You see, Scaloni has watched Lionel Messi for much of his life. Both hail from the Argentine province of Santa Fe, Scaloni from the small town of Pujato and Messi from the much larger Rosario. Both of their paths passed through Newell's Old Boys, the historic club that has produced the likes of Maxi Rodriguez, Gabriel Batistuta and the current U.S. coach, Mauricio Pochettino.

So when Scaloni speaks about Messi's legacy, it bears listening.

“Not only the Argentinian population but everybody — the whole planet — wants to see him play,” Scaloni explained. “Everybody wants to see him on the pitch, because he has an effect not only on Argentina fans but supporters all over the world.”

Those supporters will likely get their last chance to see Messi wearing his light blue striped shirt at the World Cup beginning Tuesday night, when the defending champions open their tournament against Algeria at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium.

Messi had been dealing with a minor hamstring issue in the lead-up to the World Cup, but he's looked comfortable in the rare chances reporters have witnessed training. And in last week's final tuneup against Iceland at Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium, he came into the game as a second-half substitute, scored moments later on a penalty kick and played 20 minutes without any problems.

So barring an unforeseen event, Messi — who has yet to speak publicly since the national team congregated for the World Cup about two weeks ago — will earn his 200th cap during its match against Les Fennecs.

“There's nothing negative to say,” Scaloni said. “He's always been there, and he's essential for us. He's going to remain that way.”

Everybody wants to be part of Messi mania

Tapash Chakraborty, the 57-year-old owner of an engineering design company, posted up Monday inside a Kansas City bar, hoping to catch a glimpse of an Argentina player at a meet-and-greet held roughly 24 hours before the match.

He had one in particular he wanted to see.

“Messi is Messi,” said Chakraborty, who will be in the stands Tuesday. “He is the god of football.”

He wasn’t alone, either. The room teemed with Messi shirts, just as the streets have in the early days of the World Cup. His famous No. 10 is ubiquitous, whether it be on his old Barcelona jersey, his current Inter Miami kit or that of the national team.

“We’re all Messi fans. He’s the best player in the world,” said Michelle Lemmon, who made the 160-mile (257.50-kilometer) drive with her four children from her home in Kirksville, Missouri, to Union Station in Kansas City on Monday to celebrate her 42nd birthday.

Lemmon, who played college soccer at a Catholic school after captaining the boys' team at her high school, will be cheering for the U.S. throughout the tournament. But her dream matchup, Lemmon said, would be for the Americans to face Argentina in the final.

“It’s hard. You've got to like him,” Lemmon said. “I’m nervous that this might be his last World Cup, so we’re very excited. Honored that they chose Kansas City as their home base. To have the World Cup champions here, you know, from 2022 is amazing.”

Messi seeks to join Pele as repeat World Cup champion

The list of greatest soccer players in history often begins with Messi and ends with Pele, the Brazilian star who not only took Brazil to World Cup glory but was instrumental in growing the game in the U.S. during his time with the New York Cosmos.

What would tie the two even tighter? Argentina successfully defending its title.

Only twice before has a nation been a repeat winner of the World Cup. Italy did it in the 1930s and Brazil did it in 1962, when despite an injury to Pele in the group stage, the Canarinho went on to beat Czechoslovakia in the final in Chile.

France nearly made it three repeat winners, but Argentina denied that four years ago in a shootout in Qatar.

“What happened back in Qatar was just amazing. The whole country united,” recalled Messi's longtime national teammate, Nicolas Otamendi. “We have that engraved in our minds, and it's just injected us with the strength to keep trying. There's no relaxing. We need to keep working with that level of humility that is required in these types of competitions.”

There are few more humble superstars than Messi, whom Otamendi described as “simple man that just focuses on training.”

“He's also a competitive animal,” Otamendi said. “You want to be there with him, supporting him, serving him, and laughing our hearts out all the time. As I've said, when the ball is rolling, that's when you need to press, unite and come together as a family on the pitch.”

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Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth contributed to this report.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

FIFA’s discrimination monitor had called for Shaun Evans to be removed from the tournament.

Evans worked Germany’s opening 7-1 win over Curaçao on Sunday as an assistant to the video assistant referee, based at the World Cup broadcast center in Dallas. When the official broadcast cut before the game to show the video review officials, Evans made an “OK” symbol with his right hand in front of his right leg.

“I did not intentionally make a hand gesture or symbol to communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind,” Evans said in a statement released Monday by FIFA. “The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch and I was unaware I had done it at the time. Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers.”

In 2019, the gesture — with thumb and forefinger touching in a circle and other fingers outstretched — was designated a hate symbol by the New York-based Anti-Defamation League.

“Advice from our experts is that the gesture used clearly resembles an upside down ‘OK’ hand symbol used as a ‘white power’ symbol in global far-right circles,” said the Fare network, a long-time partner of FIFA and European soccer body UEFA that monitors racist and discriminatory chants, flags and symbols at international games.

“Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup,” Fare said in its statement, describing the gesture as “neo-Nazi.”

Evans is working at his second World Cup, and it was his first game of this year’s tournament.

“FIFA’s independent disciplinary committee can confirm that, after looking into the matter involving support video assistant referee Shaun Evans, it has found no evidence of breaches of the FIFA disciplinary code,” the FIFA panel said in a statement. “The disciplinary committee has also taken note of Mr. Evans’ statement.”

The gesture was appropriated a decade ago as a signal for white supremacy that started as a hoax on the far-right online message board 4chan.

“Why is a VAR supervisor using this symbol at a global football event at the very moment he knows the cameras are on him?” Fare said. “We note that in the two subsequent games it appears TV directors have stopped introducing the VAR panel to the TV audience.”

The sign sparked global attention in March 2019 in New Zealand after it was made during the first court appearance by the white supremacist shooter who killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch.

Later in 2019 when the sign was designated as a hate symbol, Oren Segal, director of the ADL’s Center on Extremism, said context is key to interpreting whether an “OK” symbol is hateful or harmless.

At the time, he said: “There is enough of a volume of use for hateful purposes that we felt it was important to add.”

Evans is among 30 video review analysts selected by FIFA to work at this year’s World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“The coverage following this incident simply does not reflect who I am,” Evans said. “Of course, I understand how the gesture has been interpreted and I regret this, however I want to be very clear and categorically say that I did not knowingly or deliberately make the hand symbol suggested. Officiating at the World Cup is the biggest honor of my career and I look forward to supporting my colleagues for the rest of the tournament.”

Australia's Professional Football Referees Association said it welcomed the outcome of FIFA's review.

Evans, a referee in Australia's top-flight competition since 2012, “has consistently represented the values expected of football officials: professionalism, respect and integrity,” the PRFA said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press.

“The PFRA celebrates diversity across football and unequivocally rejects racism, discrimination and extremist ideology in all forms,” the statement said. “We acknowledge Shaun’s public statement, in which he addressed the matter directly, and we recognize the importance of fairness, context and due process when concerns are raised.”

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AP Sports Writer John Pye in Brisbane, Australia, contributed to this report.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

“This is about as good as I’ve felt in a long time,” May said after pitching a one-hitter Monday night in a 3-0 victory over the San Diego Padres.

The 28-year-old righty threw 69 strikes during his 101-pitch masterpiece, which he capped off with his ninth strikeout of the night.

May issued only one walk during his first complete game in 71 major league starts. Fernando Tatis Jr. drew a free pass leading off the seventh inning, followed two batters later by Manny Machado's single to left field that broke up the bid for a no-hitter.

May, however, wasn't flustered. He retired the last seven batters he faced, and his final pitch broke low and away so sharply that Tatis was unable to check his swing as the ball skipped off the dirt and into catcher Jimmy Crooks' glove for strike three.

May (5-6) let out a triumphant roar and clenched his right fist as he skipped off the mound. He hugged Crooks and tipped his cap to the crowd before approaching teammates and coaches who'd lined up in front of the dugout to exchange high-fives.

One teammate dumped a chest of ice on him.

“After all the stuff I’ve been through in my career,” May said, “that was fantastic.”

May (5-6) became the first Cardinals starter this season to get an out in the eighth inning, something even he failed to do during a seven-inning, no-hit bid against Milwaukee last month.

May left that game in the eighth and took the loss after the Brewers rallied for a 2-1 victory on May 27. This time, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol left May in.

The pitcher was plagued by multiple arm injuries — and a life-threatening esophagus tear — early in his career. He accumulated just 101 innings pitched between 2021 and 2024, missing the entire 2024 season.

His first team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, traded him to Boston last season, and this season is his first with St. Louis.

May's outing on Monday night marked the ninth complete game and sixth individual shutout in the majors this season.

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

Aerial footage showed virtually nothing left of the aircraft that went down around 11:20 a.m. during a routine test mission at Edwards Air Force Base, which is north of Los Angeles. Black smoke rose from a large swath of charred desert near the runway on the base, with emergency vehicles nearby.

Those on the B-52 included government contractors and uniformed military. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing confirmed Monday evening that two of its employees were on board.

After reviewing footage of the crash, it was determined that no one could have survived, Col. James Hayes, the deputy commander for the 412 test wing at Edwards, said at a news conference.

“We lost eight great Americans,” Hayes said, adding that officials were working to notify their families.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, and it could take up to six months to complete an investigation, Hayes said, but shared that the B-52 was supporting the “radar modernization program.”

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range bomber that entered service in 1955. Designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, it has been used in conflicts involving the U.S. military from Vietnam to Iran.

In 2025, Boeing sent a B-52 to Edwards with a new, modernized radar system. A test team planned to conduct ground and flight test activities on the aircraft throughout 2026 to feed a production decision, the air force said in a 2025 news release. The modern Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system replaced the aircraft’s antiquated radar for efficacy. It was unclear if that was the same aircraft involved in Monday’s crash.

Edwards Air Force Base is home to a large portion of the U.S. Air Force’s aircraft test and development efforts and is about 100 miles (161 km) north of Los Angeles. The 412th Test Wing, which runs the base, also conducts developmental testing of all Air Force aircraft, weapons systems, software and components before purchase by the service as well as throughout their lifespan.

The vast desert base is where Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager reached a speed of Mach 1.05 and broke the sound barrier in 1947.

The airfield was closed most of Monday and all inbound aircraft were being diverted, but it reopened to people coming onto the base by late afternoon. Non-commercial visitor passes for the base were suspended as emergency crews doused the flames.

It’s too soon to say what might have happened.

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said he is deeply saddened by the lives lost.

“We mourn this loss and honor the service of our Airmen, civilians, and contractors who work every day to advance our mission,” he said in a post on X.

The way the B-52 crashed so quickly after takeoff without getting very high or going far makes aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti suspect some kind of flight control malfunction.

It’s possible the controls were rigged wrong after maintenance, he said, or a catastrophic engine problem or a failure of a piece of equipment that was being tested.

“I think it was definitely a controllability issue. Now, whether that was tied to an engine failure, a flight control failure, or some new testing device failure, I’m not sure,” said Guzzetti, who used to investigate crashes for both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Although the Air Force has been flying B-52 bombers for more than 70 years, testing out new equipment on a plane can create new challenges.

“A flight test is always riskier than normal operations, so that’s why you have specially trained test pilots, and you should have other safety protocols,” Guzzetti said.

In recent years, fatal Air Force training accidents in the U.S. have included an instructor pilot who was killed in 2024 when the ejection seat activated while the aircraft was still on the ground in Texas and an Air Force ROTC cadet's death in a 2022 accident involving a Humvee during a training exercise in Idaho. Two Air Force pilots were killed when a trainer jet crashed near an Alabama airport in 2021.

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Toropin reported from Washington, D.C. AP Transportation Writer Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, and AP reporters Hallie Golden in Seattle and Jennifer Kelleher in Honolulu contributed to this report.

Griffin’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in Nevada, says that in 2025 her former middle school classmate “told The New York Times — and through it, the world — that Amy Griffin is a fraud and a thief.”

The lawsuit says that in the woman's telling, “Mrs. Griffin stole the rape of another woman and built a bestseller on it.”

A Times spokesperson said the lawsuit misrepresents its story and reporting. The former classmate said her account will prove true in court.

In “The Tell,” a hit that became an Oprah's Book Club selection, Griffin, a venture capitalist and memoirist, recounts being sexually abused as a child by a teacher at her middle school in Amarillo, Texas, and writes that years later she recovered memories of the experience by undergoing therapy using the psychedelic drug MDMA.

The Times story published six months after the book included stories from a classmate who said some of Griffin's experiences were eerily similar to her own. Then in March the woman filed a lawsuit in California state court, which Griffin is fighting and seeking to have dismissed.

The Associated Press doesn’t typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly or otherwise consent. The woman who sued Griffin filed her lawsuit as Jane Doe, and her name did not appear in the Times story.

Griffin says documentation backs her in every aspect

Griffin's lawsuit says the most essential fact is that she put her account of her abuse in writing in 2020, and in 2021 she provided another detailed and documented account in an interview with the Amarillo Police Department. Both accounts match up with the book, and both came before Griffin is alleged to have extracted the woman's abuse story by having someone posing as a talent agent call her in 2022, according to the lawsuit. The statute of limitations prevented the criminal investigation from moving forward.

Griffin's lawsuit says the woman falsely claimed to be another middle school classmate who appears in “The Tell” under the pseudonym “Claudia,” whose meeting with the author is recounted in the book. The lawsuit Griffin had not talked to the woman in more than 35 years, had never been part of the same church youth group as alleged, and was demonstrably not in the Palm Springs area in 2019 — or the years before or after — when the woman claims the two of them met for coffee.

Griffin's lawsuit says the coffee shop conversation with “Claudia” took place thousands of miles away in the presence of a collaborator, and that the woman in the Times story had been unable to produce any evidence the meeting with her had taken place.

Accuser says this is an attempt to silence her

In an email to The Associated Press sent through her lawyers, the woman said the shame and humiliation from her sexual assault were unimaginable and she was “violated all over again after reading about my own experiences in Amy’s book.”

“Despite trying to remain anonymous, Amy has now chosen to use her immense wealth and influence to try and silence me,” the email said. “She has had her lawyers identify me publicly as well as sue me. I am shocked and disappointed that she would choose to take this route, especially since she herself knows the truth.”

Griffin's lawsuit seeks a declaration that the allegations that she stole the woman's abuse stories are false, along with financial damages to be determined at trial.

New York Times stands by its reporting and story

Griffin's lawsuit, while not naming the Times as a defendant, is harshly critical of the paper, saying it "deemed the story too good to scrutinize” despite Griffin's lawyers making it clear the woman's account was “demonstrably false.”

Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha said in an email to the AP that the lawsuit and related filings “repeatedly misrepresent The New York Times story and its reporting,” and that the article “is markedly different in key aspects put forth” in both women's lawsuits.

Rhoades points out that many of the allegations Griffin is pushing back against did not appear in the Times' story, including that the woman they spoke to was “Claudia,” or that a person posing as a talent agent on Griffin's behalf called to get her stories of abuse.

And Rhoades said the Times story did not say Griffin “misappropriated” the woman's story, and she said claims that the reporters did not vet their story are false, and that they “engaged extensively with Ms. Griffin’s legal representatives prior to publication including meticulous fact checking.”

“Our story was about a publishing phenomenon, the reliability of memories recovered while under the influence of MDMA and the impact of a bestselling memoir on the author’s hometown,” Rhoades said. “Our reporters’ only agenda was to pursue the facts, including corroboration of accounts from all sources.”

Not so fast, experts say.

Even after oil starts flowing again from the Middle East, it could take a while for consumers to see a difference at local fuel pumps, supermarkets and other places they shop, according to economists and industry analysts.

Fighting over the Strait of Hormuz disrupted not only supplies of crude and refined fuel but also the supply chains for fertilizer, food and even footwear. Businesses expect higher costs to linger, which means their customers might need to prepare for that too.

“It is not clear, despite three months of war, that anything has been achieved that makes the American consumer better off,” Brett House, an economist who teaches at Columbia Business School, said. “In fact, by almost any measure, not just the American consumer, but the world, is worse off as a result of this attack.”

If the deal between the U.S. and Iran holds, here’s how experts see the war's effects receding — or not — in the weeks ahead:

US motorists can expect some gas price relief

Following news of the tentative agreement, oil prices fell Monday to about $80 for a barrel of U.S. benchmark crude. That compares to $67-per-barrel before the war and the price of over $120 a barrel reached earlier in the conflict.

Refineries typically pay for crude oil a month or more in advance, so even after oil prices drop, they won’t immediately be processing cheaper products.

“The tendency of gasoline prices to fall slowly is partly because the raw material takes weeks to work through the system until it’s delivered to consumers,” said Michael Lynch, a distinguished fellow at the nonpartisan Energy Policy Research Foundation.

In places without enough refining capacity to meet their needs, such as the West Coast of the U.S., gas prices will take longer to drop, said Mark Barteau, a professor of chemical engineering and chemistry at Texas A&M University.

In some Asian and African countries that rely more on oil from the Middle East, the supply shock led to school and government office closures and instructions to work from home, according to the International Energy Agency.

“The bottom line is that getting back to ‘normal’ will be a lengthy process involving many parties and countries,” Barteau said. “Getting an agreement between the U.S. and Iran to open the strait is just the beginning.”

Flights won't get cheaper right away

Industry experts have spent months warning that even if the war ended, travelers should not expect airfares to go down immediately.

Airlines typically buy fuel in advance, adjust their schedules gradually and price tickets based heavily on demand, meaning lower oil and jet fuel prices can take weeks or months to get factored into the cost of commercial flights.

“I think it’s unlikely that we’re going to see a retreat or reduction in the cost of flying at any point this summer,” Columbia's House said.

Fuel surcharges that some airlines outside the U.S. added are one of the first areas where passengers might get a reprieve, said Gordon Ho, a professor at the University of Southern California’s business school.

“Consumers are going to say, ‘Wait a minute, why are you still charging me a fuel surcharge?’” Ho said.

Pressure on grocery prices will likely continue

Reopening the strait is unlikely to deliver instant relief at the grocery store, according to David Ortega, a professor of food economics and policy at Michigan State University.

Fuel accounts for roughly 15% to 30% of the total cost of food, according to the Independent Grocers Alliance, a grouping of 7,500 global supermarkets.

But it can take months for an energy shock like the one caused by the Iran war to wind through the food supply chain and raise grocery prices. And once prices go up, it takes them a long time to come back down, especially when the future is unpredictable, Ortega said.

“We’re likely still looking at inflationary pressure on food in the coming months,” Ortega said. “There’s still a good deal of uncertainty about how the reopening will unfold, and it will take time for fuel, diesel and retail fertilizer prices to come back down.”

Rabobank, which is based in the Netherlands, said it expected war-related food price inflation to peak sometime next year in Europe. In the U.S., grocery prices are expected to rise 3.2% this year, which compares to a historical average of 2.6%, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Farmers remain strapped for fertilizer

Reopening the Strait of Hormuz would also be a welcome change for farmers and the production of food globally. Roughly 30% of the world’s fertilizer passed through the waterway before the war began. Prices soared as the supply was effectively cut off, and shipments probably will take a long time to return to pre-war levels.

The consequences of the shortage facing farmers now may only intensify down the road, regardless.

Many farmers around the world are going through planting seasons without the fertilizer they need or paying sky-high prices for both fertilizer and fuel needed to produce and transport their products. The World Food Program of the United Nations expects this to have a “devastating impact” on crop yields — and consequently, food prices and the availability of food — for months to come.

Retailers don't anticipate a cost reprieve

U.S. retailers that sell shoes were encouraged to see falling gasoline prices, hoping they would mean Americans have more money to spend on back-to-school shopping, said Andy Polk, senior vice president of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America trade group.

However, shoe companies anticipate their own costs staying higher for the foreseeable future, Polk said. The group's members keep a two- to three-month inventory of finished products, but their next orders may include suppliers charging more for materials, he said.

Most of the footwear sold in the U.S. is imported, and Polk said he expects shipping costs to remain higher for the rest of 2026 and 2027.

U.S. tariffs imposed last year have made it more difficult for shoe sellers to absorb higher costs or pass them on customers, he said. In May, footwear prices were 5.2% higher than the same month a year earlier, according to government figures.

Shipping industry costs ers expect a slow recovery

Judah Levine, head of research at the freight booking platform Freightos, said the Straight of Hormuz closure has affected about 2% to 3 % of the total volume of container ships that are used for global shipping, but higher oil prices and disruption have impacted the shipping industry more broadly.

Josh Steinitz, chief strategy officer of the business logistics platform ShipStation Global, said consumers might notice higher shipping costs and more out-of-stock items online until the end of the year.

“I think fuel surcharges, which then flow into shipping costs, which then get passed along to consumers, are still going to be with us for quite sometime from many of the major carriers,” Steinitz said.

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

The Ukraine talks come on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of an agreement to end the 3 1/2-month-old U.S. war against Iran. In recent weeks, the Iran conflict has overshadowed the war in Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin launched more than four years ago.

Trump said he had good conversations on Sunday with both Zelenskyy and Putin. “Now that this (Iran) is finished, we’re going to be focusing on that,” he said, speaking during a bilateral meeting Monday with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Macron said he’ll seek to persuade Trump to continue supporting Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia to help reach a peace agreement. Hours before the start of the G7 summit, Russia fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine’s biggest cities in a barrage that killed 11 people and set fire to a religious landmark.

Tuesday’s discussions in the French spa town of Evian-les-Bains also include a work session focused on “ending crises and ensuring stability in the Middle East.” Leaders of Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are to join the talks.

Trump has been frustrated by a lack of movement toward Ukraine-Russia resolution

The attacks on Ukraine's biggest cities came after Zelenskyy and Putin spoke separately by phone with Trump on Sunday, the U.S. leader's 80th birthday. The exchange suggests Washington hasn’t given up on its diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting that followed Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbor in 2022.

“The right negotiation is one in which Ukraine and Russia are at the table, but with Europeans and Americans present as well,” Macron said on French television.

While campaigning for a return to the White House, Trump claimed he could end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office. He has since acknowledged it has proved much harder than he initially thought it would be.

Ukraine on Monday officially started European Union membership negotiations, launching a process that will require its government to commit to years of political reforms even as it fights a Russian invasion.

Ukraine sees EU membership as a security guarantee for a stable future once the war ends. Its best guarantee would be membership in the NATO military alliance, but the Trump administration insists that cannot happen, and others are wary of it joining while the war continues.

Iran war has been a flashpoint between Trump and European leaders

In recent months, Trump has had sharp disagreements with Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over his failure to consult them before the decision to go to war in Iran. Trump has threatened reprisals, including drawing down U.S. troops in all four countries, all members of the NATO military alliance, for their lack of support.

Despite those disagreements, the tone in Evian should be rather measured, as U.S. allies seek rapid progress that could ease the economic impact of rising oil prices caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

“I think a lot of great things are going to happen in the Middle East right now, and very importantly the oil is plummeting down and the stock market is shooting up like a rocket today,” Trump said.

Ahead of their meeting at the G7, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement congratulating the United States, the Iranian government and the mediators on what they called a “diplomatic breakthrough.” Canada also signed the statement. The leaders said it was vital for detailed negotiations to take place and for the deal to be quickly implemented so the Strait of Hormuz can be reopened to tanker traffic.

Macron later said France and other Western partners are “ready to take action very quickly” to help reopen the strait peacefully. France and Britain have championed a mission to restore maritime security in the strait as soon as conditions allow.

Trump, however, appeared to downplay the need for a large international military deployment. “I don’t think we’re gonna need much help," he said during his meeting with Macron. “But I don’t think it’s a bad idea to have a ship or two up here from a few countries. You’d be a great country to do it."

What's next on the agenda

On Tuesday, in addition to a working session that includes Zelenskyy, Trump will participate in meetings that include sit-downs with the emir of Qatar and the president of the UAE before attending a cultural performance and a dinner with the other G7 leaders.

The G7 includes France, the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. Other guest nations at this summit including Brazil, India, Kenya and South Korea were invited to participate in some discussions as partner countries alongside G7 members.

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Petrequin reported from London.

Chicago trailed 4-3 in the ninth inning before Pedro Ramírez hit an RBI single off Seth Halvorsen with the bases loaded and nobody out. Matt Shaw then walked on five pitches to force home the winning run.

Cole Carrigg's three-run homer off Caleb Thielbar in the eighth, his third home run in seven big league games, gave the Rockies a 4-2 lead. Crow-Armstrong's sacrifice fly in the bottom half pulled Chicago within one.

Crow-Armstrong extended his on-base streak to 19 games with his second leadoff home run in three games, a 434-foot shot center field off Michael Lorenzen.

Crow-Armstrong led off the third with a triple to center. He doubled in the fifth and singled leading off the seventh for the 13th cycle in Cubs history and second since 1993.

A triple short of a cycle on Saturday, Crow-Armstrong joined Hack Wilson (1930) as the only Cubs center fielders to hit for the cycle since 1901.

Crow-Armstrong finished 4 for 4 with two RBIs but only scored once as the Cubs went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position until the ninth. He was picked off first base by Brennan Bernardino after his single.

Daniel Palencia (2-1) pitched a scoreless ninth for the Cubs (38-35).

Juan Mejia (1-6) took the loss for the Rockies (27-46).

Chicago starter Shota Imanaga allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings. He was lifted with two on before reliever Phil Maton walked Carrigg to force home Colrado's first run.

With the score tied 1-all in the sixth, Shaw tripled into the right-field corner to score Moises Ballesteros from first.

Ramírez entered as a pinch hitter in the eighth.

Up next

Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (2-2, 5.20 ERA) starts Tuesday against Cubs RHP Edward Cabrera (4-3, 4.86).

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

Trump has been at the center of this year's midterm campaigns, and his influence will be tested in different ways on Tuesday as four states and the District of Columbia hold primaries.

Among Democrats, the primaries will hinge on longstanding divides between progressives and moderates as the party tries to chart the best path forward to November.

Here are a few things to watch as voters go to the polls in Alabama, California, the District of Columbia, Georgia and Oklahoma.

How much is a Trump endorsement worth?

Nothing is certain in politics, but a “complete and total endorsement” from Trump is about the surest path possible to winning a Republican primary.

Rick Jackson is testing that truism in his campaign for Georgia governor. The health care tycoon, who faces Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in a runoff, has given his campaign more than $100 million to try and convince Republican primary voters to overlook Trump's advice.

Trump endorsed Jones more than a year ago and reiterated his support last week, praising Jones' “Courage and Wisdom” in a social media post on June 8. Rarely has the power of Trump's endorsement been tested against such a lopsided spending disparity.

Jones finished first with 38% and Jackson second with 33% in the May 19 primary. Now the election to lead one of the nation's pre-eminent battleground states will be decided by the voters who didn't back either of them.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma's Republican primary for governor will test Trump's endorsement in a different way. There, the president weighed in late, throwing his support two weeks ago to former state Sen. Mike Mazzei among a crowded field without a clear front-runner. The race will go to a runoff if no candidate gets a majority.

Trump is used to getting his way, but earlier this month his choice for governor of Iowa, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, lost to Zach Lahn in the state's primary.

MAGA becomes the insider movement, and faces an outsider

Trump rose to power as an outsider, the head of a “Make America Great Again” movement keen to bulldoze the old political order.

But now the onetime insurgent sits atop a sprawling establishment. What happens when he endorses an insider candidate?

That question is at the heart of the Republican primary runoff for Alabama's open Senate seat.

Trump is backing U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, a three-term congressman who has promised to be “a warrior for President Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda" if elected.

He faces former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson, who is presenting himself as a Washington outsider, trying to harness the same anti-establishment fervor that propelled Trump to power in order to defeat Trump’s preferred candidate.

Alabama is a Republican stronghold, so whoever wins the primary will be heavily favored to prevail in November over either candidate in Tuesday's Democratic runoff, business owner Dakarai Larriett and lawyer Everett Wess.

The seat is being vacated by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Republican nominee in the race for Alabama governor.

DC mayor’s race features a democratic socialist and a new voting system

One of the leading Democratic contenders in the District of Columbia mayor's race, Janeese Lewis George, describes herself as a democratic socialist, a political denomination that became more prominent with Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaigns.

George’s bid for the party’s nomination is not so far removed from democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani ’s upset victory for New York City mayor last year. And, as in New York, the race has drawn national attention, including the president's.

Trump indicated days before the mayoral primary election that he might take over the city if George eventually wins, saying “we won’t put up with it.” George called Trump’s threat “an attack on democracy itself.”

The city’s relationship to the president is a focal point of the campaigns as Trump has exercised broad power over Washington, D.C. That’s included an open-ended deployment of National Guard troops in the streets and his culling of the federal workforce, a chunk of the city’s jobs.

Some residents were frustrated that the current mayor, Muriel Bowser, didn’t push back enough on the administration. Part of George’s platform on her website, which heavily focuses on affordability, is to “protect Home Rule” with “leaders that stand up and fight back, not shrink in the face of injustice.”

George and another Democrat, Kenyan McDuffie, who’s focused on public safety, are two of the seven candidates whose race will be the first decided with D.C.’s new ranked choice voting system.

Like a handful of other places, D.C. voters will rank the candidates on a ballot, and if none cross 50% of the popular vote, then residents' second choices come into play. That happened in Maine, where election officials started counting ranked-choice votes for governor and a key House race three days after election night.

In D.C., election officials have warned the new system could delay results by days.

Election denial looms over race for Georgia secretary of state

Six years ago, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger resisted Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud and his request to “find 11,800 votes” to overtake Democrat Joe Biden.

Now, in the first open election for the seat since Raffensperger’s defiance, the two Republicans in the runoff echo Trump’s falsehoods to varying degrees.

Candidate Vernon Jones, who was previously elected to the statehouse as a Democrat but switched parties and aligned himself with Trump, has said he believes there were “irregularities” and “violations” and that he stands “with those who believe there was election fraud.”

Of four key points on Jones’ campaign platform, three have to do with election management, including stronger voter identification rules and requiring voting in person with limited exceptions.

Jones’ runoff opponent, State Rep. Tim Fleming, has tiptoed around the topic, saying there were “irregularities” in 2020 but adding that he’s “not running on conspiracy theories.”

Still, of the seven platform points on his campaign website, four are focused on election management and one says that the state should "make it impossible for the Left to cheat in our elections.”

Skepticism of elections flared up recently in California after Trump made a baseless claim that Democrats were somehow cheating to defeat a Republican candidate for governor and another for Los Angeles mayor.

Soon after, the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, led by Trump appointee Bill Essayli, said it was opening fraud investigations related to the elections.

A special election to fill Eric Swalwell’s seat after sexual assault allegations

Eric Swalwell resigned from the U.S. House in April after a woman alleged that he had sexually assaulted her twice, saying she was too intoxicated to consent to sex in both cases.

The Democrat has denied the accusations, but he dropped out of the race for California governor and resigned from Congress.

That’s what prompted a special primary election Tuesday, where both Republican and Democratic candidates will compete to serve out Swalwell’s term until January. If a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote Tuesday they’ll win outright, otherwise the top two contenders will go to a runoff election on Aug. 18.

The Democratic candidates, who are favored to win in the blue district covering several East Bay cities, include Aisha Wahab, a state senator, and Melissa Hernandez, a Bay Area Rapid Transit director.

It's a competition between the more progressive Wahab, who is established in California politics, and Hernandez, a local politician who sits closer to the political center. To lower costs, Wahab takes aim at “corporate profiteering” and argues for an expansion to social safety nets; Hernandez focuses on local job growth and supporting small businesses.

Both candidates also ran in the regular primary election for Swalwell’s seat and will face off in the general election in November. Whoever wins that race will take over next year.

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Cooper reported from Phoenix and Bedayn from Austin, Texas.

The sheriff's office in Grand County, Utah, confirmed one of the dead was Andy Lewis, an extreme athlete known for feats in BASE jumping, a dangerous sport that involves parachuting to the ground after jumping from a tall fixed object such as a building, a bridge or a desert cliff overlooking a deep canyon.

The victims had been conducting a tandem jump in which two people are harnessed together, according to a social media post by Aerial Arts Moab, an acrobatics company that described Lewis as “co-owner and best friend.”

Lewis also owned BASE Jump Moab, a business that offered tandem jumps to inexperienced customers who would be harnessed to a guide wearing the parachute. Promotional videos on the company’s website show pairs of people stepping off the edges of towering cliffs and briefly plummeting before their parachutes open.

In BASE jumping circles, Lewis had a huge following and a reputation for pushing the envelope — leaping into tighter spaces or deploying his parachute later than his peers would dare, said John McEvoy, a BASE jumping instructor in Twin Falls, Idaho, who has jumped with Lewis.

“He had an incredible level of athleticism and skill that was developed over years of practice,” McEvoy said. “But then he would take an incredible amount of risk.”

Grand County Sheriff Jamison Wiggins confirmed the other person who was killed was Danny Joe Kregle, a father and grandfather who was described by a family member as an accomplished businessman.

“Danny had a wonderful sense of humor and was always looking for ways to make people laugh," relative Sydney Laverty told The Times-Independent. “One of his greatest joys was performing magic tricks alongside his granddaughter.”

Lewis' other sport made him an overnight celebrity, thanks to Madonna

Lewis was also a prominent figure in the niche sports of slacklining and tricklining, which combine elements of high-wire walking with aerial acrobatics — sometimes at perilous heights.

He went from obscure athlete to overnight celebrity when he appeared onstage in Madonna’s 2012 Super Bowl halftime show. Dressed in a Roman toga, Lewis bounced and executed tricks on his inch-wide line like it was a trampoline while Madonna sang behind him.

“My phone actually rang itself to death three days in a row,” Lewis said soon afterward in an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s late night show.

Emergency responders were dispatched Sunday to a report of people injured in a BASE jumping attempt at Mineral Bottom, a remote desert area near the Utah-Colorado line, according to the sheriff's office.

BASE jumping is far more dangerous than skydiving

Though there's no official tally of BASE jumping deaths, a list compiled by the website BASEaddict.com shows 540 total fatalities worldwide since 1981 — including 30 people killed last year. Prominent deaths include BASE jumper Dean Potter and his climbing partner, Graham Hunt, who were killed in 2015 while attempting a wingsuit flight in California's Yosemite National Park.

A study focused on BASE jumping in Norway, published in a medical journal in 2007, estimated that BASE jumping carried risks of injury or death five to eight times greater than skydiving.

Lewis openly acknowledged the sport’s inherent danger.

“It’s weird to think about how many people are dead, because it’s like a normal thing,” Lewis told documentary filmmaker Ella Warnick in an interview published last year.

Tandem BASE jumping carries additional risk because it straps together two people, one of whom generally lacks experience, under a single parachute, McEvoy said. But because they involve novices, they also tend to be the most low-risk, basic types of jumps.

“Within BASE, it’s a very controversial topic,” McEvoy said. "There’s a lot of people who say it's the stupidest thing in the world and others arguing: `No, we’re giving people the experience of their lives.'”

No one immediately returned phone, text and Facebook messages left Monday for BASE Jump Moab.

Lewis won four straight world championships in competitive slacklining from 2008 through 2011. Lewis set a Guinness World Record for slackline surfing, swaying his feet side to side in a rocking motion that mimics surfing, while keeping his balance above China's Diaoshuilou waterfall in 2011.

In 2014, he walked a slackline suspended between two hot air balloons more than 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) above the Nevada desert.

Iran's participation in the World Cup has been beset by challenges since the war's outbreak, dividing the community in the United States. Fans cheered and booed loudly while Iran's national anthem was played at the game against New Zealand, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Some spectators held large lion-and-sun flags in the front rows just hours after a court upheld FIFA's ban on the flags.

Outside the stadium, demonstrators contended the team is synonymous with Tehran's government, while fans, their cheeks striped with red-and-green face paint, filed past, saying they were separating soccer from politics. At one point, protesters snatched an official Iran flag from a fan and stomped on it and ripped it.

Southern California is home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran, many who arrived after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Rameileh Jaffrey, 46, of Los Angeles, left Iran a dozen years ago and said she feels the team’s players are aligned with the current government in Iran.

“They are not my team. They are a government team,” she said.

When soccer and geopolitics collide

Event security broke up shouting matches between protesters and fans before and after the match, and were joined by sheriff’s deputies shortly before kickoff. A woman protesting jeered Kia Keanh and his family as they walked by wearing T-shirts supporting the team.

“I’m just here to watch the sport, it’s not about the regime,” he said. “I’m just here for a World Cup game, to enjoy it with my family.”

Some of the demonstrators also went inside the stadium to see the team play, like 42-year-old Ella Bah, who brought extra clothing to conceal the lion-and-sun flag she wore tied around her like a dress.

“We’re not here to cheer them on,” she said. “We’re here to be the voice for the people inside Iran.”

Iran's participation in the tournament has been fraught with conflict because of the country's war with U.S. and Israeli forces. Late Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. had reached a deal with Iran to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 has rattled the region and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf.

After the war's outbreak, the team moved its training base to Mexico from Tucson, Arizona, and some of the country's soccer officials were not granted visas to enter the United States. Many in the diaspora have mixed feelings over how to show their support of the Iranian people, but not the government.

“We play for every Iranian, be it in the diaspora or in Iran. People have different opinions, but we are here to unite people and we will try to bring joy to all Iranians wherever they live,” team captain Mehdi Taremi said at a press conference Sunday.

A wide range of views

Kourosh Safavi, 42, traveled to see Iran play from Dallas, Texas, with his 11-year-old son Jibreel. While he was born in the U.S, Safavi said he wanted to cheer on the country of his ancestors, where soccer means so much.

“They’re playing for the people, and I just hope and pray that they have success, that they can bring the people in Iran happiness,” he said.

Still in their street clothes, many of the Iranian players walked onto the field nearly two hours before kickoff. Thousands of fans already in the building greeted them with loud cheers and whistles.

Some fans said the large Iranian American crowd in Los Angeles made it feel like Iran had the support of a home team. New Zealand fans were also in attendance, and other spectators wore soccer jerseys from countries spanning from Mexico to Croatia.

Some Iranian American soccer fans said they don't support the squad because they believe it is tied up in politics. In the past, 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, and star striker Sardar Azmoun wasn’t selected for this year's World Cup squad, reportedly because of a social media post that angered authorities.

The flag question

The controversy also has been playing out in a push by Iranian Americans to be allowed to carry the lion-and-sun flag at World Cup games. The Iranian American Institute for Voices for Liberty filed a lawsuit last week to try to circumvent FIFA's ban on the pre-revolutionary flag at matches.

Despite a judge upholding the ban, fans held up large lion-and-sun flags in the front rows of the stadium during Monday's game. Others carried the official flag of Iran.

Parsa Ezati, 21, and his mother brought the official Iranian flag to the protest outside the stadium so people could stomp on it. Many passersby took the opportunity to walk over it, some giving it an extra scuff or taking a minute to spit on it.

“It represents the ayatollahs that killed so many Iranians and have massacred people in my generation,” Ezati said. “FIFA only accepts this flag on the floor.”

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AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham contributed to this report.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Cody Campbell, the billionaire booster who is chairman of the Texas Tech regents, wrote in an open letter Monday night that Sorsby will not be part of the team.

“This decision was made with Brendan and his family and is purely an output of practical analysis of the situation,” Campbell wrote. “Brendan and Texas Tech stand on very solid and legitimate legal ground, but he faces a June 22nd deadline to be eligible to enter the NFL’s supplemental draft, and there is no practical way to resolve all the various pending legal disputes and ensure his eligibility prior to this date. This is the only viable and fair path for Brendan and his future, as well as for his teammates, and our university.”

That came exactly one week before the deadline for Sorsby to apply for the NFL supplemental draft.

And it was also one week after Sorsby was granted a temporary injunction against the NCAA, an order that sent shockwaves through college sports since one of the NCAA’s foundational rules, and one found in many professional sports as well, is the ability to ban players for gambling — especially those wagering on their own team.

All of the legal wrangling had raised the stakes in the fight over whether Sorsby could play and who would decide that.

Sorsby's decision came on the same day that the NCAA and Big 12 had filings in separate courts challenging a temporary injunction that had cleared the way for the 22-year-old quarterback to play despite being declared ineligible after he admitted making thousands of bets worth at least $90,000 while in college. Those included at least 40 bets on Indiana while he was a freshman there in 2022, though none on the game in which he played for the Hoosiers that season.

Sorsby did not play a down for the defending Big 12 champion Red Raiders. He transferred to Texas Tech in January for a reported multimillion-dollar deal after playing the past two seasons for Cincinnati, another Big 12 school. The Texas native was at Indiana in 2022 and 2023.

Campbell, while not revealing any figures, said Texas Tech will not seek the return of any payments already made to Sorsby through his NIL agreements with the university.

While it was Sorsby and not Texas Tech who filed the suit against the NCAA that resulted in the injunction, school officials had repeatedly said he would better off on the team for his mental health and well being.

“I pray that he can stay on his path to recovery," Campbell wrote. “Texas Tech will continue to provide the support and recovery resources Brendan requires on this journey.”

Court testimony revealed that Sorsby has a diagnosed addiction and anxiety-driven compulsion. He recently completed a monthlong stay in a residential treatment program in Arizona that he entered only after the start of an NCAA’s investigation earlier this year.

The ruling last week by Judge Ken Curry prevented the NCAA from being able to block the QB’s eligibility for what would have been his final college season with a team among the favorites to win the Big 12 Conference and return to the College Football Playoff for a second consecutive season.

The NCAA's appeal

In documents filed Monday with the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo, the NCAA asked for an emergency motion to stay the June 8 injunction. The NCAA had also asked for a resolution of the case by Aug. 28, which it said would spare the potential disruption of a ruling after Texas Tech begins its season on Sept. 5. The trial was scheduled for February, well after the season ends.

“The trial court’s temporary injunction sweeps beyond anything Texas law permits,” attorneys for the NCAA wrote. “It undermines the integrity of college sports, rewrites member-adopted rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, immunizes Brendan Sorsby from discipline for admitted and serial violations of NCAA anti-gambling rules, incentivizes a run on courthouses across the country to challenge even the most obvious and straightforward student-athlete eligibility decisions and demolishes the status quo.”

Big 12 goes to federal court

The Big 12, meanwhile, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Dallas seeking a court order backing its ability to use its bylaws for possible sanctions against Texas Tech if Sorsby had played this season. Last week, the Texas attorney general’s office warned the league of potential legal action from Texas Tech for any such sanctions.

The Big 12 filing names Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee in the U.S. Senate race this fall, as well as Texas Tech leadership, including its president, chancellor and athletic director. It accused them of trying to prevent the Big 12 from exercising its own rules the school itself agreed to long ago. Sorsby wasn’t named as a defendant.

“An athlete with an extensive, documented history of wagering on intercollegiate athletic contests — especially his own team’s games — presents a reputational and integrity risk to the conference and its championship competition that the conference has both the right and the responsibility to address,” attorneys for the Big 12 wrote. “The conference is not required to accept that risk on behalf of its 15 other member Institutions, their student-athletes, their fans and its commercial partners. And no government official has the power to compel it to do so.”

That came before a meeting Monday of the Big 12 board of directors, which is made up of presidents and chancellors from the league’s 16 schools.

In a statement by the board after that meeting, the Big 12 said it “has long spoken out about the dangers of sports wagering by student-athletes and remains committed to protecting the competitive integrity of conference competition. Universities should not field players who have bet on their own team’s games in college athletics.”

Big 12 athletic directors in a conference call with Commissioner Brett Yormark last week expressed opposition to Sorsby playing for the Red Raiders this season, and some even suggested maybe not playing Texas Tech if he does.

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

Police said a 12-year-old girl was found unresponsive in a pool by officers at the Heritage Glen Townhouses near Wick and Pelham roads on June 15 at around 2 p.m.

Officers performed CPR on the child, and she was taken to a local hospital. She is listed in critical condition.

The investigation is ongoing, police said.

Ramin Rezaeian scored an early goal and assisted on Mohebbi's goal for the Iranians, whose World Cup cycle has been in upheaval since the U.S. and Israel began a war against Iran on Feb. 28. Iran ultimately decided to compete even after FIFA rejected its request to move its three group-stage matches out of the U.S.

Iran moved its training base during the tournament from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, and the team is flying into the U.S. on the day before each game before returning quickly to Mexico. Captain Mehdi Taremi acknowledged that this World Cup has been a difficult experience containing little of the joy that soccer represents to him and his teammates.

Team Melli began the tournament before a strong pro-Iranian crowd at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles, which has the world’s largest population of Iranians outside Iran. While several hundred Iranian Americans protested the government outside, many fans from the diaspora jeered and turned their backs on the field during the national anthem — but almost all appeared to support the Iranian players once the match kicked off.

Elijah Just scored early in each half for New Zealand, but Iran responded twice to keep the All Whites winless in their World Cup history. New Zealand still matched its entire goal total from each of its two previous World Cup runs while posting an impressive result against a team ranked 65 places higher by FIFA.

After the raucous pregame atmosphere, New Zealand stunned the crowd in the seventh minute when captain Chris Wood intercepted a goal kick and eventually forced the ball to Just, who volleyed home a beautiful goal in traffic.

Iran found its footing and equalized in the 32nd minute when Rezaeian chipped a goal with the outside of his boot.

Just connected again in the 54th minute with more help from Wood, who held up play and found Just for a shot through traffic.

But Iran equalized again in the 64th minute when Rezaeian put a perfect long pass on the head of Mohebbi. Both teams had scoring chances afterward, but couldn't connect.

Players from both teams embraced and shook hands after the final whistle, with at least one jersey swap occurring. While Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei sat by himself in the dugout, his players gathered together and walked around the field applauding their thousands of flag-waving, roaring fans.

Iran is ranked 20th in its seventh World Cup appearance, including four straight. Team Melli has never advanced from the group stage.

New Zealand qualified for its first World Cup since 2010 despite being the lowest-rated team in the field, entering at 85th in the world. The All Whites seized the first automatic qualifying berth for the 13-member Oceania Football Confederation after the World Cup expanded to 48 teams.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

Jimmy Crooks had a two-run double and Alec Burleson added an RBI double for the Cardinals, who won for the eighth time in 11 games.

May (5-6) struck out nine and walked one. He threw 69 of his 101 pitches for strikes during his first complete game in 71 major league starts.

The 28-year-old right-hander didn’t allow a baserunner until he walked Fernando Tatis Jr. to begin the seventh. Manny Machado singled one out later, putting runners at the corners, but Gold Glove shortstop Masyn Winn turned a nifty double play on Gavin Sheets’ grounder up the middle to keep it 3-0.

May struck out the side in the sixth and eighth. He became the first Cardinals starter to get an out in the eighth inning this year and the first to go the distance since Sonny Gray threw a one-hitter against the Guardians on June 27 last season.

It was the ninth complete game and sixth individual shutout in the majors this season.

Center fielder Jackson Merrill robbed Burleson of a home run against Lucas Giolito leading off the fourth. Giolito retired eight in a row before Lars Nootbaar and Winn had two-out singles. Crooks followed with a double to left-center for a 2-0 lead.

Iván Herrera walked with two outs in the fifth and advanced on a wild pitch before scoring on Burleson's double.

Giolito (2-2) allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings of relief after opener Wandy Peralta pitched a scoreless first. Kyle Hart gave up one hit over two innings.

Hart was recalled from Triple-A El Paso when the Padres placed closer Mason Miller on the bereavement list. Miller, who leads the majors with 19 saves, will miss the series.

Padres manager Craig Stammen served a one-game suspension after Major League Baseball ruled that reliever Ron Marinaccio intentionally hit Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson with a pitch on Saturday. Marinaccio received a three-game suspension, but he appealed and remains eligible to pitch.

Up next

Padres RHP Michael King (4-5, 3.46 ERA) starts Tuesday opposite Cardinals RHP Andre Pallante (7-4, 3.88).

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

New York has reached the WNBA Finals in each of those seasons, winning once and losing once. The Liberty players didn't want to think that far ahead after clinching their spot Sunday in the mid-season tournament title game. Still it's hard to ignore the success considering New York has won seven straight games and finally had their entire roster healthy for the victory over Washington.

The Commissioner's Cup first started being played in 2021 and one or both teams have gone to play for the WNBA championship three times — in 2022-24. New York beat Las Vegas in 2023 before losing to Minnesota the next season in the Commissioner's Cup finale. The Liberty avenged that loss by beating the Lynx for their first WNBA championship later that season.

“It’s a pretty high number of teams that go to the Commissioner’s Cup championship that play in the (WNBA) finals,” Liberty center Jonquel Jones said.

New York is still waiting to see who and where it will play. Las Vegas was routed by Dallas on Monday night and is tied with Minnesota atop the Western Conference. The Aces have the tiebreaker with the Lynx after beating them the other day. Las Vegas plays Phoenix on Wednesday and Minnesota vists Los Angeles.

The first tiebreaker for determining who would host the championship game is regular-season winning percentage through Wednesday night. The second one is point-differential in Commissioner Cup games.

Behind the scenes

ESPN will show a four-part series on the Toronto Tempo and how the first WNBA team outside of the United States was built from the ground up.

“With the incredible growth of the WNBA and women’s basketball, this is the perfect time to showcase the launch of Canada’s first WNBA franchise,” said Lindsay Rovegno, Vice President & Executive Producer, ESPN Originals. “Setting the Tempo presents a rare opportunity for fans to see what it truly takes to build a successful organization, shining a spotlight on the female executives whose decisions and vision are laying the foundation for the future.”

Power poll rankings

Las Vegas takes over the top spot after edging Minnesota 100-97 on Saturday night. The Aces were followed by the Lynx, New York, Atlanta and Dallas. Golden State, Indiana and Los Angeles were next. Expansion teams Portland and Toronto were ninth and 10th. Washington, Chicago and Phoenix followed the Tempo. Seattle and Connecticut rounded out the poll.

Player of the week

A'ja Wilson of Las Vegas was the AP player of the week. She averaged 30 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks to help the Aces win all three of their games last week. Other players receiving votes included Kelsey Plum of Los Angeles, Breanna Stewart of New York and Caitlin Clark of Indiana.

30-year anniversary

The Los Angeles Sparks and New York Liberty will play each other on Sunday for the official 30th anniversary rematch of the WNBA's first-ever game in 1997. Penny Toler scored the first points in league history, making a baseline jumper 59 seconds into the game.

Game of the week

Atlanta vs Indiana, Thursday and Saturday. The Dream and Fever play a home-and-home matchup this week with third-year stars Angel Reese and Clark facing off for the second and third time in a two week stretch. Indiana won the first matchup on June 4.

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

The events of June 16, 1976 — now commemorated annually as Youth Day — are considered a turning point in South Africa's liberation struggle against white minority rule.

They ignited more demonstrations in various parts of the country, fueled more resistance against the apartheid and brought international attention to the racial oppression faced by Black people in South Africa.

Fifty years after the uprising, however, there are still concerns about the plight of young people in the country.

Survivors of the violent protests, experts and young South Africans have lamented the challenges facing the country's youth including inequality, high unemployment, poverty and social problems such as drug and alcohol abuse.

Soweto, one of the oldest townships in South Africa, bears symbols of the historic day which are frequently visited by local and international tourists.

These include a memorial named after Hector Pieterson, the 13-year-old whose lifeless body appears being carried away by another student in an iconic photograph that came to symbolize the 1976 uprising after it was published around the world.

Murals and billboards depicting protesting students can be found throughout the township, which is also home to the June 16 Memorial commemorating the uprising.

But for those who survived the protests, the symbols are a painful remembrance of the day that changed their lives forever.

Seth Mazibuko, a survivor of the deadly protests, remembers vividly how students fought back against the police, who were using tear gas to try and disperse the defiant demonstrators.

“They struggled with the tear gas because when they threw it our way, the wind would blow the gas back to them, so it was also affecting them,” said Mazibuko. “They then started sending the police dogs to us, we used stones to chase the dogs back to them.”

Mazibuko was detained for 18 months after his arrest and later imprisoned in Robben Island, where he served 7 years alongside other political prisoners.

Fifty years after the uprising, South Africa has undergone significant changes but inequality, unemployment and poverty are among the most pressing challenges facing its “born free” generation — those born after the end of apartheid.

“I would say the issues of poverty and crime are the most pressing ones,” said Sima Poto, a 19-year-old visiting the June 16 Memorial. “It is poverty that is leading many of them into crime.”

Zola Mguli, a 29-year-old who works with the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance, an organization campaigning against alcohol and substance abuse, said he is grateful to belong to a generation that has grown up in freedom, even as significant challenges remain. "Things are not going as well as our forefathers hoped, there is still racism, alcoholism and other things we are battling with,” he said. “But if we, the youth, rise up, we can do better.”

Historian Noor Nieftagodien said the 1976 student protest movement was a traumatic and transformative moment that reshaped the anti-apartheid struggle, placing young people at the forefront of liberation politics.

“This was a generation that was young, gifted, and Black,” he said. “They wanted education.”

“The idea of Black power resonated with this new generation of young people,” Nieftagodien said. “Black consciousness was kind of electrifying; it inspired university students and then increasingly also students in high schools.”

He said that since June 16 was declared a public holiday after the end of apartheid, the significance of the historic event has diminished, overshadowed by celebratory events that, in his view, water down its political meaning.

“It has lost its meaning,” he said. “What has happened is that we’ve had the day marked with concerts, etc. I’m all for concerts. But, in fact, in so doing, the kind of celebrations that have been organized have been disinvested from politics, from a critical understanding of what happened.”

Russia fired the barrage of hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at the capital of Kyiv, and the second-largest city of Kharkiv, after Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke separately by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday.

Arriving in France, Trump said he had a good conversation with Zelenskyy and Putin. “Now that this (Iran) is finished, we’re going to be focusing on that,” he said, referring to diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting that followed Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.

The war in Ukraine is also set to feature in talks Tuesday by Group of Seven leaders at a summit in France. Zelenskyy also is due to attend to pushing his country's plight.

“This is how Russia shows the world its intention to continue the war,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X, referring to the overnight attack on civilian sites that included the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, an 11th-century monastery complex.

“It is very important that there be a response from the G7 countries ... and that this response be decisive and substantive; more pressure on the aggressor and more support for Ukraine’s air defense, especially anti-ballistic capabilities,” he said.

Zelenskyy offered to meet Putin with Trump and European leaders at the G7 gathering in France but the Kremlin didn’t reply, a Ukrainian official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly about it. The Kremlin has said repeatedly that if Zelenskyy wants to meet Putin, he can come to Moscow.

Putin is wanted by the court on a warrant dating to March 2023 for alleged involvement in the abduction of children from Ukraine during the conflict. France would be obliged as an ICC member to arrest him. The United States and Russia both oppose the court.

Children among the wounded in Kyiv

Zelenskyy said the Russian strikes killed 11 civilians and emergency workers and wounded 53 across Ukraine.

Five were killed in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, where at least 30 others were also wounded, including two children aged 5 and 6, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city's Military Administration.

A series of powerful explosions were heard across Kyiv, with a wave of ballistic missiles followed by Shahed drones as many people sought shelter underground. Clouds of black smoke drifted over the city.

Five strikes hit civilian sites in the city’s Shevchenkivskyi district in under 30 minutes, Tkachenko said, including a 25-story apartment building, while a market and a grocery store caught fire. In the Obolonskyi district, a nine-story residential building took a direct hit.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted defense and industrial facilities in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro, including enterprises and workshops producing components for long-range drones and cruise missiles. It said that a workshop producing medium- and long-range drones located on the premises of the Dovzhenko film studios in Kyiv was among the targets hit.

Russia also claimed to have hit Kyiv’s Radar plant, which it said makes drone components, and the Mayak plant that it said makes Ukraine's Flamingo long-range cruise missiles. Military conscription offices in Kyiv were also struck, it said.

There was no immediate information about the 11th person killed in the attacks.

Religious site damaged in attack

In Kyiv, smoke billowed around the golden domes of the Dormition Cathedral inside the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a revered religious landmark.

Its roof caught fire during the attack, said Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. He condemned the strike as another Russian crime “against humanity, against history, against Christianity,” and appealed for prayers to save the site.

The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a sprawling complex of monasteries and churches, including some underground, built between the 11th and 19th centuries. Some of the churches at the UNESCO-listed World Heritage site are connected by a labyrinthine complex of caves spanning more than 600 meters (2,000 feet).

In a statement, UNESCO condemned the attack, which it said reportedly caused significant damage to the exterior and interior of the Dormition Cathedral.

Zelenskyy said the damage was caused by two Russian drones and called the attack Moscow’s “biggest crime yet against Christian culture.” He visited the scene with Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and other government officials.

The cathedral, churches and other buildings overlook the Dnieper River and have been a pilgrimage site for centuries.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the attack was the “equivalent, for us French, of a bombing of Notre Dame” in Paris.

Ukraine’s National Commission for UNESCO, which coordinates the country's cooperation with the U.N. educational, scientific and cultural body, urged the international community to step up pressure on Moscow to stop its invasion and to throw it out of the organization.

“By destroying Ukraine’s cultural heritage, (Russia) seeks to erase historical memory and inflicts damage upon the heritage of all humankind,” the commission said in a statement.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed, without offering evidence, that the complex was hit by one of Ukraine’s U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles, saying that it might have veered off course due to its age.

Russia fires more than 600 drones at Ukraine

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 70 missiles and 611 drones overnight, primarily targeting Kyiv, while also striking the cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv.

The military said air defenses intercepted or electronically suppressed 632 aerial targets, including 50 missiles and 582 drones.

Preliminary data showed 20 ballistic missiles and 27 attack drones hit 42 locations across the country, while debris from intercepted drones fell at 12 sites.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 123 Ukrainian drones overnight.

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Associated Press writers Samuel Petrequin in London and Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, contributed.

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

La Celeste salvaged a point, but they were not thrilled with the result.

“We gave it away. We have to be honest,” midfielder Federico Valverde said in Spanish after his side played to a 1-1 draw, making up for a flat first half by controlling the second.

“We gave away the first half,” Valverde added. “We didn’t play the way we had trained. It wasn’t what we were aiming for. We rushed things too much. We wanted to win the game in the very first minute. Sometimes you need a bit more patience and just play our game. We improved a lot in the second half.”

Abdulelah Al-Amri scored on a rebound in the 41st minute for Saudi Arabia, and Araújo got the equalizer in the 80th, firing a rebound past goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais from close range.

La Celeste dominated possession and had 29 attempts on goal to Saudi Arabia's seven but trailed until late in the second half.

It was the fourth international goal for Araújo and second at Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL's Miami Dolphins.

Al-Amri, who had a shot denied by Uruguay's Fernando Muslera earlier in the first half, put his squad ahead with a quick tap-in after Muslera palmed away a header.

Al-Amri fell to his knees after the goal and placed his head down on the pitch as he was showered with cheers from Saudi Arabia fans, who were greatly outnumbered in South Florida but loud enough to make up the difference.

Four years ago, they watched their team deliver one of the most memorable moments of the 2022 World Cup, coming back to stun Lionel Messi and eventual champion Argentina 2-1 in Saudi Arabia's opening match.

Monday's result was much less dramatic, but Saudi Arabia — behind a mostly solid performance by Al-Owais — was able to shut out Uruguay, a two-time World Cup champion, until late.

The Green Falcons were more pleased with the outcome than their opponents.

“Uruguay is a team that is very energetic,” Saudi Arabia coach Georgios Donis said through an interpreter. “The players are well experienced, and there is depth on the bench. ... When you’re faced with such an opponent, getting one point is a positive.”

Donis replaced the fired Hervé Renard only two months ago. He said he's still learning the squad, though he was hopeful after Monday's performance.

“I need to get to know my team better,” Donis said. “I need to create a team that is competitive, and it only makes sense that we need time to do this. Today’s outcome gives us an advantage.”

La Celeste had plenty of chances. Al-Owais denied a point-blank header from Federico Vinas in the first half, then got his fingertips on an attempt by Manuel Ugarte in the 61st. He also denied Valverde's attempt a couple of minutes into stoppage time.

“When a team that is supposed to make a difference cannot do it, in terms of being dangerous or dominating the ball,” Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa said through an interpreter, “then the weaker team actually dares to do something.”

The result capped a surprising day for Group H — made up of Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, Spain and Cape Verde.

Cape Verde, making its World Cup debut, held heavily favored Spain to a scoreless draw in Atlanta.

“The draw involving Spain may be the biggest surprise in this World Cup,” Donis said. “Cape Verde was very competitive, very strong. It’s not like the (group) favorites changed. It’s Spain and Uruguay.”

It was also a matchup of the past, present and future in World Cup history. Uruguay hosted the first World Cup in 1930 and will host a match commemorating the tournament’s centennial in 2030, and Saudi Arabia will host the World Cup in 2034.

Among those at the match: FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo, former NFL star Chad Ochocinco and longtime Uruguay standout Luis Suárez -- Messi’s teammate with Inter Miami who was not picked to represent his country at this tournament.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

At around 4 p.m. on June 15, police received a call reporting that a driver, armed with a gun, was heading into Canton Township with the possible intent to harm himself or others.

Officers tried to stop the car, which led to a brief police chase that ended at the driver’s home in the 6000 block of Sandalwood in Van Buren Township.

Police said the man ran to his home and allegedly barricaded himself inside with two family members. Officers then secured the scene and surrounded the home.

After about an hour, officials were able to convince the man to release the hostages, both physically unharmed.

By 8 p.m., the man surrendered himself to police custody. He was then taken to a local hospital for a medical evaluation.

Police will submit the case to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office for a review of possible charges.

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Janice Tse said at a news conference that mainland China kicked off its 15th five-year plan for 2026 to 2030 this year. Hong Kong has long prided itself on minimal government intervention in the economy, even while referencing Beijing’s vision for the city.

The city's blueprint will help Hong Kong synchronize with and serve the national development plan while upholding a free-market economy, Tse said.

“Aligning with the national 15th five-year plan does not replace the free market,” she said. “Rather, it channels a clear vision and strategic planning through major policies, and that allows the market to develop more stably and clearly.”

The public consultation will last two months. Residents can submit opinions about the plan via a website, email or letters. The government also will hold activities to hear opinions from residents, politicians and industries. Officials aim to announce a finalized plan in the third quarter.

Officials say it will help residents and businesses

Under the plan, Hong Kong will strengthen its position as an international financial, maritime and trade center, Tse said.

Hong Kong officials have proposed accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis, an ongoing project that envisions building a new IT hub and a university town near the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen just across the border.

They also hope to deepen development of the Greater Bay Area, which is Beijing's plan to form an integrated business and economic hub including Hong Kong, Macao and nine other mainland Chinese cities.

Hong Kong leader John Lee said on June 9 that the five-year plan would better integrate a “capable government” with “an efficient market” as the government plays a leading role in stimulating the market's competitiveness.

The plan also will help residents understand their personal development opportunities and ease business planning, Lee said.

A Beijing official on Hong Kong and Macao affairs was expected to arrive in the city Tuesday for a two-day trip to study the financial hub’s alignment with the national plan for 2026 to 2030 and promotion of the Northern Metropolis development.

Since returning to Chinese rule in 1997, the former British colony has become more closely linked to mainland China through economic and cultural ties, as well as border checkpoints and transport infrastructure.

While Hong Kong has its own government, legislature and legal system under Beijing’s “one country, two systems” governing principle, China’s influence over the city has increased.

Following anti-government protests in 2019, Beijing imposed a national security law that has virtually silenced all dissent. Many leading activists have been jailed under the law. The city’s legislature is filled with Beijing loyalists after an electoral overhaul.

Potential greater role for the government

Gary Ng, a senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking, said more governments have stepped up industrial policies, so it's probably time for Hong Kong to act similarly in order to stay competitive. With the five-year plan, Ng said it is likely that the city will see a more consistent policy in the future, but it is also a test of the government's ability to choose the direction for Hong Kong.

While he doesn’t see the city changing its market-driven economic model at any point in time, he said the government may play a greater role in steering the economy's direction.

"A lot of things that we’re seeing may not be fully as market-driven as before."

John Burns, a University of Hong Kong politics and public administration professor, said the city had previously disadvantaged itself without strategic planning. But public consultation in Hong Kong has long been discredited because authorities do not commit to changing course after receiving the public's views, he said.

“This is the government selling its notion of a local five-year plan to the community that dovetails with central government priorities,” he said, adding that the consultation document mostly lacks specific targets and timelines.

The agreement announced Sunday to end the war in Iran, set for a ceremonial signing Friday in Geneva, is centered around reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the United States’ naval blockade in the region, along with financial incentives for Iran if it meets certain benchmarks. But Senate Republicans and Democrats who returned to Washington on Monday said there were still many unanswered questions about the deal and they need thorough briefings before it is finalized.

“I just don’t know enough about it,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters in the Capitol. “Even the people who follow this stuff closely up here don’t know that much about it.”

Congressional leaders and intelligence committees generally receive higher-level intelligence briefings before rank-and-file members, and they are notified of major developments before they are announced. But Thune said he had not been personally briefed on the deal.

“I think that my understanding of what it entails — and, again, not having seen anything — it would require, I think the issues are going to be compliance, and how are you going to enforce that,” Thune said.

Thune’s concerns were echoed by several other GOP senators.

“If it’s a secret deal then how can I take it seriously?” asked Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

Vice President JD Vance told ABC News on Monday that the White House would release the text this week, “and what everybody will see is that Iran doesn’t get a dime of money unless they perform their obligations.”

Senators have questions about details

Trump has not yet explained how his agreement will address Iran’s nuclear program, including who will be in charge of verifying that Iran is in compliance and who will destroy or remove highly enriched uranium believed to be buried under nuclear sites that were badly damaged by U.S. strikes last summer.

A memorandum of understanding also includes the possibility of releasing Iran’s frozen funds, sanctions relief and a $300 billion fund to help rebuild Iran if Tehran meets certain benchmarks, senior U.S. officials told reporters Monday. But the document has not been released.

Thune said he wants to know more about the conditions on the financial incentives for Iran. He said the deal would be a “good one” if the incentives are conditioned upon Iran winding down its nuclear program and getting rid of the enriched uranium, “preventing them from having a nuclear capability in the future.”

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he is hopeful but “until you see the final document, it’s hard to make an assessment.”

“I go into it very skeptical of the government of Iran,” Kennedy said. “They learn to lie before they learn to talk. So any agreement we make with them has to have guardrails. It has to have a way to judge through independent inspection if they’re doing what they say they’re doing.”

Senate could have a vote

Under the Iran nuclear agreement review act passed by Congress during the Obama era, any deal the U.S. reaches concerning Iran’s nuclear material must be submitted within a certain amount of time to Congress for review. But it is up to Congress whether that happens — it is not required.

President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, known as the JCPOA, was submitted for what’s called a vote of disapproval in the Senate. The outcome did not roll back the agreement, but put the senators on record with their support or opposition.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump and a longtime hawk on Iran, has appeared skeptical over the emerging agreement. He said he is “pulling for a deal” but Congress will need to review and vote on it, and he wants to see the memorandum that the two countries have agreed on.

“The way Iran describes it, it’s awful. The way we describe it, it makes sense to me,” Graham, R-S.C., said. “Let’s look at it and see what it actually is.”

Graham has said he wants Vance, whom he called “the architect of the deal,” to present it to lawmakers.

Vance responded to Graham on Monday, saying in the interview with ABC that he would “caution Lindsey Graham and anybody else not to believe the hard-liner propaganda in Iran, but to believe what’s actually in the agreement.”

Even though Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is the son of the last supreme leader, and Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard still has significant authority in Iran, Vance told CNN in a separate interview that “fundamentally, it is a much different group of people.” He insisted that the conflict had unlocked much more direct communication with high-level Iranian officials and that the relationship was “fundamentally transformed.”

Next steps in Congress unclear

Most Senate Republicans said they want to review the deal, but it was still unclear whether they would have a vote, or if Congress could pass it.

Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri said he doesn’t think an up-or-down vote is necessary.

“You have the camp that wants us to lose and then you have a camp that wants a forever war,” Schmitt said. “President Trump’s not in either one of those camps, and neither am I.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he expects the Senate will get the final say. But he praised Trump for making “the single most consequential decision of his presidency” by attacking Iran.

“I think he made America safer,” Cruz said. “The president as commander in chief acted decisively to stop that ayatollah from getting nuclear weapons.”

Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican who serves on the Intelligence Committee, said he expects there are still many more steps to the process before any package would come to Congress for review.

“Seems like early reports are showing that this is kind of the first step,” he said. “Once we have a final agreement, we need to take it up and pass it. … If you want a long-term agreement it’s got to be law.”

Democrats ask what has changed

Democrats questioned how the deal will improve upon the U.S. position before the war — and how it differs from Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal.

“For all his critique of JCPOA, we had international observers, we actually had an alliance there that included the Europeans, and Russia and China were all signatories,” Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said there are more questions than answers, including what happens to the Iranian nuclear program and sanctions on Iranian oil.

Trump has spent “tens of billions of dollars” and service members and Iranians have died, “and he still cannot explain how one family in Massachusetts is better off,” Warren said.

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia said an end to what has been a costly and unpopular war would be a good resolution, but he wants to hear more details.

“An off ramp is good because it was a war that should have never been started,” he said.

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Associated Press writers Michelle Price in Washington and Bill Barrow in Alpharetta, Georgia, contributed to this report.

Envioscuba.com announced it has stopped taking orders as round after round of U.S. sanctions aim to choke off international support for businesses in Cuba. The latest target Cuba’s state-owned oil and gas company, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and GAESA, a business conglomerate run by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba that owns a wide range of businesses, from car rentals and retail stores to transportation companies.

Increasingly, it's the most vulnerable who are being punished as Cubans endure shortages of food and medicine, nearly constant blackouts and stifling heat. Many have received help from family and friends in the U.S., who send money and packages from Miami containing appliances, food, and clothing, or purchase products online for delivery in Cuba.

Envioscuba.com said it no longer accepting new orders, but all those previously approved and in process will be delivered.

“Due to reasons beyond our control, our platform can no longer provide services,” the website said, without elaborating. It is not clear exactly when new orders stopped being received.

The AP was unable to contact the company. Its website does not list a phone number to call or an email address to send a message.

Platforms like envioscuba.com were operating directly with Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. said Emilio Morales, president at Havana Consulting Group, a Miami-based consulting firm specializing in market strategies for doing business in Cuba.

Most such portals, including envioscuba.com, do not ship products from the United States to Cuba, but rather sell and deliver products stored in GAESA warehouses on the island, Morales said. “The trend is for all of this to disappear, because GAESA is behind it all,” said Morales, who expects other similar portals to shut down as well to avoid being sanctioned for doing business with the Cuban government.

The administration's sanctions threaten to freeze U.S. assets of foreign companies and even prohibit travel by their investors, employees and shareholders — virtually eliminating their activity in the U.S. financial system.

Spanish hotel chain Meliá recently announced it will cease operations at 15 of the 34 hotels it manages on the island, joining a growing list of companies with a long-standing presence in Cuba that are withdrawing or limiting their operations on the island.

It took only 23 seconds to turn those hopeful cheers into raptures of euphoria.

Lukaku's presence sparked an immediate attack that led to Belgium’s lone goal against Egypt on Monday, helping to earn a 1-1 draw in the team's opening World Cup match.

“He’s a target man,” Belgium captain Youri Tielemans said. “He needs to build up his fitness, which is understandable after being out for the season. But, he helps us in this way.”

Lukaku, a Napoli striker who leads his nation in goals scored, withdrew from Belgium’s friendlies in the United States in the spring to get fitter as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury. That injury didn't look too bothersome in the 66th minute when he ran down the middle of the field moments after entering the game and lurched to tap a cross from the right into the net. Egypt defender Mohamed Hany got there first, however, and scored an own-goal to even the score.

With 66,775 spectators watching, the Egyptians took the lead early in the Group G match. Emam Ashour scored his first international goal in the 19th minute.

If not for Lukaku's impact in the second half, Belgium easily could have dug itself into quite a hole in a group it is heavily favored to win, much as it did when failing to advance past the group stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Despite out-possessing Egypt, the Red Devils struggled to score all afternoon.

Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne came the closest for Belgium, pushing a shot wide left in the seventh minute before clanking another off the left post in the 53rd. Lukaku could have put Belgium in front late, too, but his header sailed far above the goal.

Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said because only 20% of his team’s shots were on target, netting one goal was a fair representation of their efforts. Still, Garcia would have preferred a faster start.

“We weren’t really in the groove,” Garcia said in French. “Technically, we left a lot to be desired.”

Egypt, meanwhile, were the more aggressive side in the first 45 minutes. Ashour, a midfielder who was playing in his 30th game for his country, took advantage of a defensive breakdown to give his team only its second lead in a World Cup match.

The Egyptians, who are playing in their fourth World Cup, have still never won a game at the tournament.

“The match shows we were closer to earning the win,” Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said in Arabic.

Belgium demonstrated it is still quite reliant on national team stalwarts like De Bruyne, Lukaku and goalkeeper Thibault Courtois, each of whom is playing in their fourth World Cup.

Winger Jérémy Doku, 24, kept his squad competitive in the first half, but the Red Devils were fortunate to only trail by one entering halftime.

“Our biggest challenge was about us. We lost too many balls, we weren’t quick enough in transition, and when we had the ball, we didn’t find the solutions,” Tielemans said. “We were too static, especially in the first half. In the second half, we created some chances, which — we could have won the game, but they had some chances as well.”

In Garcia’s opinion, Egypt and Belgium are the two best teams in Group G, which also features New Zealand and Iran.

“We have to win against Iran,” Garcia said of his team's next match on Sunday. “There’s no two ways around it.”

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, in a letter sent to the challenger Sullivan, said she concluded that his declaration of candidacy “was not filed in order to declare an actual good-faith candidacy for the office of United States Senator, but was instead filed with a purpose to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot’s fairness or neutrality.”

The challenger can appeal the ruling, she said, while noting ballots are due to be printed June 28.

A text message seeking comment from Sullivan, the challenger, was not immediately returned. He previously said he anticipated making a decision on whether to pursue an appeal by early this week.

In a social media post Sunday, he said he “met the qualification and I entered this race because I am unhappy with the 12 year record of the current Senator and I feel we need a change. It’s that simple.”

It’s been a whirlwind chain of events in one of the nation’s most prominent U.S. Senate races, one both parties consider crucial to controlling the chamber.

The kerfuffle was set off by the challenger Sullivan filing days before the June 1 candidate deadline. Sen. Sullivan and Republicans called him a “sham” candidate and alleged he was working with Democrats to boost Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola’s chances in the race. Both the challenger Sullivan and Peltola’s campaign have denied the allegation.

Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom a week ago announced an investigation into the challenger Sullivan’s run, citing “credible allegations” that he declared his candidacy “in coordination with another candidate and campaign” with an intent to confuse and “manipulate” voters. The announcement followed a letter that had been sent to her and Beecher by an attorney with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, outlining those claims.

Later, two complaints seeking to disqualify the challenger were filed by Alaska Republican Party Chair Carmela Warfield.

Sullivan, a 69-year-old retired teacher from the small, southeast Alaska fishing community of Petersburg, has said he’s done nothing wrong and insisted that Dahlstrom lacked a legal basis to exclude him from the ballot. He said in a recent interview he has been weighing a run for years and called sharing a name with Sullivan a “matter of fate.”

“The Lieutenant Governor’s job is to oversee elections fairly and impartially,” he said in a statement last week. “Instead, her actions create the impression that the state government is being used to protect an incumbent senator from facing competition at the ballot box.”

In her letter, the election director did not mention finding any evidence of alleged coordination with Peltola or Democratic Party officials. But she outlined details she said led her to conclude that the challenger is ineligible.

They include that he had registered to vote as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and in conjunction with his candidacy changed his party affiliation to Republican, an affiliation he had not had previously. She also cited similarities between his campaign website and the senator’s and his work with a consultant whose clients have included some Democrats.

The work on his behalf by the consultant “is, in isolation, innocuous.” But she said that, taken with the other details, it “suggests a determined effort and a deliberate attempt to use the similarity of your name to confuse Alaska voters."

The form candidates fill out asks them how they'd like to be referred to on the ballot — including any nicknames — and the party affiliation they want on the ballot. In the earlier interview, the challenger told The Associated Press he was motivated to register with the GOP in part by his late father, whom he described as a “true, compassionate, conservative Republican.”

Sen. Sullivan's campaign manager, Billy Mackey, lauded the lieutenant governor, who oversees elections in Alaska, as upholding the right to “a free and fair election.”

Sen. Sullivan, who is seeking a third term, and Peltola are the highest-profile candidates in the crowded race and the only ones so far to report raising any money.

Democrats have targeted the seat in their push to regain the majority in the chamber.

On Friday, protesters gathered outside the Division of Elections office in Juneau, opposing efforts to remove the challenger Sullivan from the ballot. Among them was Ben Muse of Juneau. He said he felt the issue could have been addressed using middle initials to distinguish between the candidates but had been “blown way out of proportion.”

“This has nothing to do with whether you support this guy as a candidate,” he said. “It’s supporting his right to be on the ballot.”

Then it was their players donning authentic Viking attire, complete with weapons, shields and long boats, to the backdrop of a fjord for a moody, dramatic photo shoot.

“A dream 28 years in the making... let’s do this!” Norway star Erling Haaland wrote on the X platform Monday, reposting the photo of the team along with one of his father, Alfie Haaland, competing for the national team in the 1994 World Cup.

Norway is leaning into the country’s centuries-old history as its star-studded men’s team, containing Haaland and Martin Odegaard, heads into a first World Cup in 28 years.

It has created plenty of excitement and debate.

“It was an ask or a question from the (photographers),” Norway manager Stale Solbakken said Monday in advance of his team's World Cup opener against Iraq. “The players wanted me to do it. They were positive. The federation was positive. And I was average positive. And then we did it."

It could be the new “thunder clap”

The Norway fan routine sees lines of supporters, wearing Viking helmets and the team’s red-and-blue jerseys, rowing in unison, forward and backward, to the steady beat of a drum.

Expect it to catch the eye at the World Cup in Norway’s group games at Foxborough, Massachusetts (against Iraq and France) and in New Jersey (against Senegal).

It could potentially have a similar impact to the “thunder clap” performed by Iceland’s fans at the European Championship in 2016 that resonated around the world and has since been used by many other sports teams.

One critic says the photo is “chauvinistic”

The Norwegian soccer federation commissioned British photographer David Yarrow to take the Viking snap, and he said in an interview with The Athletic he knew “it might get some criticism.”

Yarrow was right.

As well as sparking wonder for its breathtaking backdrop and creativity, it also is regarded by some as controversial for harking back to a time — in the 800s and 900s — when Norwegian Vikings conducted raids featuring looting and pillaging.

One commentator, Markus Slettholm from daily paper Morgenbladet, said the photo was chauvinistic and “a bit reminiscent of what neo-Nazis were concerned with 10 years ago.”

Solbakken doesn’t see the fuss.

“There are many bigger and more difficult topics,” he said before the World Cup. “I can’t afford to waste time on that.”

Yarrow previously worked with Haaland in a solo photo shoot.

The BBC reported that sales of the Viking-themed team photo will raise funds for Norwegian charities.

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Douglas reported from Sundsvall, Sweden.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Newsom, a longtime political rival of the Republican president, said in a video posted on X that federal agents have knocked on the doors of his friends and former employees, and have asked for records. Newsom didn't provide specifics on the nature of the probe, but his office said the inquiry appears to have recently expanded into “increasingly personal matters involving the Governor's family and professional network.”

“Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean tweets,” Newsom said, referencing his use of social media to mock Trump. “He’s coming after me because I’m considering running for president, because he hates that I’ve consistently called him out over and over again for his lies and deceit.”

The full details of any Justice Department inquires related to Newsom were not immediately clear. But the revelations were likely to escalate accusations from critics that the Trump administration is using the law enforcement agency as a weapon to go after the president's political opponents.

A person familiar with the matter denied the existence of an investigation specifically targeting the governor, but said there are multiple federal probes into people around him, including one related to his wife’s taxes. That probe began last year, and political leadership in Washington was not involved in the decision to open it, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss ongoing investigations.

Another probe is related to Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, who was indicted on federal charges that she was involved in a scheme to steal campaign money from former federal Health Secretary Xavier Becerra. Williamson in May pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit bank fraud. That investigation, which was launched by President Joe Biden's Justice Department, has expanded to include other staff, the person familiar with the matter said.

Newsom hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing related to Williamson’s case.

The Justice Department declined to comment Monday. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche declined to answer questions about Newsom during a brief photo opportunity with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Capitol Hill Monday afternoon. Blanche had a scheduled meeting with Grassley to discuss his nomination to become attorney general.

Trump's Justice Department pursues his critics

They are the latest Justice Department investigations surrounding one of Trump’s political foes.

The Justice Department has also opened investigations into or brought prosecutions against former FBI Director James Comey,New York Attorney General Letitia James, former CIA director John Brennan and former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, among other perceived political enemies of the president.

“One by one, anyone who has challenged Donald Trump has ended up on his hit list, and today I proudly join that list,” Newsom said in the video.

Investigators have subpoenaed records, and agents have reached out to organizations and people connected to the governor and his wife, according to Newsom's office. The governor's office accused the Justice Department of “searching for a crime that does not exist.”

Newsom's office said it heard last week that federal agents had ramped up their efforts and were asking people tied to the governor and his wife about a range of issues, including their businesses, finances and personal matters. His office said it filed a public records request Monday seeking messages to or from Justice Department leaders mentioning Newsom or his wife during Trump's second term.

Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the governor’s wife, said the investigation showed that Trump is unfit for office.

“There are clearly no boundaries to what Donald Trump will do to get his way or to challenge those who get in his way,” she said in a statement.

The president has repeatedly gone after the Democrat-dominated state during his second term including by curbing a signature plan to reduce planet-warning emissions from cars, withholding aid for wildfire recovery and suing over state policies supporting transgender student-athletes. The state has pushed back by suing the federal government dozens of times.

Newsom also led a push to counteract a Trump-backed effort in Texas to redraw congressional districts to favor Republicans by championing a successful redistricting measure in California designed to win Democrats five additional House seats.

____

Durkin Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.

Federal investigators were at the crash site, about an hour south of Kansas City, on Monday, a day after the plane carrying a pilot and 11 skydivers slammed into a field and burst into flames, killing all on board, authorities said.

Some family members of those who died were at the airport to watch the jump and witnessed the crash, said Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson.

Authorities have not released the victims’ names, but friends and colleagues began paying tribute.

The United States Parachute Association, skydiving's governing body, said its technology director, Jen Sharp, was among those killed.

“Jen was a remarkable force whose passion for the skies was matched only by her dedication to the people in our sport,” said Albert Berchtold, the organization’s executive director.

Sharp taught skydiving instructors, wrote educational materials and made 6,800 jumps since her first one in 1989, according to her website.

She once jumped into Denver's Coors Field ballpark while dressed as the queen of England and was part of the Everest Skydive in the Himalayas, her site said.

Kevin Payne, who had jumped with seven of the skydivers on the plane, said they were all different in nearly every way, except that they were all brought together as a “sky family.”

“There is a joy and peace and freedom to what we do. That’s what most people never understand,” Payne, of Parkville, Missouri, wrote in an email. “It’s not about the adrenaline. It’s about really flying together with your family in that brief, exquisite instant that people who live their lives on the ground will never understand.”

It will be about a month before the National Transportation Safety Board issues a preliminary report, but weather did not appear to be a factor.

Investigators had interviewed some witnesses by Monday afternoon but not the company's owner, NTSB Vice Chairman Michael Graham said. The plane didn’t have a “black box” like those that record flight data on commercial planes, but investigators will examine the wreckage for other clues, he said.

Skydiving plane went down soon after taking off

Witnesses say the plane was roughly 100 feet (30 meters) from the ground when it made an abrupt left turn before crashing.

It appeared to be losing power, and the pilot may have been trying to reach a highway to land when the plane stalled and went down nose first, said Dennis Jacobs, acting airport manager of Butler Memorial Airport. On Monday, Graham said investigators are only beginning to interview all those witnesses and gather photos and videos of the crash, so it's too early to say definitively what happened.

The plane was operated by Skydive Kansas City, he said. The crash site in the small town of Butler is roughly 65 miles (105 kilometers) south of Kansas City.

Skydive Kansas City said in a statement that its team and the skydiving community were in shock.

“This is a devastating loss for everyone connected to Skydive Kansas City and for the wider skydiving community,” the company said. “Our deepest sympathies are with the families, friends, and loved ones of all who were lost.”

Plane made multiple flights over the weekend

The Pacific Aerospace 750XL — a single-engine turboprop plane — is a popular model in skydiving because it’s designed for the sport and can quickly take parachutists to jumping altitudes while using short runways.

This particular aircraft, built in 2010, made nine successful flights in the days before the crash, including two on Sunday morning, according to FlightAware, a digital flight tracking company.

Red flags raised about skydiving oversight

The NTSB has voiced concerns in past crash investigations about whether skydiving operators get enough oversight and inspections to ensure their planes are safe and their pilots are well trained.

The Federal Aviation Administration has yet to adopt the NTSB's recommendations, but said Monday it established a committee in April that will recommend ways to increase skydiving safety and will consider the safety board's proposals.

“It’s always frustrating when we see things the FAA hasn’t acted on,” said Graham, of the NTSB. “And then we continue to see accidents in those arenas.”

The FAA said its inspectors are required to examine certain aspects of skydiving businesses every year, including several safety items related to the aircraft and pilots. But the NTSB said previously that those inspections failed to identify a twisted wing on a skydiving plane that later crashed in Hawaii in 2019 and killed 11 people.

Skydiving businesses can operate under the same FAA rules that apply to any small plane owner as long as their flights don’t venture more than 25 miles (40 kilometers) away. Those rules also cover tourist helicopters and other local flights because the FAA considers those operations less complicated than a charter company or airline.

But all aircraft owners are expected to follow the manufacturer's maintenance schedule and recommendations.

The United States Parachute Association said in a statement that Skydive Kansas City adheres to the safety standards set by the largest skydiving organization in the world, including all FAA maintenance requirements.

The skydiving industry says it has a strong safety record. The association said that last year nearly 3.5 million jumps were completed and that 16 civilians died, the majority from human error.

___

Associated Press reporters Kristen M. Hall in Kansas City, Missouri; Cathy Bussewitz in New York; Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho; and Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami confirmed that Timothy Hudson is in custody. U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres filed the order to revoke Hudson’s pretrial release last Wednesday, but the order was sealed until Monday afternoon. The order stated that Hudson should surrender to U.S. Marshals at the federal courthouse in Tampa Monday morning.

The judge had ruled in February that the 16-year-old could live with an uncle and be electronically monitored. But after the case was transferred to adult court in April, prosecutors wanted Hudson in custody.

The judge ultimately agreed that the issue of Hudson's pretrial detention should be treated as if he was an adult, though Hudson will be held in an approved juvenile facility.

“The Government has established, by clear and convincing evidence, that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure the safety of the community going forward,” Torres wrote in his order.

Hudson has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse in the death of Anna Kepner. His federal public defenders have declined to comment on the charges.

Minors are rarely prosecuted in federal court, and this case landed there because Kepner apparently died in international waters, outside any state’s jurisdiction.

Kepner had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship in November with her family, including Hudson. Before the ship was scheduled to return to Florida, her body was found concealed under a bed in a room she was sharing with Hudson and another teen, a criminal complaint said.

The cause of Kepner’s Nov. 6 death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, which is when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing.

Attorneys for the prosecution and the defense made arguments for and against Hudson being jailed until his trial during a May 27 hearing, but Torres said he wanted to speak with the Marshals Service about the logistics of detaining Hudson in central Florida, closer to his family, rather than South Florida, where the trial is taking place. Hudson walked out of the courthouse after that hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandra Lopez argued at the hearing that the crimes Hudson is accused of are so serious that the court shouldn’t risk another violent attack. An autopsy determined that Kepner had been pinned down and forcibly raped, the prosecutors said. She also noted that it likely took 3-5 minutes for Hudson to allegedly strangle Kepner until she was dead.

The prosecutor also argued that Hudson was a much greater flight risk because he now faces a possible life sentence if convicted of the adult charges. As a juvenile, he would have been released at age 21, regardless of what counts he was found delinquent on.

Evan Kuhl, with the Federal Public Defender’s office, told the judge during the hearing that Hudson has abided by the conditions of his release for months without issue.

Kepner's father, Christopher Kepner, previously released a statement, saying the family was placing “trust in the justice system to pursue the truth with care and integrity.”

“The situation is deeply painful and complex for the entire family,” Kepner said.

Anna Kepner was a high school cheerleader at Temple Christian School in Titusville, Florida, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Orlando. At her memorial service in November, family members encouraged people to wear bright colors instead of the traditional black “in honor of Anna’s bright and beautiful soul.”

Strider, who had been placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday, had a consultation with Dr. Keith Meister before they decided on four weeks. Strider will have another MRI at the end of that period and would begin “throwing progression” if tests showed the inflammation had cleared, the team said.

Strider left Friday's 7-5 loss at the New York Mets in the fourth inning due to right shoulder and elbow soreness. Braves manager Walt Weiss said the team also was concerned about a dramatic decline in Strider's velocity.

Strider has a history of arm problems. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019 and had the UCL in his right elbow repaired with an internal brace in April 2024.

Rookie right-hander JR Ritchie, who pitched in relief behind Strider on Friday, will move into the rotation and has been scheduled to start Wednesday night's game against San Francisco.

Strider allowed six hits, including three homers, and a season-worst seven earned runs in three innings on Friday.

Strider was making his eighth start of the season for the first-place Braves after missing the first 34 games recovering from a strained left oblique. He is 4-2 with a 5.31 ERA this season.

Strider led the major leagues with 20 wins and an Atlanta-record 281 strikeouts in 2023.

The Braves activated catcher Drake Baldwin from the injured list on Monday. Baldwin was placed on the IL on May 19 with an oblique injury. Catcher Austin Wynns was sent outright to Triple-A Gwinnett.

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

Temperatures will be below the average of 80°, remaining in the lower 70s. It’ll be comfortable with low humidity levels, as will be the case throughout the Midwest and Northeast.

This evening will be pleasant with temperatures falling through the 60s as winds turn lighter.

Tonight will be a tad cool with temperatures dropping into the 50s.

Skies will be partly cloudy overnight, giving way to some sunshine to begin Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon showers and thunderstorms develop, some of which may have gusty winds.

The Storm Prediction Center has placed all of Southeast Michigan under a Marginal Risk for severe weather Tuesday - a level 1 out of 5.

Rain will move out Tuesday night, leading to a drier start to Wednesday. We’ll once again have showers and storms move in during the afternoon.

The Storm Prediction Center has issued Marginal (level 1/5) and Slight (level 2/5) Risks for severe weather for the southern-most side of the state Wednesday.

Rain is expected to become widespread Wednesday into Thursday morning and localized flooding will be possible.

We’ll dry out Thursday afternoon and stay dry, with more sun, Friday. Afternoon highs will be in the mid to upper 70s for the rest of the week.

The placards, which read “Next Mile Voices for Palestinians,” were installed last week along Orchard Lake Road, just minutes from Temple Israel in West Bloomfield. The synagogue was the site of what the FBI has classified as a “Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism.”

The signs were taken down over the weekend.

“Initially, I was a little horrified,” said Melissa Brodsky. “ And then I was angry.” Brodsky grew up in the area and came back to visit family when she saw the signs. “To me and to many others in the Jewish community that I spoke with, it was meant to intimidate.”

The road commission said the applicant requested the placard in September 2025 and received approval in November. Installation was delayed because of a backlog, officials said.

The man who applied for the sign, who described Voices for Palestinians as a collective of Oakland County residents, said he did not know the signs had been removed until a few hours before speaking with Local 4.

He said he was surprised by the reaction, noting that he filed the application well before the Temple Israel attack.

He said his group sympathizes with the community following that incident and that the stretch of Orchard Lake Road is near his home. He said the sign was intended to commemorate those killed in Gaza following the October 7th attack.

“Because of genocide occurring in Gaza, we wanted to give the Palestinian people and children a voice while performing a civic duty,” the applicant said, which he wanted attributed to Voices of Palestinians.

He did not say whether he would seek to have the signs restored, but the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, has called for the decision to remove the placards to be reversed.

“We were concerned that certain groups are being treated as less than equal participants in Oakland County based on national origin or faith-based designation,” said Amy Doukoure, lead staff attorney for CAIR-Michigan.

In a Zoom interview, Road Commission for Oakland County Senior Communications Manager Craig Bryson said the agency is examining what happened.

“We’re going to review it from a legal perspective to see what is acceptable legally and from a community concern perspective,” Bryson said.

He said it is unclear how long the review will take. Bryson added that the group that sponsored the placards did clean up the adopted section of Orchard Lake Road in April.

It is important to note that David Coulter, the county executive. did ask to review the sign placement.

Neighbors told Local 4 “more than 150 people” flooded their quiet street and cars blocked streets and driveways. They also described public intoxication and lewd behavior in front of families and children.

Birmingham Police told Local 4 they were called multiple times Saturday to a home on Westchester Way, south of Maple, after a backyard pool was rented through the Swimply app, which allows homeowners to rent out their pools by the hour.

The rental appears to have originally been intended for about 40 guests at a cost of roughly $180 per hour. But as the afternoon progressed, police said the crowd grew far beyond that.

Police Chief Scott Grewe said officers first responded around 4 p.m. At that time, there were approximately 50 to 60 people at the home, and no laws were being violated.

Over the next several hours, however, the gathering continued to expand. Police received several calls between about 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., and officers returned to the home “four or five times.”

By the evening, police estimated the crowd had grown to a couple of hundred people.

Local 4 spoke with nearly a dozen residents, all of whom requested anonymity. Several said the neighborhood became gridlocked, with partygoers parking in private driveways, using the church parking lot across Maple and driving over lawns.

“People were parking in people’s driveways and in the church parking lot,” one neighbor said.

A few other neighbors were upset with the police response, saying, “Our entire neighborhood got taken over. They should be ashamed.”

Some neighbors said children were outside as they witnessed what they described as public intoxication and sexually explicit behavior.

Two neighbors recalled seeing women dancing on cars and partially exposing themselves as they “walked wearing a thong.”

“She kinda went to adjust herself and ... that’s an image you can’t get out of your head. There’s kids around here,” they said.

Another couple said they witnessed two women engaging in a sexual act.

Police said resources were stretched at the time because officers were also handling a serious injury crash on Woodward Avenue.

But around 8 p.m., officers said they determined the party had gotten out of hand as noise complaints continued. They said they shut the party down. The crowd had reportedly dispersed by approximately 9:30 p.m.

Police told Local 4 they issued parking tickets and cited both the host and the homeowner for noise violations. Police also arrested one visitor from outside Birmingham for driving with a suspended license. Investigators are also looking into a hit-and-run involving a parked vehicle that occurred during the evening.

“I have no opinion on short-term rentals, but to me it was a safety issue,” one neighbor said, who was upset with the response from police.

Police said they have addressed neighbors’ concerns immediately and plan to remain in communication with residents. Police added that the city plans to review what happened.

“This is the first of its kind in Birmingham as it relates to a pool being used, but it’s just like the short-term rentals and the concerns with those,” Grewe said.

Local 4 visited Birmingham City Hall and left messages with both the city manager and deputy city manager seeking comment. Our requests have not yet been fulfilled.

The homeowner later told Local 4 that he had allowed a friend to host the event and said he was unaware of any illegal activity:

“I’m aware that some of my neighbors are upset about a pool party this past Saturday at my home. While my neighbors may be annoyed, I am not aware of any illegal activity and from what I understand, the noise level at the party was within the appropriate levels. I will address things with my neighbors privately to ensure we are aligned on expectations for our community. Unfortunately, some of the responses I’ve received from neighbors have been condescending and with perceived racial undertones. This will not be tolerated. Nor will the apparent doxing that has taken place on Internet forums such as Facebook, where my name, my daughter’s name, my address, my telephone number and the school my children attend were publicized - as well as encouragement to contact news forums such as WDIV. This is textbook harassment. I have informed the Birmingham police of this behavior and intend to pursue all legal remedies available.”

The Birmingham City Commission and Planning Board are scheduled to hold a joint meeting Monday at 7 p.m. at the Department of Public Services facility located at 851 S. Eton Road. Short-term rentals are on the agenda, and police said the Westchester Way incident will likely be discussed.

Related --> Birmingham city officials approve tougher rules for short-term rentals

Neighbors told Local 4 they have spoken with roughly 50 residents who are concerned about short-term rentals and say anger has only intensified since Saturday’s incident.

Previous short-term rental incident in Birmingham

On April 11, a party at an Airbnb on East Lincoln in Birmingham ended in gunfire. Police said the gathering had been advertised on social media. Witnesses reported hearing an argument followed by multiple gunshots, and shell casings were recovered at the scene. Video from nearby homes showed several people fleeing.

Officers located one person with a handgun who had run from the house, and several others were detained for questioning.

Three men — Larry Hunter, Jaelin Johnson and Malik Jerome Albert Parker — were later charged with assault with intent to murder.

“It was an amazing, experience, this was a one-of-one,” UFC CEO Dana White said.

“It will never happen again.”

Oh, not because the show dubbed Freedom 250 and ostensibly held to celebrate Trump's 80th birthday and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing wasn't by White's accounts a smashing success. He crowed about merchandise sales and streaming service subscriptions and how UFC surpassed its goals in every metric he could list at a news conference that stretched well into the dawn's early light Monday.

And the setting?

Forget it, almost impossible to top on a night when fighters essentially treated their walkouts like they were kids on a class trip. The all-male lineup toured the West Wing, the Oval Office, walked past presidential portraits, through the Roosevelt Room, the Cabinet Room — and the winners even got a meet-and-greet with Trump.

Gaethje skimmed the copy of the Declaration of Independence that hangs in the Oval Office and said a prayer before he made the unusually long walk to the cage. Gaethje battered Spanish-Georgian fighter Ilia Topuria in the main event and won the UFC lightweight title.

“Usually, I kind of blank out when it comes to getting ready to walk to the cage,” Gaethje said. “It was pretty crazy, looking at the Declaration of Independence. The original one. Their language was different. I'm not smart enough to read that.”

Gaethje also banked a whopping $825,000 in bonus money for winning “Performance of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” honors.

Trump stayed until the end of the seven-card show and generally seemed engaged with the fights — at one point he put on a white “USA” baseball cap — and certainly was all smiles each time a fighter who had a hand raised in victory then used it on a handshake with the president.

Trump boasted on Truth Social the night was “PERFECT!”

There were few blips on the big night and the blemishes that did happen were at the expense of UFC's two more problematic fighters.

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland was escorted out of the Ellipse watch party attended by thousands more fans by a group of police officers. Heavyweight Josh Hokit took it further with an extraordinary and unfounded attack based on a right-wing conspiracy theory about former first lady Michelle Obama.

For all the hand-wringing ahead of the card, the show delivered on the star-spangled smackdown that featured pulsating patriotism from the Marine Band, tributes to first responders, active military and other White House-designated heroes. Gaethje and Ciryl Gane were crowned champions inside a blood-splattered eight-sided cage plopped in the open air right in the people's house backyard on the South Lawn.

Blood and guts were a mandate before an American fighter wrapped himself in the flag.

“Hopefully tonight created some unity,” White said as he put on his hyperbolic promoter's hat. “Even for the people that thought this was going to be some big political statement or something, this wasn't. This was Americans, all Americans celebrating the birthday. For people who tuned in for the first time, because it was at the White House, hopefully they liked the sport. They liked some of the guys' stories.”

So maybe some new fans stick around.

After all, International Fight Week is right around the corner, with UFC 329 set to mark the return after a five-year break of the company's biggest box office draw, Conor McGregor.

That fight will be held in a more traditional arena back on UFC's home turf in Las Vegas, just as they will for years to come.

But despite all the pomp and pageantry, the eyerolls and angst, White stands by his claim that UFC is one-and-done in D.C.

The constant headaches over weather concerns in the rare outdoors show, the logistics of construction of the cage and staging events at federal landmarks and the soaring cost — UFC said it was footing the $60 million tab — made Freedom 250 a one-off for a company once dubbed “human cockfighting."

“I can’t afford it," White said. "I’ll never do the Sphere again and we’ll never do this again.”

___

AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts

The council voted 4-2 on June 9 to terminate City Manager Adel Al-Adlani, who was hired in February. He’s the fourth person to serve in that role in just the last year.

Despite the swift action, council members who voted for the firing have declined to provide a direct reason for their decision.

Mayor files lawsuit, seeks restraining order

Alharbi filed a lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court alleging the council disregarded the city charter, Michigan’s Open Meetings Act and the Michigan Constitution when members pushed through a last-minute agenda item to fire Al-Adlani during the June 9 meeting.

The mayor is also seeking a temporary restraining order to reverse the council’s decision and reinstate Al-Adlani.

“This is a matter of making sure that when we do conduct business in City Hall we do follow the rules,” Alharbi said during a press conference Monday.

“It was just an embarrassment — a violation of clear, flagrant constitutional violation of the city charter,” said attorney Nabih Ayad. “This isn’t the Wild West. They need to understand there are rules and regulations here.”

Ayad also said the mayor welcomes an investigation into City Hall.

“We welcome any kind of investigation by the state or federal government,” Ayad said.

“We will respond by motion for summary disposition and let the Court decide this on the law. The Complaint has serious facial defects: it skips an entire count, quotes from an employment contract it does not attach, mischaracterizes Council procedural rules as Charter provisions, and cites as authority a Court of Appeals decision that it acknowledges was reversed by the Michigan Supreme Court. We are confident in the City’s position.”

Hamtramck City Attorney Odey Meroueh

Shouting match erupts at council meeting

The June 9 meeting quickly devolved into a heated confrontation between the mayor and council members.

At one point, Alharbi threatened to remove Council President Mohammed Hassan from the meeting.

“I’m the chair,” Alharbi said.

“I’m the council president,” Hassan fired back.

Hassan, who was the most supportive of Al-Adlani’s termination, has a trial scheduled for June 29 related to felony election fraud charges.

When asked directly whether he had been given an explanation for the firing, Alharbi said he had not.

“Mayor, they seemed pretty passionate on firing the city manager and you haven’t heard any reason on why?” Lauren Kostiuk asked.

“Um… I have not,” Alharbi replied.

Council members push back

Not all council members are aligned with the mayor’s position.

Councilman Yousuf Saed defended the vote in a statement posted to Facebook, saying the action was lawful and did not require the mayor’s permission.

“He says we ‘bypassed the Charter.’ We did not. Suspending the rules to take up business is something councils do all the time, and it is in our own rules,” Saed wrote.

Saed also pushed back on what he characterized as a shifting narrative from the mayor, saying the city manager “serves at the pleasure of the Council” and that “no cause is required.”

However, Councilmember Nayeem Choudhury, who voted against the firing and stood alongside the mayor at Monday’s press conference, offered a different take on the motivation behind the vote.

“They were trying to get rid of their cases through the city manager,” Choudhury said.

A pattern of turnover at City Hall

Al-Adlani’s dismissal is the latest in a series of high-profile departures that have rattled Hamtramck City Hall over the past year.

The city also faces a mounting pile of litigation. A former city clerk, former city manager, a former police officer and a former council member who lost a contentious mayoral election all have lawsuits pending against the city.

The city’s controller and CFO is currently serving as interim city manager.

Al-Adlani is being represented by attorney Jon Marko and a lawsuit is likely forthcoming.

A Democratic hold in the heavily Democratic district would further tighten an already thin Republican majority in the U.S. House.

Swalwell resigned from Congress in April following sexual-assault allegations he has denied. He also withdrew from the California governor's race, in which he was a top contender.

There are two campaigns underway for Swalwell's former seat. One is a regularly scheduled election to serve in the next Congress for a term that starts in January 2027. The other is Tuesday's special primary to serve out the remaining 15 weeks of Swalwell’s term.

Among the Democrats running in the special primary for the abbreviated term in the 14th District are former Dublin mayor and Bay Area Rapid Transit board member Melissa Hernandez, state Sen. Aisha Wahab and attorney and education entrepreneur Rakhi Israni Singh. Republican candidates include real estate investor Wendy Huang and small business owner Dena Maldonado. Unless a candidate wins the seat outright by receiving a majority of the vote, the top two finishers regardless of party will advance to a special general election on Aug. 18. California has a top-two primary system in which all candidates run on the same ballot.

These five candidates also ran in the June 2 primary for the full-term seat in a slightly smaller field of nine. Wahab and Hernandez placed first and second, guaranteeing the seat will remain in Democratic hands next year.

The boundaries of the 14th Congressional District were redrawn as part of a new congressional map approved by voters in a 2025 statewide ballot measure known as Proposition 50. The map goes into effect for the full-term seat in January, while the winner of the special election will serve under the current boundaries for the remainder of the year.

Proposition 50 was placed on the ballot in response to mid-decade redistricting efforts led by President Donald Trump in several Republican-controlled states. While the plan created a congressional map more favorable to Democrats, no dramatic changes were made to the 14th District. Under the current boundaries, Democrats made up 50.4% of registered voters in October, compared with 17.6% for Republicans. Under the new boundaries, Democrats comprised about 49.7% of registered voters as of mid-May, compared with about 17.4% for Republicans.

In 2024, Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris carried the current 14th District with 65.8% of the vote. If the election had been held under the new boundaries, she would have received 65.4% of the vote.

Both versions of the district are contained entirely within Alameda County in the East Bay. The current district includes Hayward, Livermore, Pleasanton and Union City, as well as parts of San Leandro, Fremont and Dublin.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 8 p.m. PT, which is 11 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in the 14th Congressional District special primary.

Who gets to vote?

Any registered voter in the pre-redistricting, pre-Proposition 50 version of California’s 14th Congressional District may participate in the special primary.

How many voters are there?

As of October 2025, there were about 429,000 registered voters in California’s current 14th Congressional District, including about 216,000 Democrats, about 76,000 Republicans and about 114,000 voters with no party preference.

How many people actually vote?

About 214,000 voters in the current iteration of the 14th Congressional District cast ballots in the statewide Proposition 50 ballot measure in November 2025.

About 126,000 14th District voters cast ballots in March 2024, the last time the district held a primary under these boundaries.

How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?

About 93% of Alameda County voters in the March 2024 primary and about 87% of 2024 general election voters cast their ballots either early in person or by mail.

As of Sunday, about 110,000 ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s election, including about 57% from Democrats, about 19% from Republicans and about 20% from unaffiliated voters.

When are early and absentee votes released?

In Alameda County, the first vote update of the night usually includes only results from mail voting, but the county typically still has a sizable number of mail ballots left to tally by the next morning.

Since mail voting tends to favor Democrats and in-person Election Day voting tends to favor Republicans, the release of only mail voting results at the start of the night could result in an early lead for Democratic candidates, while Republican candidates may narrow the gap as more Election Day results are counted. It also means that Democratic candidates could see additional gains later on because of the number of mail ballots tabulated after election night.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the statewide special election for Proposition 50 on Nov. 4, 2025, the AP first reported results from Alameda County at 11:14 p.m. ET, or 14 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 1:33 a.m. ET, with about 57% of total votes counted. The county completed about 99% of the vote county by Nov. 10.

When will the AP declare a winner?

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

How do recounts work?

There are no automatic recounts in California. Any registered voter may request and pay for a recount. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 63 days until the Aug. 18 special general election for Congressional District 14 and 140 days until the Nov. 3 midterm general election.

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

Tiny Cape Verde, making its debut at the World Cup, pulled off a stunner, holding heavily favored Spain scoreless in a 0-0 draw on Monday.

“This means everything for our country," Cape Verde coach Pedro Leitão Brito said. “We have always said that we wanted everybody to see our country, our team and we have shown organization and braveness and this is proof of what our country is about — resilience and to try to overcome hardships.”

European champion Spain is one of the favorites to win the tournament and was -1200 to beat Cape Verde. But it could not find a way past a 40-year-old goalkeeper and a stubborn defense that had an answer to everything Spain’s superstars threw at them.

Not even sensational teenager Lamine Yamal, who came in off the bench in the second half, could turn a game that ended with wild and emotional celebrations inside the stadium.

“A dream" was how Cape Verde defender Steven Moreira described it.

Veteran goalkeeper Vozinha broke down in tears after the final whistle following his impressive performance to keep Spain at bay.

He was the player of the match, pulling off a string of saves at the end of the first half to deny Ferran Torres, Pedri and Aymeric Laporte.

The closest Spain came to finding a breakthrough was when Torres struck the bar shortly before halftime.

“We should have won today’s match with everything that happened, with all the favorable situations we created, but we lacked freshness and a clinical edge," said Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, who had warned before the match that Cape Verde could be one of the surprise teams of the World Cup.

Spain could have been the victim of an even bigger upset when Diney Borges had a late chance to score, but saw his header saved by Spain keeper Unai Simon.

Add Cape Verde to Cameroon, Senegal and Saudi Arabia on the list of teams that have pulled off shocking results against soccer's giants in the World Cup.

Cameroon beat defending champion Argentina in 1990 and Senegal beat defending champion France in 2002. Four years ago, Saudi Arabia triumphed against Lionel Messi's Argentina, which went on to win the tournament in Qatar.

Cape Verde didn't win, but its performance rebuked some of the criticisms that the expansion of the World Cup from 32 teams to 48 would weaken the tournament.

The group of islands off Africa's West coast have about 4,000 square meters (about 2.5 miles) of landmass and approximately half a million inhabitants, making Cape Verde the third-smallest nation by population to qualify for the World Cup. And even against a loaded Spain roster, Cape Verde proved its worth on soccer's biggest stage.

Despite the majority of the 67,640 crowd inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium appearing to be Spain fans, it was the Cape Verde supporters who cheered loudest. They continued their celebrations after the final whistle, singing and dancing in the concourses.

“All of us, we are happy because we work a lot to be here. We deserve to be here," Vozinha said.

The 2010 champion Spain is aiming to win the World Cup for a second time and is coming into the tournament after winning the Euros in 2024. But a disappointing start echoes its performances in recent World Cups. Spain has failed to advance beyond the round of 16 in each of the last three editions.

“What doubts do you think my team is going to have? Zero doubts," De la Fuente said. “We know how difficult this competition is. The idea we need to follow is what took us here and what made us European champions.”

Spain plays Saudi Arabia on Sunday and Cape Verde faces Uruguay.

___

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

___

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

The Republican U.S. president sought to make clear that he arrived in Evian-les-Bains with the wind at his back for talks with G7 leaders, including some who have been sharply critical of his managing of the 15-week-old conflict, which has led to a surge in global energy prices — though he did not immediately seem willing to lay out the details of what was in the emerging deal.

Some of those details are still to be negotiated in talks over the next 60 days, though Trump said the memorandum of understanding would likely be released after it’s signed on Friday.

“I think a lot of great things are going to happen in the Middle East right now, and very importantly the oil (price) is plummeting down and the stock market is shooting up like a rocket today,” Trump said at a meeting with the summit’s host, French President Emmanuel Macron, before they joined a working dinner with other leaders.

“The Iran deal that we made is going to bring a lot of success to the world,” he said.

Deal could change G7 dynamic

Trump has had friction with Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over failing to consult them before the decision to go to war. But sealing an agreement before jetting off to the summit might change the dynamic of the three-day gathering.

Macron at the start of Monday's meeting congratulated Trump for finding a way to an agreement.

"It’s a very important matter for peace of the whole world,” Macron said.

Trump has pushed back on the four European leaders — members of the NATO military alliance — for their lack of support for the U.S. in the conflict.

He's expected to discuss with leaders the demining of the Strait of Hormuz. Britain and France have expressed interest in assisting with the demining once the conflict is paused. Fear of potential mines is among the reasons tanker traffic has come to a halt during the war, and quickly clearing them will be crucial to regaining the confidence of commercial vessels.

Macron on Monday said France was ready to move within days to deploy assets, including mine-clearing vessels, to the region to help.

Senior U.S. officials told reporters that the while the agreement provides for the immediate opening of the strait and lifting of the U.S. naval blockade, it will take weeks for traffic to return to previous levels.

Macron invited the leaders of three nations that aren’t part of the G7 — Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — to take part in a session on the Middle East on Tuesday, when Iran is expected to be a central focus.

Trump faces questions about financial incentives for Tehran

Trump had fiercely criticized President Barack Obama for the 2015 nuclear agreement, which Trump argued failed to stop Tehran from advancing toward a weapon and funneled billions of dollars into the Islamic Republic’s coffers.

In 2018, Trump exited the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the European Union were also signatories to the pact.

Trump in an interview on Sunday with The New York Times pushed back on comparisons to the Obama-era nuclear deal. “We negotiated from strength,” Trump said. “He was basically paying them off.”

But Trump hasn't explained how his agreement will address some key issues about Iran's nuclear program, including who will be in charge of verifying that Iran is complying with the agreement and who will destroy or remove 972 pounds (441 kilograms) of highly enriched uranium believed to be buried under nuclear sites that were badly damaged by U.S. strikes last summer.

The memorandum of understanding includes the possibility of releasing Iran's frozen funds, sanctions relief and a $300 billion fund to help rebuild Iran — all of which would be tied to Tehran meeting certain benchmarks aimed at assuaging White House concerns, senior U.S. officials told reporters on Monday.

Some Democrats and hawkish critics say Trump has failed to explain how the financial relief in his agreement will differ from what Obama did in the 2015 nuclear deal.

“For all his critique of JCPOA, we had international observers, we actually had an alliance there that included the Europeans, and Russia and China were all signatories,” Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CBS' “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump and an Iran hawk, expressed skepticism, saying that Congress will need to review and vote on any nuclear deal with Iran, and said he expects Vance — “the architect of the deal” — to present it.

“I am somewhat concerned that Iran’s view of the agreement seems different than what the American negotiating team is claiming,” Graham said on social media.

Trade irritants and the war in Ukraine are also a focus

Leaders are expected to discuss a range of economic and trade issues. Trump told the New York Post he’s warned Macron the U.S. will “have no choice” but to slap 100% tariffs on French wines unless ​Paris eliminates its digital tax on American tech companies, renewing a long-running threat from him that dates to his first administration.

Wines and ​spirits exported to the U.S. from the European Union currently face ​a 15% ⁠tariff.

In an interview with broadcaster TF1, Macron said Monday that it’s not “for the United States to decide what European or French law should be.”

Macron also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a working session with G7 leaders on Tuesday to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war.

At the moment, Zelenskyy is not scheduled to hold one-on-one talks with Trump while they're both in France, but Trump on Sunday held separate phone calls with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Trump emphasized the need to end hostilities with Ukraine and stated his readiness to influence European allies and Kyiv toward that goal, including at the G7.

Zelenskyy had offered to meet Putin with Trump and European leaders at the G7 gathering, but the Kremlin didn’t reply, a Ukrainian official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, and France would be obliged as an ICC member to arrest him. The United States and Russia both oppose the court.

Trump suggested that, after an Iran deal, he'll now have greater bandwidth to focus on the Russia-Ukraine war.

"Now that this is finished, we’re going to be focusing on that,” he said, referring to diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting that followed Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.

___

Madhani reported from Geneva, AP writers Samuel Petrequin and John Leicester in Paris; Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine; Michelle L. Price and Collin Binkley in Washington; and Tom Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa contributed reporting.

Residents at Orleans Landing, located near the Detroit River, reached out with concerns about ongoing issues at the property. The complaints included elevators being out of service for an extended period, security gates left open or not working, and a lack of communication from management.

“It’s very frustrating. I’ve been here since February, and it’s just been stacking up and stacking up,” one tenant explained.

Several residents said non-working elevators have been especially difficult at 205 Orleans, where some residents reported the elevator had been down for weeks. A tenant said she believed the outage lasted at least four weeks.

“We also have a couple of elderly people in the building that have a hard time getting up and down those stairs,” she said.

Residents also raised concerns about security around the complex. Another tenant, who asked not to be shown on camera, said the entrance gates have been left open and inoperable — and she believes it has contributed to crime on the property.

“My car has been broken into. To the point where now, I just would rather leave it unlocked with nothing in it,” the resident said.

A worker at the leasing office said the property manager was unavailable when asked for comment, but confirmed the elevators had been down. The worker estimated the elevator outage at about two weeks and said a vendor had been waiting on a part needed for the repair.

Arthur Rushin, Chief Enforcement Officer with the City of Detroit’s Building, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED), said the city received its first complaint about the elevators last week.

“We sent an inspector out. He verified that the elevator was out, and then he wrote an emergency correction order,” Rushin said. “The compliance date is actually June 17. So, they were able to get it repaired today.”

Rushin also said the property’s certificate of compliance expired last month.

“Their certificate of compliance expired last month. So, they are going to get a ticket for being out of compliance,” he said.

By the time inspectors arrived on Monday, at least one elevator in the building appeared to be operating again.

Neighbors said they want clearer communication and more responsiveness from property managers — especially when issues impact safety and daily life.

“I love living here. But you’re letting everybody down, and now we are forced to speak on it to the masses, because you’ve stopped caring,” another resident said.

The property management company, Village Green, had not responded to a formal request for comment.

City inspectors say Detroit renters experiencing health or safety issues — especially when a landlord or property manager is unresponsive — can report problems to BSEED online at www.detroitmi.gov/bseed or by calling 313-628-2451.

The melee, including last-minute endorsements from President Donald Trump and outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp, was on full display Monday ahead of Tuesday’s runoff. Rep. Mike Collins and former football coach Derek Dooley are competing for the party's nomination for U.S. Senate, while Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and billionaire businessman Rick Jackson are running for governor.

Trump and Kemp are aligned behind Jones but split in the Senate race. Top grassroots organizers are divided too. Even Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a former rival to Trump, stepped into the mix on Jackson’s behalf, putting him at odds with the president and governor.

“There’s a lot of division in the MAGA world and across the Republican Party,” said Debbie Dooley, an original national tea party organizer who is backing Jones for governor but Dooley for Senate. (She's not related to the candidate.) “We better get it together after Tuesday.”

Kemp insisted there is a common denominator.

“Everything I’m doing is to win in November,” he said Monday after campaigning for Jones and Derek Dooley at separate events in metro Atlanta.

Kemp has backed Derek Dooley for months in the Senate race, arguing it will take an outsider to defeat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November. Yet Kemp campaigned for the first time Monday with Jones, a day after he endorsed the lieutenant governor despite Jackson's outsider campaign. In the governor's race, Kemp reasoned that Jones is the right man to defeat Democratic nominee and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Trump, meanwhile, has backed Jones since last August, rewarding him for his loyalty as part of Trump’s alternate Electoral College slate in the 2020 scheme to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential victory. But the president waited until the final weekend to choose Collins over Dooley, with a social media post that noted Dooley has backed Trump’s falsehoods about his loss to Biden.

Kemp’s and Trump’s differing courses highlight their complicated relationship — Kemp certified Biden’s electors in 2020 over Trump’s objections — and the results Tuesday will tests both men’s internal party influence as their final terms play out.

“I’m not worried about any political equations or keeping score,” Kemp said Monday after campaigning alongside Jones and Dooley at separate morning events. “It’s making sure we have the right people at the top of the ticket.”

He also rejected any notion that he was being inconsistent by pushing the Washington outsider in one race and the Georgia statehouse insider in another. The reason, he said, was that Georgia has been controlled by Republicans for more than two decades and, in Kemp’s estimation, is doing well enough that Jones would be “really building off the great legacy” of multiple state administrations. Congress, meanwhile, is a mess of “inaction” with abysmal approval ratings, he said.

Dooley, for his part, embraced Kemp’s influence and downplayed Trump’s.

“It’s very simple,” he said. “A vote for Mike Collins is a vote for Jon Ossoff. A vote for me is a vote for the people of Georgia.”

Jackson likewise downplayed Kemp’s last-minute nod for Jones.

“I respect Gov. Kemp very much, and I think people are ready for an outsider,” he said.

Cruz was more animated, with an implicit comparison of Jackson to Trump.

“He’s rich,” Cruz told Jackson supporters with a smile. And he’s a first-time candidate, the senator continued. “I don’t know anybody like that in politics,” Cruz deadpanned.

Debbie Dooley, the conservative activist, noted that erstwhile tea party leaders in the state aren’t on the same page anymore either. While she’s campaigning with Derek Dooley, the founder of Tea Party Patriots, Jenny Beth Martin, has appeared with Collins.

“It’s just not as simple as blindly following Trump anymore,” Debbie Dooley said. “I don’t want the most conservative candidate. I want the most conservative candidate who can win.”

Scammers used crypto kiosks as a one-way door for other people’s money.

“Kind of came up on our radar,” said Dale Dwojakowski, Sterling Heights assistant city manager. “The police started reporting large frauds and people being scammed out of a lot of money using these kiosks, and I think it caught everybody off guard about how fast these kiosks started proliferating around the state.”

The latest city to act

Sterling Heights is the most recent city to combat crypto kiosk fraud and at least three cities in Michigan passed ordinances to regulate crypto ATMs. So far, the results show significant progress.

“I believe the ordinance has done its job,” said Capt. Colleen Hopper of the Sterling Heights Police Department, who served the department for close to 29 years. “It’s definitely slowed down the amount of cases we’ve had, but it’s almost been cut in half since the same timeframe last year.”

In 2025, Sterling Heights police documented more than $600,000 in crypto scam losses — and Dwojakowski believes the real figure is far higher.

Here’s how much Michiganders lost in crypto fraud in 2025

“When someone is defrauded or scammed out of money, oftentimes they’re embarrassed to tell family members,” he said. “So, we think that number might be well over a million dollars of people that were victimized here in Sterling Heights.”

“These are life savings for some people gone in a fraction of a second,” he added.

How the ordinance works

The Sterling Heights ordinance layers multiple safeguards onto every crypto kiosk operating within city limits.

Under the rules, all businesses hosting a crypto kiosk must register with the city clerk’s office. Failure to register carries a municipal civil infraction, with fines accruing for every day of non-compliance.

“It’s important that we know who owns these machines, who’s in charge of these machines,” Dwojakowski said. “Because once the scam happens, someone says they were taken for five or ten thousand dollars, we need to be able to go back to that owner, the machine operator.”

Machine operators are also required to provide daily transaction logs, issue receipts to users, and prominently display their license on the kiosk itself.

“There’s this layer after layer of safeguards, including dollar limits for users so that they don’t end up putting in $50,000 within a couple of days,” Dwojakowski said.

For first-time users, the ordinance caps deposits at $1,000 during the first 14 days.

Returning users may deposit up to $10,000 within a 30-day period.

“That’s when people are going to put that first batch of cash in there,” Dwojakowski said. “If they can get them to put five grand in, they can get them back the next day to put another five thousand dollars in — so, these new user limits and monthly caps are so important to safeguard people’s life savings.”

Before any transaction goes through, kiosk screens are required to walk users through fraud warnings and scam alerts. The machines must also collect photo ID, a phone number and additional identifying information.

As of the most recent count, Dwojakowski said between 30 to 40 businesses have submitted their registrations. Police detectives are conducting compliance checks at gas stations and other businesses known to host the machines, looking for properly displayed licenses and issuing information sheets to operators who may not yet be aware of the requirements.

One woman’s close call — and a costly detour

The ordinance’s transaction limits have already stopped at least one major loss in its tracks.

Hopper recalled a case where a victim attempted to deposit $70,000 into a Sterling Heights crypto kiosk — and was blocked by the ordinance’s caps.

“Unfortunately, she was able to go to the city of Warren and deposit that money,” Hopper said, “and she’s out that money as of currently.”

The case underscores the central frustration city leaders have voiced repeatedly: a local ordinance can only do so much.

“We might have stopped the bleeding here in Sterling Heights,” Dwojakowski said, “but once the bad actors figure out that Sterling Heights has these new rules and ordinances in place, we’re just going to have them go over the border to Troy, to Warren, to Shelby Township.”

The push for statewide regulation

The pattern of vulnerability is exactly why Sterling Heights took its concerns to Lansing.

“For a lot of people on that panel, the technology was so new, we were almost explaining to them what the technology did and how it was used,” Dwojakowski said. “Then once we started talking about the dollar amounts and how much we saw in dollars that were being scammed from residents, I thought they were shocked.”

Two bills — House Bills 5469 and 5470 — are currently moving through the Michigan Legislature and would establish statewide regulation of crypto kiosks.

Dwojakowski said the patchwork of local ordinances — each slightly different — is not a sustainable solution.

“We would love for there to be statewide rules governing these machines — very, very strict rules,” he said. “Because what we are seeing is the vast majority of people that use these kiosks, it’s fraudulent. It’s either for a scam or possibly it could be for drug money, illicitly gained money. You have cash, you can put it in the machine anonymously, the machine then digitizes the money.”

However, supporters are also careful to distinguish the push for state regulation from an outright ban on cryptocurrency.

“Cryptocurrency — it’s here. It’s here to stay,” Dwojakowski said. “To be honest with you, you’re better off buying it on a computer. We’ve seen these machines charge anywhere between 10 percent to 20 percent user fees on your money. So, if you really want to buy crypto, why would you spend 10 percent or 20 percent on a fee when you can do it at home for one percent or two percent?”

Industry responds: CoinFlip weighs in

Not every crypto kiosk operator is fighting the regulation. CoinFlip, one of the major operators of cryptocurrency kiosks in Michigan, says it supports commonsense rules — and has been operating in the state since 2018.

“We can’t speak for the entire industry, but we take consumer protection seriously and hold ourselves to the highest standards of compliance and transparency,” the company said in a statement to Local 4. “We believe in commonsense rules and clear disclosures, and want everyone in the industry to be held to the same high standards we meet voluntarily.”

The company acknowledged the scale of the problem directly.

“We recognize the urgent need to address the rise of scam proliferation which is why in Michigan, we continue to advocate for smart, state-specific regulation that protects consumers from bad actors while allowing consumers to safely purchase cryptocurrency in the way that best suits them,” CoinFlip wrote.

The scams fueling the crisis

Understanding why crypto kiosks became a magnet for fraud requires understanding the scams driving victims to the machines in the first place.

Hopper outlined several schemes investigators have encountered:

• Romance scams — A scammer builds a relationship online, then claims to need money for a plane ticket, wired through crypto.
• Bail scams — Victims are told a spouse or relative is in jail and needs bond money deposited into a crypto wallet.
• Giveaway scams — Victims are told they’ve won a prize — a car, for example — but need to pay shipping costs first. Once they pay, the demands keep coming.

“The scammers are good at their job,” Hopper said. “That is their full-time job, and they’re very good at convincing and playing into the emotions and the heart — making them feel like if they don’t do it, they’re going to get in trouble or this person’s not going to get out of jail. They really play on the victim’s emotions.”

And when it’s over, the money is almost certainly gone for good.

“Slim to none,” Hopper said of recovery odds. “Once it’s out there, it’s out there, and it’s hard to get back. It goes into an exchange, and from there, trying to get it back is difficult. Usually the suspects are overseas, so we’re never going to get that arrest.”

Virtual kidnapping: AI makes it worse

Layered on top of traditional fraud is a newer, alarming scam: virtual kidnapping.

Cybersecurity expert Mykolas Rambus, co-founder and CEO of Hush, said artificial intelligence has made this particular scheme far more accessible — and far more convincing — than ever before.

“Most people don’t know that someone can spoof a phone number,” Rambus said. “You might think you’re getting a call from your loved one. It might look like their number, maybe their image pops up — but it’s definitely not them.”

The script plays out quickly. A call comes in claiming a family member has been kidnapped. The victim hears what sounds like their loved one’s voice in the background. A ransom demand follows — often directing payment to a crypto account or kiosk.

“All someone needs is a laptop, a little bit of money,” Rambus said, explaining how scammers clone voices using widely available AI tools. “You’ve seen it on Hollywood videos — the deep fakes that are out there. People do the same thing for bad intent all the time.”

The raw material for those clones? Social media.

“A lot of people don’t recognize what’s out there about them,” Rambus said. “On social media, usually there’s some video. Maybe they never posted it themselves, but maybe they were at a birthday party, and someone recorded a video and there’s them giving a speech. Most of us have some either images or audio or video out there about us already.”

Bad actors do their homework

The sophistication of these operations goes beyond just voice cloning.

“The bad guys not only use the technology, but they also look at calendars,” Rambus said.

“They figure out where people are [going to] be — who’s vacationing, who’s on an airplane. And when you post these things, they use that to pull off these scams successfully.”

Rambus recounted a close call involving someone he knows in Detroit, whose wife received a spoofed call appearing to come from her husband while he was in a meeting and unreachable. Tears, panic and chaos followed — until someone physically located him in the office.

“It is elaborate,” Rambus said, “but it’s because of the information most of us put out there about ourselves. They’re also getting very good at following the playbook. Like so many people use AI tools to learn about ideas — how do I repair a car? You can do the same thing for how do I pull off a scam? And they’re doing exactly that.”

And virtual kidnapping scams are frequently tied to organized crime, Rambus noted, with teams of criminals coordinating — some making calls, others physically picking up cash left in drop locations.

“Almost always, it’s a crypto account,” he said.

It might involve a crypto ATM, it might be increasingly these days, put it in a shoe box and leave it outside — and they’ll have people who will go get the money."

How to protect yourself

Both law enforcement and cybersecurity experts agree: the most powerful tool against these scams is preparation.

Establish a safe word. Rambus and law enforcement encourage families to create a code word or phrase — something only close family members would know — that can be used to quickly confirm identity in a panic situation.

“Usually, most of these AI impersonation scams, including virtual kidnapping, fall apart when someone asks a question,” Rambus said. “What they’re relying on is pressure tactics. Anytime you’re getting pressure tactics — whether it’s to withdraw money or to call or provide access — that’s when you know something’s up.”

Lock down social media. Privacy settings change frequently, and platforms users abandoned years ago may still be publicly accessible.

“Zombie accounts — the bad guys will use those to do their research,” Rambus said. “Not only lock them down, but if you don’t use it, just turn it off. One of the best ways you can protect yourself is just get rid of the information the bad guys are using to pull off these scams.”

Think critically at the machine. Hopper urges anyone being directed to a crypto kiosk to pause and ask a simple question.

“Would I have done this 10 years ago? Would I have ran to a bank, pulled out money and sent it to some random person?” she said. “If you start seeing the red flags, you’ve got to pull out — and always, always call the police department if you have a question, if you think this might be a scam.”

The survival rate for children with cancer has fallen to 65% from 85% before the energy restrictions began in January, according to the report released by Cubadebate. It also said 100,000 children younger than 7 are no longer receiving the daily liter of milk previously provided by the state and that the country’s 16-vaccine immunization program for infants is “at risk.”

Additionally, it said, another 100,000 Cubans are on waiting lists for surgery and the treatment schedules of nearly 3,000 patients requiring kidney dialysis have been disrupted. Regarding medication, 300 of the 395 essential medicines produced on the island are unavailable due to a lack of chemical components required to manufacture medications.

Cuba provides free, universal healthcare, but the system has been pushed to the brink as a result of resource shortages, fuel scarcity and power outages that can last more than 20 hours.

Cuba spent three months without a fuel shipment after the U.S. in January attacked Venezuela, a key supplier, and threatened tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba.

The island was already suffocating under a sharp increase in longtime U.S. sanctions, which prevent it from importing certain goods. The Trump administration demands that Cuba’s socialist government release political prisoners, implement major economic reforms and change its way of governance to avoid becoming a national security threat. Cuba has repeatedly said it poses no threat to the U.S.

As tensions escalate between the countries, United Nations officials have warned of a looming humanitarian crisis. In March, the organization launched an emergency appeal to raise funds for the island, but on Monday said several of its agencies involved with the plan were facing “significant logistical challenges.”

The U.N. said the regional Pan American Health Organization reported delays in shipments of antibiotics and laboratory reagents because of flight cancellations. UNICEF said seven critical shipments of supplies for newborns, valued at $630,000, were stalled in transit, while the World Food Program said 2,900 metric tons of contracted food aid could not be shipped to Cuba because of limitations imposed by shipping lines.

“What we are experiencing now is a unique situation," said Paolo Spadoni, an associate professor at Augusta University in Georgia. “There is no doubt that there were problems with healthcare and basic services in Cuba, but there is also no doubt that these recent events have vastly amplified what was already happening, and that we are now in a different dimension.”

Spadoni acknowledged that Cuba needs reforms and is suffering from systemic failures, but said "it is impossible to deny” that the United States bears responsibility for the “acute humanitarian crisis” unfolding on the island.

Monday's Cubadebate report also stated that about 1,400 megawatts of generating capacity are offline because of shortages of diesel and fuel oil for smaller power plants. It added that larger thermoelectric plants need spare parts that cannot currently be transported.

Additionally, the report said that “logistical and payment hurdles” in wheat purchases have reduced bread supplies to about half of what was available before the energy restrictions and that the lack of fuel has prevented the distribution of 170 containers of essential goods.

“Beyond numbers and coercive measures, the blockade amounts to an extreme and unjustifiable form of collective punishment inflicted on the Cuban people,” the report concluded. ___

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

As Mexico celebrated its World Cup-opening victory over South Africa on Thursday, Merlin, a 2-year-old duck dressed in the national team’s colors, became an unlikely internet sensation and the tournament’s first unofficial mascot.

Images of Merlin parading through Mexico City, wearing a Mexican national team jersey — and socks — as thousands of fans celebrated, quickly went viral, racking up millions of views across social media. Overnight, and as if by the magic of the famous wizard who inspired his name, Merlin had captivated the internet.

“We want to see Merlin in the stadium,” one user wrote. “This duck is already a national treasure,” said another. “The best thing about the World Cup so far,” declared a third.

In Mexico City, however, Merlin was already something of a local celebrity.

A familiar sight at fairs and events in the historic city center, the duck regularly accompanies his owner, Carla Gómez, who sells water and soft drinks from a little cart each weekend. Along the way, the animal attracts plenty of delighted squeals, affectionate greetings and eager requests from passersby for a photo together.

“We don’t like to leave him alone at home; we like him to be with us. He’s our baby,” Gómez said. “He’s the baby, the sole heir to all my possessions and now an idol.”

Rain or shine, Merlin follows Gómez and her young son Cristian through some of the capital’s best-known landmarks, including Alameda Central, the Palace of Fine Arts and the Zócalo square. The duck shares a particularly close bond with Cristian, for whom he was originally a gift, becoming what Gómez describes as the boy's inseparable companion.

“Merlin had already become famous for selling bottled water,” Gómez said, recalling her surprise at her pet’s sudden rise to fame.

“He is always with us; we never imagined he’d become such a sensation,” she added. “We weren’t expecting it.”

On Monday, Gómez — and Merlin — met with FIFA representatives to shoot photos and a commercial. Now, the family hopes Mexico’s famous feathered supporter can continue bringing luck to the host nation, which is staging the World Cup for the third time after hosting the tournament in 1970 and 1986 — this time a co-host alongside Canada and the United States.

“Mexico, we are with you,” Gómez said. “And Merlin is your No. 1 fan.”

___

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

More than 8,000 Detroiters participated in the survey, representing all 39 of the city’s zip codes. The survey was conducted in five languages, and officials say the response shaped a clear agenda for the Sheffield administration.

Six priorities driving Detroit’s next chapter

Residents identified six major priorities: thriving neighborhoods, safe and just communities, infrastructure and reliable transportation, open and accessible government, equitable pay and workforce development, and opportunities for youth outside of school.

Teferi Brent, Director of the Office of Neighborhood and Community Safety for the City of Detroit, said the overlap between safety and neighborhoods is intentional. “Safety and neighborhood investments are not separate issues,” Brent said. “People stop feeling safe in their own neighborhoods.”

The city says mental health and crisis response teams are now available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in Detroit.

Bus reliability and driver pay on the city’s radar

Infrastructure and reliable transportation ranked among the top concerns. The city says it is working to reduce missed and late buses by adding staff and increasing driver pay by $6 per hour to $25 per hour.

Youth and transparency also top of mind

Detroiters also flagged equitable pay and after-school opportunities for young people as priorities. Brent called for expanded summer programming, saying the city should “occupy the summer” with $1.5 million and bring back initiatives like midnight basketball.

Residents also pushed for greater transparency — something the Sheffield administration says goes beyond maintaining a balanced budget.

A new city role has also been created to help residents and businesses better navigate city services.

Trump had been touting the emerging deal for weeks and the continuing conflict threatened to overshadow the UFC mixed martial arts extravaganza, where combatants inside a wire-mesh Octagon tried to punch, kick, chop and pummel each other into submission.

Ahead of the event, however, the president said an agreement to end the conflict “is now complete." He declared that the U.S. will end its blockade of Iran, and that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen. Crucial details still need negotiating over the coming weeks, however.

Top administration officials and Republican leaders attended the fights, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Polish President Karol Nawrocki was also at the White House.

It started with Trump and UFC chief Dana White walking together from the Oval Office to the Blue Room Balcony to survey the Octagon, standing for the national anthem as fighter jets thundered overhead.

Thousands of spectators crowded into the temporary arena under “ The Claw,” a spaceship-like metal arch fitted with lights, sound equipment and large screens. Thousands more watched on big screens from the nearby Ellipse.

“This event is a one of one event, incredible event,” said White, a close friend of the president's, during a Friday night hype session at the Lincoln Memorial, where pairs of fighters shoved and scuffled for the cameras under the stoic gaze of Honest Abe’s marble likeness.

Before Sunday's final fight, lightweight fighters Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, who wrapped himself in an American flag, each stepped out of the Oval Office and walked to the Octagon — meaning Trump even ceded his workspace as part of the show.

The American Gaethje then stunned Spanish-Georgian Topuria to win after four rounds that left copious blood on the cage floor. Trump later headed inside the cage to shake hands and watch a fireworks display that launched well after 1 a.m.

That capped a night where many of the winning fighters thanked Trump and God. Heavyweight Josh Hokit took it further with an extraordinary and unfounded attack based on a right-wing conspiracy theory about a former first lady: “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”

Hokit also headed over to Trump and placed a chain around the president's neck.

Rain didn't mar fights

Wearing a suit and tie despite the summer heat, Trump a lot of time was sitting stoned-faced, watching the action through wire-mesh cage. At one point he spoke briefly with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

When American Sean O’Malley fought Canadian Aiemann Zahabi, Trump donned a white USA hat. After O'Malley won, he shook Trump’s hand and saluted the president.

Earlier, as Diego Lopes was defeating American Steve Garcia in the opening fight, the president could be seen speaking to first lady Melania Trump. After Bo Nickal knocked out Kyle Daukaus in the second fight, Nickal went over to Trump and kneeled down, chatting briefly.

“I gotta thank President Trump for making this happen,” Nickal said in a subsequent interview, as Trump grinned. Nickal added that the president is a “special person,” before Trump-favorite “YMCA" played.

The president sought to tie the fights to larger celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But it was so geared toward himself that the G7 summit for leaders of industrialized nations pushed back their get-together so Trump was able to attend his party, then fly to Europe for the meetings.

The weekend wasn't all smiles for Trump, though. Crews pried Trump’s name off the Kennedy Center near the White House after a judge ruled naming it after the president had gone too far. And, before the fight began, UFC Middleweight champion Sean Strickland — an outspoken critic of Israel — was escorted out of the Ellipse by a crowd of law enforcement officers.

Still, predicted thunderstorms that delayed the UFC event briefly, never produced rain. Trump posted online later, that the weather was “perfect” and, “The White House has never looked more beautiful. The setting was unsurpassed!”

A dramatic departure from how the last president marked his 80th

The crowd repeatedly chanted, “USA! USA!” when an American fighter faced a foreign opponent. Until the finale, that didn’t always help the American fighter prevail. After winning his fight, Brazil's Mauricio Ruffy proposed to his girlfriend who — in Trumpian fashion — flashed a thumb's up from the crowd.

It was all a very long way from when Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, turned 80 in November 2022. Biden celebrated with a private family brunch at the White House, laying bare just how much and how quickly things have changed.

Asked about the contrast, White House spokesperson Allison Schuster in a statement called the UFC event “one of the most entertaining nights in American history.”

When he turned 80, Biden was the oldest president in U.S. history, and was months away from launching a reelection bid that he would ultimately abandon after a disastrous debate against Trump and mutiny among Democrats.

Trump has now supplanted Biden as the oldest person to be elected U.S. president. He’s constitutionally barred from running again, yet constantly toys with the notion. That’s despite polls showing rising public skepticism about Trump’s mental and physical health.

A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted in April found that less than half of U.S. adults think Trump has the mental sharpness or physical health to serve effectively as president.

The White House countered with a statement from Trump's former White House physician, Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, saying Trump's “stamina, focus, and strength are exceptional and on display every day." Jackson added that polling concerns were “being propagated by the same biased, liberal, Trump-hating press that completely ignored the absolute cognitive and physical disaster that was President Biden.”

‘Bread and circuses’ — Trump-style

The UFC was an apt metaphor for Trump's pugilistic political style. He is as big a fan of cage-match-style politics as he is of cage-fighting itself.

But Trump has also long been a master of political misdirection, purposely presenting people with something other than his presidency to focus on when things aren’t going well.

With the war in Iran having kept gas prices high and renewing concerns about inflation while Trump's job approval ratings fall, a White House birthday party unlike anything America has ever seen can certainly qualify as a diversion.

“This is all distraction,” said Mike Fontaine, a classics professor at Cornell University, who likened it to the gladiatorial games of Imperial Rome, when combatants brutalized each other for public entertainment meant to bolster rulers’ popularity and quell potential unrest.

“This is a classic strategy," Fontaine said. “In ancient Rome, the phrase would be, ‘bread and circuses.’”

Trump says the UFC is paying for the event and while its full costs haven't been divulged, the National Park Service said in a court filing that $60-plus million and tens of thousands of hours of labor went into it, while seven government agencies have “allocated significant resources and manpower.”

UFC also announced that it was adding as an official partner for the event World Liberty Financial to create a special $250,000 athlete bonus pool for Sunday night’s winners. The cryptocurrency company is co-owned by the Trump family, founded with the president’s special diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff and run by his son, Zach.

The arrangement further blurs lines between the Trump family's financial interests and the events and construction projects the president has prioritized and used government resources to pull off.

Still, Fontaine said that when it comes to a personal flair for pageantry, the president’s second-term tendency to lean into “hardcore masculinity and brute fighting” is marrying the UFC's blood sport with Trump's trademark humor and enduring sense of showmanship.

“President Trump has a once-in-a-generation talent for this stuff,” he said.

___

Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein contributed to this report.

The S&P 500 rose 1.7% on hopes that this time, the announcement of an Iran-U.S. agreement will mean a long-term fix to a conflict that has worsened inflation around the world. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 468 points, or 0.9%, to a record, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 3.1%.

Stocks got a lift after the price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 4.8% to $83.17, back to where it was in early March. While that’s still above its price of roughly $70 from before the war, it’s lower than the $100 plus it cost just a few weeks ago. The hope is that lower oil prices will take pressure off households and businesses, which have had to pay higher prices for everything from food to fuel to fertilizer because of the war with Iran.

Iran confirmed the deal, but it does not include a final agreement on issues like Iran’s nuclear program. Negotiations on that are expected to continue over the next 60 days, which leaves opportunity for hiccups that could derail the agreement. And even if the Strait of Hormuz does fully reopen on Friday as expected, it will likely take months for the energy industry to get back to full speed.

For now, though, relief swept through financial markets worldwide.

On Wall Street, stocks of companies with big fuel bills were instant winners. United Airlines flew 3.9% higher, and cruise operator Royal Caribbean Group rose 6.6%.

Stocks of companies enmeshed in the artificial-intelligence industry also jumped. These stocks have yo-yoed in recent weeks, going from roaring to records to suddenly turning lower. The concern is whether such stocks shot too high, too fast because of AI mania, and their careening moves have sometimes reversed direction by the hour.

Micron Technology rallied 10.8%, and Advanced Micro Devices rose 7%. Nvidia’s climb of 3.5% was the strongest force pushing the S&P 500 upward because the AI chip company is Wall Street’s most valuable company, giving it more weight on the index than any other.

SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company that also owns the AI company xAI, rose 19.6% in its second day of trading on Wall Street. Its successful debut on the Nasdaq suggested plenty of demand still exists among investors for AI. The market has given SpaceX a total value of more than $2.1 trillion, making it bigger than Exxon Mobil, Bank of America and Coca-Cola combined.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased on hopes that lower oil prices will remove pressure on central banks to raise interest rates.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.47% from 4.48% late Friday.

Europe’s central bank last week became the first major one in the world to raise interest rates because of the war with Iran. High interest rates can keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow economies and undercut prices for all kinds of investments, including stocks and cryptocurrencies. They hit investments seen as the most expensive in particular, and some critics are calling the AI industry a bubble where investment inflated too far.

The Fed will announce its latest decision on interest rates later this week, which will be the first under its new chair, Kevin Warsh. Traders see it as a near certainty that the Fed will leave its main interest rate steady after its two-day meeting ends Wednesday.

Traders had been raising bets that the Fed may have to raise interest rates this year because of how much inflation has accelerated and how solid the U.S. job market remains. But the tentative deal between the United States and Iran means traders are now betting on only a 57% chance of a hike this year, down from 71% a week ago, according to data from CME Group.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, Roku fell 1.9% after the company announced that Fox Corp. is buying the streaming pioneer in a cash-and-stock deal valued at approximately $22 billion.

Roku’s stock had already soared 20% Friday, when media reports emerged about a deal, which will give Fox access to the Roku channel, first-party data and more than 100 million global streaming households. Fox’s stock fell 16.8%.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 122.83 points to 7,554.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 468.77 to 51,671.03, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 795.10 to 26,683.94.

In stock markets abroad, indexes climbed in Asia and Europe. Japan’s Nikkei 225 leaped 5% for one of the world’s biggest gains and finished at a record.

“This is great news,” said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex. “Buying by foreign investors is leading the market with expectations of easing tensions around the situation in the Middle East.”

South Korea’s Kospi soared even more, 5.2%, thanks in part to continued rallies for AI winners like Samsung Electronics.

London’s FTSE 100 was an outlier and slipped 0.4%.

___

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach and Senior Producer Mayuko Ono contributed to this report.

The proposed curfew would take effect at 8 p.m. on June 22 and remain in place until 6 a.m. the following morning.

Detroit Police 1st Assistant Chief Franklin Hayes pointed to recent incidents across the country as justification for the measure at the Public Health and Safety Committee meeting.

“We’ve seen what’s going on, quite frankly, around the country as recent as this past weekend,” Hayes said. “A neighboring city had to shut down a festival in Dearborn Heights as it relates to these mass gatherings of unsupervised teens.”

City Council has approved similar curfews in previous years. This year’s proposal, however, comes as communities nationwide grapple with a growing trend of so-called “teen takeovers.”

Several residents called into the meeting to share their opinions. Most of those who spoke opposed the curfew.

“People shouldn’t be excluded from their own city, regardless of age,” one resident said.

Another resident offered a different view: “I support the ordinance in as much as anyone, regardless of age, race, whether you live in the city or not, can be a victim of senseless actions.”

After public comment, the committee approved forwarding the proposal to the full City Council — but without a recommendation. That means committee members did not take a position for or against the measure.

Detroit Police Commissioner Darryl Woods said he hopes the full council approves the curfew.

“We are not saying that children are not allowed to come,” Woods said. “We’re saying that a responsible parent or guardian needs to be with them. We want to keep them safe.”

The full City Council is expected to vote on the temporary curfew at Tuesday’s meeting, which begins at 10 a.m.

---> Here’s how to watch the 2026 Ford Fireworks live from Detroit

More players are coming early, not so much to avoid the rush but to avoid the wait.

“It's gotten terrible,” Justin Thomas said leading into the third major of the year. “You have to sign up for tee times at the (British) Open and U.S. Open, and then people sign up with you and play in a foursomes. You can't play nine holes in less than three hours.”

The way around that is to follow a script from Jack Nicklaus back in his prime — see the course early before it becomes populated with pros and amateurs, contenders and dreamers.

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy took a detour on their way to Ohio two weeks ago to play Shinnecock Hills, the first time seeing it for the No. 1 player, a refresher course for McIlroy.

Jon Rahm arrived last Friday to see what he should expect for the U.S. Open. Patrick Reed, who hasn't played since the PGA Championship last month, is said to have played the course more often than some of the Shinnecock members.

This is one of the most energy-draining weeks of the year, a product of the mental stress a course like Shinnecock — and a major like the U.S. Open — tends to elicit.

Thomas and Jordan Spieth arrived over the weekend and played practice rounds two days before the official start of practice rounds. They didn't have the course all to themselves, but it felt like it. And it beat the alternative of long rounds when players hit different clubs off the tee, dozens of shots from the rough and closely mown area around the green, putting to all four corners of the green.

Their preparation largely done, official practice days are now light work. That's the Nicklaus way.

“That's why I never wanted to practice then,” Nicklaus said of the early part of the week at the majors. “I got my practice in the week before so I knew what I wanted to do, instead of waiting for everybody else. I didn't like that. So I tried to get my practice in, and go back on Tuesday (of major week). I didn't want to get stuck in that six hours.

“If I had been there the week before, why did I need to get there on Monday?”

McIlroy had limited practice time at the PGA Championship because of a nagging blister on his right toe. But then, he had come to Aronimink two weeks earlier for serious practice.

But there was one image during his practice round when McIlroy had a small army tagging along inside the ropes, from television personalities to equipment staff and photographers. It didn't feel very productive to him.

“Too many people inside the ropes I think is the big part of it,” he said of the long practice rounds at the majors. “I think as well, guys are resigned to the fact that they're going to play nine holes, so it's OK to be out there for three hours. No one plays 18-hole practice rounds anymore the week of (a major). I guess it gives everyone the ability to play slow and hit as many balls as they like.”

Tiger Woods used to have his own routine, playing first to have at least nine holes to himself.

One year at the Masters, he walked out of the clubhouse at 7:25 a.m. toward the first tee unaware of a wooden clock at the tee box indicating the course would open at 8 a.m. Not to worry. His caddie, Steve Williams, moved the hands back a half-hour.

Woods stepped onto the tee at 7:28 a.m., saw the clock and moved the big hand back two more minutes and fired away. He was on the links courses of the British Open around 6 a.m. Anything much later than that meant he had overslept.

Scheffler had a dream day of practice at the PGA Championship before he won at Quail Hollow last year. He was the only PGA Tour player on the course the Sunday before official practice because most everyone else was at two PGA Tour events that day.

Monday through Wednesday can be as slow.

“I don't remember it being as bad as it is,” Thomas said. “The U.S. Open and PGA Championship to me are the worst. It's getting treated more like the range and chipping green. I get that you need to get used it — I totally understand that. But it's gotten to be a lot.”

The wind ushered away overnight rain clouds and bathed Shinnecock in bright sunshine on Monday. Wind and the greens are the greatest defense on this century-old course, and it was a preview of the test that awaits. Wyndham Clark already knew that.

“The one thing today is I actually didn’t do a practice round,” he said. “I came in earlier and did some work. This wind is not the normal wind, so if there’s any time to take a day off, it was today."

___

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

The agreement signed electronically Sunday is meant to provide a meaningful truce in a monthslong war that has killed thousands across the Middle East, including the top leaders of Iran's theocracy, and raised the prices of fuel, food and other basic goods far beyond the region. But logistical and military challenges underscored the fragile nature of the deal, which was set for a ceremonial signing Friday in Geneva.

At the core of the pact is a planned reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway whose blockage has choked the supply of the world's oil and natural gas. Yet even a full reopening would not immediately alleviate the global energy crisis its closure created.

Another potential obstacle concerns Israel, which joined the U.S. in launching the war on Feb. 28, but it is not party to the deal. The Israeli military launched airstrikes Sunday in southern Lebanon, where it is fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, and the Israeli defense minister said Monday that the country would not withdraw from land seized in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said the agreement between the U.S. and Iran was Trump's decision. Netanyahu said Israel has its own interests, primarily protecting against a potential nuclear threat from Iran. He said Iran wanted Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, but he stood firm, saying Israel would remain in the buffer zone “as long as necessary.”

“I tell you, citizens of Israel, the struggle is not over. We will need to continue to be vigilant, to remain strong and determined, to defend ourselves as necessary,” he said.

Other uncertainties center on Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which the U.S. and Israel worry could be used to build an atomic weapon despite Tehran's insistence for years that it has no aspirations to do so. The deal gives Iran just 60 days to decide what to do with its supply. It took years for Iran and world powers to negotiate a 2015 agreement to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program.

President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from that accord in his first term, setting the stage for the tensions that culminated in the current war.

The Strait of Hormuz won't open until the deal is signed

Early in the war, Iranian attacks on ships brought traffic in the Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passed before the conflict — to a near standstill. Trump implemented a blockade in response.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said Iran would not start implementing the agreement until after the signing ceremony. The U.S. military said the blockade will remain in place “pending execution” of the deal.

“Do not attempt to cross until explicit direction is given,” it said Monday in an advisory to merchant ships.

Trump, who faced pressure to end the war ahead of congressional midterm elections in November, said that “a lot of great things are going to happen in the Middle East right now.”

“Very importantly, the oil is plummeting down, and the stock market is shooting up like a rocket today,” he said Monday at the G7 summit in France.

While the agreement provides for the “immediate” opening of the strait and lifting of the blockade, the process will take time because there are mines in the strait, and ships are unwilling to risk traversing it, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss outlines of the agreement.

Details remain scant but expected soon

A second senior U.S. official told reporters that details of the agreement would be released within the next two days.

The memorandum of understanding includes the possibility of releasing Iran’s frozen funds, easing sanctions and creating a $300 billion fund to rebuild Iran — all of which would be tied to Iran meeting benchmarks, the official said.

The officials said technical talks would begin Friday after the signing ceremony and that Vice President JD Vance would lead negotiations for the U.S.

Israel says it won't withdraw from Lebanon

The success of the deal rests at least partially on what happens between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel’s bombing of Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday nearly derailed the negotiations, and a previous attack led Iran to fire on Israel and Israel to fire back.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel plans to stay “indefinitely” in land it holds in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip. He also threatened that if Iran attacks Israel over its strikes in Lebanon, Israel will strike Iran with “great force.”

Asked where Israel stands on the deal, David Mencer, a spokesman in Netanyahu’s office, told The Associated Press that Israel and the U.S. remain fully aligned on preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. But he added that Israel will not tolerate attacks from Hezbollah on its territory.

Israel and the U.S. began the war apparently in lockstep, but the war has created deep fractures in that close relationship, with Trump eager to end a conflict that is deeply unpopular with the American public and Netanyahu intent on destroying Hezbollah. Trump appears to have grown increasingly frustrated with the Israeli leader, even occasionally publicly insulting him, including telling The New York Times on Sunday that he was a “very difficult guy.”

Many Lebanese travel to check on homes

In a sign of the deal's fragility, the Lebanese army called on residents not to rush to return to border villages, saying they should follow military instructions because of the danger of “Israeli violations and aggression.”

Many Lebanese who had fled following Israeli evacuation orders and intense fighting were heading south, however, to check on their homes. Celine Fayad, driving south, said she will test how far she could go. Her village, Aitaroun, is along the border with Israel. It was among the first to be occupied and lies in ruins.

“We were expecting to return,” she said. “Thanks to Iran.”

Ali Haidar was among the first to return to Nabatiyeh, the southern city at the heart of the latest Israeli military operations, where many central buildings have been reduced to dust.

“This used to be our home, our childhood home where we have all of our memories. This is where we grew up. Now it’s gone,” Haidar said. “We will return to rubble and sand. It’s better than being displaced.”

Hezbollah, meanwhile, credited Iran with a “major achievement” in reaching the agreement, which it said could lead to “the full liberation of our land, the return of our prisoners to their homeland and families," and reconstruction of war-devastated areas.

Along with praising the deal, the militant group said it was committed to resisting Israel “until full withdrawal is achieved.”

___

Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Price reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; Will Weissert and Aamer Madhani in Washington; Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; Abby Sewell and Sarah El Deeb in Beirut; Najib Jobain in Doha, Qatar; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; and Sylvie Corbet in Evian-les-Bains, France, contributed to this report.

Antonio and Maribel Espaillat, the owners of Jet Set nightclub, could face up to 2 years in prison if found guilty.

The April 8, 2025 collapse reverberated across the Dominican Republic, with authorities working frantically for days to reach people under the rubble.

The ruling Monday by Magistrate Reymundo Mejía Zorrilla of the First Court of Instruction of the National District in Santo Domingo drew frustration from victims' relatives who were hoping for homicide charges that carry stiffer penalties of up to 20 years in prison.

The ruling said that the case did not warrant a homicide charge because that would indicate the defendants knew that their negligence would cause the deaths of the victims. But if they could have foreseen the roof collapse, “logic and reason" suggest they would not have endangered their own lives in addition to those of the victims, the ruling said.

About 30 relatives of the victims had gathered at the courthouse ahead of the hearing, holding hands and praying.

Prosecutors have previously accused the Espaillats of trying to intimidate or manipulate employees. Antonio Espaillat is considered a powerful business person, owning upscale entertainment centers and dozens of local radio stations. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has asserted that it has hundreds of pieces of evidence tying the siblings to the collapse.

Hundreds of people including athletes and politicians were at Jet Set when the roof collapsed, attending a concert by singer Rubby Pérez, who was among the victims. Others included former MLB pitcher Octavio Dotel, who was pulled from the debris but died in a hospital.

The Espaillats will be tried together. No date has been set for the trial.

Anthropic said Friday it has taken its latest artificial intelligence models, known as Fable 5 and Mythos 5, offline to comply with the directive. The AI giant said it did not believe the steps taken by the government were warranted by the concern it flagged about a potential security issue.

Anthropic has said it was limiting use of some its latest technology to select customers because of its ability to surpass human cybersecurity experts in finding and exploiting computer vulnerabilities. The San Francisco-based company has had discussions with the White House previously about the latest models' capabilities.

In the letter Sunday, more than 100 cybersecurity experts and leaders from companies including Adobe and Nvidia asked the U.S. government to lift the export control directives on the Anthropic models and “commit to an open, scientific and transparent process of handling AI risk assessments in the future.”

The letter said that while Anthropic’s Mythos models are “quite good" at finding flaws in software and weaponizing exploits, they are ”not uniquely good at these tasks" and many of the letter's signatories regularly use other foundation and open-source models for security audits and training.

The letter said it is dangerous to take away the best cyber defense capabilities “without a good reason” when America's adversaries are rapidly advancing.

China's models, the letter said, are “only months behind the best American models,” and it is even likely that China's government has access to private capabilities beyond what's been made public.

The export controls marked the U.S. government’s most significant step yet to restrict access to the most advanced AI models. Anthropic released Fable widely last week. That model is a limited version of the more advanced Mythos, to which the company has tightly limited access due to cybersecurity fears.

The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Friday's directive came 10 days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to a month before their public release. Participation by AI developers would be voluntary, the order said.

Tensions have been running high between the Trump administration and the safety-conscious Anthropic, which has sought to put guardrails on the development of AI to minimize any potential risks and maximize its economic and national security benefits for the U.S.

After a contract dispute with the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to declare Anthropic a supply chain risk, an unprecedented move against a U.S. company that Anthropic has challenged in two federal courts. The company said it wanted assurance the Pentagon would not use its technology in fully autonomous weapons and the surveillance of Americans. Hegseth said the company must allow for any uses the Pentagon deemed lawful.

Roku will continue to be run as an open, partner-friendly platform, the companies said Monday, and there appears to be no immediate changes that customers will see. Fox and Roku said that the combined company will become the third-largest player in U.S. television by share of viewing.

Media reports had surfaced on Friday that Roku was looking at its strategic options, including a possible sale. Speculation was rampant as to which companies might be interested in an acquisition. Aside from Fox, names being tossed about as potential buyers included Netflix, Amazon, Comcast and Disney.

The deal will give Fox access to more than 100 million global households, along with the Roku channel and its first-party data. Fox oversees a massive sports, news and entertainment network, as well as Tubi, which it acquired in 2020.

Roku founder Anthony Wood had initially worked within Netflix in the early 2000s as that company attempted to make the seismic shift from renting DVDs, to streaming.

Roku was spun off by Netflix, however, and the company released its first set-top box in 2008.

Wood, who is Roku's chairman and CEO, said his motivation in pursuing the technology was his desire to record and play his favorite show, “Star Trek.”

Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch said in a statement that combining the businesses will bring together Fox's live news and sports content with a streaming platform with large viewership. It will also give Fox more exposure to advertising and streaming subscriptions.

“The combination with FOX is an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate our vision, scale faster and innovate more aggressively for viewers, partners and advertisers,” Wood said in prepared remarks.

Mike Proulx, research director at Forrester, said in an emailed statement that advertising revenue is a critical component of the deal.

“The bigger play here is advertising revenue, something all the major streamers are now jockeying for," he said. "This deal accelerates Fox into that shift with built-in audience scale. With 2026 shaping up as a defining year of streaming consolidation, the market shift is that streaming is no longer just about quality content slates. It’s about controlling the full stack. If this deal closes, Fox will control more of what viewers watch, how they discover it, and how it gets monetized.”

Wood will have an ongoing role at the company and will join the Fox board of directors after the transaction closes.

Murdoch said during a conference call that the combined company will be better positioned for the next decade of video than either company would've been alone.

“We are confident this is the right transaction, at the right moment, for all the right reasons,” he said.

Fox will pay $96 in cash and 0.9693 shares of its Class A common stock for each Roku Class A and Class B share outstanding. The transaction is valued at $160 per Roku share.

Existing Fox shareholders are expected to own approximately 73% of the combined company and Roku shareholders will own about 27%, once the deal closes.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of next year. It still needs approval from Fox and Roku shareholders and also regulatory approval.

Fox's shares tumbled 15% on Monday and Roku declined nearly 2%.

He says he called and came back and kept getting the cold shoulder on reimbursement, until Local 4 checked in.

On May 29, Vince Johnson pulled up to get his car washed. The attendant helped him line his car up, he put it in neutral and thought all was fine.

Until it wasn’t.

“It came off the track and I crashed into the equipment,” Johnson said.

He showed Local 4 the dashcam video of the moment it happened. You can hear him asking if there’s any damage.

“He said, ‘No,’ so then, he lined me up again and we went through no problem that time,” Johnson said.

Then he drove home.

“But, when I got home, I saw the damage,” he said. “I even told them I had a video.”

First, he called. They said they would call him back. He says they never did.

Then, he went back up the next day. The manager said she’d not heard about it.

She said she’d make a report and get back with him. He never heard from her.

He went back up a few days later. He was told to reach out to their customer support, so he sent them photos of the damage.

“I sent them probably about 5 or 6 emails. No response,” he said.

Finally, he decided to get an estimate of the damage. It would cost $863.63.

“I decided to fix it. I figured, they aren’t going to fix it,” Johnson said.

He still wants his money back. He wasn’t getting anywhere on his own.

So, Johnson reached out to Local 4. Local 4 reached out to the car wash company.

Johnson got two messages soon after.

“They told me they would send it off to the district manager and have that person get back with me,” Johnson said.

“If the person that could fix this were standing right here, what would you say to them?” Local 4 asked.

“I want my money back for the damages and now I have three memberships with Jax,” he said. “I don’t trust them now after this – so I want my money back for the membership that I had not used also.”

Local 4 reached out to Jax Kar Wash about Johnson’s situation, and they said they are fully refunding Johnson for the repairs and are offering several years of free membership.

Ibrahim, formerly known as Dollar Brand, passed away peacefully in Germany following a short illness, surrounded by loved ones, the statement issued on behalf of his family said.

Born in Cape Town, Ibrahim rose to international prominence as a pianist, composer and bandleader. With a career spanning more than seven decades, he forged a unique blend of jazz and South African musical traditions, making him a cultural ambassador whose music struck a chord with listeners worldwide.

As one of South Africa’s most respected jazz figures, he famously played at Nelson Mandela ’s 1994 presidential inauguration.

His final public concert in South Africa took place at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in March, when he once again captivated audiences with the musical skill that defined his career.

Paying tribute to her partner, Dr. Marina Umari said he “passed away peacefully with South Africa and its people in his heart.”

“His love for his country never wavered, no matter where in the world he found himself,” she said.

His family said that even though his life is over, his influence and voice would continue to resonate around the world.

President Cyril Ramaphosa paid tribute to the musician, praising his contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle and acknowledging his lasting impact through music.

“Today our nation mourns the passing of an international icon and global citizen whose profound creations honored the South Africa that shaped his political commitment and musical brilliance,” said Ramaphosa.

In 2009, Ibrahim received an Honorary Doctorate in Music from Wits University and the Order of Ikhamanga, a prestigious civilian award, from former President Jacob Zuma in the same year.

Alan Winde, the mayor of the Western Cape, where Ibrahim’s hometown is located, honored the performer and commended him for capturing South Africa’s cultural richness and history in his music.

“South Africa has lost a legend,” Winde said. “Abdullah Ibrahim represented everything that makes South Africa and the Western Cape so remarkable. His music told the story of our unique cultural diversity and past.”

According to his family, Ibrahim will be laid to rest in the German state of Bavaria, where he lived.

___

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

Trump arrived in Evian-les-Bains, France, on Monday for talks with G7 leaders, including some who have been sharply critical of his managing of the roughly 15-week conflict that has led to a surge in global energy prices.

Trump has had sharp disagreement with host French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over failing to consult them before the decision to go to war. Trump has threatened reprisals, including drawing down U.S. troops in all four countries, all members of the NATO military alliance, for their lack of support.

The G7 includes France, the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. Guest nations at this summit include Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya, South Korea, Qatar, Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates.

Here's the latest:

UN chief’s message after US-Iran deal: Israel and Hezbollah must stop fighting

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Hezbollah to allow Lebanon’s government “to have the primacy of arms and authority throughout its territory,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday.

Guterres also called on Israel to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and withdraw its troops, he said.

The U,N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL reports that from midnight until 4 p.m. local time Monday, it observed a decrease in violence and exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah, Dujarric said.

UNIFIL recorded 133 trajectories of projectiles and two airstrikes attributed to Israeli forces during that time period and none from Hezbollah or other armed groups, he said. It also recorded 25 violations of Lebanese airspace.

Before the agreement was announced on Sunday, UNIFIL recorded 1,374 trajectories of projectiles over the weekend, with 1,328 attributed to Israeli forces and the rest “presumably” to Hezbollah, Dujarric said. It also recorded 135 Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says Trump’s Justice Department is investigating him and his wife

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and longtime political rival of Republican President Donald Trump, said Monday the president ordered the Justice Department to investigate him and his wife.

The nature of the alleged investigation was unclear Monday morning. Newsom, said in a video posted on X that federal agents in recent days have knocked on the doors of his friends and former employees, and have asked for records “not because they found a crime, but because they’re simply trying to find one.”

The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the alleged investigation.

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G7 leaders are meeting over dinner

The leaders of the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan were dining outdoors at a large round table at Hotel Royal Évian with views of Lake Geneva.

Canadian firm wins first contract under major EU defense fund as Carney looks beyond US

Prime Minister Mark Carney says a Canadian company has become the first to land a contract under a major European Union defense fund.

Carney made the announcement after meeting with the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the G7 summit.

His office says Montreal-based Marconi Technologies won a contract worth more than $7 million to supply tactical radios made in Canada to Poland’s military.

Canada joined the fund last year as Ottawa looks to diversify away from the United States. The fund allows Canadian defense companies access to a $174 billion (150 billion euros) EU loan program, known as Security Action for Europe, or SAFE. Canadians firms can secure cheap, EU-backed loans

France’s Macron tells Trump that European forces are ready to deploy in Strait of Hormuz

Speaking at a meeting with the U.S. president, the French leader said France could dispatch fighter aircraft as early as Tuesday to fly observation flights over the vital waterway and that France’s nuclear powered aircraft carrier, already in the Middle East, could help out quickly, too.

It is part of a pitch that France and other G7 allies are making at their summit in Evian-les-Bains to reopen the strait as soon as possible so energy supplies flow freely again to world markets, in the wake of the tentative U.S.-Iran deal to end the war.

“Within 48 hours, frigates could also be deployed. And within two to three days, the aircraft carrier,” Macron said.

Trump said: “I don’t think we’re gonna need much help” because the strait is ”going to be open.”

“But I don’t think it’s a bad idea to have a ship or two up here from a few countries. You’d be a great country to do it,” Trump said, addressing Macron.

Trump scheduled greet world leaders before heading to working dinner

After his bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump is scheduled to participate in an official greeting with other G7 leaders.

He is then expected to head to a working dinner for leaders at 7:30 p.m. local time. That’s the last thing on Trump’s public schedule for Monday after he arrived in Evian-les-Bains for the three-day summit.

Trump unsure if he’ll attend Iran deal signing

Trump says he isn’t sure whether he’ll attend the signing of the agreement to end the war in Iran on Friday.

“Well, it depends,” Trump says, during a joint appearance with French President Emmanuel Macron. “I may be involved. I may not.”

“JD was coming in for that,” Trump said, referring to Vice President JD Vance.

Trump is hailing the Iran deal as promising, but not a guarantee.

“Hopefully we get along,” he says. “If we don’t, we go back to where we started.”

Trump says ‘great things are going to happen’ as he discusses Iran deal

Speaking in a hoarse voice at the G7 alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump discussed an agreement he says was reached between the U.S. and Iran.

“I think a lot of great things are going to happen in the Middle East right now, and very importantly the oil is plummeting down and the stock market is shooting up like a rocket today,” Trump said.

Trump added that he “felt badly that we had to go back on the attack for two nights” and said “hopefully it’s going to be a good relationship, and we get along.”

Trump arrived for the summit after celebrating his 80th birthday at a UFC event hosted at the White House on Sunday.

Anti-G7 march organizers lash out at police “provocation and violence”

Activists behind Sunday’s “No G7” protest demanded an apology from Geneva security and judicial officials after police operations that included the use of tear gas and water cannons to disperse stone-throwing youths.

They said police surrounded about 300 people overnight Sunday to Monday, including minors, tourists and passers-by.

“The No G7 demonstration of June 14 surpassed all our expectations,” they said in a statement Monday, adding “30,000 took part despite the climate of anxiety created by the Geneva State Council (and sometimes by the media).”

Police put the turnout at 20,000, including some 600 “black bloc” militants.

Police give details on their response to anti-G7 protests

Geneva police hauled more than two dozen people to police stations and arrested three in connection with violence that marked anti-G7 protests in the city Sunday.

Monica Bonfanti, the Geneva police chief, said in a statement Monday that officers checked the identities of nearly 550 people as part of police operations that included firing tear gas and water cannons against stone-throwing youths at the “No G7” march.

Two demonstrators who fired pyrotechnic devices and another who damaged a police vehicle were arrested and later released, she said.

Bonfanti said the operational tactics of so-called “black bloc” militants complicated the identity checks. She said some had mixed in with peaceful protesters and changed their clothes during the demonstration.

US military says Iran blockade is still in effect

The blockade of shipping to Iranian ports will remain in place “pending execution” of the ceasefire deal scheduled for Friday, the U.S. military said in an advisory to merchant ships.

“Do not attempt to cross until explicit direction is given,” Monday’s notice said.

The advisory went on to tell ship captains to consider “the health and safety of their crews” and to not try to sail to or from Iranian ports “until direction is given.”

It warned ships that they should follow directions from those enforcing the blockade and “failure to immediately comply may result in rapid escalation to disabling or destructive fire.”

Ambassador Charles Kushner, the father of Trump’s son-in-law, greeted president upon arrival at G7

Kushner is Trump’s chief envoy to France, a plum diplomatic assignment, and was there to welcome Trump after Marine One landed in Evian-les-Bains.

His son, Jared Kushner, serves as an envoy in the negotiations with Iran and is also assisting ongoing efforts by the administration to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Charles Kushner, a real estate developer, was pardoned by Trump at the end of his first term after pleading guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations.

Vance says deal has been ‘digitally’ signed

The U.S. vice president disclosed that an interim deal to end the conflict in Iran was electronically signed Sunday ahead of a formal signing ceremony in Switzerland.

The signing ceremony is slated for Friday in Geneva, where Trump landed on his way to attend the Group of 7 summit in France.

“We already signed the deal digitally yesterday, and there’s been no money released, and that won’t change,” Vance said on “Good Morning America.” “Again, this is a performance-based thing.”

Critics of the agreement, as well as reports in Iranian media, have said assets would be released once the deal was signed. But Vance said that’s “not true.”

“We’ll be releasing the text this week, and what everybody will see is that Iran doesn’t get a dime of money unless they perform their obligations,” he added.

Trump to helicopter to the G7 site

The U.S. president is now headed to Evian-Les-Bains, France, where he’ll meet with French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump and Macron will then join the other G7 leaders for a working dinner.

Among those who greeted Trump at the airport in Geneva were Ambassador Callista Gingrich, the U.S. envoy to Switzerland, and her husband, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Trump has landed in Geneva

The president did not talk to reporters during the trip across the Atlantic, though he did send off a few social media posts.

The first item on his agenda once he gets to Evian-les-Bains is to meet with G7 host Macron.

Vance: White House in coming days hopes to release memo of understanding to be signed by US, Iran

“I think when people see this deal—we hope to release the text this week—they’re going to realize that this is going to make the whole region safer,” U.S. Vice President JD Vance said in a Monday appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box.

Vance added that the White House’s expectation is that the Strait of Hormuz “is going to be opened in a toll free way for the long term” but acknowledged much needs to be sorted through in the 60-day technical talks period. Another important issue that will be decided during the technical talk period is the two sides coming to an understanding on how Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium will be disposed of.

Vance signaled that the White House is ready to loosen the economic stranglehold placed on Iran by years of sanctions, but it will “require a long-term commitment” by Iran “to the inspection and verification regime” of the country’s nuclear program.

Macron seeks Trump’s backing for Ukraine and more pressure on Russia

The French president says he’ll seek to persuade President Trump to continue supporting Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia to help reach a peace agreement.

Macron is to meet later Monday with Trump at a G7 summit in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to join Tuesday for talks.

Macron said he wants the United States to say: “We are with you, we will continue to support Ukraine, and we will increase the pressure on Russia to achieve a meaningful negotiation,” speaking in an interview with French broadcaster TF1.

“The right negotiation is one in which Ukraine and Russia are at the table, but with Europeans and Americans present as well,” Macron said.

Macron rejects Trump tariff threats

French president Emmanuel Macron says he will not back down in the face of threats from President Trump to impose 100% tariffs on French wines unless Paris removes its digital tax on U.S. tech companies.

In an interview with broadcaster TF1, Macron said Monday that the tax was decided by Europeans and that it is not “for the United States to decide what European or French law should be.” He added that this position is “normal” and will not change “as long as I am here.”

Wines and spirits exported from the European Union to the U.S. currently face a 15% tariff. Macron said he intends to address the issue in a “respectful but firm” manner during the G7.

“What is important to understand is why the G7 was created,” he said. “To resolve many of our international imbalances, it is better to coordinate and consult with one another, especially when we are among the world’s major democracies.”

Trump has a track record of insults and awkward moments with the G7 leaders

Sometimes it’s over foreign policy issues like Iran or Ukraine. Other times, it’s been over tariffs.

And two of the leaders have endured sitting through clumsy asides by Trump about dark moments in their countries’ histories.

It makes the G7 not unlike a family holiday gathering where “there’s an uncle you don’t quite like,” said Max Bergmann, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

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Macron says France is ready to act quickly to help securing the Strait of Hormuz

Macron said France and other Western partners are “ready to take action very quickly” to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz peacefully.

France and Britain have championed a mission to restore maritime security in the strait as soon as conditions allow.

“We already have forces in the area,” including France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, Macron said in an interview Monday on French television TF1.

“We are ready to take action very quickly ... to send aircraft, deploy a frigate, send mine-clearing vessels. We also have our aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, along with its accompanying strike group, which remains in the region and could be deployed within two or three days following confirmation” of the tentative deal between the U.S. and Iran, he said.

G7 leaders call the Iran deal a ‘diplomatic breakthrough’

Trump has sparred with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom over the Iran war.

Ahead of their meeting at the G7, they issued a joint statement congratulating the United States, the Iranian government and the mediators on what they called a “diplomatic breakthrough.” Canada also signed the statement.

The leaders said it was vital for detailed negotiations to take place and for the deal to be quickly implemented so the Strait of Hormuz can be reopened to tanker traffic.

They say they are committed to playing their part. including the possibility of mine clearance operations.

Macron praises the security bubble placed over the G7 summit

With world leaders flying in, the G7 summit venue in Evian-les-Bains is being transformed from a placid lakeside French town to something of a security fortress, with police patrols on many streets and corners, checking passes and watching crowds.

Macron, the summit host, dropped by a temporary headquarters for the security operation in Evian on Monday morning, to thank officers for their work.

He called the 3-day summit on the Middle East, Ukraine, trade and other issues “a big source of pride for France, a big responsibility.”

“We’ll try to make maximum progress on all the issues that are important for our country, our continent and also for global peace and prosperity,” Macron told assembled police officers, gendarmes, firefighters, health workers and other personnel.

Macron said nearly 13,800 officers were deployed for the security operation.

“Only your collective mobilization makes this possible,” he said. “Good luck for the coming days. Keep up the work.”

Japanese PM says Japan will participate in joint statement with G7’s European nations

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan will participate in a joint statement issued by the Group of Seven’s four European nations calling for cooperation in efforts to quickly reopen the Strait of Hormuz and to end Iran’s nuclear program.

Takaichi, asked about the joint statement, said Japan was requested to be part of it and that “We will join.”

In the statement issued Monday in response to the U.S.-Iran peace deal, France, Britain, Italy and Germany said the rapid and comprehensive implementation of the agreement is vital, and that they are ready to provide support such as ensuring safe commercial shipping and mine clearance in the key waterway, in accordance with respective constitutional requirements.

Takaichi did not give details about a possible Japanese contribution, but said that she planned to thoroughly discuss at the G7 summit ways to achieve peace and stability in the entire Middle East region.

Trump announces plans for July 4 rally in Washington

The president may be on his way to France for the G7 summit, but he continues to lay out details for celebrations to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence.

“On July 4th, at The Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, in beautiful and safe Washington D.C., we are going to host the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all, a “TRIBUTE TO AMERICA,” Trump posted on social media.

Trump said the event will include military flyovers, his personally curated music playlist, and “the LARGEST FIREWORKS SHOW IN HISTORY.”

Trump, in late May, also announced that he would headline “The Great American State Fair,” part of the America 250 celebration, after several musical guests backed out partly over the event’s ties to Trump. Organizers had said that the president’s appearance is slated for June 24 to kick off the state fair.

Macron drinks from spring that gave Evian its name

French President Emmanuel Macron drank a glass of water Monday from the spring that gave the town of Evian-les-Bains its international reputation.

Macron visited the Cachat Spring, named after the owner of the garden through which the water flowed in the late 18th century.

The water was first analyzed in 1807 and was recommended for treating kidney and bladder ailments. It gained popularity as a table water beginning in the 1860s and is now sold worldwide under the Evian brand.

Brazil’s president and head of UN health agency call on world leaders to help fight pandemics

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the head of the U.N. health agency are calling on world leaders to strengthen an accord passed last year to help fight pandemics like COVID-19.

“Humanity promised itself, in the rawness of that grief, that it would not face such a day again unprepared,” they wrote in a joint statement.

Negotiations on a crucial annex to the accord have been stuck over differences about sharing disease-causing pathogens, which often erupt in tropical developing countries, in exchange for access to technologies like vaccines, usually developed in rich nations.

They called on the leaders of the G7 and other international groupings to “instruct your negotiators to come to the July session ready to conclude” the annex.

Trump declares White House UFC fight night ‘incredible’

On his way to the G7 summit, Trump, in a Truth Social post from Air Force One, called the fighters “outstanding“ and the South Lawn setting “unsurpassed.”

“The White House has never looked more beautiful,” Trump added.

Brazil’s Lula first foreign leader to arrive for G7 summit

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was the first foreign leader to arrive Monday at the Hotel Royal in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains ahead of the G7 summit.

Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, India and South Korea have been invited to participate in some discussions as partner countries alongside G7 members.

World leaders, including Trump, are scheduled to be formally welcomed later Monday by French President Emmanuel Macron at the start of the summit.

The Hotel Royal, a five-star property overlooking Lake Geneva and the foothills of the Alps, will host leaders through Wednesday. The hotel is set amid expansive gardens with flowerbeds, water features and English- and Japanese-inspired landscaping.

One lucky winner will win the four passes to the exclusive event, but also a parking pass for the evening. What a fabulous way to ring in the start of summer in downtown Detroit!

You should arrive at the event before 6 p.m. if you want to park near the event. Major expressways are scheduled to close at that time. After 6 p.m., only surface streets will be accessible.

A winner will be announced during Live In The D on Friday, June 19 at 11 AM. The winner will be contacted and must pick up the passes from the Local 4 studios in Downtown Detroit.

To enter the sweepstakes, fill out the form below.

Before the war, the strait carried a fifth of the world’s crude oil. Now, it will take time for hundreds of ships trapped in the Persian Gulf to exit through the narrow strait. And Gulf oil producers that throttled back production will need time to get the oil moving again. Analysts also say ship captains may take their time to decide if passage is safe and that the threat of attack from Iran has truly receded.

All told, oil prices, inflation and energy flows simply won’t see an immediate return to what they were before the war — not for weeks or even months. And that's assuming the deal, set to be signed Friday, proves durable. Details hadn't been released.

When will oil start moving again?

Even if the Strait is completely open, it will take time for tankers to enter, load, and make the journey to Asian countries — the chief customers for Gulf oil from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman. A trip to Japan and back can take 45 to 50 days.

Captains, insurers and owners may take their time in attempting passage, given the volatile situation.

“Operationally, the sector is not rushing back,” wrote Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of shipping data and analysis company Lloyd's List, noting that many warn mine clearance and a return to use of the internationally recognized transit lanes “are prerequisites for safe navigation. ”

Ships have been trickling out through an Iranian-run vetting lane in the north of the strait, while others have slipped out with lights and location systems turned off under U.S. forces' guidance in a southern passage along the coast of Oman. Iran had threatened to attack ships using the internationally established mid-strait transit lanes that keep inbound and outbound ships out of each other's way.

Some 500 commercial vessels remain in the Persian Gulf, according to maritime and energy intelligence firm Kpler, and they can't all leave through the narrow strait at once.

Amena Bakr, head of Middle East energy and OPEC+ insights at Kpler, estimated that clearing mines would take six months, vessels leaving and returning to reload two to three months, and restarting production in some countries to prewar levels another three months.

What does an ‘open’ strait mean? It's not clear that the US and Iran have agreed

Iran has demanded the right to collect money from ships using the strait, and in some cases has already exacted payment to let ships leave. Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that the deal involved a “toll free opening," but there's been no confirmation from Iran.

The period between the deal's announcement and signing "gives both sides scope for issuing conflicting statements on the agreement, especially on the extent to which Iran will manage traffic and demand fees,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

Paying tolls would present a quandary for ship owners, since the U.S. and EU have designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, and the U.S. Treasury has sanctioned the entity Iran has announced to run its collections. Unless those sanctions are modified, paying exposes shippers and banks to sanctions.

Legal experts say allowing Iran to control passage would violate international law on freedom of navigation as set down in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which requires countries to permit peaceful passage through territorial waters. The strait's waters are shared by Iran to the north and Oman to the south.

Oil producers need time to get operations underway again, too

Some producers in the Middle East paused extracting oil from the ground, known as a shut-in, when they ran out of storage space. Restarting those operations can be a slow process.

Countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which were able to export some oil through alternate pipelines or routes besides the Strait of Hormuz, may be among the quickest to resume production, said Alan Gelder, senior vice president of refining, chemicals and oil markets at Wood Mackenzie, an analytics firm.

"Places like Iraq could be much more challenged because they’ve had a much bigger shut-in, their fields are more difficult ... it may well take about a year before they get back,” he said.

Claudio Galimberti, chief economist at Rystad Energy, noted in an emailed comment that “sentiment has clearly improved. But sentiment is not the same as supply.”

“It will take time for production to ramp back up, for logistics to normalize, and for the risk premium embedded in crude prices to dissipate,” he said.

Countries won’t restart until they know there is a durably open strait and that a ceasefire will last more than 30 or 60 days, said Daniel Sternoff, senior fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.

Economists at Capital Economics estimate that energy flows would reach 80% of prewar levels by September.

Inflation will not drop immediately

Even if the deal reopens the strait immediately, that will not immediately send inflation lower, economists say.

Inflation is ”set to stay above target in most major economies throughout this year and the first half of next, even as growth remains relatively weak,” said Neil Shearing, group chief economist at Capital Economics.

Inflation could even rise when government measures aimed at easing the energy shock expire, Joachim Nagel, the head of Germany's Bundesbank central bank said in a speech Monday.

That includes Germany's temporary lowering of fuel taxes by 17 euro cents per liter, which runs through June 30.

“It will take months for the oil supply to return to normal,” Nagel said.

The Israeli leader said at a news conference Monday that “with an agreement, without an agreement,” he would continue fighting to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, which Tehran has long maintained it isn't trying to do, saying its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.

"As long as I am the prime minister of Israel, it will not happen,” Netanyahu said, emphasizing that the deal was struck by the United States, not Israel, and that he didn't budge on Iran's request that Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon be part of the pact.

“Iran wanted us to withdraw from there, but that did not happen. Do you know why it didn’t happen, among other reasons? Because I stood very, very firm,” he said.

But other Israeli government officials, rivals, politicians and commentators were quick to criticize the preliminary deal, marking a sort of informal referendum on the premier’s tenure ahead of elections this fall and underscoring his deepening isolation at home, in the region and, increasingly, from the United States.

Critics say Netanyahu led President Donald Trump into the war with Iran while overpromising what it could achieve, and Trump now might be dragging Israel out of the conflict before it feels ready. They say the prime minister misjudged Trump's appetite for a protracted conflict, was outflanked by Iran in negotiations and grew increasingly sidelined by the region's other major players.

“Israel is paying the price of Netanyahu’s hubris and blindness, and the price of the manipulations that he tried to pull on Trump," former Prime Minister and Netanyahu rival Ehud Barak said in an interview with Israel's public broadcaster Monday. “Iran emerged stronger; Israel emerged weaker. That is Netanyahu’s strategic responsibility. He failed.”

Yair Lapid, who will challenge Netanyahu in the upcoming elections, wrote Sunday that the deal, which would extend the tenuous ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran and lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, was shaping up to be “one of the most shocking failures in Israel’s foreign and security policy ... entirely registered in Netanyahu’s name.”

“It can be fixed, it must be fixed,” he wrote. “Netanyahu can no longer fix it, we will do it.”

Iran deal could hamper Israel's operation in Lebanon

Even though Israel isn't party to the deal, it finds itself in something of a quagmire, in part because it invaded southern Lebanon after Iran-backed Hezbollah fired missiles at northern Israeli towns during the first week of the war.

Since negotiations began, Iran has insisted that any deal to wind down the U.S.-Iran front include a cessation of Israeli hostilities in Lebanon. But on Monday, Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed to keep troops in Lebanon.

As negotiations progressed and Trump increasingly sought a way out of war, he grew furious over Israel’s strikes in Beirut, warning they could jeopardize an agreement. In the end, the president decided to end the Iran conflict, even if it curtailed Israel's options in Lebanon.

That has left Netanyahu in a precarious situation. His relationship with Trump may require downscaling a military campaign in Lebanon that is widely popular in Israel.

“All Hezbollah has to do is get one rocket across into an Israeli town in northern Israel, and then the pressure on Netanyahu — which he’s already hearing from his own base and from the opposition ... will ramp up," said Daniel Shapiro, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and a Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council.

“It’s going to be very hard to resist that," Shapiro said. "And that gives a lot of power to control this dynamic to Hezbollah, and essentially to Iran.”

Indeed, some of the more hawkish members of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition have slammed the new deal and urged the prime minister to continue the Lebanon campaign, even if it upsets the U.S. and risks scuttling the agreement.

“We must not compromise on anything less than the dismantling of Hezbollah,” Israel’s ultranationalist national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, wrote on X.

Israelis say Netanyahu did not meet his war goals in Iran

In Lebanon, the deal left the future of Israel's campaign uncertain. But in Iran, the deal tied Netanyahu's hands before he met his war goals.

Netanyahu and the U.S. launched the war on Feb. 28 with the aim of destroying Iran’s nuclear ambitions. But nearly four months later, after Iran withstood a withering aerial campaign, Tehran is in a much stronger position, analysts and critics say. It's proxy network survives and is still able to fire missiles into Israel.

Tehran has been able to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important waterways, choking global trade and driving up prices for basic needs worldwide. It is also unclear how much damage was done to Iran's nuclear infrastructure and ballistic missile program.

“Israel believes that the war delayed the Iranian nuclear program, but did not change its objectives,” political commentator Anna Barsky wrote for Ma'ariv, a major Hebrew daily newspaper. She said Israeli officials are also worried that under its deal with the U.S., Iran could receive a major influx of cash.

According to three regional officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations, the agreement is expected to include the phased lifting of sanctions and a release of frozen Iranian assets.

“Trump signs an agreement that funnels billions to the Ayatollahs’ regime, leaves the nuclear infrastructure intact, preserves the ballistic threat as is, and throws a lifeline to the murderous regime in Tehran,” Yair Golan, center-left party leader and former general, posted on X.

Christie’s auction house said Monday that it's the first copy of the novel in the publisher’s original cloth binding to be auctioned since 1908. Only about 250 copies of the first edition were printed, and this one has been in a private library since shortly after its publication in 1847.

“The vast majority of surviving copies were rebound for collectors or libraries, meaning original cloth examples are now extremely scarce,” said Christie’s books and manuscripts specialist Mark Wiltshire.

Being sold along with a copy of sister Anne Brontë’s “Agnes Grey,” it’s expected to sell for between 400,000 pounds and 600,000 pounds ($540,000 and $800,000) at a June 30 auction in London. Both books carry the male pen names the sisters adopted to get published: Ellis Bell for Emily and Acton Bell for Anne.

“Wuthering Heights” was rushed to publication after the success of Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre,” and the first edition is notorious for its typographical errors including, Wiltshire noted, the occasional misspelling of the word “heights.”

Emerald Fennell ’s recent movie with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as mismatched pair Cathy and Heathcliff is the latest work to be inspired by — and take liberties with — Brontë’s brooding, Gothic tale.

The novel shocked some critics when it was published, with one in 1848 decrying its “vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors.”

Since then, Wiltshire said, it has “moved beyond literature to become a cultural touchstone,” inspiring art, music — notably Kate Bush’s pop-operatic 1978 song — and multiple film adaptations.

“It remains a work that artists return to again and again because of its emotional force, its atmosphere, and its psychological intensity, ensuring its place not only in literary history but in wider cultural imagination,” Wiltshire said.

American singer Oliver Tree was among those listed on the passenger list filed with aviation authorities for one of the helicopters that crashed into the parking lot of a car dealership, although police did not yet confirm his body was found in the crash.

Police confirmed the death of Gaspar Prim Díaz — an Argentine content creator known as Gaspi with more than 2.8 million followers on YouTube — another Argentine Lucas Vignale and three Brazilians — Lucas Brito, Charles Marsillac and Alexandre Souza. The body of one foreigner was not yet identified.

Human error might have led to the collision between the two helicopters, Rio de Janeiro police investigator Alan Luxardo told reporters Monday at the crash site. He added that authorities were investigating whether air traffic controllers or one of the pilots was responsible for the crash.

Tree, 32, was visiting Rio as part of a world tour that included stops in Argentina, Brazil, Portugal and Spain. On Saturday, the singer and comedian had published a comical video where Tree was seen playing soccer in a Brazilian neighborhood.

Some celebrities began to publish tributes to Tree on Sunday, including Jake Paul, a promoter known for taking on professional boxers in highly publicized fights, who called the singer “one of the most kind and funny people in the world.”

Drew Binsky, a content creator known for visiting every country in the world, wrote on Instagram that Tree had come to him for travel advice because the singer also wanted to visit every country.

“We just spoke a few days ago and I was planning to show him around Prague in three weeks,” Binsky wrote. “He has become a great friend of mine and is genuinely one of the kindest and most positive people I've ever met.”

Argentine streaming channel Blender thanked Gaspi for his art in a post on X.

“Every one of us will miss you,” Blender said.

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

Sara Carter, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, sent an open letter Monday to WADA and its stakeholders. It comes a day before an “extraordinary meeting” of the WADA executive committee at which it will discuss recommendations from a “working group” put together in the wake of a doping case involving Chinese swimmers.

Carter derided what she said was the “unjustifiable exclusion” of U.S. authorities from the meeting. WADA spokesman James Fitzgerald said the U.S. wasn't invited due to its government's refusal to pay its WADA dues, which is part of a bigger feud between the U.S. and the global anti-doping regulator stemming from the China doping saga and a long-running scandal involving Russia.

“The working group’s objective and recommendations are designed to strengthen the independence and credibility of the anti-doping process, including at major events,” Fitzgerald said.

Among the group's recommendations would be to transfer some testing responsibilities to an independent agency and away from the hands of a host-country anti-doping agency. For the LA Olympics in two years, that could weaken the role of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which has fought WADA hard over its handling of the Russian and Chinese affairs.

"The robust and vigorous participation of NADOs in the anti-doping ecosystem is of particular importance to the United States as we strive to ensure the cleanest Olympic and Paralympic Games ever,” Carter wrote.

Fitzgerald said Tuesday's meeting is only to discuss the recommendations and no action is planned.

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

The event at GLC Live at 20 Monroe in Grand Rapids was promoted by Salita Promotions, with the main card airing live on DAZN while the undercard streamed live on the Wynn Records Network.

In the co-feature, Pagan opened the fight aggressively, walking Bustamante down with fast combinations and precision. Pagan consistently had his opponent in trouble against the ropes, pressing forward with a mix of combos to the head and body.

Just when it looked like Bustamante (23-2-1, 13 KOs) was bouncing back after a disappointing third, Pagan landed a huge right in the final minute of the fourth that stunned Bustamante.

It was more of the same dominance in the fifth and sixth, with Pagan pocketing rounds and forcing Bustamante to eat constant unanswered shots against the ropes.

Pagan kept his foot on the gas over the final three rounds and was never in trouble, cruising to a clear decision that thrilled his hometown crowd and was scored 99-91, 98-92,100-90.

“I’d rate my performance tonight a solid B – I know I could have done better and probably could have gotten him out of there, but a little cage rust played a factor,” said Pagan after the fight. “I’ll watch the tape and improve. My opponent was incredibly tough – he’s a classic Mexican fighter from Culiacán with great counterpunching skills and a ton of heart. I’m ready for bigger opportunities, and I absolutely see myself fighting for a major title within my next fight or two."

In the main event, Abraham Perez won the WBA Interim World Flyweight Title with a split decision victory of defending champion Jonathan Gonzalez.

Albuquerque native Perez (15-0, 7 KOs) seemingly dictated the pace and distance of the evenly matched bout from the outset.

The undefeated contender, who swept the championship rounds on all but one scorecard, was able to keep Gonzalez largely at bay and landed the stronger shots when it mattered most.

The close and competitive fight was scored 115-113 twice for Perez and 115-113 for Gonzalez.

“I stayed busy and had the better angles on my shots,” Perez said. “I took opportunities when I had them and stayed mobile, tried to stay unpredictable. I still don’t feel like that was my best. I need to stay sharp with my punches. It’s been a rough journey, but it didn’t end.”

Gonzalez (29-5-1, 14 KOs) was making the first defense of the interim belt and admitted he disagreed with the decision.

“I won the fight, I landed the better shots,” Gonzalez said. “He throws a lot of punches, but I thought I landed the better shots. I’m disappointed and surprised, but it’s part of the sport.”

Undefeated middleweight prospect Jaquan McElroy won a shutout unanimous decision victory over Damian Munoz in the second DAZN bout of the evening.

McElroy (7-0, 2 KOs) displayed superior movement and accuracy from the outset, hitting Munoz with thunderous punches to the head and body.

Despite McElroy’s high connect rate, Munoz remained on the front foot and returned fire.

Munoz (4-3, 2 KOs) landed perhaps the biggest shot of the fight in the final round, but it did little to faze McElroy, who won 62-54 on all three scorecards in front of his promoter and fellow Flint native Claressa Shields.

“I tried to showcase my skills for everyone here tonight,” said McElroy. “It means a lot to have her here supporting me. Big things are coming.”

After commentating on the DAZN broadcast, Shields joined her fighter in the ring following the win to tease an upcoming announcement.

“More and more big fights are coming,” Shields said. “I can’t say who, where or what weight class, but it’s coming. All my fans are going to show up and Jaquan will be on the undercard. We’re building a strong brand and we have some great fights in the works.”

In the all-action opening bout on DAZN, new Salita Promotions signee Caleb Tirado won a hard-fought unanimous decision over Osmar Rodriguez, scored 59-55, 58-56 twice.

The Puerto Rico vs. Mexico matchup did not disappoint, as both Arecibo’s Tirado (2-0, 1 KO) and Rodriguez exchanged explosive shots from the opening bell with little regard for defense.

After an intense exchange in the closing moments of the second round, the steady pace continued in the third and fourth rounds.

While Tirado won handily, Rodriguez (6-7, 2 KOs), of San Luis Potosi, did his best work in the last two rounds, culminating into a slugfest for the final 30 seconds that had the crowd on their feet.

In the Wynn Records Network main event, undefeated middleweight contender Troy Isley (16-0, 6 KOs) scored two knockdowns in a fifth round TKO of Leonardo Di Stefano (17-8, 14 KOs).

Isley scored his first knockdown in the fourth and kept his foot on the gas, flooring Di Stefano again in the fifth. Di Stefano was able to beat the count but continued to take a beating without returning fire, forcing referee Ben Rodriguez to stop the bout at 55 seconds of the fifth round.

“I made a statement that puts the middleweight division on notice,” said Isley, who won the WBA Continental USA Middleweight Title. “I was sharp right from the opening bell, did everything we worked on in camp, and got the stoppage right when I predicted I would. My opponent definitely came to fight, but I don’t want easy victories anyway. We want the big fights – I want Erislandy Lara and Carlos Adames. I’m ready for the world title shot.”

Added Wynn Records Network CEO Ruben Branson: “I think Troy made a huge statement. Troy told me he wouldn’t let me down and everything he said, he did. We can expect bigger and better things from Troy Isley.”

Also on the undercard, undefeated super lightweight Lance Smith (7-0, 5 KOs) edged Jovanis Rodriguez (2-1-2, 1 KOs) via unanimous decision (39-37 twice, 40-36) in an all-action four-round bout.

At the opening bell, both fighters found success exchanging punches at a frenetic pace. Rodriguez threw majority of his punches to the head while Smith invested in the body attack.

The body punches paid dividends for Smith has Rodriguez’s pace progressively slowed, round-by-round. By the fourth and final round, Smith had grown stronger while Rodriguez was visibly exhausted.

Undefeated heavyweight prospect and Flint native Sardius Simmons (9-0, 5 KOs) scored a highlight-reel second round knockout of Walter Burns (8-5, 6 KOs).

Burns utilized an unorthodox cross guard defense that was stubborn and kept Simmons at bay in the first round.

By the second round, Simmons found an opening in the defense and capitalized, landing a massive left hook to the body followed by a left hook to the chin that sent Burns crumbling to the canvas.

The win marks Simmons’ second-straight TKO victory.

In a women’s streaming bout, undefeated featherweight Shannel Butler (8-0, 3 KOs) won an eight-round unanimous decision (80-72, 79-73 twice) over Mayerlin Rivas (17-7-3, 11 KOs).

Butler cruised to victory showing exactly why she’s nicknamed “The Sniper.” Her lightning-fast hands, evasiveness and high ring IQ allowed Butler to snipe jabs and counter right hands from long range over the course of the fight.

Rivas tried to utilize her own long-range jab and footwork to counter Butler but was unable to out-snipe “The Sniper.”

In the opening fight of the afternoon on Wynn Records Network, former heavyweight world title challenger Bryant Jennings (27-4, 15 KOs) scored a third-round knockdown en route to a unanimous decision win over Robert Simms (12-7-1, 3 KOs).

The eight-round bout was scored 80-71 twice, 79-72.

Ann Arbor native Jasmine Hampton was scheduled to fight in the flyweight division but the fight was cancelled due to her opponent missing their flight.

The Peacock series that stars Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson as widows of CIA operatives who become intelligence assets in the 1970s Soviet Union has real stakes, and real blood. But its tone is comic first and foremost. And it has been submitted for the forthcoming Emmy nominations as a comedy, despite its hourlong episodes that on television usually mean drama.

The tone-mashing comes naturally to its co-creators, Susanna Fogel and David Iserson, a couple of veterans of film and TV writing. “Ponies” — intelligence-speak for “persons of no interest” — is the first show they have worked on that they originated.

“We understand that we’re not a pure comedy and we’re not a pure drama, which is nothing that we wanted, and we were happy with that. But it was always also part of the calculus that when our characters are in peril, we should feel like they could die,” Iserson told The Associated Press in a joint interview with Fogel. “These characters are experiencing grief. These characters are experiencing peril and also they’re funny people, and that is just the way that we both see the world.”

Fogel puts it a little more succinctly: “Funny people in serious situation is our thing.”

Their two stars have youthful vibes but mature acting skills and they seamlessly handle the show's swerves. Clarke's character, Bea, begins as an innocent in a dangerous world the same way her Daenerys Targaryen began on “Game of Thrones.” Richardson's Twila starts as the same sort of worldly, savvy character she has played on “The White Lotus” and elsewhere.

Then both go on major arcs.

“We wanted to give these actresses something new that they hadn’t done, but that didn’t feel like they were fighting some essential part of who they were,” Fogel said.

She and Iserson have what she calls “an open creative marriage.”

Separately, Fogel was a writer on the 2019 film “Booksmart” and the HBO series “The Flight Attendant.” Iserson has written for series including “Mad Men” and “Mr. Robot.”

Together, their work includes the 2018 film “The Spy Who Dumped Me,” which stars Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon as women thrust into espionage. In retrospect, it feels like a dress rehearsal for “Ponies.”

“That was more on the comedic side of the spectrum for both of us and we were more excited to do something that was more grounded but had the same friendship story to it,” Iserson said. “So we took the things we loved about that experience and then used some of our other skills to make something that felt a little bit more in the dramedy sphere.”

The show felt grounded enough to some viewers that if you Google it, a question that pops up on search: “Is the TV series Ponies a true story?”

“I think good comedy is like a high-wire act. In a way it feels like a high-risk, high-reward thing to be able to do anything that’s doing that,” Fogel said. “I’m not sure how you can stand out with things that are just 100% serious.”

The half-hour comedy vs. hourlong drama split, which the overwhelming majority of historic TV series follow, really seems to matter where Emmys are concerned.

It is probably the reason the half-hour “The Bear” has been able to pass as a comedy and dominate those categories at the Emmys, to the chagrin of some makers of more purely funny stuff.

Though the hourlong comedy isn't unheard of and the Emmys have recognized that before. “Ally McBeal” would get an annual raft of nominations in the late 1990s and once won best comedy series. “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” did the same in the 2010s.

Many of the Emmys' technical and craft awards, including cinematography and sound, are broken into half-hour and hour categories instead of comedy and drama.

Another Emmy contender, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” HBO's latest “Game of Thrones” spinoff, is the flip side of “Ponies,” since it's a drama with episodes that land at just over 30 minutes.

Showrunner Ira Parker says the old distinctions maybe ought to be scrapped.

“Look at all your favorite dramas of all time, like ‘The Sopranos’ and even like, ‘The Wire,’ how funny those were,” Parker said. “I actually think the difference should be 30 minutes and an hour versus comedy and drama.”

“Ponies” has not yet been renewed for a second season, but a few Emmy nominations could change that.

___ This story has been corrected to reflect that Fogel and Iserson are co-creators but only Iserson is showrunner of “Ponies.”

Samaria Garrett, RDN, appeared on Live in the D in partnership with Natural Delights Medjool Dates to showcase recipes timed to Juneteenth celebrations - and the through line was a small, wrinkled fruit that she says most people overlook.

“Red foods. They have historically symbolized resilience and strength in Juneteenth,” Garrett said, explaining how she wove Medjool dates into vibrant, red-hued dishes to honor the holiday’s traditions.

Her lineup included two drinks - a Hibiscus Date Cooler inspired by the traditional African drink sorrel, and a Watermelon Ginger Date Refresher. “The Medjool dates are paired here, and they provide natural sweetness with no added sugar,” she said. “Both of these drinks are refreshing, festive, and perfect for summer gatherings with family and friends during this Juneteenth holiday.”

The dates didn’t stop at drinks. Garrett demonstrated a date-based barbecue glaze - built with apple cider vinegar and smoked paprika - that she served over salmon and asparagus. “This honestly might be one of my favorite recipes because it really surprises people. So, when blended, these Natural Delights Medjool dates create a naturally sweet base that is perfect for barbecue sauce,” she said.

She also presented a charred collard and cabbage slaw featuring chopped dates. “I love this dish here because it really pays homage to those traditional greens like collard greens while providing a little bit of a different flavor,” Garrett said.

“I hope that these recipes really inspired viewers to try something different during this Juneteenth holiday,” she added.

Natural Delights Medjool Dates are available at Amazon and Meijer. Recipes can be found at naturaldelights.com.

The justices will hear arguments in the fall in the case of Hamed Kian, who argues that a six-person jury violates his constitutional rights.

Florida uses six-person juries for all criminal cases that don’t involve the death penalty. Five other states, Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts and Utah, also conduct some criminal trials with six-member juries.

The 45-year-old Kian’s license was suspended after three women who were his patients complained he either kissed or touched them inappropriately, according to court records.

Prosecutors sought an indictment after amassing evidence that Kian, who had an office in Jupiter, continued to see patients even after the suspension. He was convicted by a six-person jury.

Kian's lawyers argue that the smaller jury violates the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees “a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state.”

The amendment does not explicitly set the size of the jury, but Kian's lawyers contend that the word jury could only have meant a body of 12 people at the time the amendment was adopted in 1791. Just over 100 years later, the Supreme Court ruled that juries had to have 12 people.

But in 1970, the justices changed course and ruled by a 7-1 vote that the number 12 was not sacrosanct, also in a case from Florida. Justice Thurgood Marshall was the only dissenter.

More recently, the court has placed renewed emphasis on the original understanding of the Constitution. In another Sixth Amendment case, the court ruled in 2020 that juries must be unanimous in criminal cases, effectively overturning a 1972 decision that had allowed for non-unanimous convictions in criminal cases in Louisiana and Oregon.

“The same reasoning applies to the historical right to a jury of twelve,” Kian's lawyers wrote in their appeal to the court to step in. “When the People enshrined the jury trial right in the Constitution, they did not attach a rider that future judges could adapt it based on latter-day social science views.”

In trying to persuade the Supreme Court to leave Kian's conviction in place, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote that the 1970 case was correctly decided and “overruling it also would imperil thousands of criminal convictions in Florida and five other states that for more than 50 years have relied on its rule.”

UAW members voted 80% in favor of the new contract, which provides employees of the Three Rivers plant a more than 36% wage increase over the life of the agreement, among other gains.

Nearly 1,000 workers at the Tier 1 parts supplier for General Motors went on strike for 10 days after failing to come to terms with their employer. UAW President Shawn Fain paid a visit to Three Rivers on June 1 to announce the strike alongside Local 2093 members, and joined members in announcing that a tentative deal was reached June 10.

“UAW Local 2093 showed one thing to be truer than ever: strikes work,” Fain said in a news release after the deal was ratified. “And American Axle proved something else to be as true as we’ve always known: the industry can afford our demands. From the time we walked off ten days ago to this tentative agreement, the company more than doubled the money on the table.”

Union members cited “major concessions” in the form of wage cuts as the reason for the strike, noting that employees were forced to accept pay cuts in 2008 to save the facility from closure. At the time, wages were cut nearly in half from $29 an hour to $14.50 an hour, with wages topping out at $22 an hour under the previous contract.

Beyond wage increases, the new contract secures more paid days off for workers without increasing their current healthcare costs — something UAW leaders say the company previously insisted couldn’t be done.

“Despite what the company pushed for, we would not accept any concessions from this agreement,” said UAW Local 2093 Bargaining Chair Josh Jager on Wednesday. “This contract ensures there will be no healthcare premium cost increases for the life of the deal. What you pay today is what you’ll pay for the next four years.”

Workers returned to work at 6 a.m. Monday morning.

Newcomer Curacao is expected to travel some 5,300 miles (8,600 kilometers) back-and-forth from its base in Florida to games in Houston, Kansas City and Philadelphia. Bosnia-Herzegovina will rack up nearly 5,200 miles (8,400 kilometers) across Canada and the U.S. while going from its base in Utah to games in Toronto, Los Angeles and Seattle.

The biggest World Cup ever has brought some logistics challenges to the 48 teams in the tournament being played across three countries and four time zones.

“We just have to live with it because that’s what others planned for us,” Czech Republic coach Miroslav Koubek said through a translator after a 2-1 loss to South Korea in Guadalajara last Thursday. “We're happy to be here and we want to have the best possible results. Our logistics behind the scenes is good, but of course it’s not ideal that we have to travel that much.”

Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella said “this is the reality, we have to adapt.”

His squad trains in Arizona, about 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) from Vancouver, where it opened with a 2-0 loss to Australia.

“Of course after the match we’ll be back at 5 o’clock in the morning, and it’s not easy to recover, especially for people my age,” the 51-year-old Montella said through a translator ahead of the match. “After a night out you know it takes a few days to recover. America is big, Canada is very big. Mexico is big. We have to adapt. I know these things you can’t change. You can’t choose. You just have to adapt so you don’t have any excuses.”

Host teams on the move

Canada's squad had to fly nearly five hours to cover the more than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) between Toronto and Vancouver after its opener. The U.S. team will travel nearly that distance in total while going back-and-forth between its training camp in Irvine, California, and its games in the Los Angeles area and Seattle. Mexico is expected to travel less than 600 miles (965 kilometers) within the country.

The England team is set to travel the most among the main title contenders, having its camp in Kansas City and playing games in Dallas, Boston and New York. Spain will have to fly nearly four hours from its base in Atlanta to a match in Guadalajara.

Argentina and France, the finalists at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, face fewer travel challenges. Argentina is based in Kansas City, where it will open its title defense before playing two matches in Dallas. France has its camp in Boston. It will play one game there and the other two in Philadelphia and New York.

FIFA has long recognized the logistic challenges for the World Cup scattered across North America. It tried to separate teams in geographical clusters where they are based and where they will play most of their matches.

Lengthy traveling was a non-issue at the previous World Cup in Qatar, which is roughly the size of Connecticut and is smaller than Switzerland. But teams faced similar travel challenges in 2018 in Russia and 2014 in Brazil.

High altitude also a factor

South Korea's squad doesn’t have to leave Mexico for its group matches, but does have to deal with the high altitude both in Mexico City (about 2,200 meters, 7,200 feet) and Guadalajara (about 1,500 meters, 4,900 feet).

The South Koreans did specific training to adjust to the altitude, and coach Hong Myung-bo said it “helped a lot” but still wasn’t enough.

“In the second half, I think we could see that everyone was very tired,” Hong said after his team’s come-from-behind win over the Czech Republic.

Heat and humidity could also become an issue for many teams training and playing in U.S. cities such as Houston, Dallas, New York and Miami.

Brazil forward Vinícius Júnior complained of the conditions after the 1-1 draw with Morocco on Saturday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

“Because of the weather, the heat, the field dries up too quickly and the game gets really stuck and we can’t have game rhythm. That makes it difficult for us because we want to play, we want to move the ball from side to side, and that gets in the way of our game,” he said. “But we’re going to have to adapt because I believe it’s going to be like that for the whole competition where everyone is going to have the same field of play.”

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AP Sports Writer Anne M. Peterson contributed from Vancouver.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

There’s a conversation making the rounds online about how Father’s Day is sometimes marketed as a day for dads to get a break from their parenting responsibilities. Meanwhile, many dads want their Father’s Day to be filled with family time.

Father’s Day gifts and how to spend the day was the topic of discussion during the What’s the Buzz segment on “Live in the D.” Watch the video above to see the entire conversation and what friends of the show, who are real-life dads, had to say.

Judge Andrew Fishkin’s ruling likely ends a monthslong ordeal for the California woman, one of thousands adopted from abroad who were never granted citizenship because of bureaucratic loopholes between adoption and immigration law.

The woman has lived in the United States since she was adopted by American parents as a toddler and has no criminal record. The Associated Press is not naming her because she worries her legal situation remains tenuous as the administration has time to appeal. A federal judge has allowed her to use a pseudonym, “Ms. S,” in her challenge to the government’s determination of her immigration status.

The woman received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security in February that ordered her to appear for removal proceedings, saying she is eligible for deportation because she overstayed her visa in March 1974 at 4 years old.

The woman, 56, described what came next as a terrifying and humiliating few months.

She grew up in a Christian, military family on a farm in Wisconsin and was taught to be patriotic. But the documents she received from the government described her as an “alien;” some said she did not understand English, which is the only language she speaks.

Immigration officials told her she was being arrested, but released and tracked with an ankle monitor. She bought new pants to try to hide it and taught herself not to cross her legs in work meetings, terrified it would threaten the corporate job in healthcare she’s held for almost two decades.

They fingerprinted her and took her DNA. She said she was obviously weeping in the mug shot they snapped of her.

She prepared herself to be detained: she put her bills on autopay and gave her friends a key to her home.

Her lawyer, Emily Howe, said the government had the power to agree she is an American citizen.

“Instead they treated her like a terrorist, like she was the worst of the worst criminals," Howe said. "It felt very Big Brother, very Orwellian."

The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on the record on an individual case.

The Associated Press profiled the woman in 2024 as part of a story about how many international adoptees were left without citizenship because their American adoptive parents failed to naturalize them.

The woman's parents were living in Iran, where her father was working for a U.S. government contractor, in the 1970s. He was retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel. He'd been held for years a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II.

The couple found the toddler at an orphanage and returned to the U.S. with her in 1973 and soon completed the adoption. At that time, parents had to separately naturalize adopted children. The woman’s parents have since died.

She didn’t learn she hadn’t been naturalized until she applied for a passport at 38 years old. She still doesn’t know how the oversight happened. She searched her father’s papers and found a letter from a lawyer, dated 1975, that said he was working with immigration officials, “it appears this matter is concluded,” and billed her father for his services.

She filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month, trying to prohibit the government from removing her, and forcing it to grant her citizenship.

She has long believed she should be considered a U.S. citizen: she has a social security card, a driver’s license and has been legally allowed to work and pay taxes for decades. It’s only the immigration agency that denies she is a citizen. She suspects her paperwork was lost, likely when militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979.

Fishkin seemed to agree: he wrote in his ruling that documents from that embassy are not available to her or to the U.S. government. He declared her a refugee, entitled to work in the U.S. His ruling puts the woman on a pathway to being recognized as a citizen.

She’d felt hopeful, she said, when she learned her court date before Fishkin was scheduled for her late father’s birthday. She always felt like she needed to protect not only herself, but also her father's legacy. He was a conscientious military official, she said, who would not have knowingly allowed such a glaring oversight that left his daughter in legal limbo.

“I love you and I look up to you,” the note reads, addressed to Pedri and Lamine Yamal. “Thanks for coming to my city. I hope you win the World Cup.”

As the players run onto the field, his eyes grow wide.

“Dad,” he whispers, “they’re real.”

The scene was equally incredible to his father, Jaxon McClure, a Marine Corps veteran who grew up in Chattanooga playing soccer with trash cans for goalposts, now coaches hundreds of local children and named his first child after one of the sport’s greatest stars.

This summer — 32 years since the United States first hosted the world’s biggest sporting competition — Chattanooga is among several cities established as World Cup base camps, where visiting teams live and train between matches.

Spain — among the favorites to win the tournament — has set up camp at a boarding school on the Tennessee River in Chattanooga; Iraq is in a mountain resort town in West Virginia with fewer than 3,000 residents; and Germany is in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where cobblestone streets and tobacco warehouses share space with German flags and television crews.

Southern hospitality on display

A 144-foot (44-meter) underground waterfall beneath Lookout Mountain is lit up red and the Embassy Suites in downtown Chattanooga, where the Spanish team is staying, is adorned with la Rojigualda — Spain’s red and yellow flag. Giant banners featuring Spanish players and declaring, “Bienvenidos a Chattanooga” greeted La Roja as the team arrived at Chattanooga Airport.

Native Chattanoogan Skip Schwartz said so many people are wearing Spanish jerseys that “you don’t know if they’re from Spain, hoping to get a glimpse, or they are locals who have bought into the La Roja bandwagon.”

Around 25,000 people entered a lottery for 1,000 tickets to watch Spain practice at Baylor School, a 600-acre (240-hectare) private academy for students grade 6 through 12.

Meanwhile, tickets to watch Germany practice at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem sold out in four minutes.

“It’s just fun to see everyone start to care about something they didn’t care about before,” said Savannah Lahey, who manages soccer bar Small Batch Beer Co. in downtown Winston-Salem. The bar has extended its hours for watch parties and created a German-inspired menu featuring schnitzel sandwiches and sauerbraten for Germany’s opening match.

“It’s getting to make people feel at home, even when they’re not at home,” Lahey said.

At the Greenbrier in West Virginia, a historic resort that has hosted presidents and foreign leaders, Iraqi flags flew alongside the Stars and Stripes as the national team arrived for its World Cup training camp.

Baylor provides outstanding soccer facilities

Teams chose from FIFA-approved base camps across North America, with higher-ranked nations getting the earliest picks. Spain selected Chattanooga over larger cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles, then worked with Baylor to create an expansive headquarters around its training fields and media facilities.

FIFA inspectors graded Baylor’s facilities, including the condition of the grass and its drainage and irrigation systems, the school’s operations and systems director Sam Green said. To preserve the pitches for Spain, Baylor’s players trained this spring on artificial turf, a sacrifice Green said seniors accepted without complaint.

Hidden behind a tree line, two grass pitches form the center of Spain’s daily training. The airport and their downtown hotel are minutes away and Atlanta — where Spain will play two group-stage matches — is within easy reach. After Spain’s first official practice, players headed straight to the campus pool, where they “swam and laid out and had a good time” before returning to training.

For Schwartz, who now serves on Baylor’s board of trustees, Spain’s choice is meaningful because he and his teammates helped to lay Bermuda sod for their new soccer field when he played soccer at Baylor in the late 1980s and early 1990s. That field has since been replaced by an indoor tennis facility — which serves as Spain’s media center — but the school now has three soccer pitches and one of the region’s premier soccer programs.

“If somebody had told me then that 40 years later Spain would be using this campus as the foundation for a World Cup, I wouldn’t even have tried to fathom it,” he said.

‘Without a doubt, I’m cheering for Spain’

Tina Ankar, a first generation Palestinian American, said she became a soccer fan because of the World Cup and her boyfriend, who grew up watching games with his Mexican family. At Spain’s open practice, hundreds of fans shouted “¡Vamos, España!” after nearly every touch. Ankar found herself swept up in the energy.

“I’ve got to watch these guys all the way to the end,” she said. “Now we really have someone to cheer on besides America.”

Before Spain’s first public practice, Baylor students slipped into the locker room and snapped photos of stalls freshly labeled with the names of Spain’s stars, debating which player had inherited “their” locker.

“I sat in that locker room almost every single day this spring,” said 17-year-old midfielder and graduating senior Heath Techasiriwan.

Techasiriwan, a Filipino American and lifelong Lionel Messi fan who rooted for Argentina in 2022, said there was no question who he will support this summer.

“Without a doubt, I’m cheering for Spain,” he said. “I can’t see players like Pedri, Gavi and Lamine Yamal literally right in front of me and not cheer for them.”

Goalkeeper Mathew Ramirez commutes an hour each way to Baylor from Calhoun, Georgia. He grew up watching Barcelona with his father, who immigrated from Guatemala, and plans to watch Spain’s World Cup matches over carne asada with family and friends.

After practice, Yamal, who is 18, signed the 16-year-old goalie’s custom Barcelona jersey. Ramirez told the star in Spanish: “Watching you play gives me happiness.”

A young fan takes selfies and dreams of superheroes

Back in Chattanooga, Beckham collects signatures and takes selfies with players before heading home in the Spain jersey his father says he slept in the night before.

His father says Beckham kept repeating: “Wait, Dad. They’re real. Lamine Yamal is a real person. I just thought they were like superheroes. They’re on TV.”

Chattanooga has come a long way since the neighborhood games McClure remembers. He is now a soccer coach to about 850 children, and the city has professional men’s and women’s teams.

“They could have gone anywhere in this country,” McClure says of Spain, “and they chose us.”

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

The ban, which is expected to take effect early next year, makes the U.K. part of a growing global movement to tighten online safety for children. Australia, Canada, Brazil and Indonesia have introduced legislation or announced age-based restrictions or requirements for children’s access to social media. France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea are among others studying or developing similar approaches.

“Every parent can see it with their own eyes. Social media is making children unhappy,” said Starmer, who has two teenage children. “I’ve heard first hand from families crying out for change and we will do right by them.”

The plan was met with mixed reaction, with some praising Starmer for taking action and others questioning the effectiveness of a blanket ban.

YouTube and Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — warned Monday that a blanket social media restriction could push kids into unregulated spaces.

“Blanket bans push kids out of such curated, supervised, beneficial experiences and towards anonymous, less-safe services,” a YouTube spokesperson said. Meta said a ban could drive teens to online alternatives without any parental controls.

Starmer acknowledged the challenges and said some teens would try to find their way around a ban, but said: “I do believe we can enforce it.”

He added: “Teenagers drink before they should, but we do not then say, ‘in which case let us abandon any attempt to stop them buying alcohol.’”

The prime minister — who is under pressure to step down from members of his own party over what they see as poor leadership and could face a challenge from within his Labour Party in the coming days or weeks — said he is “not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children.”

Starmer says the UK will go further than Australia

The U.K. plans to follow the same model for a social media ban as Australia, which last year became the first country to bar under-16s from holding social media accounts. Platforms that fail to take reasonable steps to exclude children younger than 16 could be punished with multimillion-dollar fines.

The U.K. said its ban will apply to platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, but not YouTube Kids or messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal. Starmer stressed that enforcement action will target tech companies, not children.

He said the move was a “big moment for our country,” adding that he will go further than Australia's measures.

The government will also act to prevent strangers from contacting children on gaming and livestreaming platforms, Starmer said. AI chatbots designed to simulate romantic or sexual relationships with users will be restricted to over-18s only, and authorities are also considering additional measures including overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for those under 18.

More details are expected next month.

Some skepticism over whether a ban will work

The decision follows a public comment period in which the government received 116,000 responses from parents, the tech industry and children. More than 90% of respondents wanted an under-16 ban, the government said.

Ellen Roome, a children's online safety campaigner whose son took his own life at 14 years old, welcomed the move. She believes her son died after an online challenge went wrong and has campaigned for legal reforms to give parents access to children’s social media accounts after their death.

“The tech companies, if they wanted to make changes, they could have done that by now. They’ve chosen not to do it,” she said. “We need to come down hard on them. If they’re not going to do it, we need to be very strict.”

But others say research in Australia has shown that age verification is difficult to enforce, and that a blanket ban fails to address a deeper problem — the way social media algorithms push harmful content to young people.

“This is far too easy to work around. It is based on age verification tools that have been shown to be ineffective to date,” said Kate Edwards, head of education at the Molly Rose Foundation, which was set up in memory of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who took her own life after being exposed to self-harm content online.

“It does nothing to address the actual problem itself, the harmful algorithms, the harmful content that is existing on those platforms,” Edwards added.

A Meta statement said it shares “the goal of keeping teens safe online," and that it now features teen accounts to automatically limit who can contact them and the content they see.

“Like others, we don’t think bans will achieve this goal,” Meta said, adding that Australia had shown how “bans risk isolating teens from online communities and information.”

Jon Crowcroft, a communications systems professor at the University of Cambridge, said people supporting social bans are well-meaning but probably misguided, and changes could prevent children from accessing sites they need.

“There is a real risk this will drive some users to worse sites, and policing devices is close to impossible technically,” Crowcroft said.

Other critics including the Open Rights Group have expressed concerns about age verification companies and how users’ private data is protected.

U.S. opposes the move

The ban could further inflame tensions with the U.S., which has warned that regulations should be narrow and not violate free speech protections, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in London. It said it was also concerned that regulations would place greater burdens on American technology companies.

Starmer said he expected to discuss the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump and other world leaders at a Group of Seven summit in France that starts Monday.

“I honestly think that across world leaders, there has always been a recognition that leaders have to take steps to protect children,” he said. “I don’t think that’s controversial.”

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Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed to this story.

The vehicle was selected for a physical inspection in Port Huron after attempting the border crossing, and a search by officers and K9 units revealed 55 shrink-wrapped bricks of a white powdery substance concealed within two cardboard boxes. After determining that the powder was in fact cocaine, the drugs, truck and trailer were seized and the driver is facing federal charges.

“With this drug seizure, our frontline officers have dealt another significant financial blow to the transnational criminal networks attempting to exploit our shared border for profit,” said CPB Port Huron Port Director Jeffrey Wilson, in a statement.

The case remains under investigation by Homeland Security Investigations.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team did not announce the deal, which was first reported by ESPN.

Splitter, 41, joined Chauncey Billups’ staff in Portland last June. He was elevated from assistant to interim coach when Billups was arrested in October in a federal takedown of a sprawling gambling operation. Billups has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering.

Splitter coached Portland to a 42-40 record and a five-game loss to San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs. It was the first playoff appearance and first time the Trail Blazers finished with a winning record since the 2020-21 season.

Splitter played for San Antonio, Atlanta and Philadelphia during his seven seasons as an NBA player. The 6-foot-11 center from Brazil was selected by the Spurs in the first round of the 2007 draft, and he helped the team win an NBA title in 2014.

He worked for Brooklyn for five seasons from 2018-23, first as a pro scout and then as an assistant coach. He was an assistant for Houston for one year before coaching Paris Basketball Club to a French Cup championship during the 2024-25 season.

Splitter would replace Billy Donovan, who resigned after six seasons. The Bulls had conversations with Donovan about returning, but he decided to step aside rather than work with a new front office.

Chicago allowed 121.5 points per game this season, ranking 28th overall in the NBA. The Bulls finished with a 31-51 record while missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year.

Bryson Graham was hired as Chicago’s executive vice president of basketball operations on May 4. Stephen Mervis and Acie Law IV joined the team’s revamped front office on May 19.

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

As kids get older, however, those appointments can begin to feel less urgent. If a child rarely gets sick and isn’t due for vaccines, some parents might wonder whether yearly checkups are really necessary.

According to Dr. Laith Al Ejeilat, a pediatrician with Henry Ford Health, those annual visits continue to play an important role throughout childhood and adolescence.

“Annual check-ups for your child are really important,” he said. “Pediatricians are trained to look for problems with health and development that parents may not be looking for.”

How often should children see a pediatrician?

Many adults grew up going to the doctor mainly when they were sick, but preventive care has become a much larger focus in modern medicine.

Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends more frequent well-child visits throughout infancy and toddlerhood:

• 3-5 days
• 1 month
• 2 months
• 4 months
• 6 months
• 9 months
• 12 months
• 15 months
• 18 months
• 2 years
• 2 1/2 years
• Once a year from age 3 to adulthood

Those appointments help physicians monitor physical growth, emotional development and overall well-being over time -- not just treat illness when it appears.

What happens during a well-child visit?

Annual physicals cover much more than vaccines and basic measurements. Pediatricians use these visits to evaluate a child’s overall health, identify concerns early and help families support healthy development.

• Monitor growth and physical health

During a checkup, pediatricians typically review vital signs like heart rate and blood pressure while also tracking height and weight patterns. These measurements help physicians identify whether a child is developing appropriately and maintaining a healthy growth trajectory.

Doctors may also perform hearing and vision screenings and discuss recommended immunizations, including seasonal flu shots and vaccines when appropriate.

• Evaluate development

Well visits also give pediatricians an opportunity to assess developmental milestones through observation, conversation and questionnaires.

For younger children, that may include speech development, motor skills and social behaviors. As children grow, doctors look more closely at academic progress, emotional regulation and behavioral patterns.

• Support mental and emotional health

Pediatricians increasingly help families address mental and behavioral health concerns as well. Conversations about anxiety, bullying, attention difficulties, learning challenges and emotional stress often begin during routine wellness visits.

These appointments can also provide families with guidance on topics like sleep habits, nutrition, physical activity and screen time.

• Discuss safety at home

Safety counseling is another important part of preventive pediatric care. Pediatricians may talk with families about reducing risks related to firearms, household chemicals, internet safety, pets or other potential hazards in the home.

In some cases, they can also help connect families with community resources related to food access, housing or other support services.

Catching problems early

Parents know their children best, but some medical concerns develop gradually or produce symptoms that are easy to overlook.

Routine checkups can help physicians identify issues before they become more serious.

Dr. Al Ejeilat said pediatricians commonly uncover concerns like enlarged tonsils, scoliosis, nutrition deficiencies, sleep disorders, heart rhythm abnormalities and undescended testicles during routine exams.

Tracking trends over time is especially valuable. For example, gradual weight gain might not always be obvious day to day, but yearly measurements can reveal patterns that allow families to intervene earlier with healthy lifestyle changes.

“Regular checkups can help reduce the chance of developing serious illnesses -- and it’s always easier to prevent a problem than to fix it later,” Dr. Al Ejeilat said.

Why these visits are important during teen years

As children enter adolescence, annual visits often become more valuable -- not less.

Teenagers face increasing physical, emotional and social pressures, and pediatricians can help families navigate that transition. Establishing a long-term relationship with a trusted doctor may also make teens more likely to seek guidance and speak honestly about concerns.

“Kids who establish a relationship with their pediatrician often look up to their doctor,” Dr. Al Ejeilat said. “That can mean they’re more likely to listen to the doctor, even when they start pushing back against their parents’ advice.”

Pediatricians frequently encourage parents to step out briefly during adolescent wellness visits so teens have an opportunity to speak privately with their physician. Those conversations may cover topics like emotional health, relationships, sexual health, substance use or stress.

Creating that safe space can help teenagers build confidence in advocating for their own health while also giving them access to reliable, science-based guidance.

Helping families navigate a complicated world

Today’s children and teens are growing up in a world heavily influenced by social media and constant online exposure. Pediatricians can help families address challenges that come with that environment, including misinformation, unhealthy behaviors, cyberbullying and harmful online trends.

“Pediatricians can be a resource for families to push back against those negative influences,” Dr. Al Ejeilat said. “We take time to help families navigate technology, understand the risks and develop strategies to protect kids.”

Ultimately, annual checkups are about much more than treating illness. They help build trust, encourage healthy development and provide families with ongoing support throughout every stage of childhood.

At Henry Ford Health, pediatric providers support children’s physical, emotional and developmental health from infancy through adolescence.

Learn more about pediatric primary care and specialty services at Henry Ford Pediatrics.

Heads lowered in quiet prayer. Boxes of pizza passed from people in jerseys to people in suits. And Matos — a retired correctional officer with a strictly enforced policy against premature celebration — waited until the final buzzer before leading the shrieking, weeping, chest-thumping crowd through the frenzied streets.

“The camaraderie and craziness is something I’ve never seen in my whole life,” Matos marveled. “These Knicks really got everyone outside.”

The team’s victory Saturday night over the San Antonio Spurs saw moments of mayhem, with dozens of arrests and property damage mostly clustered around Madison Square Garden.

But scenes like the one on Matos’ block were far more common: neighbors and strangers of every age and background, clustered around a TV or projector as their collective stress gave way to an unusual moment of citywide euphoria.

Impromptu dance parties raged until dawn — then continued Sunday, as delirious New Yorkers flocked to the Puerto Rican Day parade, also attended by multiple Knicks players, including Brooklyn native Jose Alvarado.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Knicks fan himself who has popped up at watch parties around the city, announced the team would be honored Thursday by a ticker-tape parade.

By Sunday night, many New Yorkers were struggling to find a historical comparison to what they were experiencing.

“I was there for the Giants’ Super Bowls, the Yankees dynasty, the Mets in ’86, which was really special. None of that comes even close to this,” said Marlon Rice, a 51-year-old community advocate. “The entire city is on tilt because of the Knicks. I just hope this stays and we can enjoy an entire summer off this vibe.”

That joy had been building for weeks, as the Knicks embarked on a historic playoff run marked by one stunning comeback after another. For fans long accustomed to last-minute heartbreak, processing this new reality seemed to grow into a communal endeavor — requiring a new sort of viewing experience.

To meet that need, unofficial watch parties cropped up across the city streets and parks, gas stations and delis, synagogues, mosques and at least one funeral home — giving residents the chance to watch shoulder to shoulder with fellow fans, without shelling out a month’s rent or more for a ticket.

Hours before tipoff on Saturday, lawn chairs and sound systems were already set up on a street corner facing the facade of a building where a Cuban restaurant’s projection of each game had reliably drawn thousands of people. By then, the phrase “Knicks in 5” had become both standard greeting and farewell among New Yorkers.

The ensuing delirium has upended schedules, added to milestones and bred a strange sense of civic pride. Newborns at Lenox Hill Hospital received Knicks-embroidered hats. The cast of Hamilton ended their performance Sunday with a rendition of Frank Sinatra's “New York, New York.” Bus drivers, firefighters and subway workers are greeted as celebrities, sometimes breaking from their duties to join the celebration.

In one of many viral videos, a pair of sanitation workers allow private citizens to toss bags of trash into their truck, prompting cheers from bystanders.

Rabbi Yakov Bankhalter, the leader of an Orthodox Jewish community space near Madison Square Garden, said his own hastily-scheduled watch party had ended with fans of every faith spinning joyously in the Manhattan streets.

“Wherever you are in New York, it feels like there is nothing but the Knicks,” Bankhalter said on Monday morning. “We’re still in the euphoria. It’s unbelievable. It’s still unbelievable.”

But the Qatar edition went poorly for Portugal’s all-time leading goal scorer. After scoring just once, from the penalty spot, in the group stage, he reacted angrily to being subbed off against South Korea and was promptly dropped to the bench for his team's first knockout-stage match against Switzerland.

Then, he didn’t score at all in the 2024 European Championship. It was the first time he had failed to find the net at a major international tournament.

Now, in the buildup to what may be Ronaldo’s World Cup swan song, concerns over what the 41-year-old can still bring to the national team are at the forefront of many fans’ minds. Portugal opens play Wednesday against Congo DR in Houston.

“I think in some instances they play better without him,” fan Zach Mallias said at the team’s first open World Cup practice at its Florida base camp. “There are other players that fit the system better.”

Other fans are worried about the superstar’s ego and whether he would accept relinquishing the spotlight for the good of the team.

“He’s a very big player, he’s very loved by a lot of his fans,” Beatrice Mitankin said. “It might get to his head.”

There is some recent evidence, however, of Ronaldo still being able to positively influence games. During Portugal’s 2025 UEFA Nations League run, its second title triumph in that competition, he scored eight goals, including an equalizer in the final against Spain.

Ronaldo also recently won his first Saudi Pro League title with Al-Nassr, leading his club with 28 goals on the season.

His abundant experience and leadership are qualities some supporters say cannot be replicated.

“He’s not going to shy away from those moments when it’s the World Cup on the line,” Rob Stickle said. “He’s one of those guys you want kicking the penalty kicks for you, being on the pitch at the end of the game.”

Ronaldo, playing in a record-extending sixth World Cup, is the oldest outfield player in the tournament but still projects as Portugal’s starting striker.

Although his age has repeatedly been called into question, fan Ernesto Vilar pointed to other examples of older players, like Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Croatia’s Luka Modrić, as veterans who still play significant roles for their team.

“Age is just a number,” Vilar said. “He’s still in very peak physical condition.”

His teammates and manager would concur.

Midfielder Vitinha is still in awe over Ronaldo’s physique.

“He’s 41. I’m 26, and I’m not like that,” the Paris Saint-Germain player said through a translator. “It’s something incredible.”

Team manager Roberto Martínez has suggested Ronaldo could even appear at the 2030 World Cup, when he would be 45.

Removed from the conversation about Ronaldo’s production and effectiveness, however, are a group of fans that will always idolize him: young children. Many showed up to watch Portugal practice.

Elizabeth Stiebel, 10, says she admires how Ronaldo has always been there when his team needs a big moment.

And 13-year-old Christian Loureiro, whose favorite Ronaldo moment is his overhead-kick goal against Juventus in 2018 while playing for Real Madrid, agrees the superstar forward is still a steadying voice.

“A lot of young players on this team need an older figure to help guide them,” Loureiro said.

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Zach Pascuzzi is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

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

“Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith” comes out Tuesday from Harper, and The Associated Press obtained a copy ahead of its release. The HarperCollins imprint also put out “Hillbilly Elegy,” the best-selling memoir from 2016 that helped make Vance a national figure.

Vance has been working on and off on his new book since then, a tumultuous decade that included a Hollywood movie about his youth, a short stint as a U.S. senator from Ohio and now vice president to Donald Trump.

There's not a lot about Trump or other insider stories from Vance's political years, although he does express regret for criticizing the Democratic Party's “childless cat ladies,” a comment that came back to haunt him while Trump's running mate.

Instead, “Communion” serves as a sort of manifesto for the role of religion in public life. Vance writes about transitioning from Protestant Christianity to atheism to Catholicism, and he credits his faith with giving him a sense of purpose he didn’t get through his education at Yale University or working in the financial industry.

The book hits shelves less than five months before the midterm elections that will shape the final two years of Trump's second presidency. The midterms will also mark the unofficial start of the next presidential campaign, in which Vance is expected to be a contender.

Vance recalled ‘fusion’ between religion and politics

Vance wrote how he witnessed “the fusion between Republican politics and the Christianity of my youth.” At that time, Vance wrote, “I heard a fair amount about the evils of abortion and homosexuality,” as well as then-President Bill Clinton's “rumored moral failings.”

Alongside these religious observations, Vance said he felt he was “starting to witness the beginning of a fissure in the Republican Party: between its business elites and its religious rank and file.” That's something, Vance went on, that would “eventually lead to my election as vice president.”

Vance's grandmother — his mamaw, as he calls her — was a central figure in his life, and her death led to an atrophying of his Christianity.

“With her gone, no one really cared about my faith, and soon I stopped caring, too,” he wrote. Christianity became “completely irrelevant" to him, including when he served in Iraq in the Marine Corps.

At the end of his service in 2006, Vance wrote that he “was no longer, in any real sense, a Christian.”

A near-death experience helped shape Vance's faith

Returning to his military base after his grandmother’s funeral, Vance wrote that he lost control of his car on a rain-slicked road, but inexplicably stopped before hurtling into a guardrail and potentially over the side of a mountain.

He said it was “the closest I've ever come to a supernatural experience," and the feeling remained “even during my later years as a strident atheist.”

As his military service wrapped up, a colleague introduced Vance to the work of author Ayn Rand, whose notion of the virtuousness of selfishness stood "in as stark opposition to Christian morality as anything I'd ever read.” This notion appealed to Vance, he wrote, noting that Rand's philosophy “filled a void left by the faith I'd discarded” and that he became a “self-professed atheist and meritocrat.”

“I didn't care about God's will,” he wrote. “I cared about my own.”

‘I will marry this girl’

Immediately struck by his now-wife Usha Vance, the vice president wrote that he told a friend he thought he was “obsessed” with her while they were in law school together. He praised her intensity, intelligence and curiosity.

“I will marry this girl,” he wrote. “Or I will be a lifelong bachelor.”

He also wrote how their discussion about death, sparked by Joan Didion's “The Year of Magical Thinking,” highlighted their different views on the afterlife — she was worried by it and he wasn't, even in his atheist years.

“Usha, like Didion, dreaded neither the ‘loss of heaven' nor 'the pains of hell’ for the most logical of reasons: She simply didn’t think they exist. I came to believe in both, but I still didn’t find either particularly motivating,” he wrote.

Peter Thiel was a turning point

In the midst of this, Vance wrote that he attended a talk by Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley investor who would become one of Vance's early political backers. He was impressed by Thiel's discussion of hypercompetition among professionals, accompanied by “technological stagnation.”

“Possibly the smartest person I'd ever met, he identified very openly as a Christian," Vance wrote, adding that Thiel “defied the simple social template I had constructed — that dumb people were religious and smart people were atheists.”

‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ Trump and fame

Initially skeptical his first book would be successful, Vance described how an interview he gave in the summer of 2016 about “the sense that the hillbillies had been left behind by the leaders of a country” caught fire, dovetailing with Trump's campaign that year.

“I became a controversial figure in my own right, and I tasted my first bit of heated public criticism," he wrote.

Vance said he was “tempted by the flexibility” of “being a public intellectual," although he would choose a different path.

Vance converted to Catholicism

The future vice president recalled visiting a French cathedral in 2018 with his wife, Usha, and young son, Ewan.

Reflecting on how the Catholic Church had endured over the years, his ambivalence about religion began to fade. He writes that he felt “a distinct sense of belonging and presence.”

He was baptized a year later, writing that he enjoyed the “work” required to become Catholic — readings and discussion.

The vetting process for vice president was intense

Vance wrote that he figured it was a “long shot” for Trump to choose him as vice president.

“When his staff told me I was on the short list, I almost thought it was a prank call," Vance wrote.

He recalled the in-person interview the most fascinating part of the vetting process, which included being asked if he had ever cheated on his wife.

“I haven't, but I assume people who have don't just admit it to a stranger?” he responded.

The transition to the ticket was difficult for his family, he wrote, particularly his eldest child.

He told Charlie Kirk, the young conservative activist who founded Turning Point USA and was assassinated last year, about the struggle.

“Don't try to convince your son it's not a sacrifice,” Kirk said.

Regretting the ‘cat ladies’ comment

Vance's penchant for stirring controversy came up again during the campaign.

Critics resurfaced his 2021 remarks that the Democratic Party was run by “childless cat ladies.”

Vance now concedes that his comment was “boneheaded” and “one of the dumbest things I ever said.”

“Aside from enraging a great number of people,” Vance added, “it had the added benefit of distracting from the actual point I wanted to make, which was that our society is becoming pathologically hostile to having kids.”

Is this Vance's pre-2028 presidential campaign memoir?

The book's release likely serves to ramp up speculation that Vance will seek the presidency in 2028. That's a possibility the Republican vice president has said he’s not focused on right now, indicating he’d wait until after the 2026 midterm elections to decide on a campaign.

Presidential hopefuls often release books before launching a campaign, giving them a moment in the spotlight before new audiences and a chance to crystallize their message before embarking on a campaign.

Already, potential 2028 candidates on the Democratic side have recently published books or will do so soon, including Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

Even more challenging, around ten million adults have high blood pressure that simply doesn’t respond well to treatment.

When you have your blood pressure taken or take it at home yourself, the numbers you’re hoping to see are 120/80.

That’s a normal blood pressure.

Jamie Pepperman, 44, had not seen those numbers in a long time.

Her blood pressure started to rise in her early 30s, and no matter what doctors tried, it kept climbing.

“It began about 10 years ago. I was having a lot of headaches, just wasn’t feeling myself,” said Pepperman. “Went to the doctors, couldn’t really tell me anything. Went for an eye appointment, regular eye appointment, and they immediately sent me to the emergency room.”

An MRI revealed Pepperman had severe swelling of her brain stem and had suffered a stroke.

“At 34 years old, it’s very disheartening to hear that I had a stroke,” remembered Pepperman. “About six months later, I had another stroke.”

Doctors couldn’t figure out what was causing her blood pressure to soar so high, and it wasn’t responding to treatment.

“It started to affect my kidneys, my kidney functions started to lower, my retinas, my vision started to get much worse than it normally would have,” said Pepperman.

Despite seeing numerous specialists, her blood pressure remained out of control.

During one video appointment with a physician:

“He had me take my blood pressure on the video appointment, and when I showed him the monitor, he immediately called 911,” said Pepperman. “They did another MRI and determined I had another stroke.”

Remember, a normal blood pressure is 120/80. Around this time, Pepperman’s was as high as 270/174.

“I lived with that high of a blood pressure as a daily normal functioning blood pressure for almost 10 years,” said Pepperman.

She was somehow surviving, but not thriving.

“My head always hurt. I didn’t have any energy. I noticed that I was getting short of breath,” said Pepperman. “I was exhausted. It completely decreased my quality of life.”

Pepperman was on 10 medications for her blood pressure, and it wasn’t getting better.

She decided to switch specialists and got a referral to Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak.

Dr. Rob Safian is an interventional cardiologist there and the founder and director of the Center for Innovation and Research in Cardiovascular Disease.

“I was shocked,” said Safian. “I really couldn’t believe that she was walking around with a blood pressure of 230. I mean, we would normally hospitalize people for doing that.”

Safian immediately thought Pepperman would be a good candidate for a procedure called renal denervation.

At the time, it was approved by the FDA, but it was still going through steps to make it commercially available.

“We were really anxious to be able to offer this to her. And we had conversations with her insurance payer, and it was a matter of negotiation, cajoling, and educating,” said Safian.

It took two months of persistence, but they succeeded.

“The day he called me to tell me that the surgery was covered, I was sitting at my desk working, and I just started crying. I broke down and just started crying,” said Pepperman.

So how does renal denervation work?

“The way blood pressure in the body is regulated is through nerve connections between the kidney and the brain,” explained Safian. “If you can interrupt those nerve signals between the kidney in the brain, then you can lower the blood pressure.”

That’s true no matter what’s causing the elevated blood pressure.

Renal denervation is a minimally invasive technique that targets specific nerves near the kidneys that can become overactive, leading to high blood pressure.

The procedure works by delivering radio frequency energy to these overactive nerves to decrease their activity.

“You deliver the denervation catheter in such a way that it heats the wall of the artery, which then gets transmitted to nerves that surround the artery,” said Safian. “We try to treat all of the main portions of the kidney artery, all of the main branches and sub-branches in vessels that range from about three millimeters in diameter up to eight millimeters in diameter. And then we’re done with the right kidney, then we just repeat the entire process on the left kidney. The whole procedure takes about an hour or so,” explained Safian.

It can take up to four months to see full improvement, but Pepperman’s results surprised even her doctor.

“On the first day follow-up, her blood pressure was 135 over 75, and I thought it was a mistake,” said Safian. “I talked to my nurses, I went in with my blood pressure cuff, and I took the blood pressure myself, and that’s what her blood pressure was.”

“For three and a half months, it’s been consistently within normal range,” said Pepperman. “Now I’m on a total of four medications for my blood pressure, when three months ago I was on ten. I have more energy, and I’m happier. I just, I look forward to every day.”

“I can’t tell you how thrilled all of us are,” said Safian. “All of the doctors and the nurses who’ve been involved in her care are absolutely thrilled that she has had this kind of dramatic response in her blood pressure. And she really has her life back.”

“I truly feel like they saved my life,” said Pepperman. “To be kept telling ‘No, no, no,’ and just be put on more medications, that’s not comfortable. So this team of doctors that helped me get to this point, I owe my life to. I feel like they gave me a new life.”

Because the procedure is relatively new, doctors don’t know for sure how long the results will last, but follow-up studies have found sustained improvement for up to seven years in some patients.

The best candidates for renal denervation are people with high blood pressure that isn’t controlled with three or more medications.

Since Pepperman’s procedure, Corewell Health says Medicare and most private insurers now cover renal denervation if patients meet the criteria.

Click here to learn more about renal denervation.

Click here to read more about Pepperman’s journey.

Rajah Jamir Pritchard-Dixon, of Detroit, was taken into custody by the Macomb Auto Theft Squad (MATS) and Sheriff’s Enforcement Team (SET) on June 12 after executing a search warrant related to the thefts at a residence in the 21600 block Moross Road in Detroit.

During the execution of the warrant, investigators say they recovered four Ram infotainment screens, modules and additional property believed to have been stolen from vehicles in St. Clair Shores.

Pritchard-Dixon has been charged with one count of breaking and entering of a motor vehicle — a five-year felony — and one count of attempted larceny from a motor vehicle, a 2.5-year felony.

He was issued a $50,000 cash/surety bond at his arraignment and will require a tether upon release.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, MATS has been investigating 29 thefts of Ram infotainment systems reported in Warren, Eastpointe, Roseville, and St. Clair Shores, since April.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Firefighters and emergency personnel were dispatched to the building on N Green and Calahan streets around 8:30 a.m. and spent several hours working to contain the blaze. According to the Detroit Fire Department, the building was recently vacated and the building was empty, however signage on the warehouse reads “Cummings-Moore Graphite Co.”

The building suffered a partial collapse due to the fire, which has since been extinguished. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

“Fire crews did an excellent job extinguishing this fire,” said Senior Fire Chief Reginald Harper. “The fact that there were no injuries is a testament to their hard work and great training.”

A new poll released Monday from AAPI Data and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows about half of AAPI adults say they — or someone they know — have been detained or deported within the last year, started carrying proof of immigration status or U.S. citizenship, upended travel plans or significantly changed their routines because of immigration status.

The findings come after more than a year of immigration crackdowns. The poll indicates that the Trump administration’s aggressive approach, which has resulted in multiple clashes between protesters and enforcement officers and led to the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis earlier this year, may be changing the way some people in immigrant-heavy communities see the U.S. itself.

AAPI adults are one of the country's fastest-growing demographic, and most AAPI adults in the U.S. were born outside the country. The survey found a majority of AAPI adults — about 6 in 10 — believe the U.S. used to be a great country for immigrants but is not anymore. Only about 3 in 10 AAPI adults say America is a great place for immigrants, while a few, 5%, say it was never a great place for immigrants.

At the same time, AAPI adults are more likely than Americans overall to see the mixing of culture and values from around the world as central to the country's identity.

“America’s success story has depended critically on the role of Asian Americans, but also immigrants in general,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and executive director of AAPI Data. “When you have people who are already in this country, have been here for decades saying, ‘I’m not really sure that this is the best country anymore,' that’s a warning sign.”

'Better safe than sorry’ approach

Even some immigrants with legal status have been affected by the Trump administration’s policies. One policy that would have hiked fees for certain types of visas was shot down in federal court this month. Another judge struck down a policy that “categorically barred” immigrants from 39 Asian, African, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries from receiving final decisions on asylum, work permit, green card and citizenship applications.

Khoa Tran, 27, of San Antonio, Texas, came to the U.S. from Vietnam in 2015 at age 15. He gained citizenship four years later. In 2023, he sponsored his wife from Vietnam.

Last year, Tran became concerned when his social media feed kept bringing up posts about how essential it was that even legal immigrants carry documentation. It had not occurred to the couple that his wife should have her green card with her at all times.

“It seemed like we needed to do it. It's literally become like a second form of identification in addition to the driver's license,” Tran said.

He has also seen how international students in his community have put off trips to visit family in Asia due to concerns about student visas.

“They're just scared. They don't know the law around that,” Tran said. “Better safe than sorry.”

About half of South Asian adults — compared to about 4 in 10 AAPI adults overall — know someone who started carrying proof of legal status or citizenship over the last year. South Asian adults are much more likely than East Asian or Southeast Asian American adults to have been born outside the U.S., according to the survey. Many of those immigrants may have green cards or be naturalized citizens, Ramakrishnan said, yet feel “like their presence and their status in this country is under question.”

Cultural identity matters as much as American identity

AAPI adults are likelier to say their family's ancestry or country of origin is “extremely” or “very” important to their personal identity, compared to being an American.

Just over half of AAPI adults say their family's ancestry or country of origin is important to who they are, while 44% say this about their American identity. That extends to AAPI adults who were born in the U.S. About 6 in 10, 59%, U.S.-born AAPI adults say their family's heritage is important to their personal identity, while 47% say this about being an American.

A separate AP-NORC survey conducted in April found that 55% of U.S. adults say being an American is important to who they are, while only 37% said that about their family's ancestry.

Abigail Jeyaraj, 22, of South Hadley, Massachusetts, was born in Texas. Her Indian parents' decision to build a new life in the U.S. is something she never takes for granted. When she describes her nationality, she identifies herself as not just “American” but South Asian American.

“Especially as a South Asian woman, I'm very sensitive to the fact that I have opportunities that my mother and my grandmother, all the women before that didn't," Jeyaraj said. "I really try to honor that culture. I try to maintain really strong connections to my family in India.”

Soonho Kwon, 30, of La Mirada, California, was born in Korea. His family settled in New Jersey when he was 8 years old.

"I think I still feel more Korean. I came right around the age where I had very solid memories from growing up in Korea. My immediate family’s back there now,” Kwon said. “I’m a naturalized citizen. I’m committed to living here, but identity is a different question.”

Ambivalence around America's 250th anniversary

The vast majority, 73%, of AAPI adults say the mixing of cultures and values from around the world is “extremely” or “very” important to the U.S.'s identity as a nation, compared to only 55% of U.S. adults in the April AP-NORC poll.

Jeyaraj grew up around Dallas and Houston — cities where she was “able to interact with people of so many different races and different cultures that weren’t my own.” She credits that experience with making her more empathetic.

Restrictions on immigration and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives leave her feeling conflicted about celebrating the country's 250th anniversary this year.

“I'm proud we made it this far as a country,” Jeyaraj said. “You have recent actors who are trying to undo that progress. They maybe view it as restoring an ideal, but it’s removing so much work that powerful and influential people made to bring us toward an ideal of equality and justice.”

The anniversary feels arbitrary to Tran, a math teacher.

“I don't think this country is ‘founded’ at some point in time. It just changes from one form to another,” Tran said. “Even the Native Americans (were) a long time here. I'm pretty sure that was more than 250 years.”

___

The poll of 1,075 U.S. adults who are Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders was conducted April 20-28, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based Amplify AAPI Panel, designed to be representative of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. This poll is part of an ongoing project exploring the views of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, which are usually not highlighted in other surveys because of small sample sizes and lack of linguistic representation.

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Prize(s) One prize (“Prize Package”) will be provided by VISIT FLORIDA. The Prize Package includes the following:

· Round-trip coach class airline tickets for one (1) winner and up to three (3) guests to Orlando International Airport

· A full-size rental vehicle for five (5) consecutive days

· Four (4) consecutive night stay for four (4) at Magic Village Vacation Homes

· Four (4) single-day tickets to SeaWorld Orlando, plus quick queue vouchers and a parking pass

· Four (4) passes to Wild Florida. Passes include a drive-through safari, entry to the Gator Park, and a 30-minute airboat ride.

· Four (4) admission tickets to Medieval Times Orlando Dinner & Tournament

· Four (4) rides at Lazy H Ranch, with winner’s choice of one of the following options: One-Hour Group Ride, 90-Minute Group Ride, or a Group Sunset Ride

Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of the Prize Package: $6,574.04. Unless otherwise stated, subject to winner verification and compliance with these Official Rules, the Prize Package will be picked up in person at the Sponsor address. Upon redeeming the Prize Package, the winner will find that it contains instructions on contacting a VISIT FLORIDA travel planner. Once the winner has selected dates and reserved their resort stay, a VISIT FLORIDA travel planner will book flights and rental car accommodations.

The earliest day of travel can be booked on June 1, 2025 (subject to Prize Provider availability). Travel may be taken from the time that no travel restrictions, stay at home orders, quarantine orders, shelter in place orders, “safer at home” orders, or similar orders or recommendations are in effect at either the winner’s place of origin or destination through June 30, 2026. Redemption instructions will accompany all certificates. The minimum age to book all elements of this Prize Package is 25.

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Marcel McKay left his residence on the 18000 block of Hull on May 15 and failed to return home.

He was last seen wearing all black clothing.

McKay is 16 years old, 5 feet 7 inches, 150 pounds, has brown eyes and brown hair.

Anyone with information should contact the Detroit Police Department’s 11th Precinct at 313-596-1140.

Jaylin Conley was last seen in the area of Albion and Sauer on Tuesday (June 9) and failed to return home.

He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt and gray jogging pants.

Conley is 16 years old, 5 feet 6 inches, 125 pounds, has brown eyes and black hair.

Anyone with information should contact the Detroit Police Department’s 9th Precinct at 313-596-5940.

Joseph Vanker was originally charged as a repeat offender and arraigned for assault with intent to murder for allegedly stabbing someone multiple times at his home on Nov. 25.

After hearing testimony at a preliminary hearing on Feb. 26, 2026, 41A District Judge Michael Sierawski decided to bind Vanker over to circuit court on a lesser charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder.

The assault with intent to commit great bodily harm charge was dismissed on June 10 by Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Toia, after Vanker pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of felony assault with a dangerous weapon, according to the prosecutor’s office. Habitual offender charges were also dismissed in the case.

Vanker was sentenced to 156 days in jail, with 156 days credit for time served.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Vanker’s initial charge of attempted murder was reduced due to a plea deal, however the charge was reduced by the court based on testimony heard during a preliminary hearing.

Federal funding is part of the rural health transformation program (RHTP).

Michigan will have $173 million of the funding.

RHTP aims to keep hospitals open and to change how care is delivered.

Communities without a hospital seek care elsewhere, adding strain on urban areas.

According to the CDC people living in rural areas are more likely to die prematurely from heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease and unintentional injuries.

A national Institute of Health study found in rural communities adults are affected by obesity 11% more and heart disease is twice as common.

Don Hunt, corporate affairs general director, LLYC, joined Local 4 Live to tell us more about rural healthcare.

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

The two had an argument and the man was seen taking the women’s purse and forcibly escorting her back into their car before driving away.

The incident occurred at a gas station on June 15 at around 1 a.m.

The gas station they arrived at is located in the 6500 block of Van Dyke.

Their vehicle has been described as an older model silver Chrysler van with no license plate.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Detroit Police Department’s Major Crimes Section at 313-596-2260 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-SpeakUp.

Congo’s Ministry of Health on Sunday said 72 new cases were reported in a 24-hour period, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 782. Those include 181 confirmed deaths, with 29 new ones.

“One month on, the Ebola disease outbreak is outpacing the response effort,” Kate White, emergency medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in Congo, said Monday. “No one knows the true scale or exactly where the disease is spreading in Congo.”

The medical charity said treatment centers in the epicenter of the outbreak are overwhelmed, many patients arrive in advanced stages of illness and most were not identified as contacts of infected people before seeking care.

Congo's health ministry said that while the numbers show the outbreak is spreading rapidly, it also reflects more active surveillance. “Community members are reporting suspected cases, and response teams are investigating them,” it said on X.

The number of cases in what could become history’s worst Ebola outbreak is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed on May 15, weeks after it is suspected to have begun.

The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which was not tested for in the early days. The more common Zaire virus, which now has a vaccine, was responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease.

The outbreak is concentrated in Congo’s eastern province of Ituri, which accounts for more than 90% of the cases. Cases have also been recorded in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and have spread across the border to Uganda.

Congo said the contact tracing coverage rate is 56%, a sharp decrease from last week, as authorities hurry to find people who may have been exposed.

There was no immediate explanation for the drop. Congolese health authorities previously said contact tracing has been hampered by community resistance in some areas and by the rapid expansion of the outbreak into new health zones, increasing the workload for surveillance teams.

Nearly a million people have been displaced by years of conflict in Ituri, according to the U.N. humanitarian office, making contact tracing difficult as people flee attacks or move frequently in the vast province with dense forests, poor roads and remote villages that can take days to reach.

Tracing is also difficult among the thousands of miners who regularly move among remote sites in the mineral-rich region.

The health ministry said Sunday 40 people have recovered since the start of the outbreak, and the current fatality rate of the outbreak is 23%.

Life goes on, including nightlife, as the population adjusts.

The World Health Organization said Sunday it is intensifying testing and contact tracing and treatment. Tons of supplies from the WHO have arrived in Congo.

And Africa’s top health body said it is deploying technical expertise and supporting laboratory systems, case finding and community engagement efforts to accelerate the response.

“We remain committed to supporting affected countries until transmission is stopped. We call on partners and donors to urgently mobilize resources to strengthen the response and save lives,” said the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jean Kaseya.

___

Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal.

For roughly 250,000 filers, they’re still waiting for their refunds.

The Michigan Department of Treasury reports roughly 95 percent of returns filed on time have been processed.

Since the filing season opened January 26, more than 5.12 million individual income tax returns have been processed and more than $3.43 billion in refunds issued with an average refund of $901.

That means about five percent of filers — an estimated 250,000 people — are still waiting for their refunds.

Previous coverage --> Waiting on a Michigan tax refund? Here’s why it may be stuck in ‘pending review’

New system, new headaches

The source of many delays traces back to November, when the Treasury retired its 40-year-old mainframe and switched to GenTax, a tax processing platform made by Fast Enterprises.

Melissa “Missy” Snyder, division administrator in the Individual Income Tax Division, says the overhaul was long overdue, but that doesn’t mean it came without growing pains.

“We came off a mainframe system that was 40 years old,” Snyder said. “When you transition from something that’s four decades old, there’s a lot that comes with it — not just the technology. There’s training, there’s learning curves, there are interfaces with other groups like IRS files that we get.”

Snyder compared the transition to upgrading from an outdated device to the latest smartphone.

“The best analogy I can give is we went from a flip phone to an iPhone 15,” she said.

Why returns are getting flagged

Treasury officials say the new system is significantly more sophisticated than its predecessor and that’s part of why so many returns are being held up.

The upgraded platform performs detailed, line-by-line evaluation of returns, flagging discrepancies the old mainframe may have missed. Missing data fields, mismatched information or math that doesn’t add up can all trigger a manual review.

“So, the delays that people are experiencing are related to either incomplete, incorrect or information that just doesn’t make sense,” Snyder said. “It might be complete on the form, but the math isn’t math-ing as we’re trying to work through the returns.”

The new system also introduced stronger fraud protections, something Snyder says was a driving reason for the upgrade.

“One of the major changes that we made with this technology update is a lot of support to prevent fraud,” she said. “We have to be conscious of people’s identities being stolen, tax preparer credentials being stolen. When the initial return doesn’t pass that eye test, if you will, we will stop and we will ask for more information.”

David Yesh, a retired Navy Reserve officer from the Detroit area, filed his Michigan return electronically on March 18. Weeks passed with no refund and no explanation.

“I filed my return and it was accepted 64 days ago,” Yesh said during a mid-May interview. “I don’t know, 30 or so days ago I called to find out where it was. Couldn’t talk to a live person, but I got a message that my return was still under review — with no explanation about what it was being under review for.”

Yesh said he was told his return would be completed by May 13. When that date came and went, the automated message remained unchanged.

“On May 13, I called, I got the same message,” he said. “May 14, I call, same message saying that my review will be completed by May 13.”

Yesh, who says he’s been filing Michigan taxes for 50 years, including three years while stationed in Japan, called the lack of communication the most frustrating part.

“If the state made an error, they need to own up to it, communicate what the problem is and what’s being done to fix it,” he said. “If it is just a problem with my return, then be able to communicate with me and let me know what error you found or what information you need to resolve that error.”

State lawmakers taking notice

Yesh isn’t alone. State Rep. Erin Byrnes, D-Dearborn, says her office has fielded complaints from roughly 15 constituents in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights who are still waiting on refunds, it’s a number she calls unprecedented.

“By the time we got to about five, the alarm bells started to ring,” Byrnes said. “Then it became 10, and then it got up to 15. We’ve been talking with other offices throughout this time period and we’re far from the only office. A lot of state reps are seeing this issue.”

Byrnes says she understands the real-world financial impact of delayed refunds.

“You’re banking on it — quite literally,” she said. “Months later, you’re still left waiting and you don’t really have any answers, and that’s not acceptable. We know that folks are being squeezed financially right now on a variety of fronts.”

Byrnes says her office has been in contact with Treasury but describes the process as challenging.

“We definitely need more communication from the Treasury Department, and we need to get a handle on this software system,” she said. “We know that other states are using the same software, and we’re trying to figure out why Michigan is struggling so much.”

27,000 erroneous letters sent

Compounding the confusion: Treasury acknowledged sending approximately 27,000 incorrect notices to taxpayers.

Snyder says the letters incorrectly suggested taxes were owed when they weren’t which stemmed from the result of a data-pull error during processing.

“The payments themselves were correct,” Snyder said. “They were accounted for on the financials, but when the letter was generated to the taxpayers, it pulled in the wrong data element. The letters themselves were wrong.”

Bob Doyle, president and CEO of the Michigan Association of CPAs, says the erroneous letters created a ripple effect for tax professionals across the state.

“There was these erroneous notices that were sent out to taxpayers,” Doyle said. “Of course, the first thing they’re going to do is call their CPA. That’s definitely how we’ve gotten involved in ensuring Treasury understands the issues.”

Doyle says the Michigan Association of CPAs has since been working closely with Treasury to address ongoing issues — and is already looking ahead.

“Meeting more regularly is what we’ve started to do,” he said. “We’re working on how we can better use language in letters that explains the situation better. We’ll continue to ensure that the next deadlines coming up are smoother for our members.”

Overloaded phone lines — repeat callers to blame?

For taxpayers trying to get answers by phone, the frustration is real. But Treasury says part of the problem is a small group of repeat callers tying up the lines.

In April, Treasury found that just 65 people accounted for 11,000 calls to its phone line — with some individuals getting through 14 or 15 times.

“When you start breaking that number down, it blocks everybody else,” Snyder said. “They’re constantly eating up a phone line.”

A new phone system is expected to go live in July, Snyder said.

In the meantime, Treasury recommends taxpayers check the status of their return through the e-service portal at michigan.gov, where they can also view any letters sent to them, send a message and request a callback.

To get to the e-service portal, click here.

For a president who revels in winners, Trump had to enjoy crowning two champions on a big fight night staged closer to the Rose Garden than Madison Square Garden in the co-main event of UFC Freedom 250.

American lightweight Justin Gaethje capped his unification championship victory in the main event over Ilia Topuria with a backflip off the top of the cage. He crouched near Trump for a celebratory chat and the betting underdog draped the American flag over one shoulder — and the 155-pound title belt over another. Trump later stepped into the cage to congratulate Gaethje.

“Hey, I'm from America, 250 years ago we were way more than 6-1 underdogs,” Gaethje said. “I know that was absolutely legendary because I cannot even believe it.”

Topuria and Gaethje made their walkouts from the Oval Office as fireworks exploded overhead during Bruce Buffer’s introductions. Gaethje — who appeared to skim the copy of the Declaration of Independence on his way out — mustered some scattered “USA!” chants against the Spanish-Georgian Topuria, though not even the main event could stop the trend of mostly quiet fights.

It took the gory sight of a bloodied Topuria — his back to Trump in a white “USA” hat as he peered through the wire-mesh cage — nearly having the fight waved off to get a “let them fight!” chant going. The fight continued, and the 37-year-old Gaethje won eventually via corner stoppage in the fourth round.

“Hard work, baby,” Gaethje said. “I am made for these moments. This sport is made for me.”

Earlier, Ciryl Gane hammered Alex Pereira with a series of elbows and fists to the head and won via TKO in 1:27 of the second round to claim the interim heavyweight belt for a second time and set up a rematch with heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall.

Like the bulk of the fighters who had their hands raised in victory, Gane thanked Trump.

The White House was a most improbable all-American setting for a fight promotion that long ago shed the “human cockfighting” tag and decades later became entwined with the emboldened right-wing “ manosphere ” that soaks up UFC fights and threw its support behind Trump in two elections.

Trump and UFC boss Dana White, the tempestuous tag-team that rallied the fight company to the nation's capital, walked from the Oval Office to the Blue Room Balcony to chants of “USA! USA!” to kick off the fight card jacked up by a dose of high-octane patriotism on a blustery night for cage fighting.

This was no Easter egg roll.

UFC ramped up the patriotism for White House debut

The Marine Band jazzed up the festivities and played fighter entrance music in front of the White House and Zac Brown sang the national anthem — never performed before normal UFC fight cards because of the mix of nationalities fighting inside the Octagon. The Navy’s Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds zipped overhead as part of a flyover to celebrate Trump’s birthday and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing.

The 4,000-plus fans — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison among them — on the South Lawn who sat under the claw, the flying saucer-like, open-air structure that housed the cage, mostly sat on their hands until the fighters used theirs to deliver punishing blows and a true fighting spirit that got everyone on their feet.

Bo Nickal delivered the red, white and boom when the three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion at Penn State earned the TKO win over middleweight Kyle Daukaus and immediately bolted the Octagon for a cage-side chat with Trump. Nickal met Trump in 2019 during a ceremony at the White House for collegiate national champions.

The first blight of the night for Trump came when American heavyweight Derrick Lewis lost his fight after he got a personal invitation from the president. Trump proclaimed himself a fan of Lewis and his unconventional celebrations and asked White to add him to the card. Josh Hokit instead improved to 10-0 when he flattened Lewis by TKO.

Sean O'Malley celebrated his walk-off KO win with a salute, and Mauricio Ruffy and Diego Lopes won their fights earlier in the night.

“That was sexy,” O'Malley said to cheers. “I felt the energy in here. I truly felt the energy in here.”

UFC says it's only running one card at the White House

More than $60 million and tens of thousands of hours of labor were poured into building the arena, according to a court filing from the National Park Service, which oversees the South Lawn, and the looming threat of rain that threw White into a tizzy each time a miserable forecast was raised never materialized over the early portions of the card.

The constant headaches over the weather, the site and the cost — UFC said it was footing the $60 million tab — made the Freedom 250 a one-time show.

“It will never happen again,” White said. “I can't afford it. I'll never do the Sphere again and we'll never do this again.”

White said he and Trump discussed the possibility of holding a “fight for the troops card” at an unspecified site at some point next season.

“He wanted it this year,” White said. “I said, ‘Sir, I need a year to recover financially for the White House fight, so give me a year.’”

Fight night came hours after the United States and Iran reached an agreement to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, offering relief to the global economy more than three months after the war began.

The rare UFC outdoors event marked the pinnacle of the relationship between White and Trump that has yielded personal, political and financial dividends for both parties. White's first card as UFC president came in 2001 at an event held at Trump Taj Mahal.

Trump attended fights throughout the decades from New York to New Jersey to Florida while White introduced Trump at two Republican National Conventions.

Trump got a home game for this one, making the short walk from the Oval Office to the Octagon, much like the fighters who made the walk down West Wing halls covered with presidential portraits and were flanked by first responders and medal of honor recipients, among other individuals who served.

Strickland causes trouble at the fan zone at the Ellipse

Thousands more outside the White House lawn watched the fights on big screens from the nearby Ellipse, though not everyone was able to get tickets.

Even one of UFC's champions.

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland was escorted out of the Ellipse event by a group of police officers.

U.S. Park Police said in a statement that Strickland’s presence drew enough attention from attendees that it resulted in disorder. He wasn’t cited or arrested, they said. Instead, he was taken to his hotel and told not to come back to the venue.

___

AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts

The seven-time champion's breakthrough first win with Ferrari on Sunday, his first since 2024, left him second in the standings and cut into the overall lead of Kimi Antonelli, the driver who replaced Hamilton when he left Mercedes.

Getting back to the front has been a long and painful process and Hamilton shed some light on his journey after the win in Spain.

Mental wellbeing takes priority

Hamilton said he'd trained harder than ever ahead of this season to keep up with younger rivals like the 19-year-old Antonelli, after an injury dogged him through 2025 and he started to doubt his abilities.

That paid off as Hamilton became, at 41 years, 5 months, the oldest F1 winner since 1970, but it wasn't all about physical fitness. Mental wellbeing has been central to his recovery.

“I’ve rebuilt my mind to this point, to get myself back to where I was,” he said Sunday, adding he'd focused on a message of “never second-guess yourself, never doubt yourself.”

That meant a social media detox and valuable real-world time with family and friends.

“I’m only human. So, you know, there’s moments where I see the stuff (on social media) and for sure there’s moments where I allowed it to get to me and penetrate deeply,” he said.

“I went through a sequence of unplugging from that matrix. I spent lots of time with family, lots of time with friends, real people that know me, that have never doubted me, have stuck to and by me my whole life.”

At the track, Hamilton's had support from Kim Kardashian, while he and his new race engineer Carlo Santi have been exchanging warm words of support over the radio after often-awkward exchanges with Riccardo Adami last year.

Ferrari's newfound innovation

Signing Hamilton in 2024 was something of a risk for Ferrari, too, given that when the move was announced, his most recent win had been more than two years before.

With plenty of runner-up finishes but no constructors' title since 2008, under team principal Fred Vasseur's leadership, Ferrari seems keener to take risks in a push to speed clear of the field rather than just be among the leading pack.

Hamilton talked up his meetings with senior Ferrari staff last year to plan out 2026, and the collaborative approach seems to be working.

“These guys have really listened and really worked hard to add performance and be innovative. This year is all about innovation,” Hamilton said, singling out the “Macarena” rear wing, which turns upside-down for better straight-line speed.

“This is what I was asking for last year. This team has to be the leaders in that, and they’ve shown that they can and they will.”

Reliability

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff brought out an old F1 cliche Sunday after watching Antonelli break down on track, the second Mercedes non-finish in three races.

“To finish first, first you have to finish,” he told Sky Sports.

Hamilton is the only driver to finish in the top 10 of every race this season while Mercedes seeks to sort out its issues. That streak of results might not last for Hamilton, though. Teammate Charles Leclerc had to retire Sunday with an issue affecting his brakes and steering.

Mercedes still has the edge

Hamilton says an historic eighth title hasn't been on his mind, and Antonelli's lead still stands at a formidable 41 points. Still, there are grounds for optimism for Hamilton.

F1 is heading into a run of European tracks which Hamilton knows well — including his home race in Britain next month — and where Antonelli largely underperformed last year.

In terms of car development, Wolff has suggested spending limits could restrict Mercedes' response to the package of new parts Ferrari used so effectively in Barcelona.

___

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

Why Michigan’s new tax system is holding up refunds for thousands of filers

Tax season ended two months ago.

For roughly 250,000 filers, they’re still waiting for their refunds.

The Michigan Department of Treasury reports roughly 95% of returns filed on time have been processed.

Since the filing season opened January 26, more than 5.12 million individual income tax returns have been processed and more than $3.43 billion in refunds issued with an average refund of $901.

That means about 5% of filers — an estimated 250,000 people — are still waiting for their refunds.

Read more.

Firefighters work to contain warehouse fire in Southwest Detroit

A massive fire at an industrial facility on Detroit’s west side is sending huge plumes of black smoke into the air Monday morning.

Firefighters and emergency personnel have been on the scene for more than an hour at the Cummings-Moore Graphite Co. warehouse, located on N Green and Calahan streets.

It’s not yet clear whether anyone was inside the building when the fire occurred, or what caused the blaze.

Read more.

Big Boy celebrates 90-year milestone with special offers, memories

A beloved family dining chain is celebrating its 90th birthday on Monday, June 15, and intends to mark it with tons of special offers, promotions and more for its dedicated customers.

“For 90 years, Big Boy has been about more than burgers and breakfasts,” said Tamer Afr, CEO of Big Boy Restaurants. “ Reaching 90 years is a testament to our loyal guests and the communities that have made Big Boy part of their lives.”

Anyone who visits participating locations on National Big Boy Day (Monday, June 15) can get their hands on an original Big Boy sandwich for $1.90 with the purchase of any Pepsi product.

Read more here.

District reports vandalism at shuttered Cooley High School in Detroit

The former Cooley High School building on the northwest side of Detroit was broken into over the weekend, Detroit Public Schools Community District officials reported Sunday night.

A large section of fence that was installed to protect the shuttered school until its impending demolition was reportedly broken, along with the seal protecting the entrance from unauthorized entry.

The district says the fence has been repaired and the school building will now have 24-hour security on the premises until the demolition is complete.

Read more here.

Weather: Metro Detroit gets relief from heat, but umbrellas will be needed this week

After a stretch of heat and humidity, Metro Detroit is settling into a more comfortable weather pattern this week.

The air conditioning will not have to work quite as hard as it did during the recent hot spell, as temperatures across Southeast Michigan return to levels typical for mid-June. Residents in the Thumb and northern Metro Detroit will notice the coolest temperatures, while communities closer to Detroit and the Ohio border remain several degrees warmer.

Monday brings a mix of sun and clouds. Skies will be sunny in the morning and partly cloudy in the afternoon.

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Fast-forward more than a decade and a half later, and the “Kids and the Hall" line was a huge reason the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup.

“Great all playoffs, all year,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Their game really hasn’t changed for months.”

Offsetting power-play struggles through the first three rounds and sagging production from the top line of Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov for much of the playoffs, Hall, Stankoven and Blake combined for 29 of the Hurricanes' 66 goals in their title run.

That included the two scored on Carter Hart in Game 6 against Vegas to close out the final.

“Those two just work so hard,” Blake said. “They make it a whole lot easier on me to play out there, for sure. They were unbelievable all playoffs long, and it was so fun and to cap it off with this is very special.”

Hall had what will go down as the Game 6 winner, completing at 18 seasons the longest stretch between getting picked first and winning the Cup. The 34-year-old winger who was NHL MVP in 2017-18 while playing for New Jersey thrived as a role player with Carolina, his seventh team in the league.

“You never know what kind of turn your life’s going to take,” said Hall, who joined Carolina from Chicago as part of a three-team trade in January 2025 and signed an extension a few months later. "I got fortunate coming here. A special group to do it with. They allowed me, personally, just to come in and have success and that says a lot.”

In that same deal, the Hurricanes got big winger Mikko Rantanen from Colorado. He lasted just 13 games with them before getting flipped to Dallas.

The centerpiece of that return was Stankoven, who was most of the way through his first season with the Stars.

“I didn't see it coming,” Stankoven said. “It was tough at first just to kind of swallow it and realize that I was getting shipped out.”

Stankoven became the center Carolina needed and led the team in playoff goals with 11. Blake assisted on Hall's goal and scored the second one Sunday night, showing up big as the youngest player to lift the Cup this time.

“I have no words right now,” the 22-year-old Blake said. “I’m out of breath. But this is the greatest feeling I’ve ever had in my life. It’s unbelievable. And to do it with these guys, my family here and everyone here supporting us, it’s unbelievable.”

It all worked because Stankoven was able to fill the void in the middle that had prevented the Hurricanes from getting over the hump.

Hall became the muscle. Blake was the distributor. Stankoven turned out to be the finisher, while also creating the offense at even strength.

“It’s what you dream of as a kid is to obviously, one, win a Stanley Cup, but you want to be a difference-maker in the NHL,” the 23-year-old Stankoven said. “I know that I’m not a finished product. I still have work to put in, and I’m still a young guy. I just want to keep working at my game and just being a sponge.”

While the Stars are more than happy to have Rantanen in his prime, Stankoven made the best of the move 15 months ago. Last summer, he signed a $48 million contract through 2034 and already looks to be worth every penny.

“Everything kind of happens for a reason,” Stankoven said. “Dallas got their player, and I just want to become the best version of myself here in Carolina.”

___

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

The city was caught up in this championship run for nearly two months and the party will last at least a few days more, with the Knicks' first parade through New York — they didn't have one in 1970 or '73 — scheduled for Thursday.

The team will be remembered long after the confetti is picked up off the streets of Broadway — and not only in New York.

The 2025-26 Knicks have a place in NBA history.

Their postseason performance is in the discussion for the best in the 80-year history of the league, a run of routs and then comebacks for their first championship since 1973.

“What a run!” former President Barack Obama wrote in a tweet congratulating coach Mike Brown, Brunson and the rest of the Knicks.

One that was arguably as good even as any of Obama's beloved Bulls.

The Knicks finished 16-3, an .842 winning percentage that matched the 2024 Boston Celtics for the second best since the format switched to best-of-seven series in all rounds beginning in 2003. The 2017 Golden State Warriors finished 16-1.

The Los Angeles Lakers went 15-1 in 2001 and the Philadelphia 76ers finished 12-1 in 1983. Five teams finished a postseason with two losses.

The Knicks won 13 consecutive games at one point, second only to the Warriors' 15 in a row in 2017. They set records by winning nine straight on the road and outscoring their postseason opponents by 283 points.

They were still midway through the NBA Finals when rapper Fat Joe, one of the Knicks' orange-and-blue dressed celebrity fans, came to Brown's news conference and said what the team had spent weeks making clear.

“Let’s just wait until it’s over, but right now you analyze the numbers, we might be looking at the greatest team ever, like if you analyze the numbers,” he said.

And when things stopped coming easily, the Knicks set records for the other ways they won. Their comeback from a 29-point deficit in Game 4 was the biggest rally in an NBA Finals game since detailed play-by-play began in 1997, and the Knicks capped it off by coming from 16 down in the clincher.

Add it up, and the Knicks can make a compelling case for the most dominant postseason ever.

“It's absolutely one of the greatest ever," said Mike Breen, who calls Knicks games on MSG Network during the regular season and has been ABC's lead announcer for the NBA Finals since 2006.

"It's impossible for me to rank it, but when you take into account the point differential, the nine straight road wins, clinching all four series on the road, the two losses by one point, the two record-setting comebacks, it's in the conversation as the best ever.”

Two of the Knicks' losses were by one point to Atlanta in the first round. The other was by four points in Game 3 against the Spurs, leaving them six points from a perfect postseason.

On the other side, they won clinching games by 51, 30 and 37 points in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Knicks were never going to care about how they won, just that they did. Before the playoffs started, All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns summed up the pressure the players faced in trying to get back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999 by saying: “At the end of the day we’ll be judged by what we do in this run.”

They will be judged well — historically well.

“We went through a lot this season, a lot of ups and downs, but we just stayed with it,” forward OG Anunoby said. “We’re resilient, mentally tough and we won.”

___

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

Popular notions of philanthropy as merely a game for the ultrawealthy to fund partisan projects and commit fraud have left the sector vulnerable to political attacks, as the Council on Foundations sees it, influencing policies that hamper essential community services. The advocacy group, which represents about 1,000 nonprofits, hopes to overcome what CEO Kathleen Enright calls the sector’s “perception gap” with its “Generosity Builds” campaign, launched Monday.

Enright believes most Americans don’t recognize their reliance on the charitable sector. Just about 1 in 20 adults said they or anyone in their immediate family received nonprofit services in the past year, according to a 2023 Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy report.

“This week, I got an MRI at Georgetown University Hospital, I participated in my church at St. Columba's, my daughter was inducted into National Junior Honor Society. Four or five nonprofits have been instrumental in my life this week," she said. “Folks just aren’t putting that tag on it.”

And that tag is growing increasingly important, Enright said. Last year, negotiations over President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill included proposals to levy new taxes on private foundations that Enright said would have taken resources from communities if they made it into the final law.

The battle over defining what nonprofits actually do has recently been amplified from the highest rungs of the Trump administration, which has upended decades of partnerships built with nonprofits. Trump froze, cut or threatened a sweeping range of social service grants characterized by the White House as “government largesse that's often riddled with corruption, waste, fraud, and abuse." More recently, the Department of Justice charged the Southern Poverty Law Center — a civil rights nonprofit accused by Republicans of targeting conservatives in its work tracking extremists — with defrauding donors through payments to informants.

Vice President JD Vance described the Ford Foundation, the Gates Foundation and the Harvard University endowment as “cancers on American society" back as a 2021 U.S. Senate candidate, telling Tucker Carlson that “we are actively subsidizing the people who are destroying this country and they call it a charity.”

“All across our country, we have nonprofits — big foundations — that are effectively social-justice hedge funds," he said in a talk that year on “woke capital.”

Narratives about nonprofits being “overly politicized” or wasteful are “extreme minority stories" that don't reflect how philanthropy operates, according to Enright.

Across many surveys, trust in the nonprofit sector has remained higher than most others. But its impact is sometimes difficult to measure and explain. The sector hasn't faced an environment this challenging in almost six decades, according to Kathryn Thomas, the vice president of communications for the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in Flint, Michigan.

She cited the congressional effort to increases taxes on foundations' investment incomes and acknowledged the Trump administration's federal funding cuts.

“In an era when everything is under partisan attack and there's so much polarization, we really have to do a better job of emphasizing why we exist,” Thomas said.

Enright said the story of philanthropy is not one where a rich person “saves the day.” She sees growing concerns about billionaires' influence fueling suspicion about philanthropists' motivations. Some argue the charitable sector allows moneyed interests to decide how tax dollars are spent rather than elected officials.

The campaign will emphasize that most donors “have just a little bit more than they need and therefore want to give back,” she said, especially at the local level.

“Money does not solve problems. It’s a tool that creative people and institutions inside communities use to solve problems,” she said. "The real heroes of most of these stories are nonprofit leaders, religious leaders, civic leaders who just roll up their sleeves and get something done — but do it with some financial underpinning by charitable foundations.”

That's the story told by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation in Sarasota, Florida. A 10-apartment affordable housing complex for military veterans opened last year with the foundation's support.

The area has an “embarrassingly high” number of veterans without housing, according to Jon Thaxton, the foundation's director of policy and advocacy. Many are priced out in Sarasota, increasingly a luxury destination with high real estate prices.

Local donors had been trying to build a similar project when they approached the foundation in 2020 for help. Thaxton secured land already vested for affordable housing, corralled $2.2 million in donations, got $800,000 from the city and won the backing of their U.S. representatives.

The foundation's leaders believe their track record made that possible. Phillip Lanham, the president and CEO, noted the project was completed across multiple election cycles and a pandemic, suggesting that community foundations are well situated to “play the long game.”

“Most people think that foundations like us deal with money and donors. We really don't. We deal with relationships and trust,” Thaxton said. “That's our commodity. That's what we earn. That's what we save. And that's what we contribute back to the community.”

The Council on Foundations will also elevate examples of early, ordinary philanthropists as part of its case for philanthropy as an integral “part of the American story.” Enright credited a formerly enslaved man with donating land in North Carolina that became an African Methodist Episcopal church that endures as a pillar of the local community.

Lillian Kuri, the president and CEO of the Cleveland Foundation, welcomed the focus on everyday philanthropists. The Cleveland Foundation is considered the first community foundation, established in 1914 by lawyer Frederick Harris Goff as a way to fund durable change in the city.

The foundation aims to find new ways to expand today's tent of philanthropists dedicated to improving their surrounding areas. It announced new investments this week in a fund dedicated to turn vacant industrial land into job-ready work sites. They've also launched a fund that allows donors to invest in major Northeast Ohio companies, supporting local business growth while that money increases into a sizable amount that can be donated to nonprofits.

“Generosity cuts across everybody,” she said, adding that community foundations offer “a way for everyday people — not just the largest, wealthiest people — to participate in the change they want to see in their communities."

___

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

Related: The majestic and surprising unifying power of raccoons

It happened Friday, June 12, in Genesee County.

Authorities said one raccoon had its head stuck in the center of the metal sewer grate and the other was trapped beneath it.

With the help of Genesee County Animal Care, the two raccoons were rescued safely and returned to the wild.

It’s not the first time this has happened in Southeast Michigan.

The fires in May 2025 damaged the home Starmer moved out of when he became prime minister, as well as an apartment building he once owned a share of and destroyed his former Toyota SUV. Nobody was injured in the blazes.

A Russian-speaking ringleader who went by the name “El Money” hatched the scheme and offered Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych money through the Telegram messaging app to torch the properties and get video of the evidence that could be posted online to draw attention to the attack.

El Money’s identity was never revealed and he was not charged.

There was no evidence proving a hostile state orchestrated the fires because police never discovered El Money's motive or who the figure worked for, said Cmdr. Helen Flanagan, head of the counterterrorism team at the Metropolitan Police.

“Clearly the tasking was to intimidate and create fear for the prime minister and to attack the U.K.,” Flanagan said.

Lavrynovych, 22, and Stanislav Carpiuc, a 27-year-old Romanian citizen, were found guilty in London's Central Criminal Court of a conspiracy to damage property by fire. Petro Pochynok, 35, was acquitted of the charge.

Lavrynovych was also convicted of two counts of arson that could have recklessly endangered life.

Lavrynovych said he needed money and admitted he set the fires, saying he wanted the bounty of 3,000 pounds ($4,000) in cryptocurrency to pay for medical treatment his father needed.

But he said he only followed through because he had been threatened by El Money. He said he had no idea who owned the property until after the fires and said he didn’t intend to hurt anyone. He told police he didn't even know who Starmer was.

El Money provided detailed instructions to Lavrynovych on the targets, how to mix flammable substances and steps to avoid being caught.

Messages recovered from Lavrynovych’s phone showed he discussed setting the fires as well as other vandalism he conducted for money, such as painting the windshields of cars black and putting up anti-Islam posters in Muslim areas of London.

After the fires, El Money promised Lavrynovych he would pay and told the Ukrainian to send him a secret message with the code word “geranium” if he was detained by police. Shortly after Lavrynovych received that message he was arrested. The court was told he never received any money for setting the three fires.

Carpiuc acted as a middleman, and Pochynok allegedly was recruited to record video of the fires so Lavrynovych could get paid.

The fires were set in the dead of night and occupants sleeping in the homes awoke to smoke billowing in their front doors.

Starmer’s sister-in-law, who was living in his home, heard a loud bang and said she struggled to breathe as smoke filled a stairway. Her 9-year-old daughter was terrified.

An occupant of the apartment building retreated to the roof after discovering hallways full of smoke.

The two convicts are scheduled to be sentenced Friday.

The Ocean Observatories Initiative is a network of more than 900 ocean sensors built at a cost of $386 million. Over the last decade it has tracked ocean circulation, marine ecosystems, climate change and extreme weather, producing data freely available to the public and informing more than 500 scientific publications. The project was slated to run another 15 to 20 years.

The National Science Foundation had directed the removal of most of the system’s instruments from waters off Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina and Greenland by 2027 — a decision scientists said came with no warning and no scientific review. The independent federal agency, which was established by Congress, described the move not as a cancellation but as a “descoping” aligned with a strategy to prioritize “evolving scientific priorities and emerging technologies.” The Trump administration’s proposed 2026 budget had included a 55% cut to the agency.

‘Supreme stupidity’

“It just seems like this is supreme stupidity and a violation of the fundamental distribution of powers in our Constitution,” Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon told The Associated Press. “This program is authorized, it’s funded, and for the administration to shut it down without direction from Congress violates that vision in which the people’s representatives decide what’s done and funded, and the executive branch executes that vision.”

Merkley and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska co-led the letter, which was also signed by Democratic Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Ron Wyden of Oregon. It urged the National Science Foundation, or NSF, to halt the dismantling of the Ocean Observatories Initiative and conduct a thorough review, including consultation with the marine science community, before any further action is taken.

“Eliminating most of this complex ocean monitoring system threatens the safety of our coastal communities while undermining our nation’s ability to monitor coastal environments, marine currents, and extreme weather events,” the senators wrote.

In a sharper rebuke, Democrats from the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee sent a joint letter demanding the agency “cease this expensive, destructive, and — crucially — illegal action at once.” The letter was led by Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Jared Huffman of California, the top Democrats on their respective committees, and was signed by 23 Democratic members from each panel.

In a June 3 statement, the NSF said its decision drew in part on a 2025 National Academies report on the future of ocean science. “NSF remains committed to ocean science and will continue working with the scientific community on high-priority research objectives,” it wrote.

Cuts seen as sign of broader retreat

The ocean observatory cuts are part of a broader retreat from environmental and climate-related science under President Donald Trump's Republican administration, which has moved to scale back research programs, reduce staffing at agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, and ease emissions regulations.

Federal appropriations law requires the NSF to notify the House and Senate Appropriations Committees at least 30 days in advance of any planned decommissioning of agency-owned facilities or assets valued at more than $2.5 million. The House letter said no such notification had been transmitted.

Merkley said he learned of the dismantling through news reports.

“It was like the alarm bells just went off,” he said. “None of us knew about this, and there didn’t appear to have been any consultation or any scientific commission or stakeholders that were leading to this.”

Merkley said his office is still confirming whether formal notification was given, but he added: “If there was no notification, this would appear to be illegal.”

He and Murkowski planned to file legislation Monday that would prohibit the NSF from spending federal funds to decommission instruments until a thorough review has been completed.

Pulling buoy off Oregon coast

Scientists are scheduled to begin pulling the first buoy off the Oregon coast on Tuesday.

In their letter, the senators cited the approaching El Niño — a periodic Pacific warming that disrupts weather patterns and supercharges marine heat waves — as evidence the cuts are particularly ill timed.

“The loss of this deep-water observation system would threaten our ability to prepare for and monitor future El Niño events,” they wrote, warning coastal communities, fishermen and emergency responders would be left without crucial information.

“Instead of paying for the valuable insights that can be gleaned from the 10-years-and-counting continuous monitoring, taxpayers are now paying for research vessels to span the ocean dredging up hundreds of pieces of instrumentation. This is pathetic,” the House letter states. “In a time of strained resources, the NSF is wasting time and money to destroy its own scientific infrastructure.”

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Follow Annika Hammerschlag on Instagram: @ahammergram.

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

The incident happened around 5 p.m. on June 13.

According to police shots were fired on the 12500 block of Payton.

Preliminary investigations say that a repast was taking place when a vehicle drove by a fired shots into the crowd.

Police say individuals in the crowd shot back.

Two men were struck in the incident and taken to a local hospital, police say.

According to authorities one of the men were listed as in temporary serious condition, the other has been listed as stable condition.

Anyone with information can contact the Detroit police department’s 9th precinct at 313-596-5940 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-SPEAKUP

“For 90 years, Big Boy has been about more than burgers and breakfasts,” said Tamer Afr, CEO of Big Boy Restaurants. “We’ve been part of family traditions, first dates, after-game celebrations, road trips and Sunday mornings with grandparents. Reaching 90 years is a testament to our loyal guests and the communities that have made Big Boy part of their lives.”

Anyone who visits participating locations on National Big Boy Day (Monday, June 15) can get their hands on an original Big Boy sandwich for $1.90 with the purchase of any Pepsi product.

The 90th anniversary festivities on Monday continue a month-long celebration that has included throwback pricing, guest giveaways and other promotions aimed at honor the restaurant’s legacy while welcoming and encouraging a new generation of diners.

“Our guests don’t come to Big Boy because it’s trendy, they come because it feels like home,” Afr said. “For 90 years, we’ve stayed true to who we are — a place where families can gather, celebrate milestones and create memories over a great meal.”