Trump asserted in his Truth Social post that he would keep acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in his current role and press ahead on the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” if Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina refuse to back the former federal prosecutor who was key member of Trump’s defense team when the Republican battled four indictments.

The administration needs their votes but both lawmakers have protested Blanche's selection because of a lawsuit settlement that created a $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who feel mistreated by the criminal justice system and provided Trump and family members with immunity from tax audits.

In a sign of apparent progress Friday, Trump pronounced the fund “dead.” As negotiations continued into the night, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley, rescheduled a committee vote for Blanche that had been postponed earlier in the week.

A spokesperson for the committee said Grassley, R-Iowa, would like to see Blanche confirmed before the August recess and that putting the Tuesday vote on the calendar “gives more time for the White House to secure the votes for the President’s nominee.”

But by Saturday morning, those plans were in jeopardy with a new announcement from Trump that appeared to put the fund back on the table — and dinged the two senators who are leaving Capitol Hill when their terms end in January.

“If Senators Cornyn and Tillis, both upset because I wouldn’t Endorse them (they lost, and quit, respectively!), aren’t going to approve Todd Blanche, one of the most respected professionals, according to everybody, in the Country, to be the United States Attorney General, then I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard” to restore the fund. The president insisted, as he previously has, that the fund “takes care of those who have been so badly treated” during the administrations of Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Tillis, who is retiring, took note of the president's turnabout by saying in a post on X that despite Trump's comments Friday, he “clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks either by inappropriately establishing another bogus fund or pushing Congress to vote for a bill that the majority of Republicans in the Senate would be against.”

He added: “It’s unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal. Hopefully, we can resolve this by Tuesday."

Blanche had said at a hearing two months ago that the anti-weaponization fund would not move forward after Republican senators revolted and held up an immigration funding bill.

But Tillis and Cornyn, who lost reelection this year after Trump endorsed his primary opponent, said they want to ensure that the White House does not reverse course, especially as Trump continues to argue that a fund is needed.

The Department of Justice has provided the senators with language that says Blanche’s May 18 order establishing the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is “rescinded and shall have no force or effect,” according to a document reviewed by The Associated Press.

Cornyn and Tillis have said they also want some clarifications on a separate piece of the settlement that would grant Trump and members of his family immunity from tax audits. Cornyn said this week that it was his understanding that the audits could extend to more than 100 different Trump organization subsidiaries into the future.

“Todd Blanche said it was limited to the parties to the litigation — and it was retrospective, not prospective,” Cornyn said. “And all we’re doing is asking them to put that in writing.”

For Greece, the danger carried grim resonance: a 2018 wildfire at the seaside community of Mati, near Athens, killed 104 people, making it Europe’s deadliest wildfire this century.

In southwestern France, firefighters held a vast wildfire within its perimeter, with about 198,000 people now allowed home after what may have been the country’s largest peacetime evacuation.

Major fires in Spain were also no longer advancing, and Portugal’s main blaze was under control.

A second French fire stopped expanding overnight after racing across 10 square kilometers (4 square miles) in six hours Friday — “faster than a horse at full gallop,” according to the prefecture. But it remained active Saturday and 2,500 people were still unable to return home.

The gains in western Europe marked a sharp turn from the height of the crisis, when fires in France and Spain alone drove a third of a million people from homes and vacation sites, emptied towns during the summer holiday season and stretched firefighters, aircraft and emergency services across simultaneous emergencies.

Europe is Earth’s fastest-warming continent, heating at more than twice the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus climate service. Rising temperatures and prolonged drought leave vegetation drier and more combustible, allowing fires to spread faster and burn more intensely.

Gale-force winds drive Greek fires

Nearly 500 firefighters battled Saturday to protect Porto Germeno, a popular resort on the Gulf of Corinth, as flames tore through thick pine forest and smoke blocked out the sun.

The fire broke out Friday near the neighboring coastal village of Agios Vasileios. About 300 people were evacuated by sea, and authorities issued further evacuation orders Saturday.

“A pristine forest, a paradise, was surrendered to the hands of the fire,” said Minas Tzortzanis, a 60-year-old farmer and local resident. “There are no words to explain what has happened. Destruction. Total destruction.”

Theodore Giannaros, a wildfire meteorologist at the National Observatory of Athens, estimated that 40 to 50 square kilometers (15 to 19 square miles) had been affected. Authorities had not issued an official burned-area figure.

The operation also included specialized forest-fire teams, crews temporarily deployed from France and Romania, 19 water-dropping planes and 11 helicopters.

New fires erupted elsewhere in Greece. A blaze east of Nafpaktos prompted evacuation alerts for at least four villages.

“The very strong to gale-force winds continue to create exceptionally difficult conditions,” Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Evangelos Tournas said.

Extreme turbulence was preventing some aircraft from collecting water or approaching the fires closely enough to make drops, he said.

Evacuation orders remain in western France

The Gironde fire has burned 420 square kilometers (162 square miles) of pine forest west of Bordeaux, an area four times the size of Paris.

It remained contained within its perimeter Saturday but had not been declared “fixed” — the point at which crews determine that a fire is no longer advancing. Active sectors and buried hot spots persisted.

Authorities reopened more communities Friday, but several remained largely deserted Saturday. Much of the forested Cap Ferret peninsula stayed evacuated because a nearby hot spot could flare again, cut its limited road access and trap returning residents.

“Today, the fire is still not fixed. It is contained,” Lt. Col. Eric Pitault told reporters.

Crews used tactical burns overnight. Along 240 kilometers (149 miles) of fire edge, heat could remain hidden underground and erupt again.

Renewed blaze remains active in southern France

In the Mediterranean Var region, defensive lines around the Gros Bessillon fire held overnight and no additional ground burned, Var Prefect Simon Babre told French media Saturday.

The blaze had been declared fixed earlier in the week before mistral gusts revived embers Friday and sent it racing through dry hills in temperatures approaching 42 C (108 F).

It remained active Saturday, with 1,300 firefighters deployed and about 2,500 people still unable to return home. The fire’s sudden return “defies understanding,” Babre said.

Twenty French departments were under an orange heat warning Saturday, mostly in the east and southeast. Eight departments faced a high forest-fire risk.

Returning residents confront what the fire erased

For residents returning to the Gironde fire zone, the easing emergency brought a first reckoning with what had been lost.

In Le Porge, one of the communities hardest hit, Matthieu Plessis returned Saturday to the ruins of a home that had been in his family for seven generations.

Just over a week earlier, smoke had turned the afternoon almost to night as flames raced along both sides of the road. Now the 40-year-old mechanic drove through blackened forest and struggled to identify what had once stood there.

“There are little details here and there that I recognize, but otherwise everything is unrecognizable,” Plessis said. “You don’t even know what was here anymore, or who lived where.”

He had to force open the property’s gate because its key had burned. A chimney and twisted metal frames were among the few clues to where the rooms had been. The tools and machinery from his bicycle-repair business were gone.

“It’s not easy. I’m trying to stay strong and help other people now,” Plessis said. “I don’t want to spend the next 10 years feeling sorry for myself.”

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Adamson reported from Paris. Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, and Michael Varaklas in Porto Germeno, Greece, contributed to this report.

At least 67 migrants died, including some who drowned and others who were killed in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier, the Spanish government said Saturday.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez slammed the reaction of some other European Union leaders to the events in Ceuta, saying calls for Spain to be suspended from the EU's borderless Schengen zone were “driven by prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interest.”

A handful of exhausted migrants who swam to Ceuta's urban Tarajal beach Saturday morning were met by soldiers who escorted them across the border. Most of the 50,000 to 60,000 migrants who entered the territory between Thursday and Friday soon went back.

“We are relentless against those who break the law,” Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told journalists Saturday.

Questioned how the massive border breach could have happened given the heavy security on both sides of the border and whether Morocco posed a threat to Ceuta, Marlaska defended the government in Rabat.

“The events require an evaluation by Spain and Morocco,” he said. But it was the cooperation with its neighbors that allowed Spain “to revert the situation in 24 hours.”

“Morocco is not a threat to Ceuta, or to the rest of Spain. It is a reliable partner,” Marlaska emphasized.

EU leaders call for coordinated response

The leaders of 22 EU countries called for a coordinated response to the situation. In a letter to top EU officials, released Saturday by the Danish prime minister’s office, the countries asked the EU's current Irish presidency to urgently convene a videoconference of interior ministers.

“We cannot allow uncontrolled mass crossings, the instrumentalization of migration or other hybrid threats to create the perception that illegal entry into the European Union is possible. That a migrant’s illegal entry can turn into legal stay,” the letter said. “Such a perception would encourage further attempts, undermine confidence in our common migration policy and have repercussions for all Member States.”

Leaders of Italy, Denmark, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden signed the letter.

Sánchez also asked for a videoconference of EU interior ministers to “enable us to establish a common response to situations of this kind and reaffirm that the security of our external borders is a shared responsibility of all Member States, and not only of those on the Union’s front line.”

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has threatened to suspend Italy’s open-border Schengen agreement with Spain, and Italy was reimposing border controls for people arriving from Spain by air and sea.

“In the current international context, the European Union cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarizing and unlawful reaction,” Sánchez wrote in his letter.

Migrants head back into Morocco

Hundreds of migrants returned to Morocco on Saturday. Some told an Associated Press reporter they were returning “of their own free will” after what they described as degrading treatment on the Spanish side of the border.

Migrants walked along a long stretch of wave breakers before slipping into Morocco through a small breach in the border fence that had become an informal entry point. Moroccan police and soldiers watched. Most of the migrants were Moroccans, while a smaller number were from sub-Saharan Africa.

Hungry and angry, some barefoot or shirtless and others nursing visible injuries, those who returned said they had “seen hell in Ceuta.”

“I decided to come back on my own,” said Ouail Lamzeiz. “I spent eight days in Ceuta, and I was about to get a bed at the migrant center, but I hadn’t eaten for days. Even the Moroccans there didn’t help,” he added, showing a document supporting his account.

His friend, Salah Eddine El Arrage, said he decided to return to Morocco after, he said, Spanish police beat him.

Migrants said they spent their nights sleeping in the forests around Ceuta because they could not find shelter, and that they often fought over food.

One, Othmane El Merzoug, asked passersby for a phone call so he could reach his family and ask them to send money for the journey back to his hometown, about 189 miles (305 kilometers) from the border.

Along Ceuta’s Tarajal beach, sunbathers largely ignored the streams of migrants walking toward the border.

Ceuta resident Mohamed Abdelatif, 21, said the border rush had ruptured the city's peace.

“The reality is, it’s not good,” Abdelatif said, before wading into the water with his girlfriend.

The road linking the Moroccan town of Fnideq to the border crossing bore the scars of the unrest. Burned-out vehicles sat along the roadside, while the acrid smell of smoke still hung in the air. Police barriers channeled traffic toward the crossing, and water cannons remained stationed nearby.

“Life in this city has been disrupted as a result of the border incident,” said Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas. “The return of people has begun satisfactorily but the process must be completed.”

In the Moroccan city of Tangier, about 75 kilometers (46 miles) west of Ceuta, the main railway station was busy with people returning. Some slept on the ground.

“I tried to cross, but I failed. I stayed near the border with Ceuta for two days, but I couldn’t find anything to eat,” said Abdalah, an aspiring migrant who asked that his last name not be published out of fear of retaliation for trying to cross illegally.

But some who made it to Ceuta were determined to stay. Among them was Mohamed Hatri, a 23-year-old Moroccan.

“They’ve closed everything down so that we can’t buy anything to eat, to force us to return to our country,” he said, adding that he and others were determined to stay “whether we’re hungry or not." —— Oubachir reported from Fnideq, Morocco. Renata Brito in Barcelona, Spain and Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece contributed to this report.

The second half kicked off Saturday with what seemed a clear aim of ending Infantino’s decade-long presidency.

“No option should be off the table,” said European soccer body UEFA, whose president Aleksander Čeferin has led the fight against Infantino in a seismic week for FIFA.

“The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA’s confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.”

Later Saturday, the governing body for North and Central American and Caribbean soccer (CONCACAF) called for accountability, saying: “A (World Cup) proposal of this magnitude does not reach that stage by accident. It is a symptom of leadership that has stopped putting football first. This recent unilateral and egregious act of poor governance and leadership follows a pattern of missteps and similar behavior. A full review of this leadership must now take place.”

Infantino had proposed creating a $20 billion company to run the World Cup with private investors but drew backlash that grew every day since Tuesday’s announcement.

Infantino was forced to scrap the plan early Saturday after his senior adviser who sat on a White House panel resigned and Asia’s soccer body joined Europe and North America in opposing it.

UEFA, the governing body of European soccer, issued its blistering statement hours after FIFA announced it was withdrawing its private equity plan.

“We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game," UEFA said. “We must identify those responsible and hold them to account.

“It is right that, in the coming days and weeks, UEFA will work with its associations and in close cooperation with other confederations to reflect on how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again.”

Norwegian soccer federation president Lise Klaveness, an elected member of the UEFA executive committee, said steps must be taken to protect the integrity of the sport.

“The entire framework of international football cooperation was unnecessarily put at risk in pursuit of individual interests rather than the best interests of the game,” Klaveness said Saturday. ”This has been visible to many for a long time, including those of us elected to positions intended to safeguard checks and balances and provide ongoing oversight. We have to recognize that these mechanisms have not worked well enough.”

The president of the Asian soccer confederation, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, said “the future of global football must always be shaped through proper consultation, collective dialogue and respect for the established governance structures of our game."

Infantino' audacious bid fell apart after UEFA’s 55-member nations agreed Thursday to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions. CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation also said they opposed the plan.

CONCACAF's statement added that FIFA leaders have “a duty of service over power. Where that duty is not upheld, accountability cannot be optional.”

There was also an internal revolt.

Infantino’s senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker who represented the soccer body on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, resigned on Friday and urged other senior FIFA staff to speak out.

Hours later, FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour issued a statement to The Associated Press, saying FIFA staff were deceived by Infantino’s lack of openness in planning the sale over recent months and that the project must not continue.

“It is the project of one person,” wrote Lamour, a longtime colleague of Infantino at both FIFA and UEFA. “Not only must this project not go ahead … but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions.”

Infantino had proposed spinning off FIFA’s commercial businesses — including World Cups and Club World Cups for men and women — into a $20 billion subsidiary with 20% owned by private investors.

The “anchor investor,” described by FIFA, is a New York-based investment firm launched by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

This is not Infantino's first big plan to flop

A tumultuous week in international soccer is at least the third time Infantino has rocked it with an ambitious plan many in the sport saw as reckless.

But the fallout from FIFA’s Kushner-backed plan is the first time UEFA has acted quickly to create momentum for removing the man who was its former long-time employee.

In 2018, Infantino pushed a secretive offer of $25 billion from Japan’s SoftBank to create new competitions, that posed a long-term risk to continental events for clubs and national teams.

In 2021, Infantino proposed playing World Cups every two years instead of four — an idea that also angered the International Olympic Committee where he is an elected member.

Both plans created big rifts in the sport and were eventually dropped by FIFA.

Despite the turmoil, Infantino was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023.

The third time shapes to be different.

Here is the calendar for the FIFA presidency

Nov. 18 is the deadline for candidates to enter the next presidential contest, exactly four months ahead of the vote in Rabat, Morocco, where FIFA has its African headquarters.

FIFA statutes allow Infantino one more four-year term in office. The failed spinoff venture seemed like a way to create a commissioner-like role for Infantino beyond 2031, likely paying much more than his current annual salary and a bonus deal of more than $6 million.

It would take 106 votes to ensure a majority in a contested election. Continents surely do not vote uniformly en bloc, but most of Europe’s 55, plus Asia’s 46 and CONCACAF’s 35 FIFA members would be a solid base.

The Qatar FA issued a statement in support of Infantino on Saturday.

Its president, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, said: “We welcome FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s decision to withdraw the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal in the interest of the global football community.

"While the proposal had merit, we applaud the wisdom behind prioritising unity among Member Associations. The Qatar Football Association fully supports President Infantino’s efforts to continue growing and strengthening the game globally.”

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Associated Press writer Joseph Wilson contributed to this report from Barcelona, Spain.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and AP World Cup coverage

The 6-1 decision further clouds the future of the 73-year-old pipeline owned by Canadian energy transportation company Enbridge that carries petroleum from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario.

The part of the pipeline in question, called Line 5, runs for 4 miles (6 kilometers) along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet.

Enbridge wants to bury the pipeline in a tunnel under the straits. Environmentalists and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer want to move the pipeline away from the waterway altogether saying a spill would be catastrophic to the Great Lakes and surrounding area.

The Michigan Public Service Commission granted a permit to build the tunnel in 2023. Four Michigan tribal nations along with several environmental groups sued.

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Friday that when they granted the permit, regulators failed to consider if the tunnel project will extend the lifetime of the pipeline, resulting in more harm to the environment.

The ruling also said the Public Service Commission wasn't consistent when it compared alternatives to the pipeline like using trucks or trains to move the oil and didn't assess how the tunnel might impact fishing, boating and other public trust rights on the Great Lakes.

Opponents of the pipeline say this type of project has never been done anywhere else and would turn the Straits of Mackinac, which is a sacred site for the Indigenous Anishinaabe tribes, into a construction site for years.

“Whether Line 5 is suspended in the water or encased in a tunnel, it is simply a terrible idea to pump more than half a million barrels of oil every day through the middle of the Great Lakes,” attorney David Gover with the Native American Rights Fund said in a statement.

Enbridge is reviewing its legal options after the ruling and said it is disappointed for another delay in a project that has been under review for nearly a decade and would “enhance environmental protection of the Great Lakes while maintaining critical energy reliability for the region,” spokesman Ryan Duffy said in a statement.

Enbridge proposed the pipeline tunnel nearly a decade ago around the time a ship anchor dented part of the line. The company said the tunnel would massively reduce the possibility of an oil spill, but environmentalists said building the tunnel under the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac would cause noise, vibrations and permanent environmental damage.

In a different set of court cases, Gov. Whitmer and other state officials have been trying since 2020 to shut down the pipeline under the straits.

Hours later on Saturday, Kuwait said it responded to a new round of drone attacks from Iran while a tanker was struck in the strategic waterway.

Meanwhile, Israel carried out heavy strikes on the Gaza Strip after the Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed to disarm.

Here are the most important developments in the Middle East today:

US threatens new strikes in the conflict with Iran

Speaking to reporters Friday during a meeting with members of his Cabinet at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, Trump said “we just want to win” in Iran and signaled that he expected U.S. military action to continue for some time.

He said the U.S. will hit Iran “very hard” until they can’t take it anymore.

Later that day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed the U.S. administration’s frustration anew, charging that Tehran last month signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. on a truce but then quickly “broke it, shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers.”

“President Trump is not going to stand by and allow this terrorist behavior to occur,” Leavitt said in a statement on Friday evening. “Iran will continue to pay until they come to the table in, what President Trump deems, a meaningful way.”

On Saturday, the U.S. State Department issued new security alerts for Americans in 10 countries in the region to exercise heightened caution due to the escalating tensions with Iran.

The warnings — covering Bahrain, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates — urged U.S. citizens to prepare for the possibility of flight cancellations, temporary airspace closures and other travel disruptions.

New attacks on Kuwait and on shipping

Kuwait’s military said Saturday that its forces were responding to drone attacks, which were part of Iran’s assaults on the country.

In a statement, Maj. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi, spokesperson for Kuwait's Defense Ministry, said the drones hit “a number of vital facilities,” including a government structure in the country's north. He said there were no casualties.

The British Navy said Saturday that a tanker was struck and a separate explosion hit close to a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman. No casualties were reported in either incident, it said. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization said an unknown projectile hit the vessel on Friday 11 nautical miles northeast of Lima, Oman. The attack damaged the vessel’s engine room.

The group said that on Saturday a large splash and an explosion were reported close to another tanker while it was sailing 21 nautical miles northwest of Khasab city.

Iran has repeatedly attacked vessels attempting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz without its authorization as part of its ongoing conflict with the U.S.

Israel strikes Gaza after Hamas says it will disarm

Intense Israeli strikes Friday night and Saturday killed at least four people in central and northern Gaza and wounded dozens more, according to local health officials.

The strikes overnight in Gaza followed evacuation warnings by Israel’s military, which said on Saturday that it had struck Hamas targets across the territory and dismantled five Hamas storage facilities.

The strikes came after Hamas confirmed Friday that it will disarm in a potential breakthrough for ending the war in Gaza, though major obstacles remain.

Palestinians in Gaza — most of whom are displaced or live in camps — received the news with both hope and skepticism. A 24-year-old tuk-tuk driver, Abdel Moneim Aboul-Roos, who lost his leg in an Israeli strike, told The Associated Press that he doesn't care about “talk about withdrawal and disarmament” as long as essentials like food and medicine remain lacking.

Israel has not officially commented on the Hamas deal, which is part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire announced last October.

That agreement called for Hamas to disarm and hand over power to an independent Palestinian administration. Israel was to withdraw and an International Stabilization Force was to be deployed.

In a post on X Friday, Israeli far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir called the deal “unacceptable” and said the killings in Gaza must continue. “Israel must win,” he said.

Egypt, a key Gaza ceasefire mediator, lauded Hamas and other Palestinian groups for “their positive response” in the phased peace plan, Egyptian state-run media reported.

The Associated Press is tracking the progress of Trump’s plan to end the Israel-Hamas war.

Click here for full coverage from AP on the disarmament deal for Hamas.

Elsewhere in the region

— Houthi rebels forced eight Saudi ships to reroute from the Bab el-Mandeb strait after the Iranian-backed rebels announced a blockade on Saudi shipping in the chokepoint. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the military spokesperson for the Houthis, said in a statement Friday that the vessels changed route to the Cape of Good Hope around Africa to avert the blockade.

— In southern Lebanon, Israeli forces set off explosions Friday to destroy an underground tunnel network under the Crusader-built Beaufort Castle that Israel says had been used by Iran-backed Hezbollah militants as a command center. The 12th-century castle, also known as Al-Shaqif, was seized by Israeli forces in May. It was recently added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List over Israel’s objections.

— Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun said the Israeli operation sent “negative messages” ahead of upcoming talks in Rome. Israeli and Lebanese negotiating teams are set to meet again there to continue hammering out a plan under which Israel would withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament.

— An Israeli army officer was moderately wounded in an encounter with Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon overnight into Saturday, Israel's military said. There was no immediate comment from Lebanese authorities or Hezbollah. Thirty-eight Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon or northern Israel since that conflict reignited when Hezbollah fired at Israel shortly after the start of the Iran war.

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Madhani reported from Washington.

Allegations against U.S. Rep. Max Miller, a White House adviser during President Donald Trump's first term, have been public for years but have recently drawn increased media scrutiny amid an escalating legal back-and-forth with his former spouse, who is the daughter of U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. That has Democrats sensing Miller could be vulnerable in a district he won two years ago with just over 51% of the vote.

Over the past week, they have called for Miller to resign, requested a congressional ethics investigation and suggested more help could be directed in the fall toward his Democratic opponent, union ironworker Brian Poindexter. Miller has denied the abuse allegations and filed defamation lawsuits against his ex-wife and a second accuser.

The House Majority PAC, a super political action committee aimed at electing a Democratic majority, said it is monitoring the race's dynamics as part of its strategy to push deeper into GOP territory in this year's midterm elections.

“HMP is willing to do whatever it takes to take back the House, and nothing is off the table,” spokesperson CJ Warnke said.

Republicans stick by Miller

as Trump advisers keep tabs on the situation

Republicans have so far remained in Miller’s corner, saying he has delivered for his district and is electable in November.

At the same time, the difficulties that Miller faces have not escaped the attention of the president’s inner circle as they work to retain GOP control on Capitol Hill. Trump's closest advisers are actively monitoring the situation, according to a Republican with knowledge of White House discussions who requested anonymity to discuss the politically sensitive matter.

The deadline for replacing Miller on the ballot is Wednesday, though no Republican has publicly pushed to take that step. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine told Ohio's Capital Journal that the accusations were troubling and “very serious” but that Miller's fate should be up to voters.

The tension comes Republicans are defending their narrow majority in the U.S. House in the November races.

Terry Casey, a longtime Republican consultant in Ohio, said Miller remains in a strong position to win the Republican-leaning district, which stretches south from Cleveland and was won decisively by Trump two years ago.

That is unless Poindexter, who has been endorsed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, can attract money significant enough to step up his advertising in the 7th Congressional District's multiple media markets.

“Unless serious people are willing to put in serious money, I’d say beginning around $2 million, it’s all nothing but lip exercises,” Casey said.

The National Republican Congressional Committee declined to discuss whether it would match any influx of Democratic cash. Miller has significantly outraised Poindexter, although the Democrat's campaign said it has seen a surge in social media followers in recent weeks.

Democrats call for and ethics investigation and some say Miller should resign

At issue in the couple's long-running dispute are claims leveled by Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, that he scalded, hit and threatened her while they were married. Miller has denied the allegations.

A recent article in the magazine Mother Jones revealed a new point of contention in their legal battle: a broken collarbone on their 2-year-old daughter that led Moreno to contact authorities. The pair, who were married in 2022 and finalized their divorce last year, presented different theories about how the injury occurred, according to court filings and police reports reviewed by the magazine.

Earlier this week, U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, a Cleveland Democrat, said it “would be wise” for Miller to resign. The House Democratic Women’s Caucus called for an ethics investigation.

“The recent reports of domestic violence and child abuse against Representative Max Miller are deeply disturbing and Congress can’t ignore them," Democratic Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico, Emilia Sykes of Ohio and Hillary Scholten of Michigan wrote in their letter. "Allegations of violence against women and children have to be met with the utmost seriousness.”

Bernie Moreno declined to comment about the allegations raised by his daughter or Miller's response to those, but his spokeswoman issued a statement saying the senator was focused on his family.

“Senator Moreno’s top priority is the safety and well-being of his daughter and granddaughter," said the spokeswoman, Reagan McCarthy. "While he will not litigate these matters in the media or respond to baseless public attacks, he will do whatever it takes to ensure a just outcome for his family.”

Miller's controversies escalated in July and he is facing a lawsuit by an ex-girlfriend

Miller has denied all allegations of abuse. He did not respond to inquiries left with his campaign, his Washington office or on his personal cellphone.

Last spring, his spokesperson provided documentation to The Associated Press that showed several allegations that he had abused his daughter had been investigated by the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services and were deemed unsubstantiated. He has sued Emily Moreno for defamation.

The couple's dispute escalated this week.

On Thursday, lawyers for Emily Moreno asked a judge for a temporary restraining order barring Miller from contact with her attorney, Andrew Zashin. The filing alleges that Miller shouted insults at Zashin and goaded him to “Come at me!” outside a court hearing last May, then physically grabbed Zashin during a different proceeding on Tuesday.

The court filing quotes Miller’s own lawyer as saying his client “just can’t control himself.” The attorney did not return a call seeking comment.

Earlier this month, Miller’s ex-girlfriend, former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, filed a lawsuit against him. She accused Miller of violating terms of a confidential settlement agreement they struck to resolve his 2021 lawsuit against her.

That lawsuit alleged Grisham defamed him in her book and in a Washington Post op-ed when she said a former White House staffer — later identified as Miller — had physically abused her while they were dating. While the book is vague on the specific allegations, Politico reported at the time that Grisham and Miller’s relationship ended “when he pushed her against a wall and slapped her in the face in his Washington apartment after she accused him of cheating on her.”

Grisham alleged in the new lawsuit filed July 7 that Miller dragged her name into his dispute with Moreno and violated their agreement not to disparage each other.

A campaign distraction for Miller that could turn off some voters

For Poindexter, the Democratic candidate, the accusations against Miller provide a possible path to an upset in November if some conservative-leaning voters opt for him or enough Republican voters are turned off by the domestic abuse allegations and stay home.

“These are serious allegations and deserve the full attention of law enforcement," Poindexter said in a statement. "If all the allegations against Congressman Miller prove to be true, Max Miller should be in jail, not worried about retaining a seat in Congress.”

Jim Trakas, a former state lawmaker and GOP party chair in northeast Ohio, said Miller is not helped by the fresh developments so close to the election.

“It's a difficult year for any incumbent,” he said. “Now you have to spend time on this when you want to focus on the main event, which is the pocketbook issues.”

In an interview as he becomes chair of the National Governors Association, the potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender ticked through Trump's efforts to restrict voting by mail, obtain voter information from states and possibly deploy federal troops or agents to polling places. Moore said there was a role for the NGA, a bipartisan group, to ensure states are able to oversee elections as designed by the U.S. Constitution.

“I don't think that the president is trying to hide the ball on this,” Moore said. “It's not even am I concerned about what the president could do? I'm concerned about what he's already doing in broad daylight.”

Moore's national profile is expanding and so is speculation about the White House

The 47-year-old governor's national profile is rising as he assumes the top leadership post for the nation's governors on Saturday, a role once held by Bill Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas. Moore is the subject of frequent speculation that he will announce a presidential run, a prospect he rules out, saying he will not “get distracted” before the November elections.

His travel to early presidential testing grounds such as South Carolina and Nevada, though, suggests he may run. Moore is proving himself a savvy digital communicator and crafts an image as a newcomer to politics while voters demand change.

The centerpiece of his agenda as NGA chair — a national program to build communities and draw young people into the workforce through service-oriented work — could be a pillar of a future campaign.

“Service will save us as a society because I know service saved me,” he said, recalling his time in the Army.

The “Service United” campaign opens with $10 million in philanthropic support to build on similar work Moore has done in Maryland, including a $5 million expansion of an apprenticeship program in the state announced this week.

“It's an opportunity to help people with a career path,” said Bechara Choucair, the executive vice president and chief health officer at Kaiser Permanente, which is building a youth mental health corps with Service United.

Dame Louise Richardson, the president of the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, which is supporting the program, said she hopes to “see the day when you meet somebody, they don't just ask, ‘Where did you go to college?’ but they ask, ‘Where did you do your service year?’”

The contours of the initiative have drawn support from some Republicans, including Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, the outgoing NGA chair.

“One of the things I like is the apprenticeship model and getting kids out of the classroom and into more workforce learning,” Stitt said. “So I think that's brilliant.”

Divisions between parties run deep despite nods at bipartisanship

But that optimism masks the challenge facing Moore as he takes the helm of one of the few remaining political groups that bring top Republicans and Democrats together. For all the nods at bipartisanship, the divides between — and within — the parties run deep.

Even as he spoke warmly of Moore's program, Stitt warned against anything resembling a “big government program.”

Moore, meanwhile, spoke of public frustration with the government’s response to dramatic changes in the workforce, driven by advances in artificial intelligence that could erode entry-level work that has long helped young people start their careers. He said the White House has complicated the dynamic.

“We want to say that if a person goes on to a four-year college or chooses not to go to a four-year college, they still need to have pathways to long-term wages and wealth," Moore said. “What we have seen from the federal government thus far has just been simply executive orders that have told the states to stay out of it.”

Moore and Trump have sparred frequently and there's potential for more

Moore has a challenging relationship with Trump, who sought to bar him and Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo., from a White House meeting organized by the NGA earlier this year. The president relented after Stitt intervened, though there is little to suggest that the relationship has recovered, raising the potential of another confrontation at the next NGA meeting, traditionally held February in Washington.

When asked about Trump, Moore noted his enjoyment at working with governors from both parties before saying “the president of the United States seems to consistently take an ideological view when it comes to securing the future of this country."

The White House did not comment on Moore's characterization.

But Moore also is contending with divides among his fellow Democrats.

At home in Maryland, where he is seeking reelection this fall, he has at times struggled to win over Democrats in the legislature, which reconvenes next week to consider a constitutional amendment on redistricting after an earlier effort he backed fell short.

Moore says party bosses should not rule

The Democratic National Committee is in turmoil. A string of democratic socialists has won primaries from New York City to Denver, prompting debate over whether the party is moving too far to the left and threatening its potential victories in the fall. Upcoming elections in Michigan and Wisconsin will further tug at the divide.

Moore did not take a firm stance with either of his party's ideological wings. He batted away questions about democratic socialists potentially imperiling Democratic wins, insisting it was up to voters to decide who their nominees would be.

“Party bosses shouldn't be determining who members of the party are,” he said, without specifying whether he was referring to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York as one of them. “The people should be the ones to have a final say on that.”

At the same time, Moore made clear that he did not support some of the left flank's positions.

“I know where I am on issues,” he said. “I don't believe in abolishing the police. I don't believe in abolishing prisons. I don't believe in open borders.”

Democrats sound alarm about Trump role in midterms

But perhaps the biggest test for Moore will be navigating the management of this year's elections without denting the bipartisan tone that typically defines the NGA. He will be in the middle of Republicans who are calling for tougher rules, particularly around voter identification and deadlines for mail ballots, and fellow Democrats who warn of voter suppression.

Democratic Gov. Josh Stein of North Carolina, who leads one of the most politically competitive states that includes a marquee Senate race this fall, echoed Moore's concerns about federal interference.

“I don’t think you can be a clear-thinking person and not be concerned because all the signals are very worrisome,” he said in an interview. “But that said, I have confidence that if the voters come out in droves and vote the way that they want to vote, that the government will represent their wishes.”

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said that "if Democrats really cared about securing our elections, they would pass the SAVE America Act,” referring to a strict proof-of-citizenship voting bill that is stalled in the Senate.

Stitt expressed confidence that states would hold elections without federal intervention while noting his support for the voting bill. But he also rejected federal intervention and said: "States should control their own elections.”

Moore said he used to associate states’ rights arguments with segregationists like Bull Connor, the infamous public safety commissioner in Birmingham, Alabama, who turned fire hoses and dogs on peaceful protesters during the Civil Rights era.

Now, Moore said, the Trump era has reshaped his views and reinforced “the importance of having actually strong governors.”

Here was an opportunity to give back for the Canadian-born Tinker and many of her WCHC members who have ancestral ties to the Caribbean nation. They did so by holding a three-day series of clinics that attracted about 150 Jamaican girls and boys in the nation’s capital of Kingston last weekend.

“A lot of gratitude. I mean very emotional,” Tinker said on Friday. “Just looking back and realizing that we got to impact a lot of our roots, and giving back to our community and introducing a game that we love, and we hope they’ll love as much as we do.”

Tinker is a former pro hockey player who has turned to broadcasting, and helped co-found what was then called the Black Girl Hockey Club Canada, and rebranded to the WCHC last year. The collective’s objective is making hockey more accessible to women and girls of color, and backed by the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

After holding clinics and offering programs in Canada, the WCHC decided to broaden its reach especially after hosting three girls from Kenya a year ago. The collective members include women of color playing at the collegiate and pro levels, with 15 making the trip to Jamaica, including Canadian national team and PWHL Vancouver defender Sophie Jaques,

“I think getting kids involved in any sport is great for them,” said Jaques, whose father is Jamaican. “Showing them that people of their heritage are very successful in the sport, and there’s opportunities for them in the sport I think is a great lesson."

In choosing Jamaica, the WCHC also brought on board Swift Hockey, a Canadian company that specializes in manufacturing and selling hockey sticks at more affordable prices. Swift was founded by Zechariah Thomas, a former minor leaguer who also played for the Jamaican national ice hockey team.

“Accessibility is something I speak on very publicly within hockey, where I felt a lot of people around me didn’t have accessibility,” said Thomas, who is from Oshawa, Ontario, and has Jamaican parents.

“A lot of kids I went to school with are now in jail or in prison or dead. And it’s such a big factor in my story noticing that none of them had sports,” he added. “So anything to make sports more accessible is super important.”

A majority of the Jamaican participants were new to hockey and included foster children.

“It was definitely very much grassroots learn to play, getting sticks in hands, teaching them how to stick handle,” Tinker said. “And then by the end of it they were running with the ball and stick-handling and shooting. So I think it was great.”

The WCHC left behind 75 sticks, goalie equipment, balls and T-shirts, while returning home with plenty of fond memories.

“As much as we teach the kids, there’s so much to learn from them,” Jaques said. “Their futures are so bright. And it’s just kind of opening their eyes to the fact that anything they want to do is possible.”

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AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

Now in its fifth year, the event brings together key organizations and support providers all in one place.

“Everything is geared towards telling the veteran or family what they need to know,” said Robert Bull, peer support specialist with Walking with Warriors.

That includes financial support, crisis services and benefits information — resources that many veterans are unaware of.

Bull stays ready with a well-worn reference guide.

“I’ve got a bible over there, a great big white book. That’s my resource book,” he said.

When asked whether he carries five years’ worth of information with him everywhere, Bull didn’t hesitate.

“Wherever I go,” he said.

Bridging gap between veterans, services

For those connected to the military community, events like Vet Fest fill a critical need.

“I think it’s a very wonderful and honorable thing that they’re doing for those that have served,” said Maldwyn Johnson, an Army spouse.

Beyond connecting veterans to organizations, the event also gives attendees a chance to share stories and support one another.

A milestone landing

The day carried special significance for at least one attendee. Chief Warrant Officer 5 Mark Tyler, a maintenance officer for Aviation Support Facility No. 2, arrived at WCC aboard a Chinook helicopter — one of his final flights before retiring after 41 years of service.

“I’ve been able to do something that I’ve absolutely loved for a lifetime,” Tyler said.

His family was waiting at the bottom when he landed, including his father — a Korean War veteran.

“My dad is a little bit older than me, a Korean War veteran, so that means a lot to me to have him here to observe this,” Tyler said.

The moment captured the spirit of the entire event — service, family and the bond shared among those who have worn a uniform.

“You get to meet a lot of veterans that served, that honor. It’s incredible. It’s an incredible thing,” said Warren Johnson, an Army National Guard veteran.

Resources for veterans

Veterans or family members looking for more information can contact the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency, which can help answer questions and connect individuals to available resources.

The strikes follow a major Russian attack two days earlier that killed at least 10 people and wounded more than 50 others across Ukraine, as Moscow apparently looks to exploit Kyiv’s critical shortage of Western-supplied anti-ballistic missile defenses. The relentless cycle of attacks dims the potential of reaching a diplomatic end to Russia’s more than 4-year-old invasion of its neighbor.

Deaths and damage across Kyiv

A five-story residential building in the city's Solomianskyi District was damaged by falling debris and a fire broke out. Rescue workers evacuated 35 people from the upper floors of the building and two people died, with eight reported injured, including two children, according to Ukraine’s state emergency service.

In the Darnytskyi District of Kyiv, seven people were killed and another 14 injured after the attack caused fires and damage to houses, vehicles, an administrative and non-residential building, the emergency services said.

Elsewhere, emergency workers extinguished a fire in a non-residential building in the capital’s Shevchenkivskyi district. There was no additional information about earlier reports by the district mayor that people were trapped in another residential building.

Damage to commercial and residential buildings was reported in two other city districts.

Lithuania’s foreign minister said the country’s embassy in Kyiv was damaged when missiles struck nearby overnight.

Russia’s defense ministry said Saturday it had launched a “massive strike” against “Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities and logistics centers in Kyiv.”

Zelenskyy presses for more air defense

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pressed the United States and other Western partners over Ukraine’s need for more Patriot anti-ballistic missile defense systems to counter missile attacks from Russia.

“Every package of ballistic missile interceptors saves the lives of our people. And every night without them results in more casualties,” he wrote on X following the latest attacks.

The Ukrainian leader late Friday said he spoke to U.S. Vice President JD Vance and discussed a meeting with President Donald Trump earlier this week in Washington, which Zelenskyy described as “positive and productive.”

“The Russian air strikes on our country continue and air defense, specifically interceptors for Patriot systems against ballistic missiles, remains a top priority,” Zelenskyy said Friday in a post on Telegram.

At a NATO summit in Ankara in July, Trump said the U.S. would give Ukraine a license to make Patriot systems, but he appeared to move away from that commitment on Friday during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland, saying he had not yet made a final decision on the matter.

Resident describes more frequent attacks

From a basement shelter where she was taking cover as a second air alarm sounded for another wave, Liudmyla Nakonechna, 64, described how she was woken by loud explosions at 1:30 a.m.

“I ran into the corridor and was standing there when the bathroom door was blown off its hinges and struck me in the leg,” said Nakonechna, whose health is poor after undergoing cancer treatment. “I heard the sound of shattering glass. My balcony was covered in glass and it was completely blown apart, while the windows in my bedroom were also blown out.”

Nakonechna had not taken cover in a shelter since Russia’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, but the stress became too much, she said.

“It’s getting worse by the day,” Nakonechna said. “Whereas before there was an attack once every two weeks, or maybe once a week, now it happens practically every day. It is incredibly hard to bear this psychologically.”

In other developments

— A Russian airstrike killed one person and wounded five more in the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, local officials said Saturday.

— In Russian-occupied Crimea, the Moscow-appointed head of the city of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said Saturday that a 60-year-old woman was killed and two other people wounded in a drone attack on the city.

— Ukrainian drones struck three Russian oil refineries overnight in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan, Zelenskyy said Saturday. The refineries “process millions of tons of oil each year” and are located nearly 1,600 kilometers (994 miles) from Ukraine, Zelenskyy said on social media.

The Russian online news outlet Astra reported Saturday that a Ukrainian drone set an oil refinery in Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan, ablaze. Local officials said debris from a downed drone caused “smoke” at an unnamed “industrial zone.”

Ukraine’s almost daily long-range drone and missile strikes using domestically developed weapons have battered Russian oil facilities for months. The operation has brought a fuel crisis that is embarrassing the Kremlin more than four years after Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor.

— A sanctioned Russian container ship, the Yanina, sank in the Black Sea after being hit by Ukrainian drones, Zelenskyy said Saturday, listing the ship as among “facilities that sustain the war effort.”

Russia’s state nuclear energy company, Rosatom, whose shipping subsidiary FESCO operates the vessel, said the ship was carrying “civilian goods” such as frozen food and construction materials.

Authorities released an early note in the investigation into the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, hoping that someone will recognize the writing style. A second note said Guthrie died shortly after she was kidnapped and “is buried in nature now.” Both notes initially were sent to a Tucson television station days after Guthrie went missing from her home outside Tucson on Feb. 1.

Desperate plea

“We are begging for help. We are desperate. We need someone to come forward. Someone knows something. Someone suspects something. Someone recognizes the writing in the ransom demand notes,” Guthrie wrote on her Instagram account, alongside a photo of her mother.

“Someone has noticed something different, strange, troubling or just unusual - perhaps with someone they deeply love," she wrote. "Perhaps they are afraid to come forward. Perhaps they are conflicted. Perhaps they are angry or upset for being in this situation. There is a way out - to tell what you know.”

Guthrie went on to say they “wanted to find out what happened to her, so that we can give her the dignity of a proper goodbye - a celebration of her remarkable life that she so deserves.”

Missing since February

Saturday is the six-month mark since Guthrie disappeared. No suspects have been arrested. The investigation has been dogged by unanswered questions, such as how many people are believed to have taken part in her abduction and whether she was taken by someone who knew her.

The FBI in Washington did not respond to questions about the ransom notes, including whether both messages sent to the Tucson station have been deemed legitimate.

In releasing the notes, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said “we believe these distinctive linguistic characteristics may be recognizable to someone who knows or has interacted with the notes’ writer.”

Ransom notes released

The first note, sent Feb. 2, said Guthrie was safe but scared and would be released unharmed once her captors received $4 million in cryptocurrency, with the ransom amount increasing if the first demand was not met. It said Guthrie would be released within 12 hours if the payment was received. It also included a threat to kill her if the ransom wasn’t paid.

“Your mother is aware of this and her life is in your hands,” the first note read. “It is in the best interest of everyone to have this completed as soon as possible.”

The second note was sent Feb. 6 and said Guthrie died shortly after she was taken. “She is buried in nature now,” it said. “Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome.” The note ended with an apology: “We are truly sorry.”

The sheriff’s department said the notes reveal a distinctive pattern of word choices and provide insight into the writer’s mindset. The agency said someone who knows the notes’ writer may recognize the patterns.

Authorities similarly used a suspect’s own writings as a tool to apprehend Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, branded the “Unabomber” by the FBI. Kaczynski, who killed three people and injured 23 others with mail bombs over a 17-year span, pressured The Washington Post, in conjunction with The New York Times, to publish his 35,000-word manifesto in 1995.

Signs of preparations

The sheriff’s office also said Friday that two videos recovered from Guthrie’s doorbell camera might be from two separate days and indicate an unidentified male prepared ahead of when Guthrie was taken. Authorities are seeking information on anyone who was behaving differently, changed their physical appearance, suddenly left the Tucson area, or had a noticeable or unexplained interest or disinterest in the case.

“Investigators continue to pursue every available technological and investigative lead,” the sheriff’s office said. “However, community members remain a vital resource as we seek to provide answers for Nancy’s family.”

The FBI had released surveillance videos of a masked person who authorities said appeared to tamper with a camera on Nancy Guthrie’s front porch and block it with a plant. They described the person as a male about 5 feet, 9 inches (1.75 meters) tall.

But it also clashed with the reality on the ground, where Israeli strikes have continued since Trump first touted the deal late Thursday in Washington, and where few steps have been taken to advance a broader ceasefire agreement that went into effect in October.

Most of Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians are still displaced or live in tent camps, where poor conditions and overcrowding have led to rodent infestations and outbreaks of infectious diseases such as chickenpox.

“They can talk about withdrawal and disarmament," said Abdel Moneim Aboul-Roos, 24, a tuk-tuk driver who lost his leg in an Israeli airstrike. “I don’t care about any of it as long as there is no food or medicine.”

Israel and Hamas signed a U.S.-backed ceasefire plan last year that ended major combat operations, saw the return of Israeli hostages and allowed for an increase in humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave. It also called for the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops, the creation of an international stabilization force and a program to decommission weapons held by Hamas.

But as each side accused the other of violating the ceasefire, negotiations stalled. Hamas held onto its weapons and the Israeli military refused to withdraw. Since October, Israel has killed more than 1,200 Palestinians in Gaza and expanded the amount of territory it controls. Five Israeli soldiers have also been killed in militant attacks.

Many Palestinians don't trust Israel or Hamas

The road map Trump announced — and that Hamas confirmed — addresses in more specific terms the type of weapons the militant group and its allies will be required to hand over to a new technocratic government. The document says Israel will not be involved in the decommission of Hamas' weapons and that it should halt all military operations in Gaza so the transition can proceed and recovery can begin.

But residents in Gaza say they have been repeatedly promised that the war will stop and their lives will improve. They see the road map as a positive development but remain skeptical that either Israel or Hamas will adhere to the terms.

“This is enough. We need improvement in our lives,” said Ayman Ahmed, a displaced Palestinian living in southern Gaza. He said he hopes Hamas gives up its arms but does not see it happening anytime soon.

“They don't care about Palestinians’ lives,” he said.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others back to Gaza as hostages. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 73,300 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which was part of the Hamas-run government.

The ministry maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants, but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.

Because of the high death toll and ongoing attacks, other Palestinians say they believe Israel will refuse to make concessions.

In southern Gaza, Ghazal Astal lives among the rubble. She said there is near-constant Israeli gunfire and that the territory has been transformed into an “indescribable battlefield.”

Ammar Kaskeen, 30, said he doesn't believe the road map will force Israeli troops to withdraw. For Israel, according to Kaskeen, the goal is not only to disarm Hamas but to also drive the Palestinian population out of Gaza.

"They will make us suffer,” he said.

Even as Israel digs in, Palestinians dream of returning home

Israel has not commented publicly on the road map but Israeli officials, speaking anonymously over the past two days, have signaled that the document does not align with the country's interests.

The officials also reiterated that Israel would not withdraw from the Yellow Line in Gaza, which divides Israeli-controlled territory in the east with the western part of the enclave.

In recent months, the military has built a massive earthen barrier roughly along the same line, developing what it described as a “security zone” adjacent to the berm, equipped with intelligence and technological assets.

Israel has also carried out controlled demolitions and clearing operations across much of the territory it controls. Palestinians who lived there have yet to return — and are unsure whether their homes are still standing.

Anas Nakla was displaced from Rafah in southern Gaza during the war. He said he knows his house has been destroyed but still wants to return home with his wife and children.

“It doesn't exist anymore," he said. "But we can return and rebuild.”

Similarly, Mohamed Hamad, who had to leave his home behind in northern Gaza, hopes that the U.S.-backed road map will pressure Israel to leave some of the areas it controls. He believes that even if only a small number of people could go back to their homes, “it will give hope to the rest that some day they may also return.”

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Melanie Lidman and Sam Mednick contributed to this report from Tel Aviv, Israel.

The magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Kumamoto Prefecture on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday. The Aeon Mall, in the town of Kashima, was one of the hardest-hit sites, after an explosion that followed the quake caused the walls and a floor to collapse.

The explosion, which the company said it believes was due to a gas leak, occurred after about 3,000 shoppers had been evacuated to a parking lot following the quake, but some employees remained inside. The mall’s second floor collapsed.

Rescuers extracted five people from under mall debris and retrieved the bodies of seven others over the past five days. On Saturday, officials said all the missing were accounted for and ended the operation at the mall.

The overall number of missing in the hit prefecture remains unknown, and search operations pressed on, with thousands of Self Defense troops, police, rescue workers and sniffing dogs deployed.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, at a government task force meeting Saturday, urged rescue personnel not to leave anyone behind.

At another hard-hit site in Kumamoto Prefecture, a chimney collapsed at the Nippon Paper Industries factory in Yatsushiro city, trapping 11 employees. Nine have since been confirmed dead and two were rescued, officials said.

The earthquake has left 103 people injured in Kumamoto, authorities said, and two in addition to the reported deaths are being investigated to determine if they are quake-related.

The prefecture’s main challenge is the lack of fresh water affecting nearly 70,000 homes, and fuel shortages as Japan suffers sweltering heat, stoking fears of heat-related illness. Japan Meteorological Agency said temperatures reached an “extreme heat” level of 36.6 degrees Celsius (97.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in Kumamoto city Saturday.

More than 9,000 people remain at crowded shelters, such as converted community centers, school gyms and classrooms. Many others slept in cars parked at town hall parking lots and parks, or outside of their homes, for privacy.

Experts have long criticized Japan’s crowded conditions at emergency shelters, arguing that a lack of sanitation and privacy creates additional stress and increases the risk of health problems for disaster-hit people.

Water, food and other necessities, including portable toilets, as well as air conditioners and partitions, were being delivered to improve conditions at the evacuation centers, Takaichi said Saturday.

“The government is determined to do everything we can,” Takaichi said.

The prefecture said it has received more than 1,500 reports of power loss as of Saturday, but local power company serving Kyushu said it had no immediate reports of outages.

Over 180 homes were destroyed, officials said, and nearly 3,500 buildings were damaged — nearly double the number reported on Friday — with 20 of them severely affected, according to Kumamoto prefectural assessments.

“It was kind of motivating as a kid to watch it because even though there wasn’t a platform for us to play professional baseball when I was growing up, playing Little League and youth baseball, like there was a vision that there could be,” Schroder said. “And we’re here now.”

They sure are.

The inaugural season of the Women’s Pro Baseball League begins on Saturday — weather permitting, with rain in the forecast — when Denae Benites and the New York Heights face Mo’ne Davis and the Los Angeles Queens. The other two teams in the league — the Boston Hunters and San Francisco Firebells — play on Sunday.

Each team will have 15 active players for the seven-inning games. The 15 regular-season games for each club and the playoffs will be held at Springfield's Robin Roberts Stadium, a historic ballpark that has a seating capacity of 5,200 and opened in 1925.

“What excites me most is having the chance to compete against players who have been my teammate, as well as Team USA players, and other athletes I’ve always considered rivals,” Japanese right-hander Ayami Sato, one of Los Angeles' top pitchers, said Friday through a translator. “Being able to play against them in this league is something I’ve been really looking forward to.”

The opening weekend of the WPBL marks another major moment in a scattered history for women's professional baseball in the United States. The AAGPBL, which ran from 1943-54, was the first professional women’s league in the U.S. There were at least two attempts to start a league in the 1990s, but each one was short-lived.

The WPBL was co-founded by Justine Siegal, who became the first woman to coach for an MLB team with the Athletics in 2015. And its players, taking the field in an era of unprecedented popularity for women's sports, have big dreams.

The fledgling league got a lift Thursday when it announced a media rights deal with ESPN and the Scripps Sports Network to air regular-season and postseason games in its inaugural campaign.

“We want to make this thing last forever and ever,” Los Angeles infielder Ashton Lansdell said. “We want this to become the MLB of women’s baseball.”

Lansdell, Benites, Schroder and Kelsie Whitmore were named team captains on Friday. Schroder plays for Boston, and Whitmore was selected by San Francisco with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

“We were talking earlier today, I was telling them we’re a family now,” Whitmore said. “This is our new team, this is our crew, all 15 of us. And my goal is just to lead them the best way that I can, both on and off the field.”

Whitmore and the Firebells will be managed by Matt Williams, a five-time All-Star during his 17 years in the major leagues. Former Boston Red Sox closer Keith Foulke is the manager of the Hunters, and former big league infielder Eric Young is the skipper for the Queens. Rachelle “Rocky” Henley, a former player with a long history in women's baseball development, rounds out the managers with the Heights.

With only 15 active players for each team, the managers and their coaching staffs are going to be busy as they execute their strategy for each game.

“When I saw them play down in (Florida) this spring, it was like, ‘Wow. These aren’t women playing baseball, these are athletes playing baseball,’” Foulke said. “And I just want to bring that passion to my club, to the league, help build this and just be able to go out there and have a good time, put on a good product.”

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This story corrects Ayami Sato's team to Los Angeles.

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

Pendergrass was sentenced on Friday morning after pleading guilty to second-degree murder on July 2, while all other charges against him were dropped.

“The sentence agreement is for Mr. Pendergrass to serve a maximum of 50 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections and a minimum of 25 years,” Judge Paul Cusic said on Friday morning. “I do believe that every minute of a 50-year sentence would be deserved in this case.”

Pendergrass admitted to strangling Thomas to death during an altercation at his home on Carlysle Street in Inkster on April 5, 2025. The 23-year-old Pendergrass and the 17-year-old Thomas had been in a relationship, but it had ended by the time she arrived at the house.

Thomas’ body was found in Southfield three weeks later on April 26, 2025 – two weeks after she had been reported missing to the Detroit Police.

Pendergrass was charged alongside his 49-year-old mother, Charla. It was one of her friends who told the FBI that she asked him to move the plastic bin that unknowingly contained London’s body.

“This case is different than some of the other ones that I had,” Dominic DeGrazia, the Prosecuting Attorney, said during the sentencing. “To the extent that the defendant’s pattern of deception and cold-blooded, cold-heartedness in this case really stands out.”

‘A Waste of Skin’

The family’s pain was on full display in the courtroom this morning. Both of Thomas’ grandmothers, along with Jasma Bennett, Thomas’ mother, gave jarring impact statements.

“I ain’t never been able to have animosity in my heart for nobody,” Jestina Martin said. “But I do for you, because you took a part of my life that never be filled.”

“You took a piece of me,” she said. “Whatever you get, it’s what you deserve.”

Meanwhile, Barbara Bennett, Thomas’ maternal grandmother, attempted to show grace in mourning London but took a pointed shot at both mother and son for what they had done.

“I will always love London, always, until we meet again,” Bennett said. “The only regret that I have is that Charla and Jalen Pendergrass are still walking this Earth, and London is not. He is a waste of skin!”

London’s mother spoke through tears on the stand, saying that she has not known peace since her daughter was taken from her. She quoted Bible verses and shared stories of missing the simple moments with her daughter.

“There is not a moment that you are not in my thoughts and prayers,” Jasma Bennett said. “She had such a strong and beautiful, truthful, brave, fearless personality and energy.

“As I wake and when I sleep and when I try to live, this devastation will never, ever leave me,” she added. “We would try, try to keep going. She didn’t even have the opportunity to argue and fight and then to make it right.”

While Jalen Pendergrass is off to prison, this case is not fully closed. Charla Pendergrass is still facing first-degree murder, unlawful imprisonment and evidence tampering charges. Her trial will begin on Oct. 26.

You can listen to the full sentencing hearing below:

Wildlife officials are banning fishing during certain hours on rivers and streams across the U.S. West, following an exceptionally dry winter and amid widespread drought. Lower water levels mean rivers can heat more rapidly.

The restrictions aim to reduce stress on species including highly-prized trout. Anglers travel from around the world to find the fish in Yellowstone National Park or Western Montana’s Blackfoot River, featured in the movie “A River Runs Through It.”

More record temperatures are forecast this weekend as a heat wave in the Southwest expands north into the Rocky Mountains and east across the High Plains.

On the Yellowstone River near Livingston, Montana, California resident Mike Wever waded into the swiftly-moving water Friday with a fly fishing rod in one hand. He dipped his free hand into the water.

“Not very cold,” said Wever, 62.

He lacked the customary waders that keep fly fishers warm. Instead, he wore shorts. Stepping carefully across a rocky side channel, Wever said he was OK with the decision to close stretches of the Yellowstone to fishing after 2 p.m. daily.

“It's great for us to have this resource,” he said. “But we have to manage it.”

Many trout anglers let their catch swim free after netting it. But temperature-stressed rainbow or cutthroat trout can die if they're out of water even briefly for a commemorative photo, experts say.

Colorado has imposed restrictions this summer on 19 rivers totaling 635.5 miles (1023 kilometers), a situation state officials say is unprecedented.

Yellowstone on Wednesday expanded afternoon fishing restrictions to the whole park.

Also Wednesday, wildlife officials in neighboring Montana broadened afternoon fishing restrictions to now cover 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers) of rivers.

Closures “have become very common over the last decade plus, some might even say very routine from late June through early September,” said biologist Adam Strainer, administrator of the fisheries division at Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks.

That trend coincides with rising temperatures as human-caused climate change warms the planet and droughts become more frequent and severe. Yellowstone, for example, has restricted fishing due to high water temperatures during five of the past six years. That’s much more often than in the past, according to park officials.

The consequences aren’t just ecological; trout fishing is closely entwined with the economy in many Rocky Mountain communities.

Dan Gigone, who runs Sweetwater Fly Shop along the Yellowstone River in Montana, says many visitors are pushing trips to the fall to avoid low and warm summer water flows.

“People are realizing August is a crapshoot here in terms of whether you're going to be able to fish and how good the fishing will be,” Gigone said. “I’ve been here 22 years and this is the warmest stretch I remember.”

Warm water contains less oxygen, making it harder for fish to breathe. It also slows their growth.

Full reservoirs usually help buoy water levels during dry summers and low-water years, said Kirk Deeter with the conservation group Trout Unlimited. But many of those reservoirs are at near-record lows.

In Steamboat Springs where Deeter lives, drought and warm waters in the mid 70s (23 C) killed a massive number of fish on the Yampa River. “That’s a bad harbinger for the trout,” he said.

In 2016, wildlife officials closed 183 miles (295 kilometers) of the Yellowstone River to fishing, rafting and other activities to prevent a parasite suspected of killing tens of thousands of fish from spreading further in the low and warm water.

A study last year found “river heat waves" are increasingly happening in snow-dominated areas such as the northern U.S. and the Rockies, said Li Li, a professor in civil and environmental engineering at Pennsylvania State University and co-author of the study.

Climate change, she said, is changing the size and timing of the mountain snowpack, and that's contributing to river heat waves. The researchers also found more days when rivers were warm enough to stress cold-water species like bull trout.

Todd Tanner’s School of Trout in Bigfork, Montana, typically organizes fly-fishing classes from May to October in the northwest. But “the window for those trips seems to be growing narrower” as conditions get hotter, drier and more wildfire-prone, said Tanner, 65.

The school has shifted classes to avoid adverse conditions.

“I’ve been in Montana full time for the last 34 years,” he said. “This wasn’t something that we even thought about 30 years ago or 25 years ago.”

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Pineda reported from Los Angeles.

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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

The Danube River, which runs through 10 countries from southwestern Germany to the Black Sea, has receded to never-before-seen lows along much of its course, exposing rocks, sand bars and old shipwrecks that have rarely been seen before.

In Budapest, Hungary's capital, the national water authority measured the Danube's water level at 23 centimeters (9 inches) on Wednesday morning, well below the previous all-time low of 33 centimeters (13 inches) set in 2018.

The river is expected to further ebb in the coming days with no significant rain in the forecast and temperatures expected to rise to over 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) across the region.

Drought upends boat traffic

As Danube levels sank to a new low on Tuesday, photographer Gábor Kertész went to the base of Budapest’s Margaret Bridge — typically underwater but now an exposed shoal — to document the sight.

“The bare rocks, the dry sand bars around the bridge pillars ... it’s all shocking to see how things were before and how they are now,” he said. “Where will this lead, what will happen? We don’t know that yet, but this must be the result of climate change.”

Much of Central Europe has been under a prolonged drought for most of the year, and successive heat waves have accelerated evaporation and caused waterways to dry out.

According to the Hungarian Meteorological Service, 90-day precipitation totals are between 80-130 millimeters (3.1-5.1 inches) lower across nearly the entire country compared to multi-year averages.

The low water level has forced popular cruise ships, where passengers usually disembark for sightseeing in Budapest, to dock far upriver, while cargo ships have stopped operating nearly entirely, according to Hungary’s Ministry of Transport and Investment.

In Bulgaria, where the Danube forms a border with Romania, police on Tuesday evacuated 186 tourists from a cruise ship that had run aground near the port city of Vidin.

The ship Viking Ullur, which had been scheduled to take on supplies in Vidin, was unable to reach the port after running into a shallow shoal, according to Bulgaria’s state news agency BTA.

Bulgarian border police said that the ship was running low on drinking water when it went aground, and that its 52 crew members might have to remain onboard for an extended period depending on navigation conditions and refloating options.

Viking strongly disputed reports that there had been a shortage of food or drinking water on board the Viking Ullur at the time of the incident. A representative of the company said the ship was “well stocked with food and potable water for all guests and crew,” and that there were sufficient provisions to support those on board for up a week after the incident.

In Serbia, hundreds of small boats and dozens of cargo ships were marooned on the dried out river bank near the northern city of Novi Sad.

One house boat owner, Radovan Segrt, who runs river excursions on his vessel, told The Associated Press that the water in the Danube had withdrawn “some 15 to 20 meters (50 to 65 feet) from its shore.”

“The summer season is over now, as far as boat riding is concerned,” he said.

Low water levels force nuclear plant shut downs

The receding waters are also affecting nuclear energy production in numerous countries where water from the Danube is typically used to cool reactors.

In Romania, where Danube water flow had fallen to 1,630 cubic meters per second, around a third of a typical July average, authorities shut down a reactor unit at the Cernavoda power plant on Tuesday for safety reasons and announced another would be shut down soon after.

Similarly, Hungary’s Paks nuclear plant, which supplies nearly half of the country's electricity, began powering down a reactor on Wednesday due to restricted cooling-water supplies. That came after two successive reductions in power output in two reactors over the previous two days.

Drought exposes treasures and dangers

The exposed river bed can also pose dangers. Last week, authorities in Budapest closed the Margaret Bridge after a bomb dating from World War II was exposed at its base by the receding water levels.

Treasure hunter Zsolt Horváth was using the extreme conditions to fish metal objects from the exposed bank with a powerful magnet on Tuesday. He said he got a lot of pleasure from finding things like an old radio amplifier or bullet casings from the World Wars.

Horváth said that while "having so little water in the Danube is a blessing for this kind of activity, otherwise, it’s a curse.”

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CORRECTS: A previous version of this story, based on information from the Bulgarian agency BTA, inaccurately stated that the Viking Ullur, which ran aground in Bulgaria, had run out of food and water. Police said they only stated that the ship was short of water, and the operator denied even that.

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Associated Press writers Stephen McGrath in Leamington Spa, England, Veselin Toshkov in Sofia, Bulgaria, Béla Szandelszky in Budapest, Hungary and Radul Radovanovic in Novi Sad, Serbia contributed.

Suddenly, the 2-year-old blue heeler mix wanted nothing to do with Brian’s textured brown skin or furiously rattling tail. Ripley was never in danger because Brian had his venom glands removed years ago.

Dog trainer J.J. Belcher of Sublime Canine in Tucson, Arizona, said the single shock delivered one recent morning from an electronic training collar should be sufficient to keep Ripley away from venomous snakes that can sicken or even kill a dog. Belcher said Ripley can come back in a year for a free training session to make sure the lesson stuck.

Ripley’s owners, Amber Schneider and Wendy Timm, said they opted for the training because the dog regularly hunts small animals.

“We have an acre of natural desert and respect all the snakes, but she’s very curious about wildlife,” said Timm. “We are doing this because we want to keep our dog safe.”

How common are dog-snake interactions?

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says as many as 150,000 dogs are bitten by venomous snakes each year in the United States. In the rattlesnake hot spot of Arizona, emergency veterinarian Dr. Sarah Carotenuto says the Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson treats four to six dogs daily for rattlesnake bites, along with an occasional cat.

Training programs to protect canines from poisonous snakes are offered around the U.S., especially in the Western deserts, woods and grasslands that are home to western diamondbacks. The snakes can reach over 5 feet long (1.5 meters) and strike in less than a second when they feel threatened.

There are also classes from Illinois to Florida to guard animals against eastern diamondbacks, timber rattlers and other venomous snakes.

Carotenuto said the snakebite survival rate for pets is 94% with quick treatment, which can cost thousands of dollars depending on how much antivenom and hospitalization is needed.

“Do bring us your dog quickly, but please don’t bring us the snake!” emphasized Carotenuto. Some people have brought in the guilty snake, but it’s unnecessary to identify the exact species before administering antivenom effective against all kinds of rattlers.

Which method is best?

Carotenuto, who teaches at the University of Arizona’s College of Veterinary Medicine, said she’s participating in a research study there into whether rattlesnake-aversion training works, and which method is most effective.

Like Belcher, most trainers insist that the use of the electronic collar is necessary to ensure a dog will avoid poisonous snakes.

“It’s a very fast and effective form of training,” said Belcher, who has traveled around the Western U.S. for more than two decades teaching rattlesnake avoidance to thousands of pet and working dogs, including search-and-rescue animals and the occasional police dog.

He acknowledged the growing debate about the use of electronic training collars, a method that the American Humane Society has opposed as cruel.

The ASPCA doesn’t explicitly oppose electronic collars, but insists they be used correctly.

“This type of training can be highly effective — however, we recommend that such training be conducted only under the guidance of a trainer knowledgeable in the principles of avoidance learning,” said Pamela Reid, vice president of ASPCA's behavioral sciences team.

“It is imperative to weigh the dog’s risk of a snakebite against the potential fallout from using an electronic collar,” she said.

Training a dog to come reliably when it’s called and to “leave it” when it is interested in something dangerous “can go a long way toward keeping a dog safe,” she said.

Belcher said he has developed an alternative positive-reinforcement program for clients who are squeamish about electronic collars, but nobody has wanted to pay the $2,500 he would charge for the multiple sessions. A single visit with the collar costs $125.

Another trainer, Mike Parmley in Salt Lake City, teaches as many as 500 dogs every year, usually in small classes of four to six. He uses an electronic collar set on a low level, emphasizing, “You don’t have to shock the hell out of the dog.”

He aims to help dogs steer clear of the Salt Lake area's Great Basin rattlesnakes.

“They are a pretty big problem up here in the foothills,” said Parmley, who owns Barley’s Canine Recreation Center. “They came out a lot earlier this year because of a trend of warmer weather, and we had more than 100 dogs signed up by early June.”

Other steps to prevent encounters with snakes

Here are some tips from trainers and veterinarians for protecting your dog:

— Learn about snakes in your area. Venomous snakes exist across the U.S., with various rattler species not only in the West but as far east as New York and North Carolina.

— Clear your yard of long grass and other foliage or debris that can attract small rodents hunted by snakes. Trimming back growth can eliminate hiding places.

— Stay on well-worn trails while hiking and keep your dog on a leash.

— Don’t let your guard down even if your dog has had avoidance training. A viper can surprise and attack a person or pet without warning.

— Seek emergency care immediately if your dog is bitten because the venom will move quickly through its body, destroying tissue.

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For more AP pet stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/pets

Toss in a crescendoing meteor shower and a six-planet parade on the same day, and the heavens will be overflowing with awe.

Daytime darkness will descend Aug. 12 across the Iberian Peninsula close to sunset — plus slivers of Greenland and Iceland — as the sun, moon and Earth align perfectly in the sky.

Starting near the North Pole before tracking south, totality will last up to two minutes and 18 seconds, an appetizer for an even longer solar show next year — a 6 ½-minute extravaganza that will sweep from Spain to North Africa and the Middle East.

It will take 1 ½ hours for the umbra, or moon’s sun-blocking shadow, to race along the 5,130-mile (8,260-kilometer) course, most of it over an empty Atlantic. Maximum totality will occur off Iceland’s west coast. By the time it reaches a small patch of Portugal and then Spain with its massive crowds, totality will have dwindled to a minute or so. The spectacle will end in the Mediterranean.

Eclipse chasers gear up for the solar spectacle

Hundreds of millions more on the sidelines are in for a treat as well.

A partial eclipse will delight as far away as Alaska and Siberia, enveloping Canada, the northern U.S., and much of Europe and West Africa.

The closer to totality’s course, the more the sun will vanish behind the moon – 94% coverage in Dublin and 83% in Oslo, Norway. Montreal will see an 18% bite out of the sun, tapering to 9% in New York and 2% in Norfolk, Virginia.

Special eclipse glasses are crucial. even if a morsel of sun is showing.

Adding to the cosmic wonder, the day begins with six of our neighboring planets forming an arc in the sky before dawn and end with the Perseid meteor shower peaking after nightfall under the new moon. Streaking meteors could photobomb totality, with some of the brighter planets and stars visible in the background.

Eclipse mapmaker Michael Zeiler is chasing an even more elusive interloper: the northern lights.

For his 13th total solar eclipse, Zeiler will be on a cruise ship in a Greenland fjord, sailing as a guest lecturer. He’ll point a video camera toward the north to capture any aurora forming during totality. A massive outburst from the sun would be the icing on his eclipse cake.

“What gets me excited is viewing rare phenomena,” Zeiler said in an email.

He’s not the only one revved up.

See who's hosting solar eclipse watch parties and science experiments

The European Space Agency will host a live webcast from Spain’s Astrophysical Observatory of Javalambre and a public celebration in Leon. NASA will provide its own coverage, as will the Italian-based Virtual Telescope Project and others.

“For me, it’s not just a scientific moment. It’s not just an incredible alignment of heavenly bodies. It’s also a very human moment,” said ESA’s director of science Carole Mundell. “It’s a real human connection between us with our feet planted on the Earth and the cosmos.”

Two of ESA’s space telescopes will observe the eclipsed sun and its corona, or outer atmosphere. Proba-3, the space agency’s artificial eclipse-making satellite duo, will be in the wrong part of its orbit during totality as seen from Earth, but will try to sneak in some before-and-after shots.

U.S. college research teams are also pitching in, launching more than 60 high-altitude balloons from Spain and Iceland to study Earth’s atmosphere and other changes during the eclipse when the temperature momentarily drops. They launched 10 times as many balloons during the 2024 total solar eclipse that captivated North America.

“A couple of minutes isn’t a lot of time, but it’s still plenty to affect the atmosphere and to make that cold, dark shadow of the moon on Earth,” said Montana State University’s Angela Des Jardins, who leads the NASA-funded balloon project.

Southwest Research Institute’s Amir Caspi also expects a scientific bonanza from his study aboard a NASA high-altitude plane. Four cameras will record the corona in nine wavelengths as the jet chases the eclipse at 460 mph (740 kph), extending totality to nearly three minutes in the air. Caspi anticipates thousands of images gathered from each camera during those precious 180 seconds.

"It’s true the eclipse is short, but it’s still incredibly valuable," he said.

And there's more to come

An exceptionally long total solar eclipse is in store for 2027, yielding nearly three times more observation time.

The southern tip of Spain will take center stage on Aug. 2, 2027, with up to six minutes and 23 seconds of totality extending into Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia.

Then on Jan. 26, 2028, a ring-of-fire eclipse will round out Spain’s celestial trifecta — “a lucky coincidence,” according to ESA’s Mundell.

It’s all the more extraordinary considering Spain’s last full solar eclipse — not counting the Canary Islands — occurred two days before the Titanic’s sinking in 1912. Because that rare hybrid eclipse toggled between a ring-of-fire and just a few seconds of totality for Spain, some consider 1905 for the country’s last pull-out-all-the-stops solar eclipse.

The Royal Observatory of Belgium’s Andrei Zhukov can’t get enough of them regardless of their length or origin. His Proba-3 science mission has created more than 60 simulated total solar eclipses over the past two years, with the longest lasting five hours and 38 minutes from two satellites flying in formation.

“We’re looking forward to more eclipses,” Zhukov said, “natural or artificial.”

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

The social media posts of the world's most powerful man are going on sale Saturday when his Truth Social business begins offering sneak peeks of them to Wall Street traders willing to pay up. The move raises the prospect of big profits for Trump's company and big questions about insider trading and using public office for private gain.

Similar fast speed feeds are sold by other social media firms and media providers, but Truth Social doesn't just distribute the news, it makes it, regularly rattling markets as Trump posts policy changes on everything from war to central bank leadership to tariffs.

“If this was the CEO a public company, this would be jail time," said Irene Aldridge, head of Able Alpha Trading, which doesn't plan to buy the service. “We have a President of the United States who has the front seat to all the action, who makes all the decisions, and he's disclosing this ahead of time to a select group.”

Trump's company says critics just aren't capitalist enough

Asked about the propriety of the new service and whether White House lawyers had vetted it, Trump’s press office declined to comment, referring questions to Truth Social’s publicly traded parent. That company, Trump Media & Technology, issued a statement blasting Democratic critics for mischaracterizing the service “out of ideological opposition to free markets or a failure to grasp the distinction between public and nonpublic information — or, quite possibly, both.”

A prolific poster, Trump has sent stocks, bonds and currencies soaring and plunging with his online musings and threats. That presents opportunities for so-called high frequency traders that specialized in buying and selling within milliseconds, exploiting tiny, fleeting difference in prices.

Profits aplenty betting on oil, stocks and currencies

Just this month, Trump has threatened on Truth Social to slap higher tariffs on Canada, kill a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia and widen the Iran war. With advanced knowledge, traders betting on a plunge in the Canadian dollar, a drop in nuclear energy stocks and a jump in oil futures could have raked in big profits.

“For the big guys, it’s going to be something they need,” said Joe Saluzzi, co-founder of Themis Trading, who estimates about 100 of high frequency firms might be willing to pay for the service. “It’s market-moving information.”

Dubbed Truth API, the service comes as these firms are spending more on feeds and servers that bypass slower internet connections with direct lines to news and data sources. The chance for profits is greater than ever thanks artificial intelligence’s ability to read posts and articles more accurately for market-making changes and Trump’s penchant for making news online.

When Trump makes surprise announcements, traders pounce

Traders profit when prices jump up and down, and with his taste for cliffhangers, threats and policy reversals America's first reality-TV president provides plenty of potentially market-moving content.

The reversals are especially profitable, allowing traders to win both ways — jumping ahead of stocks moving up or down to a post threatening something, then cashing out within thousands of a second, then betting the other way.

In addition to Trump, the service will include posts from other “high ranking” Truth Social contributors, including possibly his two oldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, who along with the father are heavily followed by users.

Truth Social has said that the information will be released to the traders and the general public at the same time so there really isn't an issue of fairness. But Themis Trading's Saluzzi, a critic of high speed trading, says that's a red herring because when the posts are received, not when they are released, is what matters.

“Somebody who buys the info and has a system built to process it will be able to act quicker than you and me,” said Saluzzi, adding in reference to everyday, small stock buyers, “The loser is always the retail investor."

Trump posts about a company he likes, and stocks jump

Aside from policy scoops, another reason to sign up has emerged in recent months: Trump is posting more about publicly traded companies, praising ones he likes in a way that sets off buying frenzies.

“The pimping of specific companies — obviously Wall Street would like to know that before other people,” said Dylan Hedler-Gaudette, a federal ethics rule expert at the watchdog Project on Government Oversight. “It's a real mess.”

In April, moments after Trump praised Palantir Technologies in a post that included its stock symbol, the price briefly jumped the most it had in an entire year. Later that month, Trump posted, “Congratulations on Intel doing such a great job,” and the stock immediately jumped in after-hours trading.

Just which firms are signing up for the feed is unclear. Asked for comment, none of the half dozen most well known high-speed traders such as Citadel Securities and XTX Markets replied. If just three sign up for the $100,000 a month fee, that would double revenue at Trump Media, which reported taking in $3.7 million last year.

Trump Media needs big money customers

The company can use their business.

Stock in the Truth Social parent has plunged 75% since Trump took office last year as the company keeps reporting hundreds of millions in losses despite the president's help driving traffic to its site by posting major decisions there.

In fact, the president breaks news on Truth Social so often that the White House press office will copy his posts into an email when responding to questions from the media seeking details on policies. If his posts aren’t available yet, journalists are sometimes told, “Wait for the Truth.”

Another problem for Truth Social is looming if the Democrats take control of Congress and launch investigations, as vowed by Massachusetts Senator Sen. Elizabeth Warren in a statement Friday specifically attacking the new service: “We will haul in those responsible for this open corruption to answer to the American people.”

If the losses keep mounting for the company, though, some predict the president will push things further, using the platform even more for policy announcements.

“That’s absolutely going to happen,” warns Craig Holman, a lobbyist for the good government group Public Citizen. “Trump knows how to sell products.”

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AP reporters Will Weissert and Josh Boak contributed from Washington.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy skies, a chance of rain showers and a few thunderstorms. Low: 66.

SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy skies, a chance of rain showers and a few thunderstorms. High: 78.

SUNDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy skies, a chance of rain showers and a few thunderstorms. Low: 60.

MONDAY: Mix of sunshine and clouds. High: 81.

Friday turned out to be a nice day across the region, most of us saw some sunshine and warm temperatures. The clouds have increased across the region, and we are looking at a wet weekend taking shape across Metro Detroit.

Looking ahead into the weekend, we will keep the chance of rain showers in both Saturday and Sunday, there also could be a few thunderstorms that develop along a frontal boundary that will move into the region, and stall out through late Sunday.

There’s a better chance for more widespread coverage of rain on Saturday afternoon & evening, and into the overnight compared to the end of the weekend on Sunday. Some places could see over an inch or more of rainfall, especially where multiple rounds of rain move through throughout the weekend. But as of right now, we don’t have any flooding concerns, looking ahead into the weekend.

High temperatures will remain in the upper 70s to around 80° on Saturday, then drop into the mid to upper 70s for everyone by the end of the weekend on Sunday.

We’re keeping an eye on early next week, as the forecast models are showing an upper-level disturbance being “cutoff” from the jet stream, and that means that we might see a few rain showers. I have removed them from the forecast on Saturday morning as it looks like, at least at the start of next week, it will stay south of the region, but we will keep an eye on it it. For now, we will keep lots of sunshine into the forecast for Monday and Tuesday. Expect a little more cloud cover in the forecast looking ahead into the middle of the week on Wednesday. High temperatures in the lower 80s to start the week, will warm into the mid-80s by Tuesday and Wednesday.

Another frontal boundary looks to move into the region by the time we get to the second half of next week. Expect chances for showers and thunderstorms buy the time we get to Thursday, and also chances for rain showers by the end of next week on Friday. High temperatures remaining in the low to mid 80s by the end of next week.

The Manchester low-rise is home to “No. 10 North,” the flagship of new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s pledge to be a different kind of U.K. leader. Burnham was mayor of Greater Manchester before vaulting back into national politics, and one of his first acts was to set up a branch office in the city. It’s both symbol of and engine for his pledge to give local leaders more powers and spread economic growth around the country.

Burnham calls it “a North Pole that balances the South Pole" of Westminster politics in London. Critics have called it a gimmick.

It’s certainly a novelty. While past British leaders have spent weekends in their local constituencies, or at the prime minister’s official Chequers country retreat, none in living memory has had a large-scale office outside London. Burnham plans to work there at least one day a week, alongside a full-time staff of aides, experts and civil servants.

“It’s not another office," Burnham said Friday. "It is a fundamental change to the way the country thinks about growth and investment."

The king of the north goes nationwide

Burnham believes Manchester holds the key to avoiding the fate of Keir Starmer, his predecessor as Labour Party leader and prime minister.

Starmer stepped down in July after two years in office, following missteps, policy U-turns and his failure to get Britain’s sluggish economy growing.

During nine years as Manchester mayor, Burnham was praised standing up to central government on behalf of a proud, battle-scarred northern city that gave birth to the Industrial Revolution, movements for social change and a dynamic music scene. He gained the nickname King of the North for his championing of the city — and his political ambition.

Burnham promoted what has been called “Manchesterism,” a form of business-friendly socialism that involves harnessing private investment for major projects and decentralizing government to give communities more control over housing, transport, training and public services.

The city center boomed during his mayoralty. Skyscrapers sprouted from vacant lots, service industries grew, a thousand coffee shops bloomed and a municipally run network of bright yellow buses and trams crisscrossed the city.

Now Burnham wants to replicate the approach across the country, using No. 10 North as the engine room for redistributing wealth and economic opportunities to areas blighted by shuttered industries, lost jobs and an exodus of young people.

In a first step, Burnham announced Friday that mayors will get to keep a greater share of income and business tax revenue from their areas, calling it the “biggest transfer of power, funding and responsibility from Westminster in a generation.”

Many of the details haven’t been announced, however, including how much new money mayors will be getting.

Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester, said Burnham’s bold early moves suggest “he does mean business in terms of changing the overall mechanics of government.”

“We have one of the most centralized countries out of all developed democracies in terms of how much money and decision-making power gets hoovered into the center, how little there is for the provinces to do,” Ford said. “He does seem quite determined to change that, but that’s a huge job.”

Burnham's critics point out that Manchester’s boom hasn't spread to all its outskirts, and the anti-immigration party Reform UK has been a beneficiary of voters’ discontent.

Supporters welcome the government’s northern tilt

It’s envisioned that No. 10 North will eventually get a brand-new headquarters as part of an inner-city redevelopment project. For now, it shares a building with a chain pub, a civic register office and a branch of the cyberintelligence agency GCHQ.

It’s very different to cramped, stuffy 10 Downing St, a 350-year-old townhouse awkwardly converted into the hub of a government that has grown too big for it.

Supporters say No. 10 North is already a breath of fresh air. Rose Marley, chief executive of Cooperatives UK, an umbrella group for member-owned businesses, felt the difference when she was invited to a meeting there.

“It was so refreshing that it wasn’t us having to travel to London all the time,” she said. “Westminster might start realizing how bad the trains are and how much it costs when they have to come back the other way.”

Marley, who advised Burnham when he was mayor, likens the impact to when the BBC moved production of some programs to Salford in Greater Manchester.

“For the first time ever, the likes of me were asked onto the BBC sofa,” she said. “It meant voices like mine started to appear on the sofa and a diversity of thinking started to be heard.

“The voices that are furthest away from what you’re saying and what you believe, that’s when you need to listen the most," she said. "Westminster really does need to listen to all the parts of the country.”

Burnham urged to look beyond Manchester

Most Mancunians are proud of their city, and many support the idea of it getting more control over its own affairs.

“I think it makes sense,” said Sam Turner, a nursing lecturer. “Because the north is very different to the south, there are different house values, there’s different land values, with different salaries.”

But Ford says Burnham will need to show that he is giving power to all parts of the country, not just Manchester.

“You could go to Liverpool down the road, or Leeds, or Sheffield and they’ll say, ‘Well, you know, an office in Manchester isn’t necessarily an office for us,’” Ford said. “So that’s an argument he still has to win.”

Lesley Lebbon, visiting Manchester from Newmarket in eastern England, said No. 10 North is “a start,” but that other regions need attention, too. She’d like to see “more No. 10s, maybe an East and a West No. 10.”

Still, “I like the idea of what No. 10 North represents,” she said. “I think any progress has got to be better than no progress.”

According to police, Kristopher “Kris” Karolkiewicz shot and killed his wife, Amanda “Mandy” Karolkiewicz, 39, and their six children before taking his own life.

Related --> Ottawa County man’s ‘employment ended’ weeks before murder-suicide of wife, six children

Their children were four boys, ages 15, 12, 11, and 5, and two girls, both 11. Four of the children were biological, and two were adopted, police said.

Firefighters and deputies said they were called to a house fire the morning of July 24 on Riverside Trail. But when first responders went in to try to fight the blaze, they said they found the family dead inside.

Michigan State Police arson investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire and origin, but Sparks said preliminary information shows it was intentionally set in numerous places inside the home. Police also said the fire was started after the killings. Family pets also died due to fire and smoke.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office or Silent Observer at 1-877-88-SILENT (745368) or mosotips.com.

What first responders discovered

Firefighters and deputies said they were called to a house fire Friday morning on Riverside Trail beginning around 8:30 a.m. due to the smell of smoke in the area.

“They were unable to locate an actual house fire,” said Captain Jake Sparks. “They looked in the area and couldn’t track it into a specific house.”

When first responders came back at 11:42 a.m., after receiving calls of “white smoke showing” from the Karolkiewicz home, firefighters began working outside to put out the fire, police said.

But when first responders went inside to try to fight the blaze, they said they found the family dead inside.

Michigan State Police arson investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire and origin, but Sparks said preliminary information shows it was intentionally set in numerous places inside the home. Police also said the fire was started after the killings. Family pets also died due to fire and smoke.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office or Silent Observer at 1-877-88-SILENT (745368) or mosotips.com.

Man’s ‘employment ended’ weeks before murder-suicide

Kristopher Karolkiewicz worked for the American Heart Association from September 2023 until earlier this month, when his “employment ended” in July 2026, the organization said in a statement.

The organization said he served as national vice president of sales and marketing, supporting the division responsible for CPR and first-aid training and products, and worked remotely from his home. He did not work in the American Heart Association’s local Michigan offices or with its local Michigan operations, the statement said.

“As an organization with professional staff who are dedicated to helping others, we are devastated by the news out of Grand Haven, and our thoughts are with the loved ones of those who lost their lives in this tragedy,” the statement said.

Family: ‘We are just so shattered’

“Our daughter Mandy was a kind and devoted soul who loved her family and her students,” Mandy’s parents, Steve and Becky Lawwill, told Local 4, in part. “We treasured every moment we had with her and her six children, and words cannot adequately express our devastation.”

Steve Lawwill posted on social media, sharing a family photo saying “So grateful for the joy they brought into our life. We are just so shattered.”

“We pray for God’s peace and comfort as we grieve their deaths and honor their lives,” Steve and Rebecca Lawwill told Local 4. “We ask that the media give our family space in the weeks and months ahead, and that they respect the privacy of all who loved Mandy and the children.”

According to her website, and an author biography, Mandy Karolkiewicz, going by Mandy Karol, was passionate about “special needs and trauma-informed advocacy, mindfulness, reading, dining out, traveling, and exploring the Lake Michigan shoreline.”

Mandy Karolkiewicz also appeared active on social media -- sharing family photos and videos, along with travel videos. She recently shared a video with text saying “Day 3 in Hangzhou,” which is in Zhejiang, China.

Mandy ‘goes above and beyond for students’

Grand Haven Area Public Schools Superintendent Kristin Perkowski is calling the tragedy “a devastating incident.”

In a post from earlier this year, Grand Haven Public Schools recognized Mandy Karolkiewicz as “a Premier Substitute Teacher at Peach Plains,” saying that she “goes above and beyond for students, especially when they’re having a hard day.” The school said that she responds with “empathy, patience, and care,” and “pours her heart into her work.”

After the shooting and fire, Perkowski sent a letter to families of the Grand Haven community.

“Regardless of the details that may emerge, this is a devastating incident and a tragic loss for our community,” Perkowski said, in part. “Our team is preparing to deploy support for those who may need it. Although school is not currently in session, we will be ready to respond if and when additional information becomes available.”

“We ask everyone to respect the privacy of those involved and avoid speculation or sharing information that has not been officially confirmed,” Perkowski said. “Please continue to care for yourselves and one another as our community processes this news together.”

Community support, donate to family

After a vigil was held and dozens of people held hands in prayer, a prayer is planned at the Rosary on Monday, July 27, at 5:30 p.m. in St. Patrick Church in Grand Haven.

“We continue to pray for the repose of their souls and for their family and friends who grieve,” the church posted.

A GoFundMe was created to support the family during this difficult time. Mandy’s family said that any funds donated will go toward legal expenses, and any remaining funds will go toward a scholarship in the children’s memory. You can view the GoFundMe here.

The incident has cost the family $15,000 in emergency veterinary care and left them emotionally shaken — but the owner says it’s still not too late for the other dog’s owner to do the right thing.

A normal morning turns terrifying

It started as a routine morning. Jamie Lee had just left home when her husband let their dogs, two chihuahua mixes, out into the yard.

“It was just a normal morning, I had just left, my husband was getting ready for work, he let the dogs out for a little bit to go to the bathroom,” Lee said.

A short time later, Lucy’s littermate, Yuki, began howling — alerting the family that something was wrong. What they found was devastating: Lucy was covered in blood, unable to walk and in desperate need of emergency care.

Extensive injuries, a long road to recovery

The injuries Lucy sustained were severe.

“From what we can tell, her entire snout was crushed, her bone is broken here, here, she lost vision in her eye, she lost all of her front teeth, her nasal cavity was collapsed — she needed tubes to breathe,” Lee said.

The family spent several hours visiting multiple animal hospitals before finding a veterinarian capable of providing the level of care Lucy needed. She spent four days with an emergency vet and underwent multiple surgeries.

Surveillance video reveals a clue

Initially, the cause of Lucy’s injuries was unclear.

“We couldn’t tell exactly what happened,” Lee said.

That’s when Lee decided to review her home surveillance footage from around the time of the incident. What she saw surprised her.

“That’s when I saw this woman,” Lee said. “It was clear that she couldn’t handle the dog.”

The footage shows a woman being pulled across Hubbard Street by a large black-and-white dog that was barking. The attack itself was not captured on camera. Lee believes Lucy was sniffing under the fence — a habit of hers — when she was injured.

A family still reeling

The emotional toll on the Lee family has been significant.

“My daughter was having nightmares about it, I was waking up thinking I can’t believe somebody would do this and then walk away,” Lee said.

Lucy’s life-saving medical care has cost the family $15,000. But Lee says what she wants more than anything is accountability — and she’s still willing to extend compassion to the other dog’s owner.

“I’m still willing to give her grace, I just think you should do the right thing,” Lee said.

“I know it’s probably fearful for her as well to have to stop and say I’m sorry this happened, and maybe she’s afraid it’s costly, she’ll get in trouble or something could happen to her dog,” Lee added.

Community on alert

The Lee family has contacted Livonia Police and says neighbors, mail carriers and animal control officers are all on the lookout for the dog seen in the surveillance video.

Lee’s message to the woman seen on camera is simple: it’s still not too late to come forward.

The new bridge connects I-75 in Detroit to Highway 401 in Ontario. The Detroit Regional Chamber called it “the most consequential infrastructure project in the state.”

---> Why the Gordie Howe Bridge was built

The Gordie Howe Bridge is owned by Michigan and Canada, but was paid for almost entirely by Canada.

The new bridge connecting I-75 in Detroit to Highway 401 in Ontario officially opened to traffic on Monday, July 27. The toll-free multi-use path will open to walkers and cyclists on Wednesday, Aug. 5.

Related --> Pedestrians, cyclists can cross Gordie Howe International Bridge for free beginning Aug. 5

The bridge is designed with six bridge lanes, 16 toll lanes, and 60 Canada and U.S. inspection lanes. Its 720-ft towers are among the tallest structures in the region, and it’s the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America.

--> New Gordie Howe Bridge expected to save truck drivers time, money at Detroit border

Comparing toll prices with Ambassador Bridge, Detroit-Windsor Tunnel

Here’s a look at how much the toll is to cross the bridge:

With Breakaway -- a toll discount program that allows vehicles to pass through toll lanes without having to stop and pay -- the toll for passenger vehicles is less than half the current price to cross the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, both of which raised their tolls this year.

Registration is available on the official Gordie Howe International Bridge website.

The following prices are listed in USD

Infantino’s decision came after his senior adviser who sat on a White House panel resigned and Asia’s soccer body joined Europe and North America in opposing it.

“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place,” Infantino said in a statement early Saturday. “Our purpose has always been — and will always be — to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”

Infantino had proposed creating a $20 billion company to run the World Cup with private investors including the Kushner family, but drew backlash that grew every day since Tuesday's announcement.

UEFA’s 55-member nations agreed to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions over Infantino’s plan on Thursday. North America’s CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation also said they opposed the plan.

“Some things are simply too important to sell,” UEFA said in a statement. “The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.”

Infantino’s senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker who represented the soccer body on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, resigned on Friday and urged other senior FIFA staff to speak out.

“I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro said in a statement, just hours after FIFA insisted: “Nobody is selling football.”

Hours later, FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour issued a statement to The Associated Press, saying FIFA staff were deceived by Infantino's lack of openness in planning the sale over recent months and that the project must not continue.

“It is the project of one person,” Lamour, a longtime colleague of Infantino at both FIFA and European soccer body UEFA, wrote. “Not only must this project not go ahead … but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions.”

Infantino has proposed spinning off FIFA’s commercial businesses — including World Cups and Club World Cups for men and women — into a $20 billion subsidiary with 20% owned by private investors.

The “anchor investor,” described by FIFA, is a New York-based investment firm created by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The next FIFA competition is the Women’s Under-20 World Cup starting Sept. 5 in Poland — which UEFA members said they would boycott.

The misstep could prove costly for Infantino, particularly after the interventions by Lamour and Cordeiro.

Reelected unopposed in 2019 and 2023, Infantino is allowed one more four-year term under FIFA statutes. The deadline for the next presidential contest is Nov. 18, exactly four months ahead of the vote in Rabat, Morocco, where FIFA has its African headquarters.

Infantino's job seemed secured despite long-term unease with his style and previous attempts to force through unpopular projects, but could become more tenuous with the failed private equity proposal.

___

AP Sports Writer John Marshall contributed from Phoenix.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and AP World Cup coverage

The death toll rose to 34, the Kumamoto prefectural government said, as rescuers raced to find those still missing after the quake triggered a mall explosion, toppled a factory chimney and flattened homes.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stressed that authorities must secure water supplies by doing “whatever it takes” and called for close coordination with the military and other relevant agencies. The earthquake left thousands of homes without power, but electricity was fully restored by Friday evening. The local power company also said there were no immediate reports of remaining outages.

The magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday. As search operations entered a fourth day, it wasn’t known how many people remained missing.

More than 1,500 buildings were damaged, including 179 that were destroyed, according to preliminary assessments by Kumamoto officials.

Officials said one more death and its connection to the quake is under investigation. At least 96 people were injured, including six seriously.

Debris collected at a severely damaged century-old Japanese inn

In Yatsushiro City, another hard-hit area in southern Kumamoto, Kinparo, a 116-year old Japanese inn, was severely damaged, with its roofed main entrance collapsed to the ground, white walls cracked and rooftiles fell.

On Friday, three days after the quake, workers were removing parts of the gate, which is part of a registered historic property that needs to be restored.

Started in 1910, the three-story ryokan with traditional architecture and its hot bath have attracted many fans from the region and across Japan.

“The damage is tremendous and it would require significant repairs, and I can’t even think if or how I can do that,” inn owner Keisuke Matsumoto said. “But it’s a valuable family inn that has been handed down for generations since my great-great grandfather built it, so I do hope to preserve it.”

Inside, his mother Misao Matsumoto said she was not injured in the quake but “I’m mentally discouraged. It’s very painful to see parts of what I’ve lived with and enjoyed for decades crumble to that state.” But she said experts of historic buildings will come in to discuss the reconstruction, so “I have to hang in there.”

Across the street from the Kinparo inn, a fish cake shop owner unable to resume his business due to the water cutoff was giving away tube-shaped fish cakes while they are still edible.

Signs for the “chikuwa” fish cake hang from the ceiling. “I just wanted to cheer up this neighborhood,” said shop owner Shinichiro Katayama. He says he cannot clean or check his fish cake machine is intact until the water supply resumes. “I don’t even know if the machine still works. When water supply is back that would be my first step toward a recovery.”

Thousands are without water as heat soars

Kumamoto authorities said nearly 80,000 homes remained without water. More than 9,000 people were staying in shelters, where power sources were being added to provide air conditioning.

Fuel has also become scarce as power outages disabled gas stations and quake damage disrupted deliveries from other regions. Many have resorted to sleeping in their cars for privacy, but with the fuel shortage, they struggle to keep the air conditioning running in sweltering temperatures.

Japan's weather agency and the Ministry of the Environment issued an extreme heat alert for Kumamoto city Friday as temperatures peaked at 36 C (97 F).

Hirokazu Sato, who lost his home in the earthquake, said he and his wife and three children would remain in their car until they can move into temporary housing.

“I don’t know how soon I’d be able to move in,” said Sato. “We need to have the air conditioning on throughout the day and night, which uses up gas.”

Kumamoto is also a major industrial hub, and there are concerns that the quake could possibly disrupt semiconductor and auto-parts supply chains for months to come.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, a global chip giant that operates a lab in Kumamoto, said all personnel were safe and operations were gradually resuming after postquake inspections found the structure was sound, although detailed inspections and impact assessments were still underway.

Searches continue, with the number of missing unknown

Japanese officials had described Friday afternoon as a crucial point for rescue efforts as some experts say survival chances decline after the first three days.

With search dogs, rescuers continued looking for survivors across the Kumamoto area, including at the collapsed Aeon Mall in the town of Kashima, one of the hardest-hit sites. The complex was bustling with thousands of people when the quake happened.

The company said about 3,000 shoppers were evacuated to a parking lot before an explosion happened in another part of the mall, where some staff remained working. The mall’s second floor collapsed, trapping people. Seven of the 11 rescued were confirmed dead, but officials did not say if anyone else is missing.

A search operation had ended at a Nippon Paper Industries factory in the Yatsushiro city where a chimney collapsed in the quake, officials said. Of the 11 people dug out there, nine were confirmed dead.

Smaller-scale searches continued Friday at the sites of collapsed houses in badly hit towns in southern Kumamoto. Authorities haven't supplied a firm figure for how many people are missing.

____

Ono reported from Tokyo. Associated Press writer business writer Yuri Kageyama contributed to this report.

“This is the first fire I'm experiencing real-time, and I can tell you it’s vicious,” said Pauner, 64. “It’s underground, it comes out at any moment, and no matter how much we try to extinguish it, re-extinguish it, re-extinguish it, it keeps restarting.”

“It’s like a steamroller that’s constantly, constantly rolling,” said Pauner, wearing shorts, boots and sunglasses on a string around his neck on a road through cultivated pine trees, as the ground smoldered.

Pauner is among the untold numbers of volunteers who have mobilized to support firefighters battling the biggest wildfires in years in France.

“I’m protecting my forest, and my home,” he said, pouring his watering can into a smoking ditch as if watering a garden, then huffing in the heat.

Hundreds of thousands forced from their homes

The wildfires that tore through cultivated forests on an Atlantic coast also known for towering sand dunes and tourist resorts devastated 42,000 hectares (about 162 square miles) west of Bordeaux, driving nearly a quarter-million people out of their homes and vacation sites.

Many other places in France have been hit by fires this summer, including in the Mediterranean Var region where a blaze in the Gros Bessillon mountain ridge flared up again on Friday, driven by violent winds, local authorities said. Several towns in the area were evacuated.

Europe is facing an extremely hot summer, fueling wildfires from the Atlantic coast to the eastern Mediterranean. The United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Greece and Turkey battled blazes this week.

As cooler, more humid air moved into southwest France this week, authorities allowed two-thirds of the 224,000 evacuees to return home, including some more on Friday.

But the ground still simmers in many places.

“It’s stabilized, but not totally stopped,” French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told RTL radio. “Hot spots remain.”

Volunteers like Pauner — what he calls “little eyes” on watch to report flare-ups to firefighters — do what they can with limited resources. Others have mobilized their trucks and giant jerrycans to supply water to fire crews.

Drought has left forests dangerously dry

Prolonged drought and climate change have created fire-prone conditions. Pauner said the region endured more than two months without significant rainfall, leaving vegetation exceptionally dry.

In the smoking forests, fire crews used rakes to dig down into the smoldering forest floor so buried embers can be doused with water, a long and painstaking job. Ukraine became the latest country to send help, dispatching 70 people and 10 vehicles in the coming days, Nunez said.

Investigators suspect that contractors clearing away vegetation inadvertently ignited the blaze last week. But other fires have been attributed to arsonists or criminal negligence.

Nunez said police have made 308 arrests in connection with blazes this summer — more than 120 of them involving minors — and that 33 people have either been convicted or are being held pending court rulings.

Elsewhere in Europe, fires are also burning

Blazes continued in other parts of Europe.

Many parts of Greece were listed at high or extreme risk of wildfires, with strong winds. Three Greek firefighters died fighting fires this week on the southern island of Crete.

Firefighters were tackling 73 wildfires around the country, 51 of which broke out on Friday, Fire department spokesman Col. Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said.

The fire department and coast guard used boats to evacuate more than 250 people from one of the largest fires, in Boeotia, and evacuation orders were issued for several other fires, including one on the western fringes of the Greek capital.

Gale-force winds were hampering aircraft from dumping water on the wildfires, he said.

In England, where half the country is gripped by drought, firefighters battled a wildfire on an east coast heath in Suffolk, near a nuclear power station that fire services said wasn't threatened. More than 100 firefighters were deployed.

“I wouldn’t say it is under control,” said Henry Griffin, a fire officer.

___ Macpherson reported from Paris. Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, Danica Kirka in London, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and John Leicester contributed to this report.

Cunningham made the comments before the Fever's game Friday night against the Portland Fire. Outside, a group rallied for the second straight game in support of Cunningham and her recent comments about transgender athletes.

“I think at the end of the day, I come in and I do my job,” Cunningham said. "I think everyone who knows me personally, they know that I’m full of love. I’m bubbly. I love the people around me. I love basketball. I love inspiring the next generation and doing that in a positive light. And so that doesn’t even cross my mind. Doesn’t cross my teammates’ minds.

“And again, I’m here to play basketball, but I’m also here to be me, and I’m not gonna like shadow that or hide or, you know, dim my light just because maybe people don’t agree with that.”

Portland's rally came after a similar rally for Cunningham earlier in the week before the Fever's game at the Seattle Storm. Both rallies only attracted about two dozen participants and a bevy of onlookers.

“I have honestly had nothing to do with them,” Cunningham said. “I think it’s people just practicing their rights of freedom of speech and doing what other fans have been doing since the WNBA has started. And so props to them, props to everyone who is able to be competent and be bold and courageous enough to to speak their truths.”

Another rally was planned for Sunday in Minneapolis when the Fever play the Minnesota Lynx.

In Seattle on Tuesday, two Cunningham supporters sat courtside at Climate Change Arena holding signs. A co-owner of the Storm, Celeste Keaton was later fined an undisclosed amount and suspended for five games by the WNBA for an exchange with the two supporters.

The Storm also apologized for the incident, but did not provide details about the exchange, releasing a statement that said: “We remain committed to creating a welcoming and respectful environment for anyone who attends a Storm game.”

The Seattle rally promoted statewide ballot initiative, IL26-638, that would bar transgender students from participating in girls’ athletics at Washington schools. It also praised Cunningham, who voiced support for barring transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports in recent interviews.

“I am here to be a cheerleader for Sophie Cunningham, who has so bravely put her head above the parapet to protect women and girls in our sports and in our locker rooms,” said Amy Souza, who was among those at the Portland rally. “I was an organizer of this event, I was a co-organizer of the Seattle event. I’m also here, standing in solidarity with those teen girls who, unfortunately, were harassed when they were just trying to be fans of the sport, fans of Sophie Cunningham.”

Cunningham was booed by the Moda Center crowd in Portland when she entered the game midway though the first quarter. Many waved small pink, blue and white transgender flags.

The Fever downed the Fire 112-98 for their fifth straight win. Cunningham finished with 13 points and Caitlin Clark had her fourth career triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Coach Stephanie White said she was concerned that the controversy was distracting from the team's play.

“You know there is a frustration, of course, because we want to we want to talk about basketball and we want to continue to work on our game and we want to continue to grow as a team.,” White said. “But I also understand this is part of our growth edge as a league, right? It’s part of our growth as a league, and we have to to be able to manage, we have to be able to insulate as much as we can, and then we have to be able to lead with conversation.”

___

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

Kelsey Mitchell also had 26 points for the Fever (19-10), who have won nine of their last 11 and had five straight games with 100 points.

Bridget Carleton had 26 points for the Fire (11-18), who have lost four straight.

The Fever pulled away in the third quarter, going up by 18 points to lead 90-72 heading into the fourth quarter. Makayla Timpson hit a layup that pushed the lead to 10 points to open the fourth.

Portland closed the gap, pulling to 98-88 on Carleton's 3-pointer with 4:08 left. She had a layup that made it 100-93 to get the Fire even closer. Clark hit free throws to make it 110-96 with just a minute to go and the Fire ran out of time.

There was a pregame rally outside of the Moda Center in support of Sophie Cunningham and her recent comments about barring transgender athletes from women's and girls' sports. A similar rally was held before the Fever's 105-94 victory at the Seattle Storm on Tuesday.

Cunningham was booed by the Moda Center crowd when she came into the game midway though the first quarter. Shortly thereafter, she hit a 3-pointer that put the Fever up 14-8. Cunningham finished with 13 points.

Megan DiLeo 3-pointer put the Fire up 36-30 but the Fever clawed back a 56-47 lead at the half. Clark led the Fever with 17 first-half points.

The game was a sellout with a Fire-record 19,959 in attendance.

Up next

Fever: At Minnesota on Sunday.

Fire: Host Los Angeles on Sunday.

___

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

I’Ashea Myles of the Davidson County Chancery Court issued a temporary injunction to Jalen Washington and 18 other players to retain their eligibility.

“Defendant shall recognize Plaintiffs as eligible for the 2026–2027 basketball season and shall not deny or impede their recruitment, transfer, or certification on the basis of the challenged eligibility determination,” Myles wrote in her 33-page ruling.

A few hours later, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney in Colorado granted a preliminary injunction giving student-athletes from the high school Class of 2022 another year of eligibility for the upcoming school year. Former Minnesota basketball player Cade Tyson was among the 12 athletes named in the Colorado case.

Sweeney ruled that the injunction should cover the entire class of 2022 high school graduates facing similar circumstances.

Myles, who heard motion arguments July 22, also ordered that the transfer portal open at noon Monday until 8 a.m. on Aug. 10 for any player wanting to enter and schools wanting to reach out.

The NCAA referred The Associated Press to a statement from President Charlie Baker on X on proposed legislation to regulate college sports. Baker called the “chaos” from Friday's rulings are why it's “long past time” leaders in college sports call for the immediate passage of the Protect College Sports Act.

“Failed professionals will continue to use college sports as a fallback option — robbing the next class of young athletes of college scholarships," Baker said.

On June 23, the NCAA approved a new eligibility model for Division I athletes that will allow five seasons of competition over a five-year period that begins with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.

Washington, who played last season at Vanderbilt, was the lead plaintiff in the complaint filed July 6 by the Texas Trial Group seeking the injunction. Others include Chendall Weaver, last at Texas; A.J. Storr, Mississippi; Jason Edwards, Providence; Daniel Egbuniwe, St. Bonaventure; and Zachary Davis, Memphis.

“On the eve of congressional consideration of the Protect College Sports Act, the NCAA points to its inevitable judicial losses as evidence that Congress should grant it broader legal protections,” the Texas Trial Group said in a statement to The Associated Press.

"The timing is difficult to ignore. First create the litigation. Then point to the litigation as the reason judicial oversight should be curtailed. No one should be surprised to learn that Mr. Baker is a career politician paid millions of dollars a year to essentially running a lobbying campaign under the guise of a `voluntary association.'”

Myles wrote in her 33-page ruling granting the injunction that “the NCAA has not applied the challenged eligibility rules uniformly among similarly situated student-athletes" with a pattern of extending years of eligibility to “certain groups of players.”

She noted a waiver for the 2025-26 season for those who played at least one season at a junior college or NAIA school, and Myles wrote each plaintiff played against students who got waivers to play additional seasons or attended junior colleges.

The chancellor's order also enjoined the NCAA from enforcing its rule of restitution against the athletes and colleges they play for this season.

___

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Dozens and often hundreds of immigrants' cases a day are being assigned to individual judges in courthouses across the country, in what are known as “mega” master hearings, which have seen a significant increase this year. More than 1,300 such hearings were held in June alone, a nearly threefold jump from the previous June, according to data analyzed by Mobile Pathways, a nonprofit that tracks immigration court data to help immigrants, their lawyers and other organizations.

At the same time, the data shows, courts have severely cut the length of time many people are getting to prepare for complex immigration proceedings, from about six months to often just a little more than a month.

They're subsequently missing hearings, receiving deportation orders and being told they've abandoned any asylum claims at unprecedented rates.

“The combination of collapsed lead times and packed hearing blocks is a schedule designed for people not to have their case heard,” said Bartlomiej Skorupa, chief operating officer of Mobile Pathways. “The data shows valid claims are closed before being adjudicated.”

Those who favor stricter immigration laws see the swift hearings as a course-correction for a longstanding problem.

“There’s no credibility in the system that never reaches an end,” Andrew Arthur, a fellow at the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, said.

Still, he worries that these rapid-fire hearings could affect judges’ performance.

“You don’t want to put so many cases on that the judges get burned out or that there’s a danger of denying due process to anybody,” Arthur said.

The Justice Department office that handles immigration courts said in a statement that judges were adjusting their schedules to resolve cases more quickly, while making sure all cases get handled fairly and lawfully. It said court delays harm immigrants who have valid claims, and that the public interest is served when the government deports people without legal grounds to stay.

Immigration courts are overwhelmed

Attending immigration court in Harlingen, Texas, on days where there are mega master hearings can mean waiting outside in the hot, crowded entrance for over an hour until the lobby can accommodate the next wave of people. Adults with cases often are accompanied by relatives and attorneys, and detained children are brought in with shelter case managers and legal advocates.

The courts call it a “mega” day when a judge has more than 50 cases scheduled. Although the practice is not new, it became much more frequent starting in mid-May.

On a recent day, about 90 cases were scheduled with Immigration Judge Delia Gonzalez. More than 20 people did not show up, but even so she ran out of time to hear each case and rescheduled a handful of people who had waited more than eight hours.

“There’s a real limit to how many cases a judge can hear with any care in one morning,” said former immigration judge Elizabeth Young. “When you cram that many hearings into a single docket, you’re working through a list, not holding court.”

Some immigrants requested more time before their next hearings, presenting evidence of having been defrauded by unscrupulous attorneys profiled in local news reports. Others without any attorney asked for more time to figure out the proper evidence filing procedures.

A Colombian man who submitted more than 1,500 pages as evidence in his asylum claim said he still wanted to obtain more documentation from members of the military, businesses and politicians back home.

Gonzalez declined the requests. Most cases lasted less than five minutes.

There is no leeway for no-shows

That same day in West Valley City, Utah, Immigration Judge Brock Taylor was assigned 159 cases. By noon, Taylor recited a dozen names of people from Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela who failed to show up. Without elaborating, he said each was properly notified of their hearing date and failed to appear. He ordered them removed from the United States and they would have no right to appeal.

In Chicago, attorney Peter Meinecke, a lawyer for the Resurrection Project, which runs a legal clinic for immigrants, said one of his clients was issued a removal order when he couldn’t attend a mega master hearing across the country in Seattle after a vehicle accident fractured both of his legs and confined him to a wheelchair.

At the start of the second Trump administration in January 2025, about 20% of people missed scheduled immigration court hearings nationwide, according to Mobile Pathways. As hearing notice times shrunk, that no-show rate doubled to 40% by this June, the organization said. A nonprofit group that tracks and analyzes immigration court data and gives that information to immigrants and other organizations.

Deportation orders have risen alongside the no-show rates. Almost 33,000 deportation orders were issued in January 2025. This June, there were about 79,000, according to Mobile Pathways' data. And once a deportation order is issued, an immigrant’s asylum claim is almost always considered “abandoned.”

The national rate of cases considered abandoned is now nearly five times the historical average dating back to 2009; in New York and Chicago specifically, it’s roughly six times higher, according to Mobile Pathways.

“That’s a recipe for disaster, because more people are going to be ordered removed in absentia who truly have a valid case,” said Katie Fleming, a director at Acacia Center for Justice, a network of legal service providers.

Some people have even been issued deportation orders while they were inside the building that houses the Chicago immigration court, but confused about where to go and how to get help, according to Alex McGriff, an attorney for the National Immigrant Justice Center, which runs a legal help desk there.

“The court ordered them removed despite the fact that they were not absent,” McGriff said.

The backlog is shrinking, but caseloads are not

Advocates for stricter immigration policies call the strategy a time-saver.

“It really is economizing the judge’s time,” said Arthur, the Center for Immigration Studies fellow. “It is increasing the number of final orders that are going out, so that’s decreasing the backlog entirely.”

The backlog, which grew significantly under the Biden administration, has decreased for the first time in at least 10 years. The number of pending cases with the Executive Office of Immigration Review, which oversees immigration courts, decreased from 3.7 to 3.5 million in fiscal year 2025 and continued to drop this year.

“It can be a tough job when you’re doing it at scale,” Arthur said.

Attorneys representing immigrants have similar challenges keeping up as their own caseloads intensify.

Jaime Diez, a veteran immigration attorney based in Brownsville, Texas, recently had almost 20 cases called in one day, nearly 10 times his previously normal pace.

“Due process is being thrown out of the window,” Diez said standing outside the courtroom with a six-inch thick file for one client. “It’s very worrisome, I don’t know how long it’s going to last.”

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Mayes-Osterman reported from Chicago and is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Associated Press writer Elliot Spagat contributed from West Valley City, Utah.

The president likes to vilify high rates as an affront to the size and strength of the U.S. economy, saying that America deserves the cheapest borrowing costs in the world. Trump for months publicly pressured the Federal Reserve to slash its benchmark rates, claiming it would be “Rocket Fuel!” for growth and make housing more affordable.

But since the war in Iran began at the end of February, borrowing money has become more expensive, meaning fewer families can afford mortgages or auto loans. The government is getting squeezed, too — as it has spent $827 billion so far this fiscal year to service the national debt, more than it has devoted to national defense.

The scope of the problem became clear this past week when Kevin Warsh, the Fed's new chair picked by Trump, said in his second press conference on the job that inflation continues to run hot but offered no clear guidance on how to fix the problem.

Interest rates are rising, even though Trump pledged they would fall

Rates on 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds hit their highest levels in nearly two decades, the exact opposite of what Trump had pledged to voters. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note saw its interest rate shoot up above 4.7% on Friday, surpassing what the president inherited when he returned to the White House last year.

But Trump has largely ignored the jump in interest rates and has portrayed the economy as booming, even though the government recently reported that the annual growth rate for the prior three months was a sluggish 1.5%.

“We have the most successful environment that we’ve ever had,” Trump told his Cabinet on Friday. “There’s never been anything like it from the standpoint of investment into our country.”

Neither Trump nor his Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, discussed interest rates during the public portion of the meeting. But White House spokesman Kush Desai said the end of the Iran war would ultimately reduce energy costs and allow the Fed to reduce rates. “Oil prices — and thus overall inflation — will plummet again when President Trump forces a successful resolution with Iran, further paving the way for additional interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve,” Desai said.

Higher interest rates are weighing on voters ahead of the midterm elections

The prospect of higher borrowing costs has become troublesome for Republicans in the November elections, as Trump’s own policies helped drive the increase.

His tariffs that began last year caused rates to jump so quickly that he backed off and reformulated them. Trump has championed the construction of data centers for artificial intelligence, but the bonds financing those projects appear to have helped push up interest rates. And the war in Iran has fueled rising oil prices.

Republicans had hoped to show clear progress on affordability to voters ahead of the midterms. Trump can point to a low unemployment rate and solid consumer spending as proof that the economy remains stable, yet there are few signs that these arguments have connected with the public.

One possible reason why Trump's economic messaging has struggled is that voters care more about whether their incomes are outpacing inflation, according to research released in June by Georgetown University's Juan Felipe Riaño and the University of California, Berkeley's Francesco Trebbi.

Trump and Republicans not only promised lower interest rates in the 2024 elections, but they indicated that prices could fall outright if their policies were in place. But over the last 12 months, inflation has nearly kept pace with hourly wage gains — and that understates the extent of the problem because debt service costs are not included in the consumer price index.

“It cut against Democrats in 2024, and if prices and borrowing costs keep outrunning wages into the fall, the same logic points at Republicans now,” Riaño, the Georgetown University economist, told the AP.

Housing affordability has been a sore point for voters

Earlier this year, the Trump administration directed Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two mortgage firms under government conservatorship, to buy at least $200 billion in home loans to bring down mortgage rates.

Earlier this year, Republicans had hoped to campaign on falling rates and a bipartisan bill to increase home construction to help defend their House and Senate majorities. One GOP lawmaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss strategy, said the hope was that Trump would sign the bill as mortgage rates fell below 6%, which could improve housing affordability and public sentiment toward the overall economy.

However, Trump called the bill a “big yawn” and allowed it to become law without his signature. And the mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday that 30-year rates were averaging 6.66%, essentially unchanged from a year ago.

Markets don't expect interest rates to drop before the election

Warsh, the Fed chair since May, has said he has been content to let the financial markets do more to set the rates, rather than the central bank. Even though the Fed has held its benchmark rate steady this year, the markets on their own have chosen to charge a premium for holding U.S. government debt.

“Markets reflect the higher inflation, policy uncertainty,” said John Silvia, the CEO of Dynamic Economic Strategy. “They are the product of events.”

Warsh on Wednesday portrayed that as a positive, even if the result goes against what Trump expected from his new Fed chair.

“Market participants are learning to play the ball, not the referee — and market prices will continue to respond in the direction and magnitude they see fit,” Warsh said. “This is, in my view, a change for the better — and we are just getting started.”

But time might not be on Trump's side for fixing high interest rates. The next Fed meeting on rates will conclude on Sept. 16. Markets currently expect Fed officials to vote to raise rates in order to reduce inflationary pressures, according to CME FedWatch.

Trump told reporters at Camp David on Friday morning that administration officials had “agreed not to have a fund” that compensates his political allies, yet made clear that he disagrees with that decision.

The comments came hours after an early morning social media post in which Trump said people who had been prosecuted by the Justice Department — many of them for their involvement in the violent Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol — “are suffering still, many ruined, and I felt that they should be given compensation for what has been done to them.”

Trump’s reluctant declaration that the fund won't be created came as Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, say they won’t support Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general until they see that promise in writing. They have been working for weeks with the White House and Blanche, who is now the acting attorney general, to produce a document to that effect, but both senators have said they aren’t satisfied so far.

“The President made it clear today that the so-called Anti Weaponization Fund is still alive, which is exactly why we are attempting to formally end it,” Tillis said after Trump’s initial social media post.

As negotiations continued late Friday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley rescheduled a committee vote for Blanche that had been postponed earlier in the week.

A spokesperson for the committee said Grassley would like to see Blanche confirmed before the August recess and putting the Tuesday vote on the calendar “gives more time for the White House to secure the votes for the President’s nominee.”

Cornyn, Tillis want promises in writing

Blanche said at a hearing two months ago that the anti-weaponization fund would not move forward after Republican senators revolted and held up an immigration funding bill.

But Tillis, who is retiring when his term ends in January, and Cornyn, who lost reelection this year after Trump endorsed his primary opponent, said they want to ensure that the White House doesn’t reverse course, especially as Trump continues to argue that a fund is needed.

The Justice Department has provided the senators with language that says Blanche’s May 18 order establishing the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is “rescinded and shall have no force or effect,” according to a document reviewed by The Associated Press.

Cornyn and Tillis have said they also want some clarifications on a separate piece of the settlement that would grant Trump and members of his family immunity from tax audits. Cornyn said this week that it was his understanding that the audits could extend to more than 100 different Trump organization subsidiaries into the future.

“Todd Blanche said it was limited to the parties to the litigation — and it was retrospective, not prospective,” Cornyn said. “And all we’re doing is asking them to put that in writing.”

Blanche nomination is delayed in the Senate

The Judiciary Committee postponed the vote on Blanche’s nomination that had been scheduled for Thursday morning after Tillis and Cornyn said they needed more from the administration before they could provide the necessary votes.

After the meeting was delayed, Trump said in a social media post that he might pull Blanche’s nomination and resubmit it after Cornyn and Tillis leave office next year. But the two sides continued to negotiate through Thursday afternoon, when Blanche, Cornyn and Tillis met on Capitol Hill.

On Friday, a person familiar with the negotiations said talks had been positive but the senators were still awaiting a new offer from the Justice Department. The person requested anonymity to discuss the private negotiations.

The two senators have repeatedly said the Justice Department seemed interested in reaching an agreement, but the White House wouldn’t budge even to aid the confirmation of Trump’s loyal former personal attorney, who has aggressively pursued the administration’s priorities as acting attorney general.

“I think as far as Blanche and the Department of Justice, we were pretty much on the same page,” Cornyn said Thursday. “But then when the president got wind of it, he wasn’t willing to go along with it.”

Tillis said Blanche “has been forthright, thoughtful and patient” but attributed the holdup to an “incompetent personal adviser” to the president, even as Trump himself continued to advocate for the fund.

Behind the scenes, Trump legal adviser Boris Epshteyn is being blamed as an obstacle to an agreement that would let Blanche move forward, according to three people who have direct knowledge of the discussions and requested anonymity to discuss them.

Saying the AP’s “sources are wrong,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said “anyone trying to assign blame to the President or his team has no earthly idea of what is going on and clearly is trying to deflect from the issue at hand — Todd Blanche will be an exceptional Attorney General and he should be confirmed immediately.”

Also on Friday, Trump’s attorneys notified a court it would appeal a judge’s scathing ruling that characterized the settlement of the president’s lawsuit against the IRS as an improper exercise in self-dealing. The judge in her order earlier this month referred one of Trump’s attorneys for potential disciplinary action and criticized Blanche’s involvement in the settlement, given his prior representation of Trump.

Blanche has said he disagrees “with the judge’s insinuations” about him.

Settlement fund could have benefited Jan. 6 rioters

Even as they are usually deferential to Trump, a number of Republican senators have expressed strong objections to the settlement.

“The criminals who assaulted police officers and defiled our nation’s Capitol are not ‘great American patriots’ who are ‘victims of government abuse,’” Tillis said, echoing Trump’s comments about the rioters who could potentially have received payouts. On his first day back in office, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people who had been charged in the attack.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said Thursday that the majority of Senate Republicans aren’t comfortable with the settlement fund.

“Blanche said it’s dead, and he testified that it’s not coming back,” Kennedy said. “But for whatever reason, somebody didn’t want to put it in writing.”

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This story has been updated to correct the year of the Capitol riot. It was 2021, not 2001.

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Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

School presidents from both conferences voted to back the bill after receiving last-minute concessions over language regarding third-party name-image-likeness deals and the so-called “associated entities” that often broker those arrangements between players and schools.

More details need to be worked out, but the headline is that the bill still has a chance to earn the 60 votes it needs to halt debate and head to an up-or-down vote before the Senate heads for summer break next Friday.

The summer recess is increasingly looking like an intractable deadline for the Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan effort headed by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

After the conferences, which had balked at large sections of the bill, put out a short release announcing they supported the act “as currently drafted,” Cruz put out a short statement on social media thanking the leagues and saying: “Let's save college sports.” And Cantwell said: “Good. Now progress can be made in protecting women and Olympic athletes and moving the legislation closer to the President’s desk.”

President Donald Trump, who has also been seeking fixes for an industry that now pays its players millions, got involved late Thursday, which helped push the parties back to the negotiating table.

Cody Campbell, the Texas Tech regent who has played a big role in shaping this policy, called the SEC and Big Ten support “ a major breakthrough that moves us closer to a Senate vote — and a better future” for college sports.

Increased salary cap, new language entice holdout leagues

The most groundbreaking part of the reworked deal is the $27.5 million that schools would be allotted to retain players, in addition to the $21.3 million cap that already exists.

It could represent a major reworking of the House settlement — the groundbreaking agreement that governs paying players. The idea is that the extra money will take the place of payments from “associated entities” that were allowed above and beyond the $21.3 million cap. It was those payments that, many schools complained, obliterated any idea of a cap or controlled cost.

The SEC and Big Ten sought stronger language in the bill to guarantee that any third-party deals are truly outside deals and not coming from the schools’ multimedia-rights partners, which currently arrange the majority of those deals.

Among the questions still unanswered are whether the new cap will comport with the House settlement, which had very specific instructions about the hard cap (22% of a certain part of athletic department revenues, which equals $21.3 million this season).

Also, what would happen to the College Sports Commission, the main NIL enforcement arm that spends the bulk of its time analyzing third-party NIL deals that would be greatly reduced under this arrangement?

Even with a victory, a long road remains for bill

Even with Friday night’s victory, the bill has a long road ahead. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., has been a staunch opponent of the bill since the beginning. Before the latest compromise, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said that “as written today,” the act “creates chaos and eliminates opportunity for student-athletes.”

Whether the SEC’s approval is enough to get those senators and others from SEC states on board is one issue. If the bill clears the Senate, it would still then need to pass the narrowly divided House, which flailed on another college bill called the SCORE Act, for more than a year.

There’s also the matter of whether smaller conferences, long in favor of the bill, would remain so now that their bigger competition is being allowed to directly pay players more than double what was previously allowed.

Compromise comes on a day where NCAA loses two more court rulings

Almost everyone involved in college sports agrees that the status quo isn’t working.

The news broke only hours after the NCAA lost a pair of key court cases involving its new rule that would give most Division I athletes five years to complete five seasons of eligibility.

Using those losses as another chance to urge for passage of the bill, NCAA President Charlie Baker said “It is long past time leaders across college sports call for the immediate passage of the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act.”

Two-time national champion hoops coach Dan Hurley of UConn used social media to outline the stakes in more colorful terms: “Somebody please come and fix College Sports. It’s a complete (expletive) show,” he said, using an emoji where the expletive would go.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Romell Frazier Jr. got a birthday call from Kendrick Lamar and a surprise invitation to come visit the rapper in Los Angeles at his 7^th birthday party Friday evening.

“What’s up man, how you feeling?” Lamar asked Romell over the phone.

“Good,” he replied.

Romell was attacked by two pit bulls in March in Detroit and underwent a double amputation. His mother, Preshauna Jones, said the dogs also badly injured his legs, including damage to his right calf and part of his left foot. She spent months at his side through multiple surgeries and rehabilitation.

After returning home, Romell had one request. He wanted his favorite rapper, Kendrick Lamar, to come to his birthday.

“I’m glad you reached out. I’m glad I got to talk to you,” Lamar said.

The rapper also shared some words of encouragement.

“You continue to be great, continue to keep that smile on your face,” Lamar said. “You’re giving us a whole lot of inspiration with how strong you are.”

Jones said her son will need more surgery before he can start using prosthetics and has had to relearn everyday tasks. Still, she says through it all, he’s had an unbreakable spirit.

“He doesn’t be sad, he doesn’t be complaining about being in pain,” she said. “He is as happy as can be.”

“It goes to show how great of a parent you are and the household you got for him,” Lamar told Jones. “He had that smile on him, and he’s just pushing and he’s showing that strength.”

A GoFundMe has been created to help Romell’s family navigate his recovery.

The regional Gilgt-Baltistan government identified the three recovered bodies as Nepalese climber Pur Bahadur Gurung, Omani climber Nathira Ahmed and American climber Mallory Geis. It said the bodies had been transported to a hospital.

The announcement came hours after officials said search teams had located the remains of four climbers. They did not immediately identify the fourth body that was spotted. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Bad weather continued to hinder the rescue effort Friday, Gilgit-Baltistan region Chief Minister Amjad Hussain said in a statement.

The climbers lost contact with their base camp after an avalanche struck Broad Peak while they were attempting to scale the mountain, said Karrar Haidri, vice president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan.

“The team has been out of communication since Thursday,” said Haidri, adding that army helicopters were part of the search-and-rescue operation.

The search for the missing climbers continued until Friday evening and would resume Saturday, authorities said.

Broad Peak, at 8,047 meters (26,401 feet), is the world’s 12th-highest mountain. It lies in Pakistan’s Karakoram range, home to five of the world’s 14 peaks above 8,000 meters, attracting climbers from around the globe.

Accidents are common during climbing expeditions in northern Pakistan because of avalanches and rapidly changing weather.

Team included climbers from around the world

The expedition comprised five Nepali climbers in addition to the Omani and American climbers, Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi, a Chinese climber identified only as Wang and one other foreign climber, according to the Alpine Club.

China said it was trying to verify whether any of its nationals were among the 10 climbers missing.

“We will provide assistance to Chinese citizens in need and are also willing to offer help in accordance with the needs of the Pakistani side,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Friday in Beijing.

The expedition leader was the renowned mountaineer Nirmal Purja, a Nepal-born former soldier in the British army widely known as Nims Dai. He climbed the world’s 14 highest peaks in a record 189 days in 2019, an achievement featured in the Netflix documentary, “14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible.” His record was surpassed in 2023.

Moving Mountains, a travel company based in Pakistan, announced late last month that the expedition team was on its way to the small town of Askole and wished them a safe journey climbing Broad Peak.

The expedition was Geis’ first try at an 8,000-meter peak in Pakistan, while it was expected to be the final one for Sakhi, who is a guide for the company, as well as a geographer and high-altitude photographer who has climbed some of the world’s major peaks, according to the Moving Mountains website.

Geis, 39, lived in San Antonio. She announced on social media earlier this year that she was closing her Pilates studio to take “a giant leap of faith into the unknown to see where life goes. I have a sneaking suspicion there will be lots of helmets, harnesses, and crampons involved.”

Kimberly Hardman, a climber based in Alaska, met Geis at a Colorado women’s ice climbing weekend in January and they instantly connected and talked about climbing all over the world.

Geis was relatively new to ice climbing but was a natural athlete with experience mountaineering after climbing in Nepal, according to Hardman, who said Geis respected the mountains and understood the risks of climbing.

She didn’t go into it blindly, Hardman said.

“She was wanting to learn and grow,” Hardman said. “That’s what brought her to her happy place.”

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Khan reported from Peshawar, Pakistan. Associated Press journalists E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing, Hallie Golden in Seattle and Josh Kelety in Phoenix contributed to this report.

The 19-year-old Agbayani, the son of former Mets fan favorite Benny Agbayani, is a middle infielder who hit .268 in 10 games for Fort Myers in low Class A this season. The sixth-round 2025 draft pick, a native of Hawaii, has been limited by injuries.

“It means a lot," Benny Agbayani said on a conference call Friday afternoon. “He wanted to get drafted by the Mets when he was first coming out of high school. That's all he knew. That's all Dad talked about. It's a great opportunity for him and I'm just going to support him as much as I can.”

The Alomars (father Sandy Sr. and sons Roberto and Sandy Jr.) and Wilsons (father Mookie and stepson Preston) are the only father-son combos to play for the Mets.

“It’s great to have him wearing a Mets jersey and continuing the legacy,” Benny Agbayani said.

The 23-year-old Amick batted .217 with 23 homers in 86 games for Double-A Wichita this season, playing first and third base. He was a second-round draft pick in 2024.

Minter had a 2.35 ERA in 23 innings with 20 strikeouts and only two walks. He didn't make his season debut until May 26, going more than a year between major league appearances. His 2025 season ended after 13 appearances when he injured his left lat muscle in his back and needed surgery.

Minter signed a two-year, $22 million contract with the Mets in 2025. His 2024 season with the Atlanta Braves also was cut short by a torn labrum in his left hip, but when he's been healthy he's been one of baseball's most effective late-game lefties. The 33-year-old, who was a second-round 2015 draft pick by the Braves, has a 3.18 ERA with 456 strikeouts in 382 2/3 innings over 420 career appearances.

“He is playoff tested. He is proven,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “When you do the background on the human being, you find really good stuff.”

Minter likely will be the first of multiple Mets players moved before the trade deadline on Monday. They have the second-worst record in the National League.

The Mets scratched Friday's scheduled starter, Freddy Peralta, because interim manager Andy Green said trade talks involving the right-hander have intensified. Kodai Senga started against the Miami Marlins instead.

“It just became a prudent path for us,” Green said. “There’s enough going on right now.”

The Mets also placed left-hander Cionel Pérez on the injured list with a left forearm strain and recalled pitchers Xzavion Curry and Jonathan Pintaro from Triple-A Syracuse.

The Twins, who started a nine-game trip Friday at Seattle, have a 4.92 relief ERA that ranks fifth-worst in the major leagues. They lead the American League in runs and entered Friday one game out of a wild-card spot.

"We said that we were going to go out, we were going to buy, we were going to be aggressive in that market," Shelton said. “I think (Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll) has kind of done that at the front end of it and there’s still three days left.”

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

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney in Denver, expected to be appealed, undercuts the NCAA's plan to have the so-called “five for five” rule go into play starting with athletes who enroll in college in fall 2027.

It also has potential to wreak havoc on rosters across the country — for instance, opening the possibility that an undrafted player in an NFL training camp could decide to try to head back to college for a fifth year this upcoming season.

In granting the preliminary injunction, Sweeney said the players “will suffer irreparable harm without” it. She did not sign onto the governing body’s argument that applying the new rule retroactively would create “roster chaos.”

But NCAA President Charlie Baker said it would in responding to the rulings while referencing a bill in Congress designed to provide the NCAA antitrust protection on the eligibility issues.

“Today's rulings and the chaos they bring to college sports are exactly why it's time to pass this bill,” Baker said.

The Colorado ruling came hours after a Tennessee court granted Jalen Washington, who most recently played at Vanderbilt, and 18 other basketball players a fifth season of eligibility.

In June, the NCAA approved its new eligibility model for Division I athletes that will allow five seasons of competition over a five-year period that begins with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.

While the ruling in Tennessee applied to those 19 basketball players, the one in Colorado cast a wider net, granting the class certification the plaintiffs sought. It means the ruling applies to all Division I players who started their college careers in the 2022-23 season, not just a select list.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

The Big Ten calls its reputation as a top-heavy conference unfair.

Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti considers those three College Football Playoff championships — from Michigan in 2023, Ohio State in 2024 and Indiana in 2025 — testaments to the league’s strength from top to bottom.

“You cannot send your top teams out into the CFP unless they’ve played — and have them be successful, which we have been very successful — if they’re not going through a gauntlet in the regular season,” Petitti said this week. “This idea that the middle of our conference isn’t hard is just not right.”

The balance of power between college football’s heavyweight conferences has been a major talking point at the leagues’ media days.

Petitti spoke to reporters while standing beside the Big Ten’s three recent CFP trophies. Illinois coach Bret Bielema said the SEC was living in the past. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said “there’s no doubt” the Big Ten is best.

“The numbers speak for themselves,” Cignetti said. “We don’t run a hype machine up here in the Midwest. We believe everything is earned, not given. When we fall short, we say, ‘We fell short.’ We don’t cry a river, whine and complain. That’s why we’re the best.”

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey argued his league’s case a week earlier.

“When you look at our schedule, no one has created the kind of weekly competition that exists in the Southeastern Conference,” Sankey said.

Five different SEC schools combined to win 13 national titles from 2006-22, but no SEC team has reached any of the last three championship games.

Both have evidence to support their claims

In the first two years under a 12-team CFP format, seven different SEC schools have made a combined eight playoff appearances. The Big Ten had four schools total seven playoff berths.

Certain metrics support the idea that the 16-team SEC is stronger than the 18-school Big Ten at the bottom. ESPN’s Bill Connelly produces the SP+ rankings, a predictive measure rating each team’s efficiency while adjusting for tempo and an opponent’s strength.

The Big Ten had three of the top four teams in the 2025 season-ending SP+ rankings, while the SEC had nobody in the top five. But seven Big Ten programs ranked below the lowest SEC team on the list: No. 67 Kentucky.

Recent head-to-head results favor Big Ten

Over the last two seasons, the Big Ten went 10-7 against the SEC, including a 3-0 playoff record and a 5-2 mark in other bowl games. The Big Ten won as an underdog in all five of those non-playoff victories.

Illinois produced two of those upsets, beating South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl in 2024 and defeating Tennessee in the Music City Bowl last season. So Bielema had reason to feel good about himself and his conference this week when he commented that SEC backers “kind of want to live in 2005 forever.”

The 2005 reference was curious because Texas won the title that season when it was still a Big 12 member, a year before the SEC began a string of seven straight titles. Bielema said he chose 2005 because that’s the year before his head coaching career began at Wisconsin.

“The transfer portal and revenue share or NIL, however you want to describe it, when those two elements came into college football, the whole world changed,” said Bielema, who went 29-34 while coaching SEC school Arkansas from 2013-17. “I mean, it’s overly obvious to say that, but I think anything to predate that is just a different time in college football. It just is.”

Big Ten capitalizes on changing times

Fourteen of the 22 playoff games over the last two years have featured Big Ten teams, including two in which conference rivals faced off. No wonder even Big Ten coaches with SEC backgrounds claim bragging rights.

“I just look at what the stats are, you know, and the last three years, the national champion has come out of this conference,” said Purdue’s Barry Odom, who went 25-25 at Missouri from 2016-19. “You also look at the number of playoff wins compared to any other conference, we’ve won twice as many as the next conference in the playoffs.”

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava has experience playing in both conferences after reaching the playoff with Tennessee in 2024.

“I think it’s two great leagues — two great, physical leagues,” Iamaleava said. “I think the SEC brings a lot of physicality, but over the years, it’s kind of leveled out in terms of the playing field.
I think everybody is able to get high-level athletes. ... I think there’s definitely a lot of tough SEC teams, so that every week is going to be a game, but I feel the same way in the Big Ten.”

The intensity of the debate frustrates coaches eager to settle it on the field, perhaps with more head-to-head matchups.

“You never hear in the NFL, ‘Wow, the NFC’s better than the AFC,’” Washington coach Jedd Fisch said. “You don’t ever hear, ’Check us out, we’ve won the Super Bowl the last few years.' We’ve kind of made this some competition rather than just take a step back and say, ‘Who cares?’ Let’s play.”

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AP freelance writer Luke DeCock contributed to this report.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Bader has been out since late May dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The team said the injury got worse following the accident early Sunday morning in San Francisco.

“Over the weekend, Harrison Bader was involved in an accident that has delayed Harrison’s prior treatment timeline for plantar fasciitis and, unfortunately, his return to the field,” Giants President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey said in a statement Friday. "We are still investigating the circumstances of the accident, but will be suspending payment to Harrison until he is able to resume performing services for the club.”

Bader signed a two-year, $20.5 million contract with the Giants before this season that includes a $4.5 million base salary for this season. He is owed $1.42 million for the remainder of the season.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Bader was involved in a vehicle collision while riding his scooter around 2 a.m. Sunday morning in San Francisco's Marina District. He was taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

The 32-year-old Bader was batting .170 with five homers, 14 RBIs and a .557 OPS in 30 games before going on the injured list.

This isn't the first time Bader has gotten into trouble in a scooter accident. He was suspended in college at Florida in 2014 after he hit a curb and ran into a truck while driving a motorized scooter, according to a report from the Gainesville Sun. He was unresponsive on the ground and, according to the incident report cited, smelled of alcohol.

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

The British designer was creative director at Christian Dior for nearly 15 years, the very pinnacle of the fashion world, before he made a series of antisemitic and racist comments in 2010 and 2011 that went viral, leading to his conviction in an antisemitism trial. Dropped by Dior, he spent several years involved in public and private efforts to rehabilitate.

He made a comeback in 2014 when he was hired by Paris fashion house Maison Margiela, where he remained for a decade.

Now, he'll become only the third living designer to be the subject of a solo show at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Long a red carpet favorite for his flamboyant, even fantastical style, Galliano and his creations should make for an intensely watched carpet at next May’s Met Gala — which every year launches the spring exhibit at the Costume Institute.

Not surprisingly, the museum is taking pains to emphasize that the exhibit will not shy away from the problematic aspects of Galliano’s history.

“Alongside Galliano’s extraordinary creative accomplishments, the exhibition will address the derogatory conduct that fundamentally altered his career and public reception,” said a statement issued by the museum on Friday. “In doing so, the exhibition will consider how artistic achievement should be understood alongside ethical accountability.”

The show’s main curator, Andrew Bolton, who curates nearly all the Met’s big fashion exhibits, noted that the exhibit “considers both how Galliano has remapped the world through fashion and how his conduct, its consequences, and changing cultural values have reshaped our understanding of his work.”

Even so, organizers had to tread carefully when planning the show. Preparation included meetings with Jewish community leaders in New York to gauge their feelings, the museum said, confirming a report in The New York Times. Those meetings included Bolton, Galliano and Anna Wintour, the Vogue editor who masterminds the Met Gala every year.

The show will be organized into three parts, the museum said.

The first, “Bearings," will “directly address the rupture caused by his antisemitic, racist, and anti-Asian conduct in 2010 and 2011, which resulted in his dismissal from Christian Dior and his eponymous label and his conviction by a Paris court for public insults based on race, religion, ethnicity, or origin," the museum said. It will also deal with his treatment for substance addiction and later public acknowledgment of his actions.

The second, “Horizons,” will examine the designer's sources of inspiration — such as history, geography, art, storytelling and performance. And the third, “Atlas of Transformation,” will focus on "Galliano’s creativity, craftsmanship, experimentation, and technical innovation," the museum said.

The 2024 documentary “High & Low — John Galliano” suggests Galliano was overworked and abusing alcohol and drugs when he made a series of antisemitic and racist comments in 2010 and 2011. A video of him saying “I love Hitler" in a bar went viral.

The Times quoted Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, as saying of the planned show: “We believe John Galliano has genuinely worked through the issues that led to his antisemitic outburst years ago in Paris, and we have long since accepted his apology."

"His efforts to repair the damage his words caused and to learn from that incident should be applauded.”

The show, John Galliano: Horizons, will run from May 9, 2027, through Jan. 9, 2028.

There were no U.S. strikes on Iran overnight, but Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it had struck another two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and Kuwait said it intercepted drones.

Meanwhile, Hamas confirmed Friday that it will disarm in a potential breakthrough for ending the war in Gaza, but major obstacles remain.

Here are the most important developments across the Middle East today:

Trump considering new strikes on Iran

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed the U.S. administration’s frustration anew, charging that Tehran last month signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. on a truce but then quickly “broke it, shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers.”

“President Trump is not going to stand by and allow this terrorist behavior to occur,” Leavitt said in a statement on Friday evening. “Iran will continue to pay until they come to the table in, what President Trump deems, a meaningful way.”

Leavitt issued the fresh warning after Trump earlier on Friday told reporters that “we just want to win” in Iran and signaled that he expected U.S. military action to continue for some time.

“We’ll be hitting them very hard,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters during a meeting with members of his Cabinet at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. “You know, at some point they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore.’”

Other developments on the Iran conflict

Iran fired drones at Kuwait, a Gulf country hosting U.S. forces, and said it had also fired at oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil and gas shipments, which has been largely closed by the fighting.

Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said Friday its armed forces had shot down drones inside Kuwaiti airspace. It said the Iranian attacks had targeted several vital military facilities, causing material damage from falling shrapnel but no casualties. It did not specify how many drones were intercepted. Iranian state media said Iran had targeted an air base in Kuwait with drones in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Thursday.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed to have hit two oil tankers attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media said four other tankers had turned around. The report did not provide further details on the tankers’ ownership, or whether there were any casualties.

Gaza: Deal reached for Hamas to disarm, Israel to withdraw

Hamas said it will begin disarming as part of a deal announced by Trump that also requires Israel to end its strikes and withdraw from Gaza.

Hamas also said that laying down its heavy weapons, which would come later in the process, was contingent on the creation of a Palestinian state, something Israel’s current government adamantly rejects.

Reflecting the hurdles of the potential disarmament, a series of Israeli airstrikes shook Gaza again on Friday, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding at least four, including a child, according to officials in hospitals near the attacks. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the agreement, calling it the only good news in recent days from a troubled region. The deal must be implemented “without any questions, skepticism, or determination to undermine it,” he told reporters.

Israel has not officially commented on the Hamas deal, which is part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire announced last October. That agreement called for Hamas to disarm and hand over power to an independent Palestinian administration. Israel was to withdraw and an International Stabilization Force was to be deployed.

But progress stalled, with Israel saying everything hinged on Hamas disarming, and Hamas accusing Israel of violating the agreement by continuing to carry out regular strikes on Gaza.

The war in Gaza began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, including those killed since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry says.

The Associated Press is tracking the progress of Trump's plan to end the Israel-Hamas war.

Elsewhere in the region:

1. Saudi Arabia has announced a plan for a defense alliance of 14 countries to strengthen maritime security, safeguard freedom of navigation and secure international trade routes and energy supply corridors in the Red Sea region. The Iran war has severely disrupted global shipping. Yemen's Houthi rebels have declared a blockade on Saudi Arabia over a separate but related conflict, putting at risk another major trade corridor .

2. Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said Thursday that the coalition is “defensive in nature,” and that access “remains open to all willing countries.” Oman and the United Arab Emirates were the only two Gulf countries that did not back Saudi Arabia’s statement. Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan were among those that joined the proposed alliance.

3. A Houthi official, speaking Friday on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to brief the media, said the Saudi initiative won't protect its vessels — that would happen only after the Saudis lift their blockade on Yemen. Large crowds of Yemenis, meanwhile, took to the streets in the capital, Sanaa, and other Houthi-controlled areas to show support for the Iran-backed rebels and their Red Sea attacks against Saudi Arabia. The rallies were organized by the Houthis.

4. In southern Lebanon, Israeli forces set off explosions Friday to destroy an underground tunnel network under the Crusader-built Beaufort Castle that Israel says had been used by Hezbollah militants as a command center. The 12th-century castle, also known as Al-Shaqif, was seized by Israeli forces in May. It was recently added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List over Israel’s objections.

5. Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun said the Israeli operation sent “negative messages” ahead of upcoming talks in Rome. Israeli and Lebanese negotiating teams are set to meet again there to continue hammering out a plan under which Israel would withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament.

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Madhani reported from Washington and Becatoros contributed from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writer Fatma Khaled contributed to this report from Cairo.

Both notes initially were sent to a Tucson television station days after the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie went missing from her home outside Tucson on Feb. 1. Authorities have not said whether Nancy Guthrie is still alive.

Saturday is the six-month mark since Guthrie went missing. No suspects have been arrested in her disappearance. The investigation is dogged by unanswered questions, such as how many people are believed to have taken part in her abduction and whether she was taken by someone who knew her.

In her latest video about her mother's disappearance, Savannah Guthrie said earlier this week that her family has been living an unending nightmare and pleaded with the kidnappers to “tell us where to look for her.”

The FBI in Washington did not immediately respond to questions about the ransom notes, including whether both messages sent to the Tucson station have been deemed legitimate.

In releasing the notes, the Pima County Sheriff's Department said “we believe these distinctive linguistic characteristics may be recognizable to someone who knows or has interacted with the notes’ writer.”

The first note, sent Feb. 2, said Guthrie was safe but scared and would be released unharmed once her captors received $4 million in cryptocurrency, with the ransom amount increasing if the first demand was not met.

It said Guthrie would be released within 12 hours if the payment was received. It also included a threat to kill her if the ransom wasn’t paid.

“Your mother is aware of this and her life is in your hands,” the first note read. “It is in the best interest of everyone to have this completed as soon as possible.”

The second note was sent Feb. 6 and said Guthrie died shortly after she was taken. “She is buried in nature now,” it said. “Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome.” The note ended with an apology: “We are truly sorry.”

Investigators hope the writing itself will help identify its author

The sheriff’s department said the notes reveal a distinctive pattern of word choices and provide insight into the writer’s mindset. The agency said someone who knows the notes’ writer may recognize the patterns.

Authorities similarly used a suspect’s own writings as a tool to apprehend Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, branded the “Unabomber” by the FBI. Kaczynski, who killed three people and injured 23 others with mail bombs over a 17-year span, pressured The Washington Post, in conjunction with The New York Times, to publish his 35,000-word manifesto in 1995. Federal authorities encouraged its publication, leading Kaczynski’s brother and sister-in-law to recognize the syntax and anti-technology themes and tip off the FBI, bringing to a close the agency’s longest and costliest investigation at the time.

In a statement Friday, the sheriff’s department also appealed to people who may know something about the case, saying it may be difficult to come forward due to a personal relationship with someone involved or just for their own safety.

“We recognize relationships and loyalties change over time as do people and their perspectives,” the sheriff’s department wrote. “It is not too late to come forward.”

Authorities say new evidence suggests the kidnapping was planned

The sheriff’s office also said Friday that two videos recovered from Guthrie’s doorbell camera might be from two separate days and indicate an unidentified male prepared ahead of when Guthrie was taken. Authorities are seeking information on anyone who was behaving differently, changed their physical appearance, suddenly left the Tucson area, or had a noticeable or unexplained interest or disinterest in the case.

“Investigators continue to pursue every available technological and investigative lead,” the sheriff’s office said. “However, community members remain a vital resource as we seek to provide answers for Nancy’s family.”

The FBI had released surveillance videos of a masked person who authorities said appeared to tamper with a camera on Nancy Guthrie’s front porch and block it with a plant. They described the person as a male about 5 feet, 9 inches (1.75 meters) tall.

On Feb. 4, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings first shared a video statement saying they were aware of media reports of a purported ransom letter and that they were ready to talk and listen, but they wanted proof that their mother was alive. Camron Guthrie, the brother of the “Today” co-anchor, said the following day that the family had not heard directly from whoever took their mother.

A day after the second note was sent, Savannah Guthrie said on Feb. 7 that the siblings received a message and “understand,” without sharing details. She said they were begging for their mother to be returned to them. “We will pay,” Guthrie said.

The family has continued to share their pleas for information in videos posted to social media.

Two men who were previously detained have filed a lawsuit

Also, two men detained and released early in the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance are seeking a combined $3 million against a southern Arizona sheriff’s department. In a legal claim, they say they were wrongfully held by law enforcement.

The claim made Thursday against Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos’ department centers on the separate detentions of Carlos Alfredo Palazuelos and Daniel Maddow on Feb. 10. It said they were released hours later but have suffered from having been mentioned in the investigation.

Nanos’ office declined to comment on the notice of claim, a necessary precursor to filing a lawsuit against government entities.

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Associated Press writer Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed.

The leadership change came as police continue searching for people involved in a fatal, gang-related shootout at a food festival near the Space Needle last weekend. A 15-year-old was arrested at the scene and has been charged with assault, but charging documents say the gun he was seen firing wasn't involved in the deaths of two bystanders.

Wilson and then-Police Chief Shon Barnes faced criticism for being slow to release key information about the shootout on Sunday, including whether suspects remained at large.

Barnes, who was the city's second Black police chief, has been credited with boosting the recruitment of officers and helping reduce crime downtown. A number of Black community organizations, a major business group and several City Council members issued statements criticizing Wilson's decision to replace him Thursday.

At a news conference Friday with Andre Sayles, a Seattle deputy chief the mayor named as interim chief, Wilson credited Barnes for his service and said that as mayor she had a clearer window into the operations at the Seattle Police Department than her critics.

The lack of communication about a mass shooting at a major public event in Seattle was not the only reason she asked Barnes to resign, she said.

“There were multiple factors,” Wilson said. “The events of Sunday played into it.”

Sayles told the news conference the department would boost police staffing at public festivals for the remainder of the summer. He also said he believed investigators are close to finding and arresting additional suspects in the shootout.

The gunfire erupted in the waning hours of the Bite of Seattle, an annual three-day festival that draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers. Three people, including a suspect, were killed, and four people were wounded. One of the people injured was a 2-year-old boy.

Government lawyers said in a 20-page court filing that additional documents provided by the Interior Department since the indictment of David Hearn show that the damage was the result of a botched installation by a contractor as well as “the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026.” In addition, a recent visual inspection revealed damage throughout the pool, including in the middle — where prosecutors say a vandal would not likely have attempted to peel the lining.

“Given all of this newly discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt,” said the filing from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, which asked a judge to formally dismiss the case.

Hearn's lawyers said in a statement that the case against him should never have been brought.

“Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong. The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim. The administration owes Mr. Hearn an apology,” the lawyers said.

The dismissal marks an embarrassing setback for a Justice Department that had billed the prosecution as accountability for damage at a Washington landmark where President Donald Trump had launched a massive renovation project before the country's 250th anniversary celebrations. Trump, without providing evidence, has alleged the damage was caused by vandals.

But the case has long been saddled with evidentiary problems and challenges. Hearn has for weeks maintained his innocence and his supporters have characterized the prosecution as a politically motivated attempt by the Trump administration to deflect blame and scapegoat others.

Earlier this week, Hearn's lawyers sought access to grand jury transcripts because of what they said were “irregularities” in the process. They said a National Park Service official testified that the pool already was damaged before Hearn allegedly touched it, couldn’t quantify any damage attributable to Hearn and said the same repairs would have been required regardless of his conduct.

“The witness’s testimony established that the pool had substantial preexisting damage requiring repair before any alleged conduct by Mr. Hearn,” his lawyers wrote. “According to the witness, the pool was leaking more than one million gallons of water per week; its expansion joints had exceeded their service life; and the liner already contained a rip.”

Hearn pleaded not guilty earlier this month to one felony count of property destruction and had a trial scheduled to start Sept. 28 in D.C. Superior Court. The charge, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years upon conviction, accused Hearn of causing at least $1,000 in damage to the pool.

In court papers Friday, prosecutors said they had only recently received new information that undermined the basis for the prosecution.

“It was not until after these documents were produced that (prosecutors) first became aware of information showing that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented” by the Interior Department. Prosecutors could “only rely,” they wrote, on the initial information suggesting that the damage was caused by vandals.

Hearn has told The Associated Press he was detained by National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police for five hours after stopping by the pool during a bike ride on June 19. He said he reached in to examine the pool’s newly peeled coating and briefly touched a chunk attached to the side of the pool, but said he obeyed a park worker who told him to let go of it.

Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, competed in three Summer Olympics, earning his best finish, ninth, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee says on its website.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation proposal spares four other states from facing mandatory cuts for now. It's meant to be flexible, allowing deeper cuts in drier times while giving the states more time to collectively agree on how to manage the dwindling resource that flows through dams to produce hydropower.

The Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada could together be forced to reduce their use by up to 3 million acre-feet (130 billion cubic feet) annually through 2036 — about the amount that Arizona and Nevada receive and enough to serve more than 25 million people a year. The actual reductions would be determined every two years based on conditions throughout the basin.

“The Department has a responsibility to ensure the Colorado River system remains reliable and resilient for the millions of Americans, communities and industries that depend on it,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement.

Under the proposal, California, Nevada and Arizona would divide half the cuts based on a plan they already developed. Beyond that, priority water rights come into play. The priority system generally benefits California users over those in the other states.

Arizona and Nevada have faced mandatory reductions before, but the proposal outlines deeper cuts that could impact agriculture, cities and tribes. It could translate into higher water prices, more reliance on groundwater and leaving fields unplanted, experts say.

The proposal comes after years of deadlocked negotiations among the states and threats of lawsuits if a proposal didn't comply with longstanding laws and guidelines that govern the river, some of which expire at the end of 2026. A record-dry winter also left two key Colorado River reservoirs at a combined record low. Federal officials are expected to finalize the proposal in the coming days.

Why is the plan coming now?

More than 40 million people in seven U.S. states, several tribal nations and Mexico rely on the flows of the 1,450-mile (2,334-kilometer) river. Decades of overuse, along with rising temperatures, drought and climate change, mean it no longer provides what was promised in 1922.

The river's health often is determined by how much water is in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the two largest human-made reservoirs in the U.S. Together, the reservoirs are at their lowest point since they began filling, according to a recent paper by Colorado River experts, and approaching levels where they could no longer produce hydropower.

How the water is allocated and conserved — especially amid a decades-long drought — has led to contentious arguments among the states, including threats of lawsuits. Both basins drew up proposals but didn't decide together on a single plan.

Because the states didn't reach an agreement, the federal government stepped in with its own proposal to buoy the river.

How are the states reacting?

Leaders in Arizona, which has the lowest priority rights in the Lower Basin, called the federal proposal flawed. Those in California said it's an important milestone but not the finish line. Nevada officials called the proposed reductions unrealistic and devastating.

The Lower Basin states have been united in wanting all seven states to share in specific, measurable cuts. The Upper Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, meanwhile, repeatedly pushed back, saying mandatory cuts to their water use would be illegal under the existing compact for the Colorado River. While the federal proposal mandates cuts in the Lower Basin, the Upper Basin states can proceed with voluntary water cuts primarily among agricultural users.

The four Upper Basin state governors gave the document a favorable initial assessment but said they were still reviewing it.

“We are encouraged that new operating guidelines will better reflect existing water supply which must underpin any practicable plan going forward,” the governors said in a joint statement.

The Arizona Department of Water Resources said the proposed cuts devastate its water users and economy. The Central Arizona Project, which manages much of the state's allocation used primarily in metro Phoenix and Tucson, said the proposal doesn't accurately portray Arizona's rights.

What impact could the plan have?

The states will have a say in how they shoulder the cuts, though the federal government is expected to offer suggestions in the coming days.

Arizona Department of Water Resources director Tom Buschatzke said it will be painful. Farmers in Southern California and Yuma, Arizona, produce the majority of North America's leafy greens in the winter.

“Those are a lot of potential devastating impacts — and a lot of uncertainties for all of us,” Buschatzke said.

Cities in metro Phoenix don't rely entirely on the Colorado River and likely will keep everyone's taps running, but water rates will increase in some areas, said Rhett Larson, a water law professor at Arizona State University. The city of Gilbert, for example, has increased residential water rates by 50% since April 2025, he said.

“We are not running out of water. We’re running out of cheap water,” Larson said.

Meanwhile, cities across the Colorado River basin are constantly on the hunt for new sources of water, like tapping groundwater, treating wastewater and desalinating water, all of which are more expensive than deliveries from the Colorado River. ___ Pineda reported from Los Angeles and Peterson from Denver. Associated Press writer Mead Gruver contributed from Fort Collins, Colorado.

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This story has been updated to correct the Interior Secretary's first name. He is Doug Burgum, not Dough Burgum.

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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

“I was thinking 55,” he said.

Young cooled off with two birdies on his back nine in a bogey-free round, closing with a Detroit Golf Club-record tying 61 to reach 10 under for the tournament to tie Patrick Cantlay (66) and Patrick Fishburn (66) atop the leaderboard Friday.

“You hate to call it a disappointing 61,” he said, lamenting missing many birdie opportunities that preventing him from breaking Jim Furyk's record 58 that has stood for a decade.

Young, the No. 3 player in the world with three wins this season, shot a 59 in 2024 at the Travelers Championship and had a chance to join Furyk with multiple sub-60 rounds on the PGA Tour.

“It felt like I had a 10-footer for birdie on pretty much every hole,” Young said.

A lot of players took advantage of one of the easiest courses on the PGA Tour.

Matt Wallace (64) and Rickie Fowler (68) were two shots back.

Fowler surged into the lead — briefly — at 11 under before falling back to the pack. He three-putted from 24 feet to bogey No. 11 and went from thigh-high fescue to a greenside bunker at No. 13, leading to his second of three bogeys on the back nine.

“Nice to finish with birdie on 18,” said Fowler, whose sixth and last win was the 2023 Rocket Classic. “A lot of good stuff today and nice to be in a good spot for the weekend.”

First-round leader Peter Malnati, who followed up his 61 on Thursday with a 71, was another stroke back in a large group that included Xander Schauffele (66).

Hideki Matsuyama (68) extended the PGA Tour’s longest active cuts streak to 30 by getting to 5 under with a slew of players, including Tony Finau (67), who is hoping to improve his positioning to be among the top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings after next week's Wyndham Championship.

“I check it pretty much every tournament just kind of see where I’m at, even on off weeks,” said Finau, the 2022 Rocket Classic champion, who entered the tournament No. 87 in the standings.

Matt Kuchar was another stroke back, getting a boost from his seventh career ace with a 9-iron on the 156-yard, par-3 5th hole. Kuchar invited a kid to join him inside the ropes to retrieve the ball, which he signed with a black marker.

“I saw a little boy that was kind of the right age where you know they’re so excited to be out here, just very impressionable,” Kuchar said. “One of those things where it’s easy to make their day. I think anytime you get to make a kid’s day, it makes your day.”

The Rocket Classic, which is in its eighth and final year, drew a stronger than usual field and some notable names missed the cut at 3 under.

U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark (74) was 5 over. Chris Gotterup, a three-time winner this year and ranked No. 7 in the world, was 1 over to end his streak of making the cut in 14 straight starts. Akshay Bhatia (71) — No. 12 in FedEx Cup standings — also dropped out at 1 under.

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

Trump is taking Friday’s Cabinet meeting on the road — to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. It's the first Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Trump’s second term after an earlier attempt in May was scuttled because of bad weather.

The president said Thursday he may pull acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination for the full-time post to avoid conceding to Senate Republicans’ demands over a sweeping tax audit immunity deal benefiting the president and members of his family.

Here's the Latest:

Zelenskyy wants Trump to help persuade Musk to expand Starlink access

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pitched Trump and other American officials on helping Ukraine win permission from tech titan Elon Musk to use his Starlink satellite communications system to guide strikes inside Russia.

Zelenskyy is looking for alternate ways to mitigate the need for U.S. Patriot air defense systems to thwart the steady barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian territory. The interceptors are in shorter supply as the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran continues to rage, and Trump on Friday appeared to back away from a recent commitment to give Ukraine a license to produce them.

Zelenskyy made the request directly to Trump in an Oval Office meeting this week during his whirlwind trip to Washington, according to one person familiar with the matter.

He also told lawmakers later on Capitol Hill that he wanted Starlink to help with targeting inside Russia, according to a person in the room. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive private discussions. Trump did not commit to Zelenskyy’s request.

▶ Read more

White House signals Trump is weighing carrying out new strikes on Iran

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed the U.S. administration’s frustration anew, charging that Tehran last month signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. on a truce but then quickly “broke it, shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers.”

“President Trump is not going to stand by and allow this terrorist behavior to occur,” Leavitt added in her Friday evening statement. “Iran will continue to pay until they come to the table in, what President Trump deems, a meaningful way.”

Leavitt issued the fresh warning after Trump earlier told reporters that “we just want to win” in Iran and signaled that he expected U.S. military action to continue for some time.

“We’ll be hitting them very hard,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters during a meeting with members of his Cabinet. “You know, at some point they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore.’”

US drops case against man charged with damaging Reflecting Pool

Government lawyers said information provided since the indictment of former Olympian David Hearn shows that the damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was by the result of a “flawed installation by the contractor” as well as “the rush to complete the project.”

▶ Read more

Dr. Oz defends decision to end Medicare prescription drug subsidy

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz is defending his decision to end a Medicare Part D subsidy that had helped offset premiums for millions of older adults.

“It’s still very affordable,” he told The Associated Press at the National Governors Association summer meeting on Friday. “What I didn’t want to do was subsidize a bailout.”

Oz said the federal subsidy to insurers, which amounted to $3.6 billion this year, would have mostly gone to a single company.

“That’s just not a good thing for the American people,” he said.

While federal officials have insisted the financial impact to beneficiaries is minimal, the decision has opened the Republican administration to potential political consequences in a midterm year where affordability is a central issue.

Trump blames Minnesota governor for cyberattacks, cites no evidence

The president alleged that the recent cyberattacks were the fault of the state, including Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. Authorities have not yet publicly named the source of the attacks.

During a Cabinet meeting on Friday at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, Trump also repeated myriad false claims that have become part of his regular talking points about topics such as immigration, foreign conflicts and prescription drug prices.

▶ Read more here about some of the claims.

UN chief urges Hamas and Israel to follow US road map to peace in Gaza `without any questions’

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Trump’s announcement on Hamas agreeing to disarm in Gaza the only “good news” in recent days that have seen a military escalation in the Gulf, including a collapse of trade through the Strait of Hormuz.

Hamas said Friday it will begin disarming as part of a stalled deal announced by Trump that requires Israel to halt attacks in Gaza and withdraw from the territory which the Palestinians insist must be part of a future state. Israel’s prime minister has not responded to what could be a major breakthrough to ending the war in Gaza.

Guterres told U.N. reporters Friday he has a message to both Israel and Hamas: There is a road map that must be implemented now “without any questions, skepticism, or determination to undermine it.”

He warned that the six-month war in Iran “is increasingly becoming a driver of instability,” saying energy markets have been upended, food and fertilizer prices have surged, “supply chains are buckling,: and “around the world families are struggling to put food on the table.”

Trump has wrapped up the public portion of his Cabinet meeting

The president gave a lengthy opening statement, heard from top officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and answered questions on Iran and array of other topics.

He has now asked the press and cameras to leave, meaning the rest of the meeting’s proceedings won’t happen in view of the public.

Trump steps back from pledge to let Ukraine make Patriot interceptors

Asked about his previous commitment to give Ukraine a license to make Patriot air defense systems to counter Russian missiles, Trump said, “We have not agreed to that.”

“We’re talking about it. But it’s a hard thing to give away that kind of technology,” Trump said at his Cabinet meeting on Friday.

“I don’t think this would ever happen, but you know there’s people that, you give that technology, they can someday turn on you,” Trump added. “You look at war, that’s happened a couple of times over the years, right? So we have to be very careful.”

It was a contrast to earlier remarks from the sidelines of the NATO summit this month, where Trump said, “We’ll give them the right to make Patriots.”

Trump said he discussed the topic with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when they met in Washington on Tuesday. Zelenskyy also met with senators to make a case for why Ukraine needs the interceptors.

Trump claims Iran war helped drive Hamas to disarmament agreement

The president during his Cabinet meeting said the newly-minted agreement aimed at leading to disarmament of the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and transition of oversight of the territory to a civilian body will have “ups and downs.”

Still, he said this week’s agreement is a “great breakthrough” that has been helped along by the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, which has served as Hamas’ prime backer.

“Nobody’s ever thought that would be possible to disarm Hamas,” Trump said. “That shows you how much success we’re having with Iran, because if you go four months ago or five months ago, a deal like that would have been impossible.”

RFK Jr talks about first visiting Camp David 6-plus decades ago

Trump health chief Robert Kennedy Jr. said he was visiting the presidential retreat on Friday for the first time in about 62 years.

“My father loved this place, my uncle loved this place,” said Kennedy, who is the son of former Attorney General and New York Sen. Robert Kennedy.

He said that his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was resentful of his predecessor, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, for naming it Camp David after Eisenhower’s grandson.

Kennedy said that had his uncle lived to a second term, he planned to rename the retreat Shangri-La, which was its original moniker before Eisenhower changed it.

Kennedy also cheered Trump for allowing reporters in the compound, saying Trump had opened “inner sanctum” of the presidency.

Trump later pointed to a picture of John F. Kennedy on the wall and said he was a “handsome guy.”

Trump says the anti-weaponization fund is ‘dead’

The comments came after the president spent the morning defending the $1.8 billion fund on social media.

“It is dead,” Trump said. “But I wish it weren’t, to be honest with you.”

Trump continued to defend the people who could potentially benefit from the fund, mainly those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“Their families have been ruined,” Trump said. Those people “wanted to go to a rally or an event and ended up spending the rest of their lives in horror.”

Trump acknowledged that Blanche, his attorney general pick, has been a “pawn in this whole thing.”

Trump says ‘we just want to win’ in Iran

The president has previously insisted that Iran has been “completely defeated” militarily. But in his engagement with reporters at Camp David on Friday, he acknowledged that he expects U.S. military action will likely continue for some time.

“We’ll be hitting them very hard,” Trump said. “You know, at some point they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore.’”

Trump says he doesn’t think International Criminal Court is targeting him but ‘it could happen’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio complained that the international court based in the Hague was very arrogant and had unfairly targeted leaders around the world.

That prompted the president to interject: “There’s no indication they’re after me. It could happen.” He didn’t elaborate, but his suggestion drew laughter from Cabinet members.

Trump said Rubio wasn’t trying to defend him personally, but instead wanted to shield other court targets. He said that could include people like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“There is no indication that I’m one of them, at this moment,” Trump added again for emphasis, drawing still more laughter.

US to make visa bond requirements permanent, affecting mostly African countries

The State Department is making permanent a pilot program under which citizens from 50 countries, mainly in Africa, are required to post bonds to apply for a U.S. visa, and it’s raising the cost as well, to as much as $20,000.

A draft notice published Friday in the Federal Register says a review “provided sufficient data” to suggest the bond program effectively enforces compliance, and would be made permanent by the end of August. The notice is to be formally published on Monday. Additional countries may be added to the list, found here.

The program requires holders of passports from the affected countries to pay the bond when being interviewed for business and tourist visas. The regulation says the bond will be refunded if the application is denied or after the person leaves the United States.

The Trump administration rolled out the program as a way of cracking down on visa overstays.

Trump starts Cabinet meeting at Camp David

The president began his Cabinet meeting Friday by saying his team was meeting in a “very special room.”

The White House has tried to highlight that this was the first televised Cabinet meeting at the presidential retreat.

Trump said he invited the news media to watch because he believes in “transparency,” before turning to his standard talking points about the economy and border security, among other issues.

CEO defends Exxon’s performance at a time of global supply shortages

American refineries are running at near-full capacity and poised to benefit because some refineries in the Middle East and Russia were damaged. And Asia can’t get the amount of Middle East oil needed for refining.

“Penalizing the businesses who stood by those countries and provided that product going forward is very short-sighted,” Exxon CEO Darren Woods said in a call with investors Friday. “We canceled investments that we had planned for Europe based on the last time they passed a windfall profits tax.”

Lawmakers propose taxing the war profits of major oil producers

Exxon and Chevron don’t set the price of American oil, which has ricocheted between $68 and $115 a barrel, driven by supply and demand, and what traders, refiners and other buyers are willing to pay.

Democrats nevertheless hope to tax major oil producers for profits from 2026 onward and redistribute that revenue to consumers.

“It’s fair to put a windfall profits tax on inordinate windfall profits rather than cut off children’s food programs,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. His measure and a companion bill by Rep. Ro Khanna of California would impose a per-barrel tax on companies that produced or imported at least 300,000 barrels of oil per day in 2025.

The UK and other European countries have extended temporary windfall profits taxes on fossil fuel companies to 2030, according to Tax Foundation Europe.

Major oil companies reap massive profits as US and Iran fighting drives energy prices higher

American oil and gas giants are announcing huge spring windfalls thanks to the fighting between Iran and the U.S. that made consumers around the world pay more for fuel.

Exxon Mobil on Friday reported that its second quarter profits doubled to $14.53 billion, boosted by record diesel production. The oil giant, based in Spring, Texas, brought in $116.02 billion in revenue, up 42%. Chevron, based in Houston, nearly quadrupled its profits to $12.07 billion and revenue jumped 56% to $70.06 billion.

Six of Europe’s largest oil companies posted combined first-quarter profits of $22 billion, more than 40% higher than last year.

Latest developments in the Iran conflict

No U.S. strikes were reported in Iran on Friday.

Iran fired drones at Kuwait, a Gulf country hosting U.S. forces, and said it had also fired at oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil and gas shipments, which has been largely closed by the fighting.

Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said Friday its armed forces had shot down drones inside Kuwaiti airspace. It said the Iranian attacks had targeted several vital military facilities, causing material damage from falling shrapnel but no casualties. It did not specify how many drones were intercepted. Iranian state media said Iran had targeted an air base in Kuwait with drones, in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Thursday.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed to have hit two oil tankers attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media said four other tankers had turned around. The report did not provide further details on which flags or ownership the tankers were sailing under, or say whether there were any casualties.

FIFA chief operating officer tells AP that staff was ‘deceived’ by World Cup sell-off plan that ‘must not go ahead’

FIFA’s chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said in a statement to The Associated Press that the staff was “deceived” by Gianni Infantino’s lack of openness while planning the scheme to sell a World Cup stake to private investors linked to Trump’s family.

“It is the project of one person,” wrote Lamour, a longtime colleague of Infantino at both FIFA and UEFA. “Not only must this project not go ahead … but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions.”

Lamour did not resign the post he held since 2024 but said he had a duty to his colleagues to speak out about the “contempt and intimidation” FIFA staff has faced.

“And if that means I lose my job, then so be it” the French official said. “I will understand and respect that decision. At least I’ll sleep well tonight.”

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Wisconsin Democrats shaken by Mandela Barnes’ exit from governor’s race

The former lieutenant governor’s announcement came Thursday amid news that the state party had reviewed past allegations of inappropriate behavior, further shaking up the race less than two weeks before the Aug. 11 primary in Wisconsin, where independents and moderates are key voters and where Trump won two razor-thin elections.

That leaves four Democrats, including most prominently Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who rejoined the race with the endorsement of Gov. Tony Evers after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez ended her run amid a campaign finance scandal two weeks ago, and insurgent democratic socialist State Rep. Francesca Hong, running far to the left.

The single mother and former line cook has captured the imaginations of liberal Democrats upset with the party establishment, but she’s raised concerns that her past calls for defunding the police will hurt her chances against Trump-backed Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in November.

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Details on disarmament from the Hamas statement

Hamas said Friday that it’s committed to implementing the Gaza ceasefire agreement, including the new road map focused on the steps it needs to take to disarm.

The group’s statement says it and other Palestinian factions agreed to the framework as part of a national consensus to protect people in Gaza and help meet their humanitarian needs.

It said Israel must adhere to the ceasefire deal agreed to in October and halt its attacks in order for implementation to move forward, echoing language in the new road map released Friday by the Board of Peace.

The agreement calls for Hamas, which ran the government in Gaza, to first turn over all police weapons to a national committee of technocrats responsible for administering the strip. Only later, once the Israeli military withdraws from Gaza, would it be required to decommission and hand over its heavier weapons, according to the text.

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Democratic candidates grapple with ‘defund the police’ baggage

With midterm elections looming, Democrats hope to convince voters that Trump administration lawlessness is the biggest threat to their rights and pocketbooks. The party’s past debates over crime and safety threaten to undermine that pitch.

Across the country, Democratic candidates are facing tough questions about their past calls to “defund the police” by reimagining public safety services or redirecting spending to other social programs — a prominent demand during the protests that followed George Floyd’s death.

Democratic leaders fear the outlier opinions may sink their chances of gaining ground in Congress, governor’s mansions and statehouses as the party’s rising left flank captivates its base, just as Republicans stoke fears about crime, immigration and democratic socialism in their closing midterm message.

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Trump swings at Cornyn over Blanche nomination

Trump, still frustrated about the status of his attorney general pick, began his Friday morning by going after one of the Republican senators who was holding up Todd Blanche’s confirmation to lead the Justice Department.

Continuing a criticism he began earlier this week, Trump said Texas Sen. John Cornyn had no issue with the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund until after he endorsed his primary challenger, Ken Paxton, for the Senate.

In the post, Trump also continued to defend the controversial fund, which Blanche said in his Senate testimony was dead. Republican senators want him to put that commitment into writing.

“Perhaps there has never been a group of people treated so badly in our Nation’s history,” Trump said. “They are suffering still, many ruined, and I felt that they should be given compensation for what has been done to them.”

Blanche met privately with Cornyn and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis over the issue later Thursday and the sides were working collaboratively, although Blanche’s confirmation prospects still remain unclear.

The Trump administration is ending a Medicare drug subsidy program. Here’s how it could affect costs

Millions of older adults on Medicare prescription drug coverage could face steeper monthly costs in 2027, after the Trump administration concludes a temporary subsidy program that has helped offset premiums for the past two years.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week announced it would wrap up the program, which was initially implemented by the Biden administration in 2024 to lower patients’ Medicare Part D prescription drug costs in response to the effects of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

While federal officials insist the financial impact on Medicare beneficiaries will be minimal, the decision opens the Republican-led administration to potential political consequences in a high-stakes midterm election year. Voters have identified cost of living as a top concern, and many older adults, who tend to vote in high numbers, are on fixed incomes where every dollar counts. The roughly 25 million Americans with Medicare Part D plans will find out about their 2027 rates in the fall, when they are casting ballots in November’s elections.

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Trump is taking his Friday Cabinet meeting on the road to Camp David

Trump told his Cabinet members to meet him at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, a rustic backdrop for the Trump administration sessions that have come to be known for being overly long and consumed by endless praise for their boss.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the 13th such meeting of the Republican president’s second term “will be a lot of fun and something different for the Cabinet to experience together.”

An earlier attempt in May was scuttled because of bad weather. During his first term, Trump held a Cabinet meeting at the retreat.

The public portion of Trump’s Cabinet meetings has lasted as long as three hours, with the president letting everyone at the table update him on their departments or agencies — with added praise for him personally and his leadership thrown in. In a departure from other presidents, he allows the news media to stay for the duration, a move that Leavitt has said proves his commitment to transparency.

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Trump announces a deal for Hamas to disarm in Gaza, but many hurdles and uncertainty remain

A Hamas official said Friday that they did reach an agreement on disarmament, the most crucial part of the ceasefire deal. Israel didn’t give an indication that they had agreed.

Trump said Thursday that a deal has been reached for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza, but many hurdles, conditions and long timelines remained to wind down the war in the Palestinian territory.

The White House announcement comes nine months after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire was signed. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas had largely deadlocked over the implementation of its second phase, including the disarmament of Hamas and the reconstruction of Gaza.

Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan calls on the militant group to surrender its weapons and destroy its vast network of tunnels. It also envisions Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza, the arrival of a new technocratic Palestinian government, deployment of an international security force and the rebuilding of the battered Palestinian enclave.

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There's no lesson learned more vital than this: Cool first, transport second.

Almost an hour and a half passed from when Stringer exited a blocking drill during training camp and arrived by ambulance at a hospital with a core body temperature of 108.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

Though he was moved to an air-conditioned trailer by the practice field that morning in Mankato, Minnesota, the lack of effective diagnosis and treatment by the team's medical staff during that time made his outlook all the more dire. About 15 hours after he collapsed, Stringer was pronounced dead, the only known NFL player to die from exertional heat stroke.

“I’ve been an expert witness in 85 court cases of people dying from heat stroke, and in every single one the person didn’t need to die if they were properly treated and cooled,” said Douglas Casa, the executive director of the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut that was established in 2010 as part of the settlement of the wrongful death lawsuit his family brought against the league. “With a $150 tub of ice and water, these people would still be alive.”

Casa got connected with Stringer's widow, Kelci Stringer, and agent, Jimmy Gould, through the litigation. The professor of kinesiology had a personal interest in the subject of heat safety, from his own brush with death at age 16 while running a 10-kilometer race at the Empire State Games in New York.

Casa collapsed on the final lap with 200 meters remaining, got back up and fell again with about 80 meters to go. He was unconscious for two hours.

Fortunately, a quick-thinking physician placed him in a cold water immersion tub. Though that came after he was taken to a hospital, the effective on-site care he received from an athletic trainer and in the ambulance from emergency medical technicians gave him a fighting chance to survive.

“If Korey had gone in a cold immersion tub, we would not be chatting right now,” Casa said in a recent interview. “He would’ve had dinner with his teammates that night.”

Casa, who is on the NFL's general medical committee, regularly advises the league on player safety matters. The mandatory presence of cold tubs near the practice fields for every team, one of many protocols enhanced in the 25 years since Stringer's death, can be traced to the work that's been done in his honor.

“When I tell Korey’s story, it takes it from such a sad, morbid place to a place of such action,” Kelci Stringer said. “It’s better to be proactive than reactive.”

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

The onetime Republican lawmaker from New York said he settled with the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission to “put this matter behind him,” noting that he did not admit to doing anything wrong.

“He chose a prompt, practical resolution, rather than protracted, costly litigation, and that choice should not be mistaken for admission of any wrongdoing, because it is not one,” Santos’ lawyer Joseph Murray said in a statement Santos shared on X.

The commission said Friday’s settlement represents the more than $17,000 Santos earned from the unlawful trading as well as a fine of $17,500. The agency also imposed a three-year trading ban on Santos.

Kalshi, which had reported Santos to regulators, said it will also pursue its own enforcement action and work to reimburse traders if monetary penalties are recovered.

Leading up to Trump's February speech, Santos had talked frequently about his plans to be in the crowd. But minutes into the speech, he posted on X to say that he had been waylaid at the airport and couldn’t make it to Capitol Hill.

Social media users called him out, noting that Kalshi had put the odds of Santos attending the address at close to 75%.

Santos shrugged off the complaints at the time.

“I guess people lost money,” he said on his podcast in March. “Some people made unexpected money. That’s to show you how fragile these markets are.”

But the federal probe into the Kalshi trading prompted rival online prediction platform Polymarket to cut ties with Santos in June.

Santos’ lawyer, in his statement Friday, said his client had a “genuine intention” to attend the State of the Union, even booking a hotel and plane ticket before a winter storm scuttled the plans.

“Mr. Santos concealed neither his intention to attend, nor his change of plans to not attend the SOTU, from anyone," Murray said. “There was absolutely no intent to deceive any person, nor intent to manipulate any market."

Santos, who is set to appear on Fox’s reality contest “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test” this fall, shot to political fame after winning a seat representing parts of the New York City borough of Queens and Long Island.

But his bogus life story of being a wealthy Wall Street player with a college degree and other accomplishments quickly unraveled.

Santos was eventually expelled from Congress and charged with federal wire fraud and identity theft charges as investigators probed how he funded his campaign. He pleaded guilty and served less than three months of a more than seven-year sentence before Trump granted him clemency last year.

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Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo.

Some 27 million metric tons of self-sustaining sargassum have been recorded in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in July, according to a report released Friday by the University of South Florida’s Optical Oceanography Lab.

The prickly seaweed covers miles of coastline, releasing a foul smell as it rots onshore.

This year marks the first time that scientists have observed sargassum growing in large quantities in areas including the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, instead of being swept into those areas by ocean currents.

The algae usually reproduces asexually as it travels from Western Africa, said Brian Barnes, a marine scientist and research assistant professor at the University of South Florida. “None of this is normal,” he said. “Every year is a little bit of a new story.”

The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has been growing since 2011, dumping an increasing amount of seaweed along coastlines in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Experts have said that agricultural runoff, warming waters and changes in wind, current and rain could be factors.

The sargassum that began reproducing in the region earlier than usual this year stems from a record 40 million metric tons reported last year.

“The 2025 bloom was so big it never really left,” Barnes said. “It was enough to start a new bloom locally.”

Seaweed threatens tourism

Sargassum levels in the Caribbean reached record levels in June, while the amount present in the Gulf hit 5 million metric tons in June, nearly double last year’s record, according to the University of South Florida.

Scientists expect 2026 to be the second largest amount of sargassum recorded in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, noting that June alone saw 34 million metric tons, which was only 10% lower than the year-earlier period.

Mexico said Thursday it plans to invest $115 million to tackle the blooming algae, which poses an environmental and economic threat. The government estimates that up to 9,000 tons reach its Caribbean coastline on the worst days. Given current resources, Mexico says it can only gather 1,200 tons of sargassum a day.

On a recent evening, Alan Vázquez closed the restaurant where he works as a waiter in the popular tourist town of Playa del Carmen because there were no customers. He had resisted closing for several hours, hoping he would receive a tip and salvage the day, but vast quantities of decomposing sargassum are turning the famed turquoise waters black, driving away tourists.

“It’s sad that such a beautiful and lively place...has ended up like this,” Vázquez said.

He fears suffering the same fate as four of his colleagues who were laid off two months ago due to a drop in tourism that has devastated hotels and businesses in the state of Quintana Roo, one of Mexico’s tourism gems, where sales fell 30% in the first half of the year, according to estimates from local businesses.

In Puerto Rico, sargassum blankets the waters around popular tourist areas, including La Parguera.

“I don’t recall ever having that much concentration in so many places at once,” said Waldemar Quiles, the U.S. territory’s natural resources secretary.

Much of the record sargassum reported last year ended up along Puerto Rico’s coastline, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency.

It surpassed the previous record set in 2022 with a peak of some 22 million metric tons.

“It’s not a one-off event anymore,” said Emmanuel Maldonado González, an environmental sociologist at East Carolina University. “It’s becoming a growing hazard.”

Experts warn proliferation will worsen

Patches of sargassum in open waters provide a healthy breeding ground for wildlife, including turtles, fish and seabirds, and can be “a bit of an oasis of life in the middle of the ocean,” Barnes said.

But once it’s closer to shore, it reduces oxygen in the water, smothers mangrove roots and blocks sunlight from reaching coral and sea grass.

Once it washes ashore it can prevent newly hatched sea turtles from reaching the ocean, while the heavy machinery used to remove it from beaches risk destroying fragile turtle nests, scientists say.

“The coastlines are not built for this,” Barnes said.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, people are walking up to 25 feet (seven meters) on mats of seaweed before even reaching the water, according to Amy Dempsey, an environmental consultant.

“This is by far the worst I’ve seen it in the last five years,” she said. “We are getting slammed in the Virgin Islands.”

The smell of rotten eggs permeates communities where large piles of decaying sargassum emit ammonia and hydrogen sulfide.

“The effects of these gases on people can be severe,” warns the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, noting it can cause nausea, headaches and lung irritation.

Used in composting and bioenergy production

Officials on the French Caribbean island of Martinique recently opened a shelter to temporarily house those affected by the toxic gases after residents protested.

So far this year, crews in Martinique have collected more than 11,500 tons of sargassum — including 638 tons in four days alone this month — according to government data. Sea barriers catch some of the seaweed, while crews on shore collect the remainder by hand, storing and processing it for composting and bioenergy production.

Researchers at the University of South Florida and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used artificial intelligence and found that from 2003 to 2022, macroalgae blooms increased by more than 13% per year in the tropical Atlantic and Western Pacific.

Overall, the blooms reached 16.9 million square miles (43.8 million square kilometers), according to a study published earlier this year.

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Associated Press reporter María Verza in Mexico City contributed.

Craig won 66.3% of the votes in a runoff with Sian Astley from the anti-immigration party Reform UK.

“To those that voted for me, thank you,” Craig said after the result was declared. “And for those of you that didn’t vote for me, I will still be your mayor. I will defend this city region with every bone in my body and I will fight for a better life for all of us.”

Turnout in voting held Thursday was only 25%, the lowest in any of the four elections since the northwest England city got a directly elected mayor in 2017.

Voters were able to mark a first and second choice on their ballots. Since no candidate reached 50% of the votes in the first round, the top two competed in a runoff in which the second-preference choices of five eliminated candidates were added.

Craig is the outgoing leader of Manchester City Council, one of the 10 boroughs that make up Greater Manchester. She fell just short of getting 50% of the first-round votes, so didn’t match the performance of Burnham, who won three straight elections without ever facing a runoff.

But the decisive result is still a boost for the center-left Labour Party, which was trounced by Reform UK in elections for local council seats across Greater Manchester less than three months ago.

Labour’s rout in those local elections across England helped trigger the resignation of then- Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Burnham’s rapid rise to the prime minister’s office.

“Labour got an absolute pasting, a shellacking in those local elections,” said Rob Ford, professor of politics at the University of Manchester. He said Craig's rebound from that low ebb is “a really powerful moment" for the party.

Burnham was mayor of Greater Manchester for nine years until he won a special election for a seat in Parliament and was selected as Labour leader after Starmer resigned. Burnham became prime minister on July 20.

Zachary Robert Stacer, 22, was charged with two counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm, three counts of felonious assault and five counts of resisting and obstructing a police officer.

On June 22, just after 4 p.m., Detroit police officers saw heavy traffic in the area of Grand River Avenue and West Warren Avenue due to a street takeover. While officers were trying to break up the traffic, Stacer allegedly went to the officers’ car, sprayed a fire extinguisher and left the scene.

In a separate incident, Detroit police officers responded to reports of drag racing in the area of Van Dyke and Charlevoix streets just after 12 a.m. on July 12. While officers were trying to direct traffic, Stacer allegedly went to the officers’ car, sprayed a fire extinguisher and left the scene.

Detroit police officers then responded to the area of Grand River Avenue and McGraw Street just after 3 a.m. on July 12 for another report of drag racing. While officers were trying to direct traffic, Stacer, once again, allegedly went to the officers’ car, sprayed a fire extinguisher, and left the scene.

Following an investigation, Stacer was arrested on July 30.

He is expected to be arraigned in court on Aug. 1 at 11:30 a.m.

The family says the last direct contact came in a brief, alarming phone call to Wutzke’s daughter.

“He made a phone call to his daughter and said he was scared and that was the last time we’ve heard from him,” his nephew, Justin Wutzke, told Local 4. “It’s very concerning. This is not like him. It’s not like him to not get ahold of his kids or his grandkids.”

Relatives say Wutzke was last seen near the CVS at 9 Mile and Schoenherr in Warren, and they believe he may have disappeared near Outer Drive and Van Dyke in Detroit. That’s where they say he went to try to visit an old friend.

When family members went to that Detroit home, they said they were not given much help.

“There was another lady there and a guy there,” Justin said. “They know him, but they don’t know where he is.”

Justin Wutzke said Wutzke’s daughter later filed a missing person’s report with Detroit police and met officers at the house near Outer Drive and Van Dyke.

“That’s when they recovered his wallet and this phone,” Justin said.

Relatives say Wutzke has severe medical issues, including a blood clotting disorder, and needs his medication. They also said he has mental health concerns. Justin Wutzke said his uncle has had mental health episodes before and has bipolar disorder but can’t help but think about the odd phone call to his daughter.

“Everything kind of goes through your mind when you think of all of it,” he said.

The family says Mike Wutzke was last seen wearing a blue shirt and may be thinner than older photos suggest. He is about 5’10” tall.

Relatives have been calling hospitals, jails and homeless shelters, but have not heard from him. They plan to distribute flyers near the CVS in Warren on Saturday, August 1, to get the word out.

“We just want him found,” he said. “We just want to hear from him -- to know he’s OK and get him back to the family.”

Warren Police confirmed Wutzke’s disappearance is being handled by Detroit Police. Anyone with information is asked to call the Detroit Police Department’s 5th Precinct at 313-596-5500.

The city operates 24 Flock cameras that capture license plates and vehicle information on passing cars. While police say the technology has been a powerful crime-fighting tool, some council members -- and residents -- want to know exactly how the data is being used and who has access to it.

Council member pushes for answers

Councilmember Michael Radtke Jr. has been a vocal critic of the Flock program and is now formally requesting that the Sterling Heights Police Department hand over a year’s worth of records.

“While this is a tremendous tool for law enforcement, my fear is more the slippery slope of how this could be misused in the future,” Radtke said. “We need to make sure there are firm safeguards in place and punishments if it’s misused.”

Radtke said his concern extends beyond Sterling Heights.

“I have tremendous confidence in our police department. I don’t have confidence in every other police department, and essentially once you’re in the system, you’re there for good,” he said.

Residents raise alarms

The push follows last week’s City Council meeting, where several residents voiced concerns about the license plate readers and how their personal data is being handled.

“I know my data is in there, my son’s data is in there, my wife’s data is in there,” one resident said during public comment.

“I am far from convinced that it is exactly worth it,” another said.

A third resident questioned “how that data is being shared” and “who is given access to it.”

Police defend the technology

Sterling Heights police say the cameras have proven invaluable. During that same council meeting, the police chief defended the program and noted the department has increased its audits from yearly to monthly.

“The Flock technology in law enforcement is probably the best law enforcement tool since the discovery of fingerprints and DNA -- a useful tool for us to solve crimes,” said Police Chief Andrew Satterfield.

Police also pushed back on the idea that license plate readers represent a new kind of surveillance, saying the technology is no different than being exposed to cellphones or Ring cameras, which can also monitor individuals.

What the data shows -- and doesn’t show

According to the city’s online transparency portal, the cameras detect only license plates and vehicles -- not people.

Data is retained for 30 days, unless it is connected to a crime or active investigation. In that 30-day window, the system captured more than one million unique license plates, with the department running 451 searches.

The dashboard also states the data is for the Sterling Heights Police Department only and is never sold to third parties.

Cities opting out, legislation on the way

Sterling Heights is not alone in navigating this debate. The cities of Clawson, Ferndale, Milford and Westland have all declined to renew their Flock contracts over similar privacy concerns.

At the state level, Michigan Sen. Jim Runestad has introduced Senate Bill 1131, which would impose strict privacy rules on automatic license plate readers. The bill proposes requiring search warrants for database access and setting a 14-day data deletion limit.

Sterling Heights is expected to vote on renewing its Flock contract sometime in August. The police department says it plans to provide more information to the council before that vote.

What’s a people mover, anyway?

Before diving in, it helps to know what a people mover actually is. A people mover is a driverless, guided mass transit system that uses dedicated tracks on short routes. Think the tram connecting terminals at DTW or, you know, the People Mover itself.

Where it all came from

In 1964, Ford wanted to make a splash at the New York World’s Fair to help celebrate the launch of the Ford Mustang. To pull it off, the automaker enlisted Disney to design a massive Ford pavilion.

The centerpiece of that pavilion was Ford Magic Skyway -- a slow-moving ride that took guests “through time” while they sat in actual Ford vehicles, moved along a track by motorized tires.

When the fair closed in 1965, Disney brought several of its World’s Fair–era attractions back to Disneyland. Ford Magic Skyway, however, did not make the trip.

Ford reportedly had no interest in continuing to sponsor the attraction at Disneyland, but Disney wasn’t about to let the technology go to waste.

Skyway to People Mover

Disney’s Imagineers took the Magic Skyway’s ride and propulsion system and evolved it into something entirely new: the PeopleMover.

Rather than individual cars used as a themed ride, the new concept became a continuous, high-capacity transit loop of multi-car trains propelled by the track itself. It was designed to run nonstop around Tomorrowland -- and also served as a real-world testbed for transit ideas Walt Disney was actively exploring for his planned EPCOT city.

The Disneyland PeopleMover opened in 1967. The name, originally just a working title, ended up sticking.

From Tomorrowland to today

What started as a theme park attraction began attracting serious attention from transportation planners worldwide. People mover technology continued to evolve internationally, and eventually the federal government stepped in, creating the Downtown People Mover Program to help fund and develop the technology further.

Interest, however, eventually faded. In the end, only three people movers were built as part of the federal program: the Metromover in Miami, the Skyway in Jacksonville, and the Detroit People Mover, which opened July 31, 1987.

Which means the next time you board Detroit’s elevated loop downtown, you’re riding a descendant of a Ford-sponsored Disney attraction that was created to promote the Mustang.

The Mustang would go on to be one of the best-selling cars ever, so it worked out.

An expanding crisis for soccer's governing body reached into Infantino's longtime inner circle when his pick to represent FIFA on the White House Task Force for the World Cup walked away calling the Joshua Kushner-backed $20 billion commercial subsidiary plan “a bad deal for football.”

Carlos Cordeiro is a former Goldman Sachs banker and officially Infantino's Senior Adviser yet revealed he was not involved in the secretive investment plan that has rocked the sport since media reports revealed it Tuesday.

“I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro said in a statement formally resigning, just hours after FIFA insisted in a statement: “Nobody is selling football.”

Cordeiro's exit — and call for other senior staff to speak out — intensified scrutiny on Infantino one day after European soccer body UEFA threatened to boycott all FIFA games and events until the plan is dropped. North America's CONCACAF also rejected Infantino’s offer of one-off $20 million payments to each member federation by a mid-September deadline.

Cordeiro often joined Infantino on working visits to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in recent years, and took part in meetings of the administration's World Cup task force led by Andrew Guiliani.

“Let me be clear. I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally,” said Cordeiro, the former U.S. Soccer Federation president.

Asia joins Europe and North America

On another seismic day in soccer politics, Asia’s soccer body that has been a key ally in Infantino's 11-year presidency opposed the investor plan and said FIFA must urgently review its management style

The Asian Football Confederation said it “stands in solidarity” with UEFA and CONCACAF, the first two continental bodies to oppose Infantino whose combined 90 FIFA member countries near a majority of the 211 global total.

“Football should never have been placed in such a position,” said the Asian soccer body, which counts 46 of FIFA's 211 members

Infantino has proposed spinning off FIFA's commercial businesses — including World Cups and Club World Cups for men and women — into a $20 billion subsidiary with 20% owned by private investors.

The “anchor investor,” described by FIFA, is a New York-based investment firm created by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

“(T)he proposed (FIFA Forward Enterprise) cannot realistically achieve the necessary broad consensus and unity required to move forward” and must be reconsidered, the AFC said.

The statement did not name Infantino yet criticized FIFA for problems beyond the content of the private equity plan plus failing to consult about the secretive proposal.

“Rather, it has exposed fundamental weaknesses in FIFA’s consultation and decision-making processes that must now be addressed,” said the AFC, whose longtime president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa narrowly lost the FIFA presidential election to Infantino in 2016.

“Accordingly, the AFC calls upon FIFA to undertake an urgent review of its governance and decision-making framework,” said the organization based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

South America evaluating the proposal

CONMEBOL, the governing body of South American football, was the last to issue a statement. On Friday afternoon, the organization confirmed that upon learning of the proposal it consulted its member associations to evaluate the matter “with the rigor it demands.”

CONMEBOL also requested additional details from FIFA regarding the project’s scope, structure, governance, and potential overall impact.

Infantino's job at risk?

Infantino had seemed — 11 days ago after the World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey — to have a clear path to being re-elected unopposed for a fourth and final term in office through 2031.

FIFA had briefed during the tournament that Infantino had letters of support from about 200 members, despite a furor over letting U.S. forward Folarin Balogun play even though he received a red card in his previous game. Trump acknowledged asking Infantino to review Balogun's mandatory one-game ban.

FIFA has set a Nov. 18 deadline for potential candidates to declare in a presidential vote of the 211 members scheduled next March in Rabat, Morocco.

FIFA blames the media

The Asian statement came hours after FIFA blamed the media and doubled down on pursuing the project which now seems to have a majority of the 211 in opposition.

“Our planned consultation process was disrupted by incorrect media reports,” FIFA said in a statement early Friday. “We will proceed with this consultation process to ensure that each (member) has the ability to express its vote based on facts.”

The next FIFA event that would be targeted by the threatened European boycott is within weeks — the Women’s Under-20 World Cup hosted by Poland from Sept. 5. The four British federations comprise FIFA’s only bidder to host the 2035 Women’s World Cup. That decision is due Nov. 23.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and AP World Cup coverage

The United College Athletes Association said as part of the push, members of the Oregon State women's team filed a petition with state regulators, marking a formal effort to seek collective bargaining rights under state law.

The announcement comes two years after a group of women's basketball players co-signed letters to Southeastern and Big Ten Conference leaders in 2024, requesting a formal collaboration process on issues affecting college athletics.

Since those efforts were denied, more than 100 female athletes have signed union authorization cards with the UCAA, agreeing to representation in collective bargaining.

The announcement comes a few days after the College Football Players Association revealed that Stanford has become the first football team to organize a player-led chapter — another effort by college athletes to unionize.

The UCAA says its mission is to represent and protect athletes through collective bargaining, ensuring that college sports are safe, fair, sustainable and that athletes have a say in decision-making.

“As interim president of the UCAA, I’m proud to help lead a movement that gives college athletes a real voice in the decisions that shape our lives and careers," University of Maryland basketball player Oluchi Okananwa said in a statement.

NCAA leaders have long opposed the idea of players becoming employees of their schools, though the idea isn't universally opposed by college leaders. Tennessee athletic director Danny White has been among those who have said collective bargaining is the only real solution to the problems that confront schools that are now paying millions to their players.

Attempts to create unions for college athletes at Dartmouth and Southern California stalled in 2024 due to the changing landscape in college sports and the then-incoming Trump administration's new National Labor Relations Board, which wasn't expected to approve the moves.

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The closures were announced Thursday and took effect immediately. Planned Parenthood of Michigan cited federal funding cuts and lost reimbursements as the driving force behind the decision.

Patients directed to Detroit, Ferndale centers

In a written statement, Dr. Kate Starr, Chief Medical Officer at Planned Parenthood of Michigan, said continuity of care remains the organization’s top concern.

“Continuity of care for all our patients is our highest priority. We are directly contacting affected patients and helping identify continued care based on the services they need,” Starr said. “Livonia and Warren patients have PPMI health centers in Detroit and Ferndale within approximately 20 miles.”

Starr added that many services previously available in Lansing can be accessed through Planned Parenthood’s Virtual Health Center, which already serves more than 10,000 patients each year.

“Access is defined by whether patients can get an appointment when they need one, not simply the number of buildings we operate,” Starr said. “Our focus is on building a network that is sustainable and resilient.”

‘Who deserves health care?’

Not everyone sees the transition as seamless. Jex Blackmore, a founding member of the Hydra Mutual Aid Fund — a nonprofit that supports abortion access in Michigan — says the closures are part of a troubling trend.

“This is a consistent pattern, and I don’t think we see any sign of it stopping,” Blackmore said.

Blackmore also pushed back on the common misconception that Planned Parenthood clinics exist solely for abortion services.

“We’re talking about preventative screenings, access to contraception, those critical types of fundamental health care,” Blackmore said.

Blackmore says the closures raise a deeper question about equity in health care access.

“Really this is the fundamental question of who deserves health care and who are we okay to forget,” Blackmore said. “Fundamentally everybody deserves comprehensive reproductive and sexual health care regardless of where they live and how much money they have.”

Community advocates sound alarm

Danielle Atkinson, executive director of the Mothering Justice Action Fund, connected the closures directly to federal policy decisions.

“Once again our communities face the brunt of the decisions of an Administration more focused on tax cuts for billionaires than on the health and safety of our mamas and caregivers,” Atkinson said. “Nearly 60,000 women in Michigan rely on reproductive health services provided by Planned Parenthood that they may otherwise not be able to afford.”

Atkinson said women’s health has become a political instrument and vowed the organization would continue fighting for protections.

“Women’s health is often a political tool for extreme policies. Mothering Justice Action Fund will continue to fight for policies that protect the lives, health, and dignity of mothers and caregivers, and ensure our providers are protected from politicians,” Atkinson said. “That’s what Michigan voted for when we passed Proposal 2.”

A different perspective

Not everyone agrees the closures represent a crisis. Amber Roseboom, president of Right to Life Michigan, argued that reproductive health services remain widely available across the state.

“The quote-unquote services that they reference are available and provided by every major health system in the state of Michigan. There is no shortage. If Planned Parenthood was providing a high level of care they wouldn’t be closing,” Roseboom said.

Employees also impacted

The closures don’t only affect patients. Planned Parenthood says it is working with displaced employees to identify other available openings within the organization.

The push for expanded use of Starlink comes as Zelenskyy looks for alternate ways to mitigate the need for U.S. Patriot air defense systems to thwart the steady barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian territory. The interceptors are in shorter supply as the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran continues to rage, and Trump on Friday appeared to back away from a recent commitment to give Ukraine a license to produce them.

Zelenskyy made the request directly to Trump in an Oval Office meeting this week during his whirlwind trip to Washington, according to one person familiar with the matter. He also told lawmakers later on Capitol Hill that he wanted Starlink to help with targeting inside Russia, according to a person in the room. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive private discussions. Trump did not commit to Zelenskyy’s request.

Zelenskyy has been pushing to expand Starlink use for weeks

Musk has allowed the Ukrainians to use Starlink inside their own territory, including in Ukrainian regions occupied by the Russians, but has restricted use of the satellite system inside Russia.

Zelenskyy has been making the case for expanded use of Starlink with U.S. officials for at least several weeks. The White House, the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington and officials at SpaceX, which owns Starlink, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Zelenskyy’s request. Zelenskyy’s efforts to get Musk’s permission to use Starlink to help with Ukrainian attacks inside Russia was first reported by The Atlantic.

Granting permission for an expanded use of Starlink could come with risk for Musk. The Associated Press reported in December that two NATO-nation intelligence services suspect Russia is developing a new anti-satellite weapon to target Musk’s Starlink constellation with destructive orbiting clouds of shrapnel.

The intelligence findings were shown to the AP on condition that the services involved were not identified, and the news organization was not able to independently verify the findings’ conclusions.

Russia views Starlink as a grave threat, the findings indicate. The thousands of low-orbiting satellites have been pivotal for Ukraine’s survival against Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.

Ukrainian leader also pitched US lawmakers during recent visit

Zelenskyy had traveled to Washington to attend Sen. Lindsey Graham's memorial service and used the visit to check in with Trump and allies on Capitol Hill.

Zelenskyy visited the Capitol following his meeting with Trump in the White House earlier in the day. Senators said the requests the Ukrainian president made were similar to what he had told them earlier in July during a meeting at the NATO summit in Turkey.

“They need access to Starlink long term to make their longer-range and intermediate-range systems more accurate,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“They prefer to be exactly on target, as opposed to, in the general area,” Rounds said. “He made that pretty clear.”

Zelenskyy spoke with lawmakers late Tuesday evening ahead of a Senate vote on a punishing new Russia sanctions package, which advanced toward a final vote expected next week.

Zelenskyy also reiterated Ukraine's need for more U.S. Patriots and the previously discussed licensing agreement so Ukraine could start producing the system in house, said Rounds, who was part of the delegation of U.S. lawmakers at the NATO conference in Ankara.

“There was a consistency from what President Zelenskyy shared with us in Turkey two weeks ago to what he shared with us again once again, in terms of what their needs are,” Rounds said. “It’s pretty straightforward.”

Trump appears to edge away from Patriots licensing commitment

But Trump appeared to edge away from the earlier commitment to give Ukraine a license to make Patriots for its military needs during a gathering of his Cabinet at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, on Friday.

Trump at the NATO summit in Turkey declared “we’ll give them the right to make Patriots” to counter missile attacks from Russia in their more than four-year war.

The president told reporters on Friday that the licensing matter remains under discussion and said he hasn't made a decision on it.

“We’re talking about it. But it’s a hard thing to give away that kind of technology,” Trump said.

Trump's relationship has improved with Zelenskyy as Ukraine has gained strength on the battlefield with Russia in recent months. And Zelenskyy has sought to portray that his war with Russia is connected to the U.S. and Israel's conflict with Iran.

U.S. intelligence has shown that Tehran provided Russia with drones to use against Ukraine. More recently, Russia has prepared to ship drones for Iran, including upgraded versions of the technology that Tehran originally supplied to Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine, according to U.S. and European officials.

Zelenskyy said ahead of this week's visit to Washington that he'd share evidence with the United States that shows Russia is assisting Iran in targeting U.S. bases in the Middle East via satellite surveillance.

Zelenskyy also has been making the case to the Trump administration that his country is well positioned to help the U.S. counter Iranian drone attacks on U.S. bases in the Middle East and Gulf allies' infrastructure.

“He has been very emphatic they are going to provide more aid to us in unmanned warfare, aerial unmanned warfare, which has been so instrumental in Iran — his people have been there, they’ve been providing technology and know-how — and they’re ready, willing and able to do it in even greater magnitude,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, who sits on the Armed Services Committee. “He was very emphatic on that point.”

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AP writers John Leicester in Paris and Emma Burrows in London contributed reporting.

Skattebo declared himself nearly fully healthy at New York Giants training camp, nine months removed from his gruesome right ankle and leg injury. But after getting into some hot water with the organization for doing a backflip and landing awkwardly on that surgically repaired ankle earlier this month, he's planning to stay grounded for a while.

“Obviously, I do some dumb things here and there, but I learn from it,” Skattebo said Friday. “We’ll see when game time comes around. But right now, we’re focused on training camp, and we’ll keep the backflips off the field for now.”

Skattebo alarmed, among others, coach John Harbaugh and general manager Joe Schoen when they saw video of the backflip at Fanatics Fest in New York on July 18. He turned out to be fine, but a text message and some difficult conversations followed.

“He’s a young man that’s still getting used to the spotlight and in New York City, and you've got to be conscious of your actions, not only from a health standpoint but a perception standpoint,” Schoen said. “He knows I’d rather him not do that, especially this close to camp.”

It is not the first time Skattebo has been second-guessed for something off the field since reaching the NFL and getting hurt. He took part in a WWE show in November, weeks after surgery, took criticism from radio hosts but was not worse for the wear.

The botched backflip was a much riskier endeavor the Giants would rather he not repeat.

“The big picture message is you want to take care of yourself," Harbaugh said. "You want to take care of your team: do everything you can do to be healthy, be back, be right, be good.”

The 24-year-old running back declared in May he'd be ready for the season opener Sept. 13 against Dallas. Skattebo also told the coaching staff he'd be good for the start of camp and hit that deadline.

As a result, he has no limitations and is doing just about as well as he can.

“I've felt 99%,” Skattebo said. “I think the 100% is when I put shoulder pads on and I'm able to hit someone. That's when I tell you I'm 100%, but for now I'm 99.9% OK."

Skattebo will get that chance when the pads go on beginning Monday.

A 2025 fourth-round pick out of Arizona State, Skattebo rushed for 410 yards and five touchdowns on 101 carries before having his rookie year cut short Oct. 26 at Philadelphia. This past spring, he set a goal of playing 17-plus games and rushing for over 2,000 yards on 300 carries.

Skattebo didn't shy away from those lofty aspirations — which would give him a top-10 season in league history — but his main focus is on moving past the injury and rehab process and getting back to what he does best.

"It was a long, hard road," Skattebo said. “It’s time to play football.”

Malik Nabers did not practice Friday

After being the talk of the start of camp for getting on the field for individual drills after his own lengthy rehab from a torn ACL, Malik Nabers did not take part in practice Friday. Harbaugh called it “part of the process.”

“We’ll work through it, and every single day will be what it is that given day,” Harbaugh said. “He’s worked real hard, made a lot of progress and that’s what we decided to do today for practice.”

Neither Nabers nor the Giants have set a timetable for his return to game action.

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

Two major rail unions praised the proposed rule announced Friday that would also strengthen the standards for certifying that crews can safely operate a train.

The government had concerns after inspecting two Texas railyards near the border last fall on the two railroads directly affected by these restrictions on Mexican crews — CPKC and Union Pacific. CPKC and the Association of American Railroads trade group declined to comment while they study the rule.

“We have the same goals — safe, secure operations that keep the supply chain fluid,” Union Pacific said in a statement. “And we will continue working with our federal partners through the regulatory process.”

Inspections documented language concerns

The Federal Railroad Administration sent letters to both CPKC and UP in December after those inspections found several instances of train crews having trouble understanding English. The government urged those railroads to reexamine their practices and make sure that Mexican crews can speak English and don’t operate a train more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) inside America.

The Federal Railroad Administration said at the time the concern was that these Mexican crews bringing trains into Union Pacific’s Eagle Pass rail yard and CPKC’s facility in Laredo were having a hard time understanding operating bulletins and U.S. regulations that require information about hazardous materials and emergency responses to be maintained in English.

Both UP and CPKC have pledged to make sure they were following the existing rules, including that the Mexican crews do not travel more than 10 miles into the United States. But now the federal government wants to strengthen the rules “because railroad crews must be able to communicate fully and accurately when crossing into the United States, most notably with dispatchers and emergency responders during a crisis, as a safety-critical function.”

Rail unions and the Transportation Department worry

This rail safety effort aligns closely with the Transportation Department's efforts to ensure that truck drivers can understand English, so they can read road signs and warnings and communicate with first responders after an accident or during an inspection. The government has tried to withhold millions of dollars in highway funding from New York and California because it isn’t satisfied with the steps those states have taken to make sure the commercial driver’s licenses they issue are valid.

Mark Wallace, the national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union, has been raising concerns about this practice of using Mexican train crews for several years because of safety, security and job concerns.

The union has said that the handoffs used to happen right at the border, but now Union Pacific and CPKC routinely ask Mexican crews to bring trains several miles over the border to one of their railyards where the crew switches can be done more safely. But the firm 10-mile (16-kilometer) restriction in this rule will prevent the railroads from expanding this practice to railyards further into America like the union said UP was considering in New Mexico.

“Trains originating from Mexico, operated by foreign crews were unable to communicate with dispatchers in English and the language barrier posed a hazard in the event of a derailment or other incident,” Wallace said.

Trains started crossing the border to limit smuggling

But the railroads have said that this practice of using Mexican train crews to bring the trains into railyards in America was developed in 2018 with the approval of the first Trump administration to address smuggling concerns. When trains are stopped at the border smugglers often try to conceal drugs or other contraband aboard them and immigrants might jump aboard to get into the United States.

It is also routine for Canadian crews to bring trains a few miles over the northern border with the United States before handing off to American crews.

New rules should strengthen crew certification standards

The SMART-TD union that represents conductors and other rail workers also said the provisions of the rule that will prohibit train crews from using a system that's similar to cruise control for freight trains when they take their certification tests will help ensure they can operate a train safely.

“Railroad certifications should represent proven ability, not simply possession of a certificate,” said Jared Cassity, who is SMART-TD’s top safety expert. “When lives are on the line, the FRA must know that an engineer can safely operate a train, not just supervise a computer doing it.”

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week announced it would wrap up the program, which was initially implemented by the Biden administration in 2024 to lower patients' Medicare Part D prescription drug costs in response to effects of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

While federal officials insist the financial impact on Medicare beneficiaries will be minimal, the decision opens the Republican-led administration to potential political consequences in a high-stakes midterm election year. Voters have identified cost of living as a top concern, and many older adults, who tend to vote in high numbers, are on fixed incomes where every dollar counts. The roughly 25 million Americans with Medicare Part D plans will find out about their 2027 rates in the fall, when they are casting ballots in November's elections.

Democrats slammed CMS's move as part of a pattern of federal attacks on healthcare affordability, alongside federal Medicaid cuts and the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies that had reduced premium costs for working-age Americans in that program.

“The Trump administration is actively raising prescription drug costs for 25 million seniors,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X in response to the news, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. “Heartless, cruel, and completely by choice.”

CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz on Tuesday said ending the subsidy program would prevent billions of taxpayer dollars from being funneled to insurance companies. It cost the agency an estimated $3.6 billion in 2026.

He said most Medicare beneficiaries would see less than a $10-per-month increase, and some would even see lower premiums than beforehand.

“Every Medicare beneficiary still has access to low-cost plans, and we will continue to lower prescription drug prices for every American patient, from more MFN deals to our policy giving seniors access to GLP-1s for $50 a month,” he wrote on social media.

The federal government also negotiates directly with pharmaceutical companies to lower the prices of some of the most expensive drugs in Medicare, through a program created by Congress in 2022.

This week's decision has no impact on the out-of-pocket cap that limits the amount that older adults with standalone Medicare drug coverage spend on their prescription drugs over the course of a year. That was set at $2,100 in 2026 and is projected to rise to $2,400 for 2027.

Part D beneficiaries paid an average of $36 a month this year for their prescription drug premiums with the subsidies in place, according to the healthcare research nonprofit KFF. The subsidies offset the average premium by $16 in 2026, according to the federal Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC).

It's not yet known how many Americans the change will affect, or how much more they'll pay. Older Americans have the opportunity to shop for plans each year, and prices vary widely between them. CMS has said it will release information about next year's premiums in September.

AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond said her organization, which serves Americans 50 and older, had supported the temporary subsidy.

“While it’s too early to know the full impact of this change, it would be unfortunate if this decision made Part D coverage less affordable, just as we’re beginning to see billions in savings from Medicare drug price negotiation,” she said in a statement.

Juliette Cubanski, vice president and director of the program on Medicare policy at KFF, said the price increases may be marginal for some consumers but impactful for others when combined with higher prices in other areas, like groceries, gas and housing.

“What's going to matter most for consumers is how much more or less they have to pay at the end of a month, and how much they have left after the bills are paid,” she said. “This could just make it more challenging for some people to make that math work.”

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This story first moved July 30, 2026. It was retransmitted July 31, 2026, to correct the spelling of “affect” in the 5th-to-last paragraph.

SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy skies, a chance of rain showers and a few thunderstorms. High: 80.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy skies, a chance of rain showers and a few thunderstorms. Low: 65.

SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy skies, a chance of rain showers and a few thunderstorms. High: 78.

SUNDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy skies, a chance of rain showers and a few thunderstorms. Low: 60.

MONDAY: Mix of sunshine and clouds, a chance of rain showers. High: 78.

After a mixture of sunshine and clouds throughout the day with warm temperatures on Friday, we are going to bring in some much needed rainfall into the region as we look ahead into the upcoming weekend.

Expect the clouds to fill in as we work through the evening and into the overnight hours tonight. A few rain showers may develop before midnight, but most of the region should remain dry this evening. Overnight lows dropping into the upper 60s and lower 70s.

Looking ahead into the weekend, we will keep the chance of rain showers in both Saturday and Sunday, there also could be a few thunderstorms that develop along a frontal boundary that will move into the region, and stall out through late Sunday.

There’s a better chance for more widespread coverage of rain on Saturday afternoon & evening, and into the overnight compared to the end of the weekend on Sunday. Some places could see over an inch or more of rainfall, especially where multiple rounds of rain move through throughout the weekend. But as of right now, we don’t have any flooding concerns, looking ahead into the weekend.

High temperatures will remain in the upper 70s to around 80° on Saturday, then drop into the mid to upper 70s for everyone by the end of the weekend on Sunday.

Looking ahead into the first part of next week, the models are indicating that and upper-level disturbance will be “cutoff” from the frontal boundary, and this will keep the chance of a few rain showers into the forecast both Monday and Tuesday. I don’t think either day will be a complete washout. High temperatures rebounding back into the low to mid 80s for Monday and Tuesday.

Rain showers will remain in the forecast looking ahead into the middle of the week on Wednesday, before drier weather moves back into the region by the time we get to Thursday. High temperatures remain in the mid-80s are in the forecast for next Wednesday and Thursday.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% after veering between gains and losses through the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 276 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1% after briefly losing all of an early 1.3% jump.

It’s a fitting finish to July for the U.S. stock market, which lurched up and down as oil prices shot higher because of the war with Iran and worries grew about whether Big Tech’s massive investments in artificial-intelligence technology will translate into profits and whether chipmaker stocks soared too high in the euphoria around AI.

Friday’s gains sent the S&P 500 to its first winning week in three, but the main measure of the U.S. stock market nevertheless finished the month with a tiny loss.

Amazon led the market with a leap of 15.3% after reporting much stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its profit more than tripled from a year earlier, thanks in part to an acceleration of growth in its cloud computing business.

Analysts said that could be a signal Amazon’s huge AI investments are paying off, and Amazon increased its forecast for how much it will spend on investments this year.

The reaction was similar to what Microsoft got a day before, when its stock soared to its best day in nearly 18 years on signals that its AI investments may also be yielding higher profits.

Chip companies selling the processors and computer memory that such “hyperscalers” are scrambling to buy swung sharply again on Friday. Micron Technology, for example, went from an early jump of 6.4% to a loss of 6.5% before finishing with a fall of 5.9%.

More firmly on the losing end of Wall Street was Apple, which dropped 7.4% despite reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected. Its forecast for revenue growth in the current quarter fell short of expectations, which executives pinned on a supply crunch in components getting vacuumed up in the AI boom.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 52.09 points to 7,489.72. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 276.97 to 52,485.03, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 251.68 to 25,373.85.

The gains came despite another rise in oil prices as uncertainty continues about when the war with Iran will allow crude to flow freely again from the Middle East.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude rose 1.2% to settle at $87.93 after careening between $72 and $102 earlier in July.

Higher oil prices have pushed the cost for a gallon of regular gasoline to an average of nearly $4.11 across the United States, up from $3.85 a month ago, according to AAA. More expensive oil also puts upward pressure on prices for virtually every product that rides on a ship, plane or truck before getting to a customer.

The worries about inflation sent yields in the bond market even higher.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.71% from 4.68% late Thursday and from just 3.97% before the war with Iran sent oil prices shooting higher. That’s a notable move for the yield, which moves higher when investors’ expectations for inflation, economic growth and other factors in upcoming years are rising.

The leap for the 10-year yield has already sent the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its highest level in a year.

Longer-term yields jumped on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve’s chairman, Kevin Warsh, promised again to get inflation back down to 2% but refused to say how he plans to get it there. The Fed voted again to keep its main interest rate steady on Wednesday, even though inflation remains well above 2%.

Hikes to rates by the Fed could restrain inflation, but they could also slow the economy and undercut prices for stocks and other investments. President Donald Trump, who nominated Warsh to lead the Fed, has lobbied for lower interest rates instead of higher.

Warsh has told financial markets that he does not want to give hints about what the Fed will do with interest rates, saying he wants to get direct, “unfiltered” messages from them rather than echoes back of what the Fed has suggested.

But “without clarifying why action was or wasn’t taken already, it’s hard to see how statements about being committed to hitting its inflation target aren’t just a bluff,” according to Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management.

“The Fed is facing a growing credibility problem,” economists at Bank of America wrote in a report. Unless data comes in showing less pressure on inflation in the interim, “it is imperative for the Fed to pass the September test by hiking rates and delivering an internally consistent narrative.”

In stock markets abroad, the swings were even wilder for chip stocks.

Seoul’s Kospi index soared 17.9% for its best day in history. The index is dominated by two tech giants, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and both surged at least 26.8% on Friday.

The Kospi, though, still lost 22% in July despite Friday’s historic move. That’s after it more than doubled in the first six months of the year.

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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

Ceuta’s president put the number of migrants at 60,000, which was equivalent to 70% of the territory's population. But most of them soon went back, the Spanish government said, after the sudden arrival of so many people sparked a humanitarian crisis.

Some migrants swam several miles through the sea and faced down authorities who tried to turn them back with water cannons, tear gas and warning shots. Those who died included some who drowned or were killed in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier near a border checkpoint.

Spain deployed its armed forces and additional police to restore order in Ceuta, which sits on the Strait of Gibraltar at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea and has been a Spanish possession since 1580. On the Moroccan side of the border, security forces clashed with migrants. The chaos also had ripple effects abroad, with Italy and France pledging to tighten their controls on people arriving from Spain.

“The situation that Ceuta is going through is absolutely unsustainable,” Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas told journalists.

Meanwhile, migrants from Morocco also attempted to cross into Melilla, Spain’s other territory at the tip of North Africa, where they clashed with police.

Spanish prime minister condemns border breach

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Ceuta on Friday and condemned the border breach, which he described as “a violation of Spain's territorial integrity.”

Sánchez blamed human smugglers for the crisis, saying they “deceive so many young people and ultimately lead many of them to their deaths,” whether in the ocean or in the city.

The Spanish Interior Ministry released its own figures shortly after Vivas spoke, estimating that some 50,000 people had crossed from Morocco since Thursday. It added that 48,300 had already returned to Morocco by Friday evening, with hundreds more going back by the hour.

Rachid Sbihi, who leads a local workers association representing Civil Guard officers, described the situation as a “serious humanitarian crisis,” saying thousands of migrants, including unaccompanied children, were left sleeping in parks and on sidewalks, while others roamed the streets aimlessly.

“It’s chaotic,” Sbihi said.

The Moroccan Interior Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the migrant figures released by the Spanish authorities.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the images from Ceuta were “unacceptable.”

“We cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules,” she said Friday in an online statement. “Dangerous crossings must stop immediately. Smuggling networks must be dismantled. And returns must be swift, as our rules allow.”

Dozens died in the chaos

Some of the 57 people who died had drowned, Sbihi said, but some were also killed in a stampede to cross the breakwater fence at Tarajal Beach, an urban beach near a border checkpoint with Morocco. The waters near the border fence were littered with buoys, shoes and other abandoned belongings.

Many young Moroccans who crossed into Ceuta told The Associated Press that they had hoped to find better work opportunities in Spain but were returning given the mayhem in Ceuta.

“There’s nothing at home. I’d have to work 12-hour shifts for a meager wage. That’s why I came here,” said 21-year-old Abdulah Buji, who hails from the city of Tetouan. “But I haven’t found any opportunities here either, so I have to go back.”

Moroccan police used water cannons and fired warning shots into the air to prevent migrants from crossing into Ceuta, according to rights groups in Morocco.

Morocco’s ambassador to Spain said the situation in Ceuta had unfolded against Morocco’s wishes.

“We have always prioritized legal, orderly and safe migration for all,” Karima Benyaich said. She did not comment on what prompted the migrants to cross into Ceuta.

To reach Ceuta, on the northern African coast, migrants often swim from the Moroccan town of Fnideq, covering about 3 miles (5 kilometers) to reach Spanish territory. Others attempt the crossing from the nearby town of Belyounech, where the distance is shorter.

Authorities in Ceuta and Madrid have linked the border surge to a recent decision by the Spanish Supreme Court, which ruled that migrants arriving by sea could not be summarily deported, unlike those who cross by land or climb the border fence.

Sánchez said migrant smugglers misinterpreted the ruling.

The interpretation of the Supreme Court’s ruling “spread like wildfire over the past few hours through the networks of human trafficking organizations,” triggering the surge, Sánchez said.

Spain has bucked anti-immigration trend

Sánchez has bucked the anti-migration trend that has gained ground across Europe and in the U.S.

Earlier this year, his government moved to give residency and work permits to hundreds of thousands of migrants already living in the country without permission.

Sánchez, a Socialist, argued that it would be good for the economy and the demographics of an aging Spain. Migrants who entered irregularly after Jan. 1 this year were not included.

His critics jumped at the opportunity to attack his policy, saying it encouraged more migrants to come.

“Sánchez allows Spain to be invaded through Ceuta,” Spanish conservative politician Isabel Díaz Ayuso wrote on X.

The U.S. expressed its support for “the people of Spain, and all Europeans, against this egregious violation of their sovereignty and human rights.”

In a post on X, the State Department added that “this unacceptable incident is the direct result of the Spanish Government’s deliberate efforts to enable and facilitate mass illegal migration into Europe.”

Sánchez on Friday defended his migration policy and distanced it from the events in Ceuta.

In the tumult, Italy temporarily suspended its open-border Schengen agreement with Spain, reimposing border controls for air and sea. The Interior Ministry said the decision amounted to a “closure” of the borders, but experts said it was merely a resumption of border controls. The agreement allows travelers to fly between the two countries without presenting passports.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said France would also strengthen border checks with Spain.

The crisis in Ceuta “has nothing to do with the regularization of migrants adopted by the Government of Spain, as is being falsely claimed by some,” the Spanish government said in a statement late Thursday after Meloni's announcement.

Pressure grows on second Spanish territory in Africa

Migrants from Morocco also attempted to cross into Melilla, the other Spanish territory at the tip of North Africa.

There was widespread chaos in Bni Nsar, the Moroccan town bordering the Spanish territory, where migrants clashed with police, throwing rocks and setting police vehicles ablaze, according to local media and rights groups. They reported injuries among security forces and the arrest of dozens of people attempting to cross.

Like Ceuta, Melilla is a self-governing Spanish city. Many Moroccans consider both cities to be occupied territory.

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Naishadham reported from Madrid. Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain. Associated Press journalists Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Spain; Akram Oubachir in Casablanca, Morocco; and Antonio Sempere in Ceuta, Spain, contributed.

Friday marks the last day of a contract under which the federal government pays for legal services for children who enter the U.S. without a parent or guardian. The government contracts out those services to a network of nearly 100 legal groups across the country that provide services to roughly 20,000 children.

The Trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why it was allowing the contract to expire. But it comes as the administration has redoubled its efforts to achieve its policy of mass deportations, and after migrant children became a target for removal from the country during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term in office.

As part of the expiring contract, the legal groups can enter government-funded shelters and give presentations to children about their legal rights, and directly represent the children as they go through immigration court proceedings.

But as that contract ends, the providers say it’s unclear what will happen come Monday or whether they'll be able to visit their clients in the shelters where they live.

“We have no understanding of what’s going to happen to those children come next week. We don’t know if they’re going to have legal representation. The government as of yet has not identified who will take over this representation,” said Melissa Lopez, the executive director of Estrella El Paso, during a news conference earlier this week. The organization currently represents 243 unaccompanied children in western Texas and New Mexico.

The providers say their ability to enter the shelters, check on their clients and give presentations to new arrivals serves as an important oversight measure for a vulnerable population. The providers warn that without a lawyer to assist them in court and help them navigate the complexities of immigration law, children will be much more likely to be deported back to countries they initially fled.

“The government is trying to eliminate our work in this program because they know that without attorneys children will be deported,” said Lopez.

Health and Human Services, which is responsible for caring for unaccompanied migrant children while they are in government care and which administers the contract, did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

In a Texas immigration court, children play with action figures as lawyer warns of future

Dozens of children and teens filed early Friday morning into the Harlingen courthouse for a hearing before an immigration judge. In the lobby, other children waiting for their hearings played with puzzles and action figures or drew in coloring books.

One 8-year-old boy walked into the courtroom holding an Etch-a-Sketch as he sat next to his attorney.

These were children who had come to the U.S. without a parent or guardian and now their cases were making their way through the immigration courts. But Lauren Fisher Flores, an attorney for the American Bar Association’s ProBar project, which is contracted to provide legal services in southwestern Texas, warned the court of the looming contract expiration.

She explained that come Monday, lawyers wouldn't be able to provide the legal information sessions that they usually give to children in shelters that let children know their rights and lawyers also would no longer be able to step in and provide the “Friend of the Court” services where they assist those children who sometimes show up in court without a lawyer. Fisher Flores said the organization didn't know what the government's plan was going forward.

“We sincerely hope there will be someone to step in next week,” she said.

The judge thanked the attorney and said she was sorry to hear the news.

Legal groups already laying off staff after months of no payments

The end of the contract comes as the legal service providers representing these children say they have not been paid for more than half a year. The organizations say that the Trump administration has been withholding payments as it demands detailed information from the providers about their clients that the providers say they have never been asked for before and that they ethically cannot provide.

“They are clearly trying to destroy the program by grinding down the financial health of nonprofits. We’ve seen layoffs and furloughs, and we will see a lot more of that if these invoices aren’t paid,” said Michael Lukens, the executive director of the Amica Center

Some groups have been trying to secure private funding to continue their work, while others have begun laying off staff and shuttering offices. ProBar in south Texas this week laid off 20% of its staff.

Mid-South Immigration Advocates is a nonprofit law firm based in Memphis, Tennessee, which helps over 400 unaccompanied minors. The organization’s legal director, Sally Joyner, said the organization is owed over $500,000 from the federal government to reimburse them for their work with the children. They've already had to lay off seven employees since 2025 and more layoffs are planned. They're closing their physical offices in Nashville and Memphis at the end of September and expect to close their law firm entirely soon.

As their budget tightens, she said they're doing everything they can to continue representing the children who are their clients. She warns that without attorneys to represent them, migrant children, including infants and teens, could be ordered deported in the coming weeks.

“These are kids who have been living in our communities, going to our schools for you know three, four, five years,” Joyner said. “Some of them they only know the United States and will have gone to high school, graduate high school just in time for ICE to send them to prison.”

Migrant children coming to the U.S. alone usually have special protections

Migrant children traveling alone are usually entrusted to U.S. government care, and there are various legal protections that apply to them once they’re in the U.S. and navigating the immigration system, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008.

The law said the government should facilitate legal representation for children put into deportation proceedings.

With some limited exceptions, it requires that children be placed in the “least restrictive setting possible,” which generally means they can be released to a sponsor, such as a relative in the U.S., while their immigration proceedings play out.

The children can apply for a specially protected status if they can’t return to their home country because of abuse or neglect and they can also apply for asylum.

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Santana reported from Sacramento. Associated Press reporter Laura Turbay in Little Rock contributed to this report.

Broadcasters like ABC, Carr said in an interview on the Fox Business Network, “struck a deal with the American people. You broadcasters get subsidized access, free access to a valuable public resource, the airwaves, worth billions of dollars. In exchange, you have to operate in the public interest.”

“Look, as a country, we should have a trusted, respected news media, and we’re not there,” Carr told anchor Maria Bartiromo. “So I hope more broadcasters return to their public interest obligations.”

The FCC has been pushing ABC

The remarks came a day after ABC, issuing another salvo in an ever-escalating battle with President Donald Trump’s FCC, again accused the agency of a brazen attempt to chill its constitutionally protected free speech — and by extension, that of every media outlet in the country.

ABC accused the agency of retaliating against it simply because it doesn't like the political content of ABC’s shows.

The network's new comments came in its latest filing to the agency, expressing its formal opposition to the FCC's early review, launched in April, of eight ABC local broadcast licenses well before they expire.

“There is no question why the Commission is singling out these eight stations,” the filing said. “Each is owned by ABC, and the Administration has openly and repeatedly called for the revocation of ABC’s licenses, because it dislikes the content and viewpoints expressed on ABC network programs.”

“The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country,” it continued. “Accommodate the Administration’s view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price. … The tools vary; the objective does not: a media industry too fearful of official reprisal to report the news freely. “

The license review is only one part of a long-simmering confrontation between ABC and the FCC. The network is also battling Carr’s efforts to make "The View,” a talk show whose hosts and guests have frequently angered Trump, subject to equal-time rules — a question ABC says the agency itself resolved more than two decades ago.

The rules require granting equal airtime to competing candidates for office. Bona fide news programs are exempt. The FCC qualified the show as such in a 2002 decision.

Kimmel has also been a target

Trump has also repeatedly called for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired.

When the FCC launched its early review of ABC’s licenses in April, it came amid a fight with Kimmel over a joke that offended Trump. The agency, however, cited diversity, equity and inclusion practices at the company, and Carr brought them up in the Fox interview.

Operating in the public interest, he said, “means you can’t run news distortions, broadcast hoax. You can’t be engaging in this invidious form of DEI discrimination.” He did not elaborate.

In its filing Thursday, ABC referred to over 140,000 comments from viewers, part of the public comment period on the issue, posted to the FCC website — more than 95% of which it said were supportive of ABC’s position.

“The outpouring of support for the Stations has been unprecedented for a license renewal proceeding," it said. “These supporters span the ideological spectrum but share a fundamental commitment to free speech and press freedom.”

In its lengthy filing, ABC also noted how rare it is that the FCC would call for early license renewal applications.

“Until the day before the Commission took this step, it had not called for license renewal applications ahead of schedule for more than fifty years,” ABC said. “The Commission’s departure from those norms lays bare what is really going on: the Administration is retaliating against ABC for the exercise of its First Amendment rights.

"That alone should stop these proceedings in their tracks.“

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Jocelyn Noveck covers the intersection of media and entertainment for The Associated Press.

After being driven past two businesses relevant to the narrative of the January 2023 killings, jurors were escorted in groups of six to view the inside of the house, including the basement where the children died. During the roughly 40-minute visit, the jury also saw the yard where Clancy was found after jumping from a second-story window.

Journalists were kept away by a police barricade, but court officers could be seen through the trees escorting jurors to and from the bus along the site of the Clancy family’s former driveway. The home now has a new owner.

Clancy herself did not attend the visit to the home, which she hasn't seen since the day of the killings. Her lawyers argue she was in the grip of postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness linked to the stress, sleep deprivation and hormonal changes that follow childbirth.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

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Jurors in U.S. criminal cases often are expressly told not to visit the scene of the events in question. There are a number of rationales for not doing so — among other things, the site may have changed in the interim between an alleged crime and a trial.

But courts sometimes allow juries to make a supervised excursion as a group, for reasons that can include assessing distances or features that aren’t thought to come across fully in photos.

Such excursions have happened in a number of high-profile cases, including the 2023 murder trial of South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh, the 2022 sentencing trial of Parkland, Florida, school shooter Nikolas Cruz, the 2015 Massachusetts murder trial of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez and the 1995 murder trial of O.J. Simpson.

Jurors in Clancy's trial retraced the route her then-husband, Patrick Clancy, took when she asked him to pick up takeout food and medicine for daughter Cora on the night of the killings. He returned to find the children dead and his then-wife badly injured and bleeding in the yard.

The panel was driven past the restaurant — about 5.5 miles (9 kilometers) from the family’s former home in Duxbury, a town south of Boston — and the pharmacy, about a mile (1.6 km) from the house.

Prosecutors say the errands were a ruse to get her husband out of the house. They say Lindsay Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, acted intentionally and is criminally responsible for the deaths of children Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months.

Her lawyers don't dispute that she killed the children, but they say she had bipolar disorder and her condition worsened while she was on antidepressants prescribed after the birth of her third child. She believed a voice was telling her to “kill the children so you can kill yourself,” according to her lawyers.

Lindsay Clancy remains paralyzed from the waist down after using multiple methods to try to end her life that night.

If convicted of murder, she faces life in prison without parole. If found not guilty due to a lack of criminal responsibility, she would be committed to a state mental health facility.

___ Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed from New York.

Antonio Oseguera Cervantes worked for cartels with his brother Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, the drug lord known as “El Mencho” who was killed by the Mexican army in February, according to federal prosecutors.

El Mencho co-founded and led the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, known by its Spanish-language acronym CJNG. Last year, President Donald Trump’s administration designated the CJNG and other cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, 67, of Michoacán, Mexico, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell is scheduled to sentence him on Nov. 13.

Besides the conspiracy charge, Oseguera Cervantes also pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking conspiracy.

Oseguera Cervantes was transferred from Mexico to the U.S. for prosecution in February 2025. He was a member of the Milenio Cartel before his brother co-founded the CJNG.

While appearing on “Live in the D,” festival organizers highlighted what visitors can expect from authentic food and live entertainment to family-friendly activities that make this annual event a summertime favorite.

Watch the segment above for more information about the festival which takes Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2.

The agreement announced by Trump late Thursday could pave the way for ending the latest Israel-Hamas war that broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, and which has seen continued violence despite a ceasefire last October. Few places in the Palestinian territory of over 2 million people have been left unscathed, and the United Nations, World Bank and European Union estimate that reconstruction will cost $70 billion.

Hamas officials said the group has agreed to the disarmament agreement. Israel has not commented.

The Board of Peace will have a major role in overseeing the deal's implementation.

Here's what the group is and what it is expected to do:

What is the Board of Peace

The Board of Peace was first mentioned in September when the White House released Trump’s plan to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan called on Hamas to surrender its weapons and destroy its vast network of tunnels. It also envisions Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza, the arrival of a new technocratic Palestinian government, deployment of an international security force and the rebuilding of the battered Palestinian enclave after more than two years of war.

More than two dozen nations signed on as the board's founding members, including Israel and other regional heavyweights, as well as countries from outside the Middle East such as Indonesia, Paraguay and Vietnam.

Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are among more than a dozen countries that have not joined the board but took part in a February meeting as observers.

Israelis are suspicious of the involvement of Qatar and Turkey, which have longstanding relations with Hamas. Earlier this year, Palestinians objected because their representatives weren’t invited to the board, even as it weighs the future of a territory that is home to some 2 million of them.

A $1 billion contribution secures permanent membership on the board instead of a three-year appointment, which has no contribution requirement.

During the first meeting of the board in February in Washington, members pledged $7 billion in aid for Gaza — just a fraction of the $70 billion that international bodies say is needed to rebuild the territory. The board also announced plans for international troops and police, and for reconstruction. But no timeline was given.

How the board is involved in the new deal

The agreement was reached after months of “very difficult negotiations,” Nickolay Mladenov, the director-general of the Board of Peace in Gaza, said in comments posted on X. “There were several points when I did not believe we would make it,” he added.

Mladenov, a former Bulgarian defense and foreign minister who served as the U.N. envoy to Iraq before being appointed as the U.N. Mideast peace envoy from 2015-2020, added, “Implementation and verification have to be real” and “withdrawal must move in lockstep with decommissioning.”

The National Committee for The Administration of Gaza, a Palestinian technocratic body that operates under the supervision of the Board of Peace, is tasked with administering Gaza in the interim period after Hamas gives up control.

That includes setting up a new police force to replace the one previously run by Hamas and implementing the disarmament process - the details of which are not yet clear.

The NCAS said in a statement Friday that it is ready to assume responsibility for governing Gaza and restoring public services and the rule of law.

Ambitious Plans

In November, the Trump administration’s blueprint to secure and govern Gaza won strong approval at the United Nations.

Israel and the U.S. say Hamas’ disarmament is key to progress on the other fronts. Arab and Muslim members of the Board of Peace have accused Israel of undermining the ceasefire with its daily strikes and want the U.S. to rein in its close ally. They have called on Hamas to disarm but say Israel’s withdrawal is just as important.

Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad, who is a member of the group’s negotiating team, told Qatar's Al Jazeera TV on Friday that the agreement is a “full package” of which Hamas’ disarmament is a part.

“Hamas and Palestinian factions are making concessions for the sake of our Palestinian people in Gaza,” Hamad said. He added that Hamas will not take any step unless they are sure that Israel will implement the deal from its side.

Israel defines demilitarization as extending from heavy weapons like rocket-propelled grenades all the way down to roughly 60,000 rifles that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says would have to be given up.

Trump — along with son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff — has laid out ambitious plans for rebuilding Gaza with international investment.

In Davos last year, Kushner suggested reconstruction could be complete in a matter of three years, even though U.N. forecasts suggest that clearing rubble and demining alone could take much longer.

Kushner’s slides showed a reconstructed Gaza with a coastal tourism strip, industrial zones and data centers. He conceded that rebuilding would begin only in demilitarized areas and that security would be essential to attract investment.

A stabilization force

The ceasefire deal also calls for a temporary International Stabilization Force made up of soldiers from Arab and Muslim-majority countries. Its mandate is not spelled out in detail, but would include securing aid deliveries, preventing weapons smuggling and vetting and training a Palestinian police force.

Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, who is leading the effort, said in February the plans call for 12,000 police and 20,000 soldiers for Gaza.

Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania have pledged to send troops for the force, while Egypt and Jordan have committed to train police.

Troops will initially be deployed to Rafah, a heavily damaged and largely depopulated city under full Israeli control, where the U.S. administration hopes to first focus reconstruction efforts.

The biggest blow to the planned force came about a week after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, when Indonesia put its commitment of 8,000 troops on indefinite hold. Some 1,000 were to have been sent in April, followed by the remainder in June.

The latest Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel killing over 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, including hundreds who perished after a ceasefire went into effect Oct. 10, Gaza’s Health Ministry says. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government and is staffed by medical professionals, does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its toll but says women and children make up around half of all deaths.

DeBuck’s Sunflower Festival is showcasing two million sunflowers, various attractions, and more family fun.

The festival kicked off July 30 and runs through Aug. 16. Watch the video above to learn more.

The Cabinet meeting, the 13th such gathering of Trump's second term, came just three months before the November midterm elections that could serve as a check on his power if Democrats take control of one or both chambers of Congress. His warnings about Spain echoed language he used ahead of the 2018 midterms, when he warned of caravans of migrants headed to the southern U.S. border.

“You know, I saw Spain yesterday, and I watched the catastrophe that took place. It looks like an invasion of a country by hundreds of thousands of people,” Trump said. “And that same thing is going to happen to us if the Republicans don’t get elected. Except worse, much bigger.”

Some 60,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Spain’s tiny Ceuta territory over the past 24 hours. Roughly half of them have already made their way back voluntarily, according to the Spanish government, but at least 57 have died on the journey.

Separately, he deflected blame for a series of cyberattacks that targeted 30 water systems in Minnesota on the state’s “grossly incompetent” Democratic leadership. Officials have not publicly identified who was behind the attacks, though the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and other agencies warned in an advisory last week that Iranian hackers have been targeting water and wastewater systems and the operational controls of other critical infrastructure sectors.

“They blame it on Iran,” Trump said, without offering evidence. “I don’t think so. I think I blame it on Minnesota because they’re grossly incompetent.”

The president regularly convenes his Cabinet throughout his terms as a setting to promote his administration's policies while fielding questions on the news of the day, but what made Friday's unusual was that it was at Camp David, the government-owned retreat nestled in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains where Trump held one Cabinet meeting during his first term.

Trump began the meeting by noting it was “something very unique.” The White House called it the first-ever televised Cabinet meeting from the presidential retreat.

“It's Camp David, and this room is a very, very special room,” Trump said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were among the Cabinet officials who spoke before Trump took questions from journalists. The public portion of the meeting ended after about an hour.

Trump fields questions on Iran, Hamas deal and Blanche confirmation

In the lengthy question-and-answer session, Trump commented on the latest developments regarding the war in Iran and a deal he announced Thursday that would lead to the disarmament of the Palestinian group Hamas. He also lamented that a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund to compensate his allies was “dead” and appeared to back off a pledge he made earlier this month to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot air defense systems.

“I don’t think this would ever happen, but, you know, there’s people that, you give that technology, they can someday turn on you,” Trump added. “You look at war, that’s happened a couple of times over the years, right? So we have to be very careful.”

On the Hamas agreement, Trump acknowledged that the agreement that would also lead to Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza will have “ups and downs.” Still, he called it a “great breakthrough” that has been helped along by the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, which has served as Hamas’ prime backer.

Trump also remarked on the anti-weaponization fund that is holding up the confirmation of Todd Blanche as his attorney general, saying the pot of money is “dead” and that “I wish it weren't, to be honest with you.”

The president continued to defend the people who could potentially benefit from the fund, mainly those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to stop the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's victory over him.

“Their families have been ruined,” Trump said. Those people “wanted to go to a rally or an event and ended up spending the rest of their lives in horror.”

Trump said Blanche has been a “pawn in this whole thing.” Blanche, who was present, did not speak in the public portion of the Cabinet meeting.

Camp David has been a retreat for presidents since FDR

The camp’s primary purpose is to provide presidents a place to rest, relax and recharge. It was established in 1942 during Franklin Roosevelt's presidency and has been used by every president since.

Roosevelt had enjoyed relaxing aboard a presidential yacht, but the military and the U.S. Secret Service began to worry about his safety on open water during World War II. As a result, Roosevelt asked the National Park Service to find sites within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of the White House that he could use for rest.

He chose what is now known as Camp David. He gave it the original name of Shangri-La, from James Hilton’s novel “Lost Horizon.” President Dwight Eisenhower renamed it Camp David, after his grandson and father.

Trump spent more weekends at the retreat in his first term but has visited sparingly in his second, most recently in June for Father’s Day.

In 2019, during his first term, Trump announced on social media that he had canceled a secret weekend meeting at Camp David with Taliban and Afghanistan leaders — scheduled for just days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — after a bombing in the capital of Kabul killed a dozen people, including a U.S. soldier.

Presidents throughout history have turned to Camp David when they needed security and privacy for sensitive diplomatic talks with foreign leaders. Jimmy Carter took the leaders of Egypt and Israel there in 1978 for talks that produced the Camp David Accords, a peace agreement between the two countries.

The 180-acre (73-hectare) retreat, which is run by the Navy and guarded by Marines, has a cabin named Aspen that’s reserved for the president, plus about a dozen other cabins for guests. A main lodge has conference rooms, a dining room and an office for the president.

___

Superville and Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Collin Binkley, Will Weissert and Aamer Madhani contributed to this report from Washington.

A draft notice published Friday in the Federal Register says a nearly year-long review “provided sufficient data” to suggest the bond program effectively enforces compliance with visa conditions, and would be made permanent.

The notice is to be formally released on Monday, the day the program becomes permanent, and additional countries may be added to the list, which can be found here. The pilot program set the maximum bond amount at $15,000, with lower amounts of $5,000 and $10,000 based on a consular officer’s discretion. The final regulation raises the maximum to $20,000 and removes the $5,000 low-end payment.

The program requires holders of passports from the affected countries to pay the bond to be interviewed for business and tourist visas — known as B1 and B2 visas — to travel to the United States. The bond is refunded if the visa application is denied or, if granted, if the person adheres to the visa terms.

The Trump administration rolled out the program last August to crack down on visa overstays and as part of its broader efforts to curtail illegal migration. The government estimates that arresting and deporting visitors who have overstayed their visa costs about $18,000 per person.

State Department officials have hailed the program as a great success. In 2024, nearly 45,500 visitors from the 50 countries in the program overstayed their visas, according to the notice. In the first 10 months of the pilot visa bond program, the number of overstays from those countries was fewer than 50, it said.

Critics have said it imposes an unnecessarily harsh burden on people from impoverished countries to visit family members or to pursue education or business opportunities in the U.S.

According to government projections and statistics from the first year of the program, the State Department initially expected that about 2,000 visa applicants would be required to post the bond. Instead, the department found that roughly 20,000 applicants were covered by the bond requirement.

Nearly half of those applicants chose not to pay the bond and there was an 83% decline in the number of business and tourist visas issued to citizens of countries on the list.

“The department expects that this final rule will contribute to the continued reduction of demand for B1/B2 visa applications from nationals of countries subject to the program,” the notice said.

Movie reviewer Greg Russell has the scoop on “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “The Dink.”

Watch the video above to see the Reel Talk segment on “Live in the D.”

The week before the Jacksonville Jaguars opened training camp, Hunter was photographed wearing a police vest posing with Sheriff T.K. Waters and members of the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department. It had the look of a ride-along, though Hunter wasn't saying.

“I was just out there just having fun with Sheriff T.K.,” Hunter said Friday.

Hunter, the Heisman Trophy winner out of Colorado whom the Jaguars made the No. 2 pick in last year's draft, has enough to keep him occupied in training camp. Hunter is returning from injury, his rookie year ending two months into the season when he tore knee ligaments during noncontact drills.

In seven games, he played 324 snaps at receiver and 162 snaps at cornerback. The plan to use him on both sides of the ball has not changed, especially after the Jaguars shored up the core of their secondary by re-signing Montaric “Buster” Brown in March.

Hunter has been wearing a teal jersey for offense in three days of camp, with a white bib and his No. 12 he can slip on when he plays in the secondary.

“How do we balance his reps here, knowing that we’re trying to ease him in, but he also at some point needs to get double the amount that a normal player gets,” coach Liam Coen said. “And so what does that ramp-up look like? We have it all kind of mapped out ... on every single practice schedule, his reps are highlighted in here — where he’s in, what plays he’s in, where he’s at on the field. We’ve been extremely intentional about it.”

Hunter, who had surgery Nov. 11 to repair the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee, was limited during offseason workouts. But he used that time to build up some 10 pounds of muscle in his upper body and managed to get even faster.

He was clocked running at 22.6 mph at the team's facility last week.

“I was a small guy coming in. Everybody was like, ’Gain weight, gain weight,’” Hunter said. “I was scared at first. I'm like: ‘Dang, I’ve never played at this weight. I'm going to feel heavy, not going to be able to do what I do.' Training and being able to put those months in — not just on the grass but in the weight room — just putting in extra work, it made me feel lighter on my feet when I finally touched the grass.”

He looked like he was flying on grass when he ran the 22.6 mph — no pads, no one around him, not in a game — but it was another indication all was well.

“I'm trying to hit 23 now,” Hunter said. “That's the next goal.”

The Jaguars could use the production considering how much they gave up in a trade to get the second pick in 2025 — their No. 5 pick last year and No. 1 pick this year. They won nine of their last 10 games last year after Hunter was injured to win the AFC South.

For his part, Hunter feels like last year never happened in terms of his health.

“I put nine months in, so it doesn’t feel like I’m coming off an injury,” he said. "Just get the rust off right now. I’ve been gone for nine months, not able to be out here with my teammates for nine months, so finally being able to hit the grass, knock the rust off and just continue to click with the quarterbacks and click with the defense.”

Defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile said Hunter is getting back into the flow, and the added muscle in his upper body is noticeable.

“You never want to see anybody get injured, but I think he really put his best foot forward in the weight room as he was recovering from a lower-body injury,” Campanile said. “He just looks really physical in the team work and in the individual period. So he's done a good job.”

And now it's all football, though the Engine 36 B-Shift crew said in its Facebook post for Hunter to let them know when he was ready for a ride-along.

“We promise, it's just as hot as training camp,” the post said.

___

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

The deadline is Monday at 6 p.m. EDT.

Skubal — a 29-year-old left-hander who will be a free agent this offseason — is in the midst of another strong year for the Detroit Tigers after winning back-to-back Cy Youngs in 2024 and 2025. The left-hander missed about five weeks earlier in the season because of surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow, but he has bounced back quickly.

He's been excellent over his last five starts, with a 2.03 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 31 innings.

One thing complicating Skubal's availability is the Tigers have played better of late and they're hanging around the American League wild-card race, just 4 1/2 games back for the final playoff spot going into Friday's games — albeit with five teams ahead of them. But if a juicy offer is presented, it'll be hard to say no.

Detroit's uncertain playoff fate is a common problem for teams as the deadline approaches.

There is a handful of obvious buyers at the deadline like the Yankees, Rays, Brewers, Braves and Dodgers. There is also a small group of obvious sellers like the Rockies, Giants, Angels, Mets, Athletics and Royals.

But that leaves nearly 20 other teams who are in the middle and could be buyers, sellers or a combination of both.

Here's a look at some of the top trade candidates as Monday's deadline approaches.

The starting pitchers

— Peralta, Mets: The right-hander has had a disappointing season, which is a common refrain for the Mets, but his strikeout numbers are still good. He was excellent for the Brewers over the previous three seasons. If he can fix his command issues, he could help a contender.

— Joe Ryan, Twins: Another powerful arm, the right-hander has been an All-Star in each of the past two seasons. It's unclear if the Twins are buyers or sellers in a crowded American League race — they added reliever A.J. Minter from the Mets on Friday, so continued buying seems more likely. If the Twins decide to move Ryan, though, it could bring back a solid return.

— Foster Griffin, Nationals: The veteran lefty has been outstanding in his return to MLB after spending three seasons in Japan with a 12-2 record and 2.76 ERA. The Nationals are still in the mix for a playoff spot in the National League, but they will likely still be willing to listen to offers.

— Reid Detmers, Angels: The left-hander has been a bright spot in a mostly dismal season for the Angels with 145 strikeouts in 125 innings. Los Angeles will want a sizable return for the 27-year-old, who is still under team control for the next two seasons.

— Clay Holmes, Mets: The 33-year-old made a successful transition from reliever to starter in 2025 and was having another solid season before he fractured his right fibula on a comeback liner in May. The right-hander is in the midst of a minor-league rehab assignment and nearing his return.

— Robbie Ray, Giants: The two-time All-Star and 2021 Cy Young winner doesn't have the wipeout, strikeout stuff that he possessed early in his career, but he's been very good for San Francisco this season with a 10-6 record and 3.08 ERA.

The relief pitchers

— Miller, Padres: The game's most dominant closer, Miller has a jaw-dropping 85 strikeouts over 45 2/3 innings, 28 saves and an 0.79 ERA. Relievers usually don't command huge returns during trade deadline deals, but Miller is an exception, particularly because the 6-foot-5 righty is still under team control for three more years.

— Adrián Morejón, Padres: The left-handed Cuban has been a key part of the Padres' bullpen for the past three seasons. He's a free agent after the season which means he could be on the move.

— Luke Weaver, Mets: The veteran righty has found his niche after making the full-time move to the bullpen in 2024. He's not necessarily a closer, but he does have some experience in the role. He was very good for the Yankees in the playoffs during their run to the World Series in 2024.

— Jeff Hoffman, Blue Jays: The right-hander lost his job as the team's closer earlier this season, but his strikeout numbers are still excellent with 72 punchouts over 46 innings.

Position players

— Luis Arraez, Giants, 2B: The three-time batting champion and four-time All-Star is in the midst of one of his best seasons and has flashed improved defense at second base. He is an elite contact hitter who rarely strikes out and is a free agent after the season.

— Ryan Jeffers, Twins, C: Jeffers recently returned from the injured list and has a career-high .928 OPS this season. His ability to provide pop from the right side will make him a popular trade target, though the Twins might not be willing to make a deal since they're still in the playoff hunt.

— Daulton Varsho, Blue Jays, OF: The 30-year-old slugger is one of the game's better athletes and won a Gold Glove in 2024. He's an upcoming free agent, but he has playoff experience and can still provide great defense with some left-handed power.

— CJ Abrams, Nationals, SS: Washington will want a big return for the All-Star shortstop, who is in the midst of his best year and is under team control for the next two seasons. But if a contender is willing to offer a big package of prospects, the ascending Nationals will likely listen.

— Zach Neto, Angels, SS: Neto has been one of the Angels' best players over the last three seasons. He's a solid defender and provides a good amount of right-handed power, though his strikeout numbers have been high this season.

— Luis García Jr., Nationals, 1B: The left-handed slugger has quietly put together his best season with 23 homers and 76 RBIs. He doesn't walk much, but has one more year of team control and is still just 26 years old.

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

The Dancing Pine features a Korean steakhouse menu and an elevated dining experience with a modern twist.

Watch the Dine in the D segment above to see more.

Jon Villasurda Sr. was one of the several people arrested in what Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called one of the largest international human trafficking rings uncovered in the state in December 2024.

Background --> 5 arrested, charged in Metro Detroit human trafficking ring

Two others charged, Huazi Piao and Jingyu Jin, recently pleaded to one count of conducting a criminal enterprise for their role in the human trafficking ring.

Piao was sentenced in October 2025, and Jin is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 3.

“Transporting vulnerable individuals to be trafficked is a heinous crime, and I applaud the prosecutors in my office for securing this conviction,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. “This enterprise, one of the largest human trafficking rings ever uncovered in our state, profited from the forced commercial sex servitude of victims right here in our communities, moving them through illicit parlors, airports, casinos, and residences. Together with our law enforcement partners, we have liberated numerous women, and we remain committed to pursuing traffickers and supporting survivors.”

On July 30, Villasurda pleaded guilty to one count of transporting a person for prostitution. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 10.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Friday jointly announced the proposed changes to the Community Reinvestment Act, a law that requires regulators to document how well banks do in lending to low-to-middle income neighborhoods. It would be the first major revision of the law’s rules and regulations in nearly three decades.

Under the proposed revisions, bank examiners would put more weight on the lending banks do in certain communities and geographies, and less on how many branches they open or how much in deposits they take in from a local community.

The number of banks that would need to comply with the law would be reduced as well. The definition of a small bank will increase from banks with under $412 million in assets to banks with $1 billion in assets. Banks between $1 billion and $10 billion in assets will now be classified as an intermediate bank.

This would reduce the number of banks who need to comply with parts of the CRA by 800 banks. Only 86 banks, or roughly 3% of all institutions, would be subject to the full extent of CRA under the new regulations.

Another change that is likely to be fought over relates to how banks give money to community development groups. Under the CRA, banks can donate money to local organizations that do poverty or low-income housing work in their communities to show they are providing resources to a local community. The new regulations could narrow the groups and programs that banks could donate to in order to meet those obligations.

In a summary of the changes, the bank regulators said these changes would ensure community development grants “are not diverted to activist causes or consumed by excessive operating costs.” Banks would also need to collect more detailed information on who gets their community grants, including addresses, which would give more transparency to who is receiving grants from banks.

That change could negatively impact groups like the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, an umbrella group for community development groups that often receive money from banks under the CRA. The new rules discourage banks making grants to national organizations and instead focus their grants on local groups.

Jesse Van Tol, the CEO of NCRC, said that it was “unfortunate” that the bank regulators were politicizing grant making under the CRA.

“CRA was created to work for low-to-middle income people. A lot of these changes are going to discourage banks from making grants, particularly in rural areas, where I expect there will be significant drops in activity,” Van Tol said.

The proposal announced Friday by the OCC and FDIC did not include the other major bank regulator, the Federal Reserve. Banking groups had been pushing for a joint proposal from all three regulators, to make sure all three were aligned on the same requirements under the CRA.

The CRA was passed in 1977 to combat redlining, a practice whereby banks would discriminate against the poor and minorities by choosing not to lend or open branches in minority-majority neighborhoods or in poor neighborhoods.

The law is complex, requiring banks to document how they do business in the cities and areas they operate in. Banks must sit for regular examinations to see whether they are complying with the law. A bad CRA examination could restrict a bank’s ability to open new branches or merge with another bank or have other consequences. The data collected through CRA is also used by the Department of Justice in redlining cases.

The last major revision of the CRA’s regulations happened in 1995, and there have been repeated attempts by administrations of both parties to update the rules to reflect how banking and financial services have changed in the past 30 years. But those revisions have repeatedly failed, either due to opposition from other regulators, the banks, or community groups, or have been blocked by courts. The Biden administration tried its own revisions of the CRA rules but those changes were blocked by courts in Texas.

The proposed rules will now go out for a 60-day comment period where they will be finalized after banks, community groups and other parties have a chance to weigh in on the changes.

Until now, the answer has been a doting home health aide from Haiti named Martha Nelson. But with the Supreme Court sanctioning a White House immigration crackdown, Nelson’s permission to stay in the country appears likely to be yanked within days, leaving French worried.

“She’s with me all the time,” says French. “Life would be impossible.”

As the Trump administration unwinds years of protections for hundreds of thousands of people from Haiti, twin populations of vulnerable people find themselves in the crosshairs: caregivers in jobs to which those immigrants have flocked, and the older adults and disabled people who rely on them.

Around the U.S., care homes and home health agencies are bracing for the loss of workers with TPS, which stands for temporary protected status, even as they continue to reel from other immigration policy changes that have squeezed an already short-staffed industry.

For businesses, it is a predicament that could hurt bottom lines and tax remaining workers. For their clients, it threatens to upend every aspect of their lives.

“They have become like family,” says Katy Sanchez, who lives in a group home for disabled people in Nanuet, New York, run by The Arc Rockland, which stands to lose 19 caregivers with TPS, on top of 20 others it lost in immigration changes last year. “If they are forced to leave, it would be devastating.”

Supreme Court ruling paved the way

The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration last month, saying it could end temporary protected status. The ruling specifically pertained to 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians, but immigration advocates and legal observers say it could be applied to a broader group of 1.3 million people from 17 countries.

The justices' move has been met with weeks of confusion. Immigration officials subsequently granted several extensions to TPS holders that carried through Monday. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued guidance Wednesday affirming TPS was over, though some attorneys and labor unions have argued work authorization remains intact until lower courts lift an injunction.

The Department of Homeland Security made light of the TPS expiration, referencing lyrics from a 1998 hit song: “It’s closing time, which means you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”

Fearful they might be in breach of the law, some employers have begun terminating TPS holders, to the dismay of their clients.

Anna Fischbein grew accustomed to visits to her home in Sunny Isles, Florida, from the same kindly Haitian health aide every week for the past 10 years. But Jewish Community Services of South Florida terminated the aide along with 17 others when their TPS lapsed.

“I lost not only a lady working for me,” the 87-year-old Holocaust survivor says, her voice broken by sobs. “I lost a friend.”

Facilities scramble to come up with replacement workers

Around 1 in 5 workers in the U.S. is foreign born, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but immigrants are overrepresented in caregiving roles. Among home health aides, for example, one-third are immigrants, according to PHI, a nonprofit focused on the caregiving workforce.

In lives upended by age or disability, a cherished caregiver is a lifeline. For someone living in their own home, they may be the last line of defense before institutionalization. For those in a care facility, they may be their strongest advocate, who notices subtle changes before anyone else, ensures small comforts like dollar-store word search books, and brings a sense of humanity to the humiliation of being incontinent.

“They are the first people they see when they wake up in the morning and they’re the last ones that they see before they go to bed,” says Simone Smith, vice president of human resources at Cabrini of Westchester, a nursing home in Dobbs Ferry, New York, where eight Haitians with TPS await word of their fate.

Like similar facilities around the country, Cabrini is prepared to scramble to secure replacement staffers from nursing agencies and plead with remaining workers to take overtime shifts. Cabrini’s workforce is about 75% immigrant. Among those with TPS, Smith senses “almost a hopelessness.”

A Haitian who loses TPS faces an unbearable choice: Attempt to stay in the U.S. and find underground work, tiptoeing through life with fear that authorities will eventually find and remove them. Or return to a country so plagued by gang violence and poverty that many believe it would amount to a death sentence.

“I’m afraid all the time,” says a Haitian man working at a Brooklyn nursing home who asked for anonymity because of concerns for the safety of himself and his family. “I pay tax to the country. I’m a good person. … All I want is to work. When you work, you are a person.”

Families wonder what they will do

Outside a simple brick house in Queens, Nelson stands guard as French steps through her door. On the porch, you might mistake the two for old friends, their bond as much an illustration of what is at risk as it is of how much things have changed.

The women made the same journey, from Port-au-Prince to New York, four decades apart.

French was drawn here in 1970 by the potential opportunities she saw. She built businesses as a hairdresser and seamstress. Her late husband made his way as an electrician and contractor. They bought their home. Their children got good educations. They believed they achieved the American dream.

Nelson came after an earthquake flattened Haiti in 2010. At home, she ran a butcher shop, but after arriving in New York she found work in caregiving roles. She began working for French about three years ago after French fell and broke her hip. Nelson, now 69, has been with her nearly every weekday since.

Both women felt welcomed by the U.S. when they arrived. But French is saddened to see how views on immigrants have evolved.

“America is a good country,” French says, “but it has changed.”

Nelson brings leftovers, tends to French’s chores and is a source of companionship. They watch the news together and talk in Haitian Creole about their families. On weekends, Nelson calls to make sure French has gotten up from bed and nags her to eat.

“On my days off, I think about her,” Nelson says.

French says Nelson has become like family. Nelson agrees, saying she sees French as if she’s her own mother, a show of affection and the source of the pair’s one ongoing dispute.

“You’re not like my daughter,” French protests. “You’re like my sister.”

For now, the two continue their routine, knowing each shift may be Nelson's last. She keeps a copy of her work authorization zipped in a black cloth pouch that she carries everywhere, in case she is stopped. Each Sunday, she sinks to her knees in church, praying for an answer. She worries for herself and for French.

“It makes me feel depressed,” Nelson says. “It could be difficult for her without me.”

___

Salomon reported from Miami.

___

Matt Sedensky can be reached at msedensky@ap.org and https://x.com/sedensky

“It’s extremely important to us,” said Itai Nixon, who leads the diaspora department for Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. “We’re the state of the Jewish people, not just Israelis.”

Lesley Sachs, who has protested the current Israeli government and chairs the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, also considers a close relationship with diaspora Jews a “strategic asset” for both Israel and Jews worldwide.

So she’s greatly concerned about diaspora Jews losing the sense that Israel can be a homeland for them, especially as rising antisemitism targets them regardless of political and religious affiliations.

“That was always really, really important that everybody around the world, especially after the Holocaust, knows that there is a country that will always take them,” Sachs said in her synagogue in Tel Aviv. “This is already a few generations after, and this is less prominent in their DNA. And I think that this is really a failure on the part of both Israel and world Jewry, that we have not managed to keep that prominent.”

Since 2000, Taglit-Birthright Israel has brought a million Jewish young adults from the United States and elsewhere for a free 10-day “discovery” tour of Israel. The organization’s CEO says it’s more necessary than ever to show what their connection to Israel could be like beyond controversial politics.

“That really increases the importance of my job to expose people to what they give up on,” said Gidi Mark. “What we give them is a mirror.”

The staunch Israel-US relationship shows some cracks

Israel and the United States have long been staunch allies. U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Washington earlier this week to discuss the war against Iran they launched together five months ago.

“The United States is perceived as the best friend of Israel in the entire world, and that’s still the case,” said Tamar Hermann, who directs the Israel Democracy Institute’s Viterbi Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research in Jerusalem.

Divisions over the ceasefire in the Iran war, however, have weakened Jewish Israelis’ belief that Trump prioritizes Israel’s security — from 64% in March to 26% in June — according to the center.

Amid diplomatic tensions, the role of Jewish Americans who historically lobbied for political, military and financial support for Israel gains new prominence, Israelis said. And that deepens the concern that many young progressive Americans, including Jews, now see supporting Israel in any way as irreconcilable with their worldview.

The decline in support for Israel has become particularly stark since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians in southern Israel, and abducted 251 others. Israel’s ensuing war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry, which was part of the recently dissolved Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.

That in turn ignited protests across the United States, especially on college campuses.

“Holocaust, refugees, the importance of Israel in times of need abroad, and the fact that Israel is a small country fighting for its existence … that’s history they read in a book,” Sachs said of younger Jewish Americans. “They weren’t emotionally part of it in any way or any form. And so they look at their values and the things that they believe in. And they don’t see it in Israel.”

Jewish Americans have a complicated relationship with Israel

Only about 4 in 10 religious Jewish adults under 45 in the United States say that supporting Israel is “extremely” or “very” important for their Jewish identity, while about half of older religious Jewish adults do, according to the AP-NORC poll.

The survey of 1,022 Jewish adults — including people who identify as Jewish by religion and religiously unaffiliated people who identify as Jewish through culture, ethnicity or family background — also found that only about half of religious adults say Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza are justified. The number drops to 2 in 10 among Jewish adults without a religious affiliation.

At the same time, about 6 in 10 Jewish adults say prejudice against Jewish people is an “extremely” or “very” serious problem in the United States today.

To many Israelis, safety threats against Jews make it all the more tragic — and dangerous — that young Jewish Americans do not see the state of Israel as a refuge or even an ally.

“Antisemitism sadly helps us to explain why a Jewish homeland is not a bad idea,” said Asaf Zamir, a deputy mayor of Tel Aviv who served as consul general in New York. “Opposing the government is fine, but you cannot understand your history as a Jew without understanding the part of Israel in it.”

Israel reaches out to secular and liberal Jews in North America

In order to promote deeper attachment between Israel and diaspora Jews, both the government and religious organizations are reinforcing exchange programs. For decades, young Israelis have traveled to Jewish summer camps across North America, and non-Israeli Jews get free trips to Israel.

“To see Israel and meet Israelis is the gold standard,” Itai Nixon said of programs bringing teens to the country.

Taglit-Birthright’s Gidi Mark said that since 2023, with multiple wars, tour participants are fewer — and their reactions to touring Israel have also changed. He recalled one participant shouting “Israel! Israel!” outside his hotel just because he felt safe to express himself.

“These people don’t feel free to experience who they are in the places that they are coming from,” Mark said.

These and other initiatives are focusing on secular Jews and adherents to Reform Judaism. The largest branch of the religion in North America, it emphasizes progressive values such as social justice.

Orthodox Jews abroad tend to have stronger ties to Israel — and Orthodox Jews in Israel tend to see themselves as closer to diaspora Jews than do secular Israelis, Hermann said.

Within the Israeli Reform movement, which is a small part of Judaism in the country, there’s a push to send more young Israelis to the United States, including as camp counselors.

“That kind of action is important, that one-on-one connection saying, ‘You know what, we believe in the same things you do. Really, we have the same ideology in general, and we feel we need to change Israel together,'" Sachs said. “We need to be partners in making Israel the country that we all need.”

Alma Edry, 18, is spending two months as a counselor at a progressive Jewish summer camp in Ontario with teens and young adults from Canada and the United States. She said her biggest surprise has been “that Israel is such a big deal for people outside the country.”

“Most of their friends are anti-Israel,” she said of the campers. “This is their chance to celebrate their connection.”

___

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

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the Superior Court of Delaware, is the latest in a flurry of suits filed against the social media giants that alleges their platforms are addictive and dangerous.

The complaint was filed on behalf of four families from Texas, North Carolina, Minnesota and Tennessee whose children died over a 14-month period starting in July 2024 through September 2025.

The Social Media Victims Law Center is bringing the suit on behalf of the families, and its founding attorney, Matthew Bergman, said it's “particularly salient” that the children in this case died “long after” similar suits had been filed.

“These platforms continue to kill kids, despite the platitudes of their executives,” Bergman said in an interview. “This is a clear and present danger to the health and safety of children, not just in the United States but around the world.”

The four teens who died by suicide each experienced harms including social media addiction, severe sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation after years of using the social platforms, the complaint states. Livi Castro died at age 13, Riv Kelleher at 14, Nathaniel Chambers at age 17 and Dawson Holden at 18.

The complaint alleges the social media companies knew they were causing harm to young users.

A spokesperson for Google, which owns YouTube, said in a statement that “providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work. In collaboration with mental health and parenting experts, we’ve built services and policies to provide young people with age-appropriate experiences, and parents with robust controls. We send our deepest sympathies to the families and are reviewing the claims in this lawsuit.”

Representatives for Meta, TikTok and Snap did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sacha Haworth, executive director of The Tech Oversight Project, said in a statement that parents, activists and whistleblowers have come forward and met with lawmakers for years and “while Congress has dragged its feet, more children have died."

Federal legislation of social media has moved at a glacial pace. The Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act — which had the support of parents’ groups and children’s advocacy organizations — exactly two years before this lawsuit was filed. The House of Representatives never voted on that version of the legislation, and the House and Senate are currently disagreeing on key provisions they think should be included.

“Livi, Nathaniel, Dawson, and Riv’s stories are proof that Big Tech companies continue to lie about the safety of their products, choosing instead to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into false advertising, deceptive paid partnerships with trusted education programs and political lobbying,” Haworth's statement continued.

Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snap are facing numerous state and federal lawsuits over harms to minors. Meta is on trial in Tennessee this week for a lawsuit brought by the state attorney general claiming that the company deliberately designed its platforms, notably Instagram, to make them addictive to young people, and did not warn them of its dangers. And in August, Meta is heading to trial in federal court in Oakland, California to face four of dozens of states that sued the company in 2023. That lawsuit says the company is contributing to the youth mental health crisis by designing addictive features and violated federal law by collecting data on kids under 13 without parental consent.

Not all lawsuits are successful, and many are settled out of court. Last week, a Florida teenager dropped his case against Meta that was set to go to trial in state court in Los Angeles, without receiving any payment from the company. Meta had argued that the teen only used his Instagram and Facebook for just minutes a day, on average, and created most accounts only after hiring a lawyer in his case.

Still, the mounting court cases can get expensive, even for a company like Meta Platforms. Earlier this week Meta said it had $2.4 billion in legal expenses in the second quarter, which contributed to a relatively unusual 14% profit decline.

The Trump administration has faced pushback from some European allies over the use of air bases in support of its war with Iran.

But lawmakers in Bulgaria — a member of NATO and the European Union — voted earlier in July to allow the deployment of up to eight U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft, as well as 250 personnel with personal weapons and ammunition and airfield equipment, at Bezmer Air Base.

Under a 2006 U.S.-Bulgaria defense agreement, the Bezmer facility, about 260 kilometers (160 miles) southeast of the capital, Sofia, is a joint-use facility. Any new use of the base requires parliamentary approval.

The deployment, requested by the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria, is authorized until Oct. 1, 2026.

U.S. President Donald Trump thanked Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev in a Truth Social post for allowing the deployment “despite Iran’s threats.”

On Thursday, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova assured her Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, that the deployment “in no way means a change in Bulgaria’s approach toward Iran." The two countries are important trade partners.

A Bulgarian Foreign Ministry statement quoted Petrova as saying “it was out of the question" that any direct military actions linked to the conflict in the Middle East would be carried out from Bulgarian territory.

The statement did not indicate what Araghchi said. But the Bulgarian state news agency, BTA, said Araghchi protested to Petrova over Bulgaria’s support for U.S. military operations against Iran during a telephone conversation initiated by the Bulgarian side. The report cited a report from Iran's state-run IRNA news agency.

Residents of the village of Bezmer and nearby settlements, including the regional capital Yambol, have staged peaceful protests in recent days against the deployment of the U.S. aircraft.

Government officials visited the region to address people’s fears, assuring them that the deployment is solely for logistical missions involving in-flight refueling outside Bulgarian airspace.

The Democrat's office released more than 700 pages of tax filings spanning four years for reporters to review, offering a window into Newsom's finances as he prepares to leave office and considers a 2028 presidential bid. Newsom’s office did not release returns for 2025, because the couple filed for an extension and will complete those returns in October.

The returns show the Newsoms' income has remained relatively consistent since when he took office in 2019, when the couple reported $1.7 million in annual income. The exception was in 2021, when the family sold a house for nearly $6 million in Marin County, making roughly $800,000 from the sale. That year, they made $4.2 million and paid more than $1 million in federal and state taxes. They earned roughly $2 million in 2022.

The release of the couple's tax filings comes as their finances have been under scrutiny after the U.S. Justice Department launched investigations into the Newsoms, the governor announced last month. Newsom has blasted the probes as politically motivated.

It was the first time Newsom released returns since 2022.

Newsom made nearly $200,000 annually from serving as governor, but most of his income comes from winery and restaurant businesses that he put in a blind trust when he took office. The returns don’t name each individual business, making it impossible to know which ones gained and lost money.

The PlumpJack Group, a company he owns that includes a suite of wineries and restaurants, is now run by his sister and cousin.

His wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a film director, lost money most years from Girls Club Entertainment, a production company she founded. The business produced “Miss Representation,” a 2011 documentary about disparaging portrayals of women and girls in media, and two other films.

The Newsoms paid between roughly $14,000 and $44,000 a year for childcare for three of their four children, according to the tax filings.

They gave between $40,000 and $65,000 in gifts to charity each year, mostly through monetary donations. They also donated thousands of dollars worth of clothing, toys and other items to thrift stores and nonprofits, including in 2022, when they gave away Armani business wear they originally bought for $45,000 to a racial justice organization in Oakland.

A key area of the Pacific Ocean used to measure the strength of El Nino this week reached its warmest and most intense level ever recorded for the 15th week since it formed, which is early in its lifetime, scientists at Columbia University reported.

El Nino — a natural warming of the Pacific near the equator that warps weather patterns worldwide — won't peak for several months and should last through spring 2027. The World Meteorological Organization, a U.N. agency, cautioned on Friday that it will likely trigger extreme heat, drought and rainfall well into next year.

“Two months ago, I warned that El Nino was arriving on our doorstep. Now it is inside the house — and turning up the heat,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters Friday. “We have already endured a summer of extremes — record-shattering heat domes; apocalyptic wildfires raging in Spain, France and far beyond; thousands of lives lost in the scorching conditions.”

“But according to the latest science, this is only a warm-up act,” Guterres said, saying as the El Nino strengthens it will be “adding fuel to a planet already on fire.”

“We are in uncharted territory,” he said. “The climate crisis is in overdrive.”

Most computer forecast models are showing that this El Nino will likely break the all-time record for intensity when it peaks, sometime late fall or so, but that's not guaranteed, scientists said.

Chaotic extremes in rain, drought and unheard of heat coming

It's still early in the nearly yearlong life of a typical El Nino to see many direct effects yet, but they are coming, scientists said, agreeing with Guterres’ warnings. El Nino's effects will combine with the long-term global warming from the burning of coal, oil and gas.

“We’re seeing something that is the warmest July ever recorded for that specific region," used as an El Nino indicator, Columbia University climate scientist Jeffrey Shaman said. "A year from now, it’s going to be very hot in the Northern Hemisphere. And we’re going to possibly have a summer like we’ve never experienced globally."

But before then, the strong El Nino is likely to cause changes in rainfall patterns that will bring chaotic extremes to different parts of the world in fall and winter. There's a strong chance of drought and wildfires in Indonesia, India and other parts of Asia, south and east Australia, chunks of South America and southern regions in Africa, the WMO warned. Other areas, including much of the United States and fire-struck Southern Europe will get above average rain.

“This El Nino, developing against the backdrop of unprecedented ocean heat and rising temperatures, provides governments and communities with a window of opportunity to anticipate risks and act before impacts unfold,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

El Nino amplifies human-caused warming

While El Nino and climate change are separate phenomena, their effects create a harmful combination — and people aren't taking the connection seriously enough, Guterres said.

“We hear much about record heat, drought and wildfires — but not enough about the real change that is driving these events: the accelerating climate crisis powered by fossil fuels," Guterres said.

Guterres said the world gets too absorbed by dramatic wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan to notice the dangers of climate change. On top of that, “there is a deliberate campaign, namely by the fossil fuel industry and some countries in order to pretend that that the problems that we are witnessing indeed do not exist.”

The U.N. must be more active and mobilize public opinion “to tell governments it’s time to recognize this threat as an existential threat to us all,” he told reporters.

Much of the heat from the burning of fossil fuels gets trapped in the oceans, but “during an El Nino the ocean in some sense gets to return some of the heated buildups of global warming back to the atmosphere,” Shaman said. Even though this El Nino will end, the released heat sticks around in the air, along with the higher temperatures, which will jump up again the next El Nino, he added.

Guterres called for more early warning systems and cooling systems to handle extreme heat. He said industry and governments need to make work safer, highlighting the garment industry, which has 90 million workers, most of them women. In 17 of the 23 biggest clothing making hubs, dangerously hot days jumped by more than 10% in the past 20 years, “yet most global brands set no heat standard for the factories that supply them.”

But mostly, Guterres said, “the world must stop fueling the crisis.... More coal, oil and gas will lead to a more combustible future."

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Borenstein reported from Washington.

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

The retreat, about an hour northwest of Washington, has been the backdrop for presidential summits and smaller-scale meetings since Franklin Roosevelt established it during World War II. Friday’s meeting isn’t Trump’s first at Camp David, but he has spent less time at the compound than other presidents, and typically spends weekends at his own properties, including Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, and his golf courses in New Jersey and Virginia.

Here's a look at some key dates and prominent visitors in the camp's history, assembled using archival material from The Associated Press, the National Archives, and presidential libraries.

1942 — Roosevelt established the camp as Shangri-La, a reference from James Hilton's novel “Lost Horizon.” Roosevelt had liked to relax on a presidential yacht, but the military and Secret Service started to worry about his safety on the open water during World War II. Roosevelt asked the National Park Service to identify sites within 100 miles of the White House that he could use for rest and picked what is now known as Camp David.

1943 — Roosevelt hosted Winston Churchill, who went on a fishing trip with the president and discussed the Normandy invasion at the retreat.

1953 — Dwight Eisenhower renamed the facility Camp David after his grandson and father.

1959 — Eisenhower hosted Nikita Khrushchev, the first time a Soviet leader had come to the United States.

1971 — Richard Nixon met with economic advisers amid inflation and a looming run on gold, leading eventually to an announcement ending the gold-backed dollar.

1973 — Nixon hosted his Soviet counterpart, Leonid Brezhnev.

1978 — Jimmy Carter hosted Egypt’s Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Menachem Begin, resulting in the Camp David Accords signed in 1979. Unlike at the White House, where journalists come and go, the news media are barred from Camp David, unless they are invited to cover an event, like Friday’s summit.

1984 — Ronald Reagan, the president who spent the most time at Camp David, hosted British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for the first time.

1990 — George H.W. Bush hosted Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

1992 — Camp David's only wedding occurred when Bush’s daughter, Dorothy, married Bobby Koch at Evergreen Chapel at the facility.

2000 — Bill Clinton hosted a summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.

2001 — George W. Bush met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair early in the year and held post 9/11 meetings ahead of the Afghanistan invasion later in the year.

2003 — Bush hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin.

2012 — Barack Obama hosted the G8 Summit.

2015 — Obama hosted Persian Gulf nations for a summit.

2019 — Trump canceled a secret weekend meeting at Camp David with Taliban and Afghanistan leaders after a bombing in Kabul that killed 12 people, including an American soldier. ———

Associated Press journalist Darlene Superville contributed archival reporting for this timeline.

New York joins a growing number of states filing lawsuits against Kalshi and other companies in a dispute with President Donald Trump's administration over who regulates the fast-growing prediction market. Kalshi and other platforms argue they are federally licensed and regulated, and states have no authority to govern them.

“It’s sad to see this type of political theater from the leadership in our own state,” Elisabeth Diana, a spokesperson for New York-based Kalshi, said in a statement. “States can’t just shut down a federally licensed exchange. This would also hurt New Yorkers, who would be driven offshore. We love New York, we love New Yorkers, and New Yorkers love our product.”

Prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket allow trading on the likelihood of a wide range of events such as sports, politics, news and even the weather.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats, announced the lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan.

“New York’s gambling laws protect children from underage betting and help combat gambling addiction,” James said in a statement. “No matter what they call themselves, prediction markets like Kalshi are gambling platforms, plain and simple. By ignoring our laws, Kalshi is running an illegal operation and harming New Yorkers in the process.”

James' office is requesting that Kalshi be ordered to forfeit all illegal gains, pay restitution to consumers who were harmed and pay fines equal to three times the company's gains. In a court filing, state officials provided a rough estimate of the damages and costs sought by the lawsuit — $36 billion.

Kalshi had been in negotiations with New York officials in recent weeks over tax and consumer protection issues.

In April, New York filed a similar lawsuit against prediction market platforms Coinbase and Gemini on illegal gambling operation allegations.

State officials say the prediction markets meet the legal definition of gambling “because the outcomes of the events on which its users are betting are uncertain and outside the control of the bettor or hinge on a game of chance.”

New York claims Kalshi has failed to obtain a license from the state Gaming Commission and skirted its obligation to pay taxes like licensed casinos and mobile sports gambling platforms do. The lawsuit also says prediction markets allow users ages 18 to 20, while New York requires mobile sports betting users to be at least 21.

Last October, the Gaming Commission ordered Kalshi to stop what it called the “illegal operating” of an “unlicensed mobile sports wagering platform” in New York. Kalshi responded days later by filing a federal lawsuit against the commission and its members — legal action that remains pending.

Prediction market platforms say they operate differently than gambling operations, because consumers are trading against other consumers — much like how stock markets work. Prices are based on trading, and the platforms only take a fee from the trading, they say.

The platforms also argue federal law gives the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission exclusive jurisdiction to regulate transactions offered in the prediction market. In February, Trump’s appointee atop the federal commission declared that the agency “will no longer sit idly by” while states aim to regulate or ban prediction markets and “undermine the agency’s exclusive jurisdiction.”

States counter that the vast majority of the business on prediction market platforms is sports betting, which they are empowered to regulate, and that is completely different from the commodities and futures contracts that the commission regulates.

On Monday, a federal judge temporarily blocked Minnesota’s first-in-the-nation law banning prediction markets just days before it was to take effect — dealing a setback for states trying to outlaw or regulate the platforms. In April, another federal judge ordered a similar temporary halt to Arizona's efforts to enforce its gambling laws against prediction markets.

A tangle of lawsuits is growing, as states try to use their gambling laws to shut down Kalshi, Polymarket and other prediction market operators. In April alone, the federal government sued Connecticut, Arizona and Illinois, challenging their efforts to regulate the industry.

“Hi,” she said softly as she sat down across from Leo at his desk in the Apostolic Palace.

Wearing a crucifix necklace and hair in her trademark braids, Smith has become an increasingly visible presence at the Vatican thanks to her friendship with the Rev. Antonio Spadaro, undersecretary in the Vatican’s culture ministry.

She has said that while she is not Catholic, she was drawn in particular to Pope Francis and his “gentle, open, and steadfast sense of humanity.”

She also had a thing for Pope John Paul I: Her 1979 tune “Wave,” is about a make-believe conversation with the pope who had just died after a 33-day papacy. It begins “Hi. Hi” uttered in the same breathy voice Smith used with Leo on Friday.

The pope clearly was familiar with the tune. “That was marvelous,” he said.

Earlier this year, Smith performed during the inauguration of the Holy See’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale contemporary art fair. The occasion, May 8, was the anniversary of Leo’s election.

Spadaro, who joined Smith at Friday’s audience, said the encounter between the two Chicago natives was around 40 minutes long. In a text message, he said it “felt more like a conversation between two people discovering they were old friends, sharing memories woven from words and music, dreams, visions, and hopes — both from yesterday and for today.”

He said at the end, Smith said “Bye. Bye.”

Smith met Francis in 2013 and sang for him in 2014. When he died, on April 21, 2025, she wrote a poem on social media, comparing Francis to a dandelion, “humble yet strong.”

“Nature and poetry and the suffering shall miss their champion,” she wrote.

It was Leo's second encounter with a music legend this week. On Wednesday, Leo attended a concert in his honor by tenor Andrea Bocelli.

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

Hamas also said that laying down its heavy weapons, which would come later in the process, was contingent on the creation of a Palestinian state, something Israel's current government adamantly rejects.

Israel has not officially commented on the deal, which is part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire announced last October. That agreement called for Hamas to disarm and hand over power to an independent Palestinian administration. Israel was to withdraw, and an International Stabilization Force was to deploy.

But progress stalled, with Israel saying everything hinged on Hamas disarming, and Hamas accusing Israel of violating the agreement by continuing to carry out regular strikes on Gaza.

Expectations of implementation are low

Disarming would represent a sea change for Hamas, whose founding charter calls for armed resistance against Israel, and which sees its arsenal, including rockets, anti-tank missiles and explosives, as lying at the heart of its identity.

Israel, meanwhile, appears unlikely to pull back significant forces or make other concessions ahead of its October elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a tough reelection battle, with opponents accusing him of failing to prevent the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war.

Neil Quilliam, a Middle East expert at London’s Chatham House think tank, said expectations are low that Hamas will actually disarm or that Israel will withdraw from Gaza.

“I think that Netanyahu’s silence speaks volumes,’’ Quilliam said. “This is a massive decision that he has to make.”

“But with the prospect of the elections hanging over his head, with several Cabinet ministers and opposition leaders already counseling not to go ahead with the deal, I think he understands that doing so would likely scupper his chances of reelection,” he added.

The deal would be implemented in stages

In announcing the latest deal on social media, Trump said it would be carried out in “carefully structured phases.”

“As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbors,” he wrote.

A copy of the agreement obtained and verified by The Associated Press said that all weapons held by the Hamas-run police will be transferred to the U.S.-backed Palestinian technocratic committee, known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, upon its arrival in the enclave. It’s not clear when that would happen since it is contingent on other steps.

A process to decommission and store heavy weapons, military production sites and tunnels will begin after the arrival of the Palestinian committee and the deployment of international forces. The process will be linked to a phased Israeli withdrawal, according to the agreement.

Israel currently controls around 60% of Gaza, areas that have been mostly destroyed and depopulated. Most of the territory's 2 million Palestinians are in the other part, where hundreds of thousands live in squalid tent camps and destroyed neighborhoods.

In a statement Thursday, an Israeli official said that there will be no Israeli withdrawal before the militant group is disarmed and the strip demilitarized. The statement was made on condition of anonymity in line with government protocol.

A person with knowledge of the situation said that Israel is fully involved, but it's not a signatory to the deal, which is between Hamas and several countries helping to negotiate and guarantee the ceasefire. The person spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the agreement. The deal's guarantors are the U.S., Turkey, Egypt and Qatar.

It could take years for Hamas to disarm

On Thursday, U.S. and Board of Peace officials, describing the deal to reporters on condition of anonymity under guidelines set by the White House, gave an extremely optimistic assessment. The board was established by Trump to oversee the ceasefire in Gaza.

While Gaza's police force is expected to hand over its arms, that doesn't include the vast majority of Hamas militants, and heavy weaponry is not included in that part of the agreement, according to the officials.

Instead, the surrender of heavy weapons and the decommissioning of Hamas tunnels and other infrastructure are to come later in a process that could take between 200 and 350 days, a Board of Peace official said. That timeline did not appear in the agreement obtained by AP.

A Hamas official and a regional official involved in the process said that Hamas and other groups agreed to “collect and store” arms inside Gaza under the supervision of the Palestinian technocratic committee and that weapons won’t be handed to Israel or non-Palestinian parties.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media, said this would be a gradual process linked to an Israeli withdrawal.

Israel has been deeply skeptical

A U.S. official said Israel, which has been deeply skeptical about Hamas’ willingness to give up its guns or relinquish control of Gaza, had been consulted at every step of the negotiation. The official said Israel was not being asked to do anything more than what it had committed to as part of the October agreement.

A member of the Palestinian technocratic committee told the AP on Friday that it was eager to enter Gaza but was concerned Israel will pose challenges. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The person said they didn’t expect to enter Gaza for at least two months.

The committee welcomed the progress Friday, but said the work to restore public institutions and services and rebuild the territory would be immense.

The war in Gaza began after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, including those killed since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government and is staffed by medical professionals, does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its toll but says women and children make up around half of all deaths.

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Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel, Cooper from Phoenix, and Lee from Washington. Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri in New York, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Danica Kirka in London contributed.

Jacob David Sampson, 36, of Howell, was charged this week in a grand jury indictment that includes a new allegation of sexual exploitation of children. He’s also charged with Receipt and distribution of child pornography and Possession of child pornography.

The complaint

An FBI Special Agent said on May 26, 2026, investigators received information that someone used multiple accounts to receive and distribute child sexually abusive material on the app Kik. The Kik account allegedly uploaded videos that “all depict minors engaged in sex acts.”

The feds said they then reviewed CyberTip reports, including a Dropbox report from 2024, working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. According to the report, a Kik account with username ‘bobsmith****’ uploaded 12 videos between February 14, 2025, and February 15, 2025, which appeared to depict child sexually abusive material. Further reviews showed dozens of video uploads in April, May, and June, according to the FBI.

The feds said they then linked emails and IP addresses to Jacob Sampson of Howell.

Search warrant and interview with Sampson

The feds said they searched Sampson’s home on July 21, 2026. Sampson was there with his wife and three young children and agreed to be interviewed, investigators said.

According to the complaint, Sampson told investigators he first saw child sexually abusive material in 2017 and last viewed material like it “last night.” Sampson allegedly admitted that he “used to save child pornography images and videos” and uploaded files to a Dropbox account. He also, according to the feds, recalled “using the username ‘bobsmith’ on Kik” and later told investigators he used “both Kik and Telegram to find child pornography from other users.”

Sampson allegedly said he downloads an Onion web browser to access “dark net” sites and that he views child sexually abusive images and videos and pleasures himself to them. Sampson also allegedly told investigators his sexual interest in children was “primarily female children ages 6 to 13 years old.”

Court records show Sampson consented to detention pending trial. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing and to be arraigned on the indictment on Aug. 5, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. in Detroit.

Skubal, 29, is the protagonist of the deadline. He’s been the best pitcher in baseball since returning from injury midway through 2023, and as a pending free agent, the Tigers are motivated to deal him before 6 p.m. Monday.

Detroit is currently seven games below .500, 6.5 games out of the AL Central Division, and 4.5 games out of a wildcard spot.

Sure, the Tigers could make up that ground. But they haven’t been able to mount a consistent winning streak since a disastrous 6-22 record in May, and team president Scott Harris is unlikely to bet on their long playoff odds.

So if the Tigers can get a strong return for Skubal, he’ll likely be wearing a different uniform by next week.

Skubal has a 2.79 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 116 strikeouts in 96.2 innings this season. He’s been fantastic since returning from an elbow injury.

But you know who’s been nearly as impressive? Casey Mize.

Mize is sporting a 2.70 ERA, a 0.992 WHIP, and has struck out 85 batters in 86.2 innings. His name hasn’t attracted as much attention as Skubal’s this deadline, but that might change after what the Tigers just did.

On Friday, the Tigers announced that Mize will no longer make his scheduled start in the series opener against the A’s in Sacramento. He’s not injured, so it’s clear the Tigers are prioritizing his health as a trade chip over winning Friday night’s game.

I don’t blame them.

Mize, also a 29-year-old impending free agent, is having the best season of his career and should be a highly coveted deadline target. But he’s also been on the injured list twice with groin issues, and narrowly missed a third trip to the IL after leaving a recent start early.

He’s healthy right now, and one of the better starting pitchers available for rent. So it makes sense to eliminate the risk of another start.

You’ll rarely hear a team executive come out and say, “We’re sellers.” But this is about as close as it gets.

Everyone knew Skubal would be available. But now it looks like Mize is on the block, too.

Zurich-based executive Kevin Lamour all but invited Infantino to fire him in a statement to The Associated Press that defended his colleagues amid intense fallout from the FIFA boss' plan to sell stakes in future World Cup profits to private equity funds.

Lamour wrote that staff were “deceived” by Infantino’s lack of openness in planning the sale over recent months and “deserve better than contempt and intimidation.”

“It is the project of one person,” Lamour, a long-time colleague of Infantino at both FIFA and European soccer body UEFA, wrote. “Not only must this project not go ahead … but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions.”

Lamour's statement came hours after Infantino's senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs banker who represented the soccer body on the White House Task Force for the World Cup, resigned and urged other senior FIFA staff to speak out.

“I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a stake in the World Cup,” Cordeiro wrote in a statement. The former U.S. Soccer Federation president said he was not included in talks about the plan backed by a New York investment fund created by Joshua Kushner.

“Let me be clear. I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally,” Cordeiro said. He called the $20 billion commercial subsidiary “a bad deal for football.”

Lamour did not resign the post he has held since 2024 but said he had a duty to his colleagues.

“And if that means I lose my job then so be it” the French official said. “I will understand and respect that decision. At least I’ll sleep well tonight.”

Lamour came to soccer from politics two decades ago as an aide to then-UEFA president Michel Platini. He often had an international role in soccer politics liaising with FIFA member federations in Africa and Asia who are weighing their own decisions about Infantino's offers of $20 million each by a Sept. 19 deadline.

Cordeiro often joined Infantino on working visits to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in recent years.

“Football has been central to my life, and after more than 35 years in banking I understand both the value of this asset and the consequences of giving part of it away,” he said. “That is why this proposal should be rejected.”

Infantino has proposed spinning off FIFA’s commercial businesses — including World Cups and Club World Cups for men and women — into a $20 billion subsidiary with 20% owned by private investors. The “anchor investor,” described by FIFA, is Kushner, the younger brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

“FIFA already has access to extraordinary financial resources. The organization sits on billions of dollars in reserves and no debt,” Cordeiro said. He noted FIFA's revenue of $15 billion over the last four years tied to the men's World Cup just ended.

“Against that backdrop, selling a permanent stake in football’s most valuable asset to raise $4.2 billion makes little sense. It is mortgaging football’s future without any compelling justification,” he said.

Cordeiro said he shared five years of working for FIFA alongside Infantino with “dedicated, principled people who care deeply about the game.”

“I hope they, too, will speak up,” he wrote, “because decisions of this magnitude should be made in the interests of football, not those who stand to profit from it.”

Infantino has been president of FIFA for more than 10 years and seemed sure to be re-elected unopposed next March. FIFA has set a Nov. 18 deadline for challengers to come forward.

Lamour was part of Infantino’s inner circle that campaigned for him to become the surprise winner of that FIFA presidential election in February 2016.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and AP World Cup coverage

At a televised news conference, military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan had targeted only hideouts and infrastructure used by the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, during that period, and said those killed in the strikes were militants.

He said the operations were carried out in self-defense to protect the lives of people in Pakistan.

Chaudhry questioned recently released reports by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, and Amnesty International, saying they relied largely on accounts from Afghans despite what he described as restrictions on freedom of expression under Taliban rule.

He also accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan and said international rights organizations had failed to document such violence.

“These are double standards,” Chaudhry said, asking how many times rights groups had documented civilian casualties caused by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes during the war in Afghanistan.

Chaudhry’s remarks came days after UNAMA, in a report on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, said it had documented 499 civilians killed and 1,216 wounded in fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan despite international efforts to reduce tensions.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have exchanged fire intermittently for months, but tensions escalated sharply in February, when Afghan forces launched a cross-border raid into Pakistan in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan. Islamabad later declared it was in “open war.”

Pakistan often accuses Afghanistan of harboring militants who carry out deadly attacks inside Pakistan, especially the Pakistani Taliban. The group is separate from, but allied with, the Afghan Taliban, which has ruled Afghanistan since it returned to power in the country in 2021 amid the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led troops. Afghanistan denies providing sanctuary to militants.

In the deadliest reported attack in the recent fighting, a Pakistani airstrike struck a drug-treatment center in the Afghan capital Kabul in March, killing hundreds of civilians. Amnesty International said last week the bombing should be investigated as a possible war crime.

Chaudhry defended the strikes, saying Pakistan had carried out operations in Kabul and elsewhere with precision to target militant infrastructure supporting attacks inside Pakistan. He said Pakistan is also continuing operations inside the country against “Khawarij,” a term Pakistan uses for TTP and affiliated groups.

According to Chaudhry, Pakistan has recorded 3,145 “terrorism incidents” since January.

He said Pakistan had killed 2,084 militants since January, while 819 Pakistanis, including soldiers, police officers and civilians, had been killed. He said security forces had carried out 40,348 intelligence-based operations across the country during the same period.

Chaudhry also said Afghanistan-based militants had carried out 28 suicide attacks in Pakistan since January and alleged that most were carried out by Afghan nationals or people associated with Afghanistan’s security forces. He alleged that drug addicts had been recruited to carry out suicide bombings.

“Not every drug addict is a terrorist, but every suicide bomber was a drug addict,” he said.

Chaudhry said Pakistan launched a new counterterrorism operation earlier this year following a surge in militant violence and would continue the campaign. “We will continue these operations,” he said, adding that Pakistan was winning the fight against terrorism and, “God willing, we will win.”

He also accused the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army and TTP of directing attacks in Pakistan’s insurgency-hit southwestern Balochistan province from Afghanistan. Balochistan has long faced a separatist insurgency led by BLA that accuses the government of discrimination and exploiting the province’s natural resources. The government denies the allegations.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, Michael Jamblyck Costly Bennett, 30, was arrested during a traffic stop in Taylor.

Prosecutors said a record check revealed he was allegedly in the United States illegally and wanted abroad for murder. Federal agents also found suspected fraudulent documents in his possession, including counterfeit Social Security and permanent resident cards.

Federal authorities said Bennett had been previously removed from the United States twice.

Bennett was federally charged and appeared in court in Detroit on Thursday, July 30.

CBS Sports announced Friday that the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback was on leave “until further notice.” JJ Watt will join Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson as CBS Sports’ lead NFL team during Romo’s absence.

Romo, 46, was arrested July 23 after he was stopped while driving south on Interstate 43 in Wisconsin. According to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office report, Romo performed poorly on field sobriety tests before getting taken into custody, booked and released.

He has a court date set for Sept. 21.

CBS Sports’ announcement comes after citations released by the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office indicated an open bottle of an alcoholic beverage was found in the passenger’s side of Romo’s black Jeep during an inventory before it was towed.

According to the citations, police stopped Romo after he was seen passing cars in a gore area, which separates interstate traffic from cars entering from an on-ramp. Police said Romo questioned what a gore area was during the stop.

Body camera footage released earlier this week showed Romo telling deputies he had been coming from a golf course and was on his way “to visit grandma and grandpa” when he was stopped. A deputy told Romo he suspected him of being impaired because he had “red glassy eyes” and an “odor of an intoxicating alcoholic beverage.”

Romo went to high school about 35 miles from Milwaukee in Burlington, Wisconsin.

He has been the lead game analyst for CBS’ NFL coverage since 2017 after making four Pro Bowl appearances during an NFL career that ran from 2004-16 and was spent entirely with Dallas.

Romo remains the Cowboys’ franchise leader in career touchdown passes with 248. He held the franchise record for career passing yards (34,183) until Dak Prescott overtook him last season.

Watt joined CBS in 2023. He was an analyst on “The NFL Today” for two seasons before teaming with Ian Eagle on the network’s No. 2 crew beginning last season.

Romo wasn’t expected to have his first game until the opening Sunday of the regular season on Sept. 13. CBS will air a preseason game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 28.

CBS likely will reveal its game assignments and announcer pairings for the first three weeks of the regular season in the next couple of weeks.

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

Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray drew the ire of Trump in December when he voted against the redistricting plan after saying for weeks that it didn't have enough support to pass. The rejection came after intense lobbying from Trump, Vice President JD Vance, national conservative groups and others.

Bray, who has held his leadership position since 2018, said in a statement Friday that he would not seek reelection to the post when Senate Republicans choose their leaders in November. His current Senate term runs through 2028 and he will remain in office, albeit not as the Republican Senate leader.

Trump reacted to the news in a social media post by saying Bray had “foolishly led,” the state Senate, noting the May primary defeats of those who defied him on the redistricting plan.

Bray did not mention Trump or the redistricting fight in his statement announcing his position to step down from the leadership position. Bray said holding the job “has been among the most significant honors of my life, but it’s time for the Senate to choose another leader."