employees at a Dutch hospital where a passenger from the Hondius is being treated have to quarantine for six weeks after improperly handling bodily fluids, Radboud University Medical Center said in a statement Monday night.

The “risk of infection is low” the hospital said, but was requiring the dozen employees to go into preventive quarantine as a “precaution.”

The hospital in the eastern city of Nijmegen received a passenger last week from one of the evacuation flights that landed in the Netherlands and the person has since tested positive for hantavirus.

Blood and urine from the patient should have been handled “according to a stricter procedure,” the hospital said.

___

Associated Press writers Suman Naishadham in Madrid, Molly Quell in The Hague, Netherlands, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.

The matchup was one of three announced by the NFL on Monday as NBC, Fox and Prime Video made their upfront presentations to advertisers.

The Dallas Cowboys were part of the other two unveilings. The Cowboys will visit the New York Giants in the first NBC “Sunday Night Football” game of the season on Sept. 13 and they will host the Philadelphia Eagles on Fox on Thanksgiving Day Nov. 26.

The full schedule will be released on Thursday with other matchups revealed in the coming days.

The Bills are one of 10 teams to have new coaches this season with Joe Brady taking over after Sean McDermott was fired after nine seasons. The game will feature two of the top quarterbacks in the league with Josh Allen and the Bills hosting Jared Goff and the Lions. Detroit is looking to bounce back after missing the playoffs last season.

The NFL has traditionally used Week 2 to showcase new stadiums in a primetime game.

This is the eighth time in the past 15 years the Cowboys and Giants are opening the season against each other. It also marks the 15th time the NFC East rivals are meeting on NBC's Sunday night package, the second-most played matchup since the network started the package in 2016.

Dallas is always a national television draw as “America's Team,” and New York could get more primetime exposure with Super Bowl winner John Harbaugh in his first year coaching the Giants and Jaxson Dart established as the franchise quarterback coming off his eventful rookie year.

This also could be the NFL debuts for a pair of former Ohio State teammates: Giants linebacker Arvell Reese, taken with the fifth pick, and Cowboys safety Caleb Downs, drafted not long after at No. 11.

This will only be the third time, and first since 2014, that the Eagles will be the Cowboys' Thanksgiving opponent.

Dallas has won its past four Thanksgiving games, including a 31-28 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs last year.

The late afternoon Thanksgiving game is traditionally the most viewed of the regular season. Last year’s game averaged 57.23 million viewers on CBS, making it the most-watched regular-season game in league history.

This will be the second straight season Philadelphia will have the spotlight on Thanksgiving week. Jalen Hurts and the Eagles hosted last year's Black Friday game and lost to the Chicago Bears 24-15.

Monday's announcements mean the Cowboys know the dates for three of their 17 games. It was announced a couple of weeks ago their game in Rio de Janeiro against the Baltimore Ravens will take place in Week 3 on Sept. 27 and air on CBS.

Dallas at New York in Week 1 also means neither of those teams will be the visitor at Seattle on Wednesday night, Sept. 9, when the defending champion Seahawks unveil their Super Bowl banner and kick off the season. Chicago, Arizona, Kansas City, the Los Angeles Chargers or a title-game rematch against New England are the remaining possibilities.

___

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

Ryan Cohen’s GameStop disclosed earlier this month that it was pursuing a takeover of eBay, seeing it as a vehicle to compete with online retail giant Amazon.

The national gaming retailer said at the time that its approximately 1,600 U.S. stores could become drop-off and shipping locations. One proposal included live sales broadcasts from GameStop locations featuring eBay products.

GameStop’s bid is worth $125 per share in cash and stock. The equity value of the proposed deal is $55 billion on paper. The company previously said that it started accumulating shares in eBay beginning in February and currently has a 5% stake.

In a letter from eBay Chairman Paul Pressler sent to Cohen, eBay's board said that it had completed its review of GameStop's offer and believes that eBay is a “strong, resilient business.”

“With its differentiated global marketplace and a clear strategy, eBay’s board is confident that the company, under its current management team, is well-positioned to continue to drive sustainable growth, execute with discipline, and deliver long-term value for our shareholders,” the letter said.

GameStop did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company's stock fell 4% before the market open on Tuesday.

S&P 500 futures slipped 0.4% before the opening bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%. Nasdaq futures slipped 0.9%.

As the war with Iran threatened to drag on, benchmark U.S. crude rose $3.43 to $101.50 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed $3.62 to $107.83 a barrel.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S.-Iran ceasefire was on “life support” after rejecting Iran’s latest peace proposal. That raises the stakes for Trump’s trip this week to China. China is the biggest buyer of Iran’s sanctioned crude oil.

The war has already sent the price for a barrel of Brent racing up 50% from prewar levels of roughly $70 and stoked inflation through the global economy. The war has shut the Strait of Hormuz and kept oil tankers stuck in the Persian Gulf instead of delivering crude to customers worldwide.

U.S. markets over the past couple of weeks had focused on big corporate profits and seemed to look past the war as earnings season rolled out. The strong performance suggested the U.S. economy was holding up even though households are being pressured by expensive gasoline and higher prices for goods due to new U.S. tariffs.

A new look at inflation in the U.S. arrives Tuesday in the form of consumer price data for April. That could give economists and investors insight into how much the Iran war is impacting Americans and what that might mean for the broader economy going forward.

Elsewhere, in Europe at midday, France's CAC 40 slipped 0.6%, while the German DAX dipped 1.1%. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.5%.

In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.5% to finish at 62,742.57. South Korea's Kospi dropped 2.3% to 7,643.15, in what analysts are categorizing as fallout from overreliance on fraying AI hopes.

“Global equities remain dangerously dependent on a tiny cluster of AI leaders, creating a rally structure that looks powerful on the surface but increasingly fragile underneath,” said Stephen Innes, analyst with SPI Asset Management.

He believes South Korea may be among the first major economies that will undergo what he called "the political redistribution phase of the AI boom.”

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.4% to 8,670.70. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost earlier gains and fell 0.2% to 26,347.91, while the Shanghai Composite lost nearly 0.3% to 4,214.49.

Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, said in an online post that it “reached an agreement with the unauthorized actor involved in this incident.”

The company didn’t provide any details on the agreement, including whether it involved a payment, and didn’t elaborate who was behind the hack. Instructure temporarily took the system offline while it investigated, locking out students and faculty.

A hacking group named ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for last week's breach, threatening to leak data involving nearly 9,000 schools worldwide and 275 million individuals if schools did not pay a ransom by May 6. The group then extended the deadline, indicating some schools had engaged with them to negotiate.

As part of the deal, the data was returned to Instructure. The company said Monday that it also received “digital confirmation" that the hackers destroyed any remaining copies, in the form of "shred logs.”

The company acknowledged that there was no way to be sure that the data was erased for good, and said it took action because of concerns about potential publication of the data.

“While there is never complete certainty when dealing with cyber criminals, we believe it was important to take every step within our control to give customers additional peace of mind, to the extent possible,” Instructure said.

The data breach appeared to involve student ID numbers, email addresses, names and messages on the Canvas platform, Instructure’s chief information security officer, Steve Proud, said earlier this month. The company found no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, government identification or financial information were compromised, it said.

The company said it was working with "expert vendors" to do a forensic analysis, “further harden” its systems, and carry out a “comprehensive review of the data involved.”

The disruption caused panic last week among students and faculty members when they were locked out of a platform they rely on to manage grades and access course notes and assignments.

Schools and universities use Canvas to manage nearly all aspects of instruction. The platform acts as a gradebook, a hub for digital lectures and course materials, a discussion board for classroom projects, and a messaging platform between students and instructors.

Some courses also give quizzes and exams on the platform, or use it as a portal where final projects and papers are submitted on deadline.

San Francisco-based startup Andon Labs has put an artificial intelligence agent nicknamed “Mona” in charge at the eponymous Andon Café in the Swedish capital. While human baristas still brew the coffee and serve the orders, the AI agent — powered by Google’s Gemini — oversees almost every other aspect of the business, from hiring staff to managing inventory.

It is not clear how long the experiment will last, but the AI agent appears to be struggling to turn a profit in Stockholm’s competitive coffee trade. The cafe has made more than $5,700 in sales since it opened in mid-April, but less than $5,000 remains from its original budget of $21,000-plus. Much of the cash was spent on one-time setup costs, and the hope is that it eventually levels out and makes money.

Many cafe patrons have found it amusing to visit a business that's run by AI. Customers can pick up a telephone inside the cafe and ask the agent questions.

“It’s nice to see what happens if you push the boundary,” customer Kajsa Norin said. “The drink was good.”

Experts worry about AI's role going forward

Experts say ethical concerns abound, ranging from technology's role in humankind's future to conducting job interviews and judging employee performance.

Emrah Karakaya, an associate professor of industrial economics at Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology, likened the experiment to “opening Pandora’s box" and said putting AI in charge can cause many problems. What might happen, he said, if a customer gets food poisoning? Who’s to blame?

“If you don’t have the required organizational infrastructure around it, and if you overlook these mistakes, it can cause harm to people, to society, to the environment, to business,” Karakaya said. “The question is, do we care about this negative impact?”

Founded in 2023, Andon Labs is an AI safety and research startup that says it focuses on “stress-testing” AI agents in the real world by giving them “real tools and real money.” It has worked with ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Claude’s Anthropic, Google DeepMind and Elon Musk’s xAI, and the startup says it is preparing for a future where “organizations are run autonomously by AI.”

The Swedish cafe is billed as a “controlled experiment” to explore how AI might be deployed going forward.

“AI will be a big part of society in the future, and therefore we want to make this experiment (to) see what ethical questions arise when we have AI that employs other people and runs a business,” said Hanna Petersson, a member of Andon Labs’ technical staff.

The lab previously held pilots that put Anthropic’s Claude AI in charge of a vending machine business and a San Francisco gift store. The vending machine simulation revealed some worrying traits: The AI agent told customers it would issue refunds but never did, and it also intentionally lied to suppliers about competitor pricing to gain leverage.

AI agent struggles with inventory orders

Mona got to work after it was prompted with some basic instructions, Petersson said. The team told it to try to run the cafe profitably, be friendly and easygoing, and figure out operational details by itself but ask for new tools if needed.

From there it set up contracts for electricity and internet, and secured permits for food handling and outdoor seating. The agent then advertised for staff on LinkedIn and Indeed, and set up commercial accounts with wholesalers for daily bread and bakery orders. It communicates with the baristas via Slack, often messaging them outside of working hours, which is a workplace no-no in Sweden.

Other problems have arisen, particularly related to inventory.

The AI agent has placed orders for 6,000 napkins, four first-aid kits and 3,000 rubber gloves for the tiny cafe — plus canned tomatoes that aren’t used in any dish the cafe serves.

And then there’s the bread. Sometimes the agent orders far too much, while other days it misses bakeries’ daily deadlines, forcing the baristas to strike sandwiches from the menu.

Petersson said the ordering issues are likely due to the AI assistant’s “limited context window.”

“When old memory of ordering stuff is out of the context window, she completely forgets what she has ordered in the past,” Petersson said.

Barista Kajetan Grzelczak said he isn’t worried about being replaced by AI just yet.

“All the workers are pretty much safe,” he said. “The ones who should be worried about their employment are the middle bosses, the people in management.”

The accusation by Kuwait of an Iranian link to the incident came just before U.S. President Donald Trump travels to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Iran didn't immediately acknowledge the allegation by Kuwait, which came under repeated attack by Iran in the war and even during the shaky ceasefire still holding in the region. However, the allegation and ongoing attacks throughout the region have threatened to tip the region back into open warfare.

The accusation came as the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said that Israel sent Iron Dome anti-missile batteries and personnel to operate them to the United Arab Emirates to defend the country during the war as well.

That underlined the growing defense relationship between Israel and the UAE, countries long suspicious of Iran. It also represents the first publicly acknowledged deployment of Israel's military to the Emirates, a federation of seven sheikdoms on the Arabian Peninsula home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The narrow Strait of Hormuz remains in Tehran's chokehold and negotiations between the U.S. and Iran appear at a standstill for the moment — also raising the risk of the conflict breaking out again.

Kuwait alleges Iran planned attack

Kuwait said that a team of six armed members of the Guard tried to infiltrate Bubiyan Island in the northwest corner of the Persian Gulf near Iraq and Iran on May 1.

It accused the team of planning to carry out “hostile acts,” without elaborating.

Kuwait said that it detained four of the men, while two escaped when its forces disrupted their infiltration of the island. Kuwait that said one of its security officials had been wounded in the attack, which initially was announced on May 3 without any details.

Kuwait identified the men held as two Guard naval captains, a Guard naval lieutenant and a Guard army lieutenant.

Bubiyan Island is home to Mubarak Al Kabeer Port, which is under construction as part of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative. That project also came under attack during the war by Iran.

Kuwait provided no reason for why it delayed linking the attack to Iran. Trump is traveling this week to China for a summit with Xi, during which Iran will likely be a topic. Beijing long has been a buyer of sanctioned Iranian crude oil and has been hurt by the strait's closure, which has sparked a global energy crisis.

Huckabee says Israel deployed to UAE

Huckabee, a Baptist minister, former governor of Arkansas and one-time presidential candidate, made the comment on stage at an event in Tel Aviv, Israel.

“I’d like to say a word of appreciation for United Arab Emirates, the first Abraham accord member,” Huckabee said at the Tel Aviv Conference. “Just look at the benefits. Israel just sent them Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help operate them.”

The United Arab Emirates diplomatically recognized Israel in 2020. That drew criticism from Iran, long Israel's main regional enemy. Iran didn't immediately respond to Huckabee's remarks, though it has repeatedly suggested over the years that Israel maintained a military and intelligence presence in the Emirates.

Israeli deployment comes as UAE signals strength

The UAE and Israel didn't immediately respond to a request for comment over the acknowledgment by Huckabee. However, Huckabee's remarks came after the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, was quoted as saying the same during an event at the Israeli mission there Monday night — suggesting this was an intentional release of the information, likely with the Emiratis' and Israelis' blessing.

It comes as the UAE has faced Iranian missile and drone fire even after the ceasefire was reached in the war and has been trying to signal to nervous investors and the public it remains open for business and safe. The UAE also has closed down Iranian government-linked sites in the country since the war began. The Emirates long has been used by both the Iranian government and average Iranians as a place to safely do business offshore from the Islamic Republic.

On Thursday during a visit to the Emirates by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan accompanied him to an air base where Egyptian pilots and Rafael fighter jets were stationed — the first acknowledgment of a detachment operating in the UAE. Sheikh Mohammed and the UAE strongly backed el-Sissi as he rose to power in 2013 and in the years since.

Huckabee urges other Gulf states to recognize Israel

Huckabee added that he was “very optimistic” that additional countries in the region will soon join the Abraham Accords, the 2020 diplomatic recognition deal that also included the Gulf Arab kingdom of Bahrain, for formal relations with Israel.

However, many Arab states remain incensed by Israel's wide-ranging military campaigns after Hamas' 2023 attack on the country, which has seen the Gaza Strip leveled and Iran's allies attacked across the wider Mideast. Israel now controls territory in Lebanon and Syria as well.

Huckabee in his remarks also sought to shore up U.S. support for the recent war, suggesting that “Israel is the appetizer, America has always been the entrée" for Iran's theocracy.

“The Gulf states now understood they will have to make a choice — is it more likely they will be attacked by Iran or Israel?" Huckabee asked. "They see that Israel helped us and Iran attacked us. Israel is not trying to take over your land, and is not sending missiles to you.”

Bahrain sentences two dozen over alleged Iran ties

Meanwhile Tuesday, prosecutors in Bahrain said at least two dozen people were handed prison sentences on Tuesday on charges including espionage and conspiring with Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. They said three were sentenced to life. Others received shorter Iran-related sentences.

Bahrain — an island nation ruled by a Sunni Muslim monarchy with a Shiite-majority population — has sentenced dozens on Iran-related charges since the start of the war. Prosecutors and the Interior Ministry have alleged that Iran maintains cells that carry out espionage and help identify targets there. Rights groups say the island nation has widened a crackdown on dissidents during the war, as well as on Shiites.

___

Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Sam Metz contributed to this report from Ramallah, West Bank.

Investments worth 23 billion euros ($27 billion) will fund various sectors in Africa including, energy, AI and agriculture, Macron said, adding that 14 billion euros ($16.4 billion) will come from French companies and 9 billion euros ($10.5 billion) from African entities.

Macron said the summit marks a financial shift in relationships between the European nation and African countries, including those that once were its colonies.

President William Ruto of Kenya, which is co-hosting the summit with France, referred to sovereignty eight times in his speech on the summit's final day. He reiterated that the days of European dependency were over for Africa in favor of mutual respect between cooperating nations.

New partnerships between the African nations and France “must not be built on dependency but on sovereign equality, not on aid or charity but on mutually beneficial investment, and not on extraction or exploitation but on win-win engagements," Ruto said.

The event, which is set to close Tuesday with a declaration that is expected to be signed by all 30 heads of state and government, comes at the height of a fallout between France and its former colonies, mostly in West Africa.

France has long maintained a colonial policy of economic, political and military sway dubbed Françafrique, which included keeping thousands of troops in the region it controlled.

After years of criticism from leaders and opposition parties in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso over what they described as a demeaning and heavy-handed approach, France has withdrawn most of those troops. It completed the withdrawal of troops from Senegal in July.

Macron said Paris will be respectful of each African country's independence, adding that “sovereignty and autonomy is shared, and your success is our success.”

France’s new strategy, according to Macron, is based on a shared agenda and the “days of offering assistance are behind us.”

“I’d like to focus on co-investment,” he said.

Macron hailed a strong show of unity from the African heads of state and governments as “an image of a united continent with a shared agenda.”

The company, which revolutionized online shopping in 2005 with two-day deliveries for Prime members, is rapidly opening small order-processing hubs in dozens of U.S. and foreign cities to cater to shoppers who can't or don't want to wait for cough medicine to relieve flu symptoms or tomatoes for tonight's dinner salad.

The ultrafast service, called Amazon Now, first launched in India last June. Amazon says 30-minute deliveries now are also available in urban areas of Brazil, Mexico, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The mini-warehouses devoted to Amazon Now are about the size of a CVS drugstore. They stock about 3,500 products for expedited delivery, including beer, diapers, pet food, meat, nonprescription medications, playing cards and cellphone charging cables.

“We know that customers love speed and always have,” Beryl Tomay, Amazon’s head of transportation, told The Associated Press on Monday. “What we see customers doing, when we offer faster speeds, are they purchase more from Amazon. And Amazon becomes more top of mind for that or other types of items as well.”

In the U.S., the company first tested Amazon Now in Seattle, the home of its headquarters, and in Philadelphia. Most residents of Atlanta and the Dallas-Fort Worth area now have access as well. The service also is live or expected to land by year-end in Houston, Denver, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Florida, and dozens of other cities, Amazon said.

The service charges for Amazon Now start at $3.99 for Prime members, who pay an annual fee of $139, and $13.99 for non-members. A $1.99 small basket fee applies to orders under $15, Amazon said.

The company's bet on a need for speed also comes as some consumers are rebelling against rushed deliveries as they weigh the potential impact on the environment and the workers tasked with preparing orders at a rapid rate.

Amazon’s approach

A relentless focus on speed helped Amazon build a logistics and e-commerce empire. After it made two days the new delivery time normal, Amazon moved into one-day and same-day deliveries for its Prime members. This spring, the company began making 90,000 products available in one hour or three hours at an extra cost.

The scaled down and sped up microhubs that are designed to handle 30-minute orders represent another step in Amazon's pursuit.

Only a handful of people prepare orders from aisles of shelves in the 5,000- to 10,000-square-foot facilities, unlike the sprawling fulfillment centers storing millions of items where Amazon employs a mix of human workers and robotics to pick and pack orders.

Amazon tailors the product inventory to each location and uses artificial intelligence and other technology to analyze what customers buy, as well as when and how often. The most popular U.S. purchases so far include soap, toothpaste, mouthwash, toilet plungers, bananas, limes and wireless earbuds, Amazon said.

The competition

Amazon’s attempt to up the instant gratification ante provides direct competition to on-demand food delivery platforms like Instacart, Uber Eats, DoorDash and Grubhub, which don't have the scale of the e-commerce titan, according to independent retail analyst Bruce Winder.

“What Amazon brings is their prowess in supply chain,” Winder said.

These smaller companies said they don't see Amazon as a threat, though, citing the hundreds of thousands of items they are able to deliver to users' doorsteps by partnering with various merchants and restaurants.

“DoorDash has a mission to empower grocers and retailers and augment their existing footprint, not to replace them,” DoorDash spokesperson Ali Musa said in an emailed statement. “We win only when they win, which is how we can offer over half a million grocery and retail items in under an hour across the country.”

Amazon also is in a race with Walmart to become the retailer that reliably gets orders to online shoppers in under an hour.

For an additional $10 on top of standard delivery charges, shoppers can place Walmart Express Delivery orders from among more than 100,000 products that are guaranteed to arrive in an hour. Many customers, however, are receiving the items under 30 minutes, Walmart CEO John Furner told analysts in February.

Domino's cautionary tale

Companies have promised deliveries in 30 minutes or less before, but the landscape also is littered with failed attempts to break the speed barrier.

The COVID-19 pandemic produced a flurry of companies that promised 10- to 15-minute grocery deliveries from microwarehouses in dense neighborhoods, according to Sucharita Kodali, an analyst at market research firm Forrester Research.

But soaring operating costs, low customer loyalty and the drying up of investor money ultimately caused most to fail before the pandemic was over, analysts said.

Domino’s in 1984 pushed a guarantee that customers would receive their pizzas for free if they weren't delivered in under a half-hour. The company amended the “30 minutes or it’s free” policy after two years, providing only a $3 discount for late deliveries.

The promotion helped Domino’s win market share, but it ended up tarnishing the company's reputation. It dropped the guarantee in December 1993 after a string of crashes and lawsuits involving drivers racing to meet the deadline.

Brad Jashinsky, a retail analyst at information technology research and consulting firm Gartner, said he thinks Amazon should take the pizza chain's experience as a cautionary tale.

“You get in trouble when you start overpromising something like that,” he said.

Amazon won't be making any time guarantees and instead plans to keep customers who chose the 30-minute delivery option updated on the progress of their orders, Tomay said.

“There's no rushing either in our building workers or the gig workers,” she said.

Taking it slow

Kodali thinks Amazon will need a lot of people placing orders around the same time from the same or adjacent apartment buildings for the 30-minute service to be cost-effective.

Consumers may appreciate rapid receipt of products like toilet paper and batteries, but retailers and logistics experts said they also see some online shoppers, especially members of Generation Z, choosing no-rush shipping for products they don't need in a hurry.

Amazon for several years has invited customers to skip one- or two-day delivery and to receive their orders on the same day in as few parcels as possible. Consolidating orders into fewer packages by electing to have them delivered at the same time cuts down on boxes, shipping envelopes and fuel use, analysts said.

“The millennials who came to age in an era that was on fast delivery came to expect it de facto, whereas ... Gen Z is more accepting of a slower speed than previous generations before them,” said Darby Meegan, a general manager at Flexport, a supply chain and logistics company that fulfills orders for thousands of online merchants.

Still, Amazon executives have cited positive early results for Amazon Now in India, where they said Prime members tripled their requests for 30-minute deliveries once they started using the service.

Amazon Now also is attracting more repeat American customers, Tomay said.

“It’s in early days and time will tell,” she said. “I think that it will be interesting to see how it evolves.”

The attack took place in Lakki Marwat, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local police chief Azmat Ullah said. He said that two traffic police officers and a woman were among those killed.

Ullah provided no further details but said traffic police officers were apparently the target of the attack. The bombing also damaged nearby shops. Most of the dead and wounded were passersby, he said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Suspicion in such attacks often falls on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has intensified its campaign against Pakistani security forces in recent years. The group is separate from but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban government.

However, the Pakistani Taliban denied involvement in Tuesday's attack, saying in a statement that it had learned about the bombing but was not behind it.

The latest attack came days after 15 police officers were killed in a suicide bombing and gun assault on a security post in the nearby Bannu district on Saturday, prompting Islamabad to summon a senior Afghan diplomat to lodge a formal complaint.

Pakistan on Monday blamed that attack on Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban.

On Tuesday, Afghan Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, in a post on X, rejected Pakistan’s claim that the recent attack in the Bannu district was planned in Afghanistan, calling it baseless.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan believes that problems can be resolved through understanding, mutual respect and genuine cooperation, rather than accusations, threats and emotional reactions,” he said. Mujahid reiterated that Kabul’s position remains that Afghan territory will not be used against any country, and that no one will be allowed to engage in activities that undermine regional security and stability.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned Tuesday's attack and conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims.

In a statement, he said the government and all relevant institutions were committed to eliminating terrorism and would not allow militants to obstruct peace and development in the country. He directed authorities to swiftly complete the investigation, identify those responsible and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.

Pakistani authorities have long accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering militants. Kabul has denied the allegation, saying it does not allow militants to use Afghan soil to launch attacks against other countries.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent years, straining relations with Afghanistan.

The Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups have grown more emboldened since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.

Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have persisted, including fighting that has killed hundreds of people since late February. In early April, the two sides held peace talks mediated by China. However, sporadic cross-border clashes have continued, though at a lower intensity than before.

___

Associated Press writers Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, and Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Abdul Qahar Afghan in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.

The French Riviera festival beginning Tuesday will include 12 days of nonstop world premieres before culminating May 23 with the presentation of the Palme d’Or, the festival's top honor and one of the film industry's most prestigious awards.

The festivities kick off with the opening-night film, “The Electric Kiss,” a French period-comedy, and the awarding of an honorary Palme d’Or to the “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson.

What isn’t at Cannes has been as buzzed about as much as what is. Hollywood is largely absent this year.

While blockbusters like “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Elvis” have touched down at previous incarnations, studio films this year have been either scared away by the possibility of a rocky reception or by the high cost of flying in A-listers to the Cote d’Azur. The closest thing in Cannes' slate is an anniversary celebration for “Fast & Furious.”

Speaking to members of the press Monday, Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux said Hollywood “is reshaping” in the midst of Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

“I hope the studio films will come back,” Frémaux said.

Cannes has become better known for its lengthy standing ovations than its boos. This year, a long list of big-name filmmakers will have center stage.

Among the filmmakers set to unveil new movies are Pedro Almodóvar (“Bitter Christmas”), James Gray (“Paper Tiger”), Na Hong-jin (“Hope”), Pawel Pawlikowski (“Fatherland”) and Ryusuke Hamaguchi (“All of a Sudden”).

If Cannes has waned as a global launchpad for studio releases, it has grown as a breeding ground for Oscar contenders.

Two years ago, Sean Baker’s “Anora” won the Palme in Cannes before winning best picture. Last year, Cannes selections like “Sentimental Value,” “The Secret Agent” and “It Was Just an Accident” went on to play prominent roles in awards season.

More often than not, the specialty distributor Neon has been at the forefront of the Cannes-to-Oscars pipeline. Neon has backed the past six Palme d’Or winners, an unprecedented streak that it may be poised to extend. Neon is attached to more than a quarter of the 22 films in competition for the Palme d’Or.

On Tuesday, the jury deciding that award and others will hold a news conference before beginning their sequestered movie watching. South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook is serving as president of the nine-member panel, along with Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård and others.

How much any of this will serve as backdrop for “The White Lotus” remains to be seen. The fourth season of Mike White’s acclaimed HBO series is based around a trip to Cannes. Last month, the show began shooting on the French Riviera.

While Cannes may be light on big Hollywood movies, it isn't lacking in stars. Set to appear over the next two weeks are Kristen Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Adam Driver, Javier Bardem, Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Rami Malek, Sebastian Stan, Sandra Hüller and many others.

🍇 Grapevine

🌅 Good morning! On this day in 1965, the Rolling Stones finished the studio recording of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” their first major hit. The song, which catapulted the ascendant British blues-rock group to global fame, had an unusual origin: Less than a week earlier, during the early morning hours, the band’s bleary-eyed lead guitarist, Keith Richards, had bolted up from his bed, grabbed a tape recorder and laid down the song’s opening riff, now considered one of the greatest pop hooks of all time.

Here are a few things to know about for Tuesday, May 12, 2026:

⛅ 4Warn Weather: We are waking up to a chilly start across Southeast Michigan as a Freeze Warning remains in effect for the Thumb region, while a Frost Advisory covers the remainder of Southeast Michigan through 8 a.m. Check the 10-day forecast.

🚓 1993 Murder Arrest: The U.S. Marshals Service’s Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Team has arrested a Detroit man who they said had been on the run for more than 30 years after being accused of a 1993 murder. Read more.

🚰 ‘No showers, no laundry’: Crews replaced a broken 42-inch water main in Auburn Hills yesterday, moving the area closer to restoring service after days of water restrictions across parts of Oakland County. Read more.

🔥 Grocery Store Fire: A suspect is in custody after investigators say someone intentionally set shopping carts on fire outside E & L Supermercado in Southwest Detroit. Read more.

⚖️ Eminem’s ex-wife pleads no contest: The ex-wife of rapper Eminem, Kimberley Anne Mathers, pleaded no contest after she was charged with an alleged hit-and-run crash. Read more.

🏊 Morning Dive

Good morning ☀️

You’ll start seeing many more birds return to Michigan as the weather gets warmer.

The BirdCast model predicts the intensity of bird migration for specific areas.

Last night was a big night for migration, with around 5.1 million birds flying over Michigan. Over 8,000 were expected to fly over Metro Detroit.

380 million birds have flown across the country.

According to Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology, approximately 945,000 birds flew over Michigan Sunday night.

Around 2.5 million birds are expected to fly over Michigan tonight.

At least a small number of birds fly almost every night of the migration season, but you can check the migration level to see if the BirdCast model is projecting small or medium amounts.

Peak Spring migration in Michigan is in early to late May.

Click here to check the migration level.

Turn off lights at night

Birds typically begin to migrate 30 to 45 minutes after sunset, with the greatest number in flight two to three hours later. Therefore, you can play a role in helping the birds migrate by turning off any non-essential lights from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.

This helps to reduce skyglow, which can confuse birds. Lowering skyglow will, in turn, lower the number of birds attracted to brighter urban cores and also reduce collisions. In addition, it keeps nocturnal environments darker for resting birds near stopover hotspots.

🗞️ Other headlines to know today

• Dozens of goats brought in to clean up wooded area in Macomb County -- Here’s why
• ‘Amateur hour’: Arson suspects set themselves on fire trying to torch Monroe cannabis shop
• Men make up 80% of U.S. suicides. Experts say stigma is keeping them from getting help
• Spain reports new hantavirus case in passenger evacuated from cruise ship as outbreak grows to 11
• Veterans Memorial Ice Arena in Ann Arbor to remain closed for 2026–27 season after tornado damage
• Fifth Third Bank laying off over 500 jobs in Oakland County
• Suspect arrested after setting fire at Southwest Detroit supermarket
• Neighbors, agencies unite to provide clean water amid Oakland County boil advisory
• Amazon looks to redefine a need for speed with 30-minute deliveries
• Life without parole for man who shot his ex-girlfriend outside Ferndale workplace
• Hegseth is facing a new round of questioning from Congress on the Iran war and more
• 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:

At this year’s Tony Awards, sound designer Justin Ellington and performer-producer Kandi Burruss have gotten nominations to theater’s biggest prize. A man who helped both get there is also being highlighted.

Freddie Hendricks, a middle school theater teacher at Utopian Academy for the Arts in Ellenwood, Georgia, and who founded the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, is getting the special Tony Award that honors educators.

“It feels really great to know that they’re succeeding on that level and that I had a little to do with it,” he told The Associated Press ahead of the announcement on Monday. “It’s just a beautiful thing.” (Read more)

----

Competition starts Tuesday at the Eurovision Song Contest, with divisions over Israel’s participation hanging over the 70th birthday of the over-the-top pop music extravaganza.

Host city Vienna has been bedecked in hearts and the contest’s “United by Music” motto for a week in which singers and bands from 35 countries will compete onstage for the continent’s musical crown. But five countries — Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland — are boycotting to protest Israel’s inclusion.

Several pro-Palestinian demonstrations are planned in Vienna during Eurovision week, and security is tight, with police officers from across Austria deployed in the capital, and support from forces in neighboring Germany. (Read more)

----

A new wave of gang violence in Haiti’s capital forced hundreds to flee their homes over the weekend, leaving families scattered along the road to the country’s main airport on Monday.

Monique Verdieux, 56, fled to the highway after watching armed men burning houses in her neighborhood. Her family scattered in different directions and she said she’s not sure where they are.

“I am now sleeping in the street,” Verdieux said, noting it was unsafe to return. (Read more)

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

📝 Word Up

Today’s Word Up is: Absquatulate /ab-SKWAH-chuh-layt/ (verb) -- defined as “To discreetly leave a gathering or party without informing the host.”

Example: “At the party, I made such a fool of myself that I felt it was best to absquatulate after a half hour.”

🧹 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 organic chemistry. 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 ICC in The Hague unsealed Monday an arrest warrant for Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, a former national police chief who first enforced then- President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drugs crackdowns that left thousands of mostly petty suspects dead.

Originally issued in November, the warrant charges dela Rosa with the crime against humanity of murder of “no less than 32 persons” allegedly committed between July 2016 and the end of April 2018 in the Philippines.

“If I have something to answer for, I will face those in our local courts and not before foreigners,” dela Rosa told reporters in the Senate, which took him into “protective custody” Monday when he reappeared after months of absence.

“I will avail of all legal processes,” he said, and pleaded to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.: “Don’t bring me to The Hague.”

After winning the presidency in 2016, Duterte designated dela Rosa, a loyal ally, as head of the national police force, which enforced the brutal campaign against illegal drugs.

Dela Rosa also once headed the police force in the southern city of Davao, where Duterte served as a longtime mayor and built a political name for his extra tough approach to crimes.

“My role was to lead the war on drugs, and that war on drugs was not meant to annihilate people,” dela Rosa said when he was asked about the huge death toll.

“When the lives of police officers came under threat, of course they needed to defend themselves,” dela Rosa said.

Duterte’s six-year term ended in mid-2022. He was arrested in March last year and detained by the ICC in the Netherlands, where he is now awaiting trial for alleged crimes against humanity in connection with several killings under his crackdowns.

Duterte withdrew the Philippines in 2019 from the ICC, in a move human rights activists say was aimed at escaping accountability. The court, however, said it retained jurisdiction over crimes committed when the Philippines was still a member.

Asked if the Philippines will enforce the ICC’s arrest warrant against dela Rosa, officials suggested they were ready and could surrender him to the global court’s jurisdiction like Duterte under a Philippine law enacted to address crimes against humanity like genocide.

“We have an obligation that all those who should be held to account should be held responsible,” Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a news briefing.

Dela Rosa cannot invoke a privilege of immunity from arrest while attending formal sessions or staying within the Senate because the crimes he allegedly committed were serious and punishable by a long prison term, Castro said.

Police have deployed nearly 350 law enforcers outside the Senate, sparking concerns from dela Rosa and allied senators, but officials said they were assigned to keep order and not to eventually help arrest the senator.

After the frosty start, conditions will gradually improve through the morning before a more active weather pattern develops later today, so don’t let the early sunshine fool you. Numerous to widespread showers are expected to move into the region this afternoon and continue overnight. A few rumbles of thunder will also be possible as the system pushes through Southeast Michigan. While severe weather is not anticipated, some of the stronger showers may produce small hail at times. Temperatures this afternoon will climb into the low 60s despite the increasing cloud cover and rain chances.

Rain will begin tapering off overnight, although a lingering shower could persist into early Wednesday morning before drier conditions return. Cooler air will remain in place on Wednesday with afternoon highs expected to only reach the upper 50s. The cooler stretch will not last long though.

A significant warming trend develops later this week. Temperatures are forecast to steadily rise, giving us a taste of summer this weekend as highs climb to around 80 degrees by Saturday. Warm conditions are expected to continue into early next week, with highs remaining near or just above 80 degrees. Following today’s rain chances, the next opportunity for precipitation appears to arrive later Sunday.

He could stay with the Los Angeles Lakers. He could decide to join another team. He could even retire and end the longest career in NBA history. He knows all this.

He just doesn't know the answer.

“I don't know what the future holds for me, obviously,” James said.

His 23rd season ended Monday night when the Lakers were eliminated by the Oklahoma City Thunder. At 41, James likely doesn't have many years left to play — if any. And now he'll start the process of figuring out what he wants to do, what his family wants him to do and what's best for all parties involved.

Dwyane Wade, James' longtime friend and former teammate, was on the Amazon Prime broadcast of Game 4 of the Thunder-Lakers series as an analyst. And when the conversation turned to what James is going to do, he had some thoughts.

“That’s the question," Wade said. "And I think if we all know LeBron James, he’s going to take some time off and go drink some wine, go yacht a little bit around the world. He’s going to spend some time with his family. He’s going to sit down and try to make the best decision for the James family at the end of the day.

“And then from there, you've got to look at the picture of the Lakers," Wade continued. "LeBron, Year 24 coming back next year if he does, he wants to play for something. So, are they in a position that he can play for something and compete for something?”

Salary will be another issue. He made nearly $53 million this season. He could command somewhere around $60 million next season if he wanted. If he gives a team a discount to preserve flexibility, he could certainly afford to do so.

Wade doesn't seem to think that's likely.

“History shows that Mr. James ain’t taking a lot of discounts, right? I don’t think no one knows," Wade said. “I think one of the things that him and his entire team have been great at is they hold their cards close to their chest. Decisions are made by LeBron, and they all respect it. And they wait on him to decide what he wants to do.”

A look at some of what James' next moves could be (and for purposes of this exercise, the realities of the salary cap, the aprons, tax ramifications and whatever James will command in salary if he decides to keep playing do not apply):

Retirement

This one doesn't seem likely even though James posted the lowest scoring average of his career — 20.933 points per game, down a teeny-tiny sliver from his 20.937 average as a rookie. Another made free throw this season would have been enough to keep this season's average from being his worst.

The pessimists, or the anti-LeBron crowd, can say — accurately — that his numbers are declining. They are. He averaged 30.3 points in 2021-22, and his per-game scoring average has fallen in every season since, going to 28.9 in 2022-23, 25.7 in 2023-24, 24.4 last season and 20.9 this season.

Of course, his role has changed as well and that has some effect on the numbers. James spent much of this season as the Lakers' third option behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves and did so happily.

Stay with the Lakers

To be fair, this wasn't a bad season. Getting ousted in Round 2 by the overwhelming favorite to win the NBA title — the defending champion, too — isn't exactly a collapse, and Doncic not being able to play because of injury almost made the outcome expected.

The Lakers have the seventh-best record in the NBA during James' eight seasons there. Not great, not bad. But the playoffs, even with the run to the bubble championship in 2020, have not been to James' expectations. The Lakers went 32-31 in playoff games during these last eight seasons, and remember, 16 of those wins came in the bubble. Since then, the Lakers are just 16-26 in playoff games.

Good enough? It wouldn't seem so. The Lakers will have to give James reasons to stay. It's simple as that.

Return to Miami

James' jersey will sway from the rafters one day in Miami, assuming he ever actually retires and allows such tributes to finally take place. And there's no question that James still holds many people within the organization — Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra and more — in high regard.

But it's not like James has unfinished business in Miami. He became a champion in Miami; two of his four titles were won with the Heat. He'd be welcome, of course, but it's hard to envision James saying Miami would be the place for his final act.

Return to Cleveland

Northeast Ohio is home and will forever be close to James' heart. He's still (and forever will be) beloved there, and whatever anger existed over him leaving in 2010 was washed away forever when he delivered Cleveland's NBA title in 2016.

Time healed all wounds. If James wants to go the sentimental route, he might go home again. It would likely be contingent on the Cavaliers finding a way to keep a roster that's capable of contention.

He takes his talents to New York

The Knicks have tried and failed before to land James.

They have some serious selling points right now — among them, a good team and Madison Square Garden. That's a place James has always revered.

The bright lights of New York wouldn't scare him off. Then again, wherever James plays, the lights will be bright there, too.

Pair up with Stephen Curry again

James won Olympic gold in Paris in 2024 with Steve Kerr coaching and Stephen Curry starring at the end.

The respect James has for Curry is off the charts, and he's often raved about Kerr as well. Kerr's coming back to the Warriors, and you know Golden State will do anything it can to give Curry one more chance at a title.

Bear in mind, it's highly improbable that this would ever work financially. But if James wants to play there, the Warriors will surely find a way.

The wild scenario: James and Wemby?

The greatest scorer ever teaming up with the game's most prolific defensive player in San Antonio?

Now that would be fun.

James is one of the people who dubbed Victor Wembanyama as an “alien” and did so with the utmost of respect. James is unlike anyone the league has ever seen, and Wembanyama might be thought of in the same way.

And even though Gregg Popovich doesn't coach the Spurs anymore, he's still there and James has always had the utmost respect for the NBA's winningest coach. James would be accused of ring-chasing if he tried this one, but then again, he knows detractors won't like anything he does anyway.

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

“Here we go again,” Alex Fitzpatrick said with a laugh.

Hold up, the younger Fitzpatrick said.

Time to clear the air — and clean the room — it's actually big brother Matt who can be a bit unkempt, especially in the bathroom.

“I’m a normal brush my teeth at night guy,” Alex said after practice rounds Monday. “He's got all these different things on the side of the counter and stuff. I'm not as bad as what he makes it out to be. He's exaggerating a lot. He's a bit of a neat freak.”

The brothers out of Sheffield, England can agree more these days that it might be better to share a trophy — as they did in April when they won the Zurich Classic team event — than share a house.

Only one can win at the PGA Championship this weekend at Aronimink Golf Club and each brother is a strong contender to win the first major in the Philadelphia region since the 2013 US Open at Merion.

Matt Fitzpatrick has three PGA Tours wins this season while Alex shared one win with his brother and entered Sunday with the lead at Quail Hollow before a double bogey on 17 derailed his shot at winning the Truist Open.

It’s rare for brothers to win in tandem on the PGA Tour. There haven’t historically been many team events, but brothers Danny and David Edwards did it at the Walt Disney World Team Championship in 1980.

“I think a lot of people feel like that once they get to this stage or even to the DP World Tour that they need to change a bunch of things and that’s going to help success,” Alex said. “I just felt like I keep doing what I’m trying to do. I’ve got a circle around me that I really trust. All the advice that I get is great.”

Alex has finished tied for ninth and fourth in his first two signature events since the Zurich Classic and has won about $2.84 million over that span. Pretty good for a golfer who wasn't on the PGA Tour before that date.

A day later, Alex tried to put the late fade at Quail Hollow behind him as he practiced for the PGA.

“I think if I looked back two months ago and someone said you’d finish fourth at the Truist Championship, I’d have kicked myself," if he was crushed, Fitzpatrick said. “I was disappointed in just in that I wish I’d have scored a little better. Overall, it was a great week and I have no complaints.”

Little brother's recent hot streak has sparked a bit of a role reversal in their dynamic.

Alex Fitzpatrick is 27 — about 4 1/2 years younger than Matt — which has led to years of answering questions about his brother.

Matt Fitzpatrick was a U.S. Amateur champion in 2013 and the U.S. Open champion in 2022, both at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. He beat Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, in a playoff in April at Harbour Town.

“It can be such a blur at times, and I think it is trying to take a step back and kind of remember those moments, even on a week like this and think about, oh, yeah, I won the Valspar or I won Harbour Town, whatever it may be,” Matt said.

Fitzpatrick has enjoyed the roles this season of watching, winning — and analyzing — his younger brother.

“I have to get used to that now because he’s had it for much longer than me,” Matt said. “I’m probably known as Alex’s brother now, as opposed to him being Matt’s brother. I love talking about my brother. It’s an amazing position to be in to have that privilege to talk about how well he’s doing. I’d so much rather have these questions, conversations, than the opposite of, you know, why is he not playing well."

Maybe one of the brothers can talk Sunday about the feeling of winning a major.

“I’d say my head is still spinning and I haven’t woken up from the dream yet,” Alex said.

___

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

Christian Jon Leo, 24, was charged with accosting a minor for immoral purposes and using computers to commit a crime. He was also charged as a second habitual offender.

The investigation began after police received a report on Nov. 1, 2025, about a 23-year-old working at the Holiday Inn Express off Woodward Avenue in Birmingham actively sending sexually explicit messages to a minor.

After further investigation, Leo was arrested on Dec. 11.

On May 7, Leo pleaded no contest to accosting a minor for immoral purposes and using computers to commit a crime.

According to the Michigan Department of Corrections, Leo was convicted in 2022 of an attempted sexual assault charge. He was on probation until September 2027. He is also a registered sex offender.

Leo is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18 at 8:30 a.m.

Ernest Howell, 33, was scheduled for a preliminary exam in the 37th District Court in Warren.

During the hearing, he waived his right to the proceeding and was ordered bound over for trial, officials said.

Howell is scheduled to be arraigned in Macomb County Circuit Court on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at 1:30 p.m.

He is charged with child sexually abusive activity, a 20-year felony; using a computer to commit a crime, a seven-year felony; and accosting a child for immoral purposes, a four-year felony.

Prosecutors said those are the maximum charges available based on the evidence presented at this stage.

Authorities allege that on April 1, 2026, Warren police arrested Howell at the Warren Public Library after receiving a tip that he had come to the location to meet a 13-year-old girl for a sexual encounter.

Investigators said the encounter had been arranged through text messages.

The Cavaliers erased a four-point Detroit halftime deficit with a dominant third quarter, overwhelming the Pistons and swinging the momentum of the game decisively in Cleveland’s favor.

Bickerstaff acknowledged his team didn’t match the Cavaliers’ intensity when it mattered most.

“I mean, they came out and played with more force and tenacity than we did to start the quarter,” Bickerstaff said. “They came out very aggressive on both ends of the floor. We just didn’t match it.”

Officiating frustration takes center stage

Much of Bickerstaff’s postgame frustration zeroed in on the officiating.

Detroit attempted just 12 free throws in the game, while Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell (15) alone surpassed that total on his own.

“It’s unacceptable,” Bickerstaff said. “There’s no way that one guy on their team shoots more free throws than our team. We’re not a settled team. We’re not a jump-shooting team. We drive the ball, attack the paint.”

Bickerstaff also referenced prior public comments from Cavaliers players and coaches following their Game 2 victory, suggesting the officiating tone shifted in Cleveland’s favor following those remarks.

“Ever since we came to Cleveland, the whistle has changed in this series,” Bickerstaff said.

Still, Bickerstaff stopped short of placing the full blame on the officials.

“We can’t allow that to be the reason why, because we didn’t play well enough and didn’t play to the best of our capabilities,” Bickerstaff said. “But again, you look at the foul count, you look at the disparity, and that’s hard to overcome.”

Mitchell’s second-half explosion

Defensively, Detroit had no answer for Mitchell after halftime. The All-Star guard scored just four points in the first half before erupting for 39 in the second half.

“He’s electric,” Bickerstaff said. “If you let him get going, we know what he’s capable of.”

--> Donovan Mitchell explodes for 43 points as Cavs use third-quarter avalanche to crush Detroit Pistons

Lineup decisions, ball movement, bright spots

Bickerstaff also defended his decision to play veteran forward Paul Reed over center Jalen Duren for portions of the third quarter, saying Reed had earned his spot in the rotation.

Offensively, Bickerstaff pointed to stagnant possessions and too much isolation basketball as key breakdowns during Cleveland’s decisive run.

“We got to do more ball movement, more making them chase us,” Bickerstaff said. “Less stagnant, less one-on-one opportunities.”

One bright spot was former Michigan Wolverines guard Caris LeVert, who scored 24 points off the bench. Bickerstaff praised LeVert’s performance and playoff mindset.

“[He’s] a true competitor,” Bickerstaff said, “[who] understands the intensity of playoff basketball.”

Youth, resilience, home court advantage

Bickerstaff acknowledged his young roster is still adjusting to the emotional demands of a deep playoff run.

“We’re still learning,” Bickerstaff said. “This is a new environment for us, being in the second round, understanding what it takes to win at this level in this round for the first time.”

Despite the loss, the coach struck a measured tone about the road ahead, emphasizing that Detroit still controls its own destiny with two upcoming home games.

“The best part about it is it’s now a three-game series, and we got two of them in Detroit,” Bickerstaff said. “So we got to make sure we go home and take care of our business.”

The top scorer in league history stuck to the strategy he has taken into the past several summers when he declined to announce his future immediately after the Lakers' final postseason defeat.

He hasn't ruled out retirement or a return to the Lakers, and he said nothing about the possibility of moving to another team as he contemplates an unprecedented 24th NBA season.

“I don’t know what the future holds for me, obviously, as it stands right now tonight,” the 41-year-old James said. “I’ve got a lot of time now. I think I said it last year after we lost to Minnesota. I’ll go back and recalibrate with my family and talk with them and spend some time with them, and then obviously when the time comes, you guys will know what I decide to do.”

James' record 23rd season ended with a heartbreaking 115-110 loss, completing a four-game sweep of the short-handed Lakers by the defending NBA champions. Los Angeles began the playoffs without NBA scoring champ Luka Doncic and second-leading scorer Austin Reaves due to injury, yet James led the Lakers to a first-round upset of Houston before running into the league's best team in the second round.

“It’s amazing what he’s doing out there at this age," Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It's very impressive. It's hard to put it to words. He's not very old in the grand scheme of life, but for the NBA, he's pretty old, and he doesn't seem like it out there. He was a force. He was the top of the scouting report all series. His size gave us issues at times. He was impressive out there. I'm not sure we'll see anything like that again, his longevity and his greatness.”

James has played in more games, won more games, scored more points and taken more shots than everybody else who ever put on a uniform, but he has never put a limit on his time in the game.

Instead, he repeated his oft-stated declarations that he'll figure it out with his family over a few glasses of wine in the next couple of months.

“Nobody has any idea what the future holds, and I don’t either,” James said. “I’ll take time to recalibrate and look over the season and see what’s best for my future, and when I get to that point, everyone will know.”

James showed only marginal signs of age's encroachment in his 23rd season, continuing to play versatile basketball at an elite level throughout the Lakers' successful regular season.

Injuries forced his largest compromises: He missed training camp and the first 14 games of the season with sciatica, and he missed eight additional games during the regular season, eliminating him from consideration for inclusion on the All-NBA teams for the 22nd consecutive time.

With Doncic winning the NBA scoring title and Reaves emerging as a legitimate top-level NBA scorer, James willingly assumed a supporting role as the No. 3 option in the Lakers' offense — and it worked.

His 20.9 points per game were his fewest since his rookie season, largely because his 3-point shooting accuracy declined to 31.7%, and his 33.2 minutes per game were his fewest ever. Yet he contributed 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds with another season of steady performances — and when the Lakers needed him to step up, he did it repeatedly.

“It was so many different seasons in one season with our ballclub,” James said. “Obviously injuries played a big part in it, but as far as our identity, I thought it was super-resilient.”

James was chosen for the All-Star Game for the 22nd time, and right before the midseason break, he became the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double. He surpassed Robert Parish's record for the most regular-season games played in late March.

The Lakers picked up steam down the stretch in the regular season, winning 16 of 18 heading into April and kindling hope of being a dark-horse candidate to give trouble to the Thunder or Spurs in the playoffs. But that's when Doncic and Reaves both incurred major injuries, sidelining both indefinitely.

James handled the disappointment by stepping up and coolly taking charge of the Lakers' offense again. While nearly every NBA observer wrote off Los Angeles' chances of any playoff run, James and his supporting cast improbably knocked off the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets in six games in the first round, sending the Lakers into the second round for only the second time since 2020.

“For our group to have the moment that we had when Luka goes down with the hamstring and AR goes down with the oblique and we’re staring down the barrel of a playoff series with Houston, I thought our guys responded and were just super-resilient,” James said. “To win that series was big-time for the group that went out there.”

James' reasons to prolong his career in Los Angeles would be multifold.

He has spent the past two seasons playing alongside Bronny James, his oldest son and a backup guard for the Lakers. They even got significant playoff minutes together this season, allowing LeBron to live another dream.

His family loves living in Southern California — and while his sons are both out of the family home, he has spoken frequently of his desire to watch the progress of his 11-year-old daughter, Zhuri, a competitive volleyball player.

And the Lakers' outstanding play down the stretch suggested they could be among the NBA's best teams with full health for Doncic, James and Reaves — who is expected to sign a massive contract to stay with the Lakers this summer.

Whether the Lakers can actually contend for a championship next season will be one factor that James must weigh, but finding a true title contender to join at this stage of his career would be difficult even if the Thunder and the rising San Antonio Spurs didn't appear to be head and shoulders above the rest of the league.

For now, James will take time off to enjoy life away from the daily grind that has allowed his career to reach unprecedented lengths — and if he decides not to come back, he doesn't appear to have regrets about how this season ended."

“I left everything I could on the floor,” James said. “I control what I can control, and I can leave the floor saying even though I hate losing, I was locked in on what we needed to do.”

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

Ajay Mitchell scored 10 of his 28 points in the frantic final period as the Thunder overcame the Lakers' tenacious effort and improved to 8-0 in the playoffs with their toughest victory of the postseason.

“We've done our job so far, that's all it really means,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We've gone out there, we've executed, we've played at a high level and we've been able to win eight tough games against really good opponents. That's all it means. Nothing is guaranteed.”

LeBron James had 24 points and 14 rebounds in the final game of the unprecedented 23rd season for the top scorer in NBA history, but he missed a driving bank shot with 20 seconds left that would have put the Lakers ahead.

The 41-year-old James has repeatedly said he hasn’t decided whether to play next season, so there was no ceremony or momentousness around this game. Instead, the Lakers desperately tried to extend their year, only to lose to Oklahoma City for the eighth time this season.

“I don't know what the future holds for me, obviously, as it stands right now, tonight,” James said. “I've got a lot of time. I'll go back and recalibrate with my family and talk with them, and when the time goes, obviously you guys will know what I decide to do.”

Austin Reaves scored 27 points before missing a tying 3-point attempt with eight seconds left for the Lakers, who advanced one round farther than almost anybody expected after losing NBA scoring champion Luka Doncic and Reaves to significant injuries a month ago.

Los Angeles still lost six of its final seven playoff games and fell well short of the conference finals for the third straight season.

“I didn't want our season to end,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I wanted to keep this thing going. I enjoyed every bit of this year.”

Oklahoma City faced its first fourth-quarter deficits of the entire playoffs in Game 4 as the Lakers repeatedly refused to fold. The Thunder still got it done, and they've earned at least the rest of the week off before they open the conference finals against the winner of San Antonio’s second-round series with Minnesota. The Spurs and Timberwolves are even heading to Game 5 on Tuesday night.

“They won more of the minutes tonight than we did, and that hadn’t been the case (earlier in the series),” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. “They outplayed us for stretches. They’re a really good team with prideful players. We did not expect them to give us an unearned win, and we went out and earned it.”

Oklahoma City went 8-0 against the Lakers this season, winning all four regular-season matchups as well — but this one was the toughest. The Lakers took the lead and kept it close down the stretch with big buckets from Reaves and Rui Hachimura, who scored nine of his 25 points in the fourth quarter.

Holmgren’s dunk with 2:03 left put the Thunder up 109-103, but Hachimura coolly converted a four-point play. Marcus Smart then drove the lane and hit a layup while being fouled in the final minute, converting a three-point play for a 110-109 Lakers lead.

But Holmgren got the ball inside and triple-pumped for a dunk with 32.8 seconds left, and James missed on his drive. After Gilgeous-Alexander hit two free throws, Reaves missed again, and the Thunder hung on to secure their sixth berth in the Western Conference finals in the last 16 seasons.

The Thunder won the first two games of the series at home by 18 points apiece, and they routed the Lakers 131-108 in Game 3.

Doncic missed the final 15 games of the Lakers’ season after incurring a grade 2 hamstring strain on April 2 in Oklahoma City, and he watched the season finale on the bench in a black sweatsuit. The Slovenian superstar apparently didn’t get close to returning from the injury, which often requires two months of recovery.

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

The eight-time All-Star went 1 for 5 with a single and a strikeout hitting second behind Shohei Ohtani and ahead of Freddie Freeman in a 9-3 loss in the series opener against the San Francisco Giants.

“We just have to make sure we swing at good pitches,” Betts said before the game. “Those guys are good, too. They drive nice cars, too. We just have to control the zone, swing at good pitches.”

The Dodgers have dropped eight of their last 12 games and were looking for Betts to help jumpstart a stagnant offense. They have scored three runs or fewer in nine of those 12 games.

"I know I’m not the hero,” said Betts, the 2018 AL MVP. “It’s important for everyone to know it’s going to take all of us and not just one guy getting through their struggles or whatever it is.”

Betts was batting .179 (5 for 28) with two home runs in eight games before he went on the injured list April 5 with a right oblique strain.

"I just didn’t really realize how long it takes for it to really heal,” he said. “I felt pretty good pretty fast actually. But just some of the movements I couldn’t do kind of lingered for a long time. I was trying to hurry but obviously the doctors were saying it just takes a month for it to heal.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Betts would start at shortstop Monday and Tuesday before taking Wednesday off.

“After seven days, six days, I think he’s going to want to be in there regularly, but we’ll kind of see,” Roberts said.

Betts was on a tear in spring training, hitting .357 with a .786 OPS in five games before briefly leaving the team for the birth of his third child. He cooled off the first two weeks of the regular season before getting hurt.

Roberts is taking a wait-and-see approach toward Betts' offense. The 33-year-old shortstop was 2 for 5 in two minor league rehab games.

“Certainly two games of rehab, taking batting practice, a day of live at-bats, is not ideal,” the manager said, “but I think with Mookie you just don’t know. The hope is that he can kind of hit the ground running.”

With Betts' return, infielder Alex Freeland was sent down to Triple-A Oklahoma City. He was hitting .235 with two homers and eight RBIs in 33 games.

The front office chose to keep second baseman Hyeseong Kim over Freeland.

“What it came down to is Hyeseong has performed better,” Roberts said.

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

Mitchell tied an NBA playoff mark with 39 points in the final two quarters as he rallied the Cavaliers to a 112-103 victory Monday night.

“What a shift, right? Really struggled in the first half and then big-time, second-half performance by Don,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said.

The home team has won all four games in the series, which shifts to Detroit for Game 5 Wednesday night.

Mitchell matched the mark of Eric “Sleepy” Floyd on a free throw with 27.6 seconds remaining. He had a chance to break the record, set in 1987 when the Golden State Warriors faced the Los Angeles Lakers, but missed his second foul shot.

“Everybody let me know that I missed a free throw to break the record, though,” said Mitchell, who finished with 43 points. “I will say that, but we’re two and two headed to Detroit. That was what we came home to do and that’s all that matters.”

James Harden had his 40th playoff double-double with 24 points and 11 assists. Evan Mobley had 17 points as Cleveland remained unbeaten at home in six playoff games.

Caris LeVert had a season-high 24 points for Detroit. Cade Cunningham scored 19, the first time he has been held under 20 in 11 playoff games this season, and Tobias Harris added 16.

Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who takes pride in the physical style his team plays, was not pleased with the free throw disparity. Mitchell had more trips to the foul line (15) than Detroit (12).

“There is no way one guy on their team should have more free throws than our team. We’re not a settling for jump shots team," he said. “We didn’t do enough to help ourselves, but ever since we came to Cleveland, the whistle has changed.”

Even though Mitchell struggled in the first half and the Cavaliers shot 15 of 38, with most of their shots being 3-pointers, the Cavaliers felt pretty fortunate to be down 56-52 at halftime.

Atkinson's message at halftime was to play with more pace and attack downhill, which opened things up.

Mitchell scored 15 during Cleveland’s 24-0 run that went from the last 12 seconds of the first half to the first six minutes of the third quarter. Cleveland trailed 56-52 at halftime before taking control.

The Cavs were 10 of 12 from the field and made three 3-pointers. They also converted five turnovers by the Pistons into nine points.

“When (Mitchell) sees a gap, he’s going to go. We’ve got to eliminate his touches and catches on the run,” Cunningham said. “That run, we just never caught our footing again. That was the first time they really got loose in the series.”

The 24-0 run was the longest in an NBA playoff game since since Minnesota also scored 24 straight in Game 6 of its Western Conference semifinal series against Denver in 2024. It was also the longest spurt by Cleveland in a postseason game since play-by-play stats were kept in 1997-98. The previous high was 19 in an Eastern semifinal series contest against Boston.

“We understood if we could just get some stops and get out in transition and get some easier looks, we’ll be in good shape. We were doing a solid job, we just weren’t scoring,” Mitchell said, “I think understanding that we were in a good spot and did a good job of weathering a storm.”

Mitchell and Harden accounted for 49 points apiece with their points scored and points off assists. Mobley was a force on both ends of the court with eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and five blocked shots.

“Don’s going to get all the flowers, but we should give a lot of flowers to Mobley for tonight’s performance,” Atkinson said.

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

The No. 4 seed Cavaliers used a 38-point third quarter, including a 22-0 run to open the half, to take control and secure their fifth consecutive home playoff victory.

The win tied the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Donovan Mitchell led the charge with a historic second half, finishing with 43 points. After scoring just four points in the first half, Mitchell erupted for 39 points after the break, tying an NBA playoff record set by Sleepy Floyd.

James Harden added a strong all-around performance with 24 points and 11 assists for Cleveland.

Detroit’s bench provided one of its few bright spots, with former Michigan standout Caris LeVert scoring 24 points, including 17 in the first half. Paul Reed added 15 points in the loss.

Cade Cunningham finished with 19 points and six assists, while Tobias Harris contributed 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the top-seeded Pistons.

Turnovers proved costly for Detroit, which committed 10 in the first half and eight more in the second, finishing with 18 total. Cleveland repeatedly turned mistakes into points during its third-quarter outburst.

Duncan Robinson struggled offensively with four points in 29 minutes, while Ausar Thompson also finished with four points as both players battled foul trouble throughout the game.

Cleveland’s 22-0 run to start the third quarter set the tone for the second half, overwhelming Detroit on both ends of the floor as the Cavaliers maintained their perfect home playoff record.

Game 5 will shift to Detroit, where the Pistons will host a pivotal matchup Wednesday, May 13, at Little Caesars Arena.

1st quarter

The Cavaliers won the opening tip and immediately looked to feed Jarrett Allen, but the possession ended in a turnover forced by Ausar Thompson.

On the ensuing trip, Detroit’s Jalen Duren turned the ball over after Tobias Harris missed an open 3-point attempt.

Cade Cunningham put the Pistons on the board first with a contested three-pointer, but Harden answered quickly with a 3 of his own to keep Cleveland in front.

The Pistons’ early offensive struggles continued when Duren was blocked by Evan Mobley.

Harris later connected on a mid-range jumper, but Harden continued to push the pace, turning a steal into another 3-pointer to give Cleveland an 8-5 lead.

Duren missed a running layup on the next possession, and Harden was fouled by former Michigan Wolverines star Duncan Robinson on the other end. Harden converted both free throws to extend the lead to 10-5.

Cunningham was then blocked by Dean Wade, while Robinson missed a contested 3-pointer as Detroit tried to respond from the perimeter.

Thompson secured a defensive rebound but lost the ball out of bounds on the offensive end after Mobley challenged a layup attempt, leading to a jump ball.

Allen gained possession for Cleveland, and Harden again capitalized with a 3-pointer.

Detroit called a timeout with 7:45 remaining in the quarter, trailing 13-5.

Harden accounted for 11 of Cleveland’s first 13 points in the opening frame.

Harden stole the ball on one possession, leading to a fast break where Allen attacked the rim and nearly dunked on Thompson.

Allen was fouled on the play and split a pair of free throws.

Detroit’s offense struggled to stabilize as Robinson turned the ball over while attempting to feed Duren under the basket.

The mistake led to an Evan Mobley transition finish, and Thompson was whistled for his second foul on the play.

Mobley hit both free throws to extend Cleveland’s run to 10-0.

Caris LeVert, another former Wolverines star, stopped the momentum briefly with a midrange jumper, cutting the deficit as Detroit trailed 16-7.

Harden missed a 3-pointer on the next possession, and LeVert responded by attacking off the dribble, drawing a foul on Harris during a drive that resulted in free throws.

Mobley added a jumper, but Detroit answered when Duren established position in the post and scored through contact on a contested finish at the rim before LeVert drilled a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 18-15, expanding their run to 10-2 before the Cavaliers’ timeout with 5:18 to play.

The Pistons closed the first quarter on a strong run, overcoming an early double-digit deficit to take a 24-21 lead over the Cavaliers.

Coming out of a timeout, Harris knocked down a 14-foot jumper before Allen missed a close-range attempt at the rim for Cleveland.

Detroit then grabbed its first lead of the game when Caris LeVert found Isaiah Stewart underneath the basket for an easy finish, putting the Pistons ahead 19-18.

The Cavaliers struggled to regain momentum as Harden committed a double-dribble turnover on the next possession.

LeVert later missed a contested floater, but Detroit continued to pressure defensively.

Daniss Jenkins secured a defensive rebound and pushed the ball coast-to-coast before being called for an offensive foul against former Pistons guard Schröder.

Stewart came up with another defensive rebound after Max Strus missed from beyond the arc.

Cunningham missed a 3-point attempt on the other end, allowing Schröder to answer with a layup for Cleveland.

LeVert responded with a 3-pointer to put Detroit back in front 22-20 before Jaylon Tyson was fouled and split a pair of free throws.

2nd quarter

LeVert continued his strong performance to begin the second quarter Wednesday night, helping the Pistons briefly maintain momentum before the Cavaliers rallied back to regain the lead.

LeVert opened the quarter with a floater, extending Detroit’s scoring run after the Pistons erased an early double-digit deficit in the first quarter.

Duren followed with a contested drive to the rim for a layup, but Mobley answered with a 3-pointer for Cleveland.

On the next possession, Sam Merrill fouled Robinson, who split a pair of free throws to give Detroit a 29-24 advantage.

Ronald Holland II was then called for a foul while defending Donovan Mitchell, and Max Strus capitalized moments later by drilling a 3-pointer off a Mitchell assist.

LeVert stayed aggressive offensively, knocking down a contested jumper before making an impact defensively by stripping Mobley near the rim.

After LeVert missed on another jumper attempt, Ausar Thompson came up with a steal but lost possession when Strus stripped the ball away and converted a fast-break dunk.

Cleveland continued to build momentum when Merrill connected on a 25-foot 3-pointer to put the Cavaliers back in front 32-31.

Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff called a timeout with 8:48 remaining in the first half as Cleveland reclaimed the lead.

Detroit carried a four-point lead into halftime after a back-and-forth second quarter against Cleveland.

Thompson opened the stretch with a layup to give Detroit the lead before Robinson fouled Harden on the other end.

The Cavaliers answered quickly when Merrill buried a 26-foot 3-pointer after Cunningham lost track of him defensively.

Duren responded with a lob finish to tie the game.

Cunningham then went coast-to-coast for a layup and converted the ensuing free throw to complete a three-point play, putting Detroit ahead by three. Dennis Schroder answered with an open three-pointer to tie the game at 38-38.

Detroit’s turnover issues resurfaced when Thompson committed the team’s 10th turnover of the first half.

Cleveland gave the ball right back moments later as Schröder turned it over, leading to a Harris steal and assist to LeVert for a fast-break layup.

Harris stayed active defensively, stripping Harden before Duren was fouled in the paint.

Harris later had a shot blocked at the rim, but Isaiah Stewart followed with a basket that gave Detroit a 42-38 lead entering a timeout with 5:04 remaining in the half.

Mobley made a contested floater for Cleveland before Harris missed a contested jumper.

Javonte Green was then called for a foul on Mitchell, who split a pair of free throws for his first point of the half.

LeVert missed a contested floater before Stewart fouled Allen.

On the next possession, LeVert stripped Max Strus for a turnover, leading to a Harris three-pointer.

Harden continued attacking the basket and drew a foul on Stewart, converting both free throws.

Cunningham answered with a contested jumper over Harden before Mitchell knocked down a corner three-pointer to cut Detroit’s lead to 47-46.

Harris added another contested jumper before Duren fouled Allen, who made both free throws.

Detroit extended its lead again when LeVert connected on a corner three-pointer following three offensive rebounds.

Harden answered by drawing a foul on LeVert and making both free throws as the Pistons held a 52-50 advantage with 1:10 left in the half.

Strus later fouled Cunningham, who converted both free throws.

Mitchell then committed a turnover that led to a Harris driving layup.

Harden found Mobley for a late basket before Cunningham missed a last-second attempt as the Pistons took a 56-52 lead into halftime.

LeVert led Detroit with 17 points off the bench, while Harris had 14 points and Cunningham had 12 points to end the half.

3rd quarter

Harris opened the half with an airball on a three-point attempt before Harden found Mitchell for a floater to cut into the Pistons’ advantage.

Harris then missed a contested three-pointer on Detroit’s next possession, and Mitchell continued his surge by drawing contact while converting another floater over Cunningham.

Mitchell completed the three-point play to give Cleveland the lead.

Cunningham missed a floater on the other end before Mitchell buried a wide-open 3-pointer, prompting Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff to call a timeout with 10:24 remaining in the third quarter as Cleveland moved ahead 60-56.

The Cavaliers’ run continued after the timeout.

Cunningham missed from beyond the arc, and Harden responded by finding Allen underneath the basket for an easy score.

Mitchell, who scored eight straight points during the stretch, stayed aggressive defensively as well.

Harden later drew an offensive foul on Jalen Duren, giving the Detroit center his third foul of the game.

Paul Reed entered for the Pistons and helped force a 24-second shot clock violation, briefly slowing Cleveland’s momentum.

But Detroit continued to struggle offensively. Ausar Thompson was blocked at the rim, and Mitchell answered with another 3-pointer to cap a 16-0 Cavaliers run to open the second half.

Bickerstaff called another timeout with 8:16 left in the quarter as Detroit fell behind 68-56.

Cunningham committed a turnover early in the quarter, and Mitchell immediately capitalized with a 3-pointer that extended Cleveland’s run to 19-0.

The Cavaliers continued to dominate on both ends as Reed was called for a foul on Allen during an offensive rebound attempt.

Cleveland’s scoring burst eventually reached 21-0, marking the franchise’s largest run since 1997.

Detroit finally stopped the drought after another Cunningham turnover led to a Mitchell floater.

Reed answered with a dunk for the Pistons, but Mitchell continued attacking the paint and scored another floater before Reed knocked down a 3-pointer.

Mitchell later drew a foul on Caris LeVert and converted both free throws as Cleveland extended its advantage during a 26-5 stretch.

LeVert briefly sparked Detroit by drawing a foul on chröder and completing a three-point play.

Mitchell answered again with a contested floater before Merrill fouled Robinson.

Mitchell exited to the bench shortly afterward with 25 points as Cleveland maintained control.

Detroit continued battling late in the quarter as LeVert converted a dunk and Reed added a driving layup.

On the next possession, the Pistons secured a defensive rebound and found Reed underneath the basket, where he was fouled.

Reed missed the first free throw before Cleveland called timeout with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter.

Reed missed both free throws coming out of a timeout before Robinson was called for his third foul of the game on the defensive end.

Detroit forced a turnover moments later and capitalized when Reed finished a reverse layup to trim the deficit.

But Cunningham was then whistled for a foul that sent Mobley to the free-throw line, where he converted both attempts.

Trailing by 12 with 2:21 remaining in the third quarter, Cunningham committed another turnover.

Robinson responded on the next possession by securing a defensive rebound and knocking down a three-pointer to briefly spark the Pistons.

Harden answered immediately for Cleveland with a three-pointer of his own.

Jenkins later had a shot blocked by Mobley, leading to a contested floater off the glass by Dennis Schröder on the other end.

Reed continued to provide offense for Detroit, adding another layup in the paint.

Harden then drew a foul on Robinson while attempting a three-pointer.

The veteran guard made all three free throws to extend Cleveland’s advantage to 90-75 with nine seconds left in the quarter.

Reed closed the period with a putback basket as Detroit entered the fourth quarter trailing 90-77.

The Cavaliers used a 22-0 run to open the third quarter, led by Mitchell, to seize momentum after trailing by four points at halftime.

4th quarter

Mobley was called for a loose-ball foul to open the quarter, but Cunningham missed a jumper on Detroit’s ensuing possession.

Cleveland quickly converted the miss into points as Mobley scored on a layup, followed by a driving finish from Mitchell after Mobley blocked a shot on the defensive end.

Detroit’s struggles continued when Duren was called for another offensive foul, his fourth personal foul of the game, with the Pistons trailing by 17.

Mitchell stayed aggressive offensively and added another driving layup to push Cleveland’s lead to 19 points.

Mobley later missed a deep three-point attempt, and Cunningham grabbed the defensive rebound before Harris missed a contested jumper on the other end.

Mitchell then drew contact and converted two free throws for his 30th point of the night.

Cunningham, who had been held scoreless in the third quarter, finally recorded his first basket of the second half with a jumper.

Mitchell answered again at the free-throw line, making two more shots.

Cunningham connected on another jumper before Mitchell misfired on a shot that sailed out of bounds with 7:39 remaining.

Detroit showed signs of life moments later when Duren dunked over Allen to trim the deficit back to 17.

The Pistons then forced back-to-back defensive stops.

Duren blocked Harden at the rim before Allen was stripped by Thompson.

Thompson pushed the ball in transition and found Cunningham for an open 3-pointer.

Cleveland called a timeout with 6:56 left in the game, holding a 100-86 lead.

Mitchell had 29 points in the second half, his playoff high for a half was 31 as there was still 6:56 toplay.

Detroit briefly generated momentum defensively in the fourth quarter, but Mitchell continued to take over offensively for the Cavaliers.

Detroit forced a 24-second shot clock violation before Cunningham committed another turnover while attempting to feed Duren underneath the basket.

Duren appeared to be looking for the rebound rather than the pass as the ball sailed out of bounds.

Mitchell capitalized on the mistake by drawing a foul on Thompson and converting both free throws.

The pair of foul shots tied Mitchell’s career high with 31 points in a half as Cleveland continued to control the game late in the fourth quarter.

Schröder later fouled Cunningham on the other end, but Detroit struggled to convert consistently as Harris missed a contested jumper.

Mitchell stayed hot, knocking down a 3-pointer before Thompson answered with a reverse layup for Detroit.

The Cavaliers star continued his scoring barrage with another floater in the lane, followed by another three-pointer to extend Cleveland’s lead.

LeVert missed a three-point attempt for Detroit but followed with an offensive tip-in to keep the Pistons within striking distance.

Mitchell was fouled again with 2:48 remaining as Cleveland maintained firm control down the stretch.

Mitchell, with his eighth playoff 40-point game, made both free throws for 42 points as Cleveland led 109-93 with 2:42 to play.

Jenkins got fouled and went to the line to make both.

Marcus Sasser drilled a corner three-pointer before Reed missed at the rim.

Mobley got an offensive rebound and putback jam to stop the bleeding before Holland II turned the ball over as Mitchell tied a played a playoff record with Sleepy Floyd for 39 points in a half, as he split a pair.

Toews tried to send the ill-fated clearing attempt from the crease toward the corner, but it made a direct hit on MacKinnon's face instead. The league's leading goal scorer during the regular season collapsed to his knees in pain before an athletic trainer arrived to press a towel under his nose and help him skate off the ice.

Blood was all over, including streaming down the inside of MacKinnon's visor, and he went up the tunnel for further treatment shortly before the second intermission. MacKinnon returned in time for the third period and tacked on an empty-net goal in Colorado's 5-2 win.

“If he was going to be able to get out there, he was going to be out there," coach Jared Bednar said. “I just felt for him because I just went through that. It doesn’t feel very good.”

Bednar went to a hospital with facial fractures and a corneal abrasion in his eye last month, missing a two-game road trip after being hit with a puck on his right cheek that soared into the bench area during a game.

MacKinnon has six goals and six assists in eight playoff games this spring for the Avalanche, who lead the Wild 3-1 going into Game 5 on Wednesday.

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

No problem. The All-Star guard followed it up with one of the best 24-minute stretches by a player in NBA playoff history Monday night.

After scoring only four points in the first half, Mitchell responded with 39 in the second half, tying the NBA playoff record for most points in a half as the Cavaliers rallied for a 112-103 victory over the Detroit Pistons in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

“It’s pretty impressive. I'm not sure I’ve seen in the playoffs a turnaround like that where a guy is struggling and just absolutely turns the switch and complete opposite of the first half,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said.

Mitchell equaled Eric “Sleepy” Floyd's record on a free throw with 27.6 seconds remaining. He had a chance to break the record, set in 1987 when Floyd's Golden State Warriors faced the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals, but missed his second foul shot.

“Everybody let me know that I missed a free throw to break the record, though," Mitchell said. "I will say that, but we’re two and two headed to Detroit. That was what we came home to do and that’s all that matters.”

Mitchell didn't score until he made a free throw with 4:19 remaining in the second quarter. He also missed his first six shots from the field before hitting a 3-pointer from the left corner with 2:48 left in the first half.

Despite Mitchell's early struggles, the Cavaliers only trailed 56-52 at halftime. James Harden and Evan Mobley both kept Cleveland in the game in the first half as they combined for 26 points.

“I airball the first layup and was missing shots short," Mitchell said. "Sometimes it’s natural, right? I wasn’t really trying to get in there and force it and then just doubling down on the defensive end, trying to take whoever I’m guarding, take them out of the equation. I’m not tripping, we were down four at half.

"I always tell y’all it’s not just about the scoring, it’s about your overall impact on the game. And for me, it was just like, ‘OK, now I have an opportunity to try to get downhill’ and then started going in.”

Mitchell was 12 of 18 from the field in the second half, including three 3-pointers, and was 12 of 13 at the line. Cleveland's previous mark for most points in a half was 31 by Mitchell in Game 7 of its first-round series against Orlando in 2024.

Mitchell tied a franchise record for points in a quarter with 21 in the third as the Cavaliers seized control, outscoring the Pistons 38-21 in the quarter. He scored 15 during Cleveland’s 24-0 run that went from the last 12 seconds of the first half to the first six minutes of the third quarter.

The 24-0 run was the longest in an NBA playoff game since since Minnesota also scored 24 straight in Game 6 of its Western Conference semifinal series against Denver in 2024. It was also the longest spurt by Cleveland in a postseason game since play-by-play stats were kept in 1997-98. The previous high was 19 in an Eastern semifinal series contest against Boston.

“Donovan Mitchell was killing us, and that’s pretty much it," Pistons center Paul Reed said.

It was Mitchell's eighth playoff game with at least 40 points, his fourth with the Cavaliers. He has at least 30 points in three straight games as the series shifts to Detroit for Game 5 on Wednesday with it even at two games apiece.

Cleveland is still looking for its first road playoff win this season, and will need at least one if it hopes to make the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018.

“We’ve had two good games to build off of, but it’s going to be a hostile environment," Mitchell said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. And I think I know we’re ready for the challenge.”

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

“It’s just about staying ready,” Kelly said, “and all these guys in here are ready.”

Mackenzie Blackwood made 19 saves in his first start this postseason after relieving Scott Wedgewood during a 5-1 loss in Game 3 on Saturday, and the Avalanche moved within one win of taking the first spot in the Western Conference finals. Game 5 will be in Denver on Wednesday.

“You’re never going to be perfect after 30 days off, so I just try to do my best to stay sharp,” said Blackwood, who learned the day before he would be starting.

Nazem Kadri scored on a power play in the second period, and Nathan MacKinnon — who had a brief absence to fix a bloody nose from a puck to the face — and Brock Nelson added empty-net goals in the final minute.

Nico Sturm tied the game at 2 for Minnesota with his first goal of the postseason about two minutes after Colton scored, but the Wild were outshot 20-4 over roughly the first half of the game by an energized Colorado offense.

Rookie Danila Yurov scored his first career postseason goal on a deflection midway through the first period for the Wild during a four-minute power play prompted by a double minor penalty on defenseman Josh Manson, but they failed to consistently get pucks deep into the offensive zone and allowed their crowd-noise advantage to all but disappear during their slog of a second period before coming to life down the stretch.

“The style of game that we needed to play to win the game, we didn’t,” coach John Hynes said. "We made the conscious choice not to play that way tonight, so we’ll readdress that and then we’ll get ready for Game 5.”

After leading the NHL in goals during the regular season while posting the league's best record, the Avalanche scored 14 times over the first two games before Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt stonewalled them in Game 3.

But Colton, whose wrist shot was set up by a slick across-the-slot pass by linemate Nicolas Roy, became the 15th player to score for the Avalanche in just eight postseason games this spring. Then Kelly made it 16.

“They were doing a lot of what we want to do — quick with the puck, get it down deep, work our players down low," Wallstedt said. “They got a lot of pucks to the net. They were creating rebounds. They were creating scoring chances. We want to do the exact same thing. It just took a little longer for us to get there.”

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

Decades later, she’s still going to camp there. A separate band program was created for adults in 2013, where she felt encouraged to take up another instrument: trumpet.

“I was thrilled because I love this place,” said Guess, 71, of Baltimore, a retired lawyer for the U.S. Department of Defense who plans to return to the New England Adult Music Camp in August. “It is serene, beautiful, a perfect setting. And it’s not all that different from what it was 50-some years ago.”

Whether they are looking to make friends, improve their skills or just take some time out for themselves after sending their own kids to camp and college, adults can find a variety of summer music programs across the United States, ranging from electronic, folk, rock 'n' roll and jazz to chamber and opera.

For many campers, it offers a way to relive the nostalgic musical experiences of their youth and make new social connections.

“Emotionally, making music is good for the soul,” said Carole Lieberman, a California-based forensic psychiatrist who has played multiple instruments herself. “It makes you feel creative, allows you to provide the music you like for yourself and can boost your spirits."

“Cognitively, research demonstrates that learning to play a musical instrument and playing it helps your brain make better neurological connections,” she added. “It can help to ward off dementia.”

For Guess, playing music is about being “in that zone” with other musicians.

“When you’re playing music together, you rise above all the pettiness of life,” she said. “And it’s just the most spiritual thing I can think of.”

A camp for every playing level

The camps cover a range of playing abilities. Some listings specifying beginner, intermediate and advanced levels can be found in camp guides put out by organizations such Musical America Worldwide and The Instrumentalist.

The Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan, where Guess attended band camp in middle school, branched out to offer a variety of summer musical programs for adults, including a weeklong Symphonic Band Camp for experienced players in August.

In Walla Walla, Washington, the Midsummer Musical Retreat has grown to include multiple performance groups, large and small, for varying levels since it began in 1983.

Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, hosts the Band Camp for Adult Musicians, where players at an intermediate level and beyond are coached by retired military members and college professors.

The camp's founder was inspired by his kids' experience at band camp, director Leigh Hurtz said.

Now in its 37th season, many players are retired and have attended the camp together for years. Some have come with their children and grandchildren.

“They were lawyers or doctors, or working full-time, mothers,” Hurtz said. “There are also people who sold their tuba for a couch in college so they could have a couch, and 20 years later, it’s like, ‘I need a tuba again!’”

In addition to putting on concerts, the camps have their own traditions. At the one in Pennsylvania, everyone gets together on the first night for a family dinner. Walla Walla has a camper-created sketch comedy night. New England has campfire gatherings and a lobster dinner. Campers often have access to other activities such as kayaking, yoga or cocktail hours, or in open-mics solo or with a small ensemble of fellow campers.

Camps also can offer special sessions covering certain genres or instruments such as jazz, drum circles, klezmer, German band and ukulele, and host talks about topics like performance anxiety and music theory.

Camps offer support and encouragement

Linda Haller, 70, of Laconia, New Hampshire, had retired as an obstetrician-gynecologist a few years ago when she learned about a community band for adults promoting “music for life” nearby. She felt motivated to try the clarinet again after last playing it in high school. So she joined.

“It hasn’t all come back, but I’m getting to the point where I think I’m playing almost as good as I did back then,” she said. Haller, who also plays piano, said the rhythms and counting came right back to her.

She attended the camp in Sidney, Maine, for two years, where she progressed from a beginner’s band to intermediate. She said she enjoyed the camaraderie.

“Returning to an instrument learned in childhood is powerful because it combines memory, discipline and renewed growth,” said Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist based in New York.

“It strengthens attention, fine motor coordination, and memory pathways while reducing stress and improving mood,” Alpert said. “But equally important is the emotional experience of reengaging with something that once required patience and repetition.”

The community band Haller plays with is affiliated with the New Horizons International Music Association, a nonprofit that provides entry points for adults to create music, including those who have no musical experience. The organization counts over 200 bands, orchestras and choruses worldwide for 10,000 adult musicians since 1991.

Its philosophy, also adopted by other programs for adult musicians, is "Your best is good enough.”

New Horizons also sponsors its own camps, including an “American Music Abroad” trip to the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary in June, and one near Cincinnati, Ohio, in July.

The programs are popular, said Russ Grazier of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, who has taught at New Horizons camps and is the artistic director of the New England Adult Music Camp.

He notes that the ensemble participation rate for adults over age 60 has doubled from about 150 to 300 people at a local music and arts center he leads. He said he thinks the social connection is key.

“And that's something missing from a lot of people's lives these days," Grazier said. "So any time we have an opportunity to have a space outside of the home where we're connecting with new people and sharing a common interest, it has remarkable benefits for our health and our aging.”

The Omaha-area district, where Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon is retiring, is one of the Democratic Party's biggest targets this midterm season. It's also a national focus every four years in presidential contests because Nebraska is one of just two states that splits its electoral votes. The 2nd District has gone to Democratic presidential candidates three out of five times since 2008 — a “blue dot” in an otherwise sea of red.

Three Democrats are seen as the top contenders in Tuesday's primary: state Sen. John Cavanaugh, political activist Denise Powell and district court clerk Crystal Rhoades. Republican Brinker Harding, an Omaha City Council member endorsed by President Donald Trump, is running unopposed on the GOP side.

Cavanaugh, more than anyone else on Tuesday's ballot, has been under attack from both parties.

Some Democratic opponents argue that a primary victory for Cavanaugh would jeopardize the district's “blue dot” status because he'd be leaving his valuable state legislative seat, making it easier for Republicans in the Nebraska Legislature to change the law that allows the state to split its electoral votes.

The issue has defined the primary contest perhaps more than any other.

Opponents say the ‘blue dot’ is in danger

The Democratic argument against Cavanaugh has little to do with his politics or policies.

His opponents and groups backing them have flooded mailboxes, airwaves and social media warning that if he wins the congressional primary, Nebraska's Republican governor would appoint a conservative Republican to replace him in the Legislature.

That move, they say, could give state Republicans enough votes to enact a conservative wish list that includes stricter limitations on abortion and transgender rights.

It could also empower Republicans to enact midcycle redistricting or change the state's unusual system of splitting presidential electoral votes, some Democrats argue. Republicans failed in 2024 to pass a bill that would have made Nebraska the 49th state to award its Electoral College votes on a winner-take-all basis.

“Our Blue Dot. We fought hard for it. But if John Cavanaugh goes to Congress, it could all fall down,” cautions one TV ad by the super PAC New Democrat Majority.

EMILY’s List, a national group that supports women running for office, has put its reach and money behind Powell, calling Cavanaugh’s candidacy “a gift to MAGA Republicans.”

Republican groups also target Cavanaugh

Republican groups have sent out mailers and social media posts claiming Cavanaugh “is in agreement with President Donald Trump” and showing a photo of Cavanaugh overlaid on a photo of the president, making it appear as if the two are standing together.

“Clearly, the Republicans know that I’m the strongest general election candidate,” Cavanaugh said. “And so they’re trying to hurt me.”

The attacks on Cavanaugh show Democrats and Republicans believe he has the best chance of winning the general election, said Paul Landow, a former Nebraska Democratic Party executive director.

He called the “blue dot” attacks disingenuous, noting Republicans already have a filibuster-proof majority in the Legislature but have still failed to pass key elements of their agenda because it is unpopular even among GOP lawmakers. The argument that a Cavanaugh win could weaken the state’s “blue dot” also assumes Democrats won’t pick up additional legislative seats this year, he said.

“There’s so many things that have to fall into place for this alleged danger to the ‘blue dot,’” Landow said. “It’s just wild speculation.”

The Democratic primary grows contentious

While all the Democratic contenders cite affordability and opposition to Trump administration policies — from immigration and healthcare to military actions — the top three contenders began attacking one another more aggressively in the days leading up to the primary.

Candidates and allied groups have spent more than $2.6 million on TV and digital advertising since Jan. 1, according to the advertising tracking company AdImpact. Nearly all of that has been by or on behalf of Cavanaugh and Powell.

Cavanaugh has spent about $375,000. Powell's campaign has spent almost as much — $345,000 — but with the help of groups backing her, campaign advertising has been overwhelmingly pro-Powell.

Powell co-founded Women Who Run Nebraska, a political action committee that supports progressive female candidates, and she has a decade of Democratic political activism. She's never held office but said her deep connections have helped her with independents and third-party voters who make up nearly 30% of the district's electorate.

“My name recognition has increased dramatically,” Powell said, adding that "people are really connecting with my message.”

Rhoades carries her own name recognition after 20 years in public service and running a slew of successful local Democratic elections — including that of Omaha Mayor John Ewing, who unseated a longtime Republican last year. Rhoades has raised a fraction of what Cavanaugh and Powell have amassed, but said she's intentionally eschewing campaign ads and instead blanketing the city with door-knocking and personal contact with voters.

Both Powell and Rhoades have leaned heavily into the concern that Democrats' influence in the district will erode if Cavanaugh is elected to Congress.

The winner of Tuesday's primary will head to a highly competitive general election. Trump won the district in 2016, and the retiring Bacon, who has clashed with Trump, has held the House seat for five terms.

Other Tuesday contests

Also on Tuesday's ballot is the race for U.S. Senate, where Republican incumbent Pete Ricketts is seeking a full term, following his 2023 appointment and 2024 special election victory to replace Republican Ben Sasse.

Ricketts faces four Republican primary challengers, but he’s already looking ahead to an expected general election contest against independent candidate Dan Osborn, an industrial mechanic and military veteran who came within 7 points of defeating Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer in her 2024 reelection bid. Running in the Democratic primary are William Forbes and Cindy Burbank.

In the race for governor, incumbent Republican Gov. Jim Pillen faces five primary challengers, while former state Sen. Lynne Walz and frequent candidate Larry Marvin compete for the Democratic nomination. Marvin previously ran for U.S. Senate four times since 2012.

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Peoples reported from New York.

Rather than waning, a national redistricting battle that began 10 months ago has intensified as the November elections draw nearer — inflamed by a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened the federal Voting Rights Act and provided grounds for states to try to eliminate voting districts with large minority populations.

Missouri was the second Republican state after Texas to heed Trump's call last year to redraw congressional districts to help the GOP win additional seats in the midterms. At issue before the Missouri Supreme Court is whether the new districts violate a state constitutional requirement to be compact, and whether they can remain in place for this year's elections despite an initiative petition seeking to force a public referendum.

In South Carolina, the issue facing Republican lawmakers is whether redrawing the state's lone Democratic-held seat could open the door to a clean sweep for Republicans or backfire with additional losses by making more districts competitive for Democrats. State senators must decide whether to allow consideration of a redistricting plan put forth in the House after the legislature's regular work ends Thursday.

Congressional redistricting also is under consideration in Louisiana, where the Supreme Court's recent ruling invalidated a majority-Black district as an illegal racial gerrymander. The state's May 16 congressional primaries already have been postponed. What remains undecided is how many seats Republicans will try to pick up while redrawing the districts.

Alabama also is poised to switch its congressional districts for this year's elections, after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday overturned an order for it to use a map with two largely Black districts.

Republicans think they could gain as many as 14 seats from new House maps enacted so far in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida and Tennessee. Democrats, meanwhile, think they could gain six seats from new maps in California and Utah. The Virginia Supreme Court last week struck down a redistricting effort that could have yielded four more winnable seats for Democrats.

South Carolina weighs political risks of redistricting

A South Carolina House committee is to consider Tuesday whether to send a congressional redistricting plan to the full chamber for debate. The House also appears poised to pass legislation that could delay the June 9 congressional primaries until August to allow time for new districts to be enacted. That comes even as some absentee and overseas military ballots already have been cast.

But any redistricting effort also must clear the Senate, where support is less certain. Two-thirds of senators have to agree before the regular General Assembly session ends Thursday to let the legislature take up redistricting later.

Trump said on social media Monday that he was closely watching the redistricting vote, urging South Carolina senators to “be bold and courageous" and to delay the House primaries so new districts can be drawn.

Although Republicans have a supermajority in the chamber, several senators aren’t sure the proposed map guarantees the GOP will win seat held by long-serving Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn. And they think enough Democratic voters could be pushed into other districts that the plan could backfire, resulting in a 5-2 or even a 4-3 Republican split.

Some also question whether it is fair for Republicans to get all the seats in a state where the Democratic presidential candidate has gotten at least 40% of the vote every election this century, even if Trump is asking for the new map.

Louisiana GOP looks to target one or two seats

State Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, a Republican who oversees the Louisiana Senate committee tasked with redistricting, said his panel plans to vote Tuesday on a U.S. House map, with a full Senate vote expected Thursday.

The committee has several options, including versions that would leave Democrats favored in only one district or none. Kleinpeter said a map eliminating all majority-Black districts would be difficult to hold up in court.

Last Friday, dozens of people urged lawmakers to retain two majority-Black districts during a grueling nine-hour hearing that featured civil rights activists and the only four Black congressmen elected to represent the state since the end of the Reconstruction era.

Missouri map splits Kansas City district

Missouri currently is represented in the U.S. House by six Republicans and two Democrats under a map passed by the Republican-led legislature after the 2020 census. But with Trump's backing, Republican state officials adopted a new map last September that improves their chances of winning an additional seat by targeting a Kansas City district held by longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, who previously was the city's first Black mayor.

The new House map places portions of Kansas City in neighboring Republican districts and stretches the remainder of Cleaver's 5th District far eastward into Republican-heavy rural areas. A state judge in March rejected an assertion that the map violates a constitutional compactness requirement, finding that the new districts on average are more compact — even if the 5th District is not. That was appealed to the state Supreme Court.

A separate case also being argued Tuesday at the state Supreme Court contends the new districts should have been automatically suspended in December when opponents submitted more than 300,000 petition signatures seeking to force a statewide referendum.

But Republican Attorney General Catherine Hanaway and Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins contend the new districts can be suspended only if — and after — Hoskins determines the petition meets constitutional requirements and has enough valid signatures. Hoskins has until Aug. 4, the day of Missouri's primary elections, to make that determination.

A state judge in March agreed with the Republicans' position while also ruling that the plaintiffs lacked grounds to sue and had done so too soon.

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Brook reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Collins from Columbia, South Carolina, and Lieb from Jefferson City, Missouri.

Already, testimony about Altman's turbulent tenure at the ChatGPT maker has become prime fodder for internet jokes. One piece of evidence that has inspired countless memes was a text exchange between Altman and a company officer, Mira Murati, in 2023 during his short-lived ouster as CEO, when Altman asked if things were moving “directionally good or bad” and she wrote back: "Sam this is very bad."

Musk, the world's richest man, is seeking Altman's second ouster from the company leadership as part of a civil lawsuit accusing him of betraying their shared vision for OpenAI. Since its start as a nonprofit funded primarily by Musk, Open AI has evolved into a capitalistic venture now valued at $852 billion.

Even if Musk loses, the trial has invited further scrutiny of Altman’s leadership at a pivotal time for the company and its competition with Musk’s own AI firm and another rival, Anthropic, formed by a group of seven ex-OpenAI leaders. All three firms are moving toward planned initial public offerings that are expected to be some of the largest ever.

A jury that’s already heard about Altman’s character from a parade of his former allies and adversaries will ultimately decide the verdict. But the repercussions could reverberate widely.

“This is not looking good for any of them and I think that that’s a little bit unfortunate for the AI industry at a time when the public perception of AI is quite negative and seems to be getting worse,” said Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute.

Musk warned Altman would be one of America's ‘most hated’ men

The lawsuit accuses Altman and his top lieutenant, Greg Brockman, of double-crossing Musk by straying from the San Francisco company’s founding mission to be an altruistic steward of a revolutionary technology. The lawsuit alleges they shifted into a moneymaking mode behind his back.

Shortly before the trial began, Musk abandoned a bid for damages for himself and instead is seeking an unspecified amount of money to be paid to fund the altruistic efforts of OpenAI’s charitable arm. In a text exchange with Brockman proposing a possible settlement, Musk warned that Brockman and Altman “will be the most hated men in America” as a result of the trial.

While Musk, the head of SpaceX, Tesla and a slew of other companies, was well known by the San Francisco Bay Area jury pool, fewer knew who Altman was before the start of the trial, even if they were familiar with ChatGPT.

As the trial has played out in a federal courtroom in Oakland, California over the last two weeks, jurors have heard from witnesses including OpenAI ex-board members Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley, who spoke about the decision to fire Altman in 2023 before they were themselves ousted from the board of directors when Altman returned to his role.

In video testimony last week, Toner said a starting point for the decision to oust Altman was when OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, a respected AI scientist, reached out to confide some of his own concerns.

“A phrase we used was ‘a pattern of behavior,’ so no one single cause,” Toner said. “The pattern of behavior related to his honesty and candor, his resistance of board oversight.”

Sutskever was instrumental in the unsuccessful attempt to oust Altman but later said he regretted his role in the shakeup. In his own testimony Monday, Sutskever confirmed that he wrote a 2023 memo to OpenAI’s board that characterized Altman as pitting his executives against one another and exhibiting a “consistent pattern of lying” that was causing a loss of trust and productivity.

Sutskever said Altman’s behavior contributed to an environment that was “not conducive” to the company's goals, including its mission to safely build artificial general intelligence. He said he later backtracked and supported Altman’s reinstatement because he was concerned about what would happen to a company he worked hard to create and “cared very much about.”

“I felt that, had I not done this, the company would have been destroyed, and I felt that this was a Hail Mary,” he testified.

OpenAI begins presenting its side

The trial has carried risks also for Musk, who is pursuing an initial public offering this summer for his rocket ship maker, SpaceX, which could make him the world's first trillionaire. Among the witnesses has been Shivon Zilis, a former OpenAI board member who served as a conduit between Musk and OpenAI's leaders and also didn't disclose that Musk was the father of her two young twins, according to trial testimony.

Not until midday Monday, on the third week of the trial, did OpenAI begin calling its own witnesses, starting with Bret Taylor, the current chair of OpenAI’s board who painted a more positive portrait of Altman’s leadership.

“I think Sam has done a great job as CEO,” Taylor said. “He’s been forthright with me and the other board members.”

Syracuse University professor Shubha Ghosh, an expert in business and technology law, said regardless of the outcome of the case, he has doubts about Altman staying on as CEO of OpenAI in the long run.

“A lot this of might depend upon a testimony,” he said. “And I don’t know what he’s going to say or how he’s gonna say it. But even like the best case, movie theater type performance, with all the music playing and the angels descending or whatnot, I don’t see him coming off as a fairly strong leader, especially (since) this case has gone this far."

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O'Brien contributed from Providence, R.I.

A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday morning in Martin County circuit court, just north of Palm Beach County. Prosecutors have issued a subpoena seeking copies of all prescription medication records for the legendary golfer at a Palm Beach pharmacy from the start of the year through the end of March. Defense attorney Doug Duncan said in a court filing last month that Woods has a constitutional right to privacy when it comes to his prescription medications.

If the judge determines the drug records are necessary, Duncan has also asked for a protective order limiting their release only to prosecutors, law enforcement officers, state experts and Woods' defense team.

Woods has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence. A sheriff’s office report said deputies found two pain pills in his pocket, and he showed signs of impairment after his SUV clipped a truck's trailer and rolled onto its side.

Woods was traveling at high speeds on a beachside, residential road on Jupiter Island with a 30 mph (nearly 50 kph) speed limit when his Land Rover caused $5,000 in damage to the truck, according to an incident report. Woods agreed to a Breathalyzer test that showed no signs of alcohol, but refused a urine test, authorities said.

Monique Verdieux, 56, fled to the highway after watching armed men burning houses in her neighborhood. Her family scattered in different directions and she said she's not sure where they are.

“I am now sleeping in the street,” Verdieux said, noting it was unsafe to return.

Gangs have overtaken more than 90% of Port-au-Prince since the assassination of President Jovenal Moïse in July 2021 at his home. Police say they have expanded their activities — including looting, kidnapping, sexual assaults and rape — into the countryside. Haiti has not had a president since the assassination.

In a statement released Monday, the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders announced the evacuation of its hospital in Cité Soleil following intense clashes in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood on Sunday. The organization, known by its French acronym MSF, reported treating over 40 gunshot victims within 12 hours while providing temporary shelter to 800 people fleeing the violence. One of those injured was a security guard who was hit by a stray bullet in the hospital's grounds.

“We managed to evacuate him and his condition is now stable,” said Davina Hayles, MSF’s head of mission in Haiti. “But it is unthinkable that our teams and civilians should become victims of these clashes.”

For the past two weeks, Haitian rum maker Barbancourt and two of the nation's largest bottlers have also warned about deteriorating security conditions near Port-au-Prince's Toussaint Louverture International Airport, where operations are now severely restricted.

In a statement released on Sunday, the companies said that the government's response to the crisis has been “largely insufficient,” and noted that the poor state of the roads leading to the airport makes it difficult for Haitian security forces to patrol the area. The companies are among Haiti’s main fiscal contributors.

“You cannot secure an airport if you allow the roads around it to degrade,” the statement read.

In April, the first foreign troops linked to a U.N. force arrived in Haiti to help quell ongoing violence.

The U.N. Security Council in late September approved a plan to authorize a 5,550-member force, which has not fully arrived in the island nation. An unknown number of troops from Chad have so far been deployed.

A report published earlier this year by the International Organization for Migration found that gang violence has displaced more than 1.4 million people in Haiti, with approximately 200,000 of them now living in crowded and underfunded sites in the nation's capital.

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

Morton died Saturday in Mill Valley, California, the Broncos confirmed through his family.

Morton is one of only four QBs to start the NFL’s biggest game with two organizations. The other three — Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Kurt Warner — all ended up with at least one win. Morton's only Super Bowl ring came as a backup.

His first Super Bowl start was in a turnover-plagued Super Bowl V to end the 1970 season — a 16-13 loss by the Cowboys to the Colts. Morton threw the Cowboys’ first touchdown pass in a title game.

Seven years later, and after an unsuccessful stint with the New York Giants, Morton led the Broncos to a matchup against his former team. He threw for 39 yards and four interceptions before getting pulled for Norris Weese in a 27-10 loss, which marked the first of four straight Super Bowl defeats for Denver.

Known for his strong arm, Morton turned in a college football Hall of Fame career at California, where he played for coach Marv Levy and assistant Bill Walsh. Morton went fifth in the 1965 NFL draft to the Cowboys. Oakland also took him in the 10th round of the AFL draft.

He joined a Cowboys team coached by Tom Landry that had veteran Don Meredith at QB. Morton played in four games that season. He then split time with up-and-coming Roger Staubach in 1970-71, the year the Cowboys went to their first Super Bowl.

The next season, Morton and Staubach also split time — at some points, even alternating every play. But ultimately, it was Staubach who took over the starting job, then led the Cowboys to the Super Bowl and a 24-3 win over Miami. Staubach was the MVP of that game and it wasn’t hard to imagine the end of Morton’s time in Dallas.

The Cowboys dealt their backup to the Giants in 1974 for a package that included a pick Dallas would use to take defensive lineman Randy White, who became a Super Bowl MVP and Pro Football Hall of Famer.

Morton struggled in New York, but enjoyed a renaissance after getting traded to Denver before the 1977 season — the season that put the Broncos on the map.

The veteran QB became the final piece for a Broncos team under a new coach, Red Miller, who inherited a strong defense that would become known as the Orange Crush.

Morton led the Broncos to a 12-2 record and playoff wins over the Steelers and Raiders. He famously spent the week in the hospital with a hip injury before spearheading the win over rival Oakland.

Four years later — and after the Broncos had toyed unsuccessfully with finding his replacement — Morton teamed with a new coach, his former Cowboys teammate Dan Reeves. In 1981, Morton threw for 3,195 yards and 21 TDs, both career highs (he matched his best mark in TDs).

He retired after starting three games in the strike-shortened 1982 season. Denver would trade for John Elway, who supplanted Morton as the franchise’s most famous and revered No. 7.

Morton threw for 27,908 yards over his career with 183 touchdowns and 187 interceptions. Morton ranked in the top 20 all-time in yards passing and TD passes when he retired following the 1982 season.

He was voted into the Broncos’ Ring of Fame in 1988, along with two other standouts from that ’77 team — Haven Moses and Jim Turner.

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AP National Writer Eddie Pells and AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow contributed to this report.

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

The Federal Aviation Administration said it approved Boeing’s proposed fix for the workhorse MD-11s “after extensive review.” And then FedEx started flying them to deliver packages again Sunday.

The UPS plane crashed in November 2025 shortly after taking off once the left engine flew off the wing as the plane rolled down the runway. Three pilots on the plane that was headed for Hawaii loaded with packages and fuel were killed along with 12 more people on the ground near Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport.

Boeing developed a plan to replace a key spherical bearing and step up inspections of the parts that hold the engines to the wings. The National Transportation Safety Board has said that in 2011 Boeing had documented four previous failures of the part that helps secure the MD-11’s engines to the wings on three different planes, but at that point the plane manufacturer “determined it would not result in a safety of flight condition.” These planes were built by McDonnell Douglas, which was later bought by Boeing.

The FAA grounded all MD-11s after the crash because of concerns that the planes might not be safe. Earlier this year, UPS retired its entire fleet of the aircraft, which made up about 9% of its total fleet. But FedEx had remained committed to getting them back in the air even though they only account for about 4% of its fleet. The other package hauler that used MD-11s, Western Global Airlines, has not commented publicly since the crash and didn't respond to an email about the FAA's decision.

FedEx said in a statement that it worked closely with Boeing, the FAA and its own experts to inspect and repair its planes, and the government certified that it had complied with Boeing's recommendations. It owns 46 of these planes though even before the crash it had been storing more than two dozen of them.

“Safety is our highest priority at FedEx,” the company said.

But FedEx does plan to eventually retire its MD-11s and replace them with more efficient models. They had announced that long-term plan even before the crash.

Aviation lawyers who are representing some of the families that have sued over the Louisville crash said they hope the FAA made sure these planes will be safe.

“We hope the FAA does a thorough job of investigating the fixes before the MD-11 fleet is allowed to return to flight,” lawyer Bradley Cosgrove said.

But aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said he’s surprised it took this long to get these planes flying again given how quickly the NTSB identified key concerns that likely contributed to the engine falling off. The NTSB is planning two days of investigative hearings on the UPS crash next week to delve deeper into what happened.

“I’m confident that the solution will work, and I would like to see the MD-11s back up in the air. It will be a safe airplane with regards to its engines after these corrective actions are made,” said Guzzetti, who used to investigate crashes for both the NTSB and FAA.

Some experts speculated after the crash that the MD-11s might never fly again if the repair proved to be more expensive that it was worth in these older planes. But Boeing found a way to address the safety concerns with just replacing the bearing and stepping up inspections.

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Associated Press writer Jack Dura contributed to this report from Bismarck, North Dakota.

Alerts

A Freeze Warning will go into effect at midnight and remain in effect until 8 a.m. Tuesday for Sanilac, Lapeer, St. Clair, and Macomb counties, where temperatures could drop to 27 degrees.

A Frost Advisory will blanket the remainder of Southeast Michigan, including Genesee, Livingston, Oakland, Washtenaw, Wayne, Lenawee, and Monroe counties during the same time span.

The coldest temperatures are expected north and west of Detroit.

Even if your thermometer reads 35 or 36 degrees, frost can still form on grass, rooftops, decks, and vehicles.

That is because surfaces cool more quickly than the air several feet above the ground.

Under clear skies and light winds, heat escapes rapidly from the ground overnight through a process called radiational cooling.

Cold air also sinks and settles into lower spots, allowing temperatures near the surface to briefly reach freezing while official air temperatures remain a few degrees warmer.

That means the temperature at ground level where plants are located can be colder than the temperature reported by a standard thermometer mounted several feet above the surface.

Sensitive plants and vegetation could be damaged or killed by the cold.

How to protect plants

Gardeners are encouraged to protect tender plants overnight by covering them with lightweight fabric sheets, blankets or frost cloths.

Bringing potted plants indoors or into a garage can also help prevent damage. Experts recommend avoiding plastic coverings directly on plants because plastic can trap moisture and transfer cold temperatures to leaves.

Flowers, vegetables, herbs and newly planted annuals are especially vulnerable this time of year.

Tomatoes, peppers, basil, petunias and other warm season plants are among those most sensitive to freezing temperatures.

The chilly pattern will not last long.

Clouds increase Tuesday morning, followed by scattered showers developing during the afternoon.

Temperatures rebound into the upper 50s and lower 60s with a gusty south breeze developing during the day.

Rain becomes more widespread Tuesday evening and Tuesday night. A few thunderstorms and rumbles of thunder are also possible overnight as a stronger weather system moves through the Great Lakes.

Severe weather is not expected, but brief downpours, gusty winds and small hail cannot be ruled out in a few stronger storms Tuesday night.

Behind the system, cooler air returns Wednesday with highs mainly in the 50s to around 60 degrees and gusty west winds.

Sunshine and milder weather return later in the week, with temperatures climbing into the 60s Thursday and around 70 degrees Friday.

This weekend

By the weekend, Southeast Michigan will get a taste of early summer.

Temperatures are expected to surge into the upper 70s and lower 80s Saturday through Monday, although there will be occasional chances for showers during the weekend.

That includes Flower Day on Sunday at Eastern Market in Detroit, one of the city’s most beloved spring traditions.

Thousands of people are expected to visit the market to shop for flowers, plants, herbs and garden supplies as growers from across the region fill the sheds with color.

Right now, the forecast calls for warm temperatures near 80 degrees Sunday with a chance of scattered showers.

While it may not be a completely dry weekend, it will feel dramatically different compared to the frosty start to the week.

For now, though, gardeners across Southeast Michigan will want to focus on protecting sensitive plants from one more cold Michigan night.

Remember to share your weather and garden photos with Local 4 at MIPics.

The Great Lakes Water Authority said emergency crews cut through the damaged pipe about 3:15 a.m. and removed it around 4 a.m.

Crews laid a gravel foundation and craned a replacement segment into River Woods Park about 11:15 a.m.

Workers then began welding the steel joints to connect the new section to the existing line.

Once welding is complete, the system must be filled, pressure-tested, and disinfected before normal operations can resume. GLWA said installation was targeted to be finished Monday night.

The break has forced residents in Orion Township, the village of Lake Orion, Rochester Hills, and Auburn Hills to limit water use to hydration and basic sanitation.

GLWA urged people not to run dishwashers or washing machines and to avoid lawn watering during the emergency.

In Lake Orion, residents lined up throughout the day at Atwater Park to pick up cases of bottled water as volunteers helped staff distribution sites.

“No showers, no laundry, doing dishes in a bucket,” said Amanda Prince, a Lake Orion resident, describing how her household is coping.

“It’s been crazy. I have pets, I have just everything,” said Delaney Tunney, also of Lake Orion. “I was actually supposed to do laundry yesterday, and I can’t because now the laundromats around here aren’t open.”

GLWA deployed three water trucks to distribute one-gallon containers of water daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Wildwood Amphitheater in Orion Township, the Auburn Hills Department of Public Works, and Atwater Park in Lake Orion.

On Sunday, the trucks distributed about 7,000 gallons of water across the three locations, GLWA said.

Sophia Bahu, one of the volunteers helping with distribution, said community members wanted to step up as the disruptions spread.

“We see how everybody’s affected by this water crisis, and we want to be out here, make sure that we help everybody out and do our part as members of the community,” Bahu said.

The ripple effects have reached agencies beyond the immediate service area.

HOPE Shelters, the only emergency shelter for adults in Oakland County, said some meal support has been interrupted because community groups and churches that typically provide daily meals have been constrained by the water restrictions.

“It started with tonight, but we started getting the calls yesterday, and people are saying we just can’t do it right now,” said Elizabeth Kelly, interim executive director of HOPE Shelters. “They tend to bring cases of water with them and things like this, none of that’s available.”

The Pontiac-based shelter is not directly affected by the water main break, but it relies on outside partners to keep meals going.

Kelly said the shelter has emergency food supplies but is seeking additional organizations to host meals.

Organizations can sign up to host a meal on the HOPE Shelters website.

“I’ll be making other calls around, too, to some of our food partners, the food distributors, to see what we can have,” Kelly said, noting that some food sources include restaurants in the impacted area.

Orion Township posted another update Monday evening.

Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett said a new temporary business restriction order will ease some limits, allowing some businesses, including restaurants, to open immediately.

Other businesses, including car washes, must remain closed, and restrictions could change if conditions worsen, he said.

Barnett said the Orion Township water tower was holding steady at about 30 feet.

Orion Township officials and GLWA are scheduled to hold another press conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Mathers pleaded no contest on Monday (May 11) in the 42-2 District Court in New Baltimore.

The incident occurred on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, when she was driving a white Range Rover and struck a silver Dodge Ram pickup truck parked on a street.

Police said the truck was pushed approximately 50 feet from where it was parked.

It is alleged that Mathers was impaired at the time of the crash.

Mathers was charged with:

• Operating – impaired, a 93-day misdemeanor
• Failure to stop after a collision is a 90-day misdemeanor

After the arraignment, Mathers immediately pleaded no contest to operating while impaired and to failing to report an accident.

Mathers is scheduled for a sentencing hearing at the 42-2 District Court on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at 9 a.m.

The tornado ripped a wall from the structure and caused additional damage throughout the facility and Veterans Memorial Park.

While a temporary wall has been installed to secure the building, officials said the arena cannot be restored to a usable condition in time for next season.

The ice arena had already ended its 2025-26 season early due to a mechanical issue.

It sits adjacent to a swimming pool that is also undergoing repairs.

City officials said they are working to reopen the pool this summer, but it will not be ready for Memorial Day weekend.

Swim lesson reservations are not being accepted at this time.

Residents are encouraged to use the outdoor pools at Fuller Park and Buhr Park to start their summer swimming season.

Veterans Memorial Park remains closed as storm recovery continues.

However, officials said some areas are expected to reopen by Friday, May 15, including the playground, pop-up dog park, skatepark, and ballfields No. 3 and No. 5.

Temporary closures within the park may continue as crews complete fencing and lighting repairs near remaining closed ballfields, according to the city.

Updates on park amenities will be posted on the city’s parks and recreation webpage and social media channels.

Update: Life without parole for man who shot his ex-girlfriend outside Ferndale workplace

Shooting details

The shooting happened around 8:40 a.m. Saturday, May 20, outside the Legend Motors of Ferndale dealership near 8 Mile Road and Wyoming Avenue in Royal Oak Township.

Officials said a 40-year-old Sterling Heights woman who works at the dealership was followed there on Saturday by her ex-boyfriend, Gregory Keyier-Deniro Davis, 43, of Oak Park.

Davis used his car to block the woman’s vehicle so she couldn’t drive away, according to authorities. When she got out to try to run for help, Davis shot her with a 12-gauge shotgun, police said.

He initially shot her while she was running away, and then he shot her again from close range, according to officials.

Police said their 10-year-old child was in the woman’s passenger seat and witnessed the shooting.

After he shot the woman, Davis is accused of pointing the gun and shooting at others in the area.

He eventually surrendered himself to police later in the day. He’s being held at the Oakland County Jail.

Officials said the shotgun had been taken from someone else.

Charges

On Tuesday, Davis was charged with:

• First-degree premeditated murder -- maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
• Assault with intent to murder -- maximum penalty of life in prison.
• Felon in possession of a firearm -- five-year felony.
• Felonious assault -- four-year felony.
• Four felony firearm second offenses -- each count is a five-year felony.

“This is a horrific and tragic incident,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said. “Every month, an average of 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner in this country. This event occurred in a place of business where other employees were just a few feet away.”

Davis was arraigned at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday at 45th District Court in Oak Park.

Davis was convicted in the May 2023 shooting that occurred outside Legend Motors of Ferndale, where the victim worked.

Prosecutors said Davis used his vehicle to block her car in the dealership parking lot, preventing her from leaving before shooting her at point-blank range.

Authorities said the couple’s 10-year-old child was in the passenger seat at the time of the shooting and witnessed the incident.

Davis turned himself in later the same day, according to investigators.

Trump, who turns 80 next month and was the oldest person elected U.S. president, will see his doctors at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on May 26, the White House said in a brief statement Monday evening.

The president's health has been the subject of tremendous scrutiny, so much so that Trump said he regretted getting imaging on his heart and abdomen last year because it raised public questions about his health.

Trump — who has been frequently critical of former President Joe Biden for age-related health and fitness issues — has recently remarked how good he feels despite his years. Earlier Monday, Trump that he feels the same as he did 50 years ago. “I feel literally the same,” he said at an Oval Office event. “I don’t know why. It’s not because I eat the best foods.”

Last week, he joked about his exercise regimen, saying that he works out “like about one minute a day, max.”

Presidents have wide discretion over what health information they choose to release to the public. Trump's doctor reported after an annual physical exam in April 2025 that the president was “fully fit” to serve as commander in chief.

His physician, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, said Trump was 20 pounds lighter since a 2020 checkup that showed him bordering on obesity.

Months after the visit reported last April, Trump had a checkup after noticing what the White House described as “mild swelling” in his lower legs. Tests by the White House medical unit found that Trump had chronic venous insufficiency, a condition common in older adults that causes blood to pool in his veins.

At the time, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also addressed bruising on the back of Trump's hands that has sometimes been covered by makeup. Leavitt said it was the result of irritation from frequent handshaking and aspirin use. Trump takes aspirin to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Trump went on to have an October medical exam that the White House called a “semiannual physical,” where he also got his yearly flu shot and a COVID-19 booster vaccine. He later told The Wall Street Journal that he underwent advanced imaging on his heart and abdomen in October as preventive screening.

In his first term, Trump had at least four medical exams in office, aside from a stay at Walter Reed when he got COVID-19 in October 2020.

His upcoming dental evaluation follows two other recent visits to a local dentist near his estate in Florida, where Trump often spends his weekends.

The checkup is scheduled to take place about 10 days after Trump is expected to return from a summit in Beijing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The measure passed 93-0 in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament, reflecting widespread support for punishing those found responsible for what was the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. The remaining 27 lawmakers were absent or abstained from voting.

Rights groups have criticized the measure, saying it makes the death penalty too easy to impose while also doing away with procedures safeguarding the right to a fair trial. Defendants can appeal their sentences but the appeals have to be heard by a separate, special appeals court rather than regular appeals courts.

Because the bill empowers a panel of judges to hand down the death penalty by a majority vote — and requires the trials to be conducted in a livestreamed Jerusalem courtroom — it has drawn comparisons to the 1962 trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, which was broadcast live on television.

Eichmann was executed by hanging, the last time the death penalty was carried out in Israel, though technically capital punishment remains on the books for acts of genocide, espionage during wartime and certain terror offenses.

Opponents of the bill also say that livestreaming the proceedings before guilt is established risks turning the trials into a spectacle. They have raised questions about the reliability of the evidence that may be presented, saying it could have been extracted by harsh interrogation methods.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 as hostages. Israel’s ensuing blistering offensive on Gaza has killed over 72,628 Palestinians, including at least 846 killed since a ceasefire took hold last October.

That's according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children. The figures by the ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.

Israeli forces also killed hundreds of militants in battles in the coastal enclave, and took an unknown number of suspects into Israeli custody where they now await trial.

Simcha Rothman, one of the bill’s sponsors who is part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's ruling coalition, said the overwhelming consensus for the bill in the Knesset shows Israeli lawmakers can come together “around a common mission.”

Several Israeli rights groups — including Hamoked, Adalah and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel — said on Monday that while “justice for the victims of October 7 is a legitimate and urgent imperative,” any accountability for the crimes "must be pursued through a process which includes rather than abandons the principles of justice.”

The bill is separate from a law passed in March that approved the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis, a measure harshly condemned by the international community and rights groups as discriminatory and inhumane.

That law applies to future cases and is not retroactive so it could not apply to the October 2023 suspects.

According to the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, the country still holds about 1,300 Palestinians from Gaza without charge in its detention facilities. At least 7,000 Palestinians from Gaza had been held in Israeli custody since October 2023, and 5,000 of them were later released.

The 1,300 number does not include those held on suspicion of attacking Israel on Oct. 7 or involvement in holding the hostages.

Spurs, just above the drop zone, moved two points clear of relegation rival West Ham.

Tottenham went ahead in the 50th minute on Mathys Tels' strike.

However, Tels’ foul on Ethan Ampadu with 15 minutes left led to a Leeds penalty that was converted by Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Spurs takes on Chelsea away and Everton at home in their last two games, while West Ham is away at Newcastle before facing Leeds at home on the final day of the season.

One of the two teams will join the already relegated Burnley and Wolves in next season’s Championship.

Spurs went into the game on a high after two consecutive victories, but though they dominated the first half in terms of possession and shots on goal, they didn’t break the deadlock until five minutes into the second half.

Pedro Porro’s corner kick was cleared to an unmarked Tels, who coolly struck into the far corner of the net from 20 meters out. It was the center forward’s first goal since Jan. 7.

Tels turned villain 24 minutes later when his high foot was adjudged to have made contact with Ethan Ampadu’s head.

The referee pointed to the spot and Calvert-Lewin, who was denied a first-half penalty after a video review, confidently dispatched the spot kick.

In an edgy last few moments and a remarkable 15 minutes of added time there were no more goals. Spurs will content themselves that their destiny remains in their hands.

“We played a good game but there was big pressure," Tottenham coach Roberto De Zerbi said. “We didn’t play calmly. We wanted to win immediately without passes. When you are fighting for relegation you can’t play every game calmly.

“Leeds played a good game and we hope they play like that against West Ham in the next game.”

Spurs have taken eight out of a possible 12 points since De Zerbi’s debut defeat at Sunderland on April 12.

“We deserve to stay up," he said. “We will fight until the end. . . . Even if we had won today it wouldn’t have been finished yet.”

Hull secures playoff spot

Hull will play Southampton or Middlesbrough in the Championship playoff final after second half goals from Mo Belloumi and Joe Gelhardt gave it a 2-0 win over Millwall in London.

Belloumi’s 64th-minute strike with his left foot broke the deadlock in the second game of the two-leg affair and Gelhardt made sure with a low shot that squirmed past the Millwall goalkeeper.

The win means Hull have one match to secure a place in the Premier League for the first time since it was relegated in 2017.

Southampton and Middlesbrough drew the first leg 0-0 on Saturday and will play their return tie on Tuesday.

The playoff final is set for Wembley on May 23.

___

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

Workers were seen inspecting the site of the proposed arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery with tools and equipment. Part of the site was fenced off and pink flags typically used as survey markings were planted in the grass.

The work on the site was announced in a court filing Thursday in a federal lawsuit challenging the proposed arch. It consists of "surveys and geotechnical testing which are being used to generate information that will assist Defendant National Park Service (NPS) in completing procedural prerequisites” that are part of the decision-making process.

The 250-foot-tall (76-meter) proposed arch is one of several projects the Republican president is pursuing to leave his lasting imprint on Washington. With the potential to change the city's sightline, it has already sparked opposition, including through the lawsuit filed by a group of veterans and a historian.

The arch design, proposed by Trump, has already gotten early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were appointed by Trump.

The proposed monument rises from the four lions guarding its base to a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure on top, which would be flanked by two eagles — all gilded. The phrases “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” would be inscribed in gold lettering atop either side of the monument.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the Public Citizen Litigation Group representing the four plaintiffs.

The group of veterans and a historian have sued in federal court to block construction on the grounds that the arch would disrupt the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery, among other reasons.

The court filing on behalf of the Trump administration said the National Park Service had not issued a final agency action authorizing construction of an arch and should it do so, it would provide at least 14 days notice before any work could begin.

The document said the plaintiffs had been notified of the survey work beforehand and said the survey work did not constitute "construction, or a demolition in preparation for construction, of an arch."

Nicolas Sansone, a lawyer with the Public Citizen Litigation Group that brought the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs, said the government taking the preparatory steps for the construction of the arch is a confirmation that it intends to move forward. "Unless and until Congress has passed a law authorizing the arch, though, the project is unlawful, and the government has no valid basis for pursuing it,” Sansone added.

Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana, sergeants in the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, filed the lawsuit in Miami federal court earlier this month against Artists Equity, a film production company owned by Affleck and Damon. Court filings don't say how much the officers are suing for, but the civil complaint says they're seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorney fees, as well as a public retraction and correction.

“The Rip” features Affleck and Damon as South Florida police officers who find millions of dollars inside a house. Parts of the movie were inspired by a real 2016 case, where police found over $21 million linked to a suspected marijuana trafficker in a Miami Lakes home.

Affleck and Damon have said while promoting the film that the story is loosely based on accounts from Miami-Dade Police Capt. Chris Casiano, who served as a technical advisor on the film. Damon told The Associated Press during a January interview that he and Affleck spent time with Casiano and other narcotics officers in preparation for the film.

“We really wanted to kind of understand what those dynamics were like,” Damon said. “I mean, these units are very tight because they’re really putting their lives in each other’s hands, and they’re doing something that’s very dangerous.”

An attorney for Artists Equity declined to comment when reached Monday by the AP. But in a March 19 response to the plaintiffs' demand letter, Leita Walker, an attorney for Artists Equity, wrote that the film does not purport to tell the true story of that incident or portray real people, which had been stated by a disclaimer in the film's credits.

Although Smith and Santana aren't named in the film and weren't involved in its production, the lawsuit claims that Santana was serving as the lead detective assigned to the real case, and Smith was the sergeant who supervised the investigative team. The film's inclusion of real details about the case gives the impression that the characters are based on the plaintiffs, the suit said.

This, the lawsuit claims, has given friends, family members and colleagues the impression that the plaintiffs committed the criminal acts that appear in the film, which include (SPOILER ALERT) conspiring to steal seized drug money, murdering a supervising officer, communicating with cartel members, committing arson in a residential neighborhood, endangering the lives of civilians, repeatedly violating core law-enforcement protocols and executing a federal agent rather than making an arrest.

Walker wrote in March that the plaintiffs haven't even identified which particular character is supposed to be based on Smith or Santana, so even if “The Rip” was actually about a real-life narcotics team, there's no way to connect any of the characters to the plaintiffs.

“The Rip,” directed by Joe Carnahan, debuted in January on Netflix. It's currently rated 78% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

_____

Associated Press video journalist Brooke Lefferts in New York contributed.

Mohammed Asasa said his family had coordinated the burial of his 80-year-old father, Hussein, with the Israeli military. He said the burial took place in a cemetery belonging to his village, also called Asasa, where the family said generations have been buried in clearly marked graves.

The incident last Friday illustrates the influence extremist settlers have gained during the past four years of Israel’s current government and the military’s inability or unwillingness to halt settler violence and land seizures.

Asasa said after the funeral, armed men from the nearby settlement of Sa-Nur arrived and ordered the family to exhume the body, claiming the land belonged to the settlement, less than half a kilometer away.

“While we were receiving condolences at home, some young men from the village came running and told us that the settlers were digging at the grave we had just buried at the cemetery.” he said. “When we reached the cemetery we found it filled with settlers and the army surrounded by them.”

He said the villagers decided to exhume the remains themselves after settlers threatened to dig up the grave with a bulldozer. Video showed them carrying the body from the cemetery with military escorts, with men who appeared to be settlers further uphill.

“This had never happened before,” he said. “You have no other choice.”

The Israeli military said forces responded to reports of clashes at the site and confiscated settlers’ digging tools. It said the army did not force the family to move the remains, but protected them as they relocated the body to a nearby cemetery. It did not say whether anyone was arrested.

Israel evacuated Sa-Nur in 2005, but settlers opposed to that withdrawal have spent years trying to reestablish it as an outpost. Israel reauthorized it in 2025 and reestablished it last month with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting attended by multiple government ministers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s government is dominated by settler leaders and their allies.

The Palestinians and most of the international community consider all settlements in the occupied West Bank to be illegal and obstacles to peace, categorizations Israel disputes.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has developed strong ties with settler representatives, in contrast to his predecessors.

Asasa said the sequence of events left him confused about what will happen with funerals in the future. “Are we going to go around the neighboring villages asking for a place to bury them?” he asked.

Palestinian man is shot and killed near a school

Separately, a Palestinian man that Israeli police said was armed with a rifle was shot and killed on Monday by Israeli forces near a school for refugees on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

Israeli police said the man was shot after exiting his car with a military-style rifle. The Ramallah-based Palestinian Health Ministry identified him as Ayman Al-Hashlamoun, a 30-year-old from Kufr Aqab on Jerusalem’s northern outskirts. They said his body remained in Israeli custody.

The shooting, which took place outside a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Kufr Aqab, near the Qalandia refugee camp, came amid broader violence in the occupied West Bank as Israel authorizes new settlements and revises the administrative measures governing areas under its control.

As of May 3, at least 45 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The CSC in a statement said the arbitrator affirmed the commission's decision to reject third-party NIL agreements between Nebraska's multimedia rights (MMR) partner, Playfly, and the players.

At issue was whether Nebraska's MMR partner would be considered an “associated entity" — deals from which are subject to CSC scrutiny.

With that decided, the CSC said the arbitrator rejected the deals because:

— They lacked what the CSC calls a “valid business purpose” because they did not include goods or services offered to the general public for profit.

— Playfly violated a rule against “warehousing” NIL rights — i.e., paying for the rights to use for some purpose later instead of employing them right away.

Speaking to media at the Atlantic Coast Conference meetings in Florida, the CSC's CEO, Bryan Seeley, said he didn't consider the deal to be a precedent.

“Even if it’s not precedential, the fact is it’s influential, and it’s influential in people’s minds about how they think about enforcement,” he said. "So, for me, it was a good day.”

The CSC said it would release the arbitrator's full decision later.

Some observers are curious to see whether the university or the state will sue over the decision, something the CSC was hoping to avoid when it sent out a “participation agreement” for schools to sign that forbid them from suing the commission.

Many schools have been reluctant to sign the agreement, arguing they’re not allowed under their state laws to sign away their ability to take legal action.

“It’s whether their state attorney general challenges it in court and what the outcome of that is, I think that is the true test of whether this (CSC) is a legitimate governing body,” sports attorney Paia LaPalombara told The Associated Press in an interview last week in discussing the Nebraska case.

In acknowledging the decision, Nebraska AD Troy Dannen said the school would continue to operate under the CSC process “while monitoring changes in the collegiate landscape.”

“We fully support all our student-athletes maximizing the value of their Name, Image and Likeness during their time at the University of Nebraska,” he said.

Officials from the Nebraska attorney general's office did not immediately respond to emails from the AP.

Seeley still thinks there are ways for the Nebraska players to get paid within the rules.

“I don’t believe litigation is necessary for these student-athletes to get money for their NIL,” he said. "I cannot control what happens, though, outside of what we do.”

In a separate case pending in the federal court that approved NIL payments via the House settlement, attorneys are arguing that MMR partners should not be considered “associated entities.” A hearing in that case is scheduled for May 27.

___

AP Sports Writer Mark Long in Amelia Island, Florida, contributed to this report.

But Paris is expected to use the two-day Africa Forward Summit, which it is co-hosting, to push a new Africa policy that focuses more on English-speaking countries and offers what it calls a “partnership of equals." Its new defense agreement with Kenya marks the direction it hopes to go.

France has long maintained a policy of economic, political and military sway over its former colonies dubbed Françafrique, which included keeping thousands of troops in the region. But after years of criticism from leaders and opposition parties in those countries over what they described as a demeaning and heavy-handed approach, France has been forced to withdraw most of those troops.

The summit — France's first in an English-speaking African country — will be attended by more than 30 heads of state and government, including from Francophone countries. On his arrival Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron said France may disagree with West African governments but “never disagrees with the people.”

Kenya’s newly ratified defense agreement with France has been criticized by civil society groups for granting too much immunity from local law to French troops, a sensitive issue in a country where a similar agreement with the United Kingdom has left a trail of hard-to-prosecute crimes against locals.

At a time when many African nations, particularly in the Sahel region, are reducing or expelling foreign military presences in what they say is a quest to reclaim their sovereignty, Kenya is hosting a growing international military presence.

The Kenya-France Defense Cooperation Agreement was signed on Oct. 29, 2025, by Kenya’s Defense Minister Soipan Tuya and French Ambassador to Kenya Arnaud Suquet and ratified by parliament on April 8. The same month, it also ratified defense agreements with countries including the Czech Republic, China and Italy.

While defending the defense agreements, parliament defense committee chair Nelson Koech said Kenya's treaties with advanced militaries provide training and intelligence-sharing opportunities that will make its defense stronger.

Koech said the agreements were not a “surrender of sovereignty,” adding that newer agreements guarantee that foreign troops will be tried in Kenya in the event of serious crimes such as murder.

A month ahead of the summit, a contingent of around 800 French troops arrived in Kenya aboard a navy ship.

The agreement grants visiting French forces primary jurisdiction over their personnel for on-duty offenses, echoing broad legal protections in past UK pacts that shielded British soldiers from Kenyan courts amid scandals like the 2012 murder of a young woman named Agnes Wanjiru and the deadly 2021 Lolldaiga ranch fire.

A British soldier is due to be extradited after Kenyan courts found him answerable for the 2012 death of Wanjiru, who was last seen alive in his company near the British troops’ training grounds in Nanyuki, central Kenya.

Luke Payne left his residence in the 19200 block of Woodbine Street without permission on Sunday (May 10) without permission and did not return home.

He was last seen wearing a black and gray ‘Nike’ shirt, red and white ‘Adidas’ pants, and rainbow ‘Crocs.’

Anyone with information should contact the Detroit Police Department’s 8th Precinct at 313-596-5840 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak Up.

All tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous. Click here to submit a tip online.

READ: More Missing in Michigan coverage

Rihyona Moore left his residence in the 19200 block of Kingsville Street on Sunday (May 10) and did not return home.

She was last seen wearing a pink bonnet, gray tank top, purple leggings, and pink ‘Crocs.’

Anyone with information should contact the Detroit Police Department’s 9th Precinct at 313-596-5940 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak Up.

All tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous. Click here to submit a tip online.

READ: More Missing in Michigan coverage

Hours after announcing Game 5 between the Frost and Victoire would not be played on time, the league announced it was rescheduled for Tuesday night in Laval, Quebec.

Two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press the illness is limited to Montreal. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the PWHL is not revealing that information.

The PWHL said medical assessment has determined that the symptoms are not consistent with hantavirus.

The rodent-borne disease has drawn attention in recent days after several Canadians were identified as contacts linked to a deadly outbreak aboard an Antarctic cruise ship, though no Canadian cases have been confirmed.

“The decision was made following consultation with medical personnel and in accordance with the league’s commitment to the health and wellbeing of players, fans, staff and all those involved in the competition,” the PWHL said in its initial news release.

The winner will face the Ottawa Charge in the Walter Cup Final after they defeated the Boston Fleet in the other semifinal matchup. Minnesota won the title in each of the league’s first two years of existence and is going for a three-peat.

The regular-season champion Victoire and third-seeded Frost have alternated wins, splitting each of their two games at home, including Montreal's 1-0 triple-overtime win in Game 2. The Frost forced Game 5 with a 3-1 win at Minnesota on Friday night.

The teams flew together by charter to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4 but traveled back to Montreal separately on Saturday.

The PWHL said earlier in the day that Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-five final at Ottawa were set for May 18 and May 20.

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AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

Passengers began flying home aboard military and government planes Sunday after the MV Hondius anchored in the Canary Islands. Personnel in full-body protective gear and breathing masks escorted the travelers from ship to shore in Tenerife, an effort that concluded Monday.

“If they stayed longer on the ship, the situation could have been difficult,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization. He said citizens of the countries passengers are returning to should know “there is nothing to fear, the risk is low, this is not another COVID.”

Three cruise ship passengers have died, and six people with confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus are being quarantined, according to the WHO. The lab results of the American who tested positive were inconclusive, WHO spokesperson Sarah Tyler said Monday.

Health authorities say it's the first hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. While there is no cure or vaccine for hantavirus, the WHO says early detection and treatment improves survival rates.

The ship's captain, Jan Dobrogowski, issued a video message Monday praising passengers and crew for their courage and perseverance, and he called for respect for their privacy.

“I could not imagine sailing through these circumstances with a better group of people, guests and crew alike,” he said.

New cases in France, United States

The French woman who tested positive for the hantavirus was in intensive care in stable condition at a Paris hospital, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Monday. He said four French passengers who returned Sunday tested negative but remained in isolation at the same hospital.

One of 18 evacuated passengers flown to the U.S. also tested positive for the hantavirus but was not showing symptoms, while another had mild symptoms, U.S. health officials said.

After landing early Monday, 16 American passengers — one of them a British-U.S. dual citizen — were taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which has a federally funded quarantine facility and a biocontainment unit for treating people with highly infectious diseases. They were being assessed to determine if they had close contact with any symptomatic people and their risk levels for spreading the virus.

An American who tested positive for hantavirus on the cruise ship was taken to the Omaha campus' biocontainment unit and will be tested again. The passenger “is doing well and not having symptoms at this time,” said Dr. Angela Hewlett, the unit's medical director.

The others taken to Nebraska will be monitored in quarantine for several days. They arrived “in good shape, good spirits,” said Dr. Michael Wadman, the quarantine unit's medical director.

Two additional American passengers, a couple, arrived Monday at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. One of them had mild symptoms and will be tested for hantavirus.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean, just because someone has symptoms, that they’re going to end up having this illness,” said Dr. Brendan Jackson of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some public health experts have accused the U.S. government of being slow to respond to the hantavirus outbreak. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. rejected the notion that cuts at his agency had left the U.S. less prepared.

“We have this under control," Kennedy said Monday, “and we’re not worried about it.”

WHO recommends close monitoring of former passengers

Oceanwide Expeditions, which owns and operates the cruise ship, said 25 crew and two medical professionals remained on board Monday as the Hondius departed the Canary Islands. It was expected to arrive in Rotterdam on Sunday.

The Hondius left the southern Argentine port of Ushuaia on April 1 and a Dutch passenger died on board April 11. It wasn’t until early May that the WHO said it was reacting to a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the ship, which by that time was off the West African island nation of Cape Verde.

South African health authorities said on Monday that the condition of a British man admitted to a hospital in Johannesburg and being treated for hantavirus was gradually improving. He was evacuated from the ship on April 27 after becoming ill.

The Dutch couple who presented the first two cases had traveled through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay before boarding the ship, the WHO said. They visited sites where the species of rat known to carry Andes virus was present.

Health officials say risk to public is low

Hantavirus usually spreads from rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms — which can include fever, chills and muscle aches — usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.

Tedros of the WHO advised that returning passengers should stay in quarantine, either in their homes or in other facilities, for 42 days. He added that WHO cannot enforce its guidance, and that different countries may handle monitoring of passengers without symptoms in different ways.

Numerous countries have said their people will be quarantined or hospitalized for observation.

___

This story has been corrected to show that it is the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, not the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

___

Corder reported from the Hague, Netherlands. AP journalists Jamey Keaten in Geneva; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Mike Stobbe in New York; Collin Binkley in Washington and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed.

In a lawsuit filed Monday, The Cultural Landscape Foundation said the administration's moves to repaint the bottom of the Reflecting Pool blue without undergoing relevant reviews ran afoul to federal preservation laws governing historic sites. The group argued that the changes at the Reflecting Pool are part of President Donald Trump's broader effort to push through dramatic renovations in Washington without proper reviews and undermine the tone of the area.

"The design intent, to create a reflective surface that is subordinate, is fundamental to the solemn and hallowed visual and spatial connection between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial,” said Charles A. Birnbaum, the group's president and CEO, said in a statement. “A blue-tinted basin is more appropriate to a resort or theme park.”

Trump has taken a personal interest in the project, calling the area “filthy” before workers repainted the Reflecting Pool a color he has called “American flag blue.” His motorcade was driven over a drained and repainted Reflecting Pool last week to give him a chance for a firsthand review of the project.

Speaking at a Rose Garden event Monday evening, Trump said the pool would be reopened “sometime next week, week after.” He did not mention the lawsuit in his remarks but said the end result would be beautiful and rebuffed criticism that it was just a new paint job. “This is not paint," he said. "This is highly sophisticated stuff.”

The suit was filed against the Interior Department and the National Park Service, which oversee much of the renovations underway in Washington. Katie Martin, an Interior Department spokeswoman, said in a statement that Trump “has done more to make our nation’s capital a shining beacon than any other president in the history of this country.”

“The Department is proud of the work being carried out by our Park Service to ensure this magical spot can be enjoyed for not only our 250th, but for many generations to come,” she said.

Over the past year, Trump has bulldozed the East Wing to make way for a ballroom. His name was added to the facades of the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Kennedy Center, which he plans to close for a two-year renovation. His face adorns a banner at the Department of Justice’s headquarters, among others. He is pushing for a triumphal arch near Arlington Cemetery and has closed parks, including Lafayette Square across from the White House, for a rehab.

Many of those projects are also subject to litigation.

The president cannot suspend the federal tax on his own. Congress would have to approve the move.

Lawmakers from both parties have pushed for a gas-tax suspension, saying it would provide much-needed relief for families and businesses that rely on their cars and trucks to get to work and school and run everyday errands.

As of Monday, the average national gas price was $4.52 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club, 50% higher than the average price of just under $3 a gallon before Trump began the war against Iran.

What the gas tax supports

The federal tax is currently set at 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel fuel, an amount that does not include state taxes, which often are higher. The tax provides more than $23 billion per year in revenue for federal highway and public transit programs.

Asked by reporters at the White House how long the tax should be suspended, Trump said, “Until it’s appropriate.” While the tax is only a small percentage of the price of gas, “it’s still money,” Trump said.

As gas prices have spiked, the Trump administration has released millions of barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve and temporarily lifted sanctions on some Russian and Iranian oil shipments already at sea. The U.S. is negotiating with countries reliant on Middle East crude to join a coalition to police the Strait of Hormuz, where about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil normally flows.

Trump needs Congress — and they're beginning to react

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said on social media Monday that he will introduce legislation to suspend the gas tax. Democrats have previously sponsored similar legislation. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., also said in a post on X that she will introduce a bill “to suspend the federal gas tax in light of Trump’s recent remarks.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday he has not “been a fan” of a gas tax suspension, but added: "You know, I’ve got some colleagues out there who think it’s a good idea. So, we’ll hear them out.''

Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, said he'd prefer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to “normalize gas prices" without legislation. “Obviously, any time you suspend the gas tax, that leaves a big hole in the highway trust fund, which also has implications down the road,” he said.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said that "instead of suspending the tax, we should suspend the war.”

The ongoing spike in gas prices has set off alarms among some Republicans that it could hurt the party's chances in the midterm elections.

Sen. John Cornyn, who is in a tough runoff race later this month to keep his seat, said he wants to know how roads and bridges would be paid for if the tax is lifted. But he said there’s a “difference between a temporary suspension and a permanent suspension.”

“A temporary suspension to get through this sort of bumpy time because of the uncertainty about energy prices, I could live with that,” he said.

Trump has previously said higher fuel prices are worth paying to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. That hardline message appeared to soften Sunday as Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the Trump administration was “open to all ideas,” including a suspension of the gas tax, during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

A bill sponsored by Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Mark Kelly of Arizona would suspend the federal tax through Oct. 1. A similar measure was sponsored in the House by Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire.

"Trump’s war of choice with Iran is driving up gas prices across the country — and Americans shouldn’t have to bear the additional economic burden of Trump’s reckless decision making,” Blumenthal said in introducing the bill.

Kelly told reporters Monday he still prefers his legislation but would take “whatever we can get at this point.”

“People need relief,” he said.

Several states, including Indiana and Georgia, have recently suspended their taxes to alleviate high prices amid the war. Kentucky and Utah have reduced their state tax. Other states are weighing similar suspensions or tax reductions.

There are drawbacks, industry group says

The gasoline tax is the single largest source of revenue for federal highway and public transit programs.

While proposed bills would offset any lost Highway Trust Fund revenue with general funds, the tax suspension could raise the federal deficit and jeopardize the long-term sustainability of investments for highway and public transit programs, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, which represents the transportation construction industry.

The group cites studies showing that many retailers do not pass on the full amount of the gas tax reduction to consumers. Research also suggests that state and federal gas taxes are just one component of a complex pricing scheme that includes the global price of oil and other factors.

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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Steven Sloan in Washington contributed to this story.

The decision follows a Supreme Court ruling in April that struck down a majority-Black U.S. House district in Louisiana as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, significantly weakening a provision of the federal Voting Rights Act.

Alabama officials had pointed to the Louisiana case as reason for the Supreme Court to end a judicial order to use a court-imposed House map until after the 2030 census. The high court on Monday overturned that order and directed a lower court to reconsider the case in light of the Louisiana decision. That could free the state to instead use a map approved in 2023 by the Republican-led legislature that includes only one district where Black residents comprise a majority.

Anticipating a court reversal, Alabama officials recently enacted a law allowing it to void the results of a May 19 primary for some congressional districts and instead hold a new primary under the revised district boundaries. Alabama had asked for an expedited decision ahead of the primary.

Alabama Republicans praised the decision.

“Today, the Supreme Court vindicated the state’s long-held position. Now, the power to draw Alabama’s maps goes back to the people’s elected representatives. That’s our Legislature,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a video statement. Marshall said his job was “to put the legislature in the best possible legal position to draw a congressional map that favors Republicans seven-to-zero.” He concluded with the statement, “Stay tuned.”

Republican House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter called the decision “a massive victory not just for Alabama, but for conservatives across the country.”

In a dissent to Monday's brief ruling, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the Louisiana case had reversed only one of the grounds upon which the Alabama case had been decided. Although the Voting Rights Act violation is gone, Sotomayor said a lower court could still find that Alabama had intentionally discriminated against Black voters in violation of the 14th Amendment.

The decision was a setback for Black residents and groups that had waged a legal fight for several years to get a second Alabama congressional district where Black voters had an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice.

“We are witnessing a return to Jim Crow. And anybody who is alarmed by these developments — as everybody should be — better be making a plan to vote in November to put an end to this madness while we still can," NAACP National President Derrick Johnson said in a statement.

Deuel Ross, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorney who argued the Alabama case, said, "We will consider all of our options to fight to protect the rights of these voters and keep the court ordered map in place.”

Shalela Dowdy, a plaintiff in the Alabama redistricting case, said she was disappointed in the decision.

“For me, I feel like this is a step backwards towards the Jim Crow era for congressional representation. The state is not going to stop here,” Dowdy said, predicting Alabama will eventually go after the remaining district.

Primaries are just a week away

The decision comes a week ahead of the May 19 primaries, setting up a potentially confusing scenario for voters. Alabama lawmakers last week approved legislation to allow special primaries in four impacted congressional districts if the state is able to switch maps. The special elections would be set by the governor.

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen called the decision a “historic win for Alabama voters.” Allen said the May 19 primaries will proceed as scheduled and his office will remain in close contact with the governor’s office "as this situation continues developing.”

The change would give Republicans a chance to reclaim the district now represented by Rep. Shomari Figures, a Democrat. Figures was elected in 2024 under the court-ordered map. His election gave the state — where Black residents comprise more than one quarter of the population — two Black representatives in its congressional delegation for the first time in history.

Figures called the Supreme Court action an “incredibly unfortunate decision” that “sets the stage for Alabama to go back to the 1950s and '60s in terms of Black political representation in the state.”

Alabama is one of several states trying to change their congressional district boundaries before the November elections as part of a nationwide redistricting battle being won, so far, by Republicans.

Voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade, immediately after a census, to account for population changes. But President Donald Trump urged Texas Republicans last year to redraw congressional districts to their advantage in a bid to hold onto a narrow House majority in the midterm elections.

Democrats in California countered with their own redistricting. And numerous Republican-led states have followed. The high court’s Louisiana ruling provided fuel for Republicans to intensify their redistricting efforts.

So far, Republicans think they could win as many as 14 additional seats in the November elections from new districts enacted in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida and Tennessee. Democrats think they could win up to six additional seats from new districts in California and Utah. But Democrats suffered a major setback when the Virginia Supreme Cour t overturned a voter-approved redistricting amendment that could have yielded four more seats for the party.

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Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri, and Chandler from Montgomery, Alabama.

Republican senators returning to Washington on Monday faced questions about the plan, which would spend taxpayer dollars to secure the East Wing project after Trump had said it would only be paid for with private donations. He has said the construction would cost around $400 million, but the White House had not previously proposed a number for security costs.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the total is “what it costs to protect the President of the United States in a very dangerous time and a dangerous world.”

“Keeping the leader of the free world safe is an expensive proposition,” Thune said. ”The Secret Service has a job to defend and protect the president, and we need to make sure they have the tools to do it.”

Democrats say they will try and defeat the plan, which Republicans added to a partisan spending bill that would restore funding for immigration enforcement agencies that the Democrats have blocked since February.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a letter to colleagues Monday that they will push Republicans to strip the security money, noting that Trump said a few months ago not one penny of taxpayer money would be used for the ballroom.

“Well, give me a break. He’s put a billion dollars in the budget for it. This staggering waste of taxpayer dollars has nothing, nothing to do with security and everything to do with Trump’s ego,” Schumer said.

Senators want to know more about the security money

Republicans are using a partisan budget maneuver to push the spending legislation through Congress without any Democratic votes. But it is still unclear if the security money will have enough backing among Republicans to advance, as some have said they are not yet ready to support it.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she wants clarification on how the funding would be used from the Secret Service Director Sean Curran, who is expected to attend a closed-door lunch with GOP senators Tuesday. Collins said the ballroom should be paid for with private donations, “as the president had indicated.”

Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., also said the funding should be private. “That's still my preference,” he said, adding that Congress had also increased the Secret Service budget after the attempted assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, during the 2024 campaign.

“Was it spent wisely? Do they really need more at this time?” Paul asked. "And a lot of people think this might be papering over for the, you know, the ballroom.”

Other Senate Republicans said they would support the request. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley said he had “no problem” with it. Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis said the private funding would go for construction of the ballroom, but “the security part, there’s a role for the taxpayers.”

House Republicans have questions, as well

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was also expected to attend the Republican lunch Tuesday as some House Republicans were already questioning whether they could support the Senate plan. The House has not yet released its own bill.

Republican Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia said last week that he would look at the Senate security proposal “very carefully and make sure those things are in the national interest.”

Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., also said he wanted to hear more details. He asked colleagues to recognize the “volatile times” and the need to ensure the president, members of Congress and guests can gather in a safe location.

"If Republican and Democratic members can take a step back and say this is a real security issue, then maybe it will get done. But if Democrats dig in, it’ll be really challenging to pass that, as you can only imagine,” Haridopolos said.

Schumer said Democrats will push the Senate parliamentarian to strike the ballroom security money from the budget bill and offer amendments that force Republicans to vote on it if it remains in the legislation when voting is expected to begin next week.

White House has said the ballroom will be 'heavily fortified'

Lawmakers in both parties were looking for more detail about how the money would be spent. The Senate bill would designate the money for the U.S. Secret Service, including for “security adjustments and upgrades” related to the ballroom project, but there was little additional detail.

The legislation says the money would support enhancements to the ballroom project, “including above-ground and below-ground security features,” but specifies it may not be used for non-security elements.

The White House has said in court documents that the East Wing project would be “heavily fortified,” including bomb shelters, military installations and a medical facility underneath the ballroom. Trump has said it should include bulletproof glass and be able to repel drone attacks.

Trump said Friday that the money would be for “many of the projects" and it wouldn't all be for the ballroom.

“They want to do certain things militarily with respect to the ballroom, having nothing to do with us or having to do with the safety of the president,” Trump said. “So having to do with a lot of things, but we are going to have a safe ballroom.”

Freddie Hendricks, a middle school theater teacher at Utopian Academy for the Arts in Ellenwood, Georgia, and who founded the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, is getting the special Tony Award that honors educators.

Hendricks has been an arts educator for more than 30 years and was an honorable mention for the special Tony in 2023 and 2024. He estimates between 20 and 30 of his students have gone on to Broadway, including Tony-nominated Saycon Sengbloh, and one, Kenan Thompson, who is a household star on “Saturday Night Live.”

“I’ve always had a passion for theater. I’m an actor myself and when I got into teaching years and years and years and years ago, it became my passion," he says.

Ellington, who has earned his third Tony nomination for “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” credits Hendricks as “the first person to show me the importance of storytelling in theater.” Ellington watched as shy kids who started quiet at the beginning of Hendricks' class were by the end the featured singer or performer.

Hendricks graduated from Lincoln Memorial University in 1976, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication arts. He created “Soweto, Soweto, Soweto: A Township is Calling!” and has also taught in Europe and South Africa.

He is artistic director, writer and teacher for the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, which is comprised of students ranging from 11-20. At Utopian, Hendricks trains students in a “rigorous, ensemble-based program of acting, movement and storytelling.”

“A lot of kids these days, they don’t love themselves,” he says. “They don’t know who they are, for one thing. And I just kind of start with that and then go with loving themselves for who they are and letting them know up front, ‘In here, this is a safe space. You’re loved in here. You’re accepted in here. This is your home.’”

Hendricks is known for encouraging his students to come up with topics they care about — poverty, gun violence, teen pregnancy, apartheid or AIDS — and building performances around their ideas from their perspective.

“That just empowered these kids so much,” says Ellington. “Not only empowered them from an internal place of owning who you are, but empowering them as storytellers and showing the importance of storytellers.”

The annual Excellence in Theatre Education Award bestowed by the Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University recognizes U.S. educators who have “demonstrated exemplary impact on the lives of students and who embodies the highest standards of the profession.”

The award includes a $10,000 prize for Utopian Academy and a pair of tickets to the June 7 Tony ceremony and gala in New York City. Hendricks' students will also receive a visiting master class taught by Carnegie Mellon drama professors.

A panel of judges comprised of the American Theatre Wing, The Broadway League, Carnegie Mellon and other leaders from the theater industry selects the winner, from candidates submitted by the public.

Hendricks imparts the importance of theater skills — like collaborating, listening, interpreting, storytelling, checking your ego, taking criticism — even if his pupils go on to careers outside the arts.

“I just want to let them know that life is great out there and the key to success is to never stop the pursuit of it. Whatever you want, keep going. It’s not going to happen tomorrow. It’s not going to happen next year. Or if it does, you may lose it, but it will come again if you continue to pursue whatever it is that you desire.”

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More on the Tony Awards: https://apnews.com/hub/tony-awards

The 2024 rule adopted under former President Joe Biden was meant to refocus the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management, which oversees about 10% of land in the U.S. It allowed public property to be leased for restoration in the same way that oil companies lease land for drilling.

But Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has said the rule could have blocked access to hundreds of thousands of acres (hectares) of land — preventing energy and timber production and hurting ranchers who graze on public lands.

Supporters argued that conservation had long been a secondary consideration at the land bureau, neglecting its mission under the 1976 Federal Lands Policy Management Act. While the bureau previously issued leases for conservation purposes in limited cases, it never had a dedicated program prior to the Biden administration.

Bobby McEnaney with the Natural Resources Defense Council said repealing the rule ”means less protection for the clean drinking water, less protection for endangered wildlife that depend on healthy habitat, and less accountability when corporations leave these landscapes damaged and degraded."

In documents released Monday, administration officials said it exceeded the land bureau’s authority for outside parties to be allowed to obtain conservation leases.

Industry groups and their Republican allies in Congress strongly opposed the rule and had lobbied to repeal it. They said the change under Biden violated the “multiple use” mandate for Interior Department lands by catapulting the “non-use” of federal lands — meaning restoration leases — to a position of prominence.

“This action provides greater clarity and predictability for independent oil and natural gas producers—many of whom rely on consistent permitting and leasing processes to operate efficiently and invest in domestic energy supply,” Dan Naatz with the Independent Petroleum Association of America said in a statement.

The federal government's vast land holdings are concentrated in Western states including Alaska, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Since taking office, Trump has pursued a flurry of actions aimed at boosting fossil fuel production from those taxpayer-owned sites. The Republican administration also has sought to sideline some renewable energy projects, claiming they were unfairly subsidized under Biden.

The repeal is effective 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register, which was scheduled for Tuesday.

It comes after Republicans in Congress in recent months canceled land management plans adopted in the closing days of Biden's administration that restricted development in large areas of Alaska, Montana and North Dakota.

In addition to its surface land holdings, the Bureau of Land Management regulates publicly owned underground mineral reserves — such as coal for power plants and lithium for renewable energy — across more than 1 million square miles (2.5 million square kilometers). The bureau has a history of industry-friendly policies and for more than a century has sold grazing permits and oil and gas leases.

Trump departs Tuesday for a summit in Beijing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in what could potentially be the first of four meetings this year.

“We’re doing a lot of business with China and making a lot of money," Trump said last week. "We’re making a lot of money — it’s different than it used to be.”

The summit is primarily about keeping the economic relationship stable, with only modest policy announcements expected. A trade truce reached last October likely will be extended, while China may announce plans to buy American soybeans, beef and Boeing airplanes. U.S. officials also have teased the creation of a Board of Trade to keep the sides talking on economic issues.

Some in the Trump administration believe "the outcome that matters more than any set of deliverables is stability and space for continued engagement, both to build domestic resilience and to facilitate future deal-making," said Brett Fetterly, a managing principal at the consultancy The Asia Group who focuses on China.

Engagement would only be the first step toward addressing the competition between the U.S. and China, as tit-for-tat tariffs, the AI and electric vehicle buildout, and the Iran war could upend relations.

China and the US are buying less from each other

Despite Trump's claims about making money, China bought nearly $50 billion less in American products last year than it did in 2022, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Some of that decrease reflects Beijing stopping soybean purchases during last year's trade war. The Trump administration has made clear that it wants to support American farmers and factories by having China import more from the U.S., with the goal of further narrowing a trade imbalance that totaled $202 billion last year.

The United States also now imports more goods from Taiwan than China, a change provoked in part by the AI race that has U.S. firms buying computer chips and servers from the self-governing island.

But going back to Trump's first term, China also began to route its U.S.-bound products through other Asian countries, while American companies shifted supply chains for computers and other electronics to Vietnam and India.

China's share of goods imported to the U.S. has fallen from 22% at the start of Trump’s first term in 2017 to just 7.5% in the first three months of this year, according to government data analyzed by Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and co-author of the book “How to Win a Trade War.”

The US wants a board to guide trade with China

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said he “highlighted” in an April 30 call with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng the value of a “new government-to-government Board of Trade.”

Greer indicated the board could improve trade in goods without national security concerns. That could mean agricultural products, for instance, but not computer chips or other sensitive technology.

The initiative could make it easier to resolve trade disputes and help American efforts to sell more to China. It might help prevent a repeat of last year when Trump hiked tariff rates on Chinese goods by 145%, before finalizing a truce in an October meeting with Xi in South Korea.

The board also would give the Trump administration an alternative to severe tariff hikes, which have become a logistical and legal problem. The Supreme Court ruled that Trump lacked the authority to unilaterally impose many of last year's tariffs, while his temporary replacement tariffs that followed were deemed illegal by a federal court last week.

The Trump administration says the U.S. and China would need to get sign-off at home to create the board that could manage tens of billions of dollars in trade. Administration officials also would like to create an investment forum to discuss financing of operations in each country.

Traveling to China as part of the U.S. delegation are some 17 CEOs, including Tesla's Elon Musk, Apple's Tim Cook and Boeing's Kelly Ortberg, the White House says.

Washington and Beijing have different goals

In some ways, Trump's and Xi's governments have been talking past each other. Trump assumes America can keep its edge on AI, so he judges the trade imbalance as the big issue to solve. But Xi sees a world disrupted by climate change and the Iran war, shifts that could give a boost to Chinese technologies such as solar panels and EVs.

“Washington and Beijing are competing at different levels and different domains, with different theories of victory,” said Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow specializing in U.S.-China relations at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank. “President Trump leveraged tariffs not as a weapon against China but as leverage to secure a trade deal. Xi Jinping is angling to win a cold war with the United States."

The U.S.-Israel war against Iran also is leading to an inflection point on energy, said Ali Wyne, a senior research and advocacy adviser on U.S.-China relations at the International Crisis Group.

The Trump administration is banking on the world continuing to rely on oil and natural gas, whereas China sees the price spikes following the disruption to energy shipments in the Strait of Hormuz as supporting a green energy transition that favors its industrial strategy.

“The structural frictions between the United States and China, they are growing in number and severity,” Wyne said.

The tensions beneath the sunny talk

Several potential strains could easily upset the cheery talk of friendship — raising questions about whether any meaningful progress can be made at the summit on issues like:

— China's control of the majority of rare earth mining and almost all of the processing for those minerals widely needed for electronics. The Trump administration is trying to develop its own rare earths production with new partnerships and investments in companies, a strategy that would unfold over several years.

— The U.S. push to limit China's access to the most advanced computer chips. These chips, designed by companies such as Nvidia and AMD, have the processing power to further develop AI.

— China's dominance as an automaker. Its worldwide exports of vehicles increased 21% last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. China can sell EVs at a much cheaper price than automakers in the U.S., Germany, Italy, Japan and South Korea.

— Tariffs. After the Supreme Court struck down Trump's tariffs, the administration launched national security investigations under a provision of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose new tariffs based on excess industrial capacity and efforts to prevent slave labor that could potentially withstand legal scrutiny.

— U.S. sanctions on a Chinese oil refinery and dozens of tankers and shippers for involvement in transporting Iranian oil. Beijing responded to the action earlier this month by demanding that no one abide by the U.S. penalties against Chinese businesses. The countries also are jousting over management of the Panama Canal.

Multiple water distribution sites have been set up where residents can pick up gallon jugs and bottled water.

All day, cars moved through the lines.

In Lake Orion, one family turned their front yard into an informal relief station.

Along Hemingway Road, a handwritten sign reading “Water” with an arrow points drivers to a hose in front of Coleen and Jeff Brunni’s home.

The couple, who are on well water and not affected by the advisories, are inviting community members to fill up any containers they bring.

“We discussed it and thought this might be the best way to give back to the community,” Coleen said.

Coleen said they advertised the free water on social media and plan to keep the sign out as long as it’s needed.

“We understand the township is doing a great job with water distribution; there’s definitely places people can go and pick up jugs of water,” Coleen said. “We just wanted to be another option in case they run out, or there are delays, or anyone feels like they need a more convenient spot for water.”

In Auburn Hills, volunteers loaded cases of water into car trunks as a steady stream of residents passed through that distribution site.

“It’s an inconvenience, but I’m grateful there’s water available,” resident Jill said while waiting in line.

For some, the timing of the water main break has added extra strain.

“I’m in a position right now I never thought I’d be in, where I’m not making the kind of money that I was making, and so right now it’s vital,” said Auburn Hills resident Alisa Scott. “Because I can’t afford everything I want to afford.”

By 6 p.m. Monday (May 11), the site had served over 3,000 gallons of water to residents.

Republicans' rush to gerrymander congressional districts across several Southern states after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling hollowed out the Voting Rights Act is confusing voters and creating logistical headaches for local election officials. The changes are hitting while primary season is in progress.

The chaotic upheaval to an election season that could determine which party controls the U.S. House is the latest fallout from an intensely partisan gerrymandering battle initiated by President Donald Trump last year to protect Republicans' slim majority.

The Supreme Court's decision last month severely weakening the Voting Rights Act required Louisiana to reconsider a map drawn in 2024 with two majority minority congressional districts that elected Black representatives. The GOP-controlled Legislature could eliminate one or both in a state where roughly 30% of the population is Black.

The ruling also encouraged Republicans in Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee to consider eliminating four Democratic districts among them, three represented by Black lawmakers. Florida has a new map meant to cost Democrats four of their eight seats, out of 28.

In Louisiana, 66-year-old New Orleans resident Sallie Davis voted early last week. Her ballot allowed her to vote for Democratic U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, but a sign at her polling booth showed his race crossed off with a ballpoint pen. She was confused and frustrated — especially when a poll worker told her to go with what the sign seemed to convey. She's now worried that her entire ballot will not be counted.

"I was supposed to believe a piece of paper with an X on it marking out the person I wanted to vote for,” she said, her voice breaking as she recounted her experience later. “I think I have been disenfranchised. I think my vote, that I just voted on, it's not going to count or something. I think it's illegal.”

Primaries postponed, deadlines compressed

Louisiana's primary is Saturday, and a week of early voting there began May 2, two days after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry declared an emergency and suspended congressional primaries to give lawmakers a chance to draw a new map.

The Louisiana secretary of state's office said nearly 179,000 primary ballots had been cast as of Friday, including about 53,000 absentee ballots returned by mail. The ballots included U.S. House races, but votes in those contests won't be counted.

In a “60 Minutes” interview that CBS aired Sunday, the governor started to say, “It's not a big deal,” but didn't complete the word “deal.”

“If anyone has a grievance, take it to the United States Supreme Court,” he said.

In Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee, Republicans said new maps, increasing GOP seats, would better reflect their states' conservative values. Alabama lawmakers passed legislation Friday allowing a do-over of congressional primaries.

Alabama’s primary is May 19, and voting in congressional races will occur then as planned, with the old districts. But the state doesn't expect to count those votes because the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed it to switch to different districts.

Mississippi held its primaries in March, but a federal court has ordered it to redraw its state Supreme Court districts, and Trump is pushing Republicans to redraw the state's four congressional districts.

A special session of its Legislature is set for May 20. Renovations of the House chamber will force members to meet at the Old State Capitol, where, decades ago, Mississippi lawmakers passed Jim Crow laws suppressing Black voting.

“Modern-day voter suppression relies on election administration errors and chaos, and that’s what we’re going to see play out in all of these states,” said Amir Badat, a Jackson, Mississippi, voting rights attorney and activist.

Tennessee continues yearlong fight

Tennessee was the first state to enact a new map since the U.S. Supreme Court decision, but Trump's push for redistricting started in Texas last year. Democrats countered in California and tried but ran afoul of the courts in Virginia.

Tennessee’s new map divided Memphis among three congressional districts. Before its enactment last week, the state’s elections coordinator told county officials in a memo that it would mean reprogramming election systems, retraining poll workers and possibly adjusting precinct boundaries, meaning some voters’ polling places could change.

Tennessee’s congressional primaries will go forward Aug. 6 as planned, with candidates required to qualify by Friday.

In South Carolina, lawmakers could move all the state's June 9 primaries to August, or just the congressional races. While mail balloting is limited because the state requires an excuse, more than 6,800 mail ballots already had been sent to voters — with 260 returned — as of Friday, the state Elections Commission said.

A separate election for congressional primaries would cost $3 million and the time for preparations would be compressed, Conway Belangia, the commission's executive director, told lawmakers Friday.

“It will be difficult, but it will be possible,” he said.

Activists see problems ahead for voters

Michael McClanahan, the NAACP's Louisiana State Conference president, is hearing “total confusion” as voters call him and ask, "Is there an election?”

“People say, ’I ain’t going to vote because the governor’s suspended the election,'" he said. "But he didn’t, he only suspended one aspect of it.”

In Alabama, Senate Democratic leader Bobby Singleton said he has been fielding calls from confused public officials.

“These are the people who are the head of elections,” he said. "They don’t know what to do.“

Voting rights activists see a harbinger for Memphis voters in problems that arose in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2022, when Republican legislators divided the state's capital city into three congressional districts to take a seat from Democrats. A state report said more than 3,000 Nashville-area voters were assigned to incorrect districts and more than 430 cast ballots in the wrong races in the November 2022 election.

“It’s going to be really hard for the election commissions to be able to keep up with this short timeline,” Matia Powell, executive director of the voting rights nonprofit Civic TN, said during a conference call Friday with other voting rights activists in the South.

Some fear confusion will lead to distrust and apathy

Anneshia Hardy, executive director of Alabama Values, which provides support to voting and civil rights groups, said people will lose trust in elections if they believe the rules can change every two years.

“Once people stop believing that the process is stable and fair, disengagement is going to increase, and that's one of the biggest dangers here,” she said. “Democracy doesn’t just depend on voting systems existing but really on people believing that their participation matters.”

At least a few Democratic voters who went to the Louisiana Capitol on Friday to protest the gerrymandering expressed doubt about whether they still have a political voice.

Davis came to the State Capitol in Baton Rouge and had a bullhorn with her for a protest in which she yelled, “Whose vote? Our vote!”

David Victorian, a 79-year-old Vietnam veteran from Baton Rouge, said: “I’m concerned for the survival of the democracy that we’re supposed to be living in.”

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Hanna reported from Topeka, Kan. Associated Press writers Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, S.C., and Kim Chandler, in Montgomery, Ala., contributed.

“Honestly, I think he would just now be coming back if he was like a normal human being, but he’s not,” teammate Mike Conley said after Edwards scored 16 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter to fuel a Game 4 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday that tied their second-round series at two games apiece.

“We’re thankful for what he’s sacrificing for us and putting us on his back," Conley added. "We expect it from him. He expects it. So we just try to keep him healthy, keep him going forward.”

After returning from a hyperextended left knee that caused a deep bone bruise in nine days, Edwards had 18 points in a 25-minute reserve role to help the Timberwolves take the opener from the Spurs on the road on May 4. Edwards was back in the starting lineup for Game 3 at home on Friday and played 41 minutes.

He logged 40 minutes in Game 4 and was on the floor for the entire fourth quarter, a move coach Chris Finch made only three times during the regular season. Edwards also played the final 12 minutes in the opener of the first-round series at Denver on April 18, one week before his latest injury.

“Man, I’ve been doing a lot of stuff to get in shape. I've got the best physical therapist in the world when it comes to my body, David Hines, so big shoutout to him,” Edwards said, referring to the team's vice president of medical operations and performance. “He’s on a whole other level when it comes to that stuff.”

Edwards was limited to a career-low 61 games during the regular season, largely because of persistent pain in his right knee. Before 2025-26, he never missed more than three games in any season.

“We’re lucky to have him. He’s special, no doubt, especially given what he’s been fighting through over the last month and a half,” Finch said.

Edwards shot 13 for 22 from the floor on Sunday, including 3 for 5 from 3-point range. He took advantage of Victor Wembanyama's stunning ejection by getting to the rim, too, including a crucial finger-roll layup he dropped in through traffic with 2:24 left for a four-point lead in the 114-109 victory.

Edwards was hesitant to express much satisfaction afterward, chiding himself and the rest of the starting lineup for a lackluster third quarter while revealing that, yes, even he has his physical limits.

“I was gassed a little bit," Edwards said, "so I came out like super low on energy, just walking up and down the floor.”

His performance had more to it than simply determination and durability, though. On Mother's Day, Edwards acknowledged a deep sense of motivation and purpose in Game 4 in honor of his late mother, Yvette Edwards, who died of cancer in 2015 when he was just 13. His grandmother also died later that year.

“I couldn't lose this game for her," Edwards said before praising the support he has received from family members and close friends in Atlanta over the last decade since losing his mom and grandma. “It’s not a bunch of people that's just willing to do anything you say. These people really want to see me succeed, and they don’t let me take a day off. They stay on me.”

With that, the intensely private Edwards quickly shifted the focus in the postgame interview room at Target Center back to basketball.

“So I appreciate everybody that’s in my circle, but that’s enough about me," he said. "Just ask about my team.”

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

Is this the most wide open Preakness ever?

The morning line odds suggest it could be after Iron Honor was installed as a 9-2 favorite following Monday's draw.

With Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo held out of the race and a sizeable field of 14 horses currently in it, there's no clear choice to beat. Any number of entrants could conceivably be favored by the time the race starts Saturday at Laurel Park.

Taj Mahal (5-1), Chip Honcho (5-1), Incredibolt (5-1) and Ocelli (6-1) are the other top picks on the morning line. Napoleon Solo (8-1) was next, and trainer Chad Summers saw little reason his horse couldn't prevail.

“It’s the right opportunity with the right field, and we’ve already beaten the morning line favorite,” Summers said.

That's because Napoleon Solo was fifth in the Wood Memorial and Iron Honor was seventh. Iron Honor did win the Gotham Stakes in February.

Chad Brown, who has won the Preakness twice, trains Iron Honor. He chalked up the horse's seventh-place showing at the Wood Memorial on April 4 to getting bothered in the first turn and never really relaxing throughout that race. The decision was then made to take the blinkers off the horse.

“We’ve given him a change to get over that experience, and he seems to be in a good place right now training just the way we want him,” Brown said last week. “He’s been training very consistent, very relaxed.”

No Preakness favorite — when the race started — has had odds of 9-2 or longer since at least 1940. Often, it's the Derby winner going off at a short price, but now Golden Tempo is the third in the past five years to skip this race.

Perhaps that explains why this could be the largest Preakness field in 15 years. The previous time 14 horses made it to the starting gate was in 2011.

Post time Saturday is 7:01 p.m. at Laurel, which is hosting the middle race of the Triple Crown this year as Pimlico in Baltimore is rebuilt.

Three horses from the Derby are in the field — Ocelli, Incredibolt and Robusta (30-1). Great White (15-1) is also back after being scratched from the Derby when he threw his jockey just before the race began.

Ocelli was third in the Derby as a 70-1 shot. Incredibolt was sixth and Robusta was 14th.

Jose Ortiz, the jockey from Golden Tempo’s Derby win, is on Chip Honcho this time.

Taj Mahal is trained by Brittany Russell, who has won several meet training titles in Maryland. Taj Mahal has three wins in three starts, all at Laurel. He'll be on the inside after drawing the No. 1 post Monday.

“It is what it is. We'll just have to see how it goes,” Russell said. “He's a good gate horse, he has speed. So that'll help us.”

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

The Detroit National Weather Service has issued a Frost Advisory for Lenawee, Monroe, Washtenaw, Wayne, Livingston, Oakland, and Genesee counties from midnight tonight until 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Temperatures in these areas will fall to the low 30s overnight.

A Freeze Warning will be in effect for Macomb, St. Clair, Sanilac, and Lapeer counties from midnight tonight until 8 a.m. Tuesday.

These locations could see overnight temperatures as low as the mid 20s.

Frost and freeze conditions can damage or kill crops and sensitive vegetation.

You’ll want to cover your plants or bring them inside.

Winds pick up Tuesday from the south, helping us warm to around 60° in the afternoon.

Rain develops midday Tuesday with the chance of hearing a few rumbles of thunder. Severe weather is not expected. Rain chances will carry into the late-night hours.

A stray shower will be possible on Wednesday with highs around 60°.

We’ll be slightly warmer on Thursday with the return of sunshine. Highs reach the low 70s on Friday before we’re up near 80 for the weekend.

“He was a ghost since ‘94,” a federal source told Local 4 Monday. “He was very cunning, very crafty while on the run.”

Richard Werstine, also known as Joseph Alan Stavros, 56, is wanted in the Sept. 15, 1993, killing of his roommate, Rodney Barger, aka “Rawn Beauty,” 23, who was the lead singer of the punk rock band Cold as Life. Werstine was arrested by Detroit police days later but failed to appear for trial, and a warrant was issued in June 1994, the feds said.

In May 2022, the Marshals Service took over the case for failure to appear for a murder charge and found through its investigation that Werstine had been arrested multiple times over the years under different aliases but that his true identity was never known to authorities.

The agency said it used state-of-the-art investigative resources and techniques and devoted numerous hours to locating the fugitive. Over the previous year, DFAT developed leads that focused efforts on Panama City, Panama, and worked with the Marshals Service’s Office of International Operations and Panamanian authorities to find him.

“The U.S. Marshals Service takes crimes of this nature extremely seriously given the violent nature of the alleged offense and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution,” said Owen Cypher, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Michigan. “The dedication of all members of my staff who spearheaded the arrest of this fugitive who has been on the run for over 30 years is a testimony to their resolve. It sends a message to fugitives that there is no place you can hide that the U.S. Marshals Service won’t find you and bring you to justice.”

“The tenacity and commitment of the United States Marshals Service working to bring Werstine and those like him into police custody where they belong is at the forefront of our daily mission here in Detroit,” said Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Jimmy Allen.

Multiple identities, no tips

“We kind of just took over this case and started from the beginning -- kind of took modern day investigative techniques to a really old case from the early 90s, and just kind of unwrapped that spider web,” Allen said.

It turns out that spider web was tight and large, and the USMS said they did not receive any tips on his whereabouts. Werstine also allegedly used multiple aliases, not only in Michigan, but Arizona, and other states. Werstine was also even arrested numerous times, locally and in other states, but under different aliases.

“Nobody ever got a return on who they actually had,” Allen said. “So, he eventually left, got out of custody, and made his way to Panama… where he was for about 20 years.”

On April 29, 2026, US Marshals traveled from Detroit to Panama and, working with Diplomatic Security Service and Homeland Security Investigations agents, arrested Werstine. Authorities in Panama City arrested Werstine at a local dog park and arrested him without incident, the Marshals Service said. When arrested, Werstine had fake IDs on him, but fingerprint analysis identified him as Werstine, officials said.

Werstine confessed to his identity and to being on the run, the feds said. He also admitted entering Panama illegally in 2005 and never obtaining legal status.

‘A whole new life’

Allen said that in Panama, Werstine said he was married down there, and “basically had a whole new life.”

“He had roots in Panama, and kind of just lived a new life,” Allen told Local 4. “I think he thought that he would never be caught.”

“I think when they got his fingerprints back, he couldn’t deny who he was.”

Reporter: “Even though he had fake IDs on him.”

Allen: “Yes.”

Reporter: “And he’s had multiple aliases and here and in other states.”

Allen: “Fingerprints don’t lie.”

Werstine was returned to the United States, where he will then be turned over to Wayne County authorities.

“He 100% thought he was never going to be found,” Allen said. “You could tell he really wanted to know how he was found and what happened.”

Message to Barger’s family

Allen said the effort to find Werstine was massive -- from the USMS headquarters in Washington DC to Michigan and Panama – and hopes the arrest “works toward bringing closure” to Barger’s family.

“It’s been 30 years and now they can at least rest their heads at night and have some justice,” Allen said. “That doesn’t change what happened, but you know, at least there’s some closure that someone’s going to pay for what they did.”

He said it demonstrates the Marshals’ promise to “pursue those who think they can prey on the members of our communities without being held accountable.”

Sources tell Local 4 Werstine is in the U.S. and awaiting extradition back to Michigan.

Bitter Tom’s owner, Sharon Bosley, said the restaurant had to cancel hundreds of reservations and shut down because it had no running water.

Bosley estimated that Sunday’s (May 10) closure alone cost about $10,000 and said the business is losing tens of thousands of dollars each day it remains closed.

On Monday, Bosley handed out food to nearby tenants and neighbors affected by the outage.

“I invited the tenants here, obviously, they don’t have water either. I talked to my neighbors; anyone who wants to come over and grab some stuff while I’m here, they can,” Bosley said.

Bosley said the timing made the disruption even more costly.

“That’s the super disappointing part, it’s a big day for most restaurants, flower stores, boutique stores. So all of us here, it’s one of our busiest days,” Bosley said.

Across the street, Amazing Petals Florists and Gifts owner Kyle Hughes said the shop was using well water to keep plants alive.

“We’re able to be watering the plants, and that’s really about it,” Hughes said.

He said an employee offered to fill buckets with well water from her home and leave them in the garage.

“I said absolutely,” Hughes said.

Officials have asked nonessential businesses to close during the outage, but Lucky’s Natural Foods remained open.

“People are coming in saying we need water for drinking, we need water for flushing toilets,” said owner Tanya Sallade.

She said the store is working with two suppliers to keep water on shelves.

“Hopefully, they can get it fixed really soon. I know they’re working very hard and diligently at it,” Sallade said.

His nomination comes as the Trump administration has increasingly signaled it is backing away from promises to dismantle FEMA, an agency that has faced withering criticism by the president. The nomination of Hamilton, who argued abolishing FEMA was not in the country’s best interests, is the latest indication of that change.

If confirmed, Hamilton would be the principal adviser to Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on emergency management and FEMA’s first permanent administrator in Trump’s second term. The agency has gone through three temporary leaders, including Hamilton’s brief tenure from January to May 2025.

He would take over an embattled agency still reeling from Kristi Noem’s turbulent leadership of the Department of Homeland Security, of which FEMA is part. FEMA’s workforce has been worn down by mass staff departures, policies that hamstrung operations and a 75-day-long DHS shutdown that ended April 30.

Hamilton will need to ensure the agency is prepared for summer disaster season, just weeks away, while answering to Trump, who is likely to expect major reforms after a council he appointed recommended sweeping changes last Friday.

“Now is the opportunity to stabilize FEMA,” said Michael Coen, the agency’s chief of staff in the Obama and Biden administrations.

Fired after defending FEMA

Hamilton, who had never been a state or local emergency management director and who had publicly criticized FEMA in the past, was a controversial choice when Trump named him temporary leader in January 2025, just days before the president floated the idea of “getting rid” of FEMA.

His rupture with DHS officials began as he defended a federal role in supporting disaster-impacted states, tribes and territories.

“Once the conversation shifted to, ‘Now we’re going to abolish,’ I immediately expressed concern,” he said last September on the “Disaster Tough” podcast with John Scardena, a former FEMA incident management team leader.

DHS officials even subjected him to a polygraph test, accusing him and other officials of leaking details of a private meeting. He passed, but said he knew his dismissal was inevitable.

At a May 7 appearance before a House Appropriations subcommittee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, asked Hamilton if he believed FEMA should be abolished.

“I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” he replied. The next day, he was fired.

Hamilton will have to rebuild trust

Defending FEMA despite knowing it would likely cost him his job garnered respect and trust among people whose job it is to lead communities through crisis, said Scardena, now president of the consultancy Doberman Emergency Management Group, which trains emergency managers.

“He won myself over and I think a lot of people by what he did,” Scardena said.

But multiple current FEMA employees who requested anonymity for fear of retribution for speaking publicly told The Associated Press they had concerns over some of the actions taken under Hamilton.

In 2024, Hamilton shared posts on X promoting misinformation about FEMA spending during Hurricane Helene.

During his temporary leadership, FEMA ceased door-to-door canvassing to reach survivors after disasters, and canceled a multibillion-dollar resilience grant program, since restored by a federal judge. The Department of Government Efficiency gained access to internal FEMA networks containing survivors’ private information. FEMA staff were fired for fulfilling a reimbursement payment to New York City for housing undocumented immigrants as part of FEMA’s Shelter and Services program.

Hamilton has said he believes FEMA needs major reform. He has said that he wants FEMA to move faster, that the agency is saddled with responsibilities he sees as outside its remit, and that some states have become too dependent on the agency. A Trump-appointed council last week urged sweeping changes to FEMA, which would require congressional action.

“I think he’s going to need to rebuild trust across the agency,” said Deanne Criswell, FEMA administrator under former President Joe Biden, adding that she believes Hamilton cares about FEMA and she appreciated his outreach to emergency management directors and former officials during and after his tenure.

Senate confirmation process could raise questions of experience

Hamilton could face pushback in the Senate confirmation process over never having led an emergency management agency, a common stepping stone to becoming administrator of an agency with over 21,000 employees.

Federal law requires the FEMA administrator to have “a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management and homeland security” and at least five years of “executive leadership and management experience.”

Hamilton trained as a Navy hospital corpsman before spending a decade as a Navy SEAL on SEAL Team Eight. He then became a U.S. State Department emergency management specialist handling overseas crisis response, then directed emergency medical services at DHS.

Whether he was chipping or putting, it was a challenge.

Aronimink is marked by its 180 bunkers that frame the landing areas, except for the longest hitters. The first official day of practice for the PGA Championship brought a reminder that accuracy this week is more about shots into the green than avoiding bunkers or the healthy rough.

These are big greens with big slopes.

“Off the tee it's not extremely challenging,” said Keegan Bradley, who won on a soggy Aronimink in 2018 at the BMW Championship. “But the greens get really crazy, and they are really mounded and hilly just like a lot of Northeast courses. So to put the ball in the right spot is really important.”

The course was full, inside and outside the ropes, despite temperatures that struggled to reach 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 Celsius), which can happen with the PGA Championship moving to May and being held in northern part of the United States. Bethpage Black was even colder in 2019 until it warmed as the week went on, and that's expected to be the case this week.

Thomas was among the few who made a scouting trip during one of his weeks off. It was a chance to get reacquainted with a course that has fewer trees than the last time he played in 2018, and was in perfect condition. The last day for member play was Nov. 2.

“It's pretty generous off the tee,” Thomas said. “I don't remember, but it feels like at some point you can tell they took out a lot of trees. The holes that feel open, the rough is healthy. But the greens have a lot of slope. It's going to be dependent on how firm and fast they can get.”

There was another reason for an early trip to Aronimink. He could get in 18 holes without feeling as though he lost an entire day. That's typical in the days leading to a major championship.

“Practice rounds at the PGA are the most miserable ever,” Thomas said after playing nine holes Monday morning as the first one out on the back nine. “Unbearably slow.”

More than the U.S. Open?

“Tied for last,” he replied.

And to emphasize the importance of the heavily contoured greens, Thomas said practice rounds look like players working on the short-game area with so much chipping and putting.

“It certainly seems like it’s going to be distance control on your approach shots,” Jordan Spieth said. “Because if you’re able to really be hitting your mid- to short irons, controlling the spin and getting it into these tiers, you can actually ... have a lot of pretty close looks for birdie if you get in the right section. If you miss the section, they are going to be really difficult to either get up-and-down or to two-putt. Just lots of pitch on the greens.”

Spieth has a lot to gain this week, as has been the case since he showed up at the PGA Championship in 2017. A victory would give him the final leg of the career Grand Slam, a feat achieved by only six players, most recently Rory McIlroy last year at the Masters.

“If I can win one more tournament in my life, it would obviously be this one for that reason,” Spieth said. “But the easiest way to do that is to not try to, in a weird way. Just go out and get ready for the first hole, get a good game plan in and attack it the way it needs to be attacked.”

Brandt Snedeker and Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Canada were the final two additions to the 156-man field at Aronimink. The 45-year-old Snedeker qualified by winning the Myrtle Beach Classic last week for his first PGA Tour title in eight years; Yellamaraju was added because the winner of the Truist Championship, Kristoffer Reitan, already had qualified through his world ranking.

Tom Hoge got in as an alternate when Jake Knapp was forced to withdraw with a thumb injury.

The PGA Championship strives to have the top 100 in the world ranking, and it was close until Lucas Herbert won LIV Golf Virginia and Shaun Norris was runner-up (by 14 shots) on the European tour. Both cracked the top 100. Neither is at Aronimink.

Scottie Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player and defending champion, played nine holes. That was the case for most players, with Matt Fitzpatrick being an exception. This is his first time at Aronimink, and he saw the entire course. One part stood out.

“The green complexes, yeah, for sure,” Fitzpatrick said. "They are very severe in spots. It will be interesting to see where obviously the pins get put. There’s certainly two or three holes where you can’t have more than four pins.

“I look at the golf course that I just played, and it definitely favors length off the tee because a lot of the bunkers will be taken out of play,” he said. “So I think for me, the greens are going to be the defense for the week.”

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

The move came after the Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a constitutional amendment that voters narrowly passed just last month. The 4-3 state court decision found that the Democratic-controlled legislature improperly began the process of placing the amendment on the ballot after early voting had begun in the Virginia's general election last fall.

Democrats argued unsuccessfully that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that, even if early voting is underway, an election does not happen until Election Day itself.

The appeal is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competition. It was kicked off last year by President Donald Trump urging Republican-controlled states to redraw their lines and was supercharged by a recent Supreme Court ruling severely weakening the Voting Rights Act.

“The Court overrode the will of the people who ratified the amendment by ordering the Commonwealth to conduct its election with the congressional districts that the people rejected,” wrote lawyers for Virginia Democrats and the state's Democratic Attorney General, Jay Jones. They added, “The irreparable harm resulting from the Supreme Court of Virginia’s decision is profound and immediate.”

The filing is a sign of Democratic desperation after the Virginia decision deprived them of four winnable House seats in the mid-decade redistricting race that President Donald Trump kicked off last year. Democrats are still favorites to recapture the House of Representatives, but their GOP rivals have claimed to have gained more than a dozen seats through redistricting. The voter-approved Virginia map would have partly offset that.

Democrats are taking a legal long shot in asking the justices to reverse the Virginia court's ruling. The Supreme Court tries to avoid second-guessing state courts' interpretations of their own constitutions. In 2023, it turned down a request by North Carolina Republicans to overrule a state Supreme Court decision that blocked the GOP's congressional map.

Politically, the appeal could help a party struggling to compete with Republicans in the unusual mid-decade redrawing of congressional boundaries by providing fodder for election-year messaging about a partisan Supreme Court. The court recently allowed Louisiana Republicans to proceed with redistricting after the justices struck down a majority Black district as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

Democrats have been set on their heels because, days after the Virginia ballot measure passed, the Supreme Court's conservatives reversed decades of rulings and effectively neutered the Voting Rights Act, paving the way for Southern states to eliminate some majority Black districts and further pad Republican margins in Congress.

The Virginia amendment had been launched long before that ruling. It was intended as a response to Republican gains in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, and to blunt a new map in Florida that just became law. Once the Virginia amendment passed, it briefly turned the nationwide redistricting scramble into a draw between the two parties.

That was unraveled by the Virginia Supreme Court's decision. The justices are appointed by the legislature, which has flipped between the two parties in recent decades, and the body is generally not seen as having a clear ideological bent.

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Riccardi reported from Denver.

Rodríguez was speaking at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on the final day of hearings in a dispute between her country and neighboring Guyana over the massive mineral- and oil-rich Essequibo region.

“We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history,” said Rodríguez, who assumed power in January following a U.S. military operation that ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela is “not a colony, but a free country,” she added.

Speaking to Fox News earlier on Monday, Trump said he was “seriously considering making Venezuela the 51st US state,” according to a post by Fox News' co-anchor John Roberts on social media. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.

Trump has made similar comments about Canada.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly later declined to comment on Trump’s plans in an interview of her own with Roberts on Fox News. Kelly said the president is “famous for never accepting the status quo,” and praised Rodríguez for “working incredibly cooperatively” with the U.S.

Rodríguez went on to say that Venezuelan and U.S. officials have been in touch and are working on “cooperation and understanding.”

Before addressing Trump's comments, Rodríguez defended her country’s claim to Essequibo at the United Nations' highest court, telling judges that political negotiations — not a judicial ruling — will resolve the century-old territorial dispute.

The 62,000-square-mile territory, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana, is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources. It also sits near massive offshore oil deposits currently producing an average 900,000 barrels a day.

That output is close to Venezuela’s daily production of about 1 million barrels a day and has transformed one of the smallest countries in South America into a significant energy producer.

Venezuela has considered Essequibo its own since the Spanish colonial period, when the jungle region fell within its boundaries. But an 1899 decision by arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States drew the border along the Essequibo River largely in favor of Guyana.

Venezuela has argued that a 1966 agreement sealed in Geneva to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the 19th-century arbitration. In 2018, however, three years after ExxonMobil announced a significant oil discovery off the Essequibo coast, Guyana’s government went to the International Court of Justice and asked judges to uphold the 1899 ruling.

Tensions between the countries further flared in 2023, when Rodríguez’s predecessor, Maduro, threatened to annex the region by force after holding a referendum asking voters if Essequibo should be turned into a Venezuelan state. Maduro was captured Jan. 3 during a U.S. military operation in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges. He has pleaded not guilty.

Rodríguez did not address the referendum in her remarks, but she told the court that the 1966 agreement is designed to allow negotiations between Venezuela and Guyana to resolve the territorial dispute. And she accused Guyana’s government of undermining the agreement with the “opportunistic” decision to ask the court to address the dispute.

“At a time when the mechanisms established in the Geneva agreement were still fully in force, Guyana unilaterally chose to shift the dispute from the negotiating arena to a judicial resolution,” she said. “This change was not accidental; it coincided with the discovery in 2015 of the oil field that would become world-renowned.”

When hearings opened last week, Guyana’s foreign minister, Hugh Hilton Todd, told the panel of international judges that the dispute “has been a blight on our existence as a sovereign state from the very beginning.” He said that 70% of Guyana’s territory is at stake.

The court is likely to take months to issue a final and legally binding ruling in the case.

Venezuela has warned that its participation in the hearings does not mean either consent to, or recognition of, the court’s jurisdiction.

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Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil climbed 2.9% to settle at $104.21 after President Donald Trump said the U.S.-Iran ceasefire was on “life support” after he rejected Iran’s latest proposal to end their war. The rejection raises the stakes for Trump’s trip this week to China, where he could urge President Xi Jinping to pressure Iran into making concessions. Xi has influence because China is the biggest buyer of Iran’s sanctioned crude oil.

The war has already sent the price for a barrel of Brent up from roughly $70 and delivered a blast of painful inflation through the global economy. That’s because it has shut the Strait of Hormuz and kept oil tankers stuck in the Persian Gulf instead of delivering crude to customers worldwide.

Still, the U.S. stock market has set a run of records on hopes that the war will not keep oil prices high for very long. Companies are meanwhile producing bigger profits than analysts expected, while signals suggest the U.S. economy is holding up even though households are feeling discouraged by expensive gasoline and tariffs.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% from its prior all-time high set on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 95 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.1% to reach its own all-time high.

The majority of stocks within the S&P 500 fell, even though the overall index rose. Among them was Mosaic, which reported much weaker results for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

The fertilizer company is benefiting from higher prices for its products, but it’s also contending with much higher prices for sulfur and other raw materials because of logistics snarls created by the war with Iran. Mosaic’s stock fell 1.8%.

Stocks of companies whose customers have the least cushion to absorb higher gasoline prices also struggled, and Dollar General fell 7.6%. Businesses with big fuel bills likewise had sharp losses, including drops of 4.3% for Royal Caribbean and 3.2% for Southwest Airlines.

Helping to offset that was Fox, which climbed 7.6% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

More than four out of every five companies in the S&P 500 that have reported their results for the latest quarter so far have topped profit expectations, and they’re on track to deliver overall growth of nearly 28%, according to FactSet. If that turns out to be the case, it would be the best growth since the end of 2021.

It’s not just U.S. companies muscling past analysts’ profit expectations. Globally, companies are on track for their strongest growth in more than four years, according to Deutsche Bank strategists led by Binky Chadha. The boom in artificial-intelligence technology has helped corporate profits rise at a faster rate than overall economies.

Outside of earnings reports, Beazer Homes USA soared 34% after Dream Finders Homes offered to buy it in a deal valued at roughly $704 million. A combination would create the country’s seventh-largest homebuilder, and Dream Finders is asking Beazer’s shareholders to push its management and board to OK the deal after making several attempts itself.

Dream Finders rose 5%.

Tech stocks were also strong, continuing their big run amid the AI boom. Gains of 2% for Nvidia and 6.5% for Micron Technology were the strongest forces pushing the S&P 500 upward.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 13.91 points to 7,412.84. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 95.31 to 49,704.47, and the Nasdaq composite gained 27.05 to 26,274.13.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia. France’s CAC 40 fell 0.7% for one of the world’s bigger losses, while South Korea’s Kospi soared 4.3% thanks to gains for Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and other tech stocks benefiting from AI.

In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher. The 10-year yield rose to 4.40% from 4.38% late Friday.

Yields had moderated a bit this month, but they remain well above where they were before the war with Iran began. Higher yields can raise rates for mortgages and other kinds of loans going to U.S. households and businesses, which in turn can slow the economy. Higher yields also tend to push downward on prices for stocks and other kinds of investments.

A report on Monday said the pace of sales for previously occupied U.S. homes was weaker last month than economists expected.

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

Monday night will be a big night for migration with around 5.1 million birds expected to fly over Michigan. Over 8 thousand are expected to fly over Metro Detroit.

380 million birds will be flying across the country.

Birds typically begin to migrate 30 to 45 minutes after sunset, with the greatest number in flight two to three hours later. Therefore, you can play a role in helping the birds migrate by turning out any non-essential lights from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.

This helps to reduce skyglow, which can confuse birds. Lowering skyglow will in turn lower the number of birds attracted to brighter urban cores, and also reduces collisions. In addition, it keeps nocturnal environments darker for resting birds near stopover hotspots.

According to Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology approximately 945,000 birds flew over Michigan Sunday night. With numbers expected to be much higher tonight, the Purdue University’s AeroEco Lab has issued a medium lights out alert for most of the state.

Around 2.5 million birds are expected to fly over Michigan Tuesday night.

At least a small number of birds fly almost every night of the migration season, but you can check the migration level to see if the BirdCast model is projecting small or medium amounts.

Peak Spring migration in Michigan is in early to late May.

Click here to check the migration level.

Surveillance video from Pure Cannabis Outlet, at 15311 S. Dixie Highway, shows a Jeep Cherokee ramming through the store’s front entrance at about a.m. on Sunday.

Two suspects climbed out. One ran to a back room and grabbed product. The other started pouring gasoline over the counters.

Then their plan fell apart.

“It was definitely amateur hour for sure,” said Mike Bahoura, owner of Pure Cannabis Outlet.

One suspect lit the gasoline, while his accomplice was still jumping back across the counter. The fire ignited immediately. At least one suspect was still on fire while running through the parking lot.

The store’s built-in fire suppression sprinklers extinguished the blaze quickly. The business was able to open the same day without any problems.

Shop owner suspects the attack was targeted

Bahoura said he was initially surprised by the break-in, having operated without incident for more than three years.

“I couldn’t believe it. I figured it was just a smash and grab, and they were just looking for some free product,” he said.

But after watching the surveillance footage, Bahoura said the attack appeared more deliberate.

“I never thought anybody would take it to this level and maybe they didn’t. I don’t know, but it definitely feels targeted,” he said.

His biggest concern, he said, was not the physical damage.

“We have insurance. We will be fine, but if it was worse and we were closed for an extended period of time, my biggest worry would’ve been the people who work here,” Bahoura said.

Marketing team leans into the moment

“At this point, it’s great marketing,” said Briana Pittman, the shop’s floor manager.

The shop’s marketing team have posted several parody videos to social media and also purchased gas cans to use as tip jars for employees.

“We are going to allow our budtenders to use them as tip jars to have some more fun with it,” Pittman said.

Monroe County Sheriff investigating as arson

Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough confirmed his office is investigating the incident as a breaking and entering and arson case.

Witnesses reported seeing at the two suspect flee the store and get into an unknown dark-colored vehicle that was waiting for them.

Deputies arrived to find the Jeep Cherokee partially inside the store. The Jeep was later confirmed as stolen out of Detroit.

A Monroe County Sheriff’s canine unit searched the path of the suspects and collected potential evidence. Additional evidence was collected from inside the store.

Bahoura is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

“I’m confident they will find who did this,” he said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau at 734-240-7530. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAKUP or at www.1800speakup.org.

“That focus hasn’t changed," Sankey said at the APSE Southeast Region meeting at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. "We’re open to the conversation, but there are a lot of ideas out there that have to be supported with analysis and information, not speculation.”

Sankey said all changes in college athletics must come with appropriate research — something he believes the SEC has provided in support of a four-team expansion to 16. To Sankey, the Big Ten-backed plan and whether it would offer much difference from 16 teams, is an unknown. A decision on the 2027 format would need to be made later this year.

The playoff expanded from four to 12 teams in 2024, and after decision-makers failed to reach an expansion agreement, the CFP will use the same model for the 2026-27 season. The discussion carries major implications for the college football schedule in general, including when it kicks off, the role of still-lucrative conference championship games and when the season comes to a close in January.

“We're trying to inform that with research. We've done that, from our perspective, with 16,” Sankey said. “We want to understand, through some analytic support, games that matter in an expanded environment, and games that might not matter.”

Sankey cited Oklahoma's late push into the playoff last season as the blueprint, saying it was “good for college football.”

An NCAA committee last month recommended that Football Bowl Subdivision teams play a 12-game schedule over 14 weeks beginning in 2027 with the season starting on the Thursday of what is now designated Week Zero and ending the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Last week, the American Football Coaches Association proposed changes to the schedule that included eliminating conference championship games, reducing scheduled bye weeks from two to one and reducing the minimum number of days between games to no fewer than six. Sankey suggested he was hearing different from league coaches.

“The American Football Coaches Association without, like, picking up the phone and having a conversation with those of us in the decision-making role, issues a set of statements and says we want to get the season done earlier," said Sankey, who contended the AFCA plan had “mutually exclusive" options. “And oh, by the way, we just met with our football coaches, (who) said, ‘If we’re going to go to Week Zero, two open weeks is the priority, not an earlier rush into the postseason.’ Two open weeks work for injury purposes, for recovery purposes, for development purposes, is the priority.”

Sankey did acknowledge a host of headaches when it comes to scheduling, with power leagues moving to a nine-game conference schedule and the ongoing desire to use non-conference dates as a chance for a marquee game to polish a CFP resume. In March, President Donald Trump issued an exective order barring postseason games from airing during the annual Army-Navy matchup in December; the AFCA has since proposed a dedicated window for the Army-Navy game with flexibility for other same-day games outside of the window.

The commissioner and AFCA are seemingly more aligned on that matter.

“We now have two executive orders about Army-Navy, and I think everyone wants to honor Army-Navy, but you do have limits," he said. "Conference championship games still exist, and there are contracts around those for the first week of December, so plenty of opinions about whether they continue or not. Then you’re the Army-Navy game, then you’re the NFL Saturday, and we’ve already infringed upon that, and you can see the impact upon both sides — ratings, the NFL and college football on that Saturday. So where do you fit all the games?”

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Great Lakes Water Authority crews are working overtime to fix the issue and made several improvements on Monday.

The ruptured 42-inch waterline serves Auburn Hills, Pontiac, Rochester Hills, Orion Township, Lake Orion and Oakland Township. It broke around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday and crews worked through the day and night to isolate the issue, digging 25 feet below ground to get to the damaged pipe.

“They were able to cut the pipe out and remove it. 3:15 is when I got the note,” GLWA CEO Suzanne Coffey said about the progress made on Monday.

Soon after, crews were welding on the replacement pipe, putting pipe bedding in – along with gravel. They spent the afternoon placing the pipe.

“The next step in the process is they’ve got to go in and actually weld the joints to the existing pipe,” Coffey said.

This is all ahead of schedule. But, just because things are moving along, doesn’t mean there isn’t a long road of testing ahead.

This pipe was installed in 1975 and was supposed to be a 100 year pipe. It’s only been about 50 years.

“A very small percentage of this kind of pike can have a defect in it,” Coffey said. “They called it a ‘manufacturing anomaly’ that creates a condition where it ages more rapidly than it should. But, 96% of the pipe is good. It’s $20 million a mile to replace the pipe.”

As communities in the area battle dwindling water supply, Local 4 has been following the situation in Orion Township. It’s one of the most impacted communities.

Many eyes have been on the area’s water tower, which typically holds about one day’s worth of supply.

“It was at 28.5 – what’s it sitting at now?” Local 4 asked.

“This morning when we came in, it was over 30, which is good because you know when people are sleeping they aren’t using water all night,” Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett said. “But, then, this morning we saw the water levels start to drop. We were able to get the water up a bit again. This is our main feed.”

Another impacted area is Rochester Hills.

“At first when it broke, we were in the teens,” Nathan Mueller, the chief of communications for the City of Rochester Hills, said. “When the restrictions went into place, we saw that jump up. It kicked our booster station on which kicked the PSI, so it’s pushing water up to the north end, especially our neighbors in Oakland Township that we service for water.”

Cummins, who worked as a senior vice president at Serco, a government contractor that works with local and federal agencies, would take over a TSA bruised by the longest partial government shutdown in history which ended late last month.

During periods of the shutdown, employees at the TSA, currently overseen by acting administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, went without pay, thousands didn't show up to work and hundreds quit entirely. It left travelers frustrated over delays and missed flights and politicians pointed fingers over who was to blame for shutting down the Department of Homeland Security.

Cummins has experience in transportation at Serco, and says on a LinkedIn profile, which appears to have been taken down, that he was co-awarded a “dozen patents in transportation systems." His profile also touted that he was the director of operations for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002.

A spokesperson for Serco did not immediately return a request for comment from Cummins.

Behind the scenes, it’s been Jessica Pegula, the 2024 U.S. Open runner-up, organizing the top tennis players in their protest with the Grand Slams over the share of tournament revenues devoted to prize money.

It comes naturally to Pegula, who grew up in a household of sports managers: Her parents own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.

“I think it maybe does (come naturally) just because I feel like I’ve taken on a bit of a leadership role with it,” Pegula said.

Already this year, No. 5-ranked Pegula was named to lead a new 13-person panel to suggest changes to the women’s tennis calendar, rankings points rules and the requirements about competing in certain events. Now she's taking on the prize money issue, too.

“I’m not afraid to go up to any type of player and go like, ‘Hey, are you interested in this or not?’" Pegula said. "Some players, they don’t care, sometimes they’re not worried about it. Sometimes they’re like, ’Yeah, for sure, I’m 100% in.' I’ve been reaching out to players on the men’s and women’s side.”

Sabalenka said last week the players should consider a boycott for a bigger slice of tournament revenue, while Sinner said there’s a lack of respect.

“At the end of the day the players are the ones that have the big voices,” Pegula said. “It’s been nice to see Aryna and Jannik kind of step out. I know a lot of other players feel the same way. But to have the two No. 1s very outspoken about it, that’s kind of what it takes to get them to listen.”

Players' share dropped in Paris

Whereas in the NFL and NHL athletes take home about 50% of the revenues, at most tennis events the number isn’t even half of that. The upcoming French Open is allegedly devoting under 14.9% to the players — down from 15.5% in 2024, according to a players’ protest statement issued last week.

Roland Garros organizers announced last month they were increasing overall prize money by about 10% for an overall pot of 61.7 million euros ($72.1 million), with the total amount up 5.3 million euros from last year. But the players’ said that the the underlying figures tell a very different story.

“It’s crazy. It’s an insane difference. Obviously they’re different sports. They’re run differently," Pegula said, comparing tennis to the NFL. "But tennis has been a very old-school sport. I think it’s one of the things that needs to change. Sometimes change is good. Sometimes that means fighting for things.”

The same group of players sent a letter a year ago to the heads of the four Grand Slams seeking more prize money and a greater say in decision-making. Wimbledon increased its 2025 total pot by 7%, the U.S. Open by 20% and the Australian Open this past January by 16%.

Still, the players say the Grand Slams don’t match the rate of 22% at regular ATP and WTA Tour events.

“The slams have kind of just gotten away with paying not that much because we’re a very individual sport,” Pegula said. “It’s hard to get players to come together. We’re not on a salary where football players or basketball players can afford not to play.”

Organizers at the French Open, which starts in less than two weeks, have not responded to requests for comment.

Wimbledon is due to announce its prize money next month and Pegula said the players have not had a response from the All England Club.

“We’re just going to kind of continue to talk amongst ourselves,” she said.

One of the big issues affecting tennis governance is that there are seven organizing bodies: The four Grand Slams, the ATP, the WTA and the International Tennis Federation.

“That’s what makes it so hard is that our sport is super fragmented. Hard to get everybody on the same page,” Pegula said. “That’s why it’s been huge to actually have the top 10 men and women really come together. I’m hoping that will get the Slams’ attention.”

Pegula advances in Rome

Before she gets to Paris, Pegula has been perfecting her clay-court game at the Italian Open, where she reached the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (6), 6-2 win over Anastasia Potapova on Monday. She routed Rebeka Masarova 6-0, 6-0 in the previous round.

Pegula will next face three-time Rome champion Iga Swiatek, who beat four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-1.

Sabres' playoff run

In between her matches and prize money activist duties, Pegula has been struggling to watch the Sabres’ run to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years due to the time difference between the U.S. and Europe.

The Montreal Canadiens beat the Sabres 6-2 in Game 3 on Sunday night to take a 2-1 lead in their second-round playoff series.

“My gosh, I am so upset that I have not been able to see any of the games,” Pegula said. “I would give anything to just be at a playoff game. … I love it so much. It’s my favorite thing.”

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