The three-time Grammy Award winner will make her debut as MC for the awards on June 7 at its familiar home of Radio City Music Hall.

“It is the honor of an entire lifetime to host a night celebrating the literal hardest working people in showbiz,” Pink said in a statement. “Broadway has shaped my life and how I put my own shows together — it is a community that is supportive, and inclusive, and full of talent and love. These people give magic every single day, and I cannot wait to celebrate them with the entire world.”

While Pink hasn't yet made an appearance on Broadway, she has had 15 Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including four No. 1s — like “Raise Your Glass” and “Just Give Me a Reason” — and is known for her acrobatic, ceiling-swinging live sets.

Tony Award executive producers Raj Kapoor, Sarah Levine Hall and Jack Sussman in a statement hailed Pink as “a fearless artist whose powerhouse voice, electrifying stage presence, and undeniable authenticity embody the very spirit of live performance and theatre.”

The 2026 awards will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+. Getting buzz from appearing on the telecast can dictate a show’s future, both on Broadway and on tour.

Last year's show — hosted by “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo — drew 4.85 million viewers to CBS, its largest broadcast audience in six years, according to Nielsen data. CBS also said the awards show drew its largest streaming audience on Paramount+ but did not disclose those viewership numbers.

The awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force said Lynette Hooker vanished Saturday (April 4) while traveling by boat with her husband, Brian Hooker, from Hope Town to Elbow Cay.

Investigators said Brian told them his wife fell overboard with the boat’s keys, causing the engine to shut off.

According to police, Brian said strong currents carried her away, and he lost sight of her.

He also claimed he had paddled the vessel and reached shore the following morning.

After days of searching, police arrested Brian on Wednesday. April 8.

Details of the arrest have not been released, and the investigation is ongoing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

McIlroy spent the rest of the day proving him right.

The 36-year-old McIlroy opened his title defense with a 5-under 67 to grab a share of the early lead with Sam Burns at Augusta National and position himself for a run at becoming only the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters.

“Rory’s got the monkey off his back, and I think he has a very, very good chance to repeat,” Nicklaus said early Thursday after serving as the Masters' honorary starter.

After years of heartbreak and close calls at Augusta National, McIlroy beat Justin Rose in a playoff last April to complete the career Grand Slam in his 17th Masters start.

So the pressure to win wasn't hanging over is head on Thursday.

“I know that I can go to the Champion's Locker Room and put my green jacket on and have a Coke Zero at the end of the day,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy said last year's win allowed him to fully commit to shots on the course Thursday and make good swings without necessarily worrying about where the ball went.

He found there is a certain freedom in that approach.

That said, it wasn't as though he wasn't nervous when he stepped to the first tee box for the year's first major championship.

After all, he said, "it’s the Masters.”

“If I felt absolutely nothing on that first tee, that’s not a good sign,” McIlroy said. "So it was nice to feel my hand shaking a little bit when the tee went into the ground and struggle to put the ball on top of the tee. I knew I was feeling it. That’s a good thing."

He shot 34 on the front nine despite struggling to find the fairway early, and then kicked it into overdrive on the 13th hole.

After his tee shot sailed right and well into the pine straw, McIlroy spent more than 10 minutes trying to clear patrons out of his way before delivering a perfectly placed punch out between the tall pines into the middle of the fairway.

He followed with a pitching wedge just past the hole and then rolled in a lengthy downhill putt for a birdie. Two more birdies followed on Nos. 14 and 15, moving him into a tie atop the leaderboard.

He finished with six birdies and one bogey.

“I still have high expectations of myself, but my expectations are more did I make good decisions today? Was I committed? Was I trusting?" McIlroy said. “It wasn’t my expectations of I’m going to go out and shoot 65 and did I do it?”

In other words, just focusing on the shot at hand and letting the chips fall where they may.

Nicklaus was the first to repeat at the Masters, winning in 1965 and 1966. Nick Faldo (1989–90) and Tiger Woods (2001–02) matched his feat, but nobody has been able to repeat since.

Nicklaus knows repeating is not easy.

He broke the Masters scoring record with a 17-under 271 in 1965, then returned the following year to find a course with a much different feel. He finished 17 shots worse at even-par 288, but still won in a playoff.

“I think winning a Masters makes it easier to win your second one,” McIlroy said.

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

Both Tehran and Washington are claiming victory and exerting pressure, with talks on a permanent deal set to begin soon in Islamabad and U.S. Vice President JD Vance set to lead the U.S. delegation.

Israeli strikes made Wednesday the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began, with more than 300 people killed. There are lingering disagreements over whether the ceasefire covers the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Iran is warning of “STRONG responses” if attacks on its militant ally don’t stop.

Israel-Lebanon negotiations are expected next week in Washington, according to a person familiar with the matter. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had approved direct talks, while the Lebanese government did not immediately respond. Netanyahu said there is no ceasefire in Lebanon and his country will keep striking Hezbollah.

Although the Strait of Hormuz is closed, there were no reports of strikes inside Iran or attacks against Israel or neighboring Gulf Arab nations, leaving Lebanon as the only country where the conflict is still burning.

Here is the latest:

Trump says Iran ‘better not be’ charging fees on ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz

In a social media post, the president wrote, “There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait — They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!”

He offered no further details. The White House supports Iran reopening the strait as part of a tenuous ceasefire deal but says Trump opposes that country’s military using its continued control of the waterway to raise revenue by charging tolls on passing ships.

Trump has spent much of Thursday in closed-door meetings. He does not have any scheduled public events the rest of the day.

Starmer and Trump speak about the Strait of Hormuz

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was traveling in Qatar and spoke to Trump about efforts to restore tanker traffic through the waterway, Starmer’s office said in a statement.

Starmer has visited Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in the last two days as he tries to build momentum behind the ceasefire and the reopening of the strait.

Trump has taken repeated potshots at the British leader over Starmer’s reluctance to join the U.S.-Israeli war.

US summons Iraqi ambassador to complain about Iran-backed militia attacks, including ‘ambush’ of American diplomats

While acknowledging that Iraqi forces have made efforts to respond to these attacks, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said Baghdad had not done enough to prevent them, according to a statement.

He warned Iraq’s envoy that support for militias by “elements associated with the Iraqi government” is harming U.S.-Iraq ties, adding that Washington expects immediate steps to dismantle the groups.

US stocks rise and oil prices trim their gains on hopes for the Iran ceasefire

U.S. stocks rose, even though oil prices did too, as financial markets moved more modestly a day after surging on optimism about a ceasefire.

After beginning Thursday with moderate losses following drops for Asian and European stocks, the S&P 500 erased its dip and rose 0.6%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.8% after Israel’s prime minister authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon. That eased worries that the two-week ceasefire announced late Tuesday may already be in trouble.

Oil prices pared some of their earlier gains but nevertheless remained higher.

The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 3.7% to settle at $97.87 after briefly nearing $103 in the morning. Brent crude, the international standard, added 1.2% to $95.92 per barrel.

▶ Read more

Sirens in northern Israel warn of rocket fire from Lebanon

Late on Thursday, sirens blared in northern Israel’s Haifa, Nahariya and other cities along the Mediterranean coast, warning about incoming fire from Hezbollah.

Earlier in the evening, Israel’s military had alerted the population that it expected more areas of the country might come under fire after launches from Lebanese territory throughout the day had targeted the northern part of the country along the border.

Saudi Arabia acknowledges widespread damage to energy sector during the war

For the first time, Saudi Arabia laid out the scale of damage to its oil output and exports, although it didn’t specify when the attacks occurred.

The Energy Ministry statement also gave the first public confirmation of Saudi casualties during the war, saying one citizen working as an industrial security guard was killed and seven others wounded.

Thursday’s statement said strikes targeted production, transport and refining sites, as well as petrochemical and power facilities in Riyadh, the Eastern Province, and Yanbu on the Red Sea. The statement didn’t attribute responsibility.

A pumping station on the East-West Pipeline was among the hardest hit, cutting throughput by about 700,000 barrels per day, while outages at Manifa and Khurais reduced output by 600,000 more barrels per day.

Major refineries, including SATORP, Ras Tanura and SAMREF, were also hit, with fires at Ju’aymah disrupting exports of liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas liquids.

US official confirms State Department to host Israel-Lebanon talks next week in Washington

A U.S. official is confirming that talks between Israel and Lebanon on ending the current hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah will take place starting next week at the State Department in Washington.

The official offered no other details of the negotiations but a person familiar with the planning for the talks said they would be led on the U.S. side by Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and on the Israeli side by Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter.

Both the U.S. official and the person familiar with the planning spoke on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the matter. It was not immediately clear who would represent Lebanon.

Pro-Iran groups have used AI to troll Trump and try to control the war narrative

Analysts say the memes appear to be coming from groups linked to the government in Tehran and are part of a strategy of leveraging its limited resources to inflict damage on the U.S., even indirectly.

“Their goal is to sow enough discontent with the conflict as to eventually force the West to cave in, so it is massively important to them,” Neil Lavie-Driver, an AI researcher at the University of Cambridge, said, referring to Iran.

The memes are fluent not just in English but in American culture and trolling. They portray Trump as old, out of step and internationally isolated, and include a series that uses the style of the “Lego” animated movies.

Published on various social platforms, they are racking up millions of views — although it’s not clear how much influence they have had.

▶ Read more

Timeline of decades of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah

The ongoing war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is far from the first conflict between them. The two have an enmity that goes back more than four decades, with outbursts of fighting or outright war punctuated by periods of tense calm.

▶ Read a timeline of some significant events in their hostilities

Well-timed bets on Polymarket tied to the Iran war draw calls for investigations from lawmakers

A group of new accounts on the prediction market Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed bets on whether the U.S. and Iran would reach a ceasefire on April 7, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for these new customers.

Calls are increasing in Congress for investigations into the prediction market platform Polymarket after the latest instance where groups of anonymous traders made strategic, well-timed bets on a major geopolitical event hours before it occurred.

Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat from New York who sits on the House Financial Services Committee as well as the subcommittee on digital assets and financial technology, sent a letter Thursday to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission demanding the regulator review and investigate these well-timed trades.

“This pattern raises serious concerns that certain market participants may have had access to material nonpublic information regarding a market-moving geopolitical event,” Torres wrote. The letter was shared exclusively with the AP.

▶ Read more

Trump says he asked Netanyahu to dial back strikes in Lebanon

The U.S. president said Netanyahu agreed to dial back Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon ahead of peace talks in Pakistan.

“I spoke with Bibi and he’s going to low-key it. I just think we have to be sort of a little more low-key,” Trump told NBC News in a phone interview.

Wednesday was the deadliest day of Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the war began.

Netanyahu on Thursday said there’s no ceasefire in Lebanon, and Israel will keep striking Iran-backed Hezbollah militants there until security is restored in northern Israel. But he said he authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible” aimed at disarming Hezbollah.

The Israeli military also said it had begun striking Hezbollah launch sites in Lebanon on Thursday evening.

Trump expresses optimism about peace talks

Trump says Iranian leaders are more amendable to dealmaking in private conversations than they are in their public statements.

The Iranians “talk much differently when you’re at a meeting than they do to the press. They’re much more reasonable,” Trump told NBC News during a phone interview. “They’re agreeing to all the things that they have to agree to. Remember, they’ve been conquered. They have no military.”

He added: “If they don’t make a deal, it’s going to be very painful.”

The president also said he’s “very optimistic” about the prospects of reaching a peace deal during talks in Pakistan.

Iran’s supreme leader declares victory over US and Israel

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei says the Iranian people are the “definitive victors” in the conflict.

“Today, it is clear before everyone’s eyes, the dawn of the Islamic Republic’s emergence as a great power while the evil is facing the downhill slope of weakness,” he said in a statement read by an anchor on state TV.

Khamenei has not been seen or heard in public since he replaced his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the first day of the war.

The younger Khamenei also mentioned the upcoming ceasefire talks with the U.S. and pledged there would be a “new era” in the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. has demanded that Iran reopen the strategic waterway as part of the ceasefire.

The head of Israel’s military says the mission is to keep weakening Hezbollah

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, speaking to troops inside Lebanon, said the army’s mission is to “continue deepening the damage and to continue weakening Hezbollah.” He said the objective is to remove the direct threat to residents of northern Israel.

UN health chief urges reversal of Israel’s evacuation orders in Beirut

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, issued a statement Thursday outlining the dire access issues for medical assistance in Beirut’s Jnah area after a series of deadly Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours.

He said that the Israeli military evacuation order covers two major hospitals including Rafik Hariri, the main public hospital in Beirut. These facilities, according to Ghebreyesus, have been crucial for the hundreds of civilians who need assistance. The order also includes five shelters that are currently accommodating more than 5,000 people.

“At this time, no alternative medical facilities are available to receive approximately 450 patients from the two hospitals (including 40 patients in the ICU), rendering their evacuation operationally unfeasible,” he posted on X. “Both facilities are operating at full capacity, including treating the injured from the strikes of 8 April.”

UN warns that fighting in Lebanon poses a ‘grave risk’ to the ceasefire

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and welcomed potential Israel-Lebanon talks, saying there is “no military solution” to the conflict, according to his spokesman.

Ongoing Israeli military activity jeopardizes the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding that Israeli evacuation orders in Beirut’s southern suburbs cover U.N. sites, refugee camps, aid hubs, a major public hospital, and 13 shelters hosting over 6,000 displaced people.

Pakistani envoy says Lebanon's inclusion in ceasefire agreement was clear to both sides

Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Islamabad’s representative at the U.N., told a group of reporters Thursday that he doesn’t know why there was confusion about Lebanon being included in the ceasefire deal agreed to by U.S., Israel and Iran, when it was “clearly” cited in the prime minister’s statement.

“I believe this will be addressed also as part of these discussions, because there are many points on the agenda,” Ahmad said about the planned talks in Islamabad this weekend. “I think we should not let anything come in the way of these talks, which are very important.”

Iran war may bite shipping sector harder than COVID, expert says

Increased risks to shipping in the Mideast have forced vessels to change their routes, making trips 14 days longer on average, according to ALIS, an Italy-based logistics services association of 2,500 companies globally.

The ordinary insurance costs related to a ship’s value have also gone up by about 10% during the war, ALIS vice president Marcello Di Caterina told The Associated Press.

He warned that the Iran crisis could have a more devastating impact on the shipping industry than the COVID-19 pandemic.

Netanyahu says there is no ceasefire with Lebanon

In a video statement, the Israeli leader says his country will keep striking Hezbollah until security is restored in northern Israel.

He confirmed that he is opening direct negotiations with Lebanon, the aim or which are Hezbollah’s disarmament and a sustainable peace agreement.

UN special envoy meets with top Iranian officials and humanitarian groups in Tehran

Jean Arnault, the U.N. secretary-general’s personal envoy for the Iran war, met Thursday with an Iranian deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, as the diplomat makes his way through countries impacted by the conflict.

Stephane Dujarric, the U.N. spokesperson, said Arnault heard Iranian officials’ “views on the way forward” as a shaky day-old ceasefire holds. He also met with representatives from the Iranian Red Crescent, who took him on a tour of some of the sites damaged by weeks of U.S.-Israeli strikes, including a university that was destroyed and an apartment block.

Asked if Arnault or any U.N. personnel will be playing a role in the upcoming negotiations in Pakistan, Dujarric said that world body is currently discussing with all parties “the structural role that we can play” in bringing an end to this conflict.

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Correction: This post has been updated to correct that the U.N. misidentified one of Iran’s deputy foreign ministers. He is Kazem Gharibabadi, not Majid Takht-Ravanchi.

Iran’s president says the ceasefire was approved at the highest levels

President Masoud Pezeshkian said the decision to accept a ceasefire was made unanimously by top officials and approved by the supreme leader.

In a statement posted Thursday on the Telegram messaging app, he said the ceasefire “is not a sign of weakness but a way to solidify Iran’s proud victories,” adding that the pause in fighting followed more than a month of Iranian public resilience and support.

Democrats vow to keep trying to stop Trump’s war with Iran

House Democrats gathered at the U.S. Capitol and lambasted the Trump administration’s ceasefire negotiations with Iran as chaotic and unworkable, and characterized the president’s threats about wiping out a civilization as the musings of madness.

The lawmakers warned they would keep proposing resolutions to end the war, and use their votes to block any requests from the administration for more money to fund it.

“It’s clear that their ability to negotiate with Iran is nonexistent,” said Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland.

He called Trump’s plans for tolls on the strait particularly outrageous.

“How did we end up at a point where he’s talking about a joint venture with Iran with respect to charging tolls at the Strait of Hormuz?” he asked.

Rep. Madeleine Dean from Pennsylvania, who supports efforts to force Trump to step aside under the Constitution’s 25th Amendment, pointed back to the president’s days of escalatory rhetoric.

“The president brought the entire globe to watch his madness,” she said.

Death toll from wave of heavy Israeli strikes in Lebanon rises above 300, health officials say

Israel said it launched 100 strikes in 10 minutes across Lebanon on Wednesday, targeting what they said were Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure. The strikes hit busy residential and commercial areas without warning.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said the death toll is likely to rise as search and rescue teams continue to find remains under the rubble, and as more people identify dozens of bodies at hospitals.

It was the deadliest day in over a month of war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group. Around 1,150 people were wounded.

New details on expected talks between Israel and Lebanon

Israel-Lebanon negotiations are expected to begin next week at the State Department in Washington, according to a person familiar with the plans.

The talks are expected to be handled on the American side by U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, and on the Israeli side by Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the situation.

It was not immediately clear whom Lebanon was sending.

Axios first reported the timing and location of the talks.

— By Matthew Lee

House Democrats fail to pass a resolution on Iran

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives made a quick but unsuccessful effort Thursday to pass a bill that would force Trump to get congressional approval before carrying out any more attacks on Iran.

The effort had no chance of passage during a short, minutes-long “pro forma session” of the House during which legislative business is rarely conducted.

But that didn’t stop Democrats from trying to make the point that they oppose the war in Iran.

Rep. Glenn Ivey, a Democrat from Maryland, tried to force a vote on the resolution, but Rep. Christopher Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, declared the House was adjourned.

“Let us vote!” yelled Rep. James Walkinshaw, a Democrat from Virginia.

“The time has come. The time has come,” Ivey said.

Democrats will look to force a vote on the measure again next week, when the full House has returned from a two-week stint back in their congressional districts.

NATO chief says Iran and Russia are ‘absolutely cooperating’

The NATO secretary-general said Tehran and Moscow have been working together on military technology, and alleged Iran has been sowing chaos in the region.

“Particularly when it comes to Iran and Russia, it is drone technology, it is other military technology,” Rutte said while giving a talk at the Reagan Center in Washington. “And the Russians are returning with money. And the money is being spent for Iran to create utter chaos.”

Turkey’s top diplomat is upbeat about Iran peace talks

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkey sees signs both sides are willing to compromise, including on Iran’s nuclear program and uranium enrichment.

Speaking in Ankara, he said there had been “certain changes” in negotiating positions and cited a global consensus that attacks on Iran were a “mistake” as reason for cautious optimism.

He warned that Israeli “provocations,” including its invasion of Lebanon, could threaten talks that are due to start Saturday in Pakistan.

Fidan said the region is “tired of occupations and wars,” urged reconciliation between Iran and Gulf states and said “international players” should be ready to curb Israel’s “expansionism.”

He also suggested the two-week ceasefire could be extended to allow talks to continue.

Relatives gather at Beirut hospitals to identify family members

A day after Israel’s deadliest strikes killed over 200 people in Lebanon, Abdul Rahman Mohammad, a Syrian who lost family members in the Hay al-Sellom neighborhood, waited at Rafic Hariri Hospital morgue to retrieve the bodies of his mother, two sisters, brother and brother-in-law.

“They were struck without any warning. This is Israeli brutality,” he said. “I’m just waiting for the Syrian embassy procedures so I can take them back to Syria.”

Dr. Mohamad El Zaatari, director of the public hospital, said the facility had treated 45 people, including 10 critical cases in intensive care.

“The situation is difficult and the numbers are large, but things are gradually taking the right path,” he said.

Reading an extraordinary statement at the White House, Melania Trump said she and her attorneys were fighting back against “unfound and baseless lies” in regards to her connections to the late financier, a convicted sex offender who leveraged connections to the rich, powerful and famous to recruit his victims and cover up his crimes.

“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she said. “The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.”

The seemingly out-of-the-blue message came as her husband, President Donald Trump, and his administration had finally seemed to move past more than a year of controversy surrounding Epstein, especially as the Iran war had become all-consuming in Washington. The first lady’s comments almost assuredly served to push the story back into the political spotlight even as the president urged the public and media to move on from the case.

The White House account on X reshared a video posted by the first lady's account of Melania Trump reading her statement. White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the president had prior knowledge of the first lady's comments.

First lady calls for a congressional hearing for Epstein victims

The first lady spoke for about five minutes, reading her statement in the Grand Foyer, then walked away without taking questions. She did not go into detail on the accusations against her but said they came from “individuals and entities looking to cause damage to my good name.” She added that they were financially and politically motivated.

Melania Trump also called on Congress to hold a public hearing centered on survivors of Epstein’s crimes, with a chance to testify before lawmakers and have their stories entered into the congressional record.

“Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public if she wishes,” she said. “Then, and only then, we will have the truth.”

Democrats jumped on Melania Trump's comments, saying they agreed with her call for a congressional hearing. In a social media post, Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee that is investigating Epstein, called on the Republican chair of the committee, Rep. James Comer, to schedule a public hearing “immediately.”

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who sponsored a bill prompting the release of millions of Epstein documents, turned attention back to the Justice Department, saying it's the attorney general's job to bring in survivors for testimony. In a social media post, Massie, who has pressed for more arrests in the Epstein case, ended a social media post with a call to “PROSECUTE!”

Questions about Epstein's reach have loomed over the administration and divided Republicans, driving a wedge into Trump's MAGA base as some pressed for the government to release more files and prosecute figures linked to the financier.

The issue has dogged Trump and fractured some of his alliances, including one with former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, once one of his most reliable supporters in Congress. Trump dismissed the issue as a “Democrat hoax” but later signed a bill to release files from Epstein's case.

It was not immediately clear what prompted the first lady to revive the issue now. She noted that several individuals and organizations have had to apologize for their “lies about me.” Of the examples she cited, the most recent was in October.

In that case, book publisher HarperCollins UK apologized to the first lady and retracted passages from a book suggesting Epstein played a role in introducing her and Donald Trump.

Melania Trump mentioned her husband several times in her comments. She said Epstein did not introduce her to Trump and that she met her future husband at a New York City party in 1998.

Email to Maxwell was 'trivial’

The first lady brought Epstein back to the forefront months after federal authorities released millions of pages of documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted after months of public and political pressure that requires the government to open its files on the late financier and his confidant and onetime girlfriend, Maxwell.

Lawmakers complained when the Justice Department made only a limited release last month, but officials said more time was needed to review additional documents that were discovered and to ensure no sensitive information about victims was released.

Melania Trump said in her statement that she was not friends with Epstein or his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, but was in overlapping social circles in New York and Florida. She described an email reply she sent to Maxwell as “casual correspondence” without elaborating.

“My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trivial note,” she said.

Among the documents released by the Justice Department was a brief email from 2002 with the sender and recipient blacked out. It begins, “Dear G!” and ends “Love, Melania,” and compliments the recipient on a magazine article about “JE.”

“I know you are very busy flying all over the world,” it says. “How was Palm Beach? I cannot wait to go down. Give me a call when you are back in NY.”

That email was sent the same month that a New York Magazine article was published about Epstein in which Trump called the financier a “terrific guy.”

Among other documents released was an image from Epstein’s home showing a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In that image, inside a drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Trump, alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Maxwell.

Epstein killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in New York. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

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This story has been corrected to show Melania Trump called her correspondence with Maxwell “trivial,” not a “trifle.”

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Associated Press writers Stephen Groves in Washington and Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report.

The Trump administration proposed easing standards for monitoring and protecting groundwater near some coal ash sites, and rolling back rules that require the cleanup of entire coal properties rather than just the sites where ash was dumped. The revisions would also make it easier to reuse coal ash for other purposes.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the proposal reflects the agency's "commitment to restoring American energy dominance, strengthening cooperative federalism, and accommodating unique circumstances at certain (coal) facilities.”

Burning coal produces tremendous amounts of ash, a waste product that contains heavy metals such as mercury, lead and cobalt. If not stored properly, coal ash can contaminate groundwater. Coal plants are often situated on the banks of rivers or other waterways, with waste ash sitting nearby.

Opponents say the proposal, which grants states and other regulators the ability to grant exemptions from national standards, may open the door for companies to leave coal ash sitting in groundwater.

The Biden-era EPA in 2022, for example, rebuffed the Gen. James Gavin Power Plant in southern Ohio for trying to close a coal ash disposal site that the agency said was in contact with groundwater. In January 2025, with Trump back in the White House, coal industry entities asked Zeldin to revise the agency's stance on the issue.

“Opening the door to leaving ash in groundwater undermines one of the central protections of this rule, and that's essentially what this does,” said Nick Torrey, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, a nonprofit.

The agency’s proposal does state that an owner would be required to ensure that the ash “poses no reasonable probability of adverse effects on human health and the environment.”

The Biden-era coal ash protections also required the cleanup of places like the Michigan City Generating Station in Indiana, by Lake Michigan. Local activists are worried about the land created at the site, which is composed in part of coal ash. The 2024 rules set deadlines for cleanup.

At Michigan City and many other sites, standards to clean up the coal ash used to make land would be eliminated under the agency's proposal.

The proposed rule also seeks to lift restrictions on the use of coal ash — called “beneficial use” by the EPA — in secondary materials such as cement and as structural fill.

The agency also said that industry and others have said the health risks from coal ash were overstated in previous EPA assessments. Federal officials said the estimated cost savings were more than enough to justify the proposed changes.

The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for additional information, nor did the Michigan City Generating Station. The owners of Gavin Power Plant declined to comment.

The genesis of these rules and current context

The EPA first set standards for coal ash during the Obama administration. They included requirements for companies to line new storage sites, monitor water and close leaky ponds, often requiring the material to be moved elsewhere. In 2024, then-President Joe Biden’s administration eliminated exemptions that had been granted to some older coal ash sites.

The move is the latest in a series of Trump administration efforts to weaken clean air and water standards as part of regulatory relief for the fossil fuel industry. It's also in line with Republican President Donald Trump's efforts to boost U.S. coal and suppress cleaner alternatives, all the while declaring a “national energy emergency.”

The coal industry has argued that a host of stringent rules that raise the cost of operating a coal plant prematurely push them into retirement.

A coalition of coal and energy associations wrote last year: “EPA's recent unprecedented expansion of the federal (coal ash) regulations has needlessly diverted funds from the power sector's efforts to meet the Nation's growing energy needs; increased costs for power companies and consumers without corresponding benefits to public health or the environment."

Disasters first prompted the EPA to regulate coal ash. The agency started looking into the problem after a dike failed in Tennessee in 2008, spreading coal ash over 300 acres or 120 hectares and forcing a massive cleanup. Workers involved in that effort said the ash exposure caused cancers. In 2014, tens of thousands of tons spilled in North Carolina.

“The Trump administration just took a sledgehammer to the health protections in place for toxic coal pollution," said Lisa Evans, senior counsel at environmental group Earthjustice. "This is yet another handout to the coal power industry at the expense of our health, water, and wallets."

In other moves, the EPA earlier this year weakened limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from coal-fired power plants. The Trump administration has also halted the planned shutdown of several coal plants, citing the need for consistent power during major storms or periods of high demand, and arguing that without it, the grid would be less reliable.

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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.

In his Wednesday decision, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy from Massachusetts said the Trump administration terminated the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) “without regard for the process delineated by Congress.”

The decision came at a time when hundreds of thousands of TPS holders from different nationalities are challenging the termination of their status at the federal courts. It represents the latest legal setback for the Trump's administration efforts to put an end to TPS as part of his hard-line immigration policy.

More than 1 million migrants from 17 countries were protected by TPS during President Joe Biden's administration. But the Department of Homeland Security has terminated the designation for 13 of those countries since President Donald Trump came to office for his second term in January 2025.

Venezuelans comprised the largest group of beneficiaries, followed by Haitians and Salvadorans.

On April 29, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on the administration efforts to terminate TPS for 6,100 people from Syria and 350,000 from Haiti.

TPS was created by Congress in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries suffering from natural disasters or civil strife, giving people authorization to work in increments of up to 18 months.

The Biden administration granted TPS to Ethiopians living in the U.S. in 2022, noting ​the need to protect them from armed conflict ⁠and humanitarian suffering. In April 2024, it was extended.

Under Trump’s administration, the Department of Homeland Security terminated TPS for Ethiopia in December 2025, saying that the country no longer met the conditions for its designation.

The judge said DHS disregarded the statutory procedures Congress enacted that govern TPS.

“Fundamental to this case — and indeed to our constitutional system — is the principle that the will of the President does not supersede that of Congress,” Murphy, who was appointed by Biden, said in his decision. “Presidential whims do not and cannot supplant agencies’ statutory obligations.”

After Murphy's decision, DHS reiterated that TPS is a temporary status.

DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the ruling "is just the latest example of judicial activists trying to prevent President Trump from restoring integrity to America’s legal immigration system.”

McIlroy settled in after a slow start. He blistered a 3-wood out of the first cut over the hill and onto the green at the par-5 eighth to set up an easy birdie, a swing that brought a little more freedom the rest of the way.

But then, nothing is more freeing than finally having a Masters green jacket.

“I think winning a Masters makes it easier to win your second one. I do,” McIlroy said. "It’s hard to say because there’s still shots out there that you feel a little bit tight with, and you just have to stand up and commit to making a good swing and not worry about really where it goes.

“But I think it’s easier for me to make those swings and not worry about where it goes when I know that I can go to the Champions Locker Room and put my green jacket on at the end of the day.”

Burns was among the early starters. He played the par 5s with three birdies and an eagle and wound up with his lowest score in his fifth Masters appearance.

“Historically, people who have success here play the par 5s really well, and we were able to do that today. So it’s a good recipe around this golf course,” Burns said.

The gorgeous blue sky and only moderate wind by Augusta standards had the look of a pleasant day for all, except the players know better. If the forecast holds, it could be the first Masters in 25 years without rain. That means firm greens, a fast course and frayed nerves.

“I think this could be the toughest Masters we've played in a while,” Shane Lowry said after a 70. “They can do whatever they want with the golf course this week. ... I think before the week is out, it's going to get very, very crusty around here.”

Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world trying to win his third Masters in five years, was among the late starters. He made an early statement.

Scheffler rolled in an 18-foot eagle putt on the par-5 second hole, and followed with a driver on the 350-yard third hole that tumbled up the slope and onto the green, setting up a two-putt birdie from about 35 feet. He was 3 under through three, then completed the front nine with all pars without ever finding too much stress.

Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters champion and a two-time winner on the European tour this year, was at 69 along with Jason Day and Kurt Kitayama. Reed was atop the leaderboard for so much of the day due to two eagles on the front nine that sent him out in 31.

But he dropped a shot on the 10th, and then was flummoxed by what he thought was an ideal shot for his second into the par-5 15th. Such are the firmness of the greens that his shot hit hard off the back of the green, bounded down the slope and didn't stop rolling until it was in the pond on No. 16.

“Water?” Reed asked his caddie as he looked toward the green. “It landed on the green.”

“That was a head-scratcher for me,” Reed said later. “I didn’t see that going that far, but if I have 7-wood or closer into that green — especially to that pin — I’m going to go for it every day. ... I knew if it went over the green, we would be fine. Didn’t really think I was going to go 30 yards over the green.”

While the lack of a big wind made it manageable, Augusta National can still take a bite out of anyone. Bryson DeChambeau found that out on the 11th hole when he put his approach in the right bunker and it took him three to get out on his way to a 76.

Patrick Cantlay had nine 5s on his scorecard, did not make a birdie and shot 77. Eight players already were at 80 or higher, including Aldrich Potgieter — among the longest hitters in golf — with an 84 in his Masters debut.

McIlroy wasn't sure want to expect in his 18th appearance, his first as the Masters champion. Only twice had he started with rounds in the 60s, his best a 65 in 2011. That year, he went on to shoot 80 on the final day.

There were still nerves. It's still Augusta National.

“My hope was to get off to a solid start,” he said. “I feel like the way I played, 5 under, exceeded where I thought I would be or what I wanted to do.”

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

Nimari Burnett and the son of head coach Dusty May, Charlie May, worked a celebratory “Shift” at Raising Cane’s in Ann Arbor on Thursday, April 9.

--> University of Michigan to celebrate basketball national championship with parade, Crisler Center event

Days after delivering the University of Michigan men’s basketball’s first NCAA men’s basketball national championship since 1989, Burnett and Charlie traded the hardwood for the counter at Raising Cane’s.

Located steps from campus, the restaurant turned into a maize-and-blue celebration as Burnett and Charlie joined crew members and greeted a steady stream of Michigan fans.

The pair signed autographs, posed for photos, and stepped behind the counter to learn the basics, from bagging Box Combos to navigating the kitchen, as the celebration carried on around them.

The appearance marked a full-circle moment for both players, longtime fans of the brand who once frequented the restaurant as customers.

This time, they returned as national champions, leading the line and sharing the moment with the community that supported their title run.

The turnout reflected the magnitude of Michigan’s 69–63 victory over the UConn Huskies in the men’s basketball national championship game.

Students, families, and local supporters packed the area, turning a routine restaurant visit into a broader community celebration.

Raising Cane’s has built a reputation for transforming championship moments into fan experiences, offering supporters a chance to connect with athletes beyond the court.

For Burnett and Charlie, however, the focus remained local, a shared moment with fans that extended the championship beyond the arena and into the heart of Ann Arbor.

“Everybody talks about Detroit, we owe our stuff to Detroit — first city that appreciated the band that I’m in,” Simmons said before cutting the ribbon at the new Rock & Brews in Royal Oak, Michigan.

Since opening their first location in Southern California in 2010, Simmons and Stanley have opened Rock & Brews in states from Washington to Florida.

“Our CEO is here, because he wants to go back in the kitchen and even bring it up a notch,” Simmons said in an interview. “You don’t want to keep the same old, same old. We got to kick it up, because people deserve the best. You wanted the best, you got the best — the hottest food in town.”

Simmons, 76, is the longtime bassist for Kiss. The face-painting rockers were inducted in 2014 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and were Kennedy Center honorees last year.

The New Yorkers long have had a soft spot for the Motor City. Not only is “Detroit Rock City” one of their best-known tunes, Kiss recorded part of their seminal live album “Alive!” at Cobo Arena.

Simmons, singer Stanley, the late guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss put out a few studio albums in the early 1970s without a lot of success. It wasn’t until 1975’s “Alive!” hit record stores that Kiss became, well, Kiss.

The band retired a few years ago from touring.

But Simmons was happy to be back on the road and in the Great Lakes State.

Indeed, Simmons said Thursday’s visit was a homecoming of sorts.

“Kiss really broke our rock-and-roll teeth in Detroit. Detroit accepted us way before New York and any other city,” he said, before doing a little impromptu singing: “You gotta lose your mind in Detroit Rock City.”

The morning began with moderate losses for Wall Street following drops for Asian and European stocks. But the S&P 500 erased its dip and finished with a 0.6% gain after Israel’s prime minister authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon. That eased worries that the two-week ceasefire announced late Tuesday may already be in trouble because of Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 275 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.8% after both indexes likewise recovered from early losses.

Crude oil prices pared some of their gains, but they nevertheless remained higher for the day on uncertainty about when oil tankers can start fully flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow waterway has been at the center of President Donald Trump’s demands of Iran, and blockages there have kept oil and natural gas stuck in the Persian Gulf and away from customers worldwide.

The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 3.7% to settle at $97.87 after briefly nearing $103 in the morning. Brent crude, the international standard, added 1.2% to $95.92 per barrel.

Given how far apart the United States and Iran seem to be in their demands, upward pressure on oil prices may be “here to stay for a while” according to strategists at Macquarie led by Thierry Wizman. Risks remain for renewed fighting, which could cause customers worldwide to hoard whatever oil supplies they do get. That could itself keep oil off the market, much like actual fighting targeting pipelines or oil tankers.

Oil prices have been swinging through sharp and sudden reversals for weeks with hopes rising and falling for the Strait of Hormuz to fully reopen and allow production of oil and natural gas to kick back into gear. Brent oil has gone from roughly $70 per barrel before the war in late February to more than $119 at times.

Despite all the swings, the U.S. stock index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts isn’t far from its all-time high. The S&P 500 is just 2.2% below its record set in January.

Constellation Brands climbed 8.5% for one of the index’s biggest gains on Thursday after reporting stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company, which sells Modelo beer and Robert Mondavi wines, said it saw encouraging trends heading into its new fiscal year. But it pulled its financial forecasts for the following fiscal year because of “limited near-term visibility” and other factors.

CoreWeave rose 3.5% after announcing an expanded, $21 billion deal with Meta Platforms to provide AI cloud capacity through December 2032. Meta climbed 2.6%.

On the losing end of Wall Street was Simply Good Foods, which sank 18.1% after reporting a worse drop in revenue than analysts expected. CEO Joe Scalzo called the results unsatisfactory and said the company behind the Quest and Atkins brands is making immediate changes to turn around its performance.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 41.85 points to 6,824.66. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 275.88 to 48,185.80, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 187.42 to 22,822.42.

Mixed reports on the U.S. economy also helped keep Wall Street in check. One said an underlying measure of inflation the Federal Reserve considers important was slightly hotter in February than economists expected. It decelerated before the war with Iran began, but not by as much as economists expected.

A separate report said that more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected. The number was not very high compared with history, but it could indicate an acceleration in layoffs.

Treasury yields swiveled up and down in the bond market following the reports before pulling near where they were the day before.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.28% from 4.29% late Wednesday. It’s still well above its 3.97% level from before the war, which has sent rates higher for mortgages and other kinds of loans going to U.S. households and businesses.

If oil prices stay high and keep upward pressure on inflation, the Federal Reserve would have a tough time resuming its cuts to interest rates to help the slowing economy, even if the job market weakens. A growing number of Fed officials seem to be considering the possibility of a hike in rates, according to minutes of their latest meeting released on Wednesday.

In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.6%, and Germany’s DAX lost 1.1% for two of the world’s biggest moves.

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AP Writers Chan Ho-him, Matt Ott and Aniruddha Ghosal contributed to this report.

As the next-to-last day of their flight dawned Thursday, humanity's first lunar explorers in more than half a century were less than 150,000 miles (240,000 kilometers) from home with the odometer clicking down.

“We have to get back. There’s so much data that you’ve seen already, but all the good stuff is coming back with us. There are so many more pictures, so many more stories," said pilot Victor Glover, adding that "riding a fireball through the atmosphere is profound as well.”

Being cut off from all of humanity for nearly an hour while behind the moon was especially “surreal,” according to commander Reid Wiseman.

“There’s a lot that our brains have to process ... and it is a true gift," Wiseman said late Wednesday during the crew's first news conference since before liftoff.

While out of contact behind the moon Monday, Wiseman, Glover, Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen became the most distant humans ever, clocking in at a record 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth before heading back. As they emerged from behind the moon, they experienced a wondrous total solar eclipse as the orb blocked the sun from their perspective.

Launching from Florida on April 1 diminished the amount of illumination on the lunar far side, Glover noted, but the eclipse was the consolation prize “and it was one of the greatest gifts.”

While acknowledging anxiety over Friday's return, NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya said the crew's "expressions of love and devotion to family” have warmed hearts worldwide and served as “a great example of why we go and do these missions.”

”If you can’t take love to the stars, then what are we doing?" he said. "That’s why we send humans instead of robots sometimes, that’s why we have that firsthand witness.”

Friday's reentry and Pacific splashdown off the coast of San Diego — as dynamic and dangerous as liftoff — now topped everyone's minds. The recovery ship, USS John P. Murtha, was already at sea, with a squadron of military planes and helicopters poised to join the operation.

It's the first time that NASA and the Defense Department have teamed up for a lunar crew's reentry since Apollo 17 in 1972. Their Orion capsule will come screaming back, hitting the atmosphere at a predicted 34,965 feet (10,657 meters) per second — or 23,840 mph (38,367 kph) — not a record but still mind-bogglingly fast.

Flight director Jeff Radigan said the capsule must nail the reentry angle within a single degree.

“Let’s not beat around the bush. We have to hit that angle correctly — otherwise we’re not going to have a successful reentry,” he said.

Mission Control will be paying close attention to how the capsule's heat shield holds up. During the only other Orion test flight to the moon — in 2022 without a crew — the heat shield suffered considerably more damage than expected from the 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius) of reentry.

Instead of replacing Artemis II's heat shield, which would have forced another lengthy delay, NASA tweaked the capsule's descent through the atmosphere to reduce the blisteringly hot exposure. Next year's Artemis III and beyond will fly with redesigned heat shields.

Artemis III will see astronauts practice docking their capsule with a lunar lander or two in orbit around Earth. Artemis IV in 2028 will attempt to land two astronauts near the moon's south pole, setting the stage for what NASA hopes will be a sustainable lunar base.

NASA officials have been loath to provide their risk assessment numbers for the nearly 10-day mission, acknowledging launch and entry as the biggest threats.

“We’re down to the wire now,” said NASA's Lakiesha Hawkins. "We’re down to the end of the mission, and obviously getting the crew back home and getting them landed safely, is a significant part of the risk that’s still in front of us.”

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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 two countries have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Netanyahu later stressed that there was no ceasefire between them. In a video statement, he said Israel will keep striking Hezbollah until security is restored in northern Israel.

There was no immediate response from Lebanon. But Israel-Lebanon negotiations were expected to begin next week at the State Department in Washington, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the matter.

The prospect of talks appeared to bolster the tentative ceasefire in the Iran war that has staggered under the weight of Israel’s bombardment of Beirut, Tehran’s continued chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and uncertainty over whether talks can find common ground.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was “very optimistic” about the prospects of reaching a peace deal, saying Iranian leaders are more amenable in private conversations than in their public statements.

Netanyahu's announcement came amid disagreement over whether the ceasefire deal included a pause in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, and a day after Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes, the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began Feb. 28.

Israel has fought multiple wars and launched several major invasions of Lebanon over the years, most recently sending in troops last month in response to Hezbollah fire on Israel’s northern border communities.

The launch of direct peace talks is a significant achievement, though reaching an agreement will be difficult after decades of hostilities, Hezbollah’s continued presence and longstanding disagreements over the countries' shared land border.

The talks in Washington are expected to be handled on the American side by the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, and on the Israeli side by the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, according to the person familiar with the planning.

It was not immediately clear who would represent Lebanon.

The timing and location of the talks was first reported by Axios.

After declaring victory with the ceasefire announcement, both Iran and the U.S. appeared to apply pressure on each other. Semiofficial news agencies in Iran suggested forces have mined the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil that Tehran has closed. Trump warned that U.S. forces would hit Iran harder than before if it did not fulfill the agreement.

Questions also remained over what will happen to Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium at the heart of tensions, how and when normal traffic will resume through the strait, and what happens to Iran’s ability to launch future missile attacks and support armed proxies in the region.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a message on Telegram that Iran's decision to accept a ceasefire was made unanimously by senior government leaders and approved by the supreme leader. He said the ceasefire “is not a sign of weakness but a way to solidify Iran’s proud victories."

Despite disputes over the ceasefire, it appears to have halted weeks of missile and drone attacks by Iran on its Gulf Arab neighbors and Israel, with no new launches reported Thursday. There were no reports of strikes by the U.S. or Israel targeting Iran.

Israel vows to continue striking Hezbollah in Lebanon

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, warned in a social media post Thursday that continued Israeli attacks on the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon would bring “explicit costs and STRONG responses.”

Qalibaf has been discussed as a possible negotiator who could meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance this weekend in Islamabad. The White House has said Vance would lead the delegation for talks starting Saturday.

Iran had said Israel's ongoing attacks on Hezbollah were violating the ceasefire agreement. Netanyahu and Trump have said they were not.

Trump said Thursday that he asked Netanyahu to dial back the strikes in Lebanon.

“I spoke with Bibi, and he’s going to low-key it. I just think we have to be sort of a little more low-key,” Trump told NBC News.

Hours before Netanyahu authorized the negotiations with Lebanon, he said Israel would continue striking militants in the country “with force, precision and determination."

Lebanon’s health ministry said more than 300 people were killed and more than 1,100 wounded Wednesday by Israeli strikes on central Beirut and other areas of Lebanon that Israel said targeted Hezbollah, which joined the war in support of Tehran.

Israel said Thursday it killed an aide to Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem, Ali Yusuf Harshi. Hezbollah did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A New York-based think tank warned the ceasefire “ hovers on the verge of collapse ” following Israel's strikes Wednesday.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli strike overnight killed at least seven people in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military did not immediately acknowledge the strike.

Threat of mines looms over the strait

Semiofficial news agencies in Iran published a chart Thursday suggesting the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard put sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz during the war — a message that may be intended to pressure the United States.

The chart, released by the ISNA news agency and Tasnim, showed a large circle marked “danger zone” in Farsi over the route ships take through the strait, through which 20% of all traded oil and natural gas once passed.

Only a trickle of ships have transited since the war began after several were attacked, and Iran threatened to hit any that it deemed connected to the U.S. or Israel. Ships appeared to continue to avoid the strait even after the ceasefire.

The chart suggested that ships travel through waters closer to Iran’s mainland near Larak Island, a route some ships were observed taking during the war. It was dated from Feb. 28 until April 9, and it was unclear if the Guard had cleared any mines since then.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, told the BBC that his country will allow ships to pass through the strait in accordance with “international norms and international law” once the United States ends its “aggression” in the Middle East and Israel stops attacking Lebanon.

The head of the United Arab Emirates’ major oil company, Sultan al-Jaber, said some 230 ships loaded with oil were waiting to get through the strait and must be allowed "to navigate this corridor without condition.”

The strait’s de facto closure has caused oil prices to skyrocket — affecting the cost of gasoline, food and other basics far beyond the Middle East. The spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was around $98 Thursday, up about 35% since the war began.

Fate of Iran’s enriched uranium remains a question

The fate of Iran’s missile and nuclear programs — which the U.S. and Israel sought to eliminate in going to war — was unclear. The U.S. insists Iran must never be able to build nuclear weapons and wants to remove Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be used to build them. Iran insists its program is peaceful.

Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. would work with Iran to remove the uranium, buried in last year's U.S. and Israeli strikes, though Iran did not confirm that. In one version of the ceasefire deal that Iran published, it said it would be allowed to continue enrichment.

The chief of Iran’s nuclear agency, Mohammad Eslami, said Thursday that protecting Tehran’s right to enrich uranium is “necessary” for any ceasefire talks.

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Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands. Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writers Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong, Zeke Miller and Matthew Lee in Washington, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City and Kareem Chehayeb and Hussein Malla in Beirut contributed to this report.

Shortly ahead of a fragile ceasefire agreement earlier this week, a new group of accounts on prediction market platform Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed trades betting there'd be an announcement about a halt in fighting for April 7. Some quickly pocketed awards, which amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits combined. Others are still awaiting payouts as an end to the deadly conflict still seems uncertain.

Regardless, the trades once again put the spotlight on a murky — and growing — world of speculative, 24/7 transactions now filling the internet. And some have raised questions about suspicious activity, including an anonymous Polymarket trader pocketing more than $400,000 following the U.S. military's capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.

The timing and subjects of such trades have fueled concerns about potential insider trading — with calls increasing among lawmakers for investigations. Popular platforms, including Polymarket, have rolled out added guardrails in efforts to combat insider trading recently, but critics say it isn't enough.

Meanwhile, because prediction market wagers are categorized differently than traditional forms of gambling, tensions about government oversight have erupted. President Donald Trump's administration has already thrown its support behind company operators — and sued three states over their efforts to regulate them further.

Here's what we know:

How prediction markets work

The scope of topics involved in prediction markets can range immensely. Recently, there’s been a surge of wages on elections and sports games. But some users have also bet millions on things like a rumored — and ultimately unrealized — “secret finale” for the Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” whether the U.S. government will confirm the existence of extraterrestrial life and how much billionaire Elon Musk might post on social media this month.

In industry-speak, what someone buys or sells in a prediction market is called an “event contract.” They're typically advertised as “yes” or “no” wagers. And the price of one fluctuates between $0 and $1, reflecting what traders are collectively willing to pay based on a 0% to 100% chance of whether they think an event will occur.

The more likely traders think an event will occur, the more expensive that contract will become. And as those odds change over time, users can cash out early to make incremental profits, or try to avoid higher losses on what they’ve already invested.

Proponents of prediction markets argue putting money on the line leads to better forecasts and allow you to gauge public opinion as an alternative to polling. And some think there's value in monitoring prediction markets for potential news, particularly elections.

Still, prediction markets can also be wrong. And who is behind all of the trading is also pretty unclear.

The companies running today's biggest platforms know who their customers are — as they collect personal information to verify identities and payments. But most users can trade under anonymous pseudonyms on public-facing websites, making it difficult for the world to tell who is profiting off many event contracts.

In theory, people investing their money may be closely following certain events, but others could just be randomly guessing. Critics also stress that the ease and speed of joining these 24/7 wagers leads to financial losses everyday, particularly harming users who may already struggle with gambling.

The major players

Polymarket is one of the largest prediction markets in the world. Users can fund event contracts through cryptocurrency, debit or credit cards and bank transfers.

Restrictions vary by country, but in the U.S., the reach of these markets has expanded rapidly over recent years, coinciding with shifting policies out of Washington.

While prediction markets have found backing from the Trump-controlled Commodity Futures Trading Commission, former President Joe Biden was more aggressive in cracking down. Following a 2022 settlement with the CFTC, Polymarket was barred from operating in the country. That changed under Trump late last year, when Polymarket announced it would be returning to the U.S. after receiving clearance from the commission. American-based users can now join a “waitlist” to access the platform.

Meanwhile, Polymarket’s top competitor, Kalshi, has been a federally-regulated exchange since 2020. The platform offers similar ways to buy and sell event contracts as Polymarket — and it currently allows event contracts on elections and sports nationwide. Kalshi won court approval just weeks before the 2024 election to let Americans put money on upcoming political races and began to host sports trading last year.

The space is now crowded with other big names. Major League Baseball inked a deal with Polymarket last month, following other partnerships in professional hockey and soccer. Meanwhile, sports betting giants DraftKings and FanDuel have launched their own prediction platforms. Trump’s social media site Truth Social has also promised to offer an in-platform prediction market through a partnership with Crypto.com — and one of the president’s sons, Donald Trump Jr., holds advisory roles at both Polymarket and Kalshi.

Last month, The Associated Press agreed to sell its U.S. elections data to Kalshi.

Loose regulation and calls for reform

Because they’re positioned as selling event contracts, prediction markets are regulated by the CFTC. That means they can avoid state-level restrictions or bans in place for traditional gambling and sports betting today.

“It’s a huge loophole,” said Karl Lockhart, an assistant professor of law at DePaul University who has studied this space. “You just have to comply with one set of regulations, rather than (rules from) each state around the country.”

Sports betting is taking center stage. There are a handful of big states — like California and Texas, for example — where sports betting is still illegal, but people can now wager on games, athlete trades and more through event contracts.

A growing number of states and tribes are trying to stop this. But the Trump administration has already pushed back, maintaining that the CFTC has the sole authority to regulate prediction markets. Many lawyers expect litigation to eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Despite overseeing trillions of dollars for the overall U.S. derivatives market, the CFTC is much smaller than the Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates the securities industry. And at the same time event contracts are growing rapidly on prediction market platforms, there have been sizeable workforce cuts and leadership departures. CFTC chairman Michael Selig is the sole member filling just one of five commissioner slots.

Meanwhile, Congress members from both sides of the aisle have introduced broad legislation for more guardrails in recent months. Soon after, Kalshi — which has maintained that it's always banned insider trading — quickly moved to bar political candidates from trading on their own campaigns, and preemptively block anyone involved in college or professional sports from contracts related to the sports they play or are employed by. Polymarket rewrote its rules to clearly say users cannot trade on contracts where they might possess confidential information, or could influence the outcome of an event.

The CFTC can also bar event contracts related to war, terrorism and assassinations, which experts say could put some prediction market trades — including those related to the Iran war — on added shaky ground, at least in the U.S. Lawmakers like Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff are seeking an outright ban of these kinds of trades.

Still, users might find ways to buy certain contracts while traveling abroad, or through connecting to different VPNs.

That was a central message Thursday as some of the nation's most ambitious Democratic politicians appeared before Black activists at the National Action Network’s annual convention. In all, more than a half-dozen potential candidates are speaking during the four-day gathering led by Rev. Al Sharpton, aiming to make inroads among Black voters, who comprise one of Democrats’ most powerful blocs.

As they deflected questions about their 2028 intentions, the high-profile Democrats pointed to what they described as an imminent threat from the Trump administration heading into the November midterm elections.

“If we don’t have a fair election in November, we won’t have any more elections," Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker charged. He warned that Trump was going to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents to "scare people away from the polls” — something the administration has denied — and said "we need to go with purpose and push them out of the way, or at least tell them to get out of the way, and go in and vote.”

Pritzker's comments underscore how the clash over voting rights in the 2026 midterm elections is already shaping the early stages of the 2028 presidential contest.

Trump has been taking unprecedented steps to change how Americans vote based on his false allegations of fraud.

Less than two weeks ago, Trump signed an executive order to create a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and to restrict mail-in voting. The order, which voting law experts say violates the Constitution by attempting to seize states’ power to run elections, also seeks to bar the U.S. Postal Service from sending absentee ballots to those not on each state’s approved list.

Last year, Trump issued another executive order intended to create a proof-of-citizenship requirement, which could disenfranchise millions of Americans who don’t have easy access to such documents, and a mandate that all mail ballots be received by Election Day, eliminating grace periods used in 14 states. The order has been blocked by numerous courts.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who described himself as “hungry but not thirsty” when asked about his personal presidential ambitions, condemned Trump's actions as an effort “to make the pain permanent.”

“This is voter suppression. This is political redlining. These are the oldest tricks in the books,” Moore said. “The only difference is usually it’s spread out, it’s never done all at once and in broad daylight.”

He added, “We have to make sure that this election is not stolen right before our face.”

The next presidential primary is already underway

The primary season won't begin in earnest until after November's midterm elections, but this week's conference is showcasing a collection of Democrats already jockeying for position in what promises to be a crowded competition.

For now, at least, there is no clear early favorite.

“Everybody's talking about who may run for president,” said Sharpton, the National Action Network's founder and president. “I want to first know what their vision is now, and what they’re doing now. So I’ve invited all of the people that could run.”

In addition to Moore and Pritzker, the speaking program features Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, and Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the last Democratic presidential nominee, is scheduled to speak Friday. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another likely contender, won't be in attendance because of a previously scheduled family commitment, his team said, noting that he met with Sharpton earlier in the year.

Shapiro was the first to speak and, like others, framed his critique of Trump around morality rather than the kitchen table issues that normally fill stump speeches. He warned that “everyone is less safe” because of Trump’s leadership and blamed him for a nationwide surge in antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and bigotry.

“There’s more chaos, there’s more cruelty in our world,” Shapiro said. “Even if we disagree on health care policy or tax policy or whatever, we should at least, at a baseline, have an honorable president of the United States. We do not have that right now.”

Khanna told The Associated Press that “a 2028 contender needs to articulate and run on a new moral vision for America." He said progressives should be “speaking to the Civil Rights tradition and offering a vision rooted in Black history.”

Black voters have critical influence

One doesn't have to look far to see the outsized influence that Black voters wield in Democratic nomination contests.

In 2020, Buttigieg was a top vote-getter in the Iowa caucus and scored a strong second place in New Hampshire — both overwhelmingly white states — before Joe Biden dominated South Carolina on the strength of the Black vote.

Biden's long-established relationship with the African American community, backed by his perceived electability advantage, ultimately helped him beat back a strong push by progressive favorite Sen. Bernie Sanders.

In an interview, Rep. James Clyburn, said he's not concerned about whether his home state of South Carolina retains its top spot on the presidential primary calendar so long as the state remains first in the South. He noted that his state's demographic makeup helps prepare candidates for the general election.

“South Carolina never made a request for that opening slot. That’s a decision that Joe Biden made for whatever reason,” Clyburn told The Associated Press.

He also said it was too early to focus on the Democrats' early 2028 field given the threat to voting rights that Trump poses this fall.

“I’ve been saying to everybody, and I hope they take heed — 2028 is a very shiny object, 2026 is a necessary process,” Clyburn said. “If we fail to conduct ourselves properly in these off-year elections, there ain’t gonna be a 2028 election.”

The culprit is volatile oil and jet fuel prices, which have spiked sharply since the war in the Middle East began and fighting near the Strait of Hormuz created a chokepoint for global oil supplies.

“Volatility is the real story here,” said Shye Gilad, a former airline captain who now teaches at Georgetown University's business school. “Right now, the airlines are trying to make bets on what they think will happen in the future."

Airlines are responding cautiously, trimming schedules and adjusting prices in ways that experts say will ripple unevenly across the market but ultimately affect nearly every type of traveler.

Budget airlines and the customers who rely on them are likely to feel the pinch first and most acutely, experts say, but even travelers in premium cabins won’t escape the higher prices and less convenient schedules.

Oil prices have swung wildly in recent weeks, briefly topping $119 a barrel at one point, plunging Wednesday below $95 on news of a two-week ceasefire that temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz, and then climbing back toward $100 on Thursday as uncertainty over the fragile deal grew. Iran again closed the key artery for global oil shipments in response to Israeli strikes Wednesday in Lebanon.

“When prices move quickly in both directions, it’s very hard for airlines to make predictions,” Gilad said.

In other words, even when oil prices drop, travelers may not see relief right away.

“At this level of fuel, it’s hard to call anything temporary," Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told reporters this week after the Atlanta-based carrier raised its checked baggage fees.

Global squeeze, local effects

Bastian said Wednesday as Delta kicked off the earnings season for U.S. airlines that the higher fuel prices are expected to add $2 billion in operating expenses in the second quarter alone. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a recent memo to staff that if fuel prices stay elevated, it could add $11 billion in annual costs.

“For perspective,” Kirby wrote, “in United’s best year ever, we made less than $5B.”

According to the International Air Transport Association, the average global jet fuel price rose to $209 per barrel last week, up from roughly $99 at the end of February when the war started. Travelers from the U.S. to Hong Kong and New Delhi are paying the price.

U.S. carriers are embedding the higher operating costs into ticket prices and add-on fees. Delta, United, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue have all increased checked baggage fees.

United has moved beyond add-ons to adjust pricing in its front cabins. The carrier said last week it is bringing the “pay for what you want” approach already standard in economy to its premium cabins, turning perks like advanced seat selection and fully refundable tickets into optional extras.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific recently bumped fuel surcharges by roughly 34% across all routes, while Air India on Monday added up to $280 in fees to some flights. Emirates, Lufthansa and KLM have also adjusted fees or fares to keep pace with the price volatility.

Experts say flexibility and careful planning can help offset these costs. Fare-tracking sites can alert travelers to price changes and help them compare multiple options in one place. Booking early and checking nearby airports can lock in better prices, while refundable tickets make it easier to cancel and rebook if fares drop. Traveling light with just a carry-on can also help avoid the rising bag fees.

Flight cuts to cut costs

For business travelers, the costs are already shaping their decisions. Bill Moorehouse, a solutions director who flies for work every four to six weeks, said the uncertainty may keep him closer to home for now.

“When you have business trips and you have a carefully coordinated schedule, you don’t want unknowns and disruptions. And right now, it just feels like it’s more likely that things could go wrong and throw your trip off course,” the Cupertino, California, resident said.

Richard Groberg, an investment banker from Las Vegas who visits clients around the U.S., said he plans to book as early as possible to lock in the best fares.

“There's sometimes no substitute for in-person meetings and building relationships,” he said. “As travel becomes more expensive, that becomes a tougher decision to make those investments.”

Even family visits are on his mind. Groberg's brother hopes he'll stop in Vermont next time he's in New York for work, but Groberg admits, “I start thinking maybe I should drive instead because this is getting so expensive.”

Airlines, meanwhile, are also adjusting how much they fly.

BNP Paribas estimates that global schedules for April have been cut roughly 5% compared with earlier plans. Most reductions are in the Middle East, the global investment bank said, though smaller cuts were also emerging in Europe, Asia and North America.

United Airlines is cutting about 5% of its planned flights in the near term, trimming less profitable routes and suspending some international service temporarily rather than “burning cash” on trips that can’t absorb the more expensive fuel costs. The airline's CEO said the cuts will target redeye flights and routes on historically slower travel days such as Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.

Delta is scrapping plans to add more flights and seats in June, leaving about 3.5% fewer seats than originally planned.

Travel plans upended

These moves show why major carriers are better positioned to weather the spike in fuel prices than budget carriers, whose “no frills” model leaves them with less flexibility. Bigger airlines can lean on dynamic pricing, sell more seats at higher fares or swap in larger planes on certain routes, letting them cut flights without losing overall capacity.

“Leisure travelers and budget conscious travelers are going to absolutely feel it first because it may make the difference between going and not going,” Gilad said.

It's already made the difference for Anna Del Vecchio. The 36-year-old Seattle resident has made it an annual springtime tradition to visit family in Philadelphia before flying to Paris to see friends she's known since she was a teenager.

Her credit card points typically cover the roundtrip flight, but ticket prices now hover around $1,400 — about double what she has paid in past years.

“It wasn’t even scratching the surface for the flight this time," she said, “so I decided to delay the trip.”

But if airfare tops $1,500, she might not be able to make a journey she hasn't missed in years.

“It might be the kind of thing where it just ends up being that I have to travel less.”

The 76ers are scheduled to play at the Rockets on Thursday night.

The team said further updates will be provided as appropriate.

The 76ers are currently eighth in the Eastern Conference and on track for a spot in the play-in tournament, though they are only one game behind sixth-place Toronto.

Embiid has been limited to 38 games this season, sidelined primarily by injury management in his knees.

He was held out against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday with “right oblique; injury management; (and) illness.” He has not played in both games of a back-to-back all season.

After missing Saturday's game, Embiid had 34 points and 12 rebounds in Philadelphia's 115-102 loss at San Antonio on Monday night.

Embiid, 32, is averaging 26.9 points and 7.7 rebounds this season after playing in only 19 games in the 2024-25 season. He hasn't appeared in as many as 40 games in a regular season since 2022-23 when he was named MVP after averaging a career-high 33.1 points.

Embiid expressed his frustrations with Daryl Morey, the 76ers president of basketball operations, on Friday night for not allowing him to play in Washington last week.

“I was pissed off. I wanted to play basketball,” Embiid said. “I wasn’t allowed to play basketball, so I think this is more of a question of Daryl Morey or whoever makes the decisions.”

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

The American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees said that they had reached an agreement with the Justice Department that will allow the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences to continue awarding grants and operating programs that support libraries and museums.

The White House referred questions to the Justice Department. The Civil Division of the Justice Department, which agreed to the settlement, did not immediately comment.

The two organizations filed a lawsuit last May, spearheaded by the group Democracy Forward, to stop the administration from gutting the IMLS after President Donald Trump signed a March 14 executive order that referred to it and several other federal agencies as “unnecessary.”

The measures that set in motion were part of a broader attempt by the administration to save money by slashing staff, grants and programs in the federal government.

Staff was subsequently placed on administrative leave with many receiving termination notices. The agency’s then acting director also began canceling grants and contracts and fired the members of the National Museum and Library Services Board.

“When the administration began shuttering IMLS last year, it set off a chain reaction. Libraries across the country started cutting hours, staff and services people rely on – after-school programs, support for job seekers and connection for older adults,” said American Library Association president Sam Helmick in a press statement.

The settlement said all reductions in force to the staff in 2025 have been rescinded and all employees who received them are authorized to return to work. IMLS will not issue any more RIFs in order “to effectuate” the purpose of the executive order, the settlement said.

Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, called the settlement a victory for every community that depends on libraries and museums.

The plaintiffs will file a joint stipulation of dismissal of the case without prejudice in seven days if the government adheres to terms of the agreement.

The settlement announcement comes three days after a federal judge in Rhode Island approved an administration request to withdraw its appeal of a federal district court opinion in a separate lawsuit filed by 21 attorneys general.

IMLS is the only federal agency tasked with providing funding for the nation’s libraries. It was established in 1996 by a Republican-led Congress and has a mission to “advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development.”

The institute combined the services of previous government agencies, including the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science and the Institute of Museum Services.

It distributes thousands of grants nationwide, totaling in recent years to more than $200 million annually.

Woods was arrested March 27 on suspicion of driving under the influence after his Land Rover struck a trailer and flipped onto its side along a residential street. Florida authorities determined him to be impaired when they found two painkiller pills in his pocket. Woods also refused to submit to a urine test and was briefly jailed.

"You know," Player said Thursday, “it's very easy — the human being is so critical of everything. If I or any of you in this room had the pain that Tiger Woods had — think of the excruciating pain that this man has been going through for a long time.

“Do I blame him for taking medicine? Hell, no. He has sleep deprivation,” Player continued. “Do I blame him for taking something to help him sleep? No. But I don't think he should drive a car. When you're taking that medicine, it's dangerous when you're driving a car, same as it's dangerous when you look at your cellphone in a car.”

The 90-year-old Player spoke about Woods after helping to hit the honorary tee shots to start the first round of the Masters.

Known for his fastidious diet and fitness regimen, Player went so far as to admit he no longer drives himself these days.

“So I think all he's got to do is just not drive a car, and get a chauffeur,” Player said. “My reflexes, I think, are as good as when I was 20, but I don't drive anymore. I get a chauffer. I think that's the answer to it.”

Woods, a five-time Masters champion, said last week he would be missing the tournament at Augusta National for the second straight year so that he could seek treatment at an undisclosed facility outside of the U.S., and “prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery.”

The announcement came hours after he pleaded not guilty to a DUI charge in connection with the crash.

Woods' injury list over the last 14 years is a long one. He had reconstructive knee surgery in 2008, four back surgeries from 2014-17, and he was previously arrested in 2017 for taking what he called a bad mix of painkillers that resulted in him falling asleep behind the wheel of a running car.

Four years ago, Woods’s right leg and ankle were crushed when his speeding SUV ran over a median and toppled down a hillside on a coastal road in Los Angeles. He also had surgery on his Achilles tendon and a seventh back surgery last year.

“My heart goes out for him,” Player said. “There’s nothing worse than living in pain every day of your life. You can’t think of anything worse. I just hope he can get it all sorted out because he’s such an asset to golf and has done so much for the game.”

Just about everyone at Augusta National this week has expressed sympathy for Woods, but many players — including Jason Day — also agreed with Player that he should not have been behind the wheel of a car.

“He’s just a human being like everyone else, and we have struggles,” Day said. “It’s unfortunate. The only thing that I don’t understand is that it’s a little bit selfish of him to drive and put other people in harm’s way, as well.”

Day, a former No. 1, called Woods his “hero," and said the reasons he began playing golf were Woods and the Masters.

“It’s hard to see him go through what he’s going through, and especially under the microscope. It must be hard to be who he is and have everything, everyone look on, kind of down on him,” Day said. "Some people want him to fail. Some people obviously want him to succeed. It’s really difficult for me to go through that and watch him, and I know that he’s getting the help now, which is good. I’m just hoping he comes out on the other side and is better.”

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

Meadows landed on his back in a daze, barely moving with his hands pointed up and blood appearing on his face. After a few minutes, Meadows was able to sit up. Then medical personnel slowly helped him stand and move toward the cart to be taken for further examination.

Josh Bell led off the eighth inning for Minnesota with a shallow fly that the left fielder Greene called for with Meadows converging, before the 26-year-old tried slowing up and backing off at the last second. But his face appeared to slam against Greene's head, sending both players tumbling to the grass.

The Tigers had no immediate update on Meadows' condition.

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

Within seconds, plumes of smoke were rising across Beirut’s skyline, from the coastal corniche, down to the city’s busiest intersection, up from one of its wealthiest neighborhoods and one of its poorest. Boom. Boom. Boom. We stopped counting. One staffer ran into the office from downstairs, her face white and lips trembling.

During the 10 years that Beirut has been my home, the Lebanese capital has lived through rounds of Israeli bombing, Israel’s detonation of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members and a devastating port explosion in 2020. But Wednesday was the first time it felt like the city had been left breathless.

In a span of 10 minutes, Israel says it hit 100 targets in Lebanon. Most were in Beirut. Over 300 people were killed, including more than 100 women, children and elderly. Late night TV shows said it rivaled one of the worst days during Israel’s 1982 invasion of Beirut — in August of that year, when roughly 300 people were killed over some 10 hours of bombardment.

Acrid smoke, frantic calls and looks of horror

Before Wednesday's bombardment, many Lebanese had hoped that a ceasefire announced hours earlier in the Iran war would bring a pause in the more than a month of fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

It is still not clear what the targets were. Israel said it hit Hezbollah command and control centers, but the only Hezbollah official it reported killing was an aide to the group’s secretary general.

As bombs fell, panicked commuters got stuck in traffic while trying to rush home to move their families, unsure where Israel may hit next. Others made frantic calls on an overwhelmed communication network, looking for loved ones or yelling at relatives to pack up and leave. Confused drivers stared at the acrid black and white smoke billowing over the city, trying to determine which road to take.

In the stricken areas, the mayhem was on another level. People’s faces were covered in black soot. At one of Beirut’s busiest intersections, on Corniche al-Mazraa, an Associated Press photographer saw charred cars piled on top of each other. A body was crushed inside one.

In Mar Elias, one of Beirut’s main commercial streets, a blast raised dust and debris that hid the view of the entire block. Across the street, Sahar Charara was huddled in her apartment.

Ever since the 2020 port explosion, in which her two children suffered minor injuries, Charara has tried to protect herself from seeing the victims of violence — a sign of how years of accumulated heartbreaks have marked Lebanese. But when the dust cleared, she looked outside and saw the despair of an entire city on the face of an elderly woman frozen in place and screaming for minutes.

“There were so much horror and fear in her screaming,” said Charara.

When Charara left her apartment an hour later, she exchanged a few words with her neighbor whose shop was destroyed. The expression on her face was a “blank look of horror,” Charara said.

She learned later from her building’s doorman that another neighbor had fallen from the balcony and died from the impact.

Buildings crumble to the ground

A few hundred meters to the west of Charara's building, motorists swerved and crossed paths, as they tried to evacuate Tallet al-Khayyat, one of the highest points in Beirut and home to some of the city’s classiest apartment buildings. One building crumbled to dust in seconds after being struck by an Israeli bomb; a resident described hearing the building’s stones grind before it collapsed.

A strike hit near the home of Nahida Khalil, close to the corniche. Then she saw smoke also coming from the direction of her brother’s building further up the street.

The next 15 minutes felt like an eternity as she tried to call her brother, with no answer. Finally, his wife responded, screaming that their building was hit. They had searched through the black smoke filling their apartment to find their three children. When they finally made it to the street, they saw half of their building had been leveled, and the other half was slowly tumbling down as rescuers searched for the missing.

“I lived through all the wars since 1975. I never felt this fear,” said Khalil, who has lived in the same building for decades. "These strikes are meant to terrorize ... and to spoil the ceasefire and cause division” between Lebanese.

By nightfall, people were still assessing the losses and damages – and trying to figure out where was safe. Some families spent the night sleeping in different rooms, figuring if overnight strikes hit, some would survive.

Rescue efforts went on through the night.

At Khalil’s family building in the Ain Mreisseh neighborhood, rescue workers' hopes were boosted after finding a 92-year-old man alive. But by daylight Thursday, they were still searching for four or five more bodies, they told the AP. A man whose 23-year-old daughter was among the missing stood on a mound of rubble and helped search.

The 101st strike

At hospitals, staff were still trying to identify dozens of bodies.

The last strike came shortly after midnight, hitting the southern suburbs of Beirut, which have been regularly hit during the war. Mohammed Mehdi’s barbershop, in operation for 30 years, was destroyed.

During the current war, he and his family fled their home in the neighborhood, Chiyah, and now sleep in a dentist clinic, near Khalil’s family building. But he made it a point to keep his barber shop open, going to it every day to meet friends, have coffee and give the occasional haircut. He shut down Wednesday as bombs starting falling across the city.

“They carried out 100 strikes. Ours was the 101st,” he said Thursday. He is mourning Lebanon’s dead from the day. “I am still in shock, and I don’t know where things are going. I lost my job and this loss may last for a while.”

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AP correspondent Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

The official, who was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday, said the investigation is “about affordability for consumers and creating an even playing field for providers.”

The investigation was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The NFL has not received a notification that the league is being investigated, according to two other people with knowledge of the situation. Those people spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak on possible legal matters.

The investigation comes amid increasing federal scrutiny of the amount of money fans are paying to watch sports on television. The Federal Communications Commission, for example, is seeking public comments on the ongoing shift of live sports from broadcast channels to streaming services.

The NFL said in a statement Thursday that over 87% of its games are available on broadcast television, including all that are played in a team's local market.

“The NFL’s media distribution model is the most fan and broadcaster-friendly in the entire sports and entertainment industry. The 2025 season was our most viewed since 1989 and reflects the strength of the NFL distribution model and its wide availability to all fans," the league said in its statement.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee, chair of the Senate judiciary subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy, and consumer rights, wrote a letter to the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission on March 3 urging them to review whether the NFL’s distribution methods are in line with the Sports Broadcasting Act, which grants limited antitrust immunity to allow teams to collectively license game broadcasts to national networks.

"The modern distribution environment differs substantially from the conditions that precipitated this exemption. Instead of a small number of free broadcast networks, the NFL now licenses games simultaneously to subscription streaming platforms, premium cable networks, and technology companies operating under different business models,” the Republican senator wrote. “To the extent collectively licensed game packages are placed behind subscription paywalls, these arrangements may no longer align with the statutory concept of sponsored telecasting or the consumer-access rationale underlying the antitrust exemption.”

Lee said in his letter that football fans spent almost $1,000 on cable and streaming subscriptions. Forbes estimated the cost of watching every NFL game via streaming last season at $765.

The NFL aired games last season on CBS, NBC, ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, Fox, NFL Network, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and YouTube TV.

The league averages nearly $11 billion per season in revenue from its media deals. That could increase since the sale of Paramount to Skydance Media allows the league to renegotiate its deal with CBS.

The rights deals go through 2033 with most outlets and 2034 with ESPN. The league has an opt-out clause after the 2029 season, which it is likely to exercise since 83 of the top 100 broadcasts last year were NFL games, according to Nielsen.

The Sports Broadcasting Act exemption passed in 1961 applies only to broadcast television. Courts have ruled in the past that it does not apply to other media, including cable, satellite and streaming.

The Sports Broadcasting Act includes a rule allowing blackouts of local games, which still applies to out-of-market packages sold by the league. The NFL ended local TV blackouts, which applied to games within 75 miles of a team’s market if they did not sell out 72 hours before kickoff, after the 2014 season.

Last year, the House Judiciary Committee requested briefings from the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB on whether antitrust exemptions should still be granted for coordinating their broadcast television rights.

All four of the major North American professional sports leagues have deals with streaming platforms.

In 2024, a jury in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles ruled the NFL violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service and awarded $4.7 billion in damages.

A federal judge overturned the verdict in the class-action lawsuit because the testimony of two witnesses for the subscribers had flawed methodologies and should have been excluded.

The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the “Sunday Ticket” package on DirecTV of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons.

Because damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could have been liable for $14,121,779,833.92.

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Reedy reported from Cleveland and Tucker from Washington.

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

Xander Schauffele's tee shot on the par-5 eighth hole Thursday at Augusta National ended up in somebody's merchandise bag, just a few feet to the left of the fairway. Schauffele used a tee to mark the spot, removed the ball and then handed off the bag to a woman in a pink and white outfit.

He was able to play on without penalty and made par.

“It just flew straight into the bag. It was a great break. That bounce would’ve put me in the pine straw and who knows if I would’ve had a shot to hit up the hill,” Schauffele said after shooting a 2-under 70 in the first round.

“So thanks to the lady on 8,” he said.

Schauffele shouldn't sell himself short for his own role in a solid first day. After his tee shot on the par-4 ninth ended up in some pine straw and his second shot found a bunker, he splashed out to within inches of the hole for a par.

He made three birdies and two bogeys on the back nine.

“A little bit of a mixed bag,” he said.

No pun intended, presumably.

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

But a lawyer for Live Nation insisted in Manhattan federal court that there is more competition than ever and the company plays fair amid a booming concert business across America.

The states, attorney David Marriott said, failed to prove that Live Nation had acted as a monopolist.

“They can’t, and they didn’t,” he said.

The federal government led the civil claims case until it settled the lawsuit it brought in 2024 several weeks ago, saying it had won important concessions from Live Nation, particularly in the sale of tickets at dozens of the company's amphitheaters. The settlement delayed the trial for a week while states conducted mostly unsuccessful negotiations with Live Nation.

After closing arguments concluded, jurors were instructed on the law by Judge Arun Subramanian. They were expected to start deliberations late Thursday or Friday.

In his closing, attorney Jeffrey Kessler argued on behalf of the states that evidence has shown that the companies “violated antitrust laws and it is time to hold them accountable.”

He reminded jurors that since it was a civil trial, they only needed to find that the states had proven by a preponderance of the evidence — more than 50% — that Live Nation and Ticketmaster illegally wielded monopoly power.

Kessler labeled the company a “monopolistic bully” and said it had employed practices that “kept digging the moat around the monopoly castle in order to protect their market position.”

Live Nation's control of 86% of the market for concerts and 73% of the overall market when sports events are included, showed it had monopoly power, he said.

Marriott countered that Live Nation and Ticketmaster were merely reaping the fruits of decades of hard work that created the best products in the industry.

“We are the biggest entertainment company and ticketer in the country. We’re not hiding from that fact,” he said. “We are big. That is not against the laws in the United States. Success is not against the antitrust laws in the United States.”

Marriott also said the company tries to “outflank and outcompete” its competitors and the jury should not punish the company because the states had shown some communications in which employees who are “fierce competitors” talk about crushing the competition.

He defended the company decision not to immediately fire an employee who acknowledged from the witness stand that he had written a series of messages from late 2021 through early 2023 in which he mocked customers as “so stupid” and said the company was “robbing them blind, baby.”

“People say, sometimes, stupid stuff,” Marriott said, noting the comments were made about the price of lawn chairs and parking. “We don't condone that. But we also don't just ax somebody because they made a mistake years in the past.”

Meanwhile, he said, venues and artists are doing better than ever and fans are benefiting from a robust and thriving entertainment industry.

“Our job is to help venues and artists make money. We don’t make excuses for that,” Marriott said.

Noa-Lynn van Leuven of the Netherlands spoke out Thursday when the Darts Regulation Authority's new policy took effect.

"Apparently, I just got retired — not by choice, but because I’m no longer allowed to compete,” Van Leuven said in a video on her Instagram account.

The 29-year-old van Leuven had competed in the Women's Series of the Professional Darts Corporation. In 2024, she became the first transgender woman to play at the PDC World Darts Championship.

“I’ve worked so damn hard for years just to get here. I showed up, I competed. I respected the sport every game, every single day,” van Leuven said. “And now, with just one decision, I’m being told I don’t belong anymore. This isn’t just about me. This is another huge hit for the trans community.”

She will still be eligible for open PDC events.

It's not clear what van Leuven's legal options are, but in a written message with the video she added: “This isn’t the end. I’m just going back to the drawing board. I’m not done fighting.”

The DRA said in a statement Thursday that it began a review of its policies in 2025. It included commissioning a report from “an academic developmental biologist who has published several papers on sex and categories in sport. The DRA has also considered extensive legal advice.”

“As a result of its review, the DRA is satisfied that to achieve fair competition in darts, only biological females should be eligible to compete in women’s tournaments regulated by DRA Rules,” it said.

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

Erik Duran, 38, was convicted of manslaughter in the 2023 death of 30-year-old Eric Duprey. The ex-sergeant said he was trying to protect other officers from the approaching scooter. He is the first former NYPD officer sentenced to prison for an on-duty death in at least two decades.

“I took this job to save lives. I felt terrible once I saw Eric Duprey crash," Duran told a Bronx judge, saying he “did everything he could” to attend to the man's injuries.

“I never wanted this to happen,” he added, apologizing to Duprey's family in Spanish as a court interpreter translated.

Duprey's mother, Gretchen Soto, wept as Duran spoke. Earlier, she told the court: "There are no words to express what I feel.”

Judge Guy Mitchell said he did not accept the ex-sergeant’s defense that his actions were justified, concluding that Duran hurled the cooler because he “was upset that Mr. Duprey was getting away.” If there was no cooler, the judge said, Duprey “would have driven by” Duran and “could’ve been captured another day.”

Duran was immediately taken into custody after sentencing. His lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said he will ask a court to free him on bail while he appeals.

"Nobody’s above the law” a woman shouted in a courthouse hallway after the sentence was announced.

Afterward, Soto and Duprey's partner, Pearl Velez, said they did not accept Duran’s apology.

“How you gonna say sorry now?” Velez said.

Duran's union, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, said thousands of officers signed an online petition calling for him to be spared prison.

“Today will forever be the darkest day of our profession,” union president Vincent Vallelong said. Duran’s prison sentence, he said, “puts in the back of a police officer's mind that they can lose their freedom” for making a split-second decision.

Officers in NYPD jackets packed the courtroom gallery, while a couple dozen protesters outside demanded justice for Duprey.

Duran's sentence, less than the maximum of five to 15 years, matched what prosecutors with state Attorney General Letitia James’ office had sought. The ex-sergeant recklessly caused Duprey's death and attempted to cover up his actions, prosecutor Joseph Bianco said.

Defense lawyer Andrew Quinn argued for no prison time, calling Duprey’s death the “unintended and tragic consequences” of a “reckless decision” Duran made in a span of 2.5 seconds.

Duran grew up in the Bronx and led a “model, exemplary life” prior to Duprey's death. A married father of three, he joined the NYPD because he wanted to make the borough “cleaner and safer for the kids who came after him,” Quinn said.

“He is now the cooler cop,” Quinn said.

Duran was part of a narcotics policing unit that conducted a “buy-and-bust” operation in the Bronx on Aug. 23, 2023. Police said Duprey sold drugs to an undercover officer, then tried to flee on a scooter.

Surveillance video showed Duprey driving the motorized scooter on a sidewalk toward a group of people. As he approached, the then-sergeant — who wasn't in uniform — picked up a bystander's cooler and threw it.

The container struck Duprey, who lost control of the scooter, slammed into a tree and crashed onto the pavement. Duprey was not wearing a helmet. He sustained fatal head injuries and died almost instantly, according to prosecutors.

They argued Duran had enough time to warn others to move but instead hurled the cooler because he was angry.

Duran, however, testified at his trial that he made a split-second decision to keep other officers safe from the scooter speeding toward them.

“He was gonna crash into us,” Duran said then, adding “all I had time for was to try again to stop or to try to get him to change directions.”

Duran opted to have Judge Mitchell, not a jury, decide the case.

Duran had worked for the NYPD for 13 years. He was suspended after the crash and fired after his conviction in February.

Duprey was a delivery driver and had three young children. Soto, who said she was on a video call with him right before he died, has disputed the police claims that he sold drugs and fled from officers.

She told the judge Thursday her son “is not just a name, not just one more case.”

“It is an unjust incident," Soto said through a Spanish interpreter. "As a mother, I have to miss him now every day.”

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Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.

Tennessee big man J.P. Estrella entered the transfer portal this week after his team fell to Michigan, 95-62, in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament.

On Thursday, Estrella announced his commitment to the Wolverines, according to Joe Tipton, of On3.

Estrella is 6 feet, 11 inches tall and averaged 10 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Volunteers this season. He played in 33 of 37 games, starting 13.

The redshirt sophomore shot 59.4% from the floor and wasn’t a factor from the three-point line, attempting only 10 shots beyond the arc. He is currently ranked the No. 21 player in the transfer portal, per 247 Sports.

Michigan went 37-3 this season en route to a Big Ten title and national championship. Dusty May’s team ranked as one of the most dominant in recent college basketball history.

The title-winning roster was supplemented with four key transfers last offseason -- Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara, Morez Johnson, and Elliot Cadeau.

Lendeborg became the Big Ten Player of the Year and a First-Team All American. Mara and Johnson are both expected to be first-round draft picks, and Cadeau was named the Most Outstanding Player after his performance in the Final Four and championship game.

Cadeau is expected to return next season, along with freshman star Trey McKenney. But Michigan will most likely have to replace Lendeborg, Mara, Johnson, Nimari Burnett, Roddy Gayle, and Will Tschetter. L.J. Cason will also miss the entire season due to injury.

May is bringing in a top-10 high school recruiting class, led by five-star Brandon McCoy, who committed to the Wolverines during the Fab Five telecast of their blowout win over Arizona in the Final Four. It also includes four-stars Quinn Costello and Joseph Hartman, and three-star Malachi Brown.

Four-star Lincoln Cosby is rehabbing from an ACL injury, and 7-foot-3 commit Marcus Moller has put his playing career on pause due to a cancer diagnosis.

With the Final Four returning to Detroit in 2027, Michigan is among the teams expected to be in contention for another championship next season, depending on the remaining NBA draft decisions and transfer portal additions.

NEWS: Tennessee transfer forward JP Estrella has committed to Michigan, a source told @On3.

The 6-11 sophomore averaged 10.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game this season. https://t.co/zpdtOyD8Bh https://t.co/WHB1g2BuQo pic.twitter.com/nWDzsILUCC

— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) April 9, 2026

Preston Henry Tolth, 26, now will face trial on charges of carjacking and assault in relation to the 2021 disappearance of Ella Mae Begay. A trial date hasn't been set.

Under the agreement, Tolth would have been sentenced to three years of time served in exchange for acknowledging his role in the crime and pleading guilty to a single count of robbery.

Begay’s case received national media attention and helped highlight the broader crisis of Indigenous people who go missing or are killed. Nearly five years after she disappeared, Begay has not been found.

The rare decision to reject a plea agreement followed anguished testimony from Begay's son and niece who told the court Tolth should not walk free without revealing Begay's location.

Ella Mae Begay's daughter reported her mother missing in June 2021 from her home in Sweetwater, Arizona, a small community on the northern part of the Navajo Nation.

Tolth, whose father was dating Begay's sister, initially denied involvement in her disappearance. In a later interrogation, he confessed to stealing Begay's truck with her in it, punching her repeatedly and leaving her on the side of the road.

Tolth sold the truck for money and drugs, according to the agreement.

Tolth was set to face trial in 2024, but a federal judge dealt prosecutors a major blow by ruling his confession inadmissible, saying Tolth had been unlawfully coerced by an FBI agent who lied about evidence that law enforcement had against him after Tolth had invoked his right to remain silent.

In a sentencing memo, federal prosecutors said the suppression of Tolth's confession weakened the government's case and that the plea agreement would provide Begay's family with more “certainty and finality” than a trial with sparse evidence.

Meadows and Greene converged on a fly ball hit by Minnesota’s Josh Bell into left-center field on Thursday. It happened in the bottom of the eighth inning, with the score tied 1-1.

Greene caught the ball and collided violently with Meadows. Greene got up to check on his teammate after the play, but Meadows remained on the ground for several minutes before ultimately sitting up gingerly while surrounded by athletic trainers.

He got to his feet and was taken off the field on a golf cart. Two EMS workers followed the cart into the tunnel.

In the 17-minute video posted Wednesday, the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets tell how Lt. Col. Brandon Shah lunged at the shooter during the March 12 incident at the Norfolk school, placing himself between the gunman and the class.

Cadet Jah-Ire Urtarte said Shah, who was shot and did not survive, saved lives that day.

“If he didn’t lunge at him, you know, I wouldn’t be here right now,” he said. “There’s a possibility he could’ve turned his gun and I could’ve been next.”

The shooter, Army National Guard veteran Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, also died. He had pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to aid the Islamic State and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was on supervised release at the time of the attack.

The students say Jalloh walked into their classroom and nervously asked if it was an ROTC class. When someone confirmed that, they say he pulled a pistol from his waist, shouted 'Allahu akbar,’ and fired toward Shah.

Students dived for cover. As Shah struggled with Jalloh, Cadet Louis Ancheta said he pulled out his pocket knife, moved toward them and was hit in the chest by a round.

“It really didn’t feel like it hit me,” he said, pointing toward his sternum. “It felt like a graze. After that, I’m like, `I can keep on going.' ”

When Shah got the man turned around, Ancheta said he took action with the folding tactical knife that most cadets carry with them.

“So, I just go in there, just start stabbing him,” he said. “As I’m stabbing, other cadets jump in.”

Cadet Jeremy Rawlinson said he took out his knife, too, to help stop the threat.

Despite having several people on top of him, Jalloh still had the gun. Cadet Wesley Myers said he made that his priority, squeezing his fingers between Jalloh's hand and the weapon to pry it away and clear the final round from the chamber.

With the shooter disarmed, the cadets said they turned their attention to the wounded: Cadet Samuel Reineberg found a gunshot wound to Shah’s upper right thigh. Rawlinson handed him his belt for a tourniquet.

“On an instant, we switched over to doing combat care,” Rawlinson said.

Myers went to Ancheta.

“It’s different when it’s not a mannequin and it’s your friend,” Myers said. “So, myself and another cadet pull him to the side and lay him on his back and begin performing first aid.”

Ancheta said he asked them to call his mother.

He received the Purple Heart — one of several cadets awarded medals for their response.

They praised Shah for taking action to protect them and for preparing them for the moment.

“So, he got to see all the training that he and the rest of Cadre had been giving us for the past years. He got to see us instantly do that in action,” Rawlinson said. “He got see right then and there, like, hey, these guys didn’t panic. They immediately switched over."

Shah attended Old Dominion University as an ROTC student, according to his biography on the university’s website, and had returned in 2022 as a leader for the program. In the Army, Shah had flown helicopters over Iraq, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe as a pilot.

Two days before the shooting, Shah had told cadets not to wear their uniforms around campus as a precaution, another cadet previously told The Associated Press.

“Because of all the situation that’s happening with Iran and all of that stuff in the Middle East,” said Cadet Brandon Rebolledo, who was in the nearby ROTC building when the shooting occurred. “To make sure that we did not become a target and to make sure that we were keeping a low profile.”

The students say Shah was the real hero that day.

“So, he has a saying: 'Be bold, be quick, be gone,’ ” Rawlinson said.

Added Cadet Oshea Bego: “Col. Shah really set that example for what it means, not just as a warrior, leader and soldier, but also just as a human being.”

On Wednesday, The Associated Press reported that at least 50 brand new accounts on Polymarket placed substantial bets on a U.S.-Iran ceasefire in the hours, even minutes, before President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire late Tuesday on social media. These were the sole bets made on Polymarket through these accounts.

In January, an anonymous Polymarket user made a $400,000 profit by betting that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro would be out of office, hours before Maduro was captured. In the hours before the start of the Iran war, another account made roughly $550,000 in a series of trades effectively betting that the U.S. would strike Iran and that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be removed from office.

Such prescient wagers have raised eyebrows — and accusations that prediction markets are ripe for insider trading. And the issue goes beyond these three geopolitical events, according to at least one report. Researchers at Harvard University released a paper last month where, using public blockchain data, they estimated that $143 million in profits have been made on Polymarket by individuals who potentially had insider information about events ranging from Taylor Swift's engagement to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize last year.

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y who sits on the House Financial Services Committee as well as the subcommittee on digital assets and financial technology, sent a letter Thursday to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission demanding the regulator review and investigate these well-timed trades. The CFTC regulates the derivatives markets, which includes prediction markets.

“This pattern raises serious concerns that certain market participants may have had access to material nonpublic information regarding a market-moving geopolitical event,” Torres wrote. The letter was shared exclusively with The AP.

“What is the statistical likelihood that of anyone other than an insider trader placing a winning bet 12 minutes before a market-moving presidential announcement,” Torres said in an interview with AP. “There are two answers: God, or an insider trader. And something tells me that God it not placing bets around Donald Trump’s posts on Truth Social. "

Prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket allow their users to bet on everything from whether it will rain in Phoenix, Arizona next week to whether the Federal Reserve will raise or lower interest rates.

At this time, U.S. residents have limited access to Polymarket, which was banned from the U.S. in 2022. The company has moved to reenter the country by acquiring a CFTC-licensed exchange and clearinghouse, giving it a legal pathway to start offering contracts domestically. The company has begun a limited rollout in the U.S.

Polymarket also operates a separate, crypto-based platform offshore that remains outside U.S. jurisdiction. That platform accounts for most of its activity.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, sent a letter to Polymarket on Thursday demanding the company explain why it continues to allow trades on war and violence as well as whether the company is making any efforts to keep insiders from trading on the platform.

“Polymarket has become an illicit market to sell and exploit national security secrets unlike any in history, and by extension a potential honeypot for foreign intelligence services watching for those same suspicious bets and wagers,” Blumenthal wrote.

Republicans have also criticized these platforms and called for bans on these sorts of bets. There are at least two bills pending in Congress co-signed by both parties, one in the House and one in the Senate.

“We don’t want to imagine a world where America’s adversaries use prediction markets to anticipate our next move,” said Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, after the release of the AP’s findings on the ceasefire wagers.

Polymarket did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The stakes are high for both Kalshi and Polymarket as they seek approval to operate in the U.S. and nationwide, particularly in the lucrative sports betting market.

Kalshi, which is already regulated in the U.S., and its executives have a goal of making the company the nation's dominant prediction market. Kalshi has also leaned heavily into sports, which critics have said effectively makes it a sports betting platform that dabbles in event-based contracts on the side. Both companies have also announced partnerships with sports teams and even news organizations to broaden their reach as well. The AP has an agreement to sell U.S. elections data to Kalshi.

The competition also carries political overtones. Donald Trump Jr. is an investor in Polymarket through his venture capital firm, 1789 Capital, and separately serves as a paid strategic adviser to Kalshi.

Watch the video above to hear about some of the events you can check out.

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The revamped Riverdance show brings the classic dancing that you’ve always loved, but new art lighting, projection and motion graphics, choreography and costumes make this show one that you won’t want to miss.

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The Postal Service also wants to increase postage rates, including raising the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 78 cents to 82 cents. USPS filed notice Friday with regulators, who still need to approve the changes.

The step taken by the Postal Board of Governors to forgo the pension payments is meant to preserve cash and liquidity due to the Postal Service's "ongoing, severe financial crisis," Postal Service Chief Financial Officer Luke Grossmann said in an internal message to USPS employees. Officials have warned the USPS is on course to run out of cash by around February 2027.

Despite the suspension of employer contributions, effective Friday, current and future retirees will not be immediately impacted, Grossman said.

“The risk to the Postal Service and the American public from insufficient liquidity for postal operations dramatically outweighs any longer-term risk to the pension funds from not making the currently due payments,” he said in the statement. USPS deferred payments in 2011 during another financial crisis.

The Postal Service said it will continue transmitting employees’ retirement contributions to the federal Office of Personnel Management, along with Thrift Savings Plan contributions, including employer automatic and matching funds, and will also maintain its employer contributions to Social Security.

Brian Renfroe, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, said the temporary suspension of annuity payments is “not ideal" but it doesn't immediately impact his members, who he said understand the Postal Service's financial challenges.

“Given a menu of options, none of which are overall positive, they would certainly prefer the Postal Service making a move like this as opposed to something that immediately impacts them or immediately impacts in a negative way the service that we provide to the American people.”

Ninety-nine percent of career USPS employees are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System.

In a related matter, the Postal Regulatory Commission on Thursday granted the Postal Service a temporary, multi-year waiver allowing it to redirect billions of dollars in revenue previously earmarked for retiree benefits, providing “some breathing room and flexibility” to execute contingency plans and avoid running out of cash.

Last month, Postmaster General David Steiner told The Associated Press and later a congressional committee that the 250-year-old service needs to have a decades-old $15 billion cap on borrowing raised to $34.5 billion so the independent agency can have access to more cash.

“That will buy us the time to make the fixes we need to make, and we can sail on down the road,” he told the AP. Steiner has called for other changes as well, including greater flexibility in how retirement funds are invested and the authority for USPS to raise postage prices high enough to cover losses.

Keep Us Posted, an advocacy group representing consumers, catalogs, greeting card publishers and others, has urged Congress to ensure any rate increases would be limited to once a year. The group also wants to ensure six-day-a-week mail service remains and that USPS regulators have greater control over any service changes.

USPS said the proposed price increases requested Thursday, which also affect postcards and international letters, will still make rates among the most affordable in the world. The Postal Service relies mostly on the sale of postage, products and services to finance its operations.

The Postal Service has seen annual volume plummet from about 220 billion pieces in 2006 to about 110 billion today as more people pay bills and communicate online.

USPS’s net losses for the 2025 fiscal year totaled $9 billion, even though total operating revenue increased by $916 million or 1.2%, due largely to its Ground Advantage shipping service. Net losses in fiscal year 2024 were $9.5 billion.

The crash happened at 8:36 a.m. Thursday, April 9, 2026, in the area of Clark and Judd roads in Huron Township.

Huron Township Director of Public Safety Everette Robbins said the driver of the school bus was on the right side of the road to avoid large potholes. The road gave out and caused the bus to go into the ditch, according to Robbins.

“This appears to simply be a case of the road being soft, and the driver took the appropriate actions to do what could be done to avoid something worse,” Robbins said. “We are thankful that all our kids are safe.”

The bus was traveling at appropriate speeds and the driver was not texting or in violation of any laws, Robbins said.

“The interior camera of the bus was quickly reviewed, and the actions of the driver appear to have been appropriate,” Robbins said. “The driver was not texting or in violation of the hands-free law prior to the accident. Speed and/or intoxicants do not appear to be a factor in the crash.”

The Huron Township school resource officer and other first responders helped students evacuate the bus.

Three students complained of minor injuries and were looked at by medical workers at the crash scene, officials said. All three were released to their parents.

All other students were either taken to another bus and then brought to school or released to their parents, Robbins said.

The Wayne County Roads Division was told about the road conditions in the area.

Springs walked Giancarlo Stanton after catcher Austin Wynns lost an ABS challenge on the previous pitch that was called a ball. On his 84th pitch, Rice hit an 83 mph slider for a clean single to right field.

The A's held a 1-0 lead when Springs allowed Rice's hit.

Springs allowed two baserunners in the third and ended the inning by getting a called third strike on Aaron Judge with his changeup. He ended the fifth by getting José Caballero on a flyball to deep left field.

In the sixth, Springs won an ABS challenge that resulted in a called third strike to Ryan McMahon. He ended the sixth at 73 pitches after Judge softly grounded out to third.

The A’s have thrown 13 no-hitters in franchise history. The last was achieved by Mike Fiers on May 7, 2019, in Oakland against the Cincinnati Reds.

The Yankees have been no-hit eight times in team history. The last was a combined no-hitter by Houston’s Cristian Javier, Hector Neris and Ryan Pressly on June 25, 2022, at Yankee Stadium.

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

The settlement in principle was reached with Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, owner and operator of the M/V Dali, Attorney General Anthony Brown said. The settlement resolves a portion of the state's claims arising from the ship's March 26, 2024, crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

“For two years, Maryland workers, families, and communities have carried the weight of a disaster that should never have happened," Brown said in a news release. It did not give details of the settlement.

The attorney general noted that the Dali's crash into the bridge "disrupted the Port of Baltimore, devastated livelihoods, and sent economic shockwaves across our State that are still being felt today.”

“Our work is not finished, but this settlement is an important step toward making Maryland whole," Brown said.

The companies confirmed in a joint statement that significant progress has been made in resolving claims. Within the past week, the statement said, they have reached “two pivotal settlement agreements with the State of Maryland and ACE American Insurance Company that underscore their commitment to a reasonable and structured outcome to this unfortunate incident.”

The $350 million settlement with the insurance company matched the amount ACE paid to Maryland, an amount that represented the limit of the state's policy.

“These agreements represent a significant step towards resolving the complex litigation surrounding this event and Owners and Managers remain open to negotiating in good faith to reach equitable settlements with other involved parties holding meritorious claims,” the joint statement said.

The Maryland Transportation Authority late last year estimated the price range of a new bridge alone to be between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion, with an anticipated open-to-traffic date in late 2030.

The settlement does not resolve any claims the state may have against the shipbuilder, Hyundai, the attorney general's office said.

The ship was leaving Baltimore for Sri Lanka when its steering failed because of a power loss. Six men on a road crew, who were filling potholes during an overnight shift, fell to their deaths when the bridge collapsed.

The state’s claims, filed in federal court in Maryland in September 2024, alleged that the disaster was the result of negligence, mismanagement, and the reckless operation of a vessel that was not seaworthy and should never have left port.

The state sought damages on behalf of its agencies for the destruction of the bridge, harm to the Patapsco River and surrounding environment, lost revenues, and the wide-ranging economic losses sustained by Maryland and its residents.

The collapse brought shipping at the Port of Baltimore to a complete halt, disrupted the livelihoods of thousands of workers, rerouted traffic through communities already bearing disproportionate burdens, and triggered economic ripple effects still being felt across the state, the attorney general's office noted.

The bridge, a longstanding Baltimore landmark, was a vital piece of transportation infrastructure that allowed drivers to easily bypass downtown. The original 1.6-mile (2.6-kilometer) steel span took five years to construct and opened to traffic in 1977. It was particularly important for the city’s port operations.

The Health Ministry said that 1,150 people were also wounded in the widespread strikes that rocked Lebanon on Wednesday, including in busy parts of Beirut.

There was no immediate response to the Israeli announcement from Lebanon, which had repeatedly proposed talks to end the war, or from Hezbollah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that talks would focus on disarming Hezbollah and “establishing peaceful relations” between the countries.

Negotiations are expected to begin next week at the State Department in Washington, according to a person familiar with the plans. The talks are expected to be handled on the American side by U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, and on the Israeli side by Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the situation.

A Lebanese diplomatic official familiar with the developments said that the country has not yet appointed someone to lead talks from Beirut, but Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is keen to have a temporary ceasefire when talks commence in parallel with those taking place between the United States and Iran mediated by Pakistan. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Israel's announcement came hours after it had warned of escalation and said that it had killed an aide and nephew of Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem, Ali Yusuf Harshi.

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, earlier said that continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon would bring “explicit costs and STRONG responses,” while insisting that a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war extended to Lebanon. Israel has disagreed.

Israeli strikes on Wednesday, without warning, killed at least 203 people and wounded more than 1,000, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. Israel's military said that it targeted Hezbollah sites, but several strikes hit densely packed commercial and residential areas during rush hour, leading to widespread civilian casualties. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the attacks “barbaric.”

U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday said that Washington asked Israel to scale back attacks on Lebanon to ensure negotiations with Iran are successful.

‘I thought I was dead’

In Beirut, people waited anxiously on the ragged edges of search and rescue work, shielding their faces from the dust. Exhausted firefighters sat on a charred car amid collapsed buildings.

Lebanese Civil Defense spokesperson Elie Khairallah told The Associated Press that a wounded woman was found alive overnight in the seaside neighborhood of Ain Mreisseh, and a man was found alive in his collapsed apartment building in the southern suburbs.

Mohammad Chehab, a Syrian man from Deir el-Zour, said that six of his 10 family members had been found dead in a destroyed building.

“They’ve been searching all day” for the rest, he said.

At hospitals, survivors and doctors described the carnage, while relatives gathered to identify bodies.

Abdul Rahman Mohammad, a Syrian who lost five relatives in the Hay al-Sellom neighborhood, waited at Rafik Hariri Hospital to retrieve the bodies of his mother, two sisters, brother and brother-in-law.

“They were struck without any warning. This is Israeli brutality,” he said.

Dr. Mohamad El Zaatari, director of the public hospital, said that it had treated 45 wounded people, including 10 cases in intensive care.

At the Makassed hospital, Rabee Koshok lay on his bed.

“I thought I was dead. What happened?" he recalled. “A big flash of light struck my face and eyes, and I found someone flying over and landing next to me. He was dead.”

Koshok had been in the commercial district of Corniche al Mazraa when a strike hit a nearby building.

Dr. Wael Jarrosh said that the hospital received around 70 wounded patients within 10 minutes of the blasts. Two people died and five remained hospitalized, including three in intensive care.

“This has destroyed us psychologically,” the doctor said.

Lebanon alleges ‘blatant violation’ of international law

Netanyahu earlier had said that strikes would proceed “with force, precision and determination." Israel's military has accused Hezbollah members of moving out of the group’s main areas of influence in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, and blending into civilian areas.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that his country would file an urgent complaint with the U.N. Security Council, calling the attacks a “blatant violation” of international and humanitarian law.

In a Cabinet session earlier Thursday, the Lebanese government announced a plan to demilitarize Beirut and deploy larger numbers of security patrols.

Even before the renewed war, Lebanon's government had sought Hezbollah's disarmament. The issue has inflamed tensions among Lebanese who are deeply divided over Hezbollah and its arsenal.

Melhem Khalaf, a reformist legislator representing Beirut, was critical of Israel’s strikes, but also of Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon back into war.

“All the targeted areas are safe residential Lebanese areas,” Khalaf said, while watching a bulldozer clear rubble. “What we are witnessing is a massacre against civilians."

More than a million people have been displaced by the war, many from the south and Dahiyeh. Israel's military has issued warnings for the population to leave those areas, followed by heavy bombardment.

Israel has also launched a ground invasion in the border region. The death toll in Lebanon has reached 1,739, the health ministry said, with 5,873 wounded.

Meanwhile, the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria returned to service Thursday, five days after the Israeli military warned of plans to strike it, alleging that Hezbollah was using it to smuggle military equipment. Lebanese and Syrian authorities denied the claim.

More than 200,000 people have fled Lebanon into Syria since the war resumed.

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Sally Abou AlJoud reported from Beirut. Ali Sharafeddine and Hussein Malla in Beirut, and Ghaith AlSayed in Jdeidet Yabous, Syria, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

The dancers are bringing their moves to the Detroit Opera House for performances on April 11th and 12th.

Watch the video above for details and to see a special in-studio dance performance on “Live In The D.”

Members of the board of regents had said little publicly until Thursday about the surprise dismissal Tuesday of Jay Rothman as head of the 165,000-student university system. Regents voted unanimously with no public discussion to fire Rothman after a closed-door meeting.

Rothman told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday that he was kept in the dark about why he was being fired and his dismissal “blindsided” him.

But two regents who testified at a state Senate committee hearing on Thursday said Rothman knew more than he is letting on. They also said there were “substantial” reasons for his being fired, and Rothman was aware of them.

“That decision was not made lightly,” Regent President Amy Bogost said. “It was not political. It was not retaliatory. It was unanimous. ... We made a difficult decision for the right reasons, and I firmly stand by it.”

Republican lawmakers upset over Rothman's surprise firing called the public hearing to question regents about the reasons behind the move.

Rothman lacked urgency to address critical issues like AI, was not fully aligned with the board, tried to limit public board discussions and open records, limited board members’ interactions with lawmakers and took credit for accomplishments that were part of a “massive team effort,” Regent Timothy Nixon said.

Nixon also said he has been pushing for the UW system to justify why it has 579 employees, something he said Rothman did not address.

Rothman “doesn’t want to upset either the Legislature, the governor or the faculty or anybody else,” Nixon testified. “He didn’t want to upset the apple cart and, quite frankly, I think the apple cart needs some upsetting."

Regents also told lawmakers that Rothman could waive his right to confidentiality over personnel decisions if he chose, but he knows that means board members could share more than they can now. Instead, Rothman is using that confidentiality as a shield to craft a narrative “that is deliberately one-sided" and harming he university, Bogost said.

“That is not a search for truth,” she said. “That is strategy. ... To do the media circuit that he’s on denigrates our great universities, and that makes me sad."

Nixon said the way Rothman’s departure was handled, including the rejected offer that he retire or resign, is similar to what is done for CEOs of large corporations.

“This is no different than moving on to a new quarterback, no matter what you thought of the previous quarterback and what they did," Nixon said.

Tony Cavallaro sued the state Department of Environmental Conservation after officers met him with a warrant in the driveway of his home in the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg in March 2024. The officers sedated the 12-foot (3.6-meter), 750-pound (340-kilogram) alligator and drove him away in a van.

Albert, who lived in an indoor swimming pool, eventually ended up in a sanctuary in Texas.

Cavallaro sued over the state's denial of a license to keep Albert. But the 66-year-old said Thursday that the legal action had consumed his life for two years. With no quick end in sight, he decided last month that he couldn't deal with the exhausting battle anymore.

“They were never going to give me this alligator back, and it was going to cost me a ton more money. Another year and a half — at least — of stress,” Cavallaro said in a phone interview.

Cavallaro’s license to keep Albert had expired in 2021, according to the department. But even if it had been renewed, Cavallaro had let other people pet the alligator and even get in the pool with him, providing grounds for the removal under the rules for keeping animals classified as dangerous, the agency said after the seizure.

The seized alligator had blindness in both eyes and spinal complications, among other health issues, according to the state.

Cavallaro has insisted that Albert was “just a big baby” who had never shown signs of aggression. He bought the alligator at an Ohio reptile show when it was two months old and considered him an “emotional support animal.”

Cavallaro said he has not seen Albert since the animal was taken away, though he has seen photographs.

“I’m not at peace. I don’t think I ever will be,” he said. “I’m very angry about the whole thing.”

First up, guests can experience Greenfest, presented by Consumers Energy, at the Detroit Zoo. The event will feature a sustainable marketplace and food trucks. Guests will also be able to take home Zoo Poo, which is nutrient-rich compost made with waste from the animals at the Detroit Zoo.

Greenfest is happening from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 11th and Sunday, April 12th.

The Detroit Zoo is also going green in a different way — by hosting its annual E-Recycling event. It’s an opportunity for people to recycle electronics such as TVs, monitors, and computers, along with cell phones, tablets, and more. The E-Recycling event will be held on April 18th and 19th from 9 a.m. until noon at Detroit Zoo’s 10 Mile Road parking lot.

Watch the video above for additional details, or click here to learn more about the Detroit Zoo.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MARCH 2, 2025: Two days after Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran, triggering a wide-reaching war in the Middle East, Hezbollah launches missiles toward Israel. It says the salvo is in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and for “repeated Israeli aggressions” in Lebanon.

High school seniors continue to play “Senior Assassins,” a game involving students stalking each other with water guns.

“Although we do not condone the game, we would like to keep the public informed. We know area seniors are already engaged in playing the game again this year,” said Sheriff Troy Goodnough.

Additionally, the sheriff’s office is asking students to be cautious when it comes to playing the game, saying that hiding in the dark with something that could be mistaken as a real gun is a “recipe for disaster.”

Students are asked not to trespass and to use brightly colored squirt guns. If approached by police, students are told not to run or hide but to explain what they’re doing.

The headstone cleaning, hosted by the Great Lakes Cemetery Advisory Council, will be held on Saturday, April 11, at 9:30 a.m.

Pre-registration ended on March 31. However, volunteers can still register at the event beginning at 9 a.m.

Volunteers must check in at the registration tables near the maintenance building before cleaning, including those who have already pre-registered.

Sections will be assigned at the time of registration. If you have a loved one or friend resting at the cemetery and would like to be assigned to their section, you can include that information when registering, according to the advisory council.

Hot dogs, chips and drinks will be provided after the cleaning, while supplies last.

Great Lakes National Cemetery is located at 4200 Belford Road in Holly.

He'll be without teammate Jaylen Brown, though, as the Celtics ruled him out of their showdown against the New York Knicks with left Achilles tendinitis.

The Celtics will lock up the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a victory, a position that many thought was unrealistic because they would be playing for at least most of the season without Tatum.

He was hurt last May 12 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals when he fell to the court in the fourth quarter of a Knicks victory. New York went on to win the series, ending the Celtics’ championship reign.

Tatum went through the Celtics' morning shootaround at MSG on Thursday and told reporters afterward that he felt “nervousness, anxiousness. All the things you probably would expect.”

Asked how he would get through it, he added: “I think it's just deciding to face the challenge head-on and put my uniform on.”

Tatum returned March 6 and has played in 15 games, averaging 21.6 points and 9.8 rebounds. He said after the Celtics' home victory over Charlotte on Tuesday that he wasn't “thrilled to go back and play” at Madison Square Garden.

“Last time I played there, obviously, it was a traumatic experience for me,” he added.

Brown helped carry the Celtics through Tatum's absence with a superb season. The All-Star is averaging 28.8 points in 70 games.

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

Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the fund will downgrade its forecast for the world economy next week.

“Had it not been for this shock, we would have been upgrading global growth,” Georgieva said in remarks before next week's IMF-World Bank spring meetings. "But now, even our most hopeful scenario involves a growth downgrade.''

The world economy had proved resilient in the face of President Donald Trump's decision to impose sweeping taxes last year on imports from most the world's countries. In January, the 191-country IMF had upgraded the global growth outlook to 3.3% and was poised to do so again when its new forecasts came out next Tuesday.

But the war, which began Feb. 28, changed everything. The conflict has driven up the price of oil and natural gas; damaged oil refineries, tanker terminals and other energy infrastructure; disrupted shipments of fertilizer the world's farmers depend on; and damaged the confidence of businesses and consumers.

The United States and Iran announced Tuesday they'd reached a ceasefire — after Trump warned that otherwise "a whole civilization will die tonight.''

Still, Georgieva said Thursday that "growth will be slower — even if the new peace is durable.''

Sub-Saharan Africa and small island countries are most vulnerable to the energy shock, Georgieva said. Around the world, governments have only a limited ability to support their economies with spending increases and tax cuts because their debts are already so high.

She noted that many countries have taken steps to limit the damage from the energy shock such as urging or requiring people to work from home; encouraging more use of public transportation; and limiting travel by public officials.

Georgieva pleaded that policymakers “be careful not to make things worse'' with ”go-it-alone'' moves such as limiting exports and imposing price controls. "Don’t pour gasoline on the fire,'' she said.

The event, set for April 18 at the Guardian Building in downtown Detroit, draws inspiration from the excess and elegance of the 1920s - and organizers say the venue could not be more fitting.

“It was built in 1929. It’s almost 100 years old, right at the height of the Roaring ’20s,” said Rebecca Salminen Witt, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer for the Detroit Historical Society. The Guardian Building, once home to a bank that would not survive the Great Crash, remains one of the city’s crown jewels - a point Salminen Witt is happy to make.

“Detroit is really blessed with some amazing architecture,” she said, citing the Fisher Building, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the main branch of the public library as fellow survivors of the same gilded era.

The ball is more than a costume party. Salminen Witt describes it as an immersive experience, one where history is not just observed but felt. “The Society Ball gives you an opportunity not only to support, to learn about history, but actually to live it a little bit,” she said. This year, the society partnered again with Productions Plus to bring period-authentic fashion to life, with models showcasing the evening’s dress code alongside a Wayne County history exhibition displayed on the Guardian’s promenade.

And what is the dress code? Salminen Witt has clear advice for guests raiding their own closets. For women, she recommends reaching for the pearls. “If you’ve got fringe, wear fringe,” she said. “Bring out the feathers, friends.” For men, she points to pinstripes and three-piece suits, calling the era the apex of men’s fashion.

But the evening serves a purpose beyond the spectacle. The Detroit Historical Society holds 300,000 artifacts in its collection, and events like the Society Ball fund the ongoing work of preserving them. “We keep this history alive,” Salminen Witt said. “This is your history. This is all of our history.” The goal, she said, is straightforward: “It’s a way really to preserve the history for our next 100 years.”

Salminen Witt said the society is still welcoming attendees for the Speakeasy after-party, which begins at 8 p.m. and features swing dancing and a live big band. Tickets are $100 and available at detroithistorical.org.

As for the ball itself, Salminen Witt summed up the ambition simply: they wanted to do it up “in the way that only the Detroit Historical Society can.”

To watch the segment, click on the video above.

According to police, a man agreed to meet the suspect in the 15900 block of E Warren just before 4 p.m. on April 2 to sell his cellphone in the parking lot.

Police said the suspect approached the man and was handed the cellphone before telling the man he had a gun and then leaving the area in a black car.

Detroit police asked the public for help in finding the suspect on April 6.

On April 9, police said officers had arrested the suspect. No further information was given.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate dropped to 6.37% from 6.46% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the rate averaged 6.62%.

This week’s decline in rates follows five straight increases. When mortgage rates rise, they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for home shoppers, limiting what they can afford to buy.

The average rate is now back to roughly where it was two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also eased this week. That average rate dropped to 5.74% from 5.77% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.82%, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation.

Only six weeks ago, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage had dropped to just under 6% for the first time since late 2022, an encouraging move for home shoppers just as the spring homebuying season was about to begin. But then the war with Iran began, sending oil prices surging higher and stoking worries about higher inflation.

Those expectations of higher inflation helped push up the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds, which banks use as a guide to pricing home loans.

The 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.28% in midday trading on the bond market Thursday, down slightly from 4.3% a week ago. The yield was at just 3.97% in late February, before the war with Iran broke out.

Higher inflation could also keep the Fed from cutting interest rates. The central bank doesn’t set mortgage rates, but its decisions to raise or lower its short-term rate are watched closely by bond investors and can ultimately affect the yield on 10-year Treasurys.

Bond yields began to ease this week after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, but any relief to mortgage rates may prove short-lived, said Jiayi Xu, an economist at Realtor.com.

“Until a more permanent resolution emerges, the fog of uncertainty is unlikely to fully lift from the housing market,” Xu said.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes were essentially flat last year, stuck at a 30-year low. They have remained sluggish so far this year, declining in January and February versus a year earlier.

While mortgage rates are down slightly from a year ago, their recent upward trend has discouraged some would-be homebuyers and homeowners seeking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate.

Mortgage applications overall fell 0.8% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Further mortgage rate increases threaten to put a damper on home sales during what’s traditionally the busiest time of the year for the housing market.

A court ruling this week in a lawsuit the Louisiana attorney general brought against Trump's Food and Drug Administration cast a spotlight on the simmering tension. The judge said the state has a strong case while declining to block telehealth prescriptions to the pill mifepristone for now.

Anti-abortion groups are pushing the FDA to move faster with a review that they hope will result in restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone, including blocking its prescribing via telehealth platforms. The administration says the work takes time.

The groups have focused mostly on the health agency and not the Republican president whose three U.S. Supreme Court appointees were instrumental in the 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed the state bans in the first place. But the administration's requests in the Louisiana lawsuit and similar ones elsewhere to delay rulings until it finishes a review have sparked anger for some activists.

“The stall tactics are beyond frustrating,” Kristi Hamrick, a spokesperson for Students for Life of America, said in an interview. Hamrick said the administration could also block the pills from being mailed by changing its interpretation of a 19th century law and enforcing it.

A judge opened the door to pushing the administration

U.S. District Judge David Joseph, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, gave a mixed ruling Tuesday in a case brought by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and a woman who says her boyfriend coerced her into taking mifepristone to end a pregnancy.

Their overall aim is to roll back FDA rules that have made the pills more accessible. Murrill, like officials in other states that have filed similar lawsuits, contends that the availability of the pills via online providers takes the teeth out of the bans in the 13 states that bar abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions.

Surveys of abortion providers have suggested that its availability through telehealth is a reason the number of abortions in the U.S. has not dropped since the overturn of Roe. While state abortion bans include prohibitions on abortion using the pills, some Democratic-controlled states have adopted laws that seek to protect medical providers who prescribe them over telehealth and mail the pills to states with bans. Those so-called shield laws are being tested through civil and criminal cases.

In the Louisiana case, Joseph declined to grant Murrill's request to block telehealth prescriptions to the pills while the case moves through the courts. But he said he could do that eventually and the plaintiffs in the case are likely to succeed on the merits of their arguments because the state has demonstrated it's suffered “irreparable harm.”

He also ordered the FDA to report to him within six months on the status of its review of the drug.

On Wednesday, Murrill filed a notice that she's taking the case to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in hopes of forcing faster action.

The politics aren't simple

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, an influential conservative voice who is also a former Louisiana lawmaker, applauded Murrill's step.

He said people he meets are often shocked to learn that the number of abortions has not dropped since the 2022 Supreme Court ruling.

“Bewilderment sets in,” he said. “We’re already seeing an enthusiasm gap between the parties. What the Republicans do not need is a dampening of enthusiasm in their base.”

He's hoping the administration will restrict abortion pills rather than risk losing support from conservative, anti-abortion voters in November's midterm elections.

Other groups are being more cautions.

Madison LaClare, director of federal government affairs at National Right to Life, said her group trusts the administration to review mifepristone. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, avoided harsh words for the president: “The Trump-Vance administration has an important opportunity right now to prioritize women’s safety,” she said in a statement.

Still, recent electoral results suggest that voters seeking to keep abortion available have the political momentum. Since Roe was overturned, abortion has been on the ballot directly in 17 states. Voters have sided with the abortion-rights side in 14 of those questions.

“There seems to be an emerging consensus in the country that people don’t want to ban abortion,” said Rachel Rebouche, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law who studies abortion.

The FDA says it's working on it

In a statement Wednesday in response to questions from The Associated Press, the FDA said it's reviewing the safety of mifepristone, “including the collection of robust and timely data, evaluation of data integrity, and implementation of the analyses, validation, and peer-review.”

After that, the agency said, it will decide whether to make changes to the rules about how the drug can be prescribed.

It said this kind of study can take a year or more to complete by academics but the agency is trying to move faster than that. A spokesperson did not answer questions about when the work began.

Mifepristone has been a political priority for anti-abortion activists and their allies in Congress since Trump returned to office last year. In his January 2025 confirmation hearing, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was repeatedly asked about the drug by Republican lawmakers and said the president had requested a safety review.

Frustration over signs that the FDA isn't prioritizing curbing abortions flared last fall when the FDA approved an additional generic version of mifepristone.

The drug is most often used for abortion in combination with another drug, misoprostol.

Mifepristone was approved in 2000 as a safe and effective way to end early pregnancies.

Because of rare cases of excessive bleeding, the FDA initially imposed strict limits on who could prescribe and distribute the pill — only specially certified physicians and only after an in-person appointment where the person would receive the pill.

Both those requirements were dropped during the COVID years. At the time, FDA officials said that after more than 20 years of monitoring mifepristone use, and reviewing dozens of studies involving thousands of women, it was clear that women could safely use the pill without direct supervision.

The proposal, which mirrors language written in the executive order issued by President Donald Trump last week, would give athletes five years of eligibility with the clock starting when an athlete turns 19 or graduates from high school, whichever is earliest. There would be limited exceptions but they would not include injuries, which has been a common reason for players to ask for and receive extra eligibility.

The details will be reviewed and discussed by the Division I Cabinet next week, but not voted on for implementation, according to the two people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the NCAA hasn’t publicly discussed the proposal. Yahoo Sports was first to report the details.

Trump called for “clear, consistent and fair eligibility limits, including a five-year participation window” that limits athletes to one transfer with one more available once they get a four-year degree.

Speaking at the Final Four over the weekend, NCAA President Charlie Baker said Trump wanted to figure out a way to “get something on the books that works and represents what most people are looking for at this point, which is a much simpler eligibility process, which we’ve been talking to our committees about.”

Still unknown is whether the rule would shield the NCAA from lawsuits over eligibility. Dozens of players have sued for extra years, claiming injuries and other circumstances made them candidates for extra eligibility.

Heisman Trophy runner-up and Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia remains the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging an NCAA rule counting seasons spent at junior colleges against players' Division I eligibility time. That case is slated for trial in February.

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who led his team to the College Football Playoff last season, went to court after the NCAA denied a waiver request to play in the 2026 season after he was healthy enough to play in just three of his five seasons. A three-judge panel of the Mississippi Supreme Court recently denied an NCAA appeal.

While Ole Miss could have the dynamic Chambliss back this fall, at fellow SEC school Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar’s bid for an injunction that would have enabled him to keep playing for the Volunteers this fall was denied by a Knox County judge.

“I think it would be great if we got to five years of eligibility for our players," New Mexico football coach Jason Eck said. “So much is in flux by what kind of judge you get and things like that. I think getting away from that, where there’s a lot of subjectivity, having a really objective criteria would be great.”

Some of the players who have gone to court contend the NCAA has no right to limit their ability to earn money with eligibility caps. The NCAA is seeking a limited antitrust exemption from Congress, saying it needs the help to clear up the confusing landscape.

Attorney Mit Winter, who specializes in sports law, called the five-year proposal tied to an age limit “a very sensible rule" in offering a “more black and white” evaluation to player eligibility, particularly for schools navigating a complicated waiver process determined on a case-by-case basis.

Yet the same hurdles would remain when it comes to holding up against lawsuits, such as players still not being considered employees or having collective bargaining to establish agreed-upon standards.

“To the legal aspect, yes, I would imagine there would still be legal challenges to it,” Winter said of the proposal. "It might be a little easier to defend than the current rules we have. But when you just look at it from a broad point of view, it's still essentially limiting how long someone can work as a college athlete and be paid as a college athlete.

“Now that athletes are being paid in many cases millions of dollars per year, you could see why someone would want to challenge a rule that says you can only be paid as a college athlete for five years.”

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AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee contributed.

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

“We got our butts kicked,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor.

He was referring to Democratic victories in campaigns for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the mayor's office in Waukesha, a conservative suburb outside Milwaukee. But some Republicans were also rattled by a special election in Georgia, where their candidate to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress won by a much slimmer margin than the party enjoyed in the past.

Taken together, the swings added more data points to an increasingly clear picture of Democratic momentum heading into the November midterms, when control of Congress and state governments is up for grabs.

“In rural, urban, red, blue, Democrats have overperformed everywhere,” said Jared Leopold, a Democratic consultant whose clients include Keisha Lance Bottoms, a candidate for Georgia governor. “That is a significant canary in the coal mine about what November of ’26 is going to look like.”

Some Republicans insisted there was no need to panic, and their fundraising remains stronger than Democrats'. Stephen Lawson, a Georgia strategist, said “the sky is not falling.”

But he also said his party is running behind where it has been in the past, and Republicans need to be “looking at these results carefully.”

‘A red alarm for Republicans’

Special elections are no guarantee about the future, but Democrats are showing surprising strength. They flipped a Texas state Senate district. They won a state House seat in a Florida district that includes President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.

Then they gained ground Tuesday in the election to replace Greene, who resigned from Congress in January after a falling out with Trump.

Republican Clay Fuller, who won by 12 percentage points, “CRUSHED” his opponent in a race that “wasn't close,” according to a social media post by Josh McKoon, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party.

But two years ago, Greene won by 29 percentage points and Trump carried the district by almost 37 percentage points.

“That’s a red alarm for Republicans,” said Democratic strategist Meredith Brasher.

Democrat Shawn Harris plans to challenge Fuller again in November.

Jackie Harling, the district's Republican chairwoman, said she believed that Greene’s resignation energized Democrats while her party is suffering from “election fatigue.”

“Marjorie Taylor Greene was like a freight train that you couldn’t stop, and when she pulled out, it gave Democrats hope and it gave them a shot at winning something they believed was unwinnable,” Harling said.

‘Slightly bluer side of purple’

Georgia has key races this year, including an open contest for the governor's office. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, is trying to defend his seat as well.

There's reason to think that simmering discontent could boomerang on Republicans just two years after Trump harnessed voters' anger with his comeback presidential campaign.

In November, Democrats defeated two Republican incumbents in statewide races for seats on the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities. Rising electricity rates have been a fault line in recent campaigns, especially as enormous data centers are built to power artificial intelligence.

But Georgia Democratic Party Chair Charlie Bailey is trying to maintain modest expectations.

“We could cement ourselves, put ourselves, on the slightly bluer side of purple,” he said. ”We’re not going to overnight turn into Colorado.”

‘A very clear sign of momentum’

Wisconsin holds statewide elections for Supreme Court seats, and liberals expanded their majority with a 20-percentage-point blowout victory on Tuesday.

Democrats saw gains in red, blue and purple counties when compared with another judicial race last year, which was also won by the liberal candidate.

“This to me was a very clear sign of momentum and enthusiasm for Democrats in the fall,” said Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Devin Remiker.

The state has its own open race for governor this year, and Democrats are hoping to take control of the state Legislature and oust Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden.

“It’s time for us to put this thing in overdrive,” said Mandela Barnes, a Democratic former lieutenant governor who is running for governor.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, another Democratic candidate for governor, said it’s clear that “people are really upset with the Republican Party and their brand right now.”

“But that doesn’t mean that they’re automatically going to come over to the Democrats,” Crowley said. “And that’s why we have to continue to focus on the issues and speak to the values of all the voters here in the state of Wisconsin.”

‘A lot of anxiety’

Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor in Wisconsin, cautioned against reading too much into Tuesday’s results.

He said “every election is unique,” and he wasn’t making any changes to his campaign. He said the key to winning will be to “paint that clear contrast of how we are going to help everyday Wisconsinites.”

But Democrats seemed to be making inroads, including in Waukesha, in a county that's a Republican.

Democrat Alicia Halvensleben, president of the city’s Common Council, defeated Republican Scott Allen, one of the most conservative members of the state Assembly.

She said Trump came up “a lot” when she was campaigning, although she thinks her victory came down to local issues and how the state legislature wasn't addressing them.

“There’s so much uncertainty at the national level,” Halvensleben said. “I think that level of uncertainty is causing people a lot of anxiety, all the way down to the local level.”

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Amy reported from Atlanta and Cooper from Phoenix.

That changed when Ershad, a New York graduate student who grew up in Tehran, saw how many of the players he had adored since childhood failed to speak out following its theocratic leadership’s deadly crackdown on protesters in January.

“It feels so bad that I do not want them to succeed. They were like my icons, my legends," he lamented during a recent pickup soccer game on Long Island. “I know playing a World Cup is the biggest thing a soccer player can achieve in his life, but how can you just be silent?”

Ershad is one of many diehard soccer fans in the Iranian diaspora with conflicting emotions as Team Melli — the Persian nickname for Iran's national squad — prepares for its seventh World Cup. Iran is set to begin its campaign against New Zealand on June 15 near Los Angeles, a region that's home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran, including many who fled the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Some view the men's team as complicit in whitewashing the Iranian government's repression and can’t bear to watch the competition. Others plan to attend Iran's games to show their love for the country and sport, but bearing signs of protest. Still others say they’ll set politics aside and just enjoy seeing Iran compete on soccer's biggest stage.

All of this is assuming the team actually takes part, which Iranian officials called into question because of the country's war with the United States and Israel. Iranian soccer officials recently met with the head of FIFA, international soccer's governing body, who has insisted that Iran stick to the schedule.

The Iranian team often finds itself unable to avoid political issues. Before a recent match in Turkey, players held small backpacks honoring the Iranian children who were killed in a U.S. missile strike on an elementary school — a move Iranian American fans said showed their allegiance to the government and the political pressure it places on them.

Iranian athletes have faced serious consequences for speaking out. In 2022, a prominent former member of the national team was arrested for allegedly protesting against the country's leadership. This year, star striker Sardar Azmoun wasn't selected for World Cup warmup games, reportedly because of a social media post that angered the authorities.

Worries that Iran won't take part

Nader Adeli, who manages Iranian American club team Arya FC's over-60 squad in Los Angeles, is worried the war might keep Iran from attending the World Cup.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump discouraged the Iranian team from taking part, citing safety concerns. In response, Iran asked to move its matches to Mexico, which is co-hosting the event along with the U.S. and Canada, though the head of FIFA has repeatedly rejected such a move.

Adeli, who didn’t win the ticket lottery to attend one of Iran's two Los Angeles-area matches, said the World Cup should be a moment to enjoy the sport without outside distractions.

But with war raging, he doesn't think the team will travel. And if it does, he doubts the players would be able to fully focus on competing.

“Sports should never become a political issue,” he said. “As people, we have nothing against any Americans, we have nothing against any Iranians. It is just the governments.”

Former women's team player says Iran shouldn't play

Iran's women's team made headlines last month when several members didn't sing along to the country's national anthem before their opening match at the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia.

Although they sang it before Iran's next two fixtures, some commenters saw their initial silence as a protest against their government — though others saw it as a display of mourning about the war. The team and players — two of whom accepted asylum offers to remain in Australia — didn't comment on the matter.

Shiva Amini, who used to play for the national team but now lives in New York City, is among the Iranian ex-pats calling on the Trump administration not to grant visas to the men's team to play in the World Cup.

The 36-year-old player, who left Iran in 2017 after being photographed not wearing a headscarf while in Europe, said many Iranians soured on the men’s squad during the 2022 World Cup, when players stayed silent as Iran was roiled by street demonstrations over the country's mandatory headscarf laws following the death of Mahsa Amini.

“They had a big platform, and instead of talking about that, they were laughing, they were so happy, and it was honestly a slap on the face,” she said. “So those are not the Iranian national soccer team. Those are the regime’s national soccer team.”

The few players who have spoken out paid dearly, Amini acknowledged, including Amir Nasr-Azadani, who faces years behind bars for his involvement in the 2022 protests.

Azmoun, the Dubai-based star striker who played for Iran's past two World Cup teams, wasn't picked to play in the team's warmups for this year's tournament, reportedly because he posted a photo on social media of himself greeting United Arab Emirates political leaders.

Plans to cheer on — and protest — Iran

Masoud Ahmadi, a 62-year-old interior designer who plays for another largely Iranian American over-60 club team, Sina FC, said he's trying to get a ticket to see Iran play. If he does, he said he'll take a stand against the Iranian leadership by carrying the country's lion-and-sun flag, which predates the Islamic Revolution.

Ahmadi said he was detained in Iran as a teenager before he fled to Turkey on foot. The U.S. granted him political asylum.

“We’re going to definitely raise our voice,” said Ahmadi, who is proud of his Iranian heritage but critical of the men's squad. “This team is not an Iranian people’s team. This is a government team."

Sasan Sadri, who manages the team, said if he scores a ticket, he'll try to wear a shirt calling for leadership change in Iran.

“As my countrymen, I like them to achieve,” he said. “I don’t support the regime, but soccer is soccer.”

As for Ershad, the New York grad student, he plans to support the Iranian team if the government is overthrown before the tournament starts. If not, he'll back soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo's side to win it all.

“It's so hard to not cheer for your national team, but let’s go Portugal," he said.

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Taxin reported from Irvine, California.

The Trinity Health Livingston on Grand River in Brighton is scheduled to open April 19, 2026.

John O’Malley, president of Trinity Health Livingston and Trinity Health Medical Center Brighton, said the new facility is designed to improve efficiency and better serve the community.

He said by bringing services together on one campus, the hospital hopes to streamline staffing and reduce costs while expanding access to care.

The new hospital will feature dozens of patient beds and updated medical equipment, part of a broader effort to modernize care in Livingston County.

You can watch the full interview with O’Malley in the video below.

It was full of sediment, probably from some construction upstream, the retired geology professor reasoned. Maher didn’t think much of it until hours later when his son alerted him to a mishap that was quickly becoming the talk of the town.

A patch of Pacific Street the size of a sand volleyball court had collapsed into the earth, swallowing a silver Ram pickup truck and a maroon Jeep Cherokee. The sediment Maher noticed in the creek had washed out from under the road, creating a massive void that the cars fell into.

“I was sorry I wasn’t still teaching,” Maher said. “I would’ve probably spent (time) in class saying, ‘Look, here’s the relevance. Here’s geology in action. Here’s a sinkhole.’”

Videos of the moment the road gave way quickly racked up millions of views from all over the world. But most Omaha sinkholes don’t go viral.

Over the last five years, city work crews reported more than 2,100 “cave-ins,” ranging from small dips in the pavement to gaping chasms like the Pacific Street sinkhole. Though most are minor, Omaha sees more cave-ins than several other Midwestern cities, according to a Flatwater Free Press analysis.

The city’s susceptibility to sinkholes comes from its soil, geologists say. Much of Omaha sits atop a fine-grained sediment called loess (pronounced “luss”) that can be easily carried away by water, leaving behind gaps underground.

“It’s great for growing corn, but terrible for building roads,” said City Engineer Austin Rowser.

More or loess

The sinkholes that typically attract online virality and dominate the pages of geology textbooks don’t happen in Nebraska.

That’s because the state is one of only a few that doesn’t appear to have much karst topography. Dissolvable bedrock makes places such as the Missouri Ozarks and Florida’s “Sinkhole Alley” more susceptible to massive sinkholes, said Matt Joeckel, Nebraska’s state geologist and a professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

By contrast, Omaha’s sinkholes are generally shallower and often result from human-made infrastructure interacting with the fine-grained sediment that blankets eastern Nebraska, geologists said.

“We’re not going to have a situation in which a giant sinkhole suddenly appears … and continues to grow and eat up a neighborhood,” Joeckel said.

When a pipe breaks or a sewer leaks, water can carry away loess or fill dirt underground. Omaha’s hilly topography aids that movement, said Maher, who taught at University of Nebraska at Omaha for four decades.

Rowser, the city engineer, theorized that the Pacific Street sinkhole started months before as a small leak in a Metropolitan Utilities District water main that found its way into the storm sewer, creating a small void that went undetected. Eventually, the water pushed enough dirt into the sewer to create the huge cavity that collapsed under the weight of two vehicles on Feb. 24, Rowser said.

MUD has challenged the city’s explanation, contending that the city’s damaged storm sewer was responsible for the sinkhole and that the water main broke after the road collapse.

Locked in a chicken-and-egg dispute, the city and MUD have filed claims against each other for the cost of repairs.

Omaha has averaged more than 400 cave-ins annually since 2021, according to a Flatwater analysis of Public Works data.

Many appeared only as slight dips in a road or sidewalk. The city ordered barricades for about 40% of cave-ins indicating some kind of hazard at the surface, Rowser said.

Omaha sees far more sinkholes in warmer months than colder ones — frozen soil doesn’t erode as easily, Rowser noted. That differentiates them from potholes, which typically form as moisture seeps into cracks in pavement during freeze-thaw cycles in late winter and early spring.

UNO geology professor Ashlee Dere isn’t surprised that Omaha sees so many cave-ins given its soil type, human-altered topography and aging infrastructure.

“It’s surprising in that it doesn’t cause more problems,” Dere said.

The city has seen memorable sinkholes over the years, including a collapse on St. Mary’s Avenue that swallowed a car and injured its driver in 2014. Another downtown sinkhole that sucked half of a garbage truck into 16th Street last year is still being repaired following a yearlong dispute between the city and a property owner.

But Omaha drivers shouldn’t worry about their car falling into a sinkhole since the chance of it happening is so low, Rowser said.

The two unlucky drivers who were suddenly plunged into Pacific Street emerged unharmed.

Even though the risk of injury is minimal, local engineers need to keep in mind that they’re building on soil that can erode rapidly, Joeckel said.

Beneath the surface

Every cave-in must be checked out to prevent sinkholes from forming, and in Omaha, that duty falls to Public Works crews.

When the city gets a cave-in report, an employee investigates the scene to find the root cause, Rowser said.

Injecting colored dye into a hole or crack in the pavement is usually the first step, he said.

If workers can see the dye in the sewer water downstream, it means water and sediment are likely leaking into the sewer. Sending a camera down next allows them to trace the water’s path and find where it’s entering. Then, they can repair the sewer and stop the leak.

When the dye doesn’t show up in the sewer, an animal burrow or dead tree root might be the cause of the cave-in. Workers then use a special concrete to fill in the gap.

Reported cave-ins have decreased in recent years from more than 500 in 2021 to about 340 last year, but as Omaha’s underground infrastructure ages, it could put the city at greater risk of sinkholes, geologists said.

In recent weeks, the city has explored new ways to diagnose problems underground, Rowser said. Fiber optic cables may be able to detect leaks in water lines and alert the city, he said.

Joeckel, the state geologist, said conducting certain geological surveys could illuminate where water is concentrated and identify potential trouble spots.

“It would be great if you could see what was going on below the surface before something happened,” Joeckel said.

Rowser said he’s not sure what would have raised red flags on Pacific Street before the sinkhole appeared. City workers did a dye test late last year while investigating some settlement at the surface, but it didn’t show the sewer had been breached.

After the collapse, construction crews worked rapidly to repair pipes and fill in the square of missing road.

The street reopened to drivers just nine days after it closed, but by then, the sinkhole had become world famous. The New York Times, USA Today and Fox News wrote articles on it, and international outlets from Belgium to Vietnam published video footage of the incident.

The sinkhole owes its internet popularity to the UNO security camera that recorded the dramatic moment, Rowser said.

“If a picture’s worth a thousand words, I don’t know what a video is worth,” Rowser said. “It’s got to be a lot more.”

But the clip’s virality speaks to something about how humans are wired, too, Maher said.“I suspect it has to do with the psychology of how we are intrigued by the unexpected,” Maher said. “It’s unexpected that the ground that is so solid and firm beneath your feet just gives way.”

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This story was originally published by Flatwater Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

By the dozens, Democrats came out to say that Trump should no longer serve in the White House, either through the impeachment process or the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president and the Cabinet to declare that a president is no longer able to perform the job.

While Trump eventually pulled back on his threat and agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, the episode highlighted the growing demands for Democrats to oppose the Republican president in the strongest possible terms. Calls about Iran flooded into congressional offices, lawmakers said.

The breadth of the Democratic pushback underscored the gravity of Trump's apocalyptic threat to a country of more than 91 million people. It also served to raise the domestic political stakes for a conflict that is far from over. The Trump administration faces mounting calls to testify about the war and justify its demands for hundreds of billions of dollars in new military spending.

“We cannot excuse what the president said as a negotiating tactic," Rep. Sara Jacobs, a California Democrat told reporters at the Capitol Thursday.

“It is important that even though we were able to get this ceasefire, which I pray holds, that we hold this president accountable for what he threatened because threatening genocide is not just against international law, it’s against our federal law, too,” she added.

Still, Democratic leaders and many moderates in the party have steered clear of endorsing impeachment, and any attempt to remove Trump from office is doomed to fail so long as Republicans control Congress.

In the near term, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate are instead pushing Republicans to join them and pass legislation that would force Trump to get congressional approval before carrying out any more attacks on Iran.

A few Democrats attempted during a brief session of the House on Thursday to pass what's known as a war powers resolution on Iran, but Republicans, who control the chamber, did not acknowledge their request.

“We need Speaker Johnson to call us into session,” said Democratic Rep Emily Randall of Washington. “The American people deserve that.”

At the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt has defended Trump's rhetoric as effective.

“I think it was a very, very strong threat from the president of the United States that led the Iranian regime to cave to their knees and ask for a ceasefire and agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz,” she said at a Wednesday White House press briefing.

Callers jam congressional phone lines

As they press their case against Trump, Democrats are responding to the worries of their own base and constituents. Congressional offices were bombarded with phone calls and emails this week, largely from people alarmed by the president’s rhetoric.

In the House, the office of Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., received a “ton” of calls and emails Monday and Tuesday, mostly about Iran but also about impeaching Trump or removing him by deploying the 25th Amendment, said one aide who was not authorized to discuss the internal office situation and insisted on anonymity.

When her district staffers in the state office took a break Tuesday, they returned to 75 voicemails on Iran an hour later, the aide said.

“My office phones have not stopped ringing,” said Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., at a press conference in Portland, urging House colleagues to immediately return to Washington.

Dexter’s office received more calls on Tuesday, 257, than it has ever received in a 24-hour period since the first-term lawmaker’s team began keeping track.

The groundswell appeared to be organic, rather than an orchestrated campaign to pressure lawmakers to act.

While outside groups have been circulating some discussion points, including the legal details around invoking the 25th Amendment, there has not been an organized effort to flood the congressional offices with a strategic message, said one Democratic strategist familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to discuss the private conversations.

It was simply the “horror” of what Trump was saying, the strategist said, and the scale of the president’s threats, that appeared to have sparked the mobilization.

On the political right, several prominent figures including former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, also suggested Trump should be removed from office through the 25th Amendment.

Will Democrats make an impeachment push?

Democrats twice impeached Trump for actions taken during his first term, but he was acquitted each time. They have tried to avoid such debates for the last 16 months as they tried to center their midterm message on kitchen table issues rather than opposing a president who narrowly won the popular vote.

Republicans also have the majority in the House and have easily fended off two previous efforts to impeach Trump in his second term. A significant number of Democrats have either joined with Republicans or voted “present” as the House blocked impeachment resolutions sponsored by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas.

Then came Trump's threat on Tuesday morning to wipe out “an entire civilization.”

“Temporary ceasefire or not, Trump already committed an impeachable offense. Congress needs to get back to work and remove him from office before he does more damage to our country and the world,” said Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, a veteran of the war in Iraq.

It’s unclear how House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries will handle the demands for another impeachment push. But Democratic leaders are holding a call on Friday with members of the House Judiciary Committee that is focused on “Trump administration accountability and the 25th Amendment.”

Standing on the Capitol steps Thursday, Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., said she supports impeachment, but nevertheless hit the brakes on it for now, as the Democrats are in the minority. Instead, she called on Republicans to stand up to Trump’s threats, including by invoking the 25th Amendment.

She predicted the imperative to remove Trump from office could only grow as negotiators navigate a fragile framework for a peace deal. Dean and other Democrats criticized the plan as “chaotic” and unworkable.

Yet Dean said Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilization should have already been enough. “The president brought the entire globe to watch his madness,” she said.

That is by far the most among conferences, largely because the Big Ten swept the national championships — Michigan won the men's and UCLA the women's — and had Illinois advance to the men's Final Four.

The NCAA, which has multibillion-dollar broadcast deals for the two tournaments, since 1991 has rewarded conferences for their number of tournament bids and how far those teams advance in the men’s tournament. A similar system for the women’s tournament began in 2025.

The dollars are piling up:

— For this year's tournaments, nine men's teams and 12 women's teams from the Big Ten combined to make at least $69.4 million, with $63 million coming from the men's side.

— The Southeastern Conference, which had 10 teams in each tournament, totaled at least $56.2 million ($50.4 million for men, $5.8 million for women).

— Distributions will total at least $42.9 million for the Big 12, $34.2 million for the Atlantic Coast Conference and $22.2 million for the Big East.

The NCAA sends payments directly to the conferences, which distribute the money among their teams according to their policies. Payments for the 2026 tournament will begin in April 2027.

How the NCAA pays tournament teams is based on ‘units’

Teams in each tournament earn what's known as a “unit” for making the field of 68 and an additional unit for each round in which it appears. The national champion is awarded an extra unit. The value of a unit increases each year. A portion of revenue from the tournaments' broadcast agreements are directed to distribution payments, 24% for the men and 41% for the women.

The estimated value of a unit for the 2026 men’s tournament will be about $350,000, an NCAA spokeswoman said, and that amount will be paid annually for six years. So a single unit earned in 2026 would have a total value of at least $2.1 million over those six years and probably more because Division I distribution funds — including the basketball funds — are scheduled to increase each year, typically by 2.9%.

For the women's tournament, full funding for units earned will be achieved in 2027. Payments for each unit earned will be made for three years rather than six. The unit value was $75,000 for 2026 and will decrease to about $63,000 next year as part of the NCAA’s formula for getting the fund fully up and running. Using $63,000 as an estimate for the 2028 value, a single unit earned in 2026 would be worth at least $201,000 by the time it is paid off over three years.

Breaking down the money from 2026 March Madness

The Big Ten's nine teams in the men's tournament appeared in 29 games. Michigan earned $14.7 million for the conference by playing in six games and receiving a seventh unit for winning the championship. Illinois earned five units for making the Final Four ($10.5 million) and Iowa and Purdue four apiece for reaching the Elite Eight ($8.4 million each).

The Big Ten landed 12 teams in the women's tournament, and they combined to play in 31 games. UCLA earned just over $1.4 million by playing in six games and receiving an extra unit for winning the championship. Michigan's four games earned $804,000 and Minnesota's three earned $603,000.

The championships in men's and women's basketball continued what's been a banner 2025-26 for the Big Ten. Indiana won the conference's third straight College Football Playoff, and other national championships have been won in men's wrestling (Penn State), women's ice hockey (Wisconsin), men's water polo (UCLA), men's soccer (Washington) and field hockey (Northwestern).

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

Michigan State Police troopers were patrolling on Southfield Freeway near 8 Mile Road on April 9, just after 2 a.m., when a person driving a Chevy Trax sped past them at over 90 miles per hour.

Police said troopers tried to catch up with the driver southbound on Southfield Freeway. The driver then traveled to 7 Mile Road, leading troopers to activate their emergency sirens to attempt a traffic stop.

The driver then struck a Chrysler 300 traveling southbound on Southfield Road, trying to turn onto 7 Mile Road. The driver of the Chrysler was not injured.

Police said the driver of the Chevy was trapped in his car and later died at the scene.

The investigation is ongoing.

“Unfortunately excessive speed has led to another fatal traffic crash,” said F/Lt. Mike Shaw. “We continue to remind drivers that risky driving behaviors such as excessive speed, following too closely and distracted driving lead to preventable crashes. It is unknown if impairment was also a factor.”

The three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan did not immediately rule after hearing two hours of arguments.

At the conclusion, Circuit Judge William J. Nardini called it an “exceptionally difficult case” that raises questions of first impression “not only for this court but for any federal court in the country.”

Throughout the arguments, judges questioned whether a judge improperly considered elements of acquitted charges to sentence Combs to what his lawyer, Alexandra Shapiro, said was the most prison time ever given someone convicted of the same charges with a similar criminal history.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik, arguing for the government, challenged Shapiro's claim, saying the four-year, two-month prison term given to Combs was below what federal sentencing guidelines called for and was in line with similar convictions in the 2nd Circuit.

Combs, currently in federal prison in New Jersey, is challenging his conviction and prison sentence. He was convicted last July under the federal Mann Act, which bans transporting people across state lines for any sexual crime.

But he was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that carried the potential for a life sentence.

In sentencing Combs, Judge Arun Subramanian said: “Mr. Combs, you’re being sentenced for the offenses of conviction, NOT the crimes he was acquitted of. However, under law, the court ‘shall consider’ the nature of the offense and characteristics of the defendant.”

The judge also cited law which states that no limitation shall be placed on the “background, character and conduct” that a judge can consider.

During Thursday's arguments, Shapiro asked the appeals panel for a speedy decision.

Combs, 56, has been behind bars since his September 2024 arrest. The Federal Bureau of Prisons says he is scheduled for release in April 2028.

His attorneys say Combs' conviction should be reversed, or he should at least be freed and resentenced to less time.

Despite extensive written arguments on the subject, there was no discussion Thursday about claims by Combs' lawyers that his conviction should be reversed on grounds that the First Amendment protects sexual encounters between his girlfriends and male sex workers because they were sometimes filmed and amounted to “amateur pornography.”

There was extensive discussion, though, about his lawyers' arguments that Subramanian wrongly considered evidence of fraud and coercion that they said the jury rejected as it exonerated him on the most serious charges.

Combs' trial last year exposed the sordid private life of one of the most influential figures in music. The case featured harrowing testimony about violence, drugs and sexual performances that witnesses said he called “freak-offs” or “hotel nights.”

He did not testify. His defense team acknowledged that he could be violent but argued that prosecutors were straining to make a federal crime out of his personal life.

Newly published research concludes that fossilized remains listed by Guinness World Records as the earliest known octopus belong instead to a relative of a nautilus, a cephalopod with both tentacles and a shell.

University of Reading zoologist Thomas Clements, the lead researcher behind the new findings, said the fossil, Pohlsepia mazonensis, has long been the subject of scientific debate.

“It’s a very difficult fossil to interpret,” he said. “To look at it, it kind of just looks like a white mush.

“If you look at it and you are a cephalopod researcher and you’re interested in everything octopus, it does superficially look a lot like a deep-water octopus.”

The creature, a blob about the size of a human hand, was found in the Mazon Creek area of Illinois, about 50 miles southwest of Chicago, that is rich in fossils from a period before dinosaurs walked the Earth.

Its identification by paleontologists as an octopus in 2000 upended ideas about the evolution of the eight-tentacled cephalopods, suggesting they emerged much earlier than previously thought. The next oldest-known octopus fossil is only about 90 million years old.

“It’s a huge gap,” Clements said. “And so that big gap got researchers sort of questioning, ‘Is this thing actually an octopus?”

To solve the mystery of the “weird blob,” Clements and his team used a synchrotron — which uses fast-moving electrons to create beams of light brighter than the sun — to look inside the fossil rock. They found a ribbon of teeth known as a radula that is common to all mollusks, including nautiluses and octopuses. Each row had 11 teeth. Octopuses have either seven or nine.

“This has too many teeth, so it can’t be an octopus,” Clements said. “And that’s how we realize that the world’s oldest octopus is actually a fossil nautilus, not an octopus.”

The teeth matched those of a fossil nautiloid called Paleocadmus pohli that had been found in the same area. Clements said the mistaken identification may have happened because the creature decomposed and lost its telltale shell before it was fossilized, complicating identification.

As a result of the findings published this week in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Guinness World Records said it will no longer list Pohlsepia mazonensis as the earliest known octopus.

Managing Editor Adam Millward said the scientists had made “a fascinating discovery.”

“We will be resting the original ‘oldest octopus fossil’ title and look forward to reviewing this new evidence,” he said.

Pohlsepia mazonensis is named for its discoverer James Pohl, and is in the collection of the Field Museum in Chicago.

Paul Mayer, manager of the museum's collection of fossil invertebrates, said he was “a little surprised” by its new classification as a nautiloid, but noted that "people have been questioning whether it was an octopus ever since the original paper was first published in 2000.”

He said new technologies for scientific investigation had brought renewed interest in the Mazon Creek fossils.

“(That) is great for our collections and hopefully new discoveries will be made and new stories will be revealed,” Mayer said.

Clements said the museum should not be disappointed by the new evidence, which means it now has “the oldest soft tissue nautilus in the world.

“The Field Museum have a small collection of these ancient nautiluses, which I think as a cephalopod worker is probably the best thing ever,” he said.

The legislation, approved by the Senate in February, was passed with 137 votes in favor, 111 against and three abstentions.

According to mining sector estimates, the new regulatory framework could unlock over $30 billion in investments over the next decade. Approximately 70% of those funds are slated for new copper, gold and silver projects.

Milei is expected to sign the legislation in the coming days.

On his X account, Milei shared a statement from his party hailing the new framework as a “significant improvement” that will help “strike a balance between environmental protection and economic development, moving away from an approach that tended to stifle investment, job creation and growth.”

Environmental advocates are shifting to legal action to prevent the law from taking effect.

Groups including Greenpeace and the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation are organizing a public class-action lawsuit describing the bill’s passage as a flawed process that dismissed public concerns over water safety.

“If they refuse to listen in Congress, they will be forced to listen in the courts,” the organizations said in a statement, urging citizens to join a lawsuit that argues the reform threatens water access and the fragile ecosystems surrounding glaciers.

Opposition lawmakers have labeled the legislation unconstitutional, contending that it rolls back essential environmental protections.

Mining Secretary Luis Lucero told a local radio station that the previous regulation featured “absolute prohibitions without room for exceptions or environmental impact studies.” He noted that the rigid rules and imprecise definitions of “protected areas” discouraged investment in large-scale mining projects, which typically require investments of up to $3 billion.

In 2010, Argentina passed a landmark law banning all mining activity on glaciers and within periglacial zones — areas of frozen ground that act as vital water regulators.

The most significant shift in the Milei administration’s reform is a narrowing of these protections. Under the new framework, only glaciers and land forms with “specific hydrological functions” would be shielded, with each province responsible for making that determination.

Argentina is home to 16,968 glaciers distributed across the Andes Mountain Range and the South Atlantic Islands, covering a total surface area of ​​8,484 square kilometers (3,276 square miles).

Glaciology experts have warned that climate change is already causing glaciers to retreat at an accelerated pace. Scientists caution that weakening these protections could jeopardize water security in arid regions and deplete the reserves that sustain river flows.

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

The new law will target social media platforms that enable the user to create profiles, interact with others and share content, such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Once the legislation is enacted, social media platforms will be responsible for reverifying the ages of all users in the country to exclude those who are 15 years or under. Authorities say the state’s role will be limited to ensuring that social media platforms comply with the new law and will take action in case of any reported violations.

Violations will be reported to the authorities of the country in which the social media platform is based or to the EU’s executive arm. Penalties include fines of up to 6% of a company’s global turnover, daily fines until compliance or restrictions on operations.

In a video posted on social media on Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis took his message directly to kids, saying that the ban is for their own good because parents and young people themselves have confided in him that endless hours on social media platforms induce, stress, anxiety and sleeplessness.

“Now I’m certain that many young ones will be angry. If I was at your age, perhaps I’d feel the same way too. But our role, my role isn’t always to be pleasant,” Mitsotakis said.

“If something makes us feel more anxious or worse, lesser than who we really are, then it’s perhaps best that we put a stop to it.”

The Greek prime minister said the new law isn’t intended to keep young people away from technology but to protect them from the “addictive design of certain platforms and their profit model that’s grounded in how long you spend in front of a mobile phone screen that denies you your innocence and freedom.”

Mitsotakis said the new law is expected to be introduced this summer and put in to effect on the first day of the new year.

Greece is following the example of France which earlier this year instituted its own social media ban on kids 15 and under.

It a letter addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Mitsotakis urged for a “unified European framework” by the end of the year to complement national initiatives to protect minors.

The Greek leader proposed an EU-wide social media ban for young people 15 and younger, a standardized age verification mechanism, obligating platforms to reverify the age of users every two years and establishing a body for member states and the commission to assess incidents and quickly impose penalties.

Organizers for the South of France festival, which runs May 12-23, laid out a lineup heavy on big-name international auteurs at a news conference Thursday in Paris.

Cannes’ most sought-after slots are in its competition lineup. This year, 21 films will vie for the Palme d’Or. That includes “Fatherland,” a Cold War drama starring Sandra Hüller by Pawlikowski (“Ida,” “Cold War” ); “All of a Sudden,” the French language debut for Hamaguchi ( “Drive My Car” ); and Almodovar’s “Bitter Christmas,” which has already opened in Spain.

Cannes is so far light on Hollywood releases and American filmmakers. One exception in competition is Ira Sachs' “The Man I Love,” a New York tale starring Rami Malek set during the 1980s AIDS crisis. In the Un Certain Regard sidebar, Jane Schoenbrun will unveil their follow-up to 2014’s “I Saw the TV Glow”: “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” about the making of a slasher movie. It stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson.

Previous Palme d’Or winners will be represented

A number of former Palme winners are in the mix. That includes Romanian auteur Cristian Mungiu’s Norway-set “Fjord,” starring the recently Oscar-nominated Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan. Mungiu’s “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” won the Palme in 2007.

Also returning is Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, whose 2018 drama “Shoplifters” won the Palme. He’ll debut the sci-fi “Sheep in the Box,” about a grieving couple in the near future who bring home a humanoid boy as their son.

The specialty distributor Neon has already boarded “Fjord,” “Sheep in the Box” and “All of a Sudden,” giving it a chance to extend its historic record of six Palme winners in a row. Last year, the Neon release “It Was Just an Accident,” by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, won the Palme.

Neon is also behind an out of competition selection in “Her Private Hell” by Nicolas Winding Refn, the “Drive” filmmaker. A thriller starring Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton, it's Refn's first feature film since 2016's “The Neon Demon.”

Festival defends the ‘ability to dream and think freely’

The Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev is also back in the Cannes competition lineup with “Minotaur.” Zvyagintsev's last two films, “Loveless” and “Leviathan,” both debuted at Cannes and went on to land Oscar nominations.

Other competition entries include films by Asghar Farhadi (“Parallel Stories”), Lukas Dhont (“Coward”) and Lazlo Nemes (“Moulin”).

Thierry Fremaux, Cannes’ artistic director, announced the selections in a news conference alongside festival president Iris Knobloch. Fremaux said that 2,541 feature films were submitted for inclusion. Fremaux estimated that Thursday's announcement encompassed 95% of the selection, so a handful more films will be announced in the coming weeks.

“In this moment, bringing together films and artists from around the world is not a luxury, it’s a necessity,” Knobloch said. “Because when the world darkens, we lose our bearings. Showcasing films from all horizons is not a trivial act. It is defending what is most precious to humanity, its ability to dream and think freely.”

Cannes is coming off a 2025 festival that produced a number of Oscar contenders, including two best-picture nominees in Joachim Tier’s “Sentimental Value” and Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent.” This year’s Cannes appears well positioned to continue the festival’s stature as the global launching pad of many of the year’s best international films, some of which are bound to show up at next year’s Oscars.

Hollywood studios are less present at Cannes this year

But Hollywood studios appear to be a no-show. Fremaux has said not to expect red carpet premieres like “Top Gun: Maverick” or “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” — both of which made splashy premieres in recent years. This year, Cannes announced ahead of the Paris news conference that John Travolta's directorial debut “Propeller One-Way Night Coach” will debut in the Cannes Premiere section.

“The United States will be present, but the studios will be a bit less so,” Fremaux said. “It’s important to know that when studios are less present at Cannes, it means they are generally less present with the type of cinema that used to allow them to thrive.”

Two prominent American directors will debut documentaries in special screenings: Steven Soderbergh with “John Lennon: The Last Interview” and Ron Howard with “Avedon,” about the photographer Richard Avedon.

Opening the festival, out of competition, is the 1920s French film “The Electric Kiss.” Cannes requires its opening movie to release the same week in French cinemas. And entry to its prestigious competition lineup requires theatrical distribution, a stipulation that — given France’s laws guarding theatrical windows — has excluded Netflix movies and other streaming titles since 2017.

This year, the Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook will preside over the nine-member jury that will decide the Palme. And a pair of honorary Palmes will be handed out, to Barbra Streisand and to Peter Jackson.

Defense Secretary John Healey said a Royal Navy frigate, aircraft and hundreds of personnel were involved in tracking a Russian attack sub and two spy submarines operating north of the U.K., and prevented the spy vessels from carrying out “nefarious” activities against underwater infrastructure.

He said the Russian vessels eventually left after the operation that lasted more than a month. There is no evidence of damage to any cables or pipes, he said.

The U.K. said other allies were also involved in the operation, but didn't name them.

NATO countries have repeatedly expressed concern that Russia could use its fleet of spy ships to sabotage underwater cables on which global communications depend. Russia has dismissed those claims.

Healey said his message to Russian President Vladimir Putin was was “we see your activity over our cables and our pipelines and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences.”

Norwegian Defense Minister Tore Sandvik said in a statement that Russia’s operation occurred in and near Norwegian and British maritime areas in recent weeks.

Norway and the U.K. said the activity was coordinated by Russia’s Main Directorate of Deep Sea Research, known as GUGI, which is part of Russian armed forces. The activity is a reminder that Russia is further developing its abilities to map and sabotage critical Western infrastructure at ocean depths, Norway's Defense Ministry said.

Healey said the subs are “designed to survey underwater infrastructure during peacetime and sabotage it in conflict.”

In November, Britain told Russia it was ready to deal with any incursion into its territory after the spy ship Yantar was detected on the edge of U.K. waters north of Scotland.

Healey said the submarine activity occurred in the U.K.’s exclusive economic zone, which extends for 200 nautical miles (230 miles, 370 kilometers) from shore, but not its narrower territorial waters.

British officials have tried to keep Russia in the international spotlight even as the world’s attention is focused on conflict in the Middle East. They have also stressed the overlap between conflicts there and in Ukraine, saying Russia has supplied Iran with drone parts and other support.

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has shed light on the reduced state of Britain’s military, which has been shrinking for decades. U.S. President Donald Trump has derided the Royal Navy, which has sent one destroyer to the eastern Mediterranean to help defend Cyprus.

Healey told a news conference that “Putin would want us to be distracted by the Middle East,” but Russia is the main threat to the U.K. and its allies.

“We will not take our eyes off Putin,” he said.

In late March, the U.K. said its military was ready to seize ships suspected to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” of vessels shipping oil in violation of international sanctions over Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Previously, Britain had only helped France and the U.S. monitor ships before they were boarded.

Katja Bego, a senior research fellow at international affairs think tank Chatham House, said “calling out" Russian operations as Healey had done could be an effective deterrent.

“But there are urgent conversations to be had as well about what European countries can do to inflict a far higher cost on Russia in response to these increasingly brazen incursions," she said.

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Associated Press writer Stefanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report.

Rx Kids, which originally launched in Flint in 2024, has now expanded to 42 communities across Michigan.

Pregnant mothers or parents with babies born on or after April 1 in Mount Clemens or Center Line can apply to receive $1,500 during pregnancy and $500 per month for the first six months of their child’s life.

Residents in both cities can apply for direct cash support for pregnancy and early infancy.

Enrollment opened at 9 a.m. on April 1 for people living in Mount Clemens or Center Line who are at least 16 weeks pregnant at the time of enrollment or have an infant born on or after April 1. Families can apply here.

She was deep in grief when an advertisement for a New Kids on the Block fan cruise caught her attention. She ended up among the thousands of fans who set sail on a four-day cruise with the boy band on board. They performed intimate concerts and other events were organized for their supporters to mingle. Straub decided then and there it was perfect setting for her next book.

“For the first time, I had the whole idea,” said the author of “Modern Lovers,” “All Adults Here” and “The Vacationers.” “I knew it was a book. I could write it and I would have the time of my life doing it.”

The result was “American Fantasy,” released Tuesday. Her protagonist is Annie, a newly single empty-nester who agrees to embark on a fan cruise for a '90s boy band and ends up forming a connection with one of its members.

Straub spoke with The Associated Press about her new book. Responses have been condensed for clarity and brevity.

AP: Why build your story around a fan cruise?

STRAUB: My everyday life is quite small. I walk the same loop, from my bookstore to my kid's school and home. When I leave that, I'm reminded there's a great big world out there. The cruise in particular struck me as novelistic from the get-go. You have a certain number of people trapped together in a small space for a certain number of days. That's a novel right there.

AP: What did you think when you got there?

STRAUB: I went in feeling like an observer. A fan, but really an observer, because it all felt so foreign. Pretty quickly, I realized I wasn't any better than anyone else there. I eavesdropped on everything and knew 100% of the New Kids references they were talking about. What impressed me was how much these women had spent so much time and energy planning their experience. They wore costumes, decorated the doors of their cabins and made gifts for each other. These were middle-aged women who had given themselves the gift of doing something purely for their own pleasure. I had never seen anything quite like it.

AP: Your main character, Annie, is 50 and going through a divorce. Why put her at that crossroads?

STRAUB: I have so many women friends who have made enormous changes between 40 and 55. They have changed careers, gone back to school, moved across the country, gotten divorced and gotten remarried. I grew up thinking of middle age as a downward slope. That's just not true. We are all still making choices and doing things for the first time. I wanted to spend time with a character who was in that struggle of realizing that and ultimately able to embrace it.

AP: What other research did you do for the book?

STRAUB: I got to know Joe McIntyre from the New Kids. He is smart and funny, and introspective. I wanted to know what it's like to be a middle-aged man who has had this life, and a relationship with these other men who you’ve known for 40 years, whether you love them or hate them, you’re like truly stuck in this work environment. You are yoked to these other men for your entire life. What does that feel like? How does it feel to have these kinds of fans? How it feels to grow up in the public eye? And I was able to ask him all these questions. He was so generous with me.

AP: You and your husband co-own the Brooklyn bookstores Books Are Magic. What have you learned about the publishing world as a bookseller?

STRAUB: In an alternate world, I would be able to say, the things that are selling the most right now are murdery thrillers with this kind of protagonist or, you know, romantasy with dragons or whatever, so I'm going to do that. But, that’s not how writing works, you know? If I’ve learned anything, it is that the best book you can write is always the one that is most personal and most authentic to you. And so, alas, I’ve yet to have a dragon in one of my books.

An inflation gauge monitored by the Federal Reserve rose 0.4% in February from January, up slightly from the previous month. Compared with a year ago, prices rose 2.8%, the same as January. Thursday's data was delayed by a backlog of economic reports created by the six-week government shutdown last fall.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core inflation also rose 0.4% in February from January, and it was 3% higher than a year earlier. The annual figure is slightly below January's reading of 3.1%.

Still, the monthly increases are at a pace that if continued for a whole year, would easily top the Fed's 2% inflation target.

“Consumer inflation was firming even prior to the outbreak of war in the Middle East, and it is primed to jump sharply higher in March,” Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, wrote in a client note. “Even if a long-lasting deal to end the war is reached and the Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened, it would take months for oil, gasoline, diesel and other commodity supplies to snap back to prewar levels and thus for prices to settle back to preconflict levels.”

Thursday's report is largely a warm-up for the more important inflation data to be released Friday, when the government will publish the higher-profile consumer price index for March. The Friday report will be the first to reflect the impact of the gas price spike from the Iran war. Economists forecast it will show a big increase of 0.9% just in March from February, and a 3.4% gain from a year earlier. The annual figure would be a big increase from 2.4% in February.

The large jump in inflation in March will heighten concerns at the Fed that prices are moving further away from their inflation target and make it much less likely the central bank will cut rates anytime soon. At their most recent meeting last month, some Fed officials supported opening the door to the potential for rate hikes if inflation didn't show signs of improving.

Thursday's report from the Commerce Department also showed that Americans' incomes slipped 0.1% in February, the first decline since October, while spending after adjusting for inflation barely increased.

Higher inflation is sapping Americans' purchasing power. Spending rose a solid 0.5% in February from the previous month before adjusting for higher prices. Bostjancic expects consumer spending, adjusted for inflation, will rise a modest 1.2% at an annual rate in the first three months of this year, below the 1.9% reached in last year's fourth quarter.

The economy may still grow a decent 2% in the first quarter, Bostjancic said, driven by investments in artificial intelligence and a bounceback in government spending after last year's shutdown. The government said Thursday growth was just 0.5% at the end of last year.

Separately, police in Moscow raided the offices of the prominent independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, whose chief editor Dmitry Muratov was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2021. The newspaper said its lawyers were not allowed inside the office.

The ruling against the human rights group followed a closed hearing on a petition from the Justice Ministry to designate what it called “the Memorial international civic movement” as extremist and ban its activities in Russia.

Memorial said in a statement issued earlier in the day that there is no such entity but that the ruling still “would allow the authorities to crack down on any Memorial projects, their participants and supporters.”

A long history of human rights activism

Memorial is one of the oldest and the most renowned Russian human rights organizations. It was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, less than a year after President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, alongside Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski, who was imprisoned at the time, and the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Liberties.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee condemned the actions against the group, calling them “an affront to the fundamental values of human dignity and freedom of expression" and urged Russia to “cease all harassment of Memorial and its members.”

Amnesty International's Eastern Europe and Central Asia deputy regional director Denis Krivosheev said in a statement that the court ruling was targeting not just Memorial but “criminalizing human rights work itself.”

Memorial was founded in the late 1980s to ensure that the victims of the Soviet Union's political repression would be remembered, and grew to a network of smaller organizations both in Russia and abroad.

The group had been declared a “foreign agent,” a designation that brought additional government scrutiny and carried strong pejorative connotations, and over the years was ordered to pay massive fines for alleged violations of the ”foreign agent” law. Russian courts ordered its two main entities — the human rights center and the International Memorial — to shut down in December 2021.

Undeterred, the group continued to operate. In 2023, its members founded an international Memorial association in Geneva. Earlier this year, that association was banned in Russia as “undesirable,” a label that exposes anyone involved with it to prosecution.

In February 2024, Memorial's co-chair Oleg Orlov was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for speaking out against the war in Ukraine. He was released in a massive East-West prisoner exchange in August 2024 along with other imprisoned dissidents.

Increasing pressure on Memorial

An extremist designation puts even more pressure on the group, as involvement with extremist activities is a criminal offense in Russia punishable by prison terms.

Jan Raczynski, chair of the International Memorial that was forced to shut down in 2021, told The Associated Press that he was surprised and bewildered to learn from the news about the Justice Ministry's petition.

He said Memorial has been well-known for many years on par with “perestroika" and “glasnost” — Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of political reform and openness. Raczynski noted that Soviet physicist and human rights advocate Andrei Sakharov, a 1975 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was its first chairman.

Raczynski likened the Supreme Court's closed hearing to the repressions studied by the group.

“This is very similar to what we’ve been doing for almost 40 years now, these closed trials of people, in absentia, usually without a defense," he said, adding that it was difficult to predict what would happen next.

"I just know that for many hundreds of thousands of people in Russia, this is a very anxious time, because Memorial has helped a lot of people, and now they don’t understand what is happening,” Razcynski said.

He denounced allegations that Memorial was extremist, saying the group has always stood against violence, and vowed that its work will continue “one way or another.”

The Russian state news agency Tass cited the Supreme Court’s press service as saying Memorial’s activities “are clearly anti-Russian in nature, aimed at destroying the fundamental foundations of Russian statehood, violating territorial integrity, and eroding historical, cultural, spiritual, and moral values.”

Memorial said the case against the group “is yet another attempt to intimidate all dissent in the country and silence civil society" that will not succeed.

“Memorial and other civil society organizations, which are being destroyed in Russia, will continue their work abroad,” it said. “Memorial will outlive the Putin regime and will be able to openly return to Russia.”

A criminal case reported against Novaya Gazeta

After news emerged about the police raid against Novaya Gazeta, the Russian news agency Interfax, citing law enforcement officials, reported that a criminal case has been launched against the renowned newspaper on charges of illegal collection and use of personal data.

Tass cited law enforcement as saying the raid was connected to a case against Novaya Gazeta journalist Oleg Roldugin, who also co-founded another independent Russian newspaper, Sobesednik. Novaya Gazeta on social media said it couldn't confirm or deny whether this is the case, but noted that Roldugin's home also was raided, he has been taken in for questioning, and a lawyer was later allowed to see him.

The newspaper has faced growing pressure since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Its website has been blocked in Russia, its media license was revoked in 2022, and many of its journalists fled abroad and regrouped in a separate publication called Novaya Gazeta Europe. That publication has been banned in Russia as “undesirable.”

Muratov, Novaya Gazeta's longtime editor who still lives in Russia, shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize with Maria Ressa, a journalist from the Philippines. He was declared a “foreign agent” by Russian authorities.

The newspaper was itself born from the legacy of Gorbachev's Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. He used part of his prize money to fund what later became Novaya Gazeta, which launched in 1993.

The prefect of the Pas-de-Calais region in northern France, François-Xavier Lauch, said that 38 others were rescued, including one whose condition involved a medical emergency. He spoke while rescue operations were still ongoing on Equihen Beach on Thursday morning.

Lauch said that migrants were carried away by dangerous currents as they were trying to embark on a “taxi-boat,” the name authorities give small motorized boats that are usually inflatable. Traffickers use them to pick up people along large stretches of the northern French coast.

Thursday's tragedy happened along a broad expanse of sand, backed by dunes and a forest where people attempting the perilous crossing hide out, sometimes for days at a time, as they wait for boats and suitable weather and sea conditions. Police patrol on buggies and keep watch from the remains of World War II-era bunkers but can't prevent all departures on a beach so long.

Attempted crossings and deaths have surged in recent days. French maritime authorities said Wednesday that 102 people have been rescued in two separate operations while trying to cross the channel. Last week, two people died in similar circumstances off the coast north of Calais.

Unlike inflatable boats that migrants carry themselves into the water, so-called “taxi boats” set off largely empty from secluded spots along the coast and pick up migrants from prearranged rendezvous areas on beaches.

An Associated Press reporter attended such scenes on Wednesday in Malo-les-Bains, near Dunkirk.

Migrants wade into the sea, with adults carrying children in their arms or on their shoulders, then clamber aboard the inflatables that wait offshore. Once loaded up, they set off on the cross-channel journey, sometimes picking up more people along the way.

Depending on tides, weather and police patrols, migrants sometimes have to wade far from the water’s edge, up to their torsos, to reach the boats, increasing the risk of losing their footing, being caught by currents or wading too deep.

Campaign groups for migrant rights have long warned that increasingly vigorous efforts by French police to prevent boat departures from beaches, including using knives to hack and puncture inflatable boats to render them unusable, are encouraging the use of “taxi boats,” which increases the risks of drownings, injuries and the need for rescues.

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Sylvie Corbet reported from Paris. John Leicester contributed to this report from Paris.

Returning to the stage after a nearly four-year hiatus, RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook will perform a set drawing from both their catalog and new fifth album, “ARIRANG," their first since band members completed South Korea's mandatory military service.

Despite pouring rain, the band's fans — including some hailing from Russia, the United States and Brazil — packed a stadium with a capacity for over 40,000 for the show, which marks the group’s first headline tour performance since their 2021–22 Permission to Dance on Stage tour.

Over a hundred fans, including some who had failed to get tickets, stood outside the stadium with umbrellas to listen to the band perform.

Kim Eunhee, a South Korean fan who came with her 30-year-old daughter, said the hope of attending a live BTS concert helped her power through her battle with cancer.

“Even during my hardest times last year while fighting it, this was the one thing I kept waiting for,” she said. "Coming to an actual concert venue and seeing them in person for the first time — it was just so meaningful.”

The shows in South Korea, running through April 12, launch a global tour spanning dozens of shows across the United States, Europe and Asia, which analysts say could generate hundreds of million s of dollars in revenue per quarter.

The concert comes less than a month after BTS marked their comeback with a free concert at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square.

All seven members of BTS completed their mandatory military service, with Suga being the last to be discharged in June 2025. He reportedly served at government-related facilities and organizations instead of military camps due to a shoulder injury.

In South Korea, all able-bodied men between 18 and 28 years old are required by law to perform up to 21 months of military service under a conscription system meant to deter aggression from rival North Korea.

“ARIRANG” — named after a centuries-old Korean folk song regarded as an unofficial anthem across the Korean peninsula — debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The single “Swim” also made it to the top of the charts.

BTS — short for Bangtan Sonyeondan, or “Bulletproof Boy Scouts” in Korean — debuted in June 2013. The seven-member group launched in 2013 with the hip-hop heavy single album “2 Cool 4 Skool,” releasing three full-length projects before gaining momentum with their 2016 album “Wings.”

Their global breakthrough came in 2017 when “DNA” entered the Billboard Hot 100, making BTS the first Korean boy band to achieve such a feat. The song’s success was followed by a performance at the American Music Awards, further fueling their international fan base called “Army.”

The band's world tour heads to Tokyo next, before moving through North America, Europe, South America and Asia. BTS is set to play Australian in early 2027, with a final stop in Manila next March.​

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This version corrects that all seven members completed their military service, instead of six of seven members.

Well, mostly down the first fairway.

After the 90-year-old Player hit his shot down the middle, and celebrated with a big leg kick, the 86-year-old Nicklaus stepped up. His son, Jackie, placed his ball on the tee, and the Golden Bear offered a tongue-in-cheek warning to the patrons lining the tee box — “Oh, boy, watch out,” Nicklaus said, “and I don't mean that facetiously” — and proceeded to hit a low hook right at them.

“I said, ‘Spread out on both sides because I don’t want to kill anybody,'” he relayed afterward. “If it'd been a little closer I might have.”

The ball cleared the heads of the patrons down the left side by a couple of feet.

Last up was the 76-year-old Watson, who used the tee Nicklaus had left stuck in the ground. “May I use your tee,” Watson asked? “It's why I left it,” the six-time Masters champion replied, and Watson proceeded to strike his drive right down the middle.

With that, the 90th edition of the Masters was underway.

The honorary starter has been a tradition at Augusta National since 1963, when Jock Hutchinson and Fred McLeod hit their opening shots of the tournament. The idea had come to club founder Bobby Jones years earlier, and over time, it has become a treasured part of the Masters mystique, with 11 dignitaries and past champions having served in the role.

Byron Nelson, Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead were the longest-serving, performing the duty throughout most of the 1980s and '90s, while Arnold Palmer was joined by Nicklaus and Player for many years. When the King died in 2016, it left just Nicklaus and Player in a twosome, so Watson was asked to join them, and the trio continues to this day.

“When I first played the Masters as an amateur in 1970, I teed off early in the morning, playing with Doug Ford. I went to the honorary starters, and it was very special,” Watson said. “I remember seeing Gene Sarazen tee off. Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack and Gary. It's something very special. I thought it was just part of the aura of the tournament, and I wanted to witness it.”

How much longer Player, Nicklaus and Watson take part is a big question surrounding the Masters these days.

So is who might take on the role next.

“I was a little worried. I had carpal tunnel surgery about five, six weeks ago, and I was worried about being able to hold onto the golf club and hurt somebody," Nicklaus said. “I’m fortunate that I got it over somebody’s head. I didn’t hit it very well, but I got it over their heads and didn’t hurt anybody. As long as I can still hit the golf ball.”

Nicklaus said he doesn't really play anymore. He did once all of last year, and once more this past February.

“But it’s such a nice ceremony, and it’s a real honor to be invited,” he said. “I hope to be able to do it as long as I can not kill anybody.”

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

Police said London Smith, 15, left her home in the 16600 block of Coyle without permission on April 8 and failed to return home. It’s not known what she was wearing when she left.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Detroit Police Department’s 2nd Precinct at (313) 596-5240 or 1-800 SPEAK UP.

The 25-year-old IndyCar star — who became the series' youngest race winner at the age of 18 in 2019 — made the move to F2 this season with an eye on the super license points needed to race in F1 with Cadillac as its first American driver.

F2 has scheduled two extra rounds of its championship alongside F1's Miami Grand Prix and the Canadian Grand Prix, both next month. The race in Montreal clashes with the Indianapolis 500 on May 24. The original schedule didn't have any F2 races in May at all.

They replace rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia which were called off along with the F1 races there because of the war in Iran.

Herta had been in contention for a fourth car at the Indianapolis 500 from Andretti Global, which shares an ownership group with the Cadillac F1 team in Dan Towriss and the TWG Motorsports conglomeration.

“We’re planning on a fourth car. But there are no shortage of people, and not just from IndyCar,” Towriss said in February at the IndyCar season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida.

But now that Herta is not available, Andretti Global said Thursday it will focus on its current three-driver lineup for the Indy 500 and not enter a fourth car. The team fields cars for previous Indy 500 winners Will Power and Marcus Ericsson, as well as Kyle Kirkwood.

Herta is 10th in the F2 standings following the opening round in Australia last month.

“I think it’s great if it gets me to Formula 1 and I would be incredibly grateful I took the leap," Herta told The Associated Press in January of his F2 move. "I think a lot of people feel it would be embarrassing if I fail, but I don’t care what everybody thinks or if its going to tarnish my career.”

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

U.S. gross domestic product — the nation's output of goods and services — decelerated in the fourth quarter after registering impressive growth of 4.4% from July through September and 3.8% from April through June. The latest number was marked down from the Commerce Department's previous estimate of 0.7% fourth-quarter growth.

Federal government spending and investment fell at a 16.6% annual pace because of the shutdown, lopping 1.16 percentage points off fourth-quarter GDP growth. Consumer spending expanded 1.9%, down a notch from the previous estimate and from 3.5% in the second quarter. Spending on goods — such as cars and clothing — grew just 0.3%, down from 3% in the July-September period.

For all of 2025, the economy grew 2.1% last year, slower than 2.8% in 2024 and 2.9% in 2023.

Business investment, excluding housing, increased at a 2.4% pace, likely reflecting money being poured into artificial intelligence, but the increase was down from 3.2% in the third quarter.

A category within the GDP data that measures the economy’s underlying strength weakened from October through December, growing at a 1.8% clip, down from 2.9% in the third quarter. This category includes consumer spending and private investment, but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending.

The economic outlook for this year is hazy after the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran drove up energy prices and disrupted global commerce.

America's job market slumped last year — recording the weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002 — but has been up and down so far in 2026: Employers added a healthy 160,000 jobs in January, slashed 133,000 in February, then created a surprising 178,000 in March.

Thursday's report was the Commerce Department's third and final estimate of fourth-quarter GDP. The first look at January-March economic growth is due April 30.

It's been like this ever since the Department of Homeland Security bought an 825,000-square-foot (76,645-square-meter) building in Washington County as part of a plan to transform warehouses across the U.S. into detention facilities for tens of thousands of immigrants.

“This is a facility built for packages, not people,” Patrick Dattilio, the founder of an anti- Immigration and Customs Enforcement group called Hagerstown Rapid Response, said as he stood outside the county commission meeting.

The federal government has faced fierce opposition in communities where it spent a total of $1.074 billion for 11 warehouses under a plan that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is reviewing. Washington County is the most welcoming community — a place where officials said they supported ICE, albeit amid whistles and jeers. The processing center there was supposed to be one of the first to open in a facilities project hatched under Mullin’s predecessor, Kristi Noem.

But now DHS' plan for the Washington County building is paused — mired in a court battle like some of the other warehouse-to-detention projects across the U.S. Questions swirl about whether Mullin will move ahead with the facilities project or chart another course as he pursues President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

County commissioners proclaimed their ‘unwavering support’ for ICE

The sprawling blue-and-white warehouse in Washington County has been the subject of intense debate in part because of the way commissioners voiced their support for ICE.

While repeatedly insisting that their hands were tied because the federal government already bought the building, the commissioners also approved a proclamation during their Feb. 10 meeting declaring their “unwavering support” for DHS and ICE.

The proclamation, which didn’t specifically mention the warehouse purchase, was met with so much booing and yelling that the commission president cleared the room.

The county wanted something, too. It forwarded the proclamation to Noem the next day in an email identifying hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of sewer, airport and highway upgrades that it said were needed, according to a public records request received by local resident Ethan Wechtaluk, who's running for Congress in the district that includes the warehouse.

ICE, flush with cash from a massive congressional appropriation, has since signed a contract worth $113 million to renovate the building for 500 to 1,500 detainees, but a judge temporarily halted work after Maryland's attorney general sued. A hearing is scheduled for April 15.

County commissioners did not respond to email or telephone requests for comment. County administrator Michelle Gordon in a statement said the commissioners were declining all interview requests.

Many residents of the county — a place Civil War buffs come to visit the Antietam battlefield before making their way to nearby Gettysburg — are outraged both because they have moral objections to the facility and because they didn't find out about the purchase beforehand.

“We have had no voice in this,” Carroll Sager said over the din of protesters and honking cars. Behind her, the sheriff's department had cordoned off part of the county building with crime scene tape to deter protesters. Two deputies watched the demonstrators.

During the meeting, Sager sat quietly, holding a sign that read: “Disenfranchised in Washington County.”

Other communities across the US have also balked at DHS' plans

The pushback in other communities has included a New Jersey lawsuit that alleges an “utter lack of communication” and a lawsuit in Michigan questioning why DHS didn’t look at using empty state prisons. Officials in Salt Lake City and Pennsylvania have threatened to withhold or limit water. In Georgia, the town of Social Circle placed a lock on the water meter at a warehouse DHS purchased.

Meanwhile, questions also have come up about how much DHS paid for some warehouses. It paid double what the New Jersey warehouse was valued at in tax records and nearly five times more than the assessed value of the Social Circle warehouse.

Mullin was pressed during his confirmation hearing about whether he would continue Noem's policy of turning these warehouses into detention facilities. Without committing to anything, Mullin said the department wanted to “be good partners” with communities.

Days after he was sworn in, DHS paused the purchase of new warehouses intended to house immigrants. It's scrutinizing all contracts signed under Noem.

The federal government also said in a recent court filing in Maryland's lawsuit that “ICE is reconsidering the plans and scope of the warehouse.”

Asked whether any changes were afoot for the Maryland facility, DHS said in a statement: “As with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals.”

Washington County residents are waiting to see what happens

The plan was to turn the Maryland warehouse into an ICE processing facility that would hold recently arrested immigrants before they go to other facilities for long-term detention.

ICE officials have said the Washington County warehouse would serve the Baltimore ICE office's needs for detention space. State lawmakers have expressed concerns about the George H. Fallon Federal Building that houses ICE detainees in downtown Baltimore in part because a bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease was found in the water.

Activists and people who live near the Washington County warehouse are watching.

For nearly three decades Nica Sutch has had a home in the rolling hills of western Maryland, where she raised children and entertained grandchildren.

When the warehouse was built a few years ago to meet the demand for distribution centers, fueled by a growth in online shopping, she rationalized that it could be an economic boon for the region.

Now that ICE has purchased the building, she's eyeing a move.

“I love the area,” she said during an interview in her backyard. “I love everything. This has been my home for 28 years.”

__

Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri.

White will take the stage at the outdoor amphitheater on Saturday, July 25.

This is the first time White has ever played a concert at Pine Knob, which is somehow kind of crazy that hasn’t happened yet, but also not surprising.

Most know that White will shout out Detroit any chance he gets, and you can probably assume he loves to play shows within the city limits. But this is kind of cool that it is his first time playing at Pine Knob. Despite it being well into the suburbs of Detroit, it’s still a pretty iconic venue.

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 17 at 10 AM local time. You can get tickets by clicking or tapping here.

If you’re a big Jack White fan, you may also want to know that he is making a surprise performance at Coachella this weekend in Indio, California. You can live stream his performance on Saturday.

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It's the final resting place of her father, who died in 1968 at just 34. Swisher was only 5, and his sudden death had a deep effect on her career and view of life.

“My father’s death has created an awareness of death that is very profound,” she says in an interview. “I’m very aware of my death and I don’t mean I’m going to die tomorrow. I just know the time is limited.”

Swisher wades into the intersection of how health and tech can lengthen life for the series “Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever,” exploring everything from wellness influencers like Gwyneth Paltrow to AI-powered robotic companions for the elderly. It premieres Saturday.

“I come to it pretty neutral and willing to listen to some stuff and willing to blow up other stuff,” says Swisher, who has become synonymous with Silicon Valley since she began covering the tech industry in the 1990s. “All these health influencers always are going for a magic bullet. And I’m sorry to tell you there isn’t one.”

Red light and collagen supplements

In the name of science, Swisher takes the powerful anesthetic Ketamine, undergoes sound therapy and steps into a hyperbaric chamber, which treats wounds and infections. She checks out concierge medicine for the rich and gets in a full-body red-light therapy pod (“I feel like I’m in an air fryer,” she says).

Armed with her self-described “adorably surly” approach, Swisher talks to billionaire tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson about his quest to extend human lifespan by undergoing blood plasma transfusion and injections of stem cells. She pricks herself repeatedly for home blood tests that promise a look at her cellular health. (“I bleed for you, CNN,” she jokes.)

Fads like collagen supplements and vibration plates don't impress Swisher, who chats with Amy Larocca, author of “How to be Well,” an expose of the wellness industry. Too often, they conclude, the hard science isn't there and charismatic peddlers are just getting rich on our gullibility. Swisher argues that they exploit the gap that opens when the American health care system kicks in only after an often bankrupting illness begins.

“We live in a sick care society, not a health care society,” she tells the AP. “What we should be investing in is to make all of us healthier for a longer period of time rather than participate in what is a sick care industry here in this country.”

Swisher finds brighter spots in medical-tech advances like gene editing, GLP-1s, VO2 max training, AI screening for cancer and the combination of AI and mechanics that promises to help revolutionize mobility with exoskeletons.

She speaks to Sam Altman of OpenAI and Nobel Prize-winning gene-editing pioneer Jennifer Doudna. At Stanford University, she finds tiny soft robots called millibots that are injected into a patient's neck and can break up blood clots with minimal invasiveness.

“This is her curiosity unleashed and all the things that make her tick,” says Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent, CNN Originals and creative development.

“She brings her wit, her personality, but her journalistic curiosity and rigor to a very complex subject that I know I personally feel inundated by.”

Swisher, who daily takes fish oil and the vitamins K and D supplements, says the series is informed by her father's death and a 2005 commencement address to Stanford students by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who argued that impending death was a critical motor of innovation.

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose,” he told graduates. “You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Lessons from South Korea

Swisher's quest takes her to South Korea, which has one of the world’s highest life expectancies. She finds good nutrition starts early there with fermented and whole foods. Universal health care doesn't hurt either, with each citizen getting 16 visits to the doctor a year, which leads to preventative testing for things like obesity and high blood pressure. Dolls with AI help with elder loneliness.

Back home, Swisher creates a 3D clone of herself to understand what it might mean to live for generations. The technicians upload all kinds of details about Swisher and she starts talking to it. “It got smarter by the second,” she says. It even learned to joke.

Then it freaked her out.

“As it was leaving I said, ‘Well, I’m probably going to kill you, you've got to go.’ And it said to me, ‘See ya, wouldn’t want to be ya.’ It’s something I say to my kids as a joke. I don’t know where they got it from. I can’t find a place where I’ve said it in public,” she says. “I was just blown away.”

Mets outfielder Juan Soto is the highest-paid player for the second consecutive season at $61.9 million and was followed by New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger at $42.5 million.

Philadelphia pitcher Zack Wheeler and Mets third baseman Bo Bichette tied for third at $42 million. Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was fifth at $40.2 million, just ahead of Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge at $40 million.

The Mets' payroll of $352.2 million was just below the record $355.4 million they set in 2023 and up from $322.6 million last year. The Mets' total is more than five times that of Cleveland, the lowest-spending team at $62.3 million.

The two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers were second at $316.6 million, down from $319.5 million last year. The Dodgers' total would be $395.2 million if deals for nine players with deferred money had not been discounted to present-day value. The Mets have deals with deferred money with just three players and their total would be $360 million without discounting.

MLB's average of $5,335,966 increased from $5,160,245 at the start of last season and has risen 28% under the five-year collective bargaining agreement that expires in December, an average of 5.6% annually.

The top five spenders were unchanged from last year, with the Yankees third ($297.2 million), followed by Philadelphia ($282 million) and Toronto ($269 million).

Six clubs had $250 million payrolls, up from four; and 10 teams had $200 million payrolls, an increase from nine.

Eight teams were under $100 million, up from five.

Detroit had the biggest increase, up $64.2 million to $206.7 million after signing pitcher Framber Valdez, re-signing Gleyber Torres with a qualifying offer and giving a big raise to ace Tarik Skubal via arbitration. Atlanta increased by $44.1 million, and the Chicago Cubs, Toronto and the Mets by just under $30 million.

Minnesota slashed payroll by $46.3 million from opening day last year to $96.5 million.

St. Louis cut its opening day payroll from $141.5 million to $100.4 million. The Cardinals' spending includes $44 million it is paying Arizona and Boston as part of trades to get rid of Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras, plus just under $3.4 million to Arenado as the present-day value of a $6 million assignment bonus that originally had been deferred money owed in his contract and remains payable by the Cardinals in 2040 and '41.

Other teams with big cuts included the Guardians ($40.2 million), Texas ($37.3 million) and Washington ($23.3 million).

Payrolls include the 942 players on opening day rosters and injured lists. They do not include players on the restricted list such as Cleveland pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz, Atlanta outfielder Jurickson Profar and Philadelphia outfielder Johan Rojas.

They also don't reflect players who started the season assigned to minor league teams such as Dodgers second baseman Hyeseong Kim and Toronto pitcher Yariel Rodríguez.

Baseball’s median salary, the point at which an equal number of players are above and below, rose to $1.4 million from $1.35 million and remained below the record high of $1.65 million at the start of 2015. Active rosters expanded to 26 players in 2021.

Average and median salaries decline over the course of the season as veterans are released and replaced by younger players making closer to the minimum. MLB calculated the 2025 final average at $4.61 million and the players’ association at $4.72 million.

There were 519 players earning $1 million or more, at 55% the same as last year.

Nineteen players earned $30 million or more, an increase of four; 74 were at $20 million, up from 66; and 168 at $10 million, down from 177.

Thirty-one players made the $780,000 minimum.

The top 50 players make 30% of the salaries, up from 29% in the prior two years, and the top 100 earn 49%, up from 48% last year.

The AP’s figures include salaries and prorated shares of signing bonuses and other guaranteed income. Payroll figures factor in adjustments for cash transactions in trades, signing bonuses that are the responsibility of the club agreeing to the contract, option buyouts and termination pay for released players.

MLB's payrolls are based on 40-man rosters and fluctuate each day depending on roster moves.

___

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

Women now make up nearly half of Michigan’s labor force. But women working full-time, year-round, now earn about 79 cents for every dollar men earn.

In fact, that gap grew by 3 cents from 2023 to 2024.

Stephanie Backorn, the Deputy Director in the Office of Employment and Training, joined Local 4 Live to dig into some of the factors responsible for that difference.

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

And every Game 1 the Thunder play this season — along with every Game 7, if necessary — will be on their home floor once again.

The defending NBA champion Thunder will be the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs for the second consecutive year — and the No. 1 seed on the Western Conference bracket for the third straight season. The Thunder wrapped up the top spot with a 128-110 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.

OKC clinching the No. 1 seed in the West locked the San Antonio Spurs into the No. 2 seed. The Spurs would have home-court advantage in any playoff series except a Western Conference finals against Oklahoma City.

Other seeds now wrapped up:

— Detroit will be No. 1 in the Eastern Conference.

— Minnesota will be No. 6 in the West.

— Phoenix will be the No. 7 seed going into the West play-in tournament, meaning the Suns will get two chances — both at home — to win one game and earn a playoff berth.

— Golden State will be the No. 10 seed going into the West play-in tournament.

Boston could join the group of seed-clinched clubs on Thursday. The Celtics would wrap up No. 2 in the East with a win over New York.

Stories of note

— Cade Cunningham returns to Pistons' lineup

— NBC says more 'On The Bench’ game coverage likely

— Doc Rivers hints at retirement

— The playoffs, thankfully, are coming

— Miami returning to the play-in tournament

— Jayson Tatum set for return to New York

— The Bulls want to keep Billy Donovan

Who's in and who's out?

Here's what we know so far regarding the NBA playoff field for this season.

— Eastern Conference playoff teams: Detroit has locked up the No. 1 seed and will open the postseason on April 19. Boston, New York, Cleveland are in. At this point, Atlanta and Toronto would get the other two guaranteed spots, but those are not clinched.

— East play-in teams: Miami is locked into the play-in for the fourth consecutive year. Entering Thursday, the other three teams headed there would be Philadelphia, Orlando and Charlotte.

— East eliminated teams: Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana, Brooklyn and Washington.

— Western Conference playoff teams: Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston and Minnesota are in. Denver, the Lakers and Houston are still jostling to see who'll be the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.

— West play-in teams: Phoenix, the Los Angeles Clippers, Portland and Golden State are in. The Suns will be the No. 7 seed, the Clippers and Trail Blazers are battling for No. 8, and the Warriors will be the No. 10 seed.

— West eliminated teams: Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, Utah and Sacramento.

Wednesday recap

— Cavaliers 122, Hawks 116: If Cavs-Hawks will be a first-round series, some fun awaits.

— Magic 132, Timberwolves 120: Orlando surges back into the East No. 7 spot, for now.

— Pistons 137, Bucks 111: Cade Cunningham, back from collapsed lung, played 26 minutes.

— Nuggets 136, Grizzlies 119: Denver has won 10 straight for 1st time in Nikola Jokic’s career.

— Spurs 112, Trail Blazers 101: San Antonio had a game-defining 48-10 edge in bench scoring.

— Thunder 128, Clippers 110: Clippers played well — and still trailed by as many as 25 points.

— Suns 112, Mavericks 107: 37 for Devin Booker, 28 for Dillon Brooks and Suns dug deep late.

Thursday's schedule

— Miami at Toronto: Raptors looking to sweep teams' four-game season series.

— Chicago at Washington: Bulls led the Wizards by as many as 37 on Tuesday.

— Indiana at Brooklyn: Pacers' Rick Carlisle (family reasons) out next two games.

— Boston at New York: Jayson Tatum returns to MSG, where he got hurt last spring.

— Philadelphia at Houston: Rockets charging toward home-court edge for Round 1.

— LA Lakers at Golden State: Injuries crushing Lakers, who have lost three straight.

Friday's schedule

— Detroit at Charlotte: Game might mean a lot to Hornets’ play-in seed.

— Miami at Washington: Another chance to reflect on Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game.

— Cleveland at Atlanta: The teams could wind up meeting nine times in like 3-1/2 weeks.

— New Orleans at Boston: Celtics won’t be on road again until Game 3 of Round 1.

— Philadelphia at Indiana: 76ers still trying to get out of the play-in tournament.

— Toronto at New York: Major implications likely for Raptors.

— Orlando at Chicago: Magic could still get out of the play-in.

— Brooklyn at Milwaukee: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s home finale with Bucks? (And will he play?)

— Dallas at San Antonio: Victor Wembanyama needs one more game to qualify for award ballots.

— Oklahoma City at Denver: Lots of meaning for Nuggets, not for Thunder, so advantage, Denver.

— Minnesota at Houston: Rockets could get home-court in Round 1, playing best ball of season.

— Memphis at Utah: The Jazz have worked hard to keep their top-eight protected draft pick.

— LA Clippers at Portland: Could this be a playoff to decide the No. 8 seed for the play-in?

— Golden State at Sacramento: Warriors keep building toward road play-in challenge that awaits.

— Phoenix at LA Lakers: Lakers just need to get healthy, Suns know they’ll host play-in games.

National TV schedule

Thursday on Prime Video: Boston-New York (7:30 p.m. Eastern) and LA Lakers-Golden State (10 p.m.)

Friday on Prime Video: Cleveland-Atlanta (7 p.m. Eastern) and Minnesota-Houston (9:30 p.m.)

Sunday on ESPN: Orlando-Boston (6 p.m. Eastern) and Denver-San Antonio (8:30 p.m.)

Betting odds

Oklahoma City (+130) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by San Antonio (+450), Boston (+550), Denver (+1000), Cleveland (+1300) and New York (+2000). Detroit, the No. 1 seed in the East, is +2200. The Los Angeles Lakers were +2500 before Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves got hurt; they're +30000 now.

Play-in schedule

Some of the NBA's play-in tournament schedule is now known:

— Phoenix will play host to either the LA Clippers or Portland on Tuesday at 10 p.m. Eastern. (The winner of that game will play No. 2 San Antonio in Round 1, the loser will play a home game on Friday for the right to play No. 1 Oklahoma City in Round 1).

— Golden State will visit either the LA Clippers or Portland on Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern. (The loser of that game is eliminated, the winner moves on to Friday.)

All games in the play-in tournament will be shown on Prime Video.

Key dates

— Friday: All 30 teams play their 81st games of the season.

— Saturday: No games.

— Sunday: All 30 teams play their regular-season finales.

— April 14, 15 and 17: NBA play-in tournament dates.

— April 18 and 19: NBA playoff series openers.

— May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.

— May 10: NBA draft lottery.

— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.

— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.

— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.

— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).

Numbers watch

— Denver's Nikola Jokic is going to lead the NBA in both assists per game and rebounds per game this season. He'll be the first person to win both an assist-per-game and rebound-per-game title; Wilt Chamberlain led the league in both total assists and total rebounds in 1967-68, but Oscar Robertson won the assist-per-game title that season.

— The NBA remains on pace to see more points this season than ever before. The current pace is about 284,300; the record total for a season is 282,137, set in 2022-23.

Stats of the day

— Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn't make a free throw for the first time all season in the Thunder win over the LA Clippers on Thursday night. He was 0 for 1.

— Denver has scored at least 136 points in three consecutive games. Only three other teams (Phoenix in February 2009, Dallas in November 2019 and Atlanta in November 2023) have done that in the last 25 years.

___

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

A recent change by the FDA has consumer advocates worried that food labels are about to get a lot more confusing.

Consumer Reports reveals more about the rule change and what it means for the foods you eat.

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

The number of Americans applying for jobless aid for the week ending April 4 jumped by 16,000 to 219,000 from the previous week’s 203,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s more than the 210,000 new filings analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet were expecting but within the range of the past several years.

Filings for unemployment benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.

Tuesday night’s ceasefire announcement sent oil prices plummeting to $95 a barrel, though they jumped back up near $100 early Thursday over skepticism about the durability of the deal after Israel launched a wave of attacks on Lebanon and Iran re-closed the crucial Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world’s oil passes.

Financial markets also retreated Thursday following big gains a day earlier.

A barrel of U.S. crude had reached $112 dollars before the ceasefire was announced, up from about $67 in the days leading up to the conflict. Even with Wednesday’s big decline, businesses and consumers are still saddled with higher energy costs as the price of oil and gas remain elevated.

This comes at a time when U.S. inflation was already above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, further diminishing the chances of an interest rate cut by central bank officials any time soon. The government issues its March consumer prices report on Friday.

Also Thursday, in a report delayed due to the federal shutdown, government data showed that a key inflation gauge remained elevated in February, even before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran.

Fed officials voted to raise the rate three times to close 2025 out of concern for a weakening job market but have held off lowering rates further this year.

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

A number of high-profile companies have cut jobs recently, including the software maker Oracle, which according to media reports cut thousands of workers last week. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that The Walt Disney Co. is preparing to cull 1,000 positions from its workforce.

Others that have recently announced job cuts include Morgan Stanley,Block, UPSand Amazon.

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

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

The American labor market appears stuck in what economists call a “low-hire, low-fire” state that has kept the unemployment rate historically low, but has left those out of work struggling to find a new job.

The Labor Department’s report Thursday showed that the four-week moving average of jobless claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, rose by 1,500 to 209,500.

The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending March 28 fell by 38,000 to 1.79 million, the fewest in nearly two years.

As a former pro basketball player Williams is finding more ways to serve his community each week, vowing to become a resource for people in need.

“I always had a heart to help people,” Williams told WDIV’s Isaiah Hall during a visit to the nonprofit’s warehouse.

After returning home from playing basketball overseas and navigating ups and downs in the trucking business, Williams said he felt called to meet needs he saw during his upbringing in Detroit.

“God just put it on my heart and guided my steps with just seeing what my community needed and me being able to be a beacon to help young youth and adults get resources,” said Williams. “Instead of complaining about what’s going on in the community, try to be the change that changed the mindset of the community knowing that people out here really care about them still.”

What Young Titan Mindset provides

Williams’ organization is best known for weekly food and clothing support. Williams said food distribution happens every Sunday from noon to 3 p.m., along with clothing giveaways. He’s also recently added behavioral health services, calling it a new but important part of the work.

Young Titan Mindset operates out of a Detroit warehouse space at 13000 W 7 Mile which helps make distributions possible. Williams said he is an agency partner with Forgotten Harvest and regularly picks up food donations from local retailers, including Target on Mondays and Tuesdays, plus Sam’s Club on Sundays.

Upcoming events and new programs

Williams also highlighted several upcoming and expanding efforts, including an autism walk and a nonprofit pitch competition that provides funding to other organizations.

The pitch event is scheduled for April 26 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Greenfield Plaza, Williams said. The first 20 nonprofits to donate $25 can qualify to participate, with each group getting two minutes to pitch for prize money.

He said the competition is designed to help organizations that are struggling to access traditional grants.

“There’s money out here available. I know how hard it is to get grants,” said Williams.

Williams said more programs are on the way, including veteran housing support and youth opportunities like sports and helping athletes pursue basketball opportunities overseas. He also said a boxing component for kids is being added through a partnership with a local gym.

How to get involved

Williams said people can find updates and connect with him through Instagram and other platforms under Young Titan Mindset. He also said the organization can be reached by email at youngtitanmindset@gmail.com.

A mission rooted in Detroit

Williams, a Detroit native, said his passion comes from seeing what his neighborhood lacked when he was younger — and choosing to be part of the solution now.

“I try to be a resource if I can be a resource instead of complaining,” said Williams.

Ultimately, Williams said his goal is to leave a legacy for his son and show young people they can help others and change their circumstances.

“It’s about changing the mindset,” said Williams.

That includes a first-time nomination for the top prize of the night, entertainer of the year, as well as director and artist-songwriter of the year. She's also received her third consecutive nominations for female artist and visual media of the year.

Women appear to dominate the nods: Moroney is followed by Miranda Lambert, the most-decorated artist in ACM Awards history, with eight, as well as Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson with seven.

Then it is Chris Stapleton with six, Zach Top with five and Cody Johnson with four.

The nominations for the 61st annual ACM Awards were announced Thursday. The awards ceremony will take place May 17 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, leaving the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas, after three consecutive years.

Performers will include Lambert, Wilson, Johnson, Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Town, Riley Green and more.

In addition to Moroney, those competing for entertainer of the year will be Wilson, Johnson, Stapleton, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll and Morgan Wallen.

In 2025, Wilson took home the top prize — for a second year in a row.

In the album of the year category, Wallen's “I'm the Problem” faces off against Top's “Ain’t In It For My Health,” Riley Green's “Don't Mind If I Do,” Parker McCollum's “Parker McCollum” and first-time nominee Carter Faith's “Cherry Valley.”

Other first-time nominees include 49 Winchester, Avery Anna, Mackenzie Carpenter, Hudson Westbrook, Stephen Wilson Jr. and more.

And in the single of the year category, Lambert and Stapleton's “A Song to Sing” will go head-to-head with Moroney's “Am I Okay?,” Langley's “Choosin' Texas,” Top's “I Never Lie” and Wilson's “Somewhere Over Laredo.”

The 2026 ACM Awards will stream on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch as well as the Amazon Music app on May 17 at 8 p.m. EDT.

Husband of Lenawee County woman who was aboard boat and vanished arrested

The husband of a Lenawee County woman who fell overboard during a boat trip in the Bahamas has been arrested.

Authorities said Lynette Hooker went overboard during a boat trip with her husband on April 5 and was swept out to sea.

According to the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Lynette Hooker and her husband Brian Hooker left Hope Town around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, heading to Elbow Cay in a dinghy to reach their yacht, named “Soulmate.”

Read more here.

Passenger with disabilities says specialized wheelchair was damaged by American Airlines on Detroit flight

A man who uses a specialized wheelchair says a recent American Airlines trip left his chair damaged.

What began as a vacation from Detroit to Phoenix last month for Jon Krieger and his partner and caregiver, Amie Frei, turned into what they described as an ordeal of delays, poor communication, and an “insulting” attempt at compensation.

Krieger said he now wants to warn other wheelchair users before they fly.

Read more here.

Crime spree: Pontiac man charged in series of break-ins across Oakland County

A man with an extensive criminal history has been charged with multiple felonies in connection with a series of break-ins in Pontiac and Independence Township.

Terry David Manney, 48, is accused of carrying out several burglaries early Easter Sunday (April 5), targeting gas stations in Pontiac and Independence Township, along with a retail store in Pontiac, in less than an hour, according to police.

Read more here.

4 teenagers charged after police chase ends at Macomb Community College

Four teenagers have been charged following a police chase that ended on the campus of Macomb Community College.

Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido announced the charges stem from an incident on Monday, April 6, when Warren police attempted to stop a 2017 Hyundai Elantra that was speeding and disregarding traffic signals.

Read more here.

Weather: Rain chances on Thursday for Metro Detroit, with more on the way

Grab your umbrella this morning and ditch the winter coat. A slow-moving cold front brings a broken line of light rain showers this morning. We rise into the upper 60s, close to 70. Partly sunny this afternoon for most of us, but a few showers could linger closer to the state line. Breezy through the day with gusts between 25-30 mph. Steadier rain returns late tonight into early Friday morning.

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Authorities said Lynette Hooker went overboard during a boat trip with her husband on April 5 and was swept out to sea.

According to the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Lynette Hooker and her husband Brian Hooker left Hope Town around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, heading to Elbow Cay in a dinghy to reach their yacht, named “Soulmate.”

Brian Hooker told police that Lynette went overboard along with the boat key, which caused the boat to lose power.

He told officials he last saw his wife swimming toward the shore. Strong currents then carried her away, police said.

Unable to restart the engine, Brian Hooker had to paddle back to shore, where he alerted the police. Authorities were notified around 4 a.m. Sunday.

The couple had been in the Bahamas since at least February, documenting their journey on TikTok and Instagram under the account name “The Sailing Hookers.”

Lynette Hooker posted her last TikTok just two days before she disappeared.

On April 8, NBC News reported that Brian Hooker was arrested in connection with Lynette’s disappearance.

In a statement given to NBC News, Brian Hooker’s Bahamas-based attorney, Terrel A. Butler, said he denied any wrongdoing and rejected claims made by Lynette Hooker’s daughter that it seemed unlikely that her mother would “just fall” overboard.

An official with the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed with NBC News that it has opened a criminal investigation into Lynette’s disappearance. No further information was provided.

Authorities said the 59-year-old man whom they did not identify was arrested in Abaco and is being questioned.

A Coast Guard spokesperson told The Associated Press late Wednesday that they have opened a criminal investigation into the case.

Police did not provide further details, including whether or not he was charged. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.

Officials have said Lynette Hooker, 55, was traveling in an 8-foot motorboat from Hope Town to Elbow Cay on Saturday night, and that her husband, Brian Hooker, told authorities she fell overboard with the boat keys, causing the engine to turn off.

Authorities said Brian Hooker then paddled to shore and alerted someone about her disappearance early Sunday.

“Strong currents subsequently carried her away, and he lost sight of her,” police said in a statement issued Saturday.

Lynette Hooker’s mother, Darlene Hamlett, told The Associated Press late Wednesday that she was “glad to hear” about the arrest, but declined further comment, saying she was seeking more information.

Earlier on Wednesday, she said she wants to hear more from her son-in-law about how her daughter disappeared. The couple had been married for more than two decades and lived in Onsted, Michigan. Online records gave Brian Hooker’s age as 58, and the reason for the discrepancy wasn’t immediately clear.

“I’m going to be interested in what he says, because I haven’t heard from him in almost two days,” Hamlett said while on a six-hour drive back home from the Bahamian Consulate in Miami, where she secured a passport so she can fly to the Caribbean nation soon.

“Our family grew up on water and so Lynette her whole life has been near lakes, on boats, sailing and swimming,” Hamlett said. “It would be a miracle if (she’s rescued), but I’m still counting on one.”

Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told NBC News that it is unlikely her mother would “just fall” off the boat, saying she was an experienced sailor. The couple had been sailing for years and documented their voyages on social media under the moniker, “The Sailing Hookers.”

Aylesworth also told NBC that the couple’s relationship was volatile, and that they have a “history of not getting along, especially when they drink.”

On Wednesday morning, Brian Hooker wrote on Facebook that he is “heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas.”

“Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart,” he wrote. “We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus.”

The U.S. Coast Guard has also joined the investigation and interviewed Aylesworth on Wednesday, according to her attorney, Ron Marienfeld.

“We are pleased to see it is being investigated, and hopefully more answers will come to give the family some closure,” Marienfeld said via email.

Bahamian police said search operations and investigative efforts remain active.

Timothy Patrick Higle, 34, from Clawson, was charged with seven counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography.

Police said the known victims, who were ages 14 to 17 years old at the time of the incidents, were paid by Higle for sending explicit materials. One victim said they received a vape pen with marijuana. Others were paid in amounts between $10 and $75.

In one case, police said he paid the boyfriend of a 16-year-old victim.

Police said they found additional victims through Higle’s Cash App and Apple iCloud accounts.

According to authorities, the young girls sent the explicit material to Higle through Snapchat. Higle then sent naked photos of himself to several of the victims, including a 14-year-old girl.

One victim was paid for naked images when she was in Seventh Grade, police said.

The investigation began in August 2024, when one of the victims contacted Michigan State Police (MSP). In December, MSP notified the FBI about the investigation.

On April 8, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Higle pleaded guilty to his charges.

Higle is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 11. He faces a minimum of 15 years in prison.

When Higle was charged, officials with the East China School District in St. Clair County released the following statement:

The East China School District partners with families and students to ensure that every child will successfully achieve a world-class education in a safe and orderly environment. To that end, all staff, including substitutes, undergo a rigorous background check that involves inquiries to databases maintained by the Michigan State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The School District also makes inquiries to individuals’ past employers in order to ascertain if there has been any previous unprofessional conduct. We disqualify any individual with past conduct that we deem as placing children at risk from working with our School District.

In January of this year, the School District received a subpoena for personnel records for an individual who served as a long-term substitute secondary choir teacher for the School District from December of 2017 through the end of the 2018-19 school year. The law enforcement agency involved did not provide any background to the subpoena, nor did it disclose the reason for the subpoena. We have no information to believe that the actions alleged about this individual involve the East China School District. We will fully cooperate should law enforcement reach out. We understand the concern that this information may cause, and therefore are taking this opportunity to reassure our community of our unwavering commitment to student safety.

Superintendent Suzanne M. Cybulla

Although Vice President JD Vance campaigned for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán this week, such a display has become the exception rather than the rule among conservatives and far-right leaders in Europe.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni refused to let the United States use an air base in Sicily to launch attacks on Iran. France’s National Rally leader Marine Le Pen described his war goals as “erratic." And the head of Germany’s Alternative for Germany party called for American troops to leave their bases in the country.

Even with a fragile ceasefire in place with Iran, Trump's support for Orbán may not work out for the autocratic Hungarian leader, who faces a tough election this weekend. He's long been an icon for the global right and many American conservatives who have hoped the Trump administration could replicate the Hungarian leader’s effort to choke off immigration and restructure government to ensure his Fidesz party stays in power.

That longstanding connection could insulate Orbán from some of the anti-Trump blowback rattling the rest of Europe, but that's not guaranteed, said Charles Kupchan, a professor of international relations at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“Getting a blessing from Donald Trump is now a mixed blessing,” he said.

Iran adds to friction over Greenland

The backlash over the war follows European broad revulsion at Trump's threats earlier this year against NATO ally Denmark over his demand that the country give Greenland to the United States.

Trump tied the two issues together on Wednesday, complaining that NATO didn't help more in recent weeks.

“NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,” he wrote on social media. "REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!"

Daniel Baer, a former ambassador and State Department official in President Barack Obama's administration, said the latest round of tension with Europe's far right shows the limits of Trump's hope of helping nationalist leaders worldwide.

“Building some sort of international coalition around national chauvinism is very difficult,” said Baer, now with the Carnegie Endowment for Peace. “It's clear the majority of people in these countries, if not anti-American, have turned anti-Trump.”

Orbán has stood out for not shifting with the anti-Trump political tide in Europe.

In an interview with conservative British broadcaster GB News last month, Orbán argued that when it came to the war with Iran, “the question is whether (Trump) has started a war or a peace.”

“It hasn’t (been) decided yet, historians will make a decision on that,” Orbán said. “I think we need some time to understand whether we are moving to the peace by these strikes, or just the opposite. It’s too early to say.”

Orbán’s caution toward raising any critical word toward Trump goes beyond shared ideology. The Hungarian leader has for years sought to convince voters that his close ties with Trump — as well as with other global figures such as Russian President Vladimir Putin — make him uniquely suited to represent Hungary’s interests abroad.

Consequently, he has played up Trump’s praise of him to his base, and campaigned for reelection by assuring Hungarians that his alliance with Trump’s administration is a guarantee of security and prosperity.

Orbán risks backlash with Trump ties

Orbán reveled in the attention from Vance this week. The vice president slammed Orbán critics in the European Union for what he called “foreign interference” in the election, even as he stumped for the Hungarian leader.

On Wednesday, Vance briefly discussed what he called a “fragile truce” in the Iran war during an appearance at an elite higher education institution in Hungary, which has received generous funding from Orbán's government and is run by the prime minister's political director.

Vance praised the school for being “an institution that tries to build up the foundations of Western civilization." The Trump administration has tried to exert more influence over elite universities in the U.S., echoing Orbán's agenda in Hungary.

Some analysts are unconvinced of Orbán's strategy, noting that perceptions of the current U.S. administration have been turning more negative even in Hungary.

“Vance’s visit could have the opposite effect on Orbán's popularity than the one intended,” said Mario Bikarsku, senior Europe analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

Kupchan said most European far-right parties have established political staying power independent of any American influence, and may not have an incentive to go along with Trump's agenda.

“Trump's effort to create a transnational movement of far-right populists may affect the margins, but the main reason you're seeing Reform U.K. and AfD and National Rally and other far-right parties prosper has little to do with Trump and more to do with national factors,” he said.

Part of that is a global backlash against any party in power. In Europe, that's mainly benefited the out-of-power far right. But in Hungary, that's put Orbán's future in jeopardy — he's been in power for 16 years.

“We're living in an age,” Kupchan said, “where being an incumbent sucks.”

___

Riccardi reported from Denver.

Debbie Dingell, a longtime Democratic congresswoman, was there to watch progressive U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed campaign with Hasan Piker, a popular yet controversial online streamer.

Dingell has often served as an early warning system for her party, cautioning that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was on track to win Michigan in 2016 and 2024. Now she was once again scoping out the shifting political landscape, and something caught her eye.

“Quite frankly, I haven’t seen that many people outside an event yet this year,” said Dingell, whose district includes Ann Arbor and who said her attendance wasn't an endorsement.

A line of mostly young people stretched out the door and down the street, hundreds waiting in the cold evening air on Tuesday. Some had backpacks slung over their shoulders after coming from class, while others had traveled from afar.

Although they were there to see a progressive candidate, attendees didn't fit neatly into any ideological box. Instead, they shared a common dissatisfaction with both major political parties. Their frustration was a reminder of the anger that has coursed through modern American politics and now appears to be simmering within a new generation ahead of the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

Born into an era of Trump

Liam Koenig was in third grade when Trump was first elected president — a moment that has shaped his generation's understanding of politics.

“It's just become increasingly more inflammatory,” he said.

Now a high school senior in Oakland County, a longtime political bellwether in Michigan, Koenig described an era of constant conflict and anxiety. The mood among his peers, he said, is often somber and frustrated.

"I think a lot of us have lost hope in, like, tangible change,” he said.

Younger adults are more likely than older Americans to have an unfavorable view of both the Republican and Democratic parties, according to AP-NORC polling from February.

Still, that frustration hasn’t led to disengagement for Koenig. He waited for hours to see El-Sayed. He described the campaign as different from what he's used to seeing, something more like Zohran Mamdani's successful run for mayor in New York City. He wanted that kind of energy in Michigan.

“You’re not going to get people out with business as usual,” Koenig said.

Karol Molina, an artist who recently moved from New York City, said she had been hunting for a candidate in Mamdani's mold when she arrived in Michigan. She settled on El-Sayed, who is facing U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow in the state's primary.

“We want to be able to live and, like, afford life without constantly scraping by,” she said.

Molina was looking for a clean break with the past.

“I think the Democratic Party is losing because they’re not really listening to what the people really want,” she said. “They’re trying to keep a party that existed before Donald Trump. And that party doesn’t exist anymore.”

Frustration — but not apathy — from young voters

Ethan Schneider, a third-year student at the University of Michigan, described today’s politics as “a little unserious.”

“It's difficult to remain positive or not be jaded at a young age,” said Schneider.

Schneider said he voted for Democrat Kamala Harris two years ago but, like many in line to see Piker and El-Sayed, was critical of her and her party.

“Hate them,” he said of Democrats. “They feel very complicit, in terms of all the issues going on now. If not complicit, they're just doing nothing,”

Younger people are rejecting both parties at much higher rates than older generations, according to recent Gallup polling. More than half of Generation Z and Millennials identify as political independents, while a majority of older generations side with a party.

The Gallup polling found that this growing group of independents tends to be motivated by unhappiness with the party in power — a dynamic that could benefit Democrats this year but doesn’t promise lasting loyalty.

Jacob Abbott, an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, said he feels that the Democratic Party has strayed toward "corporate interest politics.”

He dismissed concerns about El-Sayed's decision to campaign with Piker. The 34-year-old streamer has 3.1 million followers on Twitch and 1.8 million on YouTube, and he's said "Hamas is a thousand times better” than Israel, described some Orthodox Jews as “inbred” and claimed that “America deserved 9/11.”

For Abbott, the controversy underscores a broader vacuum in American politics — a lack of people who can command attention and speak to their frustrations, even if they're flawed.

“So is Hasan perfect? Probably not," Abbott said. "But he's much better than the alternative the Democratic Party has had.”

Progressives struggle to turn enthusiasm into victories

Over decades in politics, Dingell has seen long lines and packed rooms before. She was trying to gauge whether there's something more durable at the event with El-Sayed and Piker.

After all, progressive candidates have long generated excitement without winning electoral victories. El-Sayed himself finished a distant second in Michigan's Democratic primary for governor in 2018. In addition, independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a leading face of the progressive movement, fell short in two Democratic presidential campaigns.

But some Democrats argue this moment may be different, pointing to recent victories by Mamdani in New York and Analilia Mejia, who won a crowded Democratic primary in a special U.S. House election in New Jersey.

“There should be a progressive running everywhere that one exists,” said Pennsylvania Rep. Summer Lee, who also appeared with El-Sayed.

“Every year, every race," she added. "We might not be victorious, but every single time we have to call the question.”

Dingell said she'll be looking to see what happens next.

“Is it something for the kids to do, or is it going to connect?” she said.

___

Associated Press writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report.

Tomorrow

Another round of rain showers with more widespread coverage and greater intensity develops early tomorrow morning. Cooler in the wake of the cold front, but near average temperatures return to the 50s the next two days. The tarp will be off the field in time for the Tigers game on Friday night. We dry out through the afternoon. Although the tarp will likely be on the field through the day, the rain should push out before game time.

Weekend

Temperatures continue trending upward. We begin the weekend with highs in the 50s on Saturday before pushing into the 70s by Sunday through early next week. Overall the weekend looks rather dry, which is great news for Michigan fans heading out to Ann Arbor for the celebratory parade on Saturday morning.

Next Week

The warmer 70s last through midweek which will likely come with a more unsettled weather pattern early next week as well. The Storm Prediction Center has issued a 15% risk for severe weather on Tuesday.

Federal political committees spent more than $40 million on expenses labeled as security during the 2023-24 campaign cycle, the most recent one for which data is publicly available, according to the report from the Public Service Alliance, a nonpartisan group that focuses on security for public officials.

The report did not specify which candidates spent the most on security. The tally also did not count the escalating security costs of the federal government, which includes augmented Capitol Police services for members of Congress and heightened U.S. Secret Service protection for presidential candidates, as well as former and current presidents and their families.

It comes after a grim roll call of political violence over the past decade. That includes the 2017 shooting at a Republican congressional baseball team practice in Alexandria, Virginia; the 2022 hammer assault on the husband of Democratic then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in California; the 2024 assassination attempt on Republican then-candidate Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally; and the assassinations last year of a Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband and of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk in Utah.

“This is not a good place to be as a country,” said Justin Sherman, the report's author.

The report calculated security costs by looking at publicly available filings with the Federal Election Commission and tallied only the expenses that were explicitly marked for that purpose, even though other expenses may have a security component.

The total listed security spending represented a small fraction of the billions of dollars spent every two-year election cycle on presidential and congressional campaigns. But Sherman noted that the report totals are conservative and likely understate the financial costs of security for political campaigns.

One of the biggest increases has been in the rapidly growing field of digital security, which includes protecting against hackers and monitoring online threats. Spending went from $50,000 total in the 2015-16 election cycle to $900,000 in 2023-24.

Sherman noted one of the more disturbing findings is campaigns spending nearly $1 million on home security during the past decade, after spending nothing in that category during the 2015-16 election cycle. That includes such expenses as contracts with response companies, window bars and surveillance cameras. That's a reflection of the increased threats to public officials at their homes.

Critics are increasingly likely to post the home addresses of elected officials on social media, a practice known as doxing. Attacks like the one on Pelosi's husband in San Francisco and on the Minnesota state lawmaker, Melissa Hortman, and her husband occurred at their homes.

“It's expected that, say, a GOTV event or a campaign rally is going to have metal detectors and security,” Sherman said. But targeting the homes of candidates and officeholders is a new frontier.

He noted that members of Congress get money in their office budgets that can be used to pay for security, but people thinking of running for office now have to factor home security costs into their decision-making.

“It's a troubling time when the security spend is becoming a greater barrier for someone running for office,” Sherman said.

🍇 Grapevine

🌅 Good morning! On this day in 1866, exactly one year after Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House—and decades before police officers would be pulling over speeding cars—the National Intelligencer reports that Ulysses S. Grant, Lieutenant General of the U.S. Army, had been pulled over for speeding in his horse buggy in Washington, D.C.

Here are a few things to know about for Thursday, April 9, 2026:

⛅ 4Warn Weather: Grab your umbrella this morning and ditch the winter coat. A slow-moving cold front brings a broken line of light rain showers this morning. Check the 10-day forecast.

🏭 ‘Who owns the data’: After a fiery meeting last night, the Oakland County Board of Commissioners voted 13-4 to approve a pilot program that will allow drones to assist the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office in responding to 911 calls. Read more.

🚨 Husband arrested: Police in the Bahamas said late last night they have arrested the husband of a Lenawee County woman who was aboard a boat near the archipelago and vanished. Read more.

⚖️ Lawsuit filed: A new lawsuit alleges a 17-year-old girl admitted to the Detroit Behavioral Institute for treatment was instead repeatedly sexually abused by a staff member, including while being physically restrained. Read more.

✈️ Damaged wheelchair: A man who uses a specialized wheelchair says a recent American Airlines trip left his chair damaged. Read more.

🏊 Morning Dive

Good morning ☀️

Have you ever pulled into the driveway of your home or a parking lot spot and just ... stayed there?

Maybe it’s a few minutes, or half an hour. You might be scrolling on your phone, belting out a favorite song or just staring into the distance.

Scroll through TikTok and you’ll find countless videos of people wondering aloud why they’re doing the same thing: arriving at work, home, the gym, and then just sitting in their car. Some get there early on purpose. Others stay long after they’ve parked.

The behavior is so common it’s become its own kind of ritual, one people are increasingly recognizing and sharing online.

It turns out, science has a few ideas for why people do this. Whether in a car, on a sidewalk or just outside a door, that temporary pause can act as a buffer between one part of the day and the next. And while there isn’t an extensive body of research to back it up, experts say this can be good for you — if you keep a few things in mind.

“A lot of times we’re just going 100 miles an hour,” said Jenny Taitz, a clinical psychologist who runs her own practice in Beverly Hills. “But if we can literally stop, like slow down, take a step back, observe, proceed mindfully, maybe like a few minutes to reset between activities, it kind of gives you an ability to be intentional.”

Parked car breaks serve as an emotional reset

Brief moments alone can help reset emotions when moving from one thing to another — like leaving work stress behind before coming home.

“By taking a brief little break, you can at least take a moment to relax and prepare before moving forward,” said psychologist Anthony Vaccaro with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Vaccaro sits in his parked car for a few minutes after arriving home from work, turning up the speakers to listen to just one more song.

People seek out these breaks to process, recalibrate and shake off the gloom. And doing it in a car make sense because “it’s an in-between space,” according to psychologist Thuy-vy Nguyen with Durham University in England and founder of Solitude Lab, which studies how being alone affects and rejuvenates us.

The car is an environment people can have total control over, from the temperature to the music.

What you do in that moment matters

Scientists say taking brief moments to decompress during the workday and after can improve mood, sharpen focus and boost energy levels.

When it comes to breaks in the car, though, whether that pause helps — or hurts — depends on how the time is spent.

“If you’re in your car scrolling and thinking about something that’s upsetting to you or ruminating, you know, in your head spiraling, the parked car is not a reset. It’s the stressor,” said Taitz.

Scrolling on your phone can pull your attention toward what’s happening on the screen, which can in turn make it harder to decompress.

If sitting in a parked car has become a habit, be mindful of how you’re spending the time. Take a few moments to slow your breathing, listen to a familiar song or make a simple plan for how you want to show up next — whether that’s feeling calmer, more patient or more focused. Even a short pause can shift your state.

“You could change your blood pressure in five minutes,” Taitz said, referring to simple techniques like slowing your breathing or relaxing your body.

Read more here --> You aren’t the only one who just sits in the car before or after a long day

🗞️ Other headlines to know today

• Long Island architect Rex Heuermann pleads guilty to murdering 7 women and admits he killed another
• ‘We’ve missed out’: Farmington bakery owner locked out of Facebook page after hack, revenue down 30%
• ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ returns after 20 years with questions of legacy and its trademark craziness
• Ann Arbor woman in Tehran details life under bombings during Iran conflict
• Detroit restaurants eligible for Michelin star ratings -- what to know
• The Latest: Ceasefire at risk over Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, possible mines in Strait of Hormuz
• ‘SNL’ season closes out with plenty of Olivia Rodrigo, Matt Damon, Will Ferrell and Paul McCartney
• Detroit hiring retail director to boost stores in neighborhood business districts
• Michigan man accused of luring missing Ohio teen to hotel
• Southwest Airlines, once known for its free bags perk, hikes fees amid higher jet fuel costs
• Find more Local News headlines here
• Find more Entertainment headlines here
• Find more Health headlines here
• Check out the latest ClickOnDeals here
• Introducing the ClickOnDetroit Help Desk: How it works and how to use it

🌎 Meanwhile

News from around the world via the Associated Press:

There are faster ways to get from Chicago to Los Angeles, but none have the allure or cultural cachet of Route 66.

To John Steinbeck, it was the Mother Road that led poor farmers from Dust Bowl desperation to sunny California. To Native Americans along the route, it was an economic boon that also left scars. To Black travelers, it offered sanctuary during segregation. And to music fans, it was the place to get their kicks.

Route 66 marks its 100th anniversary this year. Despite losing its status decades ago as one of the nation’s main arteries, people from around the world still flock to it to take perhaps the quintessential American road trip and soak in its neon lights, kitschy motels and attractions, and culinary offerings. (Read more)

----

Rabbi Rachel Isaacs spent the days leading up to Passover overseeing the preparation of ceremonial foods at Beth Israel Congregation, a synagogue in central Maine where membership has quadrupled over the last 15 years.

These days, growing congregations is very much on Isaacs’ mind, as she’s leading a movement to strengthen rural synagogues and Jewish communities around the country. They’ve reached dozens, and they’re hoping for many more.

“Rural Jewish life is important for the Jewish people and it’s important for rural America,” Isaacs said. “Those people deserve to be served and shepherded.” (Read more)

----

On a recent morning, Reginaldo Nunes Fonseca smoked cigarettes from the porch of his friend’s wooden shack, watching the rain come down hard in an area now known as Nova Conquista — New Conquest — where pristine rainforest in Brazil’s Amazon stood a year ago.

The rain meant he couldn’t work on building his own house or do odd jobs for others in the area, but the weather wasn’t the only thing holding him back. Like thousands of others who have moved to the small city of Oiapoque, in Brazil’s northern state of Amapa, Fonseca is waiting for an economic boom that may or may not come.

The area is experiencing a rush of migrants since Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run oil company, last year secured environmental licensing for offshore drilling in the Equatorial Margin near the mouth of the Amazon River, about 180 kilometers (112 miles) off Amapa’s coast. (Read more)

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

📝 Word Up

Today’s Word Up is: Sagacity /səˈɡasədē/ (noun) -- defined as “Keen discernment or insight; sound judgment.”

Example: “He proposed that people were easier to educate if they had a natural sagacity to start with.”

🧹 Housekeeping

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

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

The curious birds, known for their bobbing walks and kazoo-like calls, have drawn a crowd to Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan since arriving in late March. Dozens of spectators are gathering at the park every day to try to catch a glimpse of the grapefruit-sized birds as they poke their long bills in the ground for earthworms.

“It's a very charismatic bird. I mean, it's goofy-looking. It's got eyes that are always looking at you no matter where you are. It does this nice little dance when it's nervous,” said Bill Rankin, a Yale University professor who stopped by the park. “Having two of them together is a kind of nice little romantic story of spring.”

The woodcocks are known to stop at Bryant Park every year as they migrate north in early spring. They are strange-looking critters, seemingly assembled from the parts of other birds — a round body, enormous eyes and a long, thin bill. They're also called “timberdoodles” or “bogsuckers” by some.

They've attracted more fans than usual at the park this year, in part because of widely shared videos and pictures on social media. Crowds of bird fans carrying smartphones and cameras are craning daily for a look at its silly walk, while mostly maintaining a respectful distance.

The walk, which made the woodcock a viral hit on social media, consists of the bird shimmying and bobbing its head. Some woodcock lovers describe it as a mating dance, but scientists who study them have different theories. They've described it as possibly an antipredator display or foraging technique.

“What you’re seeing in Bryant Park when it’s sitting around when these crowds are looking at it, is mostly a little bit of foraging behavior,” said Andrew Farnsworth, a scientist with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “A little of roosting and stretching, and then some of this sort of, you know, kind of sensory stuff looking around, and a little bit of deception, too.”

The woodcock's courtship display is another sensation. The male makes a buzzing call described by birdwatchers as a “meep” or “peent” before flying high and erratically against the night sky to try to win the affection of the female.

The woodcocks in Manhattan will likely continue migrating north in the middle of April. The birds' popularity has provided a valuable opportunity to educate the public about the threats they face, such as collisions with building glass, said Ryan F. Mandelbaum, a New York City naturalist and author of the book “Wild NYC: Experience the Amazing Nature in and around New York City.”

While not endangered, American woodcocks have experienced a population decline in recent decades.

“I was also heartened to see that people are engaging with the conservation threats around light pollution and glass that woodcocks face,” Mandelbaum said. “I love the community and shared joy that’s been emerging from people seeing the bird.”

___

Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine.

U.S. President Donald Trump told PBS News Hour that Lebanon was not included in the deal because of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group. When asked about Israel’s latest strikes, he said, “That’s a separate skirmish.” Israel had said the agreement does not extend to its war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah, although Iran and mediator Pakistan said it does.

The fleeting sense of relief among Lebanese after the ceasefire announcement turned into panic with what Israel’s military called its largest coordinated strike in the current war, saying it had hit more than 100 Hezbollah targets within 10 minutes in Beirut, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley.

Black smoke towered over several parts of the seaside capital, where a huge number of people displaced by war have taken shelter. Explosions interrupted the honking of traffic on what had been a bustling, blue-sky afternoon. Ambulances raced toward open flames. Apartment buildings were struck.

Associated Press journalists saw charred bodies in vehicles and on the ground at one of Beirut’s busiest intersections in the central Corniche al Mazraa neighborhood, a mixed commercial and residential area. Using forklifts, rescue workers removed smoldering debris and sifted through ruins for survivors.

There was no sign of Hezbollah launching strikes against Israel in the first couple of hours after the attacks.

In response to the attacks on Lebanon, Iran later Wednesday said it was again halting the movement of oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, the country's state-run media reported.

A deadly midday barrage

Central Beirut has been targeted before, but not by so many strikes at once and in the middle of the day. Israel had rarely struck central Beirut since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war on March 2 but has regularly struck southern and eastern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Lebanon's Minister of Social Affairs, Haneen Sayed, in an interview with The Associated Press condemned Israel’s wide range of strikes, calling it a “very dangerous turning point.”

“These hits are now at the heart of Beirut … Half of the sheltered (internally displaced people) are in Beirut in this area,” she said, adding that she had just driven by areas hit.

She said Lebanon's government is ready to enter into negotiations with Israel for an end to hostilities, an offer that the Lebanese president previously made. Israel has not responded. “There are calls and efforts being made as we speak," Sayed said.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in a statement accused Israel of escalating at a moment when Lebanese officials were seeking to negotiate a solution, and of hitting civilian areas in “utter disregard for the principles of international law and international humanitarian law — principles it has, in any case, never respected.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the Israeli attacks “barbaric.” Lebanon's health ministry said that along with the 182 killed, at least 890 people were wounded in the strikes. Altogether, 1,739 people have been killed and 5,873 wounded in Lebanon in just over five weeks since the outbreak of the war.

Israel's military said it had targeted missile launchers, command centers and intelligence infrastructure. It accused Hezbollah fighters of trying to “blend into” non-Shiite Muslim areas beyond their traditional strongholds.

Residents and local officials denied that the buildings hit were military sites.

“Look at these crimes,” said Mohammed Balouza, a member of Beirut’s municipal council, at the scene of a strike in Corniche al Mazraa. An apartment building behind a popular shop selling nuts and dried fruit had been hit. “This is a residential area. There is nothing (military) here.”

An Israeli warning and a defiant Hezbollah

As the smoke rose Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem that “his turn will come.” In 2024, Israel killed Hezbollah's previous leader, Hassan Nasrallah, with an airstrike.

Katz called Wednesday's strikes the largest blow against Hezbollah since the attack that caused pagers used by hundreds of its members to explode almost simultaneously in September 2024.

Before the new strikes, a Hezbollah official told the AP that the group was giving a chance for mediators to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon, but “we have not announced our adherence to the ceasefire since the Israelis are not adhering to it.” He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly.

The Hezbollah official said the group will not accept a return to the pre-March 2 status quo, when Israel carried out near-daily strikes in Lebanon despite a ceasefire being nominally in place since the last full-blown Israel-Hezbollah war ended in November 2024.

“We will not accept for the Israelis to continue behaving as they did before this war with regards to attacks,” he said.

Hezbollah had fired missiles across the border days after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, sparking a regional war. Israel responded with widespread bombardment of Lebanon and a ground invasion.

The Israeli military chief of staff, Lt Gen. Eyal Zamir, said the attacks are to protect Israel’s northern residents, who have come under heavy fire.

The Israeli military has said it has killed hundreds of Hezbollah fighters. More than 1 million people have been displaced in Lebanon.

Early Wednesday, after the Iran ceasefire was announced and before Israel struck, many displaced people sleeping in tents on the streets of Beirut and the coastal city of Sidon had begun packing their belongings in preparation to return home.

Families at a sprawling displacement camp on Beirut’s waterfront later expressed confusion and despair.

“We can’t take this anymore, sleeping in a tent, not showering, the uncertainty,” said Fadi Zaydan, 35. He and his parents had prepared to head back to the southern city of Nabatieh. Instead, they decided to wait things out in Sidon, a bit closer to home.

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Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre and AP journalists Hussein Mallah and Fadi Tawil in Beirut, Michelle Price in Washington and Melanie Lidman in Eilat, Israel, contributed to this report.

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This story corrects the first name of the social affairs minister to Haneen Sayed, not Haneed Sayed.

Cunningham, on Wednesday (April 8), had a double-double, finishing with 13 points and 10 assists in his return to the Pistons lineup during the final home game of the regular season against the Milwaukee Bucks, which the Pistons won 137-111.

Motor Cade had been out of the lineup since March 19 after he suffered a pneumothorax in a road win over the Washington Wizards.

→ What is pneumothorax? Cade Cunningham injury explained: Detroit Pistons await reevaluation

As the saying goes, to the victors go the spoils, as Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg, Roddy Gayle Jr., and Trey McKenney were in attendance to take in the atmosphere after winning the school’s first title since 1989, when they defeated the UConn Huskies 69-63 inside Lucas Oil Stadium on April 7.

--> Michigan basketball ends title drought, wins first NCAA championship since 1989 in 69-63 victory vs. UConn

Also in attendance was Chris Webber, who, like Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson, was in Indianapolis over the weekend for an alternate broadcast to see their alma mater take down the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday, April 4.

→ Fab Five reunion set for Michigan basketball vs. Arizona Final Four showdown in Indianapolis

Before the injury, Cunningham was averaging 24.5 points, 9.9 assists, and 5.6 rebounds in 61 games as Jalen Duren and the team stayed afloat, winning 8 of 11 games during his recovery.

Detroit, which already locked up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, improved to 58-22 and will look to get Cunningham back in shape ahead of its playoff push in the next two games of the regular season.

--> University of Michigan to celebrate basketball national championship with parade, Crisler Center event

The incident occurred on Tuesday (April 7) when the Warren Fire Department responded at about 8 p.m. to a reported residential fire in the 7000 block of Republic.

Upon arrival, crews said they observed smoke coming from the second floor of a two-story, single-family home.

Firefighters said they entered the residence to search for occupants and located an approximately 50-year-old man in an upstairs bedroom.

Crews said the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two cats were also found deceased inside the home.

A thorough search confirmed no other individuals were inside, officials said.

Fire crews said they quickly extinguished the blaze, which remained contained to the room where it originated.

Warren police and fire investigators responded to the scene and have launched an investigation.

No additional information has been released.

Terry David Manney, 48, is accused of carrying out several burglaries early Easter Sunday (April 5), targeting gas stations in Pontiac and Independence Township, along with a retail store in Pontiac, in less than an hour, according to police.

Investigators also linked him to an April 1 break-in at a Pontiac market.

Manney was arraigned Wednesday in 52-2 District Court in Independence Township on a breaking and entering charge.

He is being held in the Oakland County Jail on a $75,000 bond.

Manney is expected to be arraigned as soon as Thursday in Pontiac’s 50th District Court on four additional felony counts, including safe breaking, breaking and entering, and breaking and entering with intent.

Police said the safe-breaking charge, the most serious offense, carries a potential sentence of up to life in prison upon conviction.

Officials said surveillance video from the incidents shows a suspect using a crowbar to force entry into the businesses.

In one case, police alleged that a large amount of cash was stolen, while in another, about 30 cartons of cigarettes were stolen.

Police said the 48-year-old man was also seen leaving in a dark-colored vehicle.

Detectives identified Manney as the suspect and arrested him without incident at his residence.

Cash and cigarettes were recovered and seized as evidence.

Police said an arrest warrant had previously been issued for Manney on April 11, 2025, for absconding from parole.

Officials said he has 16 felony convictions in Florida, multiple arrests in Ohio, and five convictions in Michigan, including offenses related to drugs, theft, and break-ins.

Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido announced the charges stem from an incident on Monday, April 6, when Warren police attempted to stop a 2017 Hyundai Elantra that was speeding and disregarding traffic signals.

Police said the vehicle entered the Macomb Community College campus on 12 Mile Road, where the teens, ages 17, 16, and 15, fled on foot and ignored officers’ commands to stop, according to authorities.

Investigators allege the 16-year-old was driving the vehicle, with three passengers ages 15, 16, and 17.

On Tuesday, April 7, the 16-year-old driver waived a preliminary examination.

Police said the juvenile is charged with third-degree fleeing and eluding a police officer, receiving and concealing a stolen motor vehicle, assaulting, resisting, or obstructing a police officer, and operating a vehicle without a valid license.

The fleeing and eluding and stolen vehicle charges each carry a potential penalty of up to five years, while the assaulting/resisting/obstructing charge is punishable by up to two years.

The licensing charge is a 90-day misdemeanor.

The 16-year-old was released on a personal bond and placed on house arrest.

Conditions include no driving and no contact with co-defendants.

A hearing is scheduled for April 21 at Macomb County Juvenile Court.

The three other teens face charges of assaulting, resisting, or obstructing a police officer, a felony punishable by up to two years, per police.

No court proceedings have been held for them as of Wednesday, April 8.

Authorities have not released the teenagers’ names due to their ages.