Miller, facing mounting scrutiny over the allegations, said in announcing the move on the social media platform X that he was requesting the probe “to clear my name," adding “I have nothing to hide.”

The second-term congressman, a senior White House aide during Trump's first presidency, is facing a flurry of legal filings by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, who is the daughter of Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, and an ex-girlfriend. House Democrats have called for an investigation.

Trump spoke with Miller on Monday and advised that his candidacy “doesn't look good,” according to a source familiar with the conversation who was granted anonymity to discuss a private conversation. Trump's conversation with Miller was first reported by Axios. Wednesday is the deadline for Miller to withdraw from his reelection campaign if he choses to step down.

Sen. Moreno, who had long been silent on the allegations, spoke out Sunday, saying Miller fails to display “the basic standards of character required to hold elected office."

Miller, who had been endorsed by Trump, has said he will remain in the race for his competitive House district seat in northeastern Ohio, which includes affluent suburbs of Cleveland and rural areas to the southwest.

He had previewed his decision over the weekend when he livestreamed a video defending himself on X and posting a cache of documents related to his divorce and custody cases.

“I’m not dropping out of this race and I’ll win in November,” he said on the platform.

Trump declined to say publicly on Monday whether Miller should exit the race, noting that the accusations against him were “allegations.”

“I know Max. He's a good person. I mean, I always thought he was a very good person. And I'm going to let the families figure that out,” Trump told reporters when asked about Miller during an Oval Office event.

The S&P 500 climbed 1.7% and is on track to top its all-time high set a couple months ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 966 points, or 1.8%, to its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite was 2.2% higher, as of 12:55 p.m. Eastern time.

Despite worries about high inflation, the war in Iran and a possible bubble in stock prices because of euphoria around the boom in artificial-intelligence technology, Wall Street is nearing its latest apex in large part because profits are soaring for companies. That’s key because stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate earnings over the long term.

Palantir Technologies helped lead the way and jumped 29.3% after CEO Alex Karp said its overall revenue leaped 93% in what he called an “otherworldly” quarter. Besides reporting a stronger profit for the spring than analysts expected, the AI company also raised its revenue forecast for the full year of 2026.

Caterpillar climbed 6.5% after the heavy-equipment maker likewise reported stronger profit and revenue than analysts expected. It was the first time Caterpillar made more than $20 billion in sales and revenue in a quarter, and CEO Joe Creed said it’s seeing strong order rates and a growing backlog across its main businesses.

Caterpillar is also benefiting from the AI boom through increased orders for turbines used to power data centers, among other things.

McDonald's added 0.9% after topping analysts' expectations for profit during the spring, even as its customers faced increased pressure from expensive gasoline and worries about the economy.

They’re the latest companies to deliver even better profits for the latest quarter than investors expected, following strong results from Amazon, Microsoft and others. Coming into this week, companies in the S&P 500 index were on track to deliver growth of nearly 50% in earnings per share for the spring from a year earlier, according to FactSet.

That would be the biggest such jump since the spring of 2021, when the economy was roaring out of the COVID-19 pandemic. With corporate profits up so much, while stock prices are still roughly where they were two months ago, they don't look as expensive as they did before, according to Phil Segner, a co-portfolio manager at the Leuthold Group.

Also helping stocks on Tuesday was another drop for oil prices.

Brent crude, the international standard, sank 4.9% to $79.64 per barrel as hope once again took over from fear in the oil market. It had swung sharply between $72 and $102 through July on uncertainty about when the war with Iran would allow oil tankers to freely exit the Persian Gulf again to deliver crude around the world.

It’s jerked up and down many times as uncertainty built, receded and then built again, not only week to week but also hour to hour. Analysts warned more could still be ahead, but the latest drop in oil prices nevertheless helped to ease Wall Street's worries about inflation. That in turn pulled down yields in the bond market, which relaxes pressure on the overall economy and on prices for stocks and other investments.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.63% from 4.70% Monday and from 4.75% at the end of last week. That’s a notable move for the bond market, though it remains well above its 3.97% level from before the war with Iran.

Higher yields make it more expensive for all kinds of Americans to borrow money, from homebuyers looking for a mortgage to big companies looking to build AI data centers.

Reports on the U.S. economy, meanwhile, showed it remains resilient even though inflation remains worse than anyone would like. One said U.S. employers were advertising nearly 7.4 million job openings at the end of June, a slight slowdown from May's level but close to economists' expectations.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly across much of Europe and Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi had a more significant move and rose 1.6%. Seoul has been home to some of the world’s sharpest swings recently because its stock market is dominated by two companies swept up in AI mania, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The Kospi had dropped 5.1% and soared 17.9% in the prior two days.

Stocks of computer chip companies also strengthened on Wall Street, where gains of 6.1% for Broadcom, 1.9% for Nvidia and 8% for Micron Technology were some of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.

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AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

There were no regrets.

“I'm betting on myself,” Horschel said at the Sony Open.

He has reached the end of the regular season at No. 176 in the world, which isn't nearly as troubling as being No. 107 in the FedEx Cup in a year when his full exempt status is set to expire.

It's a reminder how golf offers no guarantees — meritocracy works both ways — and Horschel has plenty of company at the Wyndham Championship, the final regular-season event that determines the top 70 who advance to the postseason and are assured a full card for 2027.

On the outside looking in

Jason Day, who 10 years ago was No. 1 in the world and looked unbeatable at times, is at No. 75 in the FedEx Cup. He started the year with a runner-up finish behind Scottie Scheffler at The American Express but has had only one other top 10 this season.

Particularly glaring another 11 spots down the standings at No. 86 is five-time major champion Brooks Koepka, who was all the talk back in January when he became the first player who bolted from LIV Golf (at just the right time as it turns out) to rejoin the PGA Tour.

Koepka had been gone nearly four years, long enough to not fully understand how the points system worked. His immediate goal was to get into the $20 million signature events — one of the conditions of his return was being ineligible for sponsor exemptions to those tournaments. He didn't make it into any of them.

And right when he was in position to contend — two shots out of the lead going into the weekend of the Canadian Open — he had a freak injury in his hand that one round later forced him to withdraw.

Now he has one tournament left to reach the postseason. He needs at least a fourth-place finish at the Wyndham Championship, a tall task considering he has only one top 10 this year. At least he is secure for two more years from winning the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in 2023.

The year in which no one has stood out

But it's been a strange year for so many players accustomed to smoother waters.

Who would have predicted before the first tee shot of 2026 that Chris Gotterup would have more wins than Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy combined?

No one will — or should — be concerned with Scheffler. He won his season opener in the California desert, and nothing else. He also has five runner-up finishes and five other finishes in the top 4. Four of those runner-up finishes paid out more than his lone victory.

The margins are thin in golf, even for the No. 1 player in the world.

McIlroy isn't the least bit stressed that his one title this year was a repeat at Augusta National. Yes, he would love to win another FedEx Cup title. Odds are it would be sweeter to get another Race to Dubai title in Europe, especially at the expense of Patrick Reed.

No winners from the top 10 in the world in three months

Cameron Young is the defending champion at the Wyndham Championship. And to think it was only a year ago when Young had never won on the PGA Tour. Since then, he was a lone bright spot for the Americans in his Ryder Cup debut, he won The Players Championship and a signature event at Doral, and he had at least a share of the Sunday lead at two majors without bagging one.

But there's something else about Young and this odd season.

He won the Cadillac Championship when he was No. 4 in the world. That was May 3, and no from the top 10 has won a PGA Tour event since then. It's not getting any easier out there, if it ever was.

Half of the PGA Tour members among the top 30 in the world ranking have yet to win this year.

The world ranking of the other three major champions sounds like numbers drawn in Bingo — 44 (Aaron Rai at the PGA Championship), 34 (Wyndham Clark at the U.S. Open) and 56 (Ryan Fox at the British Open).

It was the first time three major champions in one year were outside the top 30 since 2009 delivered Angel Cabrera (69), Lucas Glover (71), Stewart Cink (33) and Y.E. Yang (110).

Brian Rolapp mentioned three guiding principles when he was introduced as CEO at the Tour Championship last year. First on his list was parity, and he probably didn't know how right he was when he said, “The PGA Tour has incredible, competitive parity and balance among its players.”

“Everybody wants to go into an event not knowing who's going to win,” Rolapp said.

Show of hands who had Rai winning the PGA Championship against the strongest field in the majors. Or Gary Woodland winning the Houston Open just over two years after returning from brain surgery, one of the most emotional wins of this crazy season.

Four weeks remain before the FedEx Cup is decided, and perhaps it will all make sense in the end. It starts with the Wyndham Championship, the tournament most players would love to skip because it means they're locked into a good spot for the postseason.

Horschel would need at least a two-way tie for second to have a mathematical chance of making it to the FedEx Cup playoffs. The way this year has gone, don't bet against it.

Young might have summed it up best on Tuesday when he shared advice for himself and anyone else in this game: “Nothing is given and nothing is impossible.”

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On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

While it may seem like the planet is baking through a record-shattering summer from hell, it's not quite in record territory. Yet.

So far this is only the third-hottest year, behind 2024 and 2025, climate statistics show. But give 2026 time. Because of a one-two punch of accelerated human-caused global warming and a supersized El Nino, there's an increasing chance that by the end of the year, 2026 could eke out the crown for the hottest year on record, eclipsing 2024 — or at least come close, scientists said.

Even if this year sets the record, it won't last long. Although scientists disagree on whether 2026 will be the hottest year on record, they agree on it being a near lock that 2027 will beat out any modern year for heat, maybe by a great deal.

With wars around the globe in the last few years people didn't pay much attention to climate change "because the world was on fire in different ways. The world is now on fire again with climate change in a way that’s increasingly difficult to ignore,” said climate scientist Zeke Hausfather of Berkeley Earth. “It's going to keep getting worse.''

Increasing odds for a record hot year

Hausfather calculated there's a 35% chance that 2026 will pass 2024 as the hottest year on record. But Hausfather keeps increasing those odds nearly every month — up from only 7% in March.

Former top NASA climate scientist James Hansen, often called the godfather of climate science for 40 years of accurate long-term warnings, predicted that 2026 will edge out 2024 at the end of the year.

The world's daily sea surface temperature tied 2024 starting in May and since June it's been record hot nearly every day. With oceans more than 70% of the globe's surface, there's generally a month-and-a-half lag between heat showing up in oceans and then being reflected in the global average temperature, Hansen said. So it's about time that the entire globe starts shattering records, he said. About 82% of the world's ocean surface is overheated with marine heat waves this year, according to Europe's Copernicus climate service.

About a month ago the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast that there was a 66% chance that 2026 would be the fourth hottest and only a 0.1% chance it would be No.1 for warmth by year's end. NOAA monitoring chief Russell Vose said those odds will be rising when NOAA finishes its analysis from July.

Hausfather said what's changing outlooks is the increasingly strong forecasts for a “mind-numbing” record-setting El Nino.

El Nino is a natural temporary warming of parts of the equatorial Pacific that heats up the globe's average temperature and warps weather extremes across the planet. Most forecasts have El Nino becoming the strongest in history. El Ninos always release pent-up heat in the ocean, but because of greenhouse gases trapping heat and 90% of it going into the world's seas, there's more heat to release, said Zachary Labe, a climate scientist at Climate Central, a science and communications nonprofit.

The amount of heat in the world's oceans — a marker of human-caused climate change — keeps setting new record highs, Labe said.

This summer's heat is human caused, not from El Nino

Climate scientists said what we've seen this summer can't be blamed on El Nino because its impacts really don't kick in for a few more months. The fires, heat and extremes that have dominated the summer of 2026 are what scientists have long been warning about from the burning of coal, oil and gas.

“The driver of the record warmth is climate change in the background. And it’s a much larger — much, much larger — contribution than El Nino, which is just a tenth to two-tenths of a degree on top of that long-term trend,” Labe said.

That warming is accelerating, Hansen said.

That's because traditional industrial pollution that creates soot and smog — which cool the planet and mask greenhouse gas-triggered warming — is decreasing, Hansen said. Also, it looks as if the climate might be reacting to greenhouse gases stronger than scientists anticipated, he said.

Heat waves keep hitting

This summer’s heat waves have hit hard in places where people aren’t used to triple-digit heat, unlike in the tropics, climate scientists said. And they've been especially noticeable at night, making it hard for people to sleep, which impairs their health and their ability to be productive at work, said Samantha Burgess, global strategic lead at Copernicus climate service.

She pointed to Europe, where there was an “exceptional” heat wave in May, another in June, two in July and another one going on now in France and Spain.

“European heat waves are not in isolation. So there’s also been shocking heat waves in North America. There’s been shockingly hot conditions in South America as well. There’s been devastating heat waves in India,” Burgess said. “There’s always heat waves somewhere in the world sometime, but what is very unusual for Europe for this particular year is the frequency and extent of the heat waves.”

Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer said this is what scientists have long been warning about.

"These are vivid pictures of not just the future, which is what we used to say, but on the whole of what climate change is doing. There’s no question that climate change has increased the risk of wildfires. There’s no question that the climate change increased the probability of really hot, nasty, even unprecedented summers around the world.”

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

Russia has relentlessly pounded civilian areas of Ukraine, even though Moscow insists its forces target only military facilities.

Since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion over four years ago, Ukraine has developed long-range drones that can strike deep inside Russia. In the past year, its forces have battered oil facilities, major storage depots and other key infrastructure.

More than 16,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the war began, the United Nations said last month in its most recent casualty report, with the vast majority occurring in areas under the Ukrainian government’s control. Casualties have risen steadily each year.

The U.N. children’s agency on Tuesday urged both countries to uphold international humanitarian law requiring the protection of children, citing recent deaths in Russia's Belgorod and Krasnodar regions, as well as in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions.

“Attacks that kill and injure children must stop,” UNICEF said in a statement.

Meanwhile, escalating attacks on shipping in the Black Sea by both sides has reawakened fears that global food security could be put at risk.

Russia is accused of using a drone to attack a street vendor

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video on social media that he said showed a Russian drone hunting a man selling vegetables from a street stall in the southern city of Kherson.

The video shows the man trying to flee the drone as it circles his vehicle, follows him and ultimately strikes the car where he was trying to hide. He suffered wounds to his back, legs and arms, according to an interview he gave to the Kherson regional military administration.

Russia's Defense Ministry did not immediately reply to an Associated Press request for comment.

Drone attacks on civilians have surged since the war began, with 967 people killed, including 10 children, and nearly 7,000 people injured, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said Tuesday.

Russian drone operators track and strike civilians going about daily activities, according to previous AP reporting. A U.N. commission concluded in October 2025 that such attacks amounted to crimes against humanity.

“The world must see this,” Zelenskyy said. “It must see every piece of evidence that Russia has gone mad and that its soldiers take pleasure in killing and abusing civilians.”

Russia says a Ukrainian drone killed 7 on Black Sea coast

The death toll from a drone strike Monday in the Russian Black Sea resort of Arkhipo-Osipovka rose to seven, including four children, regional authorities said.

On Tuesday, Krasnodar regional authorities updated the number of wounded to 58, with 21 hospitalized.

Video circulating online showed a drone slamming into a crowded beach with what sounded like gunfire in the background. Ukraine has not commented on the strike.

Ukrainian drones strike near Moscow and St. Petersburg

A Ukrainian drone attack Tuesday in the region around Moscow killed five people and wounded 10 others, said Gov. Andrei Vorobyov. Most of the damage occurred in the Chekhov municipal district, where several fires erupted at the Novoselki industrial zone, he said.

In the latest in a series of attacks on Russia’s biggest online retailer Wildberries, the company said its warehouse in the Leningrad region, adjacent to St. Petersburg, was on fire.

In the village of Emmaus, located between Moscow and St. Petersburg, drone debris partially damaged a wall of a Wildberries warehouse, regional Gov. Vitaly Korolyov said.

In the past 18 days, Ukrainian drones have targeted 15 Wildberries warehouses, 13 of which caught fire, said Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces. Ukrainian officials say the company provides goods that can be used by the military. Kyiv is also keen to unsettle the Russian public with high-profile attacks.

Russia hits Ukrainian ports and shipping

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces on Monday night struck “Ukrainian ports, vessels and port infrastructure” used by Kyiv’s army.

In the port of Chornomorsk, in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, Russia said it hit an automobile components plant and a port terminal, where the military vehicles were being repaired and ammunition and fuel were being stored.

In the southern port of Mykolaiv, a bulk carrier with military cargo was damaged, while in Pivdennyi, another Ukrainian port, a vessel unloading military cargo was hit, according to the Russian statement.

The ministry also said two bulk carriers hauling weapons and military equipment were damaged at sea, south of Odesa.

Turkey on Tuesday repeated its appeal for both countries to ensure safe passage in the Black Sea after two Turkish-owned ships were attacked by drones after leaving the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement expressed concerns that the war is increasingly spreading across the Black Sea, threatening merchant shipping, and warned such incidents could have broader consequences, including for the global food supply, as important shipments of grain, fertilizer and other key products move through those waters.

Ukraine reports more Russian glide bomb attack

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Russian attacks on Mykolaiv, including its port, killed an 89-year-old woman and wounded seven other people aged between 2 and 83, Ukrainian regional officials said.

The Russian strike on civilian infrastructure in southern Odesa region destroyed a private home and wounded two people, according to Oleh Kiper, head of the regional military administration.

In Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, six Russian glide bombs killed two girls aged 5 and 10 and an elderly woman, said Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy regional military administration.

Russian forces also struck Kharkiv and 18 towns and villages across the northern region in the previous 24 hours, killing one person and injuring seven, including an 8-year-old, said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration.

Strikes in Balakliia, also in the Kharkiv region, damaged an apartment building, a library, three stores and more than 10 houses, wounding two women, local authorities said.

Two glide bombs struck Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, injuring 24 people, local officials said. Kramatorsk sits at the northern end of Ukraine’s Fortress Belt, where Western analysts say Russia is making a renewed effort to break through after four years of attrition.

Vadym Filashkin, head of the regional military administration, urged people still living near the front to evacuate, saying authorities would help with transportation, housing and other support.

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Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.

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

Under the emerging agreement, ships would enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman, with service fees charged for providing security and preserving the maritime environment, two regional officials told The Associated Press.

They said negotiations are still underway and that the final agreement could take a different form. They said any deal would be linked to lifting the U.S. blockade on Iran’s ports. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations unfolding behind closed doors.

Any agreement formalizing Iran’s control of the strait would mark a significant strategic victory for Tehran. For that reason, the U.S. could seek to block the deal by refusing to lift the blockade. The strait was an open international waterway before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the bilateral talks with Oman are focused on “establishing safe inbound and outbound shipping lanes,” routes that “uphold sovereign rights while also addressing the national security considerations of both Iran and Oman.”

“The final results of these negotiations will be announced once concluded,” he added, in remarks carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.

The talks emerged as U.S. President Donald Trump is under mounting pressure to end an unpopular war that has driven up gas prices ahead of midterm elections and drawn down U.S. supplies of some munitions. In recent days, he has again whipsawed between threatening massive strikes and voicing support for diplomatic efforts.

US officials confirm progress without giving details

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters at the State Department, said “there’s been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet. We’re hoping that will happen very shortly.”

Rubio has previously ruled out any deal that would give Iran control over the strait, saying last month that it would create a “very dangerous precedent” for other parts of the world.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that “there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict.”

Asked whether there would be tolls for movement through the strait, Bessent said: “I think it would be freedom of movement, and even though things are still a little dicey there over the past few days, we saw quite a few ships coming out even now.”

The potential agreement between Iran and Oman was first reported by The New York Times.

Trump says this is Iran's 'last chance'

A fifth of the world's traded oil and gas transited the waterway before the war. Iranian attacks on ships have largely shut it down, causing a spike in the price of fuel, fertilizer and other goods, and rattling economies far beyond the Middle East.

Trump said Monday that the U.S. was in talks with Iran, saying it was Tehran's “last chance” to reach a deal and avoid another U.S. military escalation.

“The first phase is the opening of the straits. The second phase will be the denuclearization,” Trump said. “And that will take a little while.”

Iran has denied it is negotiating with the U.S., saying the talks are only with Oman.

The two sides reached an interim agreement in June to reopen the strait and launch 60 days of talks aimed at ending the war and resolving the longstanding dispute over Iran's nuclear program. That agreement collapsed over escalating hostilities focused on the strait, and the deadline is around two weeks away.

Cargo ship reports strike in Strait of Hormuz

Meanwhile, a cargo ship reported being “hit by an unknown projectile” in the strait off the coast of Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said, without providing further information on the ship, including what flag it was sailing under or whether it was carrying cargo.

The ship sustained damage, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey, which did not elaborate.

In recent weeks, Iran had repeatedly attacked ships using a route running close to Oman that is overseen by the U.S. military and intended to bypass Tehran's control.

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Lee reported from Washington.

Many of Washington's monuments, buildings and sites have been carefully planned over the decades to reflect significant moments in the nation's history and evoke symbolism in being connected by sightline to other sites.

The proposed towering gilded arch, which last month received initial approval from a key federal commission, would impact the “integrity” of dozens of those historical properties because it would change “character-defining visual and spatial relationships” between them.

The NPS report, published Monday, said the immediate project area is located within the Memorial Avenue Corridor cultural landscape, “a nationally significant historic designed landscape extending between the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.”

One of the most obvious elements the report cited is that the arch would break alignment between the Lincoln Memorial, Memorial Bridge and Arlington House that was formerly Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s home.

“The bridge alignment and associated ceremonial landscape were intended to physically and symbolically unite North and South through a coordinated monumental composition extending across the Potomac River,” the report said.

The report puts a snag in a project that has sailed through several steps of the approval process in front of planning bodies stocked with Trump appointees and allies.

The proposed arch is one of several projects the Republican president is pursuing to leave his lasting imprint on Washington. With the potential to change the city’s sightline, it has already sparked opposition, including through a lawsuit filed by a group of veterans and a historian.

The arch design, proposed by Trump, has already received early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. The commissioners were all appointed by Trump. The National Capital Area Planning Commission approved the site and preliminary plans at its July meeting. The commission is expected to take up the matter again at its September meeting.

The arch is one of several projects Trump has proposed that is involved in litigation. The plaintiffs, three veterans and a historian, have challenged its construction saying it requires Congressional approval.

“Our claim is essentially that none of this has any authorization to be happening in the first place,” said Nicolas Sansone, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group representing the plaintiffs. Authorization of the construction of a monument “in the core of Washington, D.C., on National Park Service land” requires an act of Congress, he said.

The National Park Service assessment confirms what the plaintiffs have said the construction will do to the symbolic and solemn area, he added.

“I think its very significant that the National Park Service itself understands that this is the effect that it's going to have,” Sansone said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines in support of the nomination of President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, who has aggressively pushed the Republican administration’s priorities since taking over from Pam Bondi in April.

The vote followed a deal struck late Sunday between Blanche and two Republican senators — John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — who had been threatening to block his confirmation over the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service regarding the president’s leaked tax returns.

The full Senate could vote later this week on Blanche’s nomination. If all Democrats oppose him, Blanche can only afford to lose two Republican votes if Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who was hospitalized after a fall, does not return before then.

Cornyn and Tillis backed Blanche's nomination after the Justice Department confirmed in writing that it wasn't moving forward with a $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they were prosecuted for political purposes, which the administration announced as part of the settlement.

After days of negotiations, Blanche issued an order Sunday evening confirming “beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.”

Democrats complain about the fund

Democrats say Blanche’s order doesn’t go far enough to prevent the Trump administration from reviving the fund after the acting attorney general’s confirmation and have called for legislation to permanently bar it.

The order also doesn’t stop the administration from compensating Trump allies — including people who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — through a previously established process that allows people to file claims for damages if they believed they were wronged by the government.

The fund “can easily be revived with a new order from the Department of Justice 15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed as attorney general,” said Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee.

Cornyn and Tillis had also pressed for clarification on a separate part of the settlement that would grant Trump and members of his family immunity from tax audits.

Under the deal, the Justice Department clarified in writing that the tax audit immunity agreement applies only to claims open at the time of the settlement and does not protect Trump from examination of future tax filings. It also makes clear that only the parties that brought the lawsuit — Trump, two of his sons, and the Trump Organization — are covered by the tax agreement.

Cornyn said his reasons for backing Blanche go beyond the deal struck Sunday, adding that he believes the Justice Department needs a “stabilizing force" at the helm.

“The Department of Justice does not need a temporary, unconfirmed nominee as our nation’s top law enforcement official. Trump needs someone in this role, as well, with a strong legal mind," Cornyn said.

Blanche's independence has been called into question

Blanche has faced intense scrutiny regarding his ability to maintain independence from the White House, the Justice Department’s pursuit of the president’s political foes and the agency’s handling of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation.

But it was the settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS that threatened to derail Blanche's nomination, forcing a delay in the committee vote last week amid pressure from the two Republican senators, who are not returning to Capitol Hill after their terms end in January.

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who chairs the committee, said Tillis and Cornyn’s demands were “common sense.” Grassley said the senators’ concerns about the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and the IRS settlement were shared by many other lawmakers, including himself.

“I’m grateful that they as well as Mr. Blanche and the White House worked in good faith to solve them, formally rescinding the fund, clarifying the scope of the release of claims has put this issue to bed once and for all," Grassley said.

Trump’s lawsuit has been sharply criticized because of the highly unusual way it was handled, with the president challenging an agency overseen by the executive branch he leads. A judge last month slammed the case as an improper exercise in self-dealing and referred one of Trump’s attorneys who filed it for potential disciplinary action.

Blanche was an important figure for Trump's defense

Blanche, a former federal prosecutor and key member of Trump’s defense team as the Republican battled four indictments, arrived at the Justice Department last year as deputy attorney general. He was elevated to acting attorney general following Bondi’s failure to meet Trump’s demands to successfully prosecute his perceived political opponents.

While Blanche insisted he wasn’t auditioning for the permanent post, he moved swiftly to accelerate investigations into Trump foes and advance other White House priorities, drawing condemnation from critics who say he has not shed his title as Trump’s personal lawyer.

Shortly after Blanche took the top post, the Justice Department moved to indict longtime Trump adversary James Comey, the former FBI director, on charges of threatening the 47th president by posting a social media photograph of seashells in the numerical arrangement of “86 47.”

Comey’s lawyers have accused the Justice Department of misleading judges, submitting documents containing false statements and withholding key facts to bring what the defense described as a politically motivated prosecution.

Blanche separately appointed Joseph diGenova, a former Justice Department prosecutor from the Reagan administration, to oversee a Florida-based investigation into whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired over the last decade to undermine Trump.

Watch the video above to see Local 4 Lifestyle Editor Jon Jordan explain these trends and their relevance.

The 30-team league that Graber grew during his 27-year tenure now looks to Berg to capitalize on the success of the World Cup this past summer and guide the transition to a new international schedule next year.

“I think one of the reasons that I raised my hand is I feel like I have the enthusiasm and the passion to hopefully have other people, in some cases, see it through my eyes and understand where we’re going and where it can go and what what it can be," Berg told The Associated Press. ”I’m very proud of where we already are. I think we’ve come a very, very long way."

Berg, a co-owner of LAFC, will formally take over as commissioner at the start of next year. Garber, who has served as the league’s commissioner since 1999, will help guide the transition before moving into a new role as chairman.

Garber said the ideal candidate would unite the entire MLS ecosystem around a shared vision. And he believes the league will have that under Berg, who will become just the third commissioner in the history of the league.

“I think he’s convinced the ownership through a very comprehensive process that he has what it takes to do the two most important things, which is to create that vision, and then to get the owners to unite around it,” Garber said. “That requires great relationships. It requires the capability to put the plan together and do the work. ... He (Berg) is super smart. He doesn’t lead with ego. He leads with understanding perspectives, and I think that’s a super important part of being the commissioner.”

The 60-year-old Berg, who has served as co-chair of the MLS sporting and competition committee, will divest his ownership interest in LAFC. He was formally introduced as the incoming commissioner on Tuesday at the league's New York headquarters, a day after he received the required two-thirds of the votes from the owners.

“First of all, he loves soccer, and I think next to his family, soccer is the most important thing in his life. Second of all, he knows the league really well. We have 30 great owners, and all of them are very involved in the league. But Larry is, I think it’s safe to say, has been over the last five years the most involved owner,” Columbus Crew owner Jimmy Haslam said. “He understands what we do well, where we have opportunity. I think he has a great relationship with all the owners. Going through this process certainly enhanced that.”

Berg previously held ownership stakes in Italian club AS Roma, as well as English league team Swansea. Under Berg’s ownership, LAFC won the MLS Cup in 2022, and the Supporters’ Shield in 2019.

Under Garber's watch, the league has expanded from 12 to 30 teams. He introduced the league’s marketing arm, Soccer United Marketing, encouraged the construction of soccer-specific stadiums and spurred the growth of an academy system to develop players in the United States.

Five clubs, Inter Miami, the home of Lionel Messi, LAFC, LA Galaxy, Atlanta United and NYCFC are valued at more than $1 billion, according to Forbes.

At the start, Berg will oversee the league's shift to a new calendar, with the season running from on a summer to spring schedule to more align with its international counterparts. Currently the league plays a late winter to late fall schedule.

Following the conclusion of the current season, MLS will play a shortened 14-game “sprint season” in early 2027 before the league switches to its new schedule, kicking off in July with the league championship to be played in May 2028.

Berg will also be charged with negotiating a new media rights deal. The current contract with Apple TV ends in 2029. The league is also looking at changes to roster rules.

“This has been a passion my whole life. This sport and some of the great joys of my life have been involved in the LAFC and involved with the sporting competition committee," Berg said. ”I have a lot of ideas. I feel like we’re at a point where a tremendous amount of success has been achieved with the games and the live gameday entertainment experience, etc. But as the World Cup showed, you can be incredibly happy and very successful, but somehow there’s always more. You want to get to that next step."

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

Although there have been similar contests around the country, this one will hold extra weight because Michigan is a key state in presidential races. Abdul El-Sayed, backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, is up against four-term Rep. Haley Stevens, supported by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

Democratic and Republican voters in Michigan are also deciding on their parties’ nominees to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

In Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state, voters are settling primaries in a host of races, including a key rematch between Democrats in a Missouri House contest. Also in play is whether Democrats, who tried to redraw districts in Virginia to their advantage but were rebuffed by the state supreme court, can pick candidates who can defeat Republicans in the fall.

Here is a look at the Latest:

Michigan Democratic voter supports El-Sayed, messaging by progressives

Madison Francis voted Tuesday in Southfield, Michigan, for Abdul El-Sayed saying she especially supports his views on things like inclusion.

“Just having somebody that sees everybody and wants the best for everybody,” said Francis, a 19-year-old student at Michigan State University. “I feel like the world is very divided, right now.”

Francis also believes that if El-Sayed wins Tuesday’s Democratic primary over U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, Michigan voters are open-minded enough to elect him over Republican Mike Rogers in the November general election.

She said the United States is being run by “some interesting Republicans,” and that the Democratic party should focus on unity before the nation spirals “further out of control.”

Young voters also are having a hard time hearing what traditional Democrats are saying and that messaging by progressives appear more fluid.

“I think they’re taking more of a progressive and proactive stance,” she said of young voters. “Both the Republicans and Democrats can sometimes (come across as) being too rigid on their stances.”

Missouri voters weigh the nation’s most difficult standard for constitutional amendments

Proposed Amendment 4 would require future constitutional amendments proposed by initiative petition to pass by a majority in each of the state’s congressional districts instead of a simple statewide majority. No other state has a standard that high.

The Republican-led legislature referred the measure to the ballot after voters in recent years narrowly passed several controversial amendments proposed through citizen initiatives. Those measures enshrined abortion rights into the state constitution, legalized recreational marijuana, allowed sports betting and expanded Medicaid coverage to low-income adults.

None of those measures would have passed under a requirement for amendments to win approval in all congressional districts.

Under Amendment 4, the higher standard would apply only to citizen-initiated amendments — not ones placed on the ballot by the legislature.

A Stevens voter says he’ll vote Republican in the general if El-Sayed wins the Democratic nomination

David Salama, 48, of West Bloomfield, Michigan, voted Tuesday for U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)

David Salama says he typically votes as an independent, but the U.S. Senate race between U.S. Rep. Stevens and El-Sayed prompted him to vote Tuesday in Michigan’s Democratic primary.

He voted for Stevens. “Haley is somebody who has experience legislating and because she understands the fight of good versus evil, that is extremely important about what’s going on in this world,” said Salama, 48, an anesthesiologist from West Bloomfield.

“I would vote for Haley in November if she were to win today, but if Abdul wins today, I will vote for Mike Rogers in November,” he said, noting, “In the extremes lie trouble.”

Michigan business where Stevens held an event says it doesn’t endorse her

The Democratic Senate hopeful held a campaign event at Pux Cider Taphouse in Grand Rapids on Monday night.

In an Instagram post, representatives of the business said later Monday that the event was booked as a private gathering for Democratic women and that Pux was “never advised” it was connected to Stevens.

“We are heartbroken,” they wrote, adding they “have advocated and continue to call for a free Palestine. We DO NOT endorse Haley Stevens.”

The congresswoman’s campaign has received roughly $30 million in support from AIPAC, which backs pro-Israel candidates. Pux said it will donate proceeds from the event to the Grand Rapids Pride Center.

Trump endorsed a top Kansas lawmaker for governor, but the GOP field is crowded

State Senate President Ty Masterson has faced repeated attacks ahead of Tuesday’s primary election from one of his rivals, Kansas City businessman Philip Sarnecki. Other candidates in the race include Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt.

Kansas doesn’t have runoff elections, so a candidate can become the GOP nominee with a relatively small percentage of the vote, and Trump’s endorsement of Masterson in May didn’t clear the field.

Three Democrats from the Kansas City area are running for their party’s nomination. They are state Sens. Ethan Corson and Cindy Holscher, and Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog.

Incumbent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is term-limited.

‘I think the nation is ready for someone who wants to take some more action’

Kenneth Woodside identifies as an independent, proudly stating “I vote policies, not people.”

On Tuesday, the 87-year-old from West Bloomfield, Michigan, cast his ballot in the state’s Democratic primary for El-Sayed over U.S. Rep. Stevens.

“I think we need someone in there who is more progressive,” Woodside said. “We gotta do something to reverse where we are, right now ... get it a little more to the other side to try and do some things that are going to be more focused on the people rather than just on the wealthy and businesses.”

Woodside said he has faith that El-Sayed could defeat former Republican Rep. Rogers in the November general election.

“I think the nation is ready for someone who wants to take some more action rather than on the road we are now, which is on the road to an oligarchy and authoritarianism,” he said.

Woodside also believes change needs to come to the nation’s Democratic establishment and that he’s not sure voters are listening to its leaders.

“I think they’re listening to what they need and they’re looking for the leaders to say ‘what are your needs and how can I respond to them’ as opposed to going down the road of being sort of this moderate, middle-of-the-road and afraid to take some steps that are more progressive, more union related.”

El-Sayed volunteer says campaign’s momentum reflects broader discontent with Democrats

Katie Brink, 29, said Monday that Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign has resonated across racial and generational lines with “people who feel like they’ve really been shut out by the system.”

“When I’m out knocking doors and volunteering, the people I’m interacting with are not the kind of demographics that you would think an Abdul voter would look like,” Brink said during El-Sayed’s final campaign event in Detroit. “His message is resonating with all of the diverse people of Detroit.”

Brink, who has volunteered for El-Sayed since February, said she had grown tired of the Democratic Party’s status quo but was inspired by his message to dedicate her time to the race.

“Seeing movements in other places in the country where real people knocking on doors and talking to voters can actually, like, make a positive change, I felt like helping him was the best thing I could do with my time right now,” she said.

Washington’s primary lacks a marquee race

Washington state has a primary tonight, but without a Senate contest or a race for governor, it lacks a marquee race to drive enthusiasm.

But the primary will set up a general election matchup in one of the nation’s top U.S. House battlegrounds — Southwest Washington’s 3rd District, represented by moderate Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Gluesenkamp Perez has faced opposition from the left, but progressive challenger Brent Hennrich has struggled to gain traction.

In the 4th District, a crowded field of candidates is looking to replace retiring Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse. The district is safely Republican and is likely to stay in GOP hands regardless of tonight’s results.

It could take some time for the results to be finalized. Washington conducts elections entirely by mail and will count ballots postmarked on Election Day.

Washington was the first state to adopt a top-two nonpartisan primary, in which all candidates appear on the same ballot. The two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election in November, even if they’re from the same party.

California later adapted the system, which was meant to give independents more of a political voice.

What’s next for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer?

That’s still not clear.

Whitmer won two gubernatorial elections decisively in a state that swung between parties in presidential elections, voting for Republican President Donald Trump in 2016, Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 and Trump again in 2024.

Now, the Democrat is term-limited and can’t run again.

Whitmer has been cagey about her plans after her term ends, though she’s often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate.

“Never say never,” she told reporters in May about a 2028 bid.

These Michigan districts could decide which party controls the House

Republicans control the U.S. House by a slim margin, and three of Michigan’s races are among the most competitive in the country.

1. Congressional District 4’s incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga is running for reelection after Trump recommended he keep his seat rather than run for U.S. Senate. He has one primary challenger, and there are two Democratic primary candidates on the ballot: Democratic state Sen. Sean McCann and election newcomer Diop Harris II.

2. In Congressional District 7, incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, who flipped the seat in 2024, has no primary challengers. Barrett will face one of three Democrats in November. They are former U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink, community organizer William Lawrence and former Navy Seal Matt Maasdam .

3. Republican U.S. Rep. John James left his Congressional District 10 seat open to run for governor. In the GOP primary, Trump endorsed Mike Bouchard against Steffan Demetropoulos and Justin Kirk. The Democratic primary is between former state House Rep. Tim Greimel, former prosecutor Christina Hines and former Commerce Department attorney Eric Chung.

Two Virginia Democrats seek a return to Congress

Two former Democratic members of Congress are among those on Virginia’s primary ballot.

In the battleground 2nd Congressional District, centered in Virginia Beach, Elaine Luria is seen as the favorite in a four-way Democratic primary. A win would set up a general election rematch between Luria, a retired Navy commander, and Jen Kiggans, a former Navy helicopter pilot who ousted her in 2022. Kiggans doesn’t face a primary challenge.

The general election contest in the 2nd District will likely be among the most expensive and hotly contested in the country and will help determine control of the House in the fall.

In central Virginia’s 5th District, former congressman and diplomat Tom Perriello is seen as the favorite in a three-way Democratic primary. There’s also a nominating contest on the GOP side, where incumbent Rep. John McGuire has a large fundraising advantage over his challenger, Melanie Lucero.

The demographics of the district would give the Republican a big edge. Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger lost it by more than seven points last year. But Perriello has flipped a red district before. He narrowly beat a longtime incumbent in the 5th District in 2008, before being ousted himself amid the Tea Party wave two years later.

Republicans in Missouri are voting for a potential successor to retiring US Rep. Sam Graves

Graves has represented rural northern Missouri for a quarter century and currently serves as chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He set off a political scramble when he announced in late March that he wasn’t seeking reelection.

Graves has endorsed conservative talk radio host Chris Stigall, who once worked for him.

The five-person Republican field in the 6th Congressional District also features Kansas City Council member Nathan Willett, who has the endorsement of the Missouri Farm Bureau’s influential political committee.

The 6th District is heavily Republican. A recent redistricting added more northern Kansas City neighborhoods to the sprawling rural district.

Virginia’s primary follows a campaign season upended by redistricting

Virginia’s primary election typically takes place in June. But that’s not the case this year. It was pushed back to Tuesday to account for Democrats’ failed redistricting initiative.

After President Donald Trump pushed Republicans in other states to redraw congressional maps ahead of the midterms to give their party an edge, Virginia Democrats were among those who responded in kind.

They redrew the state’s congressional maps, aiming to oust four GOP incumbents and leave just one of Virginia’s 11 districts winnable for Republicans. Then they put the matter before voters in a constitutional amendment.

Voters narrowly approved it, but the amendment was ultimately invalidated by the state Supreme Court and the new districts along with it. That sent candidates scrambling. Many ended their campaigns, while others moved to new districts.

Voters will cast ballots today in districts that have been in place since 2021. Democrats will be picking their nominees in districts that could help determine control of the House in the general election.

A Methodist megachurch pastor tops a big Democratic field in the Senate race in Kansas

The Rev. Adam Hamilton grew the Church of the Resurrection he started in the Kansas City area about 35 years ago from a small congregation that met in the chapel of a funeral home into one with nine campuses and 22,000 members.

His profile among mainline Protestants helped him raise about $4.2 million for his Senate campaign since launching it at the end of April, three times as much as the other 10 Democratic candidates combined. That’s also a little more than the $4 million incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall has raised since the beginning of last year.

But Marshall didn’t start last year from zero and headed toward the fall campaign with $5.7 million in cash, while Hamilton had less than $2 million left ahead of Tuesday’s primaries.

Also — no Republican has lost a U.S. Senate race in Kansas since 1932.

Actors Steve Coogan and Chris O’Dowd and musicians including Bono, Hozier, Declan O’Rourke and Imelda May were in the congregation alongside friends, family and fans who had queued for hours outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

A large crowd watched on big screens outside as pallbearers carried a wicker coffin topped with flowers into the cathedral.

William Morton, the dean of the cathedral, said: “Glen’s remarkable gifts and outstanding talent, which touched so many hearts, took him from the streets of Dublin to audiences across the globe.”

The funeral service was interwoven with music, including a performance by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, who sang Hansard’s “The Song of Good Hope” alongside Hansard’s longstanding musical partner Markéta Irglová.

U2's Bono said of Hansard: “Everyone who met him, they just remembered the day they met him.”

Bono held up his phone to play a message he'd received from singer and poet Patti Smith performing “a lullaby for Glen’s family and friends,” before reciting lyrics to U2’s “Beautiful Day.”

Hansard was killed in a single-vehicle crash on the outskirts of Dublin on July 29, hours after taking part in a trad music session at a pub.

His widow, Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa, who thanked the police officers who came to his aid, read a poem she had written for him early in their relationship.

She said the couple's 3-year-old son was too young to attend or understand the funeral, but “the bright spirit he inherited from his father is with us.”

Hansard was the longtime front man of Irish rock band The Frames and played a member of a Dublin soul band in the hit 1991 movie “The Commitments.” He won an Oscar in 2008 for the song “Falling Slowly” from the movie “Once,” in which he co-starred with Irglová. A stage adaptation won eight Tony Awards in 2012.

Hansard also was half of rock duo The Swell Season with Irglová and released solo albums including “Didn’t He Ramble,” which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Folk Album in 2016.

For many years he led a Christmas Eve busk outside Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre, where members of the public gathered to see famous Irish musicians perform in aid of a homelessness charity.

Tributes have been paid by fellow musicians. Bruce Springsteen said on Instagram he was “heartbroken” at the loss of “a great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man.”

Stingers are injuries that impact the nerves in the upper arm, neck or shoulder and often give a player a burning sensation in his arms and hands. Most stingers resolve quickly, but some symptoms can last weeks or months.

“We’re going to evaluate him more over the next day or so and just make sure that he is in the right spot,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said. “We have a nice little window here to get him turned around.”

Canales said Legette does not have a concussion.

Legette will not play in the Panthers’ preseason opener on Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals in Canton, Ohio.

Legette came crashing down after high-pointing a catch in the left corner of the end zone and landed hard and stayed down. Trainers rushed to his side and Legette was later seen wiggling his fingers in the air before boarding a cart.

Players shook Legette's right hand before he was taken into the locker room.

The Panthers have already lost wide receiver Chris Brazzell, their third-round pick from Tennessee, for the season to a torn LCL injury. Legette and Brazell were expected to battle for the team’s No. 3 wide receiver spot behind Jalen Coker and last year’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan.

Legette had 35 catches for 363 yards and three TDs last season and lost his job late in the year to Coker.

Canales said despite the demotion he has been impressed with how Legette has responded in training camp.

“He’s been the same person since he got here,” Canales said. “He’s a tireless worker. He cares. It matters to him. He takes coaching well. He’s a very humble guy. He wants to work at the things he needs to improve on."

Canales added that "the longer he’s with us, the less it’s about the concepts and the more it’s about just the details and fine techniques of playing the wide receiver position.”

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

While on stage at Chicago’s United Center, Grande told her fans that “things can get a little blown out of proportion,” and that her decision to take a break from public life was one she had "quietly made a long time ago,” rather than a “reactive or impulsive thing.”

Reading from her phone, she continued: “It was a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place. And I want you to know that many things can be true at the same time.”

On Sunday, producers for a London production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park With George” announced that Grande had withdrawn from her role in the musical, set to debut at the Barbican theater in 2027.

Grande’s recent breakup from “Wicked” co-star Ethan Slater, the ongoing tour and last week’s release of the album “Petal” has fueled rampant speculation online about her health and appearance. She has previously expressed discomfort with public discourse around her weight, stating in a 2023 TikTok video, “I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies, no matter what.”

A representative for Grande told People magazine that the 33-year-old singer “will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour.”

“She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny,” the statement said.

A representative for Grande did not offer further comment to The Associated Press.

Continuing her remarks from the stage Monday, Grande said she knows fans are worried that “negativity was ruining things” for her, but said the opposite is true.

"Multiple things can be true at the same time: boundaries need to be set, human beings can need a break sometimes, and also, this can be and will continue to be the greatest experience of my professional and creative life,” she told her fans, who erupted in cheers.

The “Eternal Sunshine” tour is scheduled to conclude on Sept. 1 in London, after a 10-night residency at the famed O2 Arena.

Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, had been held at Delaney Hall in Newark after being arrested June 18, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Lopez-Cornejo, whom the government accused of entering the U.S. illegally, died Saturday, the agency said. His official cause of death will be released following further medical examination, according to ICE.

Democratic politicians and civil rights groups in New Jersey questioned whether his death was preventable, saying they had little confidence people detained at the 1,000-bed facility were receiving proper care.

“This is not the first death of a detainee at Delaney Hall, and absent decisive action, it will not be the last,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Cory Booker said in a statement. “I have visited the facility myself and witnessed these conditions firsthand, so I say this plainly: Delaney Hall must be closed immediately and permanently.”

ICE said Lopez-Cornejo “received proper medical care and was seen by medical professionals” while he was in custody.

People held at the Newark facility have asked for improved living conditions and better medical care, as they say some are being denied medication. Earlier this year, some launched a hunger strike, according to Cosecha, an immigrant advocacy group.

The facility has also been a flashpoint for protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, with demonstrators trying to block vehicles from entering or leaving the facility.

Trump and his deputies have defended the center’s operations and denied there is any hunger strike, abuse or poor conditions inside.

The facility is owned by Geo Group, a private prison contractor that runs multiple detention centers across the country. The contractor did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

In December, another 41-year-old man, Jean Wilson Brutus, a Haitian national, died after collapsing at Delaney Hall in what a medical examiner ruled was a natural death due to a lung blockage.

U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who has routinely visited Delaney Hall, told reporters Monday that he confirmed that another person detained by ICE died in July after they suffered a seizure while they were being processed at the facility. Menendez said ICE granted the individual a “discretionary release” from custody after they were taken to a hospital and lost consciousness, and the person died shortly afterward.

Menendez did not identify the individual, and ICE didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry about the case.

Menendez said that ICE did not report the death, in line with a policy change announced earlier this year in which the agency no longer reports deaths that occur within 30 days of someone's release from custody. ICE described the change as “common sense” at the time, saying it is not responsible for what happens after people leave its custody. Some health experts and advocates for immigrants warned that the move would help ICE keep its custody death statistics down while obscuring its role in some deaths.

ICE has also not publicly recognized the July 24 death of 29-year-old Priciliano Trejo in Georgia, which came nine days after ICE released him from custody while he was hospitalized in a coma, according to a coalition of advocacy groups in the state.

Trejo, a Mexican national, had been diagnosed with leukemia, advocates said. Before his hospitalization, he had been arrested by ICE in North Carolina and later detained at Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, where at least two other ICE detainees have died in the last 14 months. ICE has not responded to an inquiry about Trejo’s death.

In all, at least 56 people have died in ICE custody during Trump’s second term. Lopez-Cornejo is the second native of El Salvador, following the September death of Norlan Guzman-Fuentes, who was killed during a sniper attack on an ICE field office in Dallas.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, said her administration is working to understand the facts surrounding Lopez-Cornejo's death.

“At the same time, we continue to face obstruction in our efforts to conduct a full health inspection of the facility,” she said in a statement. “Every effort to block oversight raises serious questions about what is happening inside Delaney Hall and what those operating the facility are trying to hide.”

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Associated Press writer Ryan Foley in Iowa City, Iowa, contributed to this report.

Japan has bolstered its military capability and spending in recent years and has started deploying long-range cruise missiles as a deterrent to China's military activity.

The 598-page defense paper adopted by the Cabinet on Tuesday reiterated that China is Japan’s biggest strategic challenge. Japan is alarmed by the growing presence and frequency of Chinese warships in the Pacific Ocean.

The annual white paper outlines Japan’s military activity and priorities and analysis of military trends in specific countries. As Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government needs public support for further military buildup and spending and to attract service members, the report has features to appeal to readers including a cartoon on the cover and links to video clips in Japanese, English and Chinese.

Combat drones for new warfare

Inspired by the use of drones by Ukraine, Japan considers it is essential to adapt to “new ways of warfare,” the paper said.

With many countries racing to develop combat drones, Japan's government prioritizes development of its own for a coastal defense, in combination with long-range missiles.

“Speed is key,” Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said in early July.

The Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency recently selected four drone makers out of 38 applicants for a rapid development program and that they will advance to testing by Japan's navy in early August before a final selection.

A number of companies are developing similar drones. Toshiba announced Friday plans to jointly develop combat drones with startup Pro Drone.

Uncrewed weapons could help Japan make up for its decreasing number of service members in a country with a shrinking population.

Experts say developing fully homemade drones while Japan’s commercial drone market is dominated by Chinese imports would be a challenge.

Alarmed by China’s activity in the Pacific, Russia and North Korea

Japan has strengthened its military forces on southwestern islands in recent years and has started deploying long-range cruise missiles, as it worries about a conflict in Taiwan, which China claims as its territory.

The paper noted the growing presence of Chinese warships and frequency of their activity in the Pacific as a major concern. The Defense Ministry has established a unit dedicated to studying Japan’s Pacific strategy and strengthening its defense against China.

China has consistently increased its military spending without transparency and strengthened nuclear and missile capability extensively and rapidly, the defense paper said.

It noted that last December, during Chinese aircraft carrier drills near southwestern Japan, Chinese aircraft locked their radars on Japanese planes — which is considered a possible preparation for firing missiles.

Two Chinese aircraft carriers were spotted last June near the southern Japanese island of Iwo Jima for the first time. This triggered Tokyo's worries about Beijing’s rapidly expanding military activity far beyond its borders and in disputed areas in the East China Sea.

Tensions between Tokyo and Beijing have escalated since Takaichi said in November that Chinese military action against Taiwan could justify Japan’s use of force.

China on Tuesday rejected sections of Japan’s annual defense white paper concerning the Chinese military, calling the document “rife with false narratives” and accusing Japan of using it as “an excuse to ease restrictions on its military buildup.”

“It is a classic case of the thief crying ‘stop thief’ — a pretext to unshackle its own military,” said Chen Xi, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense.

China’s growing joint military operation with Russia around Japan, including joint bomber flights and warship operations, is also “a grave national security concern,” the paper said.

It says North Korea’s rapid development of missiles, including hypersonic arsenals, is an “increasingly serious and pressing threat” and that the North’s growing military ties with Russia and its backing for Moscow's war in Ukraine are a grave concern.

Bolstering defense industry, weapons sale

Strengthening arms production and technology is essential to Japan's military power, the paper said. The government has been expanding funding for startups and scientific research.

In a country that had maintained a pacifist pledge since the end of World War II, many established companies avoid ties to lethal weapons, but a growing number of startups are showing interest in converting dual-use technology for military use, officials say.

Japan’s recent scrapping of lethal weapons export ban could also help strengthen the country's underdeveloped defense industry.

Weapons technology transfer and joint development and production strengthens both the Japanese defense industry base and Japan's ties with its defense partners, said Koizumi, whose travels to other countries have involved arms sales.

Japan recently made major deals, including the joint development and transfer of 11 upgraded Mogami-class frigates to Australia. It is discussing a similar deal with New Zealand and has struck a deal to sell retired destroyers to the Philippines.

Video of the eruption shows clouds of gas and ash over the volcano as lava and pyroclastic flows roll down.

The eruption began Monday morning and continued throughout the day, leading to the evacuation orders for the villages on the southern side of the mountain., according to Claudinne Ogaldes, executive secretary of the Guatemalan disaster managing agency, CONRED.

During a previous eruption of the Fuego volcano in June 2018, hundreds of people were killed and a whole village was destroyed. That episode affected as many as 1.7 million people, according to authorities.

The Fuego volcano is one of the most active in Guatemala. Another eruption in June last year spurred preventive evacuations.

Authorities evacuated around 250 people from El Porvenir and the hamlet of Las Lajitas. CONRED also warned warned of ash spreading to nearby towns.

A major highway that passes close to the volcano, National Route 14, was closed. The Education Ministry suspended classes in nearby towns.

Six of Europe’s largest oil companies posted combined first-quarter profits of $22 billion, more than 40% higher than last year. Profits at BP, based in London, more than doubled to $3.9 billion in the second quarter, the company said Tuesday.

And Saudi Aramco reported a 44% year-on-year increase in second-quarter net profit that reached $32.69 billion, driven by higher crude oil, refined products and chemicals prices.

The supercharged performances from big oil in Europe and the Middle East follow reports of enormous profits from the largest U.S. oil drillers last week.

As the conflict has dragged on, high oil prices have driven up the cost of gasoline, jet fuel and diesel, which has led to higher shipping costs. In the West, filling up the car or buying a plane ticket is costing consumers more. But the situation in parts of Asia are more dire because the region depends more heavily on fuel exported through the Strait of Hormuz. Fuel supplies have run low in some countries, leading to rationing and sporadic closures of schools and government offices.

Despite oil prices falling to their lowest level in three weeks Tuesday, big U.S. energy companies drew the ire of President Donald Trump, who criticized them this week for their outsized profits.

Trump said he’s not happy with Chevron and Exxon Mobil, though energy prices skyrocketed only after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February, and the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed off to tanker traffic.

About 20% of the world’s oil typically flows through the strait.

“They made too much money, too much money,” Trump said Monday. “They ought to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price.”

Exxon Mobil on Friday reported that its second quarter profits doubled to $14.5 billion, boosted by record diesel production. The oil giant, based in Spring, Texas, brought in $116 billion in revenue, up 42%.

Chevron, based in Houston, nearly quadrupled its profits to $12 billion and revenue jumped 56% to more than $70 billion.

On Tuesday, the price of U.S. crude oil fell 5.4%, or $4.36, to $75.98 per barrel. The sharp decline followed comments by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who told CNBC that the U.S. and Iran “may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the Strait.”

Oil prices for U.S. crude are down from around $92 a barrel in late July, but still more than 13% higher than when the conflict with Iran started.

Brent crude, the international standard, fell 4.9% to $83.87 per barrel.

A resolution to the Iran conflict, which has lasted more than five months, could give oil shippers the ability to send vessels out of the Persian Gulf, where tankers of oil and other products have been trapped during the fighting.

“We must act now to stem the rise in child deaths, which this crisis is provoking,” John Aylieff, WFP’s country director in Afghanistan, said in a statement, adding that “it is already too late for too many."

WFP said 142 health centers closed in 2025 because of aid reductions and more than 13,000 children lost access to nutrition treatment. It did not mention any specific donor such as the United States, where the Trump administration has made sweeping cuts in foreign aid.

Nearly 3.7 million Afghan children are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year, along with 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women, according to WFP.

The agency said 12 Afghan provinces have reached critical levels of acute child malnutrition, a record number. It cited a combination of conflict, unemployment, rising food prices, disease outbreaks, poor water and sanitation and reduced humanitarian funding.

WFP said supply shortages linked to conflict in the Middle East and the nine-month closure of Pakistan’s border because of fighting between the neighbors have disrupted deliveries of nutrition products, leaving nearly one million malnourished women and children without essential nutrition services for five months.

From August through October, WFP said food distributions aimed at preventing famine in the worst-hit areas are being suspended due to lack of funding, even though the annual peak season for malnutrition is between July and October.

It said it urgently needs $540 million over the next six months.

Aaron F. Farinacci, of Spokane, was arrested Monday and booked on suspicion of first-degree arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire, the biggest of the three blazes in and around the eastern Washington city, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said. His bond was set at $1 million and he's due in court later Tuesday.

The fires, which hadn't been contained at all as of Tuesday morning, have destroyed at least 700 buildings and forced about 67,000 people to evacuate. Authorities haven’t said what might have caused the other two blazes.

A tip leads to an arrest

A tip from a community member who saw a nervous-looking man bent by the side of the road near some grass led authorities to Farinacci, though they released him after initial questioning, Sheriff John Nowels said Monday.

When major crimes detectives started investigating, they again identified Farinacci and determined that the fire had started where the witness had reportedly seen him, Nowels said. Farinacci, 37, had matches and a lighter when he was detained, Nowels said.

“As it happens in so many critical cases, it was citizens who were paying attention to their surroundings, being aware and willing to step up and say something that led to the relatively quick apprehension of Mr. Farinacci,” he said.

A phone number couldn't be found for Farinacci, and it wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney who might speak on his behalf. An email was sent to the Spokane County Public Defender's office on Tuesday, and a message was sent to a possible social media account for a brother.

Farinacci, then age 21, shot and killed his father in Mesa, Arizona, during a 2010 argument about washing dishes, police said. Farinacci also shot himself but survived.

He was charged with murder but pleaded guilty in 2012 to manslaughter and aggravated assault, records show. Farinacci was released from prison in 2020.

Returning to destroyed homes

The Old Trails Fire began Saturday northwest of downtown Spokane and eventually jumped the Spokane River and tore through neighborhoods.

The three fires had burned about 16 square miles (about 41 square kilometers) by early Tuesday. After the weekend winds died down and shifted, sending smoke across the western part of the state, including the Seattle area, firefighting conditions were expected to worsen again Wednesday, with winds picking up and temperatures expected to reach the 90s (32-37 degrees Celsius), said Benjamin Cossel, a spokesperson for the fire incident management team.

On Monday, some residents who had to flee blazes over the weekend returned to find homes that had been burned to the ground. In some cases, only chimneys were left standing.

“There’s nothing to save,” Miriam Sim, 76, said as she and her husband, Daniel Sim, surveyed the ruins of the home where they had lived since 2005.

“At our age, do we want to rebuild?” her husband asked.

In one Spokane neighborhood, blackened vehicles, a boat twisted by the heat and melted plastic recycling bins remained. Across the street, lawns were still green and houses were spared, as residents continued to run hoses or sprinklers to water their properties.

“Hundreds of people have completely lost their homes and farms, and many are prohibited from returning to their homes or neighborhoods as crews continue to extinguish smoldering embers,” the state's congressional delegation wrote Monday in asking President Donald Trump to approve an expedited emergency declaration, which he did.

No deaths or major injuries reported

Cpl. Mark Gregory, a spokesperson for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, said the county initially received nearly 300 reports of missing people, but by Monday had cleared all but 14. Those still unaccounted for were likely people who hadn't been in contact since evacuating, not people who were truly missing or in danger, authorities said.

More than 1,000 firefighters, many from out of state, arrived by Monday, and that number was expected to double in the next few days.

The fires were among dozens across the Western U.S. stretching the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. At least 390 square miles (1,000 square kilometers) of land has burned across Washington, which has been dealing with a severe drought and paltry snowpack.

Authorities warned people not to fly drones near the burned areas, saying it could force them to delay aerial firefighting operations.

‘So much loss for so many people’

Angela and Wayde Deatherage, both 49, evacuated shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday with a son, grabbing a few bins of family photos and heirloom rings but not much else. Roughly 30 minutes later, their security camera was sending fire notifications to Angela’s phone.

Wayde Deatherage took some back roads and returned by early evening. He stopped at the end of the street and called his wife: “Our house is done.”

Deatherage, however, wasn't done with his neighborhood. He propped a hose at another house so it sprayed the property. That home survived.

The couple returned to their property Sunday.

“It’s just ash,” Angela Deatherage said of the home where they had lived for nearly 22 years. “It’s like our house sunk down in the basement. ... There’s just so much loss for so many people.”

Karen Faggioli, 61, figured she would be returning to her home. She recalled how other recent fires had been brought under control. But a relative texted her the bad news: Her house and three vehicles had been destroyed. A daughter lost her nearby house, too.

“Why cry? What’s crying going to do? I’ve been through so many tragedies myself,” said Faggioli, who is recovering from breast cancer. “This is nothing. Like I told my granddaughter, ‘We’re strong — and now we get all new things.’ I’m emotionally numb.”

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Johnson reported from Seattle and White from Detroit. Associated Press writers Manuel Valdes in Spokane; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Martha Bellisle and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

The attack Saturday at a new In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls ended when the gunman, identified by police as 24-year-old Chad Williams, shot and killed himself. On Monday, police were still trying to determine why Williams carried out the attack, which happened early in the afternoon in a busy shopping plaza in the southern Idaho city.

Many details about Williams' life were still unknown Monday, but an initial search of court records in Idaho and Arizona, where he used to live, didn't show any criminal cases matching his name and birth date.

Man who knew gunman says he was ‘pretty chill’

Elijah Moseley, who lived across the hall from Williams in a College of Southern Idaho dorm a few years ago, described him as “an introvert” and “a pretty chill guy.”

“I was never scared or weirded out by him,” he said.

Moseley said he considered Williams a relatively close friend, though they lost touch a couple of years ago.

“I’m shocked by this and sick to my stomach about this,” he said.

Detectives are confident that Williams acted alone, Police Chief Matthew Hicks said Sunday, noting that Williams’ family is cooperating fully with the investigation.

Two of the wounded victims were treated at a hospital and released, three were listed as stable, and two others were in critical condition, police said Sunday.

During the attack, an off-duty state trooper and a civilian fired on Williams and diverted him from the restaurant, the chief said. Police haven't disclosed their names or those of the victims, but some victims have been identified by friends and relatives. Twin Falls spokesperson Josh Palmer said Monday that police were still trying to identify next of kin.

A vigil is planned for Tuesday evening at Twin Falls City Park, Palmer said.

In-N-Out employee among those killed

The attack happened at an In-N-Out that opened late last month as part of the California chain’s Idaho expansion, and an employee at the burger joint was among those killed, the fast-food chain’s owner, Lynsi Snyder, said in a statement. She didn't identify the worker.

Kimberley Castaneda confirmed to The Associated Press that her brother, Christopher Claunch, was among those killed, but she declined to discuss him further.

Garren Taylor, one of Claunch's friends, said that two years ago, Claunch completed a rehab program for alcohol abuse at Renaissance Ranch Recovery Center in Rupert, Idaho, and was immediately hired there. Taylor said Claunch, known to those close to him as “Toph,” had since then dedicated his life to helping others get sober.

“He helped hundreds of people,” Taylor recalled Monday. “He was just a gift to anyone he came in contact with. It wasn’t about the paycheck, his attitude was: ‘I get to help someone today.’”

Renaissance Ranch declined to comment Monday.

Wounded man moved closer to gunfire to help

In a Facebook post, Marcus Scott James said his son Austin “A.J.” Scott James was critically wounded in the attack and faces a long recovery. He said his son was shot after he moved “toward the danger” when he heard gunfire in an effort to protect others.

“We are incredibly thankful that God spared his life and that his wife and friend were there to provide immediate care until he could get to the hospital," he wrote.

Marcus James said in a message to the AP on Monday that his son used to work as a law enforcement officer for the Twin Falls police and the Idaho State Police. He declined to comment further on his son’s actions, saying it is his son's story to tell.

Terry Dudley, a driver for North Star Taxi, was shot as he was charging one of the company’s Teslas in a parking lot next to the In-N-Out Burger, said James Palmer, who owns the taxi service and is Dudley’s friend.

Palmer said Dudley called him to tell him he was shot after he couldn’t get through to 911. He said Dudley was flown to a hospital in Boise and remained there Monday with serious injuries, he said.

“It’s a lot, man,” Palmer said. “It’s daunting, to say the least, to even try to gather the scope of all this. It’s been absolute chaos."

He said Dudley was “kind of like my right hand.”

Gunman left local college before graduating

Williams attended the College of Southern Idaho from August 2022 and December 2023, according to the school's president, L. Dean Fisher. He didn’t graduate or earn a certificate from the school, which has about 10,000 students.

Williams served in the student senate but was unanimously impeached by his fellow senators in February 2023. Moseley, who served as the senate pro-tempore at the time, said Williams was ousted because he wasn't very active or engaged in student government.

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Associated Press reporters Christopher Weber and Jamie Stengle contributed to this report.

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This story was first published on Aug. 3, 2026. It was updated on Aug. 4, 2026, to include the last names of victim Austin Scott James and his father, Marcus Scott James.

The sudden arrival of 72,000 migrants on Thursday and Friday sparked a humanitarian crisis in Ceuta and reignited the immigration debate in the 27-nation bloc, though most of the migrants soon went back. More than 80 migrants died, including some who drowned or were trampled in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier, according to Spanish and Moroccan authorities.

Open letters from 22 EU leaders, and a quick retort from Sanchez, have exposed a roiling debate inside the EU pitting migration hawks against the progressive Spanish leader who has challenged consensus within the bloc on migration as well as NATO spending, Gaza and Israel.

Sanchez's government has dismissed the attacks as politically motivated, saying most of the migrants were pushed back from Ceuta within hours in “close coordination with the Moroccan authorities and with very little support from other European states.”

While ministers seemed to rally back around Sanchez after meeting Tuesday, Europe displayed a deeply damaging disunity in the aftermath of Ceuta as it faces security threats from Moscow, instability with Washington and economic tension with Beijing, said Alicia García-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific and Middle East for the financial firm Natixis.

“Europe has shown weakness again,” she said. “Massive weakness.”

Sanchez defends court ruling blamed by Morocco and EU leaders

EU leaders quickly pounced on Sanchez once videos from Ceuta went viral. Many blamed the incident on his government's progressive policies and publicly rallied for new border checks at sea, air and land ports of entry.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni issued the most blunt criticism of Sanchez, as well as announcing that Italy would enforce air and sea border controls with Spain.

Yet Ceuta’s remote geographical position meant “there was almost zero risk that people (would) really arrive in Spain and then move on to Italy,” said analyst Matteo Villa at the Italian Institute for Political Studies in Milan. He said that just 2% of migrants arriving in Europe make it to Italy.

Nando Sigona, a professor at the University of Birmingham, said that Meloni detested a move Sanchez presided over in July to grant legal status to about 1 million longtime residents, and is eager to portray his approach as a failure.

Sanchez fired back in an online post that called Meloni’s position on Ceuta “contrary to European law, humanitarian law, and the principles of solidarity that bind us together.” He said that Italy has allowed in twice the number of migrants as Spain since 2021, with Spain receiving 234,000 to Italy’s 478,000.

But the criticism was EU-wide, with Meloni signing a joint letter with 21 other leaders from Finland to Malta that pointed to a July Spanish court ruling as the “trigger” for “this attack on our migration and asylum system.”

Spain’s Supreme Court had ruled that migrants arriving by sea could not be summarily deported without due process — unlike those who cross by land or climb Ceuta’s border fence — because they had not crossed a physical barrier.

Sanchez said that the ruling had been intentionally misconstrued by migrant smugglers to persuade thousands of people to swim around the border fence.

The Socialist leader replied in his own letter by recalling that Spain had taken in migrants who arrived at eastern European nations from Belarus in 2021 and at the southern Italian island of Lampedusa in 2023.

Morocco's government views the situation as a predictable result of the court ruling, said a high-ranking diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a highly sensitive issue.

He said it “sent a clear message to migrants: ‘Come. If you arrive, you’ll be protected.’ That outcome should have been anticipated by Ceuta’s authorities.”

Blame has been pointed the other way, however, with Spain’s Defense Minister Margarita Robles on Monday demanding Rabat investigate the local failure to stop tens of thousands of migrants from leaving the kingdom.

Gil Arias, who served as deputy executive director of the EU’s border agency Frontex from 2006-2016 and also worked for Spain’s interior and migration ministries, said he has “absolutely no doubt” Morocco not only knew of, but was likely directly or indirectly complicit in the Ceuta crisis.

“This doesn’t happen simply due to a passive attitude or omission from Morocco,” Arias, who retired in 2020, told The Associated Press. “There was an invitation or it was encouraged.”

The Moroccan diplomat rejected using force to tackle the migration phenomenon.

“We are not Europe’s police.”

Policies keep changing to meet influx migration patterns

Many right-wing politicians have won elections across the EU by promising to crack down on migration — and they claim to have done so with the European Migration and Asylum Pact that grants capitals greater abilities to surveil, detain and deport migrants to so-called “safe countries” like Morocco or “return hubs” outside the bloc.

Data from Frontex shows migration to the EU peaked in 2015 with 1.8 million people, the majority of whom crossed via the Balkans or the eastern Mediterranean. Since then numbers have dramatically fallen: In the first half of 2026, crossings fell by 37% to around 49,000 people.

“Fewer boats are setting out towards Europe, and that is the result of sustained cooperation with our partners in the region,” said Frontex Executive Director Hans Leijtens.

But Ceuta shows there's still an underlying migration problem that the EU has not tackled, said Michele LeVoy, director of the Brussels-based Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants.

“On Ceuta, political games are being played over the lives of people on both sides of the border,” she said.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the crisis has exposed a need in the EU to develop an emergency mechanism when “migration is weaponized,” he wrote in a Tuesday op-ed in Politico that attempted to make peace between European politicians.

“The deliberate instrumentalization of migration by state and nonstate actors seeking to test Europe’s resilience, undermine its cohesion and extract political concessions” requires new legal and operational tools to “defend its external borders, deter those who seek to exploit its openness and respond to this new reality firmly, lawfully and collectively,” Mitsotakis wrote.

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Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain, and Barry from Milan. Associated Press writers Renata Brito in Barcelona, Akram Oubachir in Fnideq, Morocco, and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens contributed to this report.

Trump said Monday that U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro “choked” and “folded like an umbrella” in moving to drop charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said in response to the move that “you better not go before a federal judge and make allegations you can't back up.” Pirro and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum were later seen entering the White House.

The president also said on Monday that new talks between Washington and Tehran are the “last chance” for Iran to forge a deal and avoid an escalation of U.S. strikes on the country.

Here is the latest:

Democrats complain about Blanche’s dealmaking for Trump

Democrats say Blanche’s order doesn’t go far enough to prevent the Trump administration from claiming more immunity from tax audits or compensating Trump allies — including people who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — through a previously established process that allows damage claims for government wrongdoing.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Justice Committee, said Blanche’s promises are virtually unenforceable. The fund “can easily be revived with a new order from the Department of Justice 15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed as attorney general,” Durbin said.

Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general clears critical hurdle after deal with GOP holdouts

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines in support of the nomination of President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, who has aggressively pushed the Republican administration’s priorities since taking over from Pam Bondi in April.

The vote followed a deal struck late Sunday between Blanche and two Republican senators who had been threatening to block his confirmation over the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service regarding the president’s leaked tax returns.

Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina had said they were withholding their support unless the Justice Department confirmed in writing that it was not moving forward with a $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they were prosecuted for political purposes, which the administration had announced as part of the settlement.

Blanche issued an order Sunday evening confirming “beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.”

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Attacks continue in Gulf region despite talks

A cargo ship reported being “hit by an unknown projectile” early Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz , the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said, without providing further information on the ship. It suffered damage, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey, which did not elaborate.

Yemen’s Houthis, meanwhile, fired at an airport in Saudi Arabia. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Iranian-backed rebels, said a drone hit a “sensitive target” at the airport in the southwestern city of Najran, without providing evidence.

Saree said the attack was in response to what he described as Saudi breaching of Yemen’s airspace over the provinces of Saada and Hajjah. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis recently announced a blockade on Saudi-linked shipping passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that leads to the Red Sea.

Qatar mediating talks between US and Iran

Despite conflicting claims, mediation efforts have been underway between the U.S. and Iran to wind down the war, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday.

“We’re looking into a diplomatic solution,” he said during a briefing, without elaborating.

UK foreign secretary to meet Rubio for talks on Hormuz and Ukraine

Ed Miliband will discuss work to reopen the Strait of Hormuz with his U.S. counterpart in Washington on Wednesday.

Miliband said reopening the vital oil rote and securing a lasting ceasefire in the U.S.-Iran war are “essential to ease cost of living pressures on British families.”

Milliband said he and Rubio “will also discuss how we can continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine against Russia’s war,” as well as ways to ease humanitarian suffering in Gaza and seek peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

It is the second meeting between the pair since Miliband was appointed two weeks ago by Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham. They first met at an ASEAN conference in late July.

Comedian Jenny Yang uplifts immigrants, one grocery store at a time

Standup comic Jenny Yang is spending her summer turning cultural grocery stores into comedy clubs for a night in a response to Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Standup Comedy Tour is using the unusual venues in immigrant enclaves and pairing with nonprofits to raise funds for Asian, Latino and Black communities. It’s grown to 20 performances and a possible comedy special on TV.

For one show in Minneapolis, the manager of a supermarket down the block from where an ICE agent fatally shot Alex Pretti fit 150 chairs near the checkout lanes so people could see her show.

Comedians are divided on whether stand-up should stand down on politics, but Yang says “I believe in punching up, not down.”

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Rubio says progress made in Iran, Oman talks and deal on Strait of Hormuz could happen ‘very shortly’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that there has been progress made in talks between Iran and Oman on the status of the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with the vice president of Paraguay at the State Department on Tuesday, Rubio said that “suffice it to say, there’s been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet. We’re hoping that will happen very shortly.”

Rubio said ships continue to transit the strait but the U.S. would like to see more commercial traffic.

US job market continues to show strength despite bumpy economy

U.S. job openings fell slightly in June, but the labor market continued to show resilience to the Iran war’s economic shocks.

The Labor Department said employers posted 7.36 million vacancies, down from 7.54 million in May, in line with economists’ expectations. Layoffs were little-changed at 1.8 million, and the number of people quitting jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects — rose slightly.

So far this year, companies, government agencies and nonprofits have added an average 92,000 jobs a month. That would have been mediocre in years past, but Trump’s immigration crackdown and Baby Boomer retirements mean fewer people are competing for work, so the economy doesn’t need as many new jobs to keep unemployment from rising. In fact, some economists believe the “break-even″ rate could be nearly as low as zero jobs.

Trump administration to close five smaller US embassies, consulates and other posts while opening others

The Trump administration has informed Congress that it intends to close five smaller U.S. embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions even as it steams ahead with plans to re-open shuttered posts in Libya and Syria and has re-opened the long-closed embassy in Venezuela.

In separate notices sent late last week to lawmakers, the State Department said it would close the U.S. embassy in the Caribbean island of Grenada, the consulates in Nagoya, Japan and Medan, Indonesia, the American Presence Post in Winnipeg, Canada and an embassy branch office in Douala, Cameroon.

The closures are expected to save the government roughly $4.4 million per year, according to the notices, which were obtained by The Associated Press.

Markets move, again, on Trump comments

Trump said he’s not happy with energy company profits, though it was the war he launched that enabled their windfalls.

Shares of ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron all fell around 1% before the bell. Brent crude, the international standard, lost $1.87 to $81.90 a barrel.

Also possibly helping to push oil prices lower was comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said Tuesday in an interview on CNBC that “we are in talks with the Iranians.” Bessent added, “There is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the Strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict.”

Big oil reports bigger profits in Iran war windfall

Exxon Mobil on Friday reported that its second quarter profits doubled to $14.53 billion, while Chevron nearly quadrupled its profits to $12.07 billion.

Foreign oil companies are also posting massive increases in profits: Saudi Aramco on Tuesday reported a 44% year-on-year increase in second-quarter net profit to $32.69 billion, driven by higher prices for crude oil, refined products and chemicals. And London-based BP reported its profits more than doubled to $3.9 billion.

US markets poised to open with gains and oil prices slide again as Trump bashes Big Oil

Wall Street was poised to open higher and oil prices flipped to significant losses Tuesday after Trump criticized oil companies for using the Iran conflict to amass excessive profits.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2%, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%. Nasdaq futures jumped 1.1%. Oil prices slid close to 3% early Tuesday after Trump bashed big oil companies.

“They made too much money, too much money,” Trump said on Monday. “They ought to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price.”

FIFA executives distance themselves from Infantino’s World Cup plan

Two senior FIFA executives — coaching great Arsène Wenger and CEO-like secretary general Mattias Grafström — distanced themselves Tuesday from their boss Gianni Infantino’s failed plan to sell stakes in future World Cup profits to private investors through a money-making subsidiary to be launched by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is a son-in-law of Trump.

Wenger said in a statement he knew nothing of the $20 billion plan and that it was “absolutely necessary” to drop the proposal, and Grafström sent an email to all FIFA staff — seen by The Associated Press — calling the last week a “sad and reproachable series of events.” He also said it created “turmoil which is difficult to comprehend and accept.”

Neither directly named their boss nor offered support for Infantino, who has not commented in public on the schism in soccer since a FIFA statement Saturday announcing the proposal had been dropped.

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What to watch as primary voters choose nominees

Michigan is testing the direction of the Democratic Party, as voters choose between a progressive standard-bearer and an establishment-backed candidate for the U.S. Senate. Abdul El-Sayed, backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, is up against four-term Rep. Haley Stevens, supported by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

Democratic and Republican voters in Michigan are also choosing nominees to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

In Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state, voters are settling a host of races, including a key rematch between Democrats in a Missouri House contest. Virginia Democrats who lost a court battle over trying to redraw districts to their advantage are picking candidates they hope can defeat Republicans in the fall.

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Trump and Newsom, mocking and taunting

As Trump flies to California he’ll likely throw barbs at the governor, eyed as a likely candidate for the next Democratic presidential nomination.

White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said the president plans to “draw a sharp contrast between his commonsense agenda and the radical policies of Democrats like Gavin Newsom.”

Trump routinely mocks Newsom using a derogatory nickname. Newsom taunts the president in turn.

The Democrat wrote on social media on Monday that California is raising its minimum wage next year to $17.40 an hour, more than double the federal minimum. “Donald Trump and the GOP are still defending a $7.25 minimum wage while workers scrape by. Pitiful,” Newsom wrote.

The economy is on Trump’s agenda in California and Nevada

Trump ’s rare visit to California and Nevada is meant to draw contrasts with Democrats on the economy, border security and crime in support of Republicans in November elections that will determine whether party control of Congress.

But he’s struggled to connect with voters on the economy as elevated inflation and feelings of uncertainty have overshadowed the stock market gains he often talks about, along with a low national unemployment rate.

Trump is headlining a Republican National Committee fundraising dinner at a golf club his family owns in the Los Angeles suburb of Rancho Palos Verdes on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Trump will discuss the economy at Red Rock casino in Las Vegas.

Only 32% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s handling of the economy in an AP-NORC poll conducted in late July, while 69% characterized the state of the economy as “poor.”

25 states sue over Trump’s new tariffs, calling them ‘pretext’ to replace his old ones

Twenty-five states sued the Trump administration Monday over its latest tariffs, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes the Supreme Court struck down in February.

The United States last month imposed double-digit tariffs on 59 countries and the European Union, charging that they had not done enough to crack down on imports produced by forced labor. The new tariffs took effect just as the clock ran out on temporary tariffs President Donald Trump had turned to after the Supreme Court defeat.

“After losing at the Supreme Court, the administration is once again trying to illegally raise taxes on families and businesses with a new round of tariffs,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Joining New York in the lawsuit announced Monday are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

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Trump accounts were closed in 2021 due to concerns over possible money laundering, Capital One says

Bank accounts held by Trump were closed by Capital One in 2021 after it flagged financial activity that had characteristics of money laundering, the bank disclosed in a court filing over the weekend.

The court filing is tied to a lawsuit filed against Capital One by one of Trump’s financial holding companies shortly after he was sworn into office a second time. Trump alleges that Capital One illegally closed his accounts for political reasons, following the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol.

Capital One wants the lawsuit dismissed.

“The closures were the result of months of analysis and a careful review by Capital One’s AML team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance,” the bank said in the court filing. The term “AML” is an abbreviation for anti-money laundering.

Trump has sued Capital One, as well as JPMorgan Chase, for allegedly debanking him after he left office in 2021. Debanking occurs when banks shut down customer accounts because they believe they pose financial, legal or reputational risks to the banks.

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New talks are ‘last chance’ for Iran to forge a deal and avoid escalation of US strikes, Trump says

Trump has played this hand before during the 5-month-old Iran war — but this time, he insists it’s different.

The president on Monday said that new talks between Washington and Tehran are the “last chance” for Iran to forge a deal and avoid an escalation of U.S. strikes on the country.

Trump, speaking at the Oval Office, said he expects negotiations will focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and create a pathway for Iran to address the United States’ concerns about its nuclear program. He told reporters they would likely learn about the status of the negotiations “today or tomorrow.”

“The first phase is the opening of the straits. The second phase will be the denuclearization,” the Republican president said. “And that will take a little while.”

While Trump has reveled in the U.S. military decimating layers of Tehran’s leadership and devastating its air force and navy, Iran is betting it can outlast Trump as he faces diminished stockpiles of munitions and the difficulty of executing a war that’s unpopular with the American electorate ahead of November’s midterm election.

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Trump says Pirro ‘folded like an umbrella’ in bid to drop Reflecting Pool vandalism charges

Trump said Monday that U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro “choked” and “folded like an umbrella” in moving to drop charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Speaking at an unrelated Oval Office event, Trump ducked questions about whether he’d fire Pirro, a former Fox News host and longtime ally he handpicked as top federal prosecutor in the nation’s capital. But the president kept up his drumbeat of sharp criticism, saying he remained disappointed by her assessment that damage to the Reflecting Pool was the result of shoddy construction, not vandalism.

“Frankly, I think she choked because the judge was really vicious. Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question after he signed an executive order for military spouses. “I don’t know what the hell happened.”

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As Blanche’s path to confirmation is cleared, Trump’s tax audit immunity remains in place

In negotiations with Republican senators whose support he needs to be confirmed as attorney general, Todd Blanche formally rescinded a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate Trump’s political allies.

But a sweeping audit immunity plan conferred on the president, his sons and the Trump Organization remains in place — given new parameters to appease the senators but still with the potential to wipe away millions of dollars of Trump’s back taxes.

In a document Blanche sent to the lawmakers Sunday, he said the audit immunity, struck as part of a deal to resolve the president’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, would not protect the president from the examination of future tax filings. Instead, he noted, it “applies by its terms only retroactively” to claims open at the time of the lawsuit’s settlement.

For the holdout GOP lawmakers who opposed both the fund and the audit deal, those assurances were enough and are expected to clear the way for Blanche’s confirmation to serve as attorney general.

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Robinson reposted the NFL's Instagram post detailing the extension on Tuesday morning, writing “God this is for you! Blessings. Love this team and this city!”

According to Spotrac.com, the extension is worth up to $75 million, with $51 million guaranteed.

NFL Network and ESPN first reported the extension. Robinson's agent, Nicole Lynn of Klutch Sports, posted on X on Tuesday morning “Anyone have a brinks truck?” while the Falcons posted a photo of a smiling Robinson.

The deal with Robinson continued the Falcons' trend of locking up foundation players on their offense.

On Saturday, the Falcons announced signing left guard Matthew Bergeron to a four-year contract extension. The team gave new contracts to wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts in the offseason.

The new deal comes after Robinson spent the first week of training camp, including Monday's first day in pads, as a spectator. He attended the practices but did not participate in an apparent contract “hold-in" as he seeks a new deal.

A panel of eight AP Pro Football Writers ranked Robinson the league's top running back in a preseason poll.

Robinson led the NFL with 2,298 yards from scrimmage and scored 11 TDs last season.

Robinson has been the focus of Atlanta's productive ground game since he was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. He flourished as a dual-threat back last season, finishing fourth in the league with 1,478 rushing yards while adding 820 receiving yards.

Steven Jackson in 2006 is the only other player ever with at least 1,400 rushing yards and 800 receiving yards in the same season.

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

The shooting happened at a home in the 500 block of E George on Aug. 3 just after 1 p.m.

Hazel Park police said officers responded to the area after receiving reports of gunshots coming from inside the home. When they arrived, they found a 43-year-old Hazel Park man with gunshot wounds.

The man, identified as Ryan Leslie Adams, was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police believe he was the only person targeted in the attack. No details were provided on a suspect.

Anyone with information is asked to call Hazel Park police at (248) 542-6161.

In separate notices sent late last week to lawmakers, the State Department said it would close the U.S. embassy in the Caribbean island of Grenada; the consulates in Nagoya, Japan, and Medan, Indonesia; the American Presence Post in Winnipeg, Canada; and an embassy branch office in Douala, Cameroon.

The closures are expected to save the government roughly $4.4 million per year, according to the notices obtained by The Associated Press. But the missions to be closed employ very few people compared with others.

The embassy in St. George’s, Grenada, and the consulate in Nagoya have only one American staffer and five local employees each. The consulate in Medan has four direct-hire U.S. staffers and 47 local employees. The Winnipeg post has only two local staffers, and the embassy office in Douala has only 14 local staffers.

The State Department announced plans earlier this year to permanently close the U.S. consulate in Peshwar, Pakistan, which was the closest diplomatic mission to Afghanistan since American troops withdrew in 2021.

The steps come as the department moves to streamline its operations at home and abroad, while investing millions of dollars into reopening the U.S. embassies in Caracas; Damascus, Syria; and Tripoli, Libya; to restore America’s formal diplomatic presence following the ouster of long-ruling autocrats in those countries.

Arbaeen is held 40 days after Ashoura, which commemorates the killing of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, and members of his family, at the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.

Karbala Gov. Nasseif Jassim al-Khattabi said Tuesday that more than 22 million people entered the city during the pilgrimage, including about 5 million non-Iraqi visitors as well as Iraqis from different regions of the country.

The event is considered one of the world’s largest annual religious gatherings.

Among the highest-profile foreign visitors was Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who arrived in the Iraqi city of Najaf on Monday and continued on to Karbala to take part in the pilgrimage.

Araghchi's presence was a reminder of the delicate balancing act that Iraq — which has close ties to both Washington and Tehran — has carried out since the beginning of the war. Iraq has found itself in the crosshairs of both sides and has sought to avoid getting pulled further into the conflict.

As usual, Iranian pilgrims arrived in large numbers, but some observers said the number of pilgrims from other countries had shrunk.

Aqeel al-Rubaie, 45, a pilgrim from Baghdad who was on his way to Karbala, said Iranian flags were particularly visible along the Najaf-Karbala road, while there were fewer flags than usual from European, Arab and other Islamic countries.

He attributed this to “the war and the events unfolding across the region, which have affected the number of Arab and foreign pilgrims."

Another pilgrim from Baghdad, Hassan al-Sarai, 35, said, “I hardly saw any flags other than Iranian ones, which were clearly visible along the road as well as inside and around the city of Karbala."

Volunteer processions providing food, water, medical care and other services lined the roads leading to Karbala from across Iraq.

The pilgrimage is taking place this year as Iraq faces difficult economic conditions following the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted Iraqi oil exports. More than 90% of Iraqi state revenues come from oil exports, making the country’s economy highly vulnerable to any interruption in crude shipments.

It also comes as Baghdad is wrestling with a difficult task it has set for itself: disarming the country's network of militias, many of them Iran-backed.

One of the most powerful Iran-backed militias, Kataib Hezbollah, said in a statement marking the occasion of Arbaeen that it rejects calls to disarm and remains committed to retaining what it described as the “weapons of the resistance."

Meanwhile in Iran, many observant Shiites unable to make the pilgrimage to Karbala held their own observances, which sometimes took on a political tone.

In the capital, Tehran, black-clad mourners rallied along a nearly 20-kilometer (12-mile) route to a Shiite holy shrine in the south of the city from a starting point in the central part of the city.

The mourners chanted slogans seeking retaliation for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in strikes by the U.S. and Israel, while some demonstrators trampled on U.S. and Israeli flags.

State media said similar rallies were held in other Iranian cities and towns.

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Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran contributed.

Serena and Venus Williams are set to take part in the Cincinnati Open, which begins next week. Organizers announced Monday they had received a wild-card entry into the doubles field.

They last played a doubles match together at the 2022 U.S. Open. It is their first time teaming up in the hard-court tune-up tournament in Mason, Ohio.

The Williams sisters received a wild-card entry to play doubles at Wimbledon, but an injury to Serena prevented that from happening. They have won 14 major titles and three Olympic gold medals in doubles play.

Venus Williams, 46, is set to play mixed doubles at the U.S. Open later this month in New York alongside Alexander Bublik. She and her younger sister playing at Cincinnati is the latest step in Serena’s comeback at age 44 after losing at Wimbledon in her first singles match in nearly four years.

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

U.S. Rep. John James, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Perry Johnson and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson are running for governor.

Swanson and Benson are running as Democrats, while James and Johnson are running as Republicans.

Current Governor Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited and cannot run again.

Local 4’s Ty Steele sat down with the four candidates on the ballot for Michigan’s next governor in the upcoming primary election and asked them a series of questions that voters are most concerned about, including education, affordability, economic growth, public safety and data centers.

Michigan’s primary election is on Tuesday, Aug. 4.

You can watch the full interviews below:

Jocelyn Benson (D)

John James (R)

Perry Johnson (R)

Chris Swanson (D)

Election Results --> 2026 Michigan Gubernatorial Race Primary Election Results

Here are the results:

Election results by county

Oakland County

• Groveland Township
• Auburn Hills
• Ferndale
• Madison Heights
• Pontiac
• Royal Oak
• Rochester Hills
• Wixom
• Addison Township
• Bloomfield Township
• West Bloomfield Township
• Brandon Township
• Highland Township
• Holly Township
• Independence Township
• Orion Township
• Springfield Township
• Waterford Township
• Oxford
• Hazel Park
• White Lake
• Oak Park

Wayne County

• Redford Township
• Highland Park
• Lincoln Park
• Wayne
• Dearborn
• Grosse Ile
• Northville
• Sumpter Township
• Detroit
• Hamtramck
• Westland
• Livonia
• Southgate

Macomb County

• Eastpointe
• Utica
• Chesterfield Township
• Harrison Township
• Washington Township

Monroe County

Washtenaw County

• Ann Arbor
• Ypsilanti
• Lodi Township
• Augusta Township
• Saline
• Scio Township

Lapeer County

• Almont
• Brown City
• Imlay City
• Davison
• Dryden Township
• Hadley Township
• Imlay Township
• Metamora Township
• North Branch

St. Clair County

• Clay Township
• Clyde Township
• Brockway Township
• China Township
• Cottrellville
• Emmett Township
• Grant Township
• Greenwood Township
• Ira Township
• Kenockee Township
• Port Huron Township
• Wales Township
• Fort Gratiot Township

Livingston County

• Genoa Township
• Howell Township
• Cohoctah Township
• Hamburg Township
• Hartland Township
• Fowlerville
• Pinckney

Here are the 2026 primary election results for the Michigan gubernatorial race (Democratic):

Related --> Full interviews: Hear from 4 candidates running for Michigan governor

Here are the 2026 primary election results for the Michigan gubernatorial race (Republican):

Related --> Full interviews: Hear from 4 candidates running for Michigan governor

Hundreds of people gathered as the bodies wrapped in Palestinian flags were laid in rows near the destroyed buildings before being carried on stretchers through a narrow street for burial in a nearby cemetery.

Elsewhere, a projectile reportedly struck a cargo ship in the disputed Strait of Hormuz, Qatar said it was mediating peace talks between the United States and Iran, a memorial service was held in Beirut for victims of a 2020 port explosion and Yemen’s Houthis claimed they fired at a Saudi Arabian airport.

Here is a look at the most important developments in the Middle East on Tuesday.

Gaza residents killed in 2023 airstrike laid to rest

The 112 victims were among more than 300 killed during an attack on Nov. 22, 2023, on Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood.

First responders recovered the bodies over the weekend after digging through the rubble for 136 hours, according to the Civil Defense, a rescue agency operated under Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Ministry.

The bodies included 40 children, 30 women and seven people with disabilities, the agency said in a statement, adding that another 157 people remained missing under the rubble.

The Gaza war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has since killed 73,375 people, including civilians and combatants, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Around 7,400 people are still missing and presumed buried under the rubble from the war, according to Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Gaza Health Ministry’s records department.

Cargo ship reports strike in Strait of Hormuz

A cargo ship reported being “hit by an unknown projectile” at 2 a.m. local time in the Strait of Hormuz while it was 37 kilometers (23 miles) northeast of Al Khasab in Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said, without providing further information on the ship, including what flag it was sailing under or whether it was carrying cargo.

The ship suffered damage, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey, which did not elaborate.

The town of Al Khasab sits on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula that juts into the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passed before the war.

The strait has been effectively shut by Iran’s attacks on shipping since the start of the war in February, while the U.S. also has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports in the waterway.

Qatar mediating talks between US and Iran

Despite conflicting claims, mediation efforts were underway between the U.S. and Iran to wind down the war, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday.

“We’re looking into a diplomatic solution,” he said during a briefing, without elaborating.

U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to unleash massive strikes on Iran before calling them off at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

On Monday, the president said the two sides were resuming talks, but Iran insisted it was only talking with Oman about establishing a route through the Strait of Hormuz, drawing Trump’s ire.

Senior U.S. officials struck an optimistic tone on Tuesday, suggesting a deal to reopen the strait could be reached soon.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters there has been progress made in talks between Iran and Oman, “but not finality yet.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that "there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict.”

Yemen’s Houthis fire at airport in Saudi Arabia

In Yemen, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, said a drone hit a “sensitive target” at the airport in the southwestern city of Najran, without providing evidence. He said the attack was in response to what he described as Saudi breaching of Yemen’s airspace over the provinces of Saada and Hajjah. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis recently announced a blockade on Saudi-linked shipping passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that leads to the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia led an international coalition and imposed an air and sea blockade against the rebels after they seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen in a civil war that began in 2014. Major fighting ended in a truce in 2022.

Memorial marks Beirut port explosion anniversary

Families of the more than 200 people killed in the massive explosion at the port in Beirut in 2020 gathered at the blast site to mark six years since tons of improperly stored ammonium nitrate exploded, devastating large parts of the Lebanese capital.

No one has been convicted in a long-stalled judicial investigation into the incident, but some families expressed renewed hope after government officials promised indictments would be issued by the end of the year.

The tragedy has been overshadowed by recent events, including two wars between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and an Israeli military occupation of much of the country’s south.

Israel discusses withdrawal from Lebanon

Israeli and Lebanese officials met in Rome on Tuesday to continue talks on implementing a U.S.-mediated deal in which the Israeli military would gradually withdraw from southern Lebanon while the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group would be disarmed.

Implementation of the June 26 agreement began last month with an initial “pilot zone” in an area that wasn't occupied by Israeli forces but had previously sustained Israeli fire.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa suggested ahead of the three-day talks that no new pilot zones would be immediately implemented, saying that “moving too quickly risks jeopardizing the very civilians this process is meant to protect.”

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Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Abby Sewell in Beirut, Lebanon, Matthew Lee in Washington and Philip Marcelo in New York contributed to this report.

The nominee will face former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, who is running unopposed after narrowly losing a Senate race in 2024.

Democrats endured a bitter and expensive campaign that became a proxy battle between the party’s establishment and progressive wings. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer backed Stevens, while Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supported El-Sayed.

Stevens is a four-term congresswoman from the outskirts of Detroit who has focused on manufacturing and the economy in a campaign she called a “love letter to Michigan.” She stresses her past victories in tough races, saying she is best positioned to beat Rogers.

Asked Sunday about the race being a battle for two Democratic visions, Stevens replied: “It's a Michigan moment for me, baby.”

Stevens benefited from tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, including the largest investment in a race ever from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which supports pro-Israel candidates.

El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director, is seeking a political comeback after losing the 2018 gubernatorial primary to now-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. He campaigned on Medicare for All, campaign finance reform and ending military aid to Israel.

“We’re in a situation right now where the rich keep getting hyper-rich on the backs of figuring out how to monetize everyday people,” El-Sayed told AP during a Sunday afternoon march, as his supporters chanted behind him, “Money out of politics! Money in your pockets!”

Voters are also choosing nominees in competitive House races and for governor. The GOP gubernatorial primary features U.S. Rep. John James, who is backed by President Donald Trump, and businessman Perry Johnson, who has spent millions of his personal fortune. For Democrats, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is the overwhelming favorite over Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.

Michigan is a must-win Senate race for Democrats

Michigan's Senate seat is open because Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring. Hopes for a relatively orderly primary to replace him disappeared when Stevens, El-Sayed and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow all entered the race. McMorrow suspended her campaign in July.

Stevens won election to Congress in 2018 after serving as chief of staff to President Barack Obama’s auto task force, which helped oversee the federal rescue of General Motors and Chrysler. Her campaign and allied groups have repeatedly highlighted that experience, including advertisements featuring Obama calling her “a critical part of my team.”

Backed by Sanders from the outset, El-Sayed cast himself as the anti-establishment candidate and aimed to join the ranks of newcomers winning races this year across the country — sometimes unseating incumbents backed by party leaders, in places like New York and Denver.

He argued that Democrats need to reject corporate influence and embrace a more progressive agenda. In addition to Medicare for All, his campaign centered on lowering prescription drug costs and banning corporate PAC money.

Kenneth Woodside, 87, of West Bloomfield, said he voted Tuesday for El-Sayed over Stevens because he wants someone in office who is "more focused on the people rather than just on the wealthy and businesses.”

Woodside said he has faith that El-Sayed can defeat Rogers.

“I think the nation is ready for someone who wants to take some more action rather than on the road we are now, which is on the road to an oligarchy and authoritarianism,” he said.

Outside influences have spent millions on the Senate race

National groups poured unprecedented sums into the race, making it one of the country’s biggest tests of outside spending.

Groups backing Stevens spent more than $50 million, led by more than $30 million from AIPAC and its affiliates.

The spending thrust Israel policy into the center of the race even though the ads never mentioned it. While El-Sayed called for ending military aid to Israel, Stevens maintained strong support for the relationship.

Israel has become a contentious issue within the Democratic Party amid a war in Gaza that killed more than 73,000 Palestinians in its retaliatory offensive after about 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken in attacks by the militant group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

The race also became a proxy fight over the direction of the party. In addition to Schumer, more establishment-aligned senators, such as Peters, backed Stevens, while progressives such as Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Elizabeth Warren lined up behind El-Sayed.

Voters also will decide governor and U.S. House matchups

Trump traveled to Michigan on July 27 and gave a speech at a General Motors plant, at one point calling the gubernatorial hopeful James and several other Republican politicians, including Rogers, onstage. James, a second-term congressman, previously ran twice unsuccessfully for Senate.

The primary turned uglier than Republicans hoped, with Johnson spending big sums of money on ads targeting James. Johnson ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022 and also launched a long-shot presidential bid in 2024.

In the Democratic gubernatorial primary, much of the party including lawmakers and outside groups, such as the United Auto Workers union, coalesced behind Benson.

Meanwhile there are several competitive House races this year that will help decide whether Republicans hold their slim majority or Democrats reclaim the chamber.

In the 4th District, which stretches along Lake Michigan, Democratic state Sen. Sean McCann and election newcomer Diop Harris II are vying to become the nominee to try to oust GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga.

In the 7th District, former U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink, community organizer William Lawrence and former Navy Seal Matt Maasdam are seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in the seat representing the Lansing area.

James' decision to run for governor left open his seat in the 10th District, which includes a portion of Oakland County and stretches across conservative communities in Macomb County. In the GOP primary, Trump endorsed Michael Bouchard against Steffan Demetropoulos and Justin Kirk. The Democratic primary features former state House Rep. Tim Greimel, former prosecutor Christina Hines and former Commerce Department attorney Eric Chung.

And in a heavily Democratic district representing Detroit, Rep. Shri Thanedar looks to fend off a primary challenge from state Rep. Donavan McKinney, who argued that the city should once again have a Black representative in Congress. After Thanedar won election in 2022, Detroit had no Black representation in Congress for the first time since the early 1950s.

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Associated Press reporter Corey Williams contributed from West Bloomfield, Michigan.

The friendlies include games against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada in U.S. cities that didn’t host World Cup action this summer.

The Americans will face Peru on Sept. 26 at Inter.co Stadium in Orlando, Florida. Three days later, they will host Chile at Energizer Park in St. Louis. The US-Mexico rivalry resumes Oct. 3 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. And the finale against Canada follows three days later at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota.

All four matches will be broadcast on TNT, HBO Max, Telemundo, Universo and Peacock.

The games come on the heels of the U.S. team’s run to the round of 16 at the World Cup. They also will serve as the first action since U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino agreed to a new deal that puts him under contract through 2030.

“We are so excited to start this new phase of our journey with matches in front of our home fans,” Pochettino said in a statement. “Their amazing energy during the summer has set the standard.

“Our objective is always to play the best opponents possible, and these matches provide a variety of experiences for this group of players as we begin this new chapter of the U.S Men’s National Team.”

The 2030 World Cup will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

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

Same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, edged up 0.8% in the U.S. That’s a sharp slowdown from the 2.5% increase a year ago, when the company had a big win with a meal tied to “A Minecraft Movie.” Global same-store sales rose 1.3%.

CEO Chris Kempczinski said during the company's earnings call on Tuesday that the U.S. performance was partly hurt by inconsistent execution across its restaurants and marketing programs that didn't meet expectations.

“We don’t have a strategy problem," he said. "We simply didn’t execute at the level we needed to in the second quarter.”

Another issue was a pullback on the number of digital offers that customers received, Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden said. Without those offers, customers either bought less, or didn't buy at all. McDonald’s plans to address this by launching more digital offers nationally, starting next week. The company is also looking to send more personalized offers to its most loyal users, he added.

McDonald's, like many restaurant chains, is dealing with American consumers that are keeping a close eye on their wallets. The company warned in May that high gas prices and consumer anxiety over the U.S. conflict with Iran could dent its sales. The U.S. average for regular gasoline reached its most recent peak on May 21 at $4.56 per gallon, according to AAA.

McDonald's has jostled its menu and tried to lure some cost-conscious customers to its restaurants through value meals and other specials. These items can be particularly important for low-income customers, who are hit hard by rising costs. In April, the chain introduced a simplified McValue menu, which has 10 items that cost $3 or less.

Kempczinski said that about a year ago, McDonald's got a bit off target on value, and that its base menu pricing began running higher than its competitors in many places. The company has since worked to bring its prices below or closer to competitors on items ranging from burgers to drinks.

For the three months ended June 30, the Chicago burger chain earned $2.36 billion, or $3.32 per share. A year earlier it earned $2.25 billion, or $3.14 per share.

Excluding one time charges and benefits, earnings were $3.38 per share, beating the $3.32 per share analysts polled by FactSet expected.

Revenue climbed to $7.1 billion from $6.84 billion in the prior-year period, but came a bit short of Wall Street's estimate of $7.13 billion.

McDonald's also announced Tuesday that Skye Anderson will be president of McDonald's USA.

Company shares rose less than 2% Tuesday.

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AP reporter Dee-Ann Durbin contributed to this report.

A legal brief by the FBI Agents Association is one of five filed by outside parties in the last week in support of the agents, who were terminated as part of a broader personnel purge by FBI Director Kash Patel that has targeted employees who investigated Trump or are perceived as being against the administration's interest.

Taken together, the filings, including from former FBI and Justice Department alumni, underscore a concerted and bipartisan pushback to the waves of terminations that have roiled the FBI in the last year and a half as Patel has sought to remake the bureau in his own image.

The briefs argue that the firings were illegal because the agents were denied due process and punished for perceived political affiliation, and say the terminations contradict decades of expectations that the bureau's “apolitical, professional career corps of agents” can work on sensitive cases without putting their careers at risk.

“The Bureau simply cannot function if individual Special Agents must choose whether to accept a lawful assignment that could later get them fired, or alternatively to reject it and become subject to firing for insubordination. FBI Special Agents have long understood that they are subject to assignment and reassignment at any time based on the needs of the Bureau,” the agents association, which serves nearly 12,000 members, wrote in its brief.

A brief filed by former senior Justice Department officials says the firings have undermined a “half-century of independence as a guiding principle.”

“Putting aside the resulting violation of Plaintiffs' rights, the inevitable impact of this ‘purge’ will be to chill the independence of remaining and future career agents, attorneys, analysts, and other staff at the FBI, DOJ and other law enforcement agencies who must now act with the understanding that their investigative and law enforcement judgments can, for the first time in their careers, be assessed through a partisan political lens,” the brief states.

The three agents — Michelle Ball, Jamie Garman and Blaire Toleman — said in a federal lawsuit filed in March that they were fired in a “retribution campaign” targeting them for their work on the investigation into Trump. The agents performed “exemplary and unblemished” service in the FBI and expected to spend the remainder of their careers at the bureau but were abruptly fired without cause and without being given a chance to respond, the lawsuit says.

The investigation the agents worked on culminated in an indictment from special counsel Jack Smith that accused Trump of scheming to overturn the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Smith ultimately abandoned that case, along with a separate one accusing Trump of illegally retaining classified records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after Trump won back the White House in 2024, citing Justice Department legal opinions that prohibit the federal indictments of sitting presidents.

Patel and Pam Bondi, who was the attorney general at the time, have said the fired agents and prosecutors who worked on Smith’s team were responsible for weaponizing federal law enforcement, a claim that was also asserted in their termination letters but that the plaintiffs call defamatory and baseless.

The filings are known in the law as amici, or friend-of-the-court, briefs. They are sometimes submitted by outside parties in lawsuits to help stress particular arguments or inform a judge's thinking.

Other groups who submitted briefs include a collection of First Amendment Scholars, a group called Lawyers for the Rule of Law, and Justice Connection, a network of department alumni that warned in its filing that a “politicized” FBI could turn against citizens because of their speech, association or perceived disloyalty.

“The Constitution,” the filing said, “is designed to prevent precisely this kind of abuse.”

Primary Election Day is on Aug. 4, 2026.

--> Your 2026 Michigan primary election voter guide

Races in the primary election include the gubernatorial race, U.S. Senate race, and many U.S. Rep. races.

Read more --> Here’s how to check if you’re registered to vote in Michigan

Here’s a look at the key races:

Gubernatorial race

Current Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited and cannot run again.

The democratic candidates running for governor are Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.

The Republican candidates running for governor are U.S. Rep. John James and businessman Perry Johnson.

Former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox suspended his campaign a little over two weeks before the primary election, but his name will still appear on the ballot as a Republican candidate.

Local 4’s Ty Steele sat down with the candidates running for governor and discussed a series of hot topics. You can watch the full interviews here --> Full interviews: Hear from 4 candidates running for Michigan governor

Track election results --> 2026 Michigan Gubernatorial Race Primary Election Results

U.S. Senate race

Michigan U.S. Sen. Gary Peters is not running for reelection, making his seat open in the 2026 election.

In the primary election, Democratic candidates running for U.S. Senate are U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and epidemiologist Abdul El-Sayed.

Although State Sen. Mallory McMorrow suspended her campaign, her name will still appear on the August ballot.

Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers is the only Republican candidate running for the open U.S. Senate seat.

Democratic candidates interviews --> Flashpoint July 12, 2026: Dem candidates in US Senate talk DTE, election inspectors, Gordie Howe

Interview with Mike Rogers --> Mike Rogers talks Michigan education, manufacturing jobs, Iran conflict

Track election results --> 2026 Michigan U.S. Senate Primary Election Results

U.S. House

Depending on your district, there will be candidates running for U.S. House seats on the 2026 primary election ballot.

Here’s a look at the races where there are multiple candidates running:

* - incumbent

District 1

• Democratic candidates: Callie Barr, Kyle Blomquist, Wayne Stiles
• Republican candidates: Jack Bergman*, Matthew DenOtter, Justin Michal

District 2

• Democratic candidates: Ben Ambrose, Jamie Hill, Clyde Welford
• Republican candidates: John Moolenaar*

District 3

• Democratic candidates: Hillary Scholten*
• Republican candidates: Ryan Cushman, Terri DeBoer

District 4

• Democratic candidates: Diop Harris, Sean McCann
• Republican candidates: Bill Huizenga*, Phil Tanis

District 7

• Democratic candidates: Bridget Brink, William Lawrence, Matt Massdam
• Republican candidates: Tom Barrett*

District 8

• Democratic candidates: Kristen McDonald Rivet*
• Republican candidates: Amir Hassan, Al Lemmo, Thomas J. Smith

District 10

• Democratic candidates: Eric Chung, Tim Greimel, Christina Hines
• Republican candidates: Michael Bouchard, Steffan Demetropoulos, Justin Kirk, Robert Lulgjuraj

District 11

• Democratic candidates: Aisha Farooqi, Jeremy Moss, John Paul Torres, Don Ufford
• Republican candidates: Ethan Baker

District 12

• Democratic candidates: Shanelle Jackson, Byron Nolen, Rashida Tlaib*
• Republican candidates: James Hooper

District 13

• Democratic candidates: Donovan McKinney, Shri Thanedar*
• Republican candidates: T.P. Nykoriak

You can check which district you reside in by clicking here.

Track election results --> 2026 Michigan U.S. Representatives Primary Election Results

How do I see a sample ballot for the 2026 primary election?

To see your sample ballot for the 2026 August primary election, visit the Michigan Voter Information Center.

Can I vote a “split” ticket in the August primary election?

No. Michigan voters can only vote in one party column and cannot “split” their ticket, meaning to vote in more than one party column, if voting in a presidential or statewide primary.

Voters can “split” their ticket in the November general election. Michigan voters also have the option to vote straight-ticket by selecting the option on the side of their ballot with partisan races. Voting straight ticket does not automatically include selections on the non-partisan side of the ballot.

Do I need to vote the entire ballot?

Michigan voters are not required to vote the entire ballot. You can choose the races or ballot questions you want to vote. Skipping sections on the ballot does not invalidate your ballot.

Races not on August ballot, but will be on November ballot

There are other key races in the 2026 election, but they will not appear on the upcoming August primary election ballot.

The candidates running for Michigan Attorney General and Secretary of State were chosen at the Republican and Democratic endorsement conventions earlier in the spring.

Attorney General

The Democratic candidate running for attorney general is Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, and the Republican candidate running is Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd.

Secretary of State

The Democratic candidate running for secretary of state is Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, and the Republican candidate running is Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini.

Employers posted 7.36 million vacancies in June, down from 7.54 million in May, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The numbers were in line with economist expectations. Openings rose by 97,000 at warehouse, transportation and utility companies and 39,000 at federal government agencies. Openings dropped at wholesalers and manufacturers of nondurable goods.

Layoffs were little-changed at 1.8 million, and the number of people quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects — rose slightly.

The gross number of people hired — before subtracting those who quit or lost their jobs — rose slightly 5.3 million. But hiring is weaker than it was in the jobs boom that followed pandemic lockdowns. Then, gross monthly hiring often topped 6 million.

Still, the U.S. job market has remained sturdy despite a surge in energy prices caused by the conflict in Iran, rebounding from a 2025 slump. Before the war in Iran, roughly 15 million barrels of Persian Gulf oil were shipped each day through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait borders Iran, which has fired on ships attempting to transit the passage.

So far this year, companies, government agencies and nonprofits have added an average 92,000 jobs a month. That is up from fewer than 10,000 a month last year — fewest outside a recession since 2002 — as employers held off on hiring because of high interest rates and uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s unpredictable economic policies.

When the Labor Department releases its jobs report for July on Friday, it is expected to show job gains of 100,000, up from 57,000 in June. The unemployment rate is expected to have remained at a low 4.2%, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet.

In years past, 100,000 new jobs a month would have been mediocre. But Trump’s immigration crackdown and the ongoing retirements of baby boomers mean that fewer people are competing for work. So the economy doesn’t need as many new jobs as it once did to keep the unemployment rate from rising. In fact, some economists believe the “break-even″ rate could be nearly as low as zero jobs.

U.S. Rep. John James, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Perry Johnson, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson and Mike Cox are running for governor.

Swanson and Benson are running as Democrats, while James, Johnson and Cox are running as Republicans.

Current Governor Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited and cannot run again.

Local 4’s Ty Steele sat down with the five candidates on the ballot for Michigan’s next governor in the upcoming primary election and asked them a series of questions that voters are most concerned about, including education, affordability, economic growth, public safety and data centers.

Michigan’s primary election is on Tuesday, Aug. 4.

You can watch the full interviews below:

Jocelyn Benson (D)

Mike Cox (R)

John James (R)

Perry Johnson (R)

Chris Swanson (D)

But an estimated 1,000 minors — among the most vulnerable of those who crossed the border — remain in Ceuta, staying without their families in a foreign land.

One 17-year-old girl told The Associated Press how she watched her 8-year-old brother drown as migrants made a chaotic crossing around a breakwater and a subsequent stampede on the rocky shore to avoid the border fence last Thursday at the peak of the migration surge. She was separated from her mother and has been begging on the streets of Ceuta since. The AP is withholding her identity because she is a minor in a vulnerable situation.

“I saw people stepping on the dead,” she said through a translator since she doesn’t speak Spanish. “Now we are children begging on the street.”

Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska on Tuesday gave a fresh estimate of the migrants who pushed into Ceuta last week, saying a total of around 72,000 crossed over. Of those, he said, 70,000 had returned. Local official Alejandro Ramírez, however, said that it was impossible to know the exact number, which he estimated to be closer to 3,000-5,000 remaining in the city.

The Spanish minister also increased the death toll to 75 people who perished mostly in the water, during the crossing. Morocco reported 11 deaths which are not included in the Spanish total, the Spanish interior ministry said.

Spanish authorities said many of the migrants went back voluntarily after they saw that there was little chance to reach mainland Europe, or that the tiny enclave of 84,000 people was unable or unwilling to accommodate them. Spanish security forces have rounded up others, placing them on trucks and taking them back to the border, but by law, they're not supposed to do that with unaccompanied minors.

Like many migrants, the teenage girl from Tangier came to Ceuta, perched on the north African coast, driven by a viral social media onslaught to try a mad dash to Spain seeking better opportunities. She said some locals gave her food and some clothing, with one woman taking her into her home so she could bathe. She then went to a center for youths run by the government for some help, but found it was full.

Anguish among parents looking for children

The inverse drama was seen in Fnideq on the Moroccan side of the border where parents were hoping to see their children come home.

Ibtissam Chari has been waiting for signs of life from her son, called Rayan. He left Morocco with a group of friends last week. She knows he made it across because he was able to get word to her that he made it to Ceuta. But since then, she hadn't heard from him.

“Every day, we come here in the hope to have any news but there is none,” she said. “Some of his friends from the same neighborhood came back home, which is good news. I heard that many people died. May God protect us.”

Minors must be cared for under Spanish law

Spanish law says that adult migrants can apply for asylum. If rejected, they will face expulsion procedures. The bar is normally very high for Moroccans to be granted humanitarian protection.

Migrant minors who are unaccompanied by adults, however, are supposed to be granted protection and taken care of by Spanish authorities.

An AP journalist witnessed Monday how Spanish soldiers escorted an unaccompanied Moroccan boy who was crying and begging not to be sent back to Morocco. A few meters before reaching the border, and due to pressure from local residents who insisted he was a minor, as well as the presence of the media, a lieutenant colonel in the Spanish Army stopped the repatriation and transferred the boy to the Spanish Civil Guard.

AP journalists, however, witnessed Spanish security forces ushering other young migrants toward the border.

Spain’s government announced Tuesday that it has earmarked 25 million euros ($28.8 million) to be spent on assisting the minors in Ceuta.

Spain's Civil Guard also said Tuesday that it was opening an office for missing persons at the customs house on the border, as well as providing an email address for people to write to with missing persons reports. An AP reporter was unable to arrive at the customs house on the Moroccan side on Tuesday without a European passport or visa.

“In Spain, the fundamental rights of minors as vulnerable individuals are respected, as are those of adults,” Grande-Marlaska told reporters in Madrid Tuesday.

Food is main concern for those migrants still in Ceuta

Among the adult migrants who remain in Ceuta are significant numbers of people from other countries, including Sudanese fleeing their war-torn country, Palestinians from Gaza and Afghans, as well as people from several African nations.

Food is scarce among the migrants, according to reporting by AP journalists. Authorities organized food distribution among the remaining migrants late on Monday.

Ahmed Chenaf, a 25-year-old Moroccan man, told of the poor conditions he experienced in Ceuta before returning. He said he didn’t eat for two days.

“To those thinking of trying to reach Ceuta: you will suffer. All the grocery stores (were) closed. There is no food, and no one wanted to sell us anything,” he said.

The city’s migrant center with a capacity for 600 people is completely full. Many migrants sleep or rest on the beach or hills surrounding the speck of Spain. In the hazy distance, mainland Europe, their ultimate goal, lies across the sea.

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Joseph Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain. Associated Press writer Akram Oubachir and video journalist Majd Semlali contributed from Fnideq, Morocco.

Vajda recently earned a silver medal at her first international competition—a breakthrough performance that helped her land a spot on the U.S. National Team. Now, she’s preparing to represent Team USA once again at the Cranberry Cup International in Boston, running August 5–9, where she’ll compete in the Advanced Novice division.

We caught up with Vajda last week at the Detroit Skating Club, where her schedule reflects the kind of commitment it takes to rise quickly in a demanding sport.

“Almost every day I skate—six days out of the seven days of the week,” Vajda said.

The Cranberry Cup will be another chance to test herself on an international stage—performing both her short program and free skate against athletes from other countries.

“It’s another international so I get to do my short program and free skate and I get to compete against different countries and compete against people that I’ve never seen before,” she said.

Her coach, Laura Lepinski, says Vajda’s progress is driven by relentless effort and focus in practice.

“She’s one of the most hardworking athletes that I’ve ever worked with,” Lepinski said. “She comes to the rink every day dialed in, ready to work.”

For Vajda, Boston is more than the next competition—it’s another step toward the world stage, as she continues chasing bigger goals with every program she performs.

We last checked in with Vajda back in January, as the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis neared and athletes at the Detroit Skating Club ramped up training for nationals—then the final chance to qualify for the Milan-Cortina Olympics. Vajda was among the club’s rising skaters headed into the junior event, alongside teammates Mia Smith and Emilia Nemirovsky, as their coaches praised the dedication—and emotional journey—behind their push to the national stage.

Several fires that burned through mountain communities and coastal areas west of the Greek capital were brought under control overnight. Planes and helicopters dumped water inside the contained perimeters through the morning, dousing hot spots while the winds stayed calm.

“There is a huge fire load in the area and the risk goes up as the day progresses,” said Costas Tsingas, head of the Greek Firefighters Association. “The goal is for the day to end better than it started.”

Fires started through negligence prompt wave of arrests

Burning for a fifth day, the blaze outside Athens prompted the evacuation of more than 1,000 people and was blamed on a faulty power line from a wind farm in the area.

Restrictions and park closures are imposed locally according to fire‑risk levels. Authorities say 33 people were arrested between June 29 and Aug. 2 for starting fires, including 30 through negligence and three on suspicion of arson. Most of the negligence cases involved farm work carried out despite local bans, including prohibited welding.

On Tuesday, crews were working against the clock: Winds typically pick up in the afternoon, a coastal phenomenon common across the Mediterranean in summer as land heats faster than the sea and draws in stronger breezes.

The army deployed tracked earth movers to carve fire breaks across the scorched hillsides, while specialist units pushed into forest areas on foot to extinguish smoldering embers before they could reignite.

More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from around the seaside resort of Porto Germeno and other areas west of the capital, including more than 250 rescued by boats from beaches in the area.

Wildfires in France expose ammunition

Prolonged heat waves across Europe this summer have left France tinder-dry, fueling blazes that this week exposed long-buried ammunition in a forested area.

The massive wildfire outside the southwestern city of Bordeaux, which has scorched about 420 square kilometers (162 square miles), uncovered what is believed to be World War II-era ammunition.

Demining experts have found more than 400 shells and other munitions in recent days at Le Porge, the hardest-hit town, where 183 homes were destroyed. Residents described hearing explosions believed to be blasts from the old shells, authorities said.

The fire remained contained and thousands of evacuees were allowed to return Monday. More than 224,000 people fled in France’s largest civilian evacuation outside wartime.

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Corbet reported from Paris.

Although there have been similar contests around the country, this one will hold extra weight because Michigan is a key state in presidential races. Abdul El-Sayed, backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, is up against four-term Rep. Haley Stevens, supported by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

Democratic and Republican voters in Michigan are also deciding on their parties’ nominees to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

In Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state, voters are settling primaries in a host of races, including a key rematch between Democrats in a Missouri House contest. Also in play is whether Democrats, who tried to redraw districts in Virginia to their advantage but were rebuffed by the state supreme court, can pick candidates who can defeat Republicans in the fall.

Test time for Democrats in Michigan's Senate race

The choice between El-Sayed and Stevens has become a focal point for Democrats this year, and the race has become bitter. Whoever wins will need to bring splintered factions back into the fold to beat Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman.

The seat is open because Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring, and Democrats are under pressure to defend it to preserve their chance of winning control of the chamber.

Another dynamic at play has been the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC and its affiliated groups, which have spent nearly $30 million supporting Stevens.

The issue has become a lightning rod in Democratic politics since the Gaza war has split the party over U.S. backing of Israel. AIPAC backs candidates who support strengthening U.S.-Israeli relations. It's a significant issue in Michigan, which is home to the country's largest Arab American population.

El-Sayed cast the spending as a question of whether grassroots organizing can overcome millions in outside contributions.

That tension was also at play in 2024 when Democratic activists pressured now-Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin to take a harder line on Israel’s war in Gaza. Slotkin, who is Jewish, had already distanced herself from AIPAC earlier. She ultimately defeated Rogers by fewer than 20,000 votes.

Rogers is running for Senate again this year, and is unopposed in the GOP primary.

Will Trump's endorsement overpower self-funded candidate for governor?

Republican voters will decide on their nominee for Michigan governor on Tuesday as well. President Donald Trump has endorsed Rep. John James.

The president's backing typically carries significant weight in Republican politics, but there could be a complicating factor. Businessman Perry Johnson has loaned his campaign more than $30 million, according to Michigan campaign finance records.

A similar dynamic played out this year in Georgia's race for governor, where Rick Jackson spent $100 million, largely of his own money, to overcome the Trump-backed Burt Jones in a runoff.

On the Democratic side, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson faces Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.

Virginia Democrats aim to overcome redistricting disappointment

Virginia has been one of Democrats’ greatest regrets this year after the state’s supreme court overturned a voter-approved referendum to redraw its House map to create four new winnable seats for the party.

The measure’s failure left Republicans with a clear national lead in winnable House seats in the partisan footrace triggered by Trump’s unusual mid-decade redistricting push.

Democrats are hoping to whittle away at that lead the old-fashioned way — by winning elections. The first step is Tuesday’s primary, where the party will be watching races in three of the state’s 11 districts to see whether the candidates its strategists see as most competitive can win the nomination.

Two of those candidates are former House members. Elaine Luria, a former Naval commander, is seeking to return to her Virginia Beach-centered swing seat, which she narrowly lost in 2022 to Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans. Luria faces three other Democrats, none with a history of holding elected office, in the primary.

Former Rep. Tom Perriello is running for his old central Virginia seat in the state’s 5th congressional district. The district has swung even further to the right since Perriello briefly represented the region following President Barack Obama’s 2008 election.

Perriello ran this year hoping a remap would make it friendlier to Democrats but says he’ll still compete and hope to flip it in November. He faces political commentator Robert Tracinski and physician Suzanne Krzyzanowski.

Many Democratic strategists see Shannon Taylor, the longtime Henrico County commonwealth’s attorney, as their best bet out of the seven candidates competing for the party’s nomination in the state’s 1st congressional district, a swing seat held by Republican Rep. Rob Wittman.

Last time the progressive lost in Missouri. Who'll emerge in the rematch?

All eyes have been on Michigan, but there's another matchup between Democrats' centrist and leftist wings playing out in a safely blue House seat in the St. Louis area.

Two years ago, prosecutor Wesley Bell ousted firebrand leftist Rep. Cori Bush in the Democratic primary for the district that includes Ferguson, the city where a police killing of a Black teenager helped set off 2014’s Black Lives Matter protests.

Now Bush is back, challenging Bell and arguing voters can take revenge against AIPAC for targeting her in the previous cycle.

Strasbourg said Tuesday it signed the 23-year-old Reyna on a five-year deal from Borussia Mönchengladbach. The transfer fee was reported to be 3 million euros ($3.5 million).

Reyna played in all five U.S. games at the World Cup, and scored a signature goal to cap the opening 4-1 win against Paraguay.

He had a quiet debut season with Gladbach, scoring just once in 20 games, after several seasons at Borussia Dortmund.

Strasbourg, which is in a shared ownership group with Chelsea, placed eighth in Ligue 1 last season and did not qualify for any European competition.

Reyna will play for new coach Hugo Oliveira, a long-time former assistant to Marco Silva who left Fulham to join Benfica.

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

SpaceX shares are down by half from their June peak as investors worry Musk may have oversold them on its future prospects. They're also bracing for volatile trading as some company insiders get the opportunity to sell shares after the expiration of what's known as a lockup provision later in the week.

The shares jumped 19% on their first day of trading, making Musk the first-ever trillionaire. The subsequent drop in SpaceX, as well as a decline in the shares of Musk's electric vehicle company Tesla, have knocked his wealth down to $726 billion, according to Forbes.

Part visionary engineer, part stock salesman, Musk is likely to be asked about when he expects to finish testing SpaceX's giant Starship rockets that NASA hopes to use to put astronauts on the moon again, his plans for its satellite network and the prospects of putting football-field sized data centers in orbit.

Given rumors of SpaceX possibly merging with Musk's Tesla car company, he may also face questions about that tie-up but that is likely to yield few details. Neither company has confirmed plans for a combination and Musk has parried questions before by noting securities regulations bar him from discussing the issue.

SpaceX is losing money fast, with net losses for its first half this year expected to exceed more than the $5 billion in losses for all of last year. Some analysts have penciled in a strong rebound for the rest of the year that will return it to profitability.

For the second quarter ended June 30, SpaceX is expected to report a net loss of $1.9 billion, or 23 cents a share, according to a FactSet survey of analysts.

SpaceX insiders were barred from selling in the public offering in June but that prohibition begins to ease on Thursday when more than 900 million shares are released for trading, more than doubling the amount currently available for trading. The prospect has weighed on the shares, which closed Monday at $114.46, down from both the peak of $225 in June and also the IPO price of $135.

The lockup release is the first of several tranches of stock that will be freed to trade over the next several months.

The Starship rocket successfully deployed satellites is space during a test late last month. Future tests could include trying to use giant arms at its Starbase launching site in Texas to grab the spacecraft and its booster upon their hovering return to earth.

SpaceX's satellite communication business, Starlink, is a big cash generator for the company with contracts around the world. The company also runs a money-losing AI business, known for its Grok tool, as well as the social media platform X, the renamed Twitter.

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An earlier version of this story erroneously reported that 900,000 shares will be released for trading later this week. It should have said more than 900 million.

After many shares and comments, thousands of Moroccans became convinced that Europe was suddenly within reach.

Within hours, young people began heading toward the border with the Spanish territory of Ceuta in North Africa. Packed buses rolled into the neighboring Moroccan city of Fnideq. Regional trains filled up. Taxis did too.

By the time authorities reacted, some 72,000 people had reached Ceuta in just a few days, the largest migration surge between Morocco and Spain in years. More than 80 migrants died on both sides of the border, including some who drowned and others who were killed in a stampede, authorities said.

Nearly all of the surviving migrants soon returned, but the fallout from last week’s events will linger.

Rumors started online

In the northern Moroccan city of Larache, about 93 miles (150 kilometers) from Ceuta, three friends watched a video posted by an Instagram account called Haraga Ceuta claiming the border would be open. Haraga refers in Moroccan dialect to young migrants who destroy their identification papers and try crossing illegally into Europe.

The post convinced Anas Amrani, Yahya Harak and Ismail Atik that it was worth risking the journey.

For migrants hoping to reach Spanish territory, the most common route begins in Fnideq, where many attempt the roughly 3-mile (5-kilometer) swim around the border breakwater. Others leave from the nearby village of Belyounech.

One TikTok video mapped the exact route swimmers should follow.

On Facebook groups such as Fnideq Bab Sebta, users shared screenshots from vessel-tracking platforms to identify moments when coast guard patrols appeared lighter. Some sought advice on using inflatable boats. Others advertised wetsuits for sale.

“I saw online that the border was open, and I decided to go,” said 17-year-old Omar Danbor from Fnideq, walking back exhausted along the coast.

It's unclear who was behind the claims that the border was open or who operated many of the social media accounts, several of which were deleted soon after the crossings. The Associated Press contacted several accounts but received no response.

The surge to Ceuta touched a political nerve in Europe, and the European Union is investigating what happened. The EU's migration commissioner expressed concern Tuesday about online disinformation but didn’t identify a specific culprit.

Chaos unfolded at the breakwater

As migrants reached the shores of Ceuta, mass chaos erupted at a narrow concrete breakwater where many tried to climb onto land.

According to multiple migrants interviewed by AP, people rushed to scramble over the slick rocks at the same time, pushing and climbing over one another. Several said they saw people knocked back into the water and forced beneath others, leaving them unable to resurface as migrants sought to reach land.

“I stepped on the face of a dead man while I was climbing out. I hope God forgives me and all those whose bodies were found,” said Lahcen Kalouch, a Moroccan migrant who reached Ceuta before returning home distraught.

At least 72 people died on the Spanish side of the border. Another 11 died on the Moroccan side.

Tens of thousands of migrants have since returned to Morocco, either after being expelled or leaving by choice because of a lack of shelter, food and water in Ceuta.

Some misinterpreted Spain’s new migration measures

Some migrants misunderstood recent legal developments in Spain, including Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s immigration regularization measures and a court ruling limiting authorities’ ability to immediately return migrants who swim into Ceuta.

Sánchez’s recent efforts to regularize migration were meant only for people already living in Spain prior to Jan. 1, the majority of whom hail from Latin America and entered Spain legally but overstayed their visas. But some in Morocco misinterpreted his policy, believing they would be allowed to stay. That belief spread online.

“Pedro Sánchez is a liar. He told us if we came, we would get jobs and papers, but they sent us back,” said Adam Assil, a migrant from Casablanca, even though Sánchez never made such a promise.

While attempts to reach Ceuta are common, migration activists said this episode was different because of the way rumors snowballed online, encouraging thousands of people to head toward the territory at the same time instead of in smaller, scattered groups.

Failures happened on both sides of the border

Moroccan authorities said the migration wave was not spontaneous. The Interior Ministry blamed the “exploitation of the digital sphere” and “the spread of misinformation.” Officials offered no evidence but said an investigation had been opened. Spain’s government made similar statements.

Ceuta officials said they had warned the Spanish government of a surge in arrivals before the massive crush on Thursday. The Spanish Interior Ministry said Monday that it had not received “any report or warning regarding the mass arrival of people in Ceuta,” and it praised cooperation with the Moroccan authorities in sending most of the migrants back.

“Nobody addressed how these individuals managed to breach the border," said Mustapha Azaitraoui, a Moroccan geographer specializing in migration dynamics. “If a large group of people can cross the border under these circumstances, it suggests a broader security issue that has yet to be acknowledged publicly.”

Migrants reject government claims of smuggling

Both Morocco and Spain blamed the Ceuta crisis on human smugglers and trafficking networks, saying organized criminal groups encouraged the mass crossings.

But returning Moroccan migrants interviewed by AP largely rejected that explanation.

“No one smuggled me there. I wanted to go of my own free will, but that country is not worth all this sacrifice,” Kalouch said.

“There are no mafias. The border was open, and I crossed. But now I regret it,” said Danbor, his clothes still wet after making the journey back.

The Spanish Interior Ministry said investigations into smuggling networks are ongoing and noted that Spain and Morocco have carried out joint operations against trafficking groups. The Moroccan Interior Ministry did not respond to questions about smuggling networks.

Several politicians and experts have suggested it would be impossible for so many to cross without Moroccan complicity. A high-ranking Moroccan diplomat appeared to push back against that.

“It would be reductive to say that Morocco should have used force to stop the migrants,” said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue is highly sensitive in Morocco. “We are not Europe’s police.”

The lack of jobs is a key factor

Morocco’s economy is projected to grow by 4.5% this year, boasting major factories, advanced ports and ambitions to become a regional hub for the car industry.

Yet for many young Moroccans, that transformation has not translated into stable work. Youth unemployment remains high, with 37% of people ages 15 to 24 out of work. Among university graduates, unemployment stands at nearly 20%. The dream of migration is often reinforced by stories of relatives who left and returned with cars, new clothes and foreign currency.

One of those who breached the border was a 16-year-old who grew up a few dozen miles from Ceuta. Europe had always seemed a dream close enough to see, yet impossibly far.

So when he saw a post on Facebook suggesting the border was open and thousands were making it across, he joined the rush.

Days later, he was back in Morocco, crying as he asked strangers for money for a taxi home.

“They fired tear gas at me and beat me with batons. There’s nothing for me there,” said the teen, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of being stigmatized following his failed border crossing attempt.

“I just wanted to provide for my mom,” he said, wiping his tears.

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Associated Press journalists Bernat Armangue in Ceuta, Spain; Joseph Wilson and Renata Brito in Barcelona, Spain; Houda Benalla in Rabat, Morocco; and Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed.

DiCaprio's Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund are leading the Phoenix Species Project, the groups announced Tuesday. They call it the largest single fund in history dedicated exclusively to recovering critically endangered species.

DiCaprio has for years been developing the idea of a major concerted effort to help species whose habitats and future existence are threatened by climate change.

In 2021, he and Re:wild co-founder Wes Sechrest, a biologist who serves as the organization's CEO, met with the Amazon-founding mega billionaire Bezos and his wife, former TV news reporter and host Lauren Sánchez Bezos. He serves as chair and she as vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund.

The meeting led to a series of conversations with local governments, environmental groups and Indigenous people on how best to reverse the decline of their most vulnerable species. Those conversations eventually led to the Phoenix Species Project.

Animals the initiative is seeking to sustain include:

- The golden-crowned sifaka, a lemur from Madagascar

- The Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander, a lungless tree-dweller that lives only in a small canyon in North Carolina.

- The Visayan warty pig, endemic to islands in the Philippines.

- Mexico's Cozumel harvest mouse, which lives only on an island off the Yucatán Peninsula.

- The pink land iguana, found only on Wolf Volcano in the Galápagos Islands.

- The Malayan pangolin, also known as the Sunda pangolin, native to Southeast Asia.

- Tanzania's pancake tortoise, named for its flat, flexible shell.

- The starry night harlequin toad, known and named for its black-and-white evening sky appearance, found only in the mountains of Colombia.

- Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna, a monotreme, or mammal that lays eggs, from New Guinea named in honor of the 100-year-old naturalist and narrator-of-nature David Attenborough.

The project’s goals include giving long-term sustenance to successful but fleeting smaller efforts.

“We’ve protected the golden-crowned sifaka for years on a budget that would never match what this species deserves, but letting it go extinct was never an option,” Tiana Andriamanana, executive director of Association Fanamby, one of the groups getting a grant from the initiative, said in a statement. “This funding, this global platform and technical support change what is possible.”

Around 40 bodies were recovered soon afterward in a frantic scramble of rough tools and bare hands, but most were buried deep beneath the rubble. Reports of the high number of victims in one of the war's deadliest attacks took days to reach the public in the chaos just before its first ceasefire.

Over the weekend, first responders dug through the destroyed buildings and recovered remains of 112 victims, including 40 children, according to the Civil Defense, a rescue agency operating under the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.

It said 157 bodies still have not been found.

“The only crime of these martyrs was that they remained steadfast and resilient in their homes, believing that these homes would protect them,” one relative, Taysir al-Hassayna, told The Associated Press following the funeral prayers.

For the missing, it's "as if their bodies had evaporated without a trace."

The current ceasefire has allowed recovery of remains

Only now are some bodies of people killed in the war's ferocious early months slowly being recovered, as a fragile ceasefire that took effect in October allows such efforts to push ahead in parts of devastated Gaza.

Those discoveries have contributed to the war's rising toll. The Hamas-led militant attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 73,377 Palestinians, including since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.

At least 7,400 people have been reported by relatives to still be under the rubble, Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the ministry's records department, told the AP. The true number is likely thousands higher because in some cases entire families were killed in a single bombing, leaving no one to report the missing, al-Waheidi has said.

The people mourned on Tuesday were from a residential block belonging to the Hassayna and Abu Sharia clan, and many were related. The Associated Press has identified at least 60 families across Gaza who lost 25 or more family members during the first three months of war.

On Tuesday, the remains of the victims, wrapped in Palestinian flags, were laid in rows on the ground. Many were marked with photos, and flower petals were scattered around all. Hundreds of people surrounded the bodies for funeral prayers, some standing on the rubble.

Following the prayers, people carried the bodies on stretchers along a narrow street lined by destroyed buildings and buried them in a nearby cemetery.

Gaza is struggling to rebuild amid ceasefire violations

The ceasefire halted much of the fighting, but at least 1,252 people have been killed in Gaza since it took effect, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants but says women and children make up most of the dead.

Israel says its strikes are against militants who endanger its soldiers, took part in the Oct. 7 attack or carry out other violations. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.

Gaza remains largely shattered. Most of its 2 million Palestinians are displaced, many living in tent camps where poor conditions and overcrowding have led to rodent infestations and outbreaks of infectious diseases such as chickenpox.

Each side has accused the other of violating the ceasefire, and negotiations on further steps have largely stalled. Hamas has held onto its weapons, despite agreements to disarm, and the Israeli military has refused to withdraw and controls over half the territory.

The Board of Peace official overseeing Gaza’s postwar transition, Nikolay Mladenov, on Monday met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in part to discuss a new disarmament deal the U.S.-created board has reached with Hamas.

Last week, President Donald Trump announced an agreement that calls for Israel to cease its military operations in Gaza and for Hamas and its allies there to halt all militant activity. After the text of the agreement was released, Israel said it had “serious security concerns."

___

Magdy reported from Cairo and Lidman from Tel Aviv, Israel. Suzan Fraser contributed from Ankara, Turkey.

Faizan Ali Syed, 37, was charged with two counts of fraud, four counts of false pretenses of $20,000 or more, and one count of false pretenses of less than $20,000 but more than $999.

According to Auburn Hills police, Syed conned a 70-year-old woman he met on a dating site into sending him several hundred thousand dollars over several months.

The woman went to Auburn Hills police to report the alleged fraud. Police were able to recover a small portion of the money for the woman.

Syed was arrested on Aug. 3 and was arraigned in court. He was given an $845,000 bond and is required to wear a tether upon release.

U.S. military personnel detained the four male and four female students after they allegedly entered Osan Air Base near the capital Seoul. They were later transferred to the custody of South Korean authorities, police said.

The students were being investigated under a law protecting military installations in South Korea, according to police, who said they all had invoked their right to remain silent during questioning.

Police said the students shouted slogans at the site including, “Let’s smash U.S. 7th Air Force.”

A U.S. military statement said the group attempted to unlawfully enter the base through the main gate and that “unauthorized attempts to access a U.S. military installation are taken extremely seriously.”

The incident will be addressed in accordance with applicable U.S. and South Korean laws and procedures, the military said.

The Korean Progressive University Student Union said in a statement on Facebook that those detained were members who were trying to protest what it called the U.S. military's opposition to a South Korean semiconductor cluster project.

South Korean police declined to comment on the group's statement, which was not addressed by the U.S. military.

Yonhap news agency reported the U.S. said it has important interests in a military airport set to be relocated over the semiconductor project.

There are about 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea to help deter potential aggression from North Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Surveys have steadfastly shown a majority of South Koreans support the U.S.-South Korean military alliance, but the U.S. presence and its role in South Korea's turbulent modern history also have been long-running sources of anti-U.S. sentiment among many in South Korea.

South Korean police arrested four students in 2019 who broke into the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Seoul while protesting the Trump administration’s demands for the country to pay more to help cover the costs of U.S. troops there.

Key races on the ballot are the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races, as well as various congressional, state senate, and state house races.

Here’s what to know before you head to the polls for Primary Election Day:

--> What’s on the ballot in the 2026 Michigan primary election

When is Primary Election Day?

Michigan’s Primary Election Day is on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Where do I go to vote?

To find your polling place, visit the Michigan Voter Information Center and enter your voter information.

What should I expect at my polling place?

Voting systems can vary from county to county.

Click here to see specific information about voting equipment in your county.

Click here to see specific information about Hart, ES&S and Liberty Vote voting systems.

When you go to your polling place, you will be instructed to sign in, then mark your ballot, and then cast your ballot.

You will be asked to show ID when you check in to vote.

ID types you can use to check in are:

• Michigan driver’s license or state ID (may be expired)
• Driver’s license or state ID issued by another state
• Federal, state or local government-issued photo ID
• U.S. passport
• Military photo ID
• Photo ID from an educational institution
• Tribal photo ID

What do I need with me to vote on Election Day?

You will be asked to show identification when checking in to vote. If you do not have an ID, expect a poll worker to ask you to sign a form before you vote that explains you didn’t have an ID. Your ballot will be included with all others and counted.

Am I registered to vote?

To check your registration status, visit the Michigan Voter Information Center and enter your voter information.

How do I register to vote?

If you did not register to vote before Election Day, you can still register to vote in person before 8 p.m. on Aug. 4.

Can I vote as a student?

If you are from Michigan and go to school in the state, you can register to vote at your school address or your home address.

If you are from Michigan and attend school outside the state, you can register to vote at your home address in Michigan.

If you’re not from Michigan but go to school in the state, you can register to vote at your school address in Michigan.

What’s on the ballot?

Major races in this year’s election include the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races. There are a few congressional races across the state, with state senate and house elections.

--> Here’s a look at the key races in Michigan’s 2026 primary election

Click here to view your sample ballot.

Are campaign materials, clothing or accessories allowed in a polling place?

No. It’s against Michigan law to be within 100 feet of a polling place with the following:

• Campaigning for a candidate or ballot measure
• Wearing or bringing election- or campaign-related clothing or accessories
• Displaying or wearing candidate or election-related signage
• Bringing election, campaign, or partisan materials into a polling place
• Requesting signatures for or signing petitions

Can I vote a “split” ticket in the August primary election?

No. Michigan voters can only vote in one party column and cannot “split” their ticket, meaning to vote in more than one party column, if voting in a presidential or statewide primary.

Voters can “split” their ticket in the November general election. Michigan voters also have the option to vote straight-ticket by selecting the option on the side of their ballot with partisan races. Voting straight ticket does not automatically include selections on the non-partisan side of the ballot.

Do I need to vote the entire ballot?

Michigan voters are not required to vote the entire ballot. You can choose the races or ballot questions you want to vote. Skipping sections on the ballot does not invalidate your ballot.

Wenger said in a statement he knew nothing of the $20 billion plan and that it was “absolutely necessary” to drop the proposal, and Grafström sent an email to all FIFA staff — seen by The Associated Press — calling the last week a “sad and reproachable series of events.” He also said it created “turmoil which is difficult to comprehend and accept.”

Neither directly named Infantino or offered support for the now-embattled president.

The comments by Wenger and Grafström had echoes of the direct criticism from FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, who said Friday that staff had been “deceived” by Infantino's private equity plan, which provoked a furor in global soccer. Lamour called it the "project of one person” and said FIFA staff “deserve better than contempt and intimidation.”

The three executives are respected and trusted figures among the 211 FIFA member federations who now hold sway over Infantino's grip on a presidency that looked unshakeable after the World Cup ended barely two weeks ago.

UEFA legal threat to FIFA

Wenger, Grafström and Lamour also were named in a letter from UEFA’s lawyers to Infantino among 18 executives whose data and communications should be retained as potential evidence.

“You do not need to worry,” Grafström wrote Tuesday to the hundreds of FIFA staff based mostly in Zurich and Coral Gables, Florida. “I assure you that you as members of the administration, you will be defended and safeguarded from the political context we currently experience.”

Wenger, who was hired by Infantino in 2019 and is FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, said he was “not involved in this strategic plan and first became aware of the project through media reports.”

Infantino withdrew his $20 billion proposal early Saturday after a furious backlash by global soccer officials, including European body UEFA warning of a boycott of all FIFA games and events.

The plan would have created a subsidiary — known as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) — to run the money-making parts of the not-for-profit soccer body’s work: organizing tournaments like the World Cup, selling broadcasting and sponsorship rights, tickets and hospitality.

It proposed raising $4.2 billion from investors by selling stakes amounting to about 20% in FFE, based on an equity valuation of $20 billion. The “anchor investor” would have been Thrive Eternal, launched by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is a son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump.

“The decision to withdraw the project was absolutely necessary and beyond question, because I firmly believe in an independent FIFA that serves our game with commitment, transparency, and integrity,” Wenger wrote.

Cash offers to FIFA members

FIFA’s 211 member federations — already effective owners of the governing body as a nonprofit association under Swiss law — were offered $20 million each. The deadline to accept was Sept. 19.

They also were promised a doubling of their FIFA funding for the four years through 2030 to $20 million instead of the previously announced $10 million.

Infantino shared details of the project to FIFA management just one week after the July 19 final of the financially successful World Cup in North America that drove FIFA's revenues to $15 billion for the 2023-26 commercial cycle — almost double the income tied to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Grafström, a long-time loyal aide to Infantino since their work together at UEFA, urged FIFA staff to “all continue being proud and happy” about the first 48-team World Cup.

“A sad and reproachable series of events — which were thankfully concluded with the FFE project permanently abandoned — for as much as we feel dismayed by them, should not overshadow this reality,” he wrote.

Infantino's ties to Trump

The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico was judged a success on the field, though it had unprecedented issues linked to Infantino's close ally Trump, who received a specially created FIFA Peace Prize at the tournament draw in December.

During the tournament, Iran's team could not stay in the U.S. where it played three games, a Somali referee picked by FIFA was refused entry, and U.S. forward Folarin Balogun was allowed to play against Belgium despite a red card in his previous game.

“We have all been thrown into the middle of a turmoil, which is difficult to comprehend and accept, but, as secretary general, I urge you to remain focused on what has always united us,” Grafström wrote. “I will continue to support our teams, our work and our mission every hour of every day for as long as my work is valued by those we serve.”

Waiting to hear from Infantino

Infantino has not commented in public on the schism in soccer since a FIFA statement early Saturday announcing that the proposal had been dropped. His official Instagram account has posted letters of support from several member federations, including 2030 World Cup co-host Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Infantino has been president of FIFA for more than 10 years and had seemed sure to be re-elected unopposed next March in Morocco. FIFA has set a Nov. 18 deadline for challengers to come forward, with Sweden's soccer leader saying Monday that UEFA is seeking a rival candidate.

___

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

The Michigan Attorney General’s Office is reminding voters that intimidation and interference at the polls are not acceptable and that help is available if problems arise.

Election protection webpage outlines voter rights

State officials have launched an election protection webpage that includes:

• A rundown of voter rights at the polls
• Examples of what voter intimidation can look like
• Steps for reporting concerns or potential violations

The goal, officials say, is to make sure voters know what to expect on Election Day and where to turn if they feel pressured, threatened, or blocked from voting.

Review your ballot ahead of time to speed up voting

Election officials also encourage voters to look over their ballot online before Election Day. Doing so can help voters:

• Make informed decisions ahead of time
• Avoid feeling rushed inside the voting booth
• Spend less time at the polls, reducing lines for everyone

Officials say a quick review in advance can make Election Day smoother — especially for voters who may be juggling work, family responsibilities, or transportation.

What to do if you have concerns at the polls

If something doesn’t feel right — whether it’s a question about your eligibility, what identification is required, or behavior that appears intimidating — officials recommend using the state’s election protection resources to get guidance and report it.

Michigan’s primary is the first step in choosing candidates who will advance to the general election. For voters still deciding, officials say the most important thing is to have a plan to vote and know your rights before you arrive.

Primary Election Day is on Aug. 4, 2026.

Races in the primary election include the gubernatorial race, U.S. Senate race, and many U.S. Rep. races.

Read more --> Are you registered to vote in Michigan? Here’s how to check

Here’s a look at the key races:

Gubernatorial race

Current Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited and cannot run again.

The democratic candidates running for governor are Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.

The Republican candidates running for governor are U.S. Rep. John James and businessman Perry Johnson.

Former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox suspended his campaign a little over two weeks before the primary election, but his name will still appear on the ballot as a Republican candidate.

Local 4’s Ty Steele sat down with the candidates running for governor and discussed a series of hot topics. You can watch the full interviews here --> Full interviews: Hear from 5 candidates running for Michigan governor

(Note: Ty Steele interviewed Mike Cox before he suspended his campaign)

U.S. Senate race

Michigan U.S. Sen. Gary Peters is not running for reelection, making his seat open in the 2026 election.

In the primary election, Democratic candidates running for U.S. Senate are U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and epidemiologist Abdul El-Sayed.

Although State Sen. Mallory McMorrow suspended her campaign, her name will still appear on the August ballot.

Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers is the only Republican candidate running for the open U.S. Senate seat.

U.S. House

Depending on your district, there will be candidates running for U.S. House seats on the 2026 primary election ballot.

Here’s a look at the races where there are multiple candidates running:

* - incumbent

District 1

• Democratic candidates: Callie Barr, Kyle Blomquist, Wayne Stiles
• Republican candidates: Jack Bergman*, Matthew DenOtter, Justin Michal

District 2

• Democratic candidates: Ben Ambrose, Jamie Hill, Clyde Welford
• Republican candidates: John Moolenaar*

District 3

• Democratic candidates: Hillary Scholten*
• Republican candidates: Ryan Cushman, Terri DeBoer

District 4

• Democratic candidates: Diop Harris, Sean McCann
• Republican candidates: Bill Huizenga*, Phil Tanis

District 7

• Democratic candidates: Bridget Brink, William Lawrence, Matt Massdam
• Republican candidates: Tom Barrett*

District 8

• Democratic candidates: Kristen McDonald Rivet*
• Republican candidates: Amir Hassan, Al Lemmo, Thomas J. Smith

District 10

• Democratic candidates: Eric Chung, Tim Greimel, Christina Hines
• Republican candidates: Michael Bouchard, Steffan Demetropoulos, Justin Kirk, Robert Lulgjuraj

District 11

• Democratic candidates: Aisha Farooqi, Jeremy Moss, John Paul Torres, Don Ufford
• Republican candidates: Ethan Baker

District 12

• Democratic candidates: Shanelle Jackson, Byron Nolen, Rashida Tlaib*
• Republican candidates: James Hooper

District 13

• Democratic candidates: Donovan McKinney, Shri Thanedar*
• Republican candidates: T.P. Nykoriak

You can check which district you reside in by clicking here.

Races not on August ballot, but will be on November ballot

There are other key races in the 2026 election, but they will not appear on the upcoming August primary election ballot.

The candidates running for Michigan Attorney General and Secretary of State were chosen at the Republican and Democratic endorsement conventions earlier in the spring.

Attorney General

The Democratic candidate running for attorney general is Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit, and the Republican candidate running is Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd.

Secretary of State

The Democratic candidate running for secretary of state is Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, and the Republican candidate running is Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini.

Michigan voters must register to vote before casting their ballot on Aug. 4. Voters can do so before Election Day or the day of. Here’s what you need to know:

Am I registered to vote?

To check your registration status, visit the Michigan Voter Information Center and enter your voter information.

How do I register to vote?

If you did not register to vote before Election Day, you can still register to vote in person before 8 p.m. on Aug. 4.

Can I vote as a student?

If you are from Michigan and go to school in the state, you can register to vote at your school address or your home address.

If you are from Michigan and attend school outside the state, you can register to vote at your home address in Michigan.

If you’re not from Michigan but go to school in the state, you can register to vote at your school address in Michigan.

What’s on the ballot?

Major races in this year’s election include the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races. There are a few congressional races across the state, with state senate and house elections.

--> Here’s a look at the key races in Michigan’s 2026 primary election

Click here to view your sample ballot.

Are campaign materials, clothing or accessories allowed in a polling place?

No. It’s against Michigan law to be within 100 feet of a polling place with the following:

• Campaigning for a candidate or ballot measure
• Wearing or bringing election- or campaign-related clothing or accessories
• Displaying or wearing candidate or election-related signage
• Bringing election, campaign, or partisan materials into a polling place
• Requesting signatures for or signing petitions

Can I vote a “split” ticket in the August primary election?

No. Michigan voters can only vote in one party column and cannot “split” their ticket, meaning to vote in more than one party column, if voting in a presidential or statewide primary.

Voters can “split” their ticket in the November general election. Michigan voters also have the option to vote straight-ticket by selecting the option on the side of their ballot with partisan races. Voting straight ticket does not automatically include selections on the non-partisan side of the ballot.

Do I need to vote the entire ballot?

Michigan voters are not required to vote the entire ballot. You can choose the races or ballot questions you want to vote. Skipping sections on the ballot does not invalidate your ballot.

Where do I go to vote?

To find your polling place, visit the Michigan Voter Information Center and enter your voter information.

What should I expect at my polling place?

Voting systems can vary from county to county.

Click here to see specific information about voting equipment in your county.

Click here to see specific information about Hart, ES&S and Liberty Vote voting systems.

When you go to your polling place, you will be instructed to sign in, then mark your ballot, and then cast your ballot.

You will be asked to show ID when you check in to vote.

ID types you can use to check in are:

• Michigan driver’s license or state ID (may be expired)
• Driver’s license or state ID issued by another state
• Federal, state or local government-issued photo ID
• U.S. passport
• Military photo ID
• Photo ID from an educational institution
• Tribal photo ID

What do I need with me to vote on Election Day?

You will be asked to show identification when checking in to vote. If you do not have an ID, expect a poll worker to ask you to sign a form before you vote that explains you didn’t have an ID. Your ballot will be included with all others and counted.

Scenery selected by artificial intelligence sparked boos at the 150th anniversary performance of Wagner’s Ring Cycle from an audience frustrated that software could integrate images but not drama.

Called “10010110” — the number 150 in written in binary — the staging is subtitled “From Myth to Code" and was intended to portray the history of “Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung)," a series of four operas about the destruction of gods by humans, giants and dwarfs. It was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the full cycle's premiere from Aug. 13-17, 1876, at the Festspielhaus theater built to Wagner's specifications atop a Bavarian hill.

Curator Marcus Lobbes developed the concept with Nils Corte and dramaturge Andri Hardmeier, feeding computers about 1,000 images culled from the 15 prior Bayreuth Ring productions. They did not intend to produce a cohesive drama and suggested minimal blocking.

“We always communicated that it’s an experiment, it’s not stage-directed,” Lobbes said.

Disgruntled by 19th century standards, Wagner demanded his own theater of innovation. Bayreuth's 239th Ring Cycle was an encyclopedia of interpretations rather than a new one.

The audience also responded with a 17-minute ovation

Singers stood between two 20-by-60 meter (33-by-66 foot) screens, often not moving, for 14 1/2 hours over four nights. About a dozen AI models were combined and Stable Diffusion was used to start each act with 1876 scenery designed by Gotthold Brückner and Max Brückner from sketches by Josef Hoffmann, then select images based on text and music.

After Saturday night's concluding “Götterdämmerung,” conductor Christian Thielemann and the cast were greeted with a 17-minute ovation that wrapped around 30 seconds of boos and whistles when the production team joined for their bows.

Many Bayreuth productions are initially jeered, such as Patrice Chéreau's centennial staging in 1976 that moved the action to the Industrial Revolution, then cheered years later. That production's final appearance in 1980 ignited a 45-minute ovation.

“I know the ritual,” said Lobbes, director of the Academy for Theatre and Digitality in Dortmund.

He was approached in February 2023 to stage an AI Ring for the sesquicentennial by Katharina Wagner, a great-granddaughter of the composer and current festival director.

Wagner composed the Ring over 26 years. Coders divided it into about 250 scenes of two to six minutes and loaded images from past performances and topical moments to a pair of custom-built Tower PCs with NVIDIA RTX 5090 graphics cards.

Singers led by Michael Volle (Wotan), Camilla Nylund (Brünnhilde) and Klaus Florian Vogt (Siegfried) wore birdlike costumes of wire mesh with black backing and laser voile designed by Pia Maria Mackert, Lobbes' wife. The outfits shimmered in brilliant colors depending on the lighting, with gold and red most prominent.

As the narrative moved forward, so did AI's projections.

An image of Theodor Herzl, a key figure in modern Zionism, appeared in “Das Rheingold,” and one of Adolf Hitler in “Die Walküre." A sign that read: “Sorry, no gas today“ flashed in ”Siegfried" as the timeline reached the 1973 oil crisis and Brünnhilde awakened to sing "Heil dir, Sonne! Heil dir, Licht! (Hail to you, Sun! Hail to you, Light!)”

“Every year of the 150 years, we have an answer from artificial intelligence what she thinks that the audience of Bayreuth would have said is the main political topic of this year or this summer,” Hardmeier said.

Many of the images provoked director name-checking in viewers' minds — Was this from Wieland Wagner in 1951? From Frank Castorf in 2013? From Valentin Schwarz in 2020?

At other times, AI picked forms that shifted like a giant Etch A Sketch into images evoking works by Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning.

Original plans for 2026 envisioned performances of the final 10 of Wagner’s 13 operas plus the Festspielhaus debut of the composer’s third, “Rienzi,” until now deemed not worthy of inclusion. The AI Ring was to be presented once to coincide approximately with the original premiere dates, but budget cuts two years ago caused four operas to be scrapped and replaced by two additional Rings, the first from July 27 to Aug. 1.

Singers were together for just one nine-hour rehearsal over a four-day period in which the directing team worked with cast members in small groups.

“I would wish that with a certain openness people will find some interesting correlations and will see things that maybe others don't see,” Hardmeier said. “I hope that people go out with a very fruitful irritation — not irritation in the sense of ‘What was this about’ but more sort of, ‘Hey, interesting.’"

Beethoven's 9th starts festival

Thielemann conducted Beethoven's Ninth Symphony to open the festival. Wagner led the work at the downtown Margravial Opera House after the Bayreuth cornerstone ceremony in 1872 and it has been repeated on special occasions, such as the 1951 resumption after World War II.

A speech the following day by Michel Friedman titled “Silenced Voices” addressed Wagner's antisemitism and his family's support of Hitler and the Nazi party.

‘Rienzi’ a success in Bayreuth Festspielhaus premiere

A striking staging with Alexandra Szemerédy and Magdolna Parditka, updated to post-modern dystopian times, was greeted with extended applause when it opened on July 26 in the first of nine performances through Aug. 26.

Tenor Andreas Schager gave the title role charisma and vocal beauty, telling the story of 14th century Italian populist Cola di Rienzo.

Conductor Nathalie Stutzmann made a convincing case for an unwieldy composition whose autographed score was given by Wagner's daughter-in-law, Winifried, to Hitler and lost in the destruction that ended World War II.

The ballet became a hilarious parody of Wagnerian cliches as a cartwheeling child wearing sneakers with rainbow lights and dressed in gold, resembling statues of the composer, presided in front of a faux Bayreuth proscenium. A procession of characters, some in winged helmets, performed silent camp references to Wagner's renowned roles.

The Republican president has struggled to connect with voters on the economy as elevated inflation and feelings of uncertainty have overshadowed the stock market gains he often talks about along with a low national unemployment rate.

Trump will visit the Los Angeles area on Tuesday to speak at a fundraising dinner for the Republican National Committee at a golf club his family owns in the suburb of Rancho Palos Verdes. On Wednesday, Trump will discuss the economy during an event at Red Rock casino in Las Vegas.

Only 32% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s handling of the economy in an AP-NORC poll conducted in late July. In the same poll, most Americans, 69%, characterized the state of the economy as “poor,” and many said the cost of everyday essentials like groceries and gas was a “major” source of stress in their lives.

Trump’s overall approval rating is at 33%, slightly below where he stood at this point in his first term.

Trump is likely to take aim at Democratic Gov. Newsom

During the trip, Trump is likely to throw barbs at California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat eyed as a likely candidate for his party’s presidential nomination in 2028. Newsom has become one of the president’s highest-profile opponents.

White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said the president plans to “draw a sharp contrast between his commonsense agenda and the radical policies of Democrats like Gavin Newsom," touting his own efforts to cut taxes, reduce fraud in government programs, and crack down on immigration and crime.

California was one of Trump's first domestic stops after returning to office in January 2025. He surveyed the aftermath of wildfires that had wiped out whole neighborhoods of Los Angeles County, left thousands of people homeless and killed more than two dozen.

Newsom greeted Trump at the airport on that trip, and they chatted amiably and gestured toward cooperation despite a bitter history. But the comity did not last. Six months later, Newsom argued in a speech that “democracy is under assault” by Trump after the president sent National Guard troops and U.S. Marines into Los Angeles without Newsom's consent. This came after protests following a series of immigration raids by federal authorities.

Trump routinely mocks Newsom and refers to the governor using a derogatory nickname, while Newsom taunts the president with frequent social media posts.

The Democrat wrote on social media on Monday that California is raising its minimum wage next year to $17.40 an hour, more than double the federal minimum wage of $7.25.

“Donald Trump and the GOP are still defending a $7.25 minimum wage while workers scrape by. Pitiful,” Newsom wrote.

Housing prices are a big issue at Trump's second stop: Nevada

Nevada, where Trump will be on Wednesday, is led by a Republican governor, Joe Lombardo, who faces Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford in a battle for reelection in November. The contest is considered one of the most competitive governor’s races in the country.

The Nevada State Democratic Party is putting up billboard signs about Trump’s visit that tie him to Lombardo and higher costs. The state is grappling with a shortage of affordable housing, exploding energy demand from artificial intelligence data centers and federal cuts to key state programs.

Trump has tried for several months to sell voters on his income tax cuts and claims of a manufacturing renaissance. But interest rates are high, a gallon of gasoline costs more because of the Iran war, tariffs are still reshaping the economy and by the White House’s own estimates there is a national shortage of housing.

The president called his own housing bill a “yawn,” and past speeches advertised by the White House as being about the economy, including one he delivered at a General Motors facility in Michigan last week, gave way to Trumpian weaves about his political enemies and construction projects in the nation's capital.

___

Associated Press writers Josh Boak in Washington and Jessica Hill in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

The shooting happened near the MJR theater on Nov. 23, 2025, while many families were attending the mall’s tree lighting event and moviegoers were inside the theater.

According to authorities, gunfire erupted, causing panic as people ran to their vehicles in the parking lot, while others stayed inside the mall for safety.

A 17-year-old from Mount Clemens was shot four times and is said to be lucky to be alive after six surgeries.

About three months after the shooting, two 16-year-old suspects were arrested in connection with the shooting. King Payne and Christian Griffin were charged with assault with intent to murder as adults.

Terrence Janell Brown, 18, was charged in March. He faces a charge of accessory after the fact to a felony.

Griffin’s charges were dismissed on July 31, according to court records.

Payne and Brown appeared in court for a preliminary examination, where a judge reviewed the evidence from prosecutors to determine if there’s enough evidence to move the case to trial.

Payne and Brown were bound over to circuit court on July 31, where they could face trial. They are scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 24 at 1:30 p.m.

It's good to be prepared, but kids who walk to school or participate in extracurricular activities may be lugging more than their bodies can handle. Lockers and classroom storage aren’t available everywhere — and a child carrying too much weight might not be ready to learn.

As families begin back-to-school shopping, here's how to know if your child's backpack is too heavy, and how to lighten their load.

How heavy is too heavy?

The modern school backpack has evolved, but it hasn’t necessarily gotten lighter. Whether students have textbooks, digital devices or both, they often are accompanied by notebooks, water bottles, lunch containers, workout clothes and more. Individually, those items may not seem heavy, but together they can add unnecessary strain to children's bodies.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, signs a backpack may be too heavy include a child leaning forward to support its weight or having difficulty walking. Straps should not dig into shoulders.

Don't wait for a child to express discomfort or pain to lighten the load, experts say.

Dr. Sadika Kendi, a physician who chairs the academy’s injury-prevention efforts, says back injuries are uncommon but possible, particularly if a child falls while carrying a heavy backpack.

“It’s worse if, for example, they trip and fall and they have a huge, heavy backpack on their back. Then that’s just more weight that could increase the severity of an injury,” she said.

Although 10% to 15% of a child’s body weight is often cited as a backpack guideline, there isn’t enough evidence to establish a one-size-fits-all approach, Kendi said. Because children vary in size, strength, physical development and daily routines, caregivers should consider their child’s individual needs and, in general, keep backpacks as light as possible.

Teachers say leave this stuff at home

After families receive back-to-school checklists for classroom materials, they should take an audit of what a child really must carry every day.

Samantha Ness, a history teacher in Phoenix, said parents should focus on making sure children have basic supplies rather than getting caught up in trendy, decorative or expensive items. Her students have access to classroom textbooks but are still expected to carry a laptop and charger each day. As technology becomes more central to schoolwork, some students have stopped bringing paper, she said. They rely instead on their devices, which can also become distractions.

“When considering the things going into their backpacks, how is it going to help them be successful in the classroom?” said Ness, who has been teaching for about 10 years.

In Fairfax County, Virginia, the school district is bringing back math textbooks after a backlash against technology. That was a win for the group Fairfax County Parents for Intentional Technology, but it also means hard decisions about weight in backpacks.

Parents should think carefully about whether a child really needs to carry both books and a laptop every day, said mom Alix Fetch, a spokesperson for the parents group. Some elementary schools don’t require students to take computers home, while others allow parents to opt out, she said. Block scheduling can also mean older students don’t need every textbook every day.

Fetch said her 7-year-old typically carries lunch, a water bottle and occasionally a folder with homework or notes from the teacher. Even that can feel burdensome, she said, particularly when students move between classrooms for activities such as art or music. And the inside of the bag can still be messy.

“Kids are still kids. There’s food in their backpack and water, and they’re scrunching up papers,” Fetch said.

As students get older, Ness said, backpacks can become more personal storage than school storage, carrying items such as makeup, nail polish and hair dryers.

“They’re using their backpacks more as purses and like storage than they are actually using them for school,” she said.

How to carry the load safely

Experts recommend choosing a backpack that fits the child and has two broad, padded shoulder straps, a padded back, compartments to distribute weight and a waist or chest strap to redistribute the load. The American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends teaching children to pick up and carry backpacks safely, including bending at the knees rather than the waist when lifting heavier bags to avoid strain.

Backpacks with wheels can be helpful, especially for children with injuries, but experts say they may be problematic in schools with stairs or crowded walkways, where they can pose a tripping hazard.

Children should remove their backpacks before riding in a moving vehicle, Kendi said, because wearing one can interfere with how a seat belt works during a crash or sudden stop. Instead, place the backpack beside the child, even if leaving it on seems more convenient during drop-off.

“Don’t wear it in a car or any form of transportation while that car is moving,” Kendi said. “It’s just incredibly dangerous.”

Regularly cleaning out backpacks can also help reduce unnecessary weight and keep track of notes, permission slips and assignments. Some teachers recommend doing it weekly to catch missing work, spills from leaky water bottles and accumulating crumbs.

___

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

The Japanese automaker, which makes the Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury models, recorded a 1.48 trillion yen ($9.4 billion) net profit in the April-June period, up from 841 billion yen the same quarter the previous year.

Quarterly sales rose 10% year on year to 13.5 trillion yen ($85 billion).

A cheap yen raises the value of overseas earnings for Japan’s giant exporters like Toyota Motor Corp. The U.S. dollar was trading at about 145 yen during the fiscal first quarter in 2025, but at about 160 yen for the same period this year.

The dollar is now trading at about 158 yen because of a joint U.S.-Japan market intervention, which came last week, or in the fiscal second quarter.

The favorable currency effect added 345 billion yen ($2.2 billion) to Toyota’s quarterly operating profit in the April-June period.

The automaker is figuring the yen at 160 to the dollar for the full fiscal year.

Chief Officer Takanori Azuma said Toyota sold fewer vehicles globally for the quarter just ended at 2.39 million, compared with 2.41 million vehicles a year ago.

But the automaker expects to sell more vehicles for the full fiscal year at 9.7 million vehicles, compared with 9.595 million the previous fiscal year.

Azuma said demand remains strong for Toyota hybrids in various global markets, including the U.S., where the Camry mid-size sedan and RAV4 compact sport utility vehicle are selling briskly.

Toyota plans to boost hybrid and hybrid battery production through 2030, said Azuma, adding that it will bring down costs. Toyota’s electric vehicle sales are also going strong, he said.

Among the popular models in India were the Urban Cruiser and Innova Hycross, while the Yaris remained a strong seller in Thailand and Europe.

The recent political instability in the Middle East has weighed on Japanese automakers, which rely heavily on the now effectively closed Strait of Hormuz for shipping. Toyota said it was working on tackling such challenges, including finding alternative routes.

Another potential negative impact was the 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Kumamoto in southwestern Japan, which hit July 28.

Toyota's manufacturing facilities in the Kyushu region, where Kumamoto is located, halted production, but are readying to resume production later this week. Its Tahara plant in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, also halted production, partly because of the quake. Since a summer break is upcoming, unrelated to the disaster, production will be down there through the end of the month.

Toyota is projecting a 3.25 trillion yen ($20.6 billion) profit for the full fiscal year through March 2027, not as good as the 3.85 trillion yen ($24 billion) profit racked up the previous fiscal year.

Annual sales are forecast at 54 trillion yen ($342 billion), better than the 50.7 trillion yen for the previous fiscal year that ended in March.

Toyota shares fell nearly 2% in Tokyo trading after earnings results were announced.

___

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@yurikageyama

🍇 Grapevine

🌅 Good morning! On this day in 1784, one day after anchoring in Three Saints Bay, Russian fur trader Grigory Shelikhov sent a scouting team ashore onto Alaska’s Kodiak Island. There, they established the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska.

Here are a few things to know about for Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026:

⛅ 4Warn Weather: Another beautiful summer day is in store across Southeast Michigan as warm temperatures, low humidity and abundant sunshine continue to dominate the forecast as high pressure pushes off to the east. Check out the 10-day forecast.

🦠 Cyclosporiasis deaths: Two people have died in the cyclospora outbreak in Michigan, state health officials announced Monday, the first deaths confirmed in the U.S. related to the microscopic parasite. Read more.

🚒 Home destroyed: A Detroit father and his two teenage sons are trying to rebuild after a house fire destroyed the home they’d lived in for nearly 15 years. Read more.

🚛 Semi Overturns: A semi-truck overturned and crashed into Pine Lake in Oakland County, spilling a small amount of fuel into the water and prompting a hazardous materials response, police said. Read more.

📦 Helping Families in Need: A nonprofit that helps feed hundreds of Metro Detroit families each week is asking the community for help — not for food, but for a truck. Read more.

🏊 Morning Dive

Good morning ☀️

Today is Primary Election Day in Michigan with several key races on the ballot.

Michigan voters will cast their ballot by choosing the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor, as well as a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.

Other key races include multiple congressional races and numerous state house and state senate races.

Here’s what to know before heading to the polls today:

What time do polls open and close today?

Michigan’s Primary Election Day is on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Where do I go to vote?

To find your polling place, visit the Michigan Voter Information Center and enter your voter information.

What should I expect at my polling place?

Voting systems can vary from county to county.

Click here to see specific information about voting equipment in your county.

Click here to see specific information about Hart, ES&S and Liberty Vote voting systems.

When you go to your polling place, you will be instructed to sign in, then mark your ballot, and then cast your ballot.

You will be asked to show ID when you check in to vote.

ID types you can use to check in are:

• Michigan driver’s license or state ID (may be expired)
• Driver’s license or state ID issued by another state
• Federal, state or local government-issued photo ID
• U.S. passport
• Military photo ID
• Photo ID from an educational institution
• Tribal photo ID

What do I need with me to vote on Election Day?

You will be asked to show identification when checking in to vote. If you do not have an ID, expect a poll worker to ask you to sign a form before you vote that explains you didn’t have an ID. Your ballot will be included with all others and counted.

Am I registered to vote?

To check your registration status, visit the Michigan Voter Information Center and enter your voter information.

How do I register to vote?

If you did not register to vote before Election Day, you can still register to vote in person before 8 p.m. on Aug. 4.

Can I vote a “split” ticket in the August primary election?

No. Michigan voters can only vote in one party column and cannot “split” their ticket, meaning to vote in more than one party column, if voting in a presidential or statewide primary.

Voters can “split” their ticket in the November general election. Michigan voters also have the option to vote straight-ticket by selecting the option on the side of their ballot with partisan races. Voting straight ticket does not automatically include selections on the non-partisan side of the ballot.

Do I need to vote the entire ballot?

Michigan voters are not required to vote the entire ballot. You can choose the races or ballot questions you want to vote. Skipping sections on the ballot does not invalidate your ballot.

More voting information can be found here --> Your Michigan 2026 primary election voter guide

After the polls close, be sure to check back here for election results.

Local 4 will also air an election coverage special tonight at 9 p.m., with the latest results from key races.

🗞️ Other headlines to know today

• Families demand answers after 2 teens killed, two injured in Oak Park overnight shooting at birthday party
• Michigan AG Nessel highlights voter rights and how to report intimidation
• Blood pressure hubs offer easy access to ‘know your numbers’
• ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ beats ‘Avengers: Endgame’ box office record
• ‘We’re not raising the white flag’: Scott Harris says Detroit Tigers can make playoffs after deadline deals
• 25 states sue over Trump’s new tariffs, calling them ‘pretext’ to replace his old ones
• White Lake man charged with sexually exploiting 14-year-old after Southfield police investigation
• Warren woman sues Taco Bell, Taylor Farms over alleged Cyclospora illness linked to lettuce
• Ann Arbor woman dies in crash after running into freeway after an argument
• States sue to block feds from sharing personal data of millions who receive social service benefits
• Find more Local News headlines here
• Find more Entertainment headlines here
• Find more Health headlines here
• Check out the latest ClickOnDeals here
• Introducing the ClickOnDetroit Help Desk: How it works and how to use it

🌎 Meanwhile

News from around the world via the Associated Press:

Nate Rouette and his brother Nelson went shark fishing on Cape Cod hoping for an exciting catch, but were shocked by what they reeled in -- a tropical species of shark with a reputation for eating everything it can swallow.

The brothers, longtime sport fishermen who live in Massachusetts, released a juvenile tiger shark in late July after catching it from a beach. The five-foot shark is far more common in warmer, southern waters such as the Caribbean Sea, and scientists said its appearance off Falmouth, Massachusetts, is an indicator of warming seas caused by climate change. (Read more)

----

Light winds and lower temperatures were in the forecast Monday to help firefighters battle wildfires in eastern Washington state that destroyed at least 600 structures and forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area.

The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s second-largest city, burned about 12.5 square miles (about 32 square kilometers) by Monday morning and filled the sky with smoke and haze. They were 0% contained, Courtney James, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, said. (Read more)

----

After an opening week of wrenching testimony and a jury trip to the home where Lindsay Clancy strangled her three children, her murder trial resumed Monday with more testimony about the killings in a coastal Massachusetts town in 2023.

Monday’s witnesses included emergency room doctors who treated Clancy and two of her children, building on testimony some of their colleagues gave for the prosecution last week. (Read more)

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

📝 Word Up

Today’s Word Up is: Bombinate /ˈbämbəˌnāt/ (verb) -- defined as “Buzz; hum.”

Example: “A fly bombinated in the corner of the sun porch, making it hard for Tom to relax.”

🧹 Housekeeping

Hey, if you like this newsletter, let us know. We’d love your feedback. We also offer several other newsletters, including 4Warn Weather, All 4 Pets and more. Hopefully, we have one that caters to your interests — unless you’re only interested in pens. We don’t have one for that, sorry.

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

Changes begin to arrive on Wednesday as the next weather system approaches from the west. The first chance for showers and thunderstorms is expected during the afternoon, mainly across the Tri-Cities region, while much of Metro Detroit should remain dry through most of the day. By Wednesday night, showers and thunderstorms will become more widespread across Southeast Michigan, with periods of rain continuing into Thursday. At this time, severe weather is not expected, although locally heavy downpours and occasional lightning will be possible with the stronger storms.

Conditions improve to end the workweek as rain exits the region. Dry weather returns Friday afternoon and is expected to continue through much of Saturday, providing another excellent opportunity for outdoor activities. Looking ahead to the second half of the weekend, another weather system may bring a chance for showers by Sunday. While confidence in the exact timing is still moderate, it appears the weekend will feature a dry start before rain chances increase late.

Decision 1: How much to withdraw each year in retirement

It’s impossible to say at the outset of retirement what the “right” withdrawal rate is. You don’t know what the major asset classes will return or how high (or low) inflation will run during your retirement. Nor do you know how long you’ll live.

But you have to use something, and this is where the disagreements come in. A 4% starting withdrawal rate, with annual inflation adjustments to that initial dollar amount thereafter, is often cited as a “safe” withdrawal system for new retirees.  Research we conducted at the end of 2021 suggested that a 3.3% withdrawal rate was a safe starting point for new retirees with balanced portfolios over a 30-year horizon. When we revisited the research  in late 2022, our safe starting withdrawal percentage was 3.8%.  By late 2023, that number had popped up to the classic 4%, thanks to rising fixed-income yields and moderating inflation.  At the end of 2024, it was 3.7%, and  3.9% at the end of 2025. Further complicating matters is that retirees don’t spend the same amount, adjusted for inflation, year after year.

There’s a comforting consensus in a few key areas.

1. Vary your withdrawal rate based on your time horizon. Older retirees with shorter life expectancies can reasonably take higher withdrawals than younger retirees with 25 or 30 years.

2. Be flexible. Taking less when the portfolio is down leaves more of the portfolio in place to recover when the market eventually does. We explored several variable withdrawal-rate strategies , and the pros, cons, and logistics of each, in our retirement income research .

3. Maximize nonportfolio income. Examples: Social Security, a pension, an annuity, rental income, and so on. Enlarging nonportfolio income with strategies like delaying Social Security can help enhance lifetime spending and alleviate demands on the portfolio.

Decision 2: Whether to buy long-term-care insurance

According to a 2019 study, about half of people turning 65 will need some type of paid long-term care. But paying for it can be financially devastating. What’s up for debate is whether and how to protect yourself.

The long-term-care insurance market is deeply troubled today. While  recent interest rate hikes have improved the economics of the long-term-care insurance industry, premiums have increased and several insurers have gotten out of the business.

That’s why purchasing pure long-term-care insurance is by no means a no-brainer. Hybrid products offer a long-term-care rider bolted onto a life insurance policy or annuity, but they’re complicated and often purchased with a lump sum.

Take a hard look at your retirement portfolio to decide whether your assets are sufficient to self-fund, you’re likely to qualify for Medicaid, or you fall somewhere in between. From there, you can create a long-term-care action plan.

Decision 3: Whether to buy an annuity

Academic researchers have long championed simple income annuities for retirement, arguing they provide longevity risk protection and a higher payout than would be available from fixed-rate investment products like bond funds. Annuities have been getting even more attention as  payouts tend to get better during a period of rising interest rates.

But annuity types vary widely, from single-premium immediate annuities to more complicated products that provide equity exposure, guaranteed minimum living benefits, and death benefits.

Research has demonstrated that the  peace of mind  that accompanies the purchase of a basic annuity is greater than would be associated with holding the same amount in investment assets. Yet the annuity products that retirement researchers generally like best—the plain-vanilla immediate and deferred-income annuities—have struggled in the sales department. Investors may be reluctant to part with the capital to purchase them, and advisers may not have a strong motive to recommend them.

While there’s no consensus on whether annuities are a must-have or which types to buy, there’s little doubt that the lifetime income they offer is in short supply. That’s especially true given that only about a fourth of baby boomers retiring today have pensions, and that number trends down for the generations behind them.

The starting point when  thinking about lifetime income isn’t an annuity. It’s Social Security, which is basically an annuity backed by the U.S. government. Only after maximizing lifetime income through Social Security should an annuity come into play.

_____

This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more retirement content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/retirement.

Christine Benz  is director of personal finance and retirement planning for Morningstar and co-host of The Long View podcast. Subscribe to her free newsletter, Improving Your Finances.

Related Links

The Retirement Planning Mistake That Makes Inflation Much More Expensive

https://www.morningstar.com/retirement/retirement-planning-mistake-that-makes-inflation-much-more-expensive

Retiring Alone? Here’s How to Build Financial Security

https://www.morningstar.com/retirement/retirement-planning-singles

How Your Plan Can Survive the Retirement Red Zone

https://www.morningstar.com/retirement/how-your-plan-can-survive-retirement-red-zone

They were among several rookies that made major impacts in 2025, including Seattle's versatile defender Nick Emmanwori, who helped elevate a defense that led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title, top-10 pick tackles Armand Membou and Kelvin Banks, and pass catchers Tyler Warren and Emeka Ebuka.

But failing to become a star in year one doesn't mean a draft pick was wasted.

Here's a look at some players who showed promise as rookies in 2025 who now have a chance to break out and become stars in their second seasons in the NFL:

Arizona DT Walter Nolen

Nolen never really got started as a rookie, missing the start of the season with a calf injury and then getting shut down early with a knee injury. Nolen had flashes in his limited time in six games that showed why the Cardinals drafted him 16th overall. He had two sacks and 15 pressures in just 99 pass rush opportunities, according to Pro Football Focus, and also returned a fumble for a TD. If he can have close to that kind of production in more extensive time, he could quickly become one of the top pass rushing defensive tackles in the game.

Los Angeles Chargers RB Omarion Hampton

Hampton rushed for 545 yards in nine games behind an injury-riddled offensive line after being drafted 22nd overall. With tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater expected back from injuries and Hampton healthy after dealing with ankle injuries, he is position for a big season in new coordinator Mike McDaniel's offense. McDaniel has a history of creating big plays for speedy players such as Hampton, who had 15 carries for at least 15 yards in limited action last season.

Chicago WR Luther Burden

Coach Ben Johnson said early in the offseason that he was “ buying Luther Burden stock.” There's a good reason to do so. The second-round pick put up solid numbers as a rookie with 47 catches for 652 yards and two TDs in the regular season. But he had some big performances late in the season that showed he has the potential to do even more, highlighted by his eight catches for 138 yards and a TD in a Week 17 game against San Francisco. Burden averaged 2.69 yards per route run during the regular season, according to Pro Football Focus, ranking third in the league among wide receivers.

Dallas DE Donovan Ezeiruaku

After trading away Micah Parsons before the start of last season, the Cowboys were lacking on the defensive line. That put added pressure on Ezeiruaku to perform at a high level immediately as a second-round pick. He was strong against the run but had only two sacks and 36 pressures as a rookie, according to PFF. With better talent around him, with Quinnen Williams there all season on the inside and Rashan Gary and rookie Malachi Lawrence helping on the outside, Ezeiruaku is in position to be an even more effective pass rusher in year two.

San Francisco DB Upton Stout

The 49ers used their first picks last season on defense with much of the focus on big bodies on the defensive line. But the smallest player showed some of the most promise, with 5-foot-9 cornerback Upton Stout flashing as a third rounder. He excelled in the slot last season and could be in position to make even splashier plays with a year of experience under his belt after having four tackles for loss, two QB hits, five passes defensed, a forced fumble and a sack last season.

Kansas City CB Nohl Williams

The Chiefs traded Trent McDuffie and lost Jaylen Watson in free agency in the offseason and are planning to go young at cornerback with No. 6 pick Mansoor Delane and Williams, a third-rounder last season, as the potential starters. Williams played just less than half of the defensive snaps as a rookie but had a strong finish to the season in coverage in a sign of potential bigger things to come this season.

___

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

As of Tuesday, 3,802 cases had been recorded, with 1,707 deaths, according to the latest government update.

It is not clear when the outbreak will reach its peak, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said during his second visit to the town of Bunia near the outbreak's epicenter on Tuesday. Kaseya cautioned that nearly 80% of new cases are not coming from contact tracing but instead from community spread.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, will arrive in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, today and is expected to visit Bunia later this week.

The outbreak, declared on May 15, has been linked to the Bundibugyo virus for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments. Delays in contact tracing, difficulties accessing affected areas, mistrust from communities, and violence by armed groups and some residents have hampered the response, the Africa CDC has said.

Two clinical trials for post-exposure prophylaxis drugs are ongoing in Ituri province as well as two separate vaccine trials in the U.K. and Canada.

The outbreak is mostly concentrated in eastern Congo’s remote Ituri province, which accounts for nearly 90% of cases, but cases have also been confirmed in five other provinces, including in one of the country’s largest cities, Kisangani.

Neighboring Uganda declared itself free of Ebola following the discharge of the country’s last patient in mid-June.

A key challenge is that patient zero has yet to be identified in the outbreak while displacement from armed conflict and illegal mining in the region have made it difficult to trace thousands who have come in contact with infected individuals. The WHO said Tuesday that it was monitoring over 17,000 potential contacts with nearly 80% of them being seen daily.

On Monday, healthcare workers in the hard hit town of Mongbwalu issued an ultimatum over unpaid wages saying that “if nothing is done within 24 hours, we will escalate our action.”

Previously, healthcare workers in Bunia went on strike over a lack of pay and dangerous working conditions. The World Health Organization says more than 100 healthcare workers have been infected since the beginning of the outbreak.

The latest outbreak has killed people at a quicker rate than any previous outbreak, including in 2014-2016 when 28,000 cases were reported, of which over 11,000 people died. That outbreak took about eight months to reach 1,000 deaths.

The response is also hampered by a funding gap, attacks on health centers, an ongoing conflict in eastern Congo and mistrust among local communities.

Enrollment in a highly anticipated study of two possible Ebola treatments recently started in Ituri.

Helicopters were on standby but unable to fly by noon for the ongoing search and recovery operation on Broad Peak, the regional government said in a statement Tuesday.

The climbers from Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, China, Britain and the United States were swept away by the avalanche Thursday in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, which the Alpine Club of Pakistan called one of the country's deadliest mountaineering disasters.

Ground teams located the remains of eight climbers and at least three bodies were brought down the mountain on Saturday, officials said.

Nirmal Purja, a Nepal-born former British Army soldier widely known as Nims Dai, was among the climbers killed in the avalanche while attempting to scale the peak. His expedition company said Saturday that the world had lost one of mountaineering’s greats.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday expressed condolences to the families of those killed, saying he was deeply saddened by the tragedy.

“My heartfelt condolences go to the bereaved families and to the governments and people of China, Nepal, Oman, the United Kingdom and the United States,” Dar said in a post on X.

Dar also offered condolences to the family of Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi, saying his courage and passion for the mountains would be remembered with pride.

“The determination and pursuit of excellence shown by all those who perished embodied the true spirit of mountaineering and will continue to inspire generations,” Dar said.

Dar praised the “tireless efforts of our rescue and recovery teams” and said Pakistan remained committed to the ongoing search and recovery operation in close coordination with the Nepal, Oman, U.K. and U.S. embassies.

Mountaineering accidents are common in northern Pakistan because of avalanches, falling ice and rock, extreme altitude and rapidly changing weather. A Chinese mountaineer died last year after being struck by falling rocks while descending K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, in northern Pakistan.

Bodies of foreign climbers who die attempting to summit mountains in Pakistan are typically recovered at the request of their families and governments. If the family declines a rescue, the remains are left at the spot where the climber died.

___

Khan reported from Peshawar, Pakistan.

Primary Election Day in Michigan is on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026.

Here’s what to know:

How do I see a sample ballot for the 2026 primary election?

To see your sample ballot for the 2026 August primary election, visit the Michigan Voter Information Center.

Can I vote a “split” ticket in the August primary election?

No. Michigan voters can only vote in one party column and cannot “split” their ticket, meaning to vote in more than one party column, if voting in a presidential or statewide primary.

Voters can “split” their ticket in the November general election. Michigan voters also have the option to vote straight-ticket by selecting the option on the side of their ballot with partisan races. Voting straight ticket does not automatically include selections on the non-partisan side of the ballot.

Do I need to vote the entire ballot?

Michigan voters are not required to vote the entire ballot. You can choose the races or ballot questions you want to vote. Skipping sections on the ballot does not invalidate your ballot.

When can I vote on primary election day?

The polls open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 4, and close at 8 p.m.

Where do I vote on primary election day?

To find your polling location, visit the Michigan Voter Information Center. You can also find information about your registration status, track your absentee ballot and more.

Am I registered to vote?

To check your registration status, visit the Michigan Voter Information Center and enter your voter information.

How do I register to vote?

If you did not register to vote before Election Day, you can still register to vote in person before 8 p.m. on Aug. 4.

Here are the results:

Here are the results:

Here are the results:

Here are the results:

Here are the results:

Here are the results:

Here are the results:

The festival, now in its 47th year, announced its full 2026 lineup in July.

The free event will take place Sept. 4-7, 2026, with performances centered at Hart Plaza and additional programming at the Detroit Jazz Hall inside the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center at Wayne State University.

This year’s lineup includes jazz legends and contemporary artists such as Ron Carter, Bob James, Ravi Coltrane, Kurt Elling, Artemis and 2026 Artist-in-Residence Joe Lovano.

Festival officials said the 2026 event will consolidate its three main stages at Hart Plaza to create a more connected layout and make it easier for visitors to move between performances.

The festival will feature four stages:

• Carhartt Amphitheater Stage at Hart Plaza
• Pyramid Stage at Hart Plaza
• Absopure Waterfront Stage at Hart Plaza
• Detroit Jazz Hall inside the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center at Wayne State University

Organizers said the changes will not affect the festival’s free admission, number of stages or overall number of performances.

2026 Detroit Jazz Festival changes

The festival will introduce several updates for attendees, including a fully consolidated Hart Plaza footprint, updated stage layouts and improved navigation throughout the event.

Hart Plaza hours will be:

• Friday, Sept. 4: 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
• Saturday, Sept. 5: 12:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
• Sunday, Sept. 6: 12:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
• Monday, Sept. 7: 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

A new policy will prohibit coolers inside Hart Plaza, with organizers saying the change is intended to improve safety, crowd flow and the overall experience.

Star-studded lineup

The festival opens Friday night with performances including Dr. Valade’s Brass Band featuring Shannon Powell, Miles Electric Band and Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet featuring Julian Lage, Asante Sante Debriano and Will Calhoun.

Saturday’s lineup includes Ravi Coltrane Quartet’s Centennial Celebration, Kurt Elling & Yellowjackets celebrating Weather Report, Bob James, Cyrille Aimée Quartet and Artemis.

Sunday performances include Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: Sound Prints, Take 6, Catherine Russell, Dee Dee Bridgewater & Bill Charlap and Vijay Iyer Trio with special guest Adam O’Farrill.

Monday’s closing lineup features Cindy Blackman Santana, Joey Alexander Trio, The Django Festival Allstars with special guest Grace Kelly and Ron Carter & Foursight.

The Detroit Jazz Hall will also host performances throughout the weekend, including student jazz ensembles and late-night “Midtown After Hours” performances.

All festival performances will also be streamed for free online through the Detroit Jazz Festival’s website, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

The Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation said the event remains one of Detroit’s largest cultural attractions, drawing visitors from around the world. According to organizers, 26% of festival attendees come from outside Michigan.

The Southfield Police Department, in partnership with the Oakland County Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force, announced charges against 23-year-old Christopher Abela of White Lake after investigators said he communicated with a 14-year-old victim through Snapchat.

Police said the investigation found Abela allegedly groomed the child for sexual purposes.

Detectives later executed search warrants and conducted forensic examinations of electronic devices, uncovering evidence that led to multiple felony charges.

The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office authorized the following charges against Abela:

• Six counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct
• Two counts of using a computer to commit a crime
• One count of aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material
• One count of aggravated child sexually abusive activity

Abela was arraigned in the 46th District Court before Magistrate King and was granted a $50,000 personal bond, according to police. His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 13, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. before Judge Arvant.

Police said the investigation remains active and detectives believe there may be additional victims or witnesses who can provide information.

Anyone who has had contact with Abela or believes they may have been victimized is encouraged to contact the Southfield Police Department at (248) 796-5500 or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that Robert Bates, 37, of Detroit, and Skylar Carlisle, 28, of Eastpointe, were arraigned Thursday (July 30) in Grosse Pointe Woods Municipal Court.

According to authorities, Bates and Carlisle allegedly took a rented 2021 Cadillac Escalade from a man and his daughter at gunpoint on July 28.

Police said the suspects later fled in a separate vehicle before crashing, leading to their arrests by Grosse Pointe Woods police.

The charges are being handled by the Michigan Attorney General’s Auto Fraud Task Force, which investigates large-scale auto theft operations and auto-related crimes.

Bates faces several charges, including carjacking, third-degree fleeing and eluding, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, felony firearm counts, assault with a dangerous weapon, and altering identification marks on a firearm.

Carjacking carries a potential life sentence under Michigan law.

Bates is also charged as a habitual offender, fourth offense, which could increase potential penalties.

Carlisle faces charges including carjacking, carrying a concealed weapon, assault with a dangerous weapon, altering identification marks on a firearm, and two counts of felony firearm.

Officials said the case is part of the Attorney General’s broader effort to target organized vehicle theft.

In January 2025, Nessel expanded the Department of Attorney General’s Auto Insurance Fraud Unit into the Auto Fraud Task Force to address both insurance fraud and large-scale criminal auto theft operations.

The task force has partnered with the Michigan State Police Metro Detroit Auto-Theft Recovery Team, embedding a dedicated prosecutor with the unit to pursue high-level auto theft cases in the region.

That kind of ambience is what you'll find on comic Jenny Yang's unique nationwide summer comedy tour, where she has been turning cultural grocery stores into comedy clubs for a night. And she's been leaning into her unconventional venue choice.

“I got to buy a bunch of small snacks and shrimp chips and throw it into the audience every time I felt like a joke didn’t land,” Yang said. “I mean this is my dream.”

A stand-up and sketch comedy veteran whose acting credits include the Netflix show “The Brothers Sun,” Yang is living a dream of “the most politically and creatively fulfilling project” she's ever done. The Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Standup Comedy Tour is partly her reaction to the immigration crackdowns by President Donald Trump's administration impacting Asian, Latino and Black communities. She wanted to entertain in cities with immigrant enclaves where she could give back. So, Yang and her team chose grocery store stops and nonprofits to donate to based on recommendations from local organizations.

The unorthodox tour has grown from five performances to nearly 20, far beyond her expectations. It started June 5 in Los Angeles, where Yang lives, and has taken her to Minneapolis, Phoenix and other cities. After stops in New York and San Francisco, the tour will wrap Sept. 26 back in L.A. with Yang filming a performance for a proposed comedy special.

She touches on topics ranging from infertility to awareness of immigrant experiences in the U.S. While comedians are divided on whether stand-up should stand down on politics, Yang has always spoken on it.

“People come into this art form as a stand-up comedian for different reasons. I am of the mind that my stand-up comedy is just an extension of my values and I believe in punching up, not down,” Yang said.

Being inspired to be a ‘good egg’

Last December, Yang, who immigrated from Taiwan, was back there to receive what was a failed round of in vitro fertilization treatment. Heartbroken and sitting in front of an omelet breakfast, she lamented not having “one good egg" to start a family. As she mulled a new endeavor to focus on, her mind drifted toward the “non-stop barrage” of headlines about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

That's when the idea for a tour weaving her past as a labor organizer with her passion for stand-up sparked.

”The ability to do and bring a show together, and bring people together inside of the immigrant grocery store, to me, reaffirms our ability to take up space and to own the space that matters to us," Yang said.

After emceeing a gala for the Asian Law Caucus in April, Yang shared her outside-the-box idea with the San Francisco-based group. The Caucus works pro bono in immigrant communities and on high-profile cases like the recent birthright citizenship case. They hired Yang not just for her comedic touch but as “somebody who culturally could relate to the communities that we serve,” said executive director Aarti Kohli. The Caucus offered its vast network of Asian American community leaders and immigrant-centered nonprofits nationwide.

“Although we are a legal civil rights organization, we understand that so much of how we reach community is through, especially for Asian communities, food and culture,” Kohli said. “I think comedy is healing and unifying.”

How a grocery store becomes a stage

At Shuang Hur Supermarket in Minneapolis — half a block from where ICE agents fatally shot Alex Pretti — Yang put on a show in July, said manager Henry Zhou.

They reconfigured shelves near the checkout lanes to fit 150 chairs, he said.

“Everybody got in line to buy some snacks and some drinks. A few people even did a bit of grocery shopping,” Zhou said.

He then dimmed the lights for Yang.

“Just renting a spotlight makes a show,” Yang said. “How fun is it that I’m literally doing stand-up comedy next to an aisle that sells fungus and five pounds of rice?”

Zhou found it a “unique experience” that he'd do again.

“We enjoyed every minute. Even after the show, everyone stayed and chatted,” Zhou said. “I’m pretty sure it helped us promote the store.”

The value of cultural grocery stores in the US

"Ethnic food” is no longer just a supermarket aisle. Chains like H Mart and 99 Ranch Market, as well as smaller stores, generate $55.8 billion in revenue, according to a 2025 report from market research firm IBISWorld.

These stores are also “cross-cultural meeting grounds,” said Willow Lung, founding director of the Small Business Anti-Displacement Network. They provide jobs for locals and attract other businesses such as restaurants, beauty counters, and even tax preparers. They can be anchors where there is no Chinatown or Japantown.

“They act as kind of a ‘main street,’ if you will, for communities,” Lung said. “There's just so many ways in which we underestimate the value of a grocery store as just being like, ‘Oh, it just sells these products and services.’”

For over a year, international grocers have struggled with tariffs and the absence of immigrant customers fearful of venturing out. Some stores had to close temporarily or long-term, Lung added.

Grocery workers like Zhou try to “just help as much as we can.” For a few customers, he took a shopping list via text and delivered it.

Yang hopes bringing a dose of humor will momentarily distract from the angst so many of these communities continue to feel.

“It’s just a way to remind people, yes, there’s a lot of doom and gloom,” she said. “But, we got to make room for joy.”

After the frenzy of Monday’s trade deadline, Burleson hit a trio of two-run homers off three different pitchers, including a drive into the second deck in right field that capped a seven-run eighth inning as St. Louis outslugged the New York Yankees for a 13-7 victory despite blowing a six-run lead.

“He’s human and there’s a lot of conversations around it, but he was able to kind of stay focused on the things he could control,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “I’d give him credit for prepping the way he did today, knowing that his name was still being thrown around and having the type of night that he did.”

Burleson had the biggest night of his five-year career after the Cardinals traded outfielder Lars Nootbaar to Arizona and pitchers Dustin May and JoJo Romero to Milwaukee. About an hour before the first pitch, Burleson met with Marmol in his office and learned he was staying with the young Cardinals (56-57), who were nine games over .500 on June 16.

“He kind of messed with me a little bit,” Burleson said. “He kind of brought me in like I was being traded and just said, ‘Hey, you’re staying here’ and just shook my hand. He just kind of messed with me a little, and he just told me to be myself.”

Burleson had the first three-homer game by a Cardinals player since catcher Iván Herrera did it April 2, 2025, against the Angels. The 27-year-old became the first Cardinals first baseman with a three-homer game since current Yankees slugger Paul Goldschmidt on May 7, 2023.

On a muggy night when the teams combined for 10 homers and 18 of the 20 runs were scored via longballs, the left-handed-hitting Burleson used the short porch in right field to his advantage.

Three batters into the game, he pulled a 1-2 fastball from hard-throwing Yankees starter Cam Schlittler into right-field seats for a 350-foot drive. In the fourth, Burleson sent an 0-1 sinker 15 feet further into the right-field seats off reliever Tim Hill.

After the Yankees took a 7-6 lead on a two-run homer by newcomer Luis García Jr. in the seventh, the Cardinals scored seven times in the eighth for their second-biggest inning this season. Following a go-ahead, three-run homer by Nathan Church and a two-run drive by fellow rookie Jimmie Crooks, Burleson fouled off three straight pitches before connecting on a 2-2 slider from Angel Chivilli and launching it 418 feet to right for a 13-7 advantage.

Burleson became the 15th player in St. Louis history with a three-homer game. He also became the eighth visiting player to do it at the current Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009. The previous one was Jordan Diaz for the Athletics on May 9, 2023.

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

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said 37-year-old Aaron F. Farinacci was arrested and booked on suspicion of arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire. He is being held on $1 million bond. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

The fire that sparked Saturday is one of several burning around Spokane, the state's second-largest city. They are among the most destructive blazes in state history, together destroying at least 700 structures and forcing roughly 67,000 people to evacuate.

Earlier Monday, some residents returned to find their homes leveled by wildfires that erupted across a parched landscape over the weekend, covering yards in charred debris. In some cases, only chimneys were left standing.

“There’s nothing to save,” Miriam Sim, 76, said Monday as she and her husband, Daniel Sim, surveyed the ruins of the home where they had lived since 2005.

“At our age, do we want to rebuild?” her husband asked.

The fires jumped roads and rivers and had burned about 12.5 square miles (about 32 square kilometers) by Monday. The sky filled with smoke and haze. Calmer winds and lower temperatures arrived to help firefighters, but it was expected to be hot and dry again by midweek.

In one Spokane neighborhood, blackened vehicles, a boat twisted by the heat and melted plastic recycling bins remained. Across the street, lawns were still green and houses were spared, as residents continued to run hoses or sprinklers to water their properties.

“Hundreds of people have completely lost their homes and farms, and many are prohibited from returning to their homes or neighborhoods as crews continue to extinguish smoldering embers,” the state's entire congressional delegation wrote Monday in asking President Donald Trump to approve an expedited emergency declaration.

No deaths or major injuries have been reported so far

Cpl. Mark Gregory, a spokesperson for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, said the county initially received nearly 300 reports of missing people, but by Monday they had cleared all but 14.

Those outstanding reports more likely represented people who had not been in contact since evacuating than people who were truly missing or in danger, authorities said.

The Spokane-area wildfires were completely uncontained, fire officials said. More than 1,000 firefighters, many from out of state, had arrived by Monday, and that number was expected to double in the next few days.

The fires were among dozens across the Western U.S. stretching the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. At least 390 square miles (1,000 square kilometers) has burned across Washington, which has contended with severe drought and a paltry snowpack.

Authorities warned people not to fly drones near the burned areas, saying it could force them to delay aerial firefighting operations.

Homes, cars and possessions have been lost in flames

Angela and Wayde Deatherage, both 49, evacuated shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday with a son, grabbing a few bins of family photos and heirloom rings but not much else. Roughly 30 minutes later, their security camera was sending fire notifications to Angela’s phone.

Wayde Deatherage took some back roads and returned by early evening. He stopped at the end of the street and called his wife: “Our house is done.”

Deatherage, however, wasn't done with his neighborhood. He propped a hose at another house so it sprayed the property. That home survived.

The couple returned to their property Sunday.

“It’s just ash,” Angela Deatherage said of the home where they had lived for nearly 22 years. ”It’s like our house sunk down in the basement. ... There’s just so much loss for so many people.”

Karen Faggioli, 61, figured she would be returning to her home. She recalled how other recent fires had been brought under control. But a relative texted her the bad news: Her house and three vehicles were destroyed. A daughter lost her nearby house, too.

“Why cry? What’s crying going to do? I’ve been through so many tragedies myself,” said Faggioli, who is recovering from breast cancer. “This is nothing. Like I told my granddaughter, ‘We’re strong — and now we get all new things.’ I’m emotionally numb.”

Friends and relatives of fire victims posted online appeals for money, clothes and basic necessities.

Grassland burns in Idaho, Oregon and Utah

Spokane was hardly the only place struggling to contain fires.

A lightning-caused fire that has burned over 530 square miles (about 1,370 square kilometers) of grassland in western Idaho and eastern Oregon continued to grow Monday. The area is home to cattle ranches, and authorities said the fire is threatening more than 600 homes and 800 other structures.

In central Utah, a blaze quadrupled in size over the weekend to nearly 109 square miles (282 square kilometers) by Monday afternoon. More than 100 cattle have been killed, according to law enforcement.

Heavy winds helped flames jump containment lines, but forward progression was slowed toward Fillmore, a town of about 2,600 people and the seat of Millard County, officials said. Mandatory evacuations were ordered Sunday evening for the town's southern portion, and inmates at the county jail were transferred.

Spokane sets up shelter for impacted residents

In Spokane, about 400 people were staying at city's main convention center, which was turned into a shelter, officials said.

Spokane Public Schools opened a free emergency drop-in camp for children on Monday. Trials at the county court were pushed to Aug. 10.

Several larger fires continued to burn in less populated areas northwest of Spokane.

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Johnson reported from Seattle, and White from Detroit. Associated Press writers Manuel Valdes in Spokane; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Kathy McCormack in Concord, N.H.; and Martha Bellisle in Seattle contributed.

Chicago acquired right-hander Clay Holmes and outfielder Tyrone Taylor from the last-place New York Mets on Monday for touted infield prospect Jefferson Rojas. The Cubs also added reliever Ryan Zeferjahn and left-hander Braxton Garrett in two other deals ahead of Monday's deadline.

Those moves were completed one day after the Cubs augmented their rotation by landing Kevin Gausman in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays.

“In some ways we were as focused as I can remember in a deadline,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “It was very clear we needed to add pitching.”

The Cubs weathered a series of pitching injuries on their way to a 64-49 record and the top spot in the NL wild-card standings. They trail NL Central-leading Milwaukee by 5 1/2 games.

Led by All-Star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, the Cubs' group of position players has been in place for most of the season. But Hoyer wanted to make sure the pitching staff was equipped for the rest of the season and a possible postseason run.

“I think we’re more talented than we were 48 hours ago,” he said. “Like I said, I think these guys have battled and they’ve done a really good job. We’ve used so many different guys. I think our coaching staff has done a terrific job with them as well. But certainly I think providing more talent and more depth was something that was critical.”

Some of Chicago's injured pitchers are nearing a return. Right-hander Edward Cabrera (hamstring/abductor) and hard-throwing reliever Daniel Palencia (flexor strain) are scheduled for rehab appearances with Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday. Hoby Milner (appendicitis) is expected to pitch for Iowa on Tuesday.

The Cubs got Zeferjahn from the Los Angeles Angels for two minor leaguers: catcher Moisés Ballesteros and right-hander Mason McGwire — son of retired slugger Mark McGwire. Garrett was acquired in a deal with the Miami Marlins for minor leaguer infielder Jonathon Long and right-hander Jace Beck.

The 28-year-old Zeferjahn is 4-3 with a 3.66 ERA and four saves in 45 games this season. The right-hander has 75 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings.

“I think he’s getting better,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said before Monday night's 10-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. “I think it’s an improving player.”

Garrett was optioned to Iowa. Garrett, who turns 29 on Wednesday, had a 3.66 ERA in 159 2/3 innings with Miami in 2023.

“We’re going to need depth. We’re going to need innings,” Hoyer said. “He’s likely to provide that here. But there’s also a future play as well. Like I said, we always thought highly of him.”

Holmes appears just about ready to return from a broken right leg that has sidelined him since mid-May. He was 4-4 with a 2.39 ERA in nine starts before getting hurt.

The 33-year-old right-hander has a $12 million player option for 2027 that he's expected to decline in order to become a free agent again. He was an All-Star reliever with the New York Yankees before signing with the Mets ahead of the 2025 season and successfully converting to a starting role.

Holmes fractured his right fibula May 15 when he was hit by a low line drive while pitching against the Yankees. He made his third minor league rehab start Sunday, allowing four runs in 5 1/3 innings for Class A Brooklyn.

Hoyer said the team plans to meet with Holmes before a decision is made about his next step.

“I think we love the fit from a shape standpoint,” Hoyer said. “I mean he’s a fantastic groundball guy, doesn’t give up home runs. I think putting that kind of guy in front of this defense makes a ton of sense for us.”

Holmes went 16-12 with a 3.26 ERA in 40 starts and two relief appearances for the Mets overall.

Taylor, 32, batted .241 with 10 homers, 28 RBIs and a .794 OPS in 67 games for New York this season. The reserve outfielder, better known for excellent defense, has been on a remarkable tear at the plate since returning June 26 from a strained right hip. He can become a free agent after the World Series as well.

Chicago also acquired pitcher David Peterson from the Mets for minor league infielder Cole Mathis in late June.

The 21-year-old Rojas was hitting .270 with 15 home runs, 57 RBIs, 17 stolen bases and an .800 OPS in 91 games at Double-A Knoxville this season. He was the second-ranked prospect in Chicago's system and No. 63 overall in baseball, according to mlb.com.

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AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick in New York contributed to this report.

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

Instead, the Yankees found other ways to bolster their roster. They added outfielder Heliot Ramos from the last-place San Francisco Giants in a three-player swap, a day after acquiring left-handed-hitting Luis García Jr. from the Washington Nationals for four pitchers.

Skubal went to the Dodgers on Sunday in a blockbuster trade for three prospects and Rutschman was sent to the Red Sox for a package that included three of Boston’s top prospects earlier Monday.

“We had many conversation with Baltimore but were unable to obviously meet the price,” Cashman said in a video conference after the trade deadline passed. “So they did their business elsewhere and we kept grinding through it, but ultimately in the end of the day, there was no opportunity that existed that we felt good enough about to be able to push through on.”

The Yankees had less of a need for Skubal because their rotation began Monday with a 3.46 ERA, but their catchers entered the series opener against the Cardinals hitting .188 with eight homers and 27 RBIs, which ranked 28th among the 30 big league teams.

“We talked to Detroit,” Cashman said. “They set a high price and to be honest that was not something we were unable to get them off of what they said might work, but at the same time they were communicating that it also might not even win the day and then they kind of went silent, I think after they got what they were looking for.”

García was in the lineup at first base and batting third after hitting a career-high .283 in his first season as a full-time first baseman with Washington. He hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning of a 13-7 loss.

García's average is the highest on the Yankees, who began Monday with a .232 average and hitting .219 in 53 games since losing captain Aaron Judge to an injury two months ago.

“I think it has been one of the keys to how the season has played out so far,” García said Monday through a translator. “Before I used to hit the ball very well, but a lot of the times it was on the ground. So I think one of the focuses was to get the ball in the air and keep hitting it with the same intensity, but lift it up, and better results have come.”

Besides the batting average, Garcia also joined the Yankees after hitting a career-high 23 homers and producing a career-best 78 RBIs. He was third in the big leagues with a .560 slugging percentage behind new teammate Ben Rice and Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez while also hitting .330 with runners in scoring position.

“As good a year as he’s having, leading the league in slugging percentage over there, we think there’s more in there potentially in our ballpark,” manager Aaron Boone said. “So it’s exciting. We needed to inject a presence in our order, and we think we’ve done that in a big way.”

García appeared in 93 games at first base with the Nationals and will share time with Rice and Paul Goldschmidt at first and as the designated hitter. García struggled defensively as a second baseman at times before moving over to first base full-time.

The 26-year-old García was born in New York and said his favorite Yankees growing up were Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano. His father, Luis García Sr., appeared in eight games with the Tigers in 1999 and spent 10 seasons in the minor leagues from 1993 to 2002.

The Yankees needed another outfielder after losing Cody Bellinger to a strained left hamstring July 25, and Ramos batted .264 with nine homers and 34 RBIs in 74 games for the Giants. He also had an .835 OPS against left-handed pitching and slugged 43 homers in the previous two seasons.

Ramos will likely join the Yankees on Tuesday, and touted shortstop prospect George Lombard Jr. is expected to be promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Following their loss Monday night, the Yankees optioned outfielder Jasson Domínguez, shortstop Anthony Volpe and reliever Angel Chivilli to Triple-A.

The Yankees sent starting pitcher Henry LaLane and infielder Kaeden Kent to the Giants for Ramos, who is not eligible for free agency until 2030.

“They have a lot of history,” Ramos said. “It’s obviously going to have a big place in my heart, but at the end of the day, I’m very happy to be a New York Yankee.”

LaLane was recently promoted to Class A Hudson Valley and was New York’s fifth-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. Kent, the son of recently inducted Hall of Famer Jeff Kent, was batting .302 this season at Hudson Valley.

New York is 27-27 since Judge last played May 31. The slugger is still awaiting another scan to determine when he can start baseball activities.

“It’s always possible that things don't go the way you want, but we currently are still very optimistic he’s going to return,” Cashman said.

The Yankees have been without Giancarlo Stanton since April 24 due to a strained right calf and lost Bellinger for four to six weeks when he was injured in Philadelphia.

“One of the first areas of need was to try and upgrade the offense in any way, shape or form in any way we can while waiting for important players to come back at the same time off the IL,” Cashman said.

To make room for García, the Yankees optioned Max Schuemann to Triple-A. New York also recalled reliever Kervin Castro to take the spot of Yovanny Cruz, who was sent to Washington for García.

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AP Freelance Reporter Jeff Miller contributed to this report

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

Burleson homered to the short porch in right off Cam Schlittler three batters into the game. The first baseman also sent a drive to the short porch off lefty reliever Tim Hill in the fourth for a 6-0 lead.

Burleson became the first Cardinals player with a three-homer game since catcher Iván Herrera on April 2, 2025, against the Angels when he lifted a 2-2 slider from Angel Chivilli (1-1) to right field for a 13-7 advantage. Burleson launched the 418-foot drive after fouling off three straight pitches.

The left-handed hitter also became the eighth visiting player with a three-homer game at the current Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009. The previous one was Jordan Diaz for the Athletics on May 9, 2023.

Nathan Church hit a go-ahead, three-run homer for St. Louis in the eighth after George Soriano allowed a two-run drive to Yankees newcomer Luis García Jr. that gave New York a 7-6 lead in the seventh.

Jimmie Crooks added a two-run shot in the eighth for the Cardinals, who hit six homers for the first time since connecting seven times against the Dodgers on May 18, 2023.

Ryan McMahon and José Caballero opened the seventh with back-to-back homers for the Yankees off Ryne Stanek. Austin Wells hit a two-run shot and Trent Grisham had a solo homer in the fifth after New York trailed 6-0.

José Fermín had an RBI double for the Cardinals, and Church hit an RBI single.

García started at first base and went 2 for 4 after being obtained from Washington on Sunday.

Schlittler allowed four runs and four hits in three innings, his second-shortest start this season. The right-hander tied a career high with five walks and struck out six.

St. Louis starter Michael McGreevy permitted two runs and four hits in 4 1/3 innings. Gordon Graceffo (7-1) retired New York's final six batters to earn the win.

After the game, the Yankees optioned Chivilli to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre along with outfielder Jasson Domínguez and shortstop Anthony Volpe. Touted shortstop prospect George Lombard Jr. is expected to be called up.

Up next

Yankees LHP Ryan Weathers (4-7, 3.99 ERA) opposes Cardinals RHP Hunter Dobbins (2-1, 3.74) on Tuesday.

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

Temperatures will fall into the upper 50s and lower 60s overnight, with light winds and low humidity making for a cool and pleasant start to the day Tuesday.

The timing could not be better for Michigan voters.

Tuesday

Tuesday is Election Day across the state, and the weather will cooperate from the time polls open at 7 a.m. until they close at 8 p.m. and beyond. Sunshine will dominate the forecast as temperatures climb into the mid 80s across Metro Detroit. Communities across the Thumb will likely remain a few degrees cooler.

Wednesday

The calm weather pattern will hold through much of Wednesday, although clouds will begin increasing later in the day as the next weather system approaches from the west.

Thursday

A slight chance of showers arrives Wednesday night, and rain chances become more widespread Thursday as scattered showers and a few thunderstorms develop throughout the day. Periods of rain could slow down the Thursday commute.

Friday

By Friday, the system will gradually shift eastward, although a few spotty showers could linger into the morning, especially near the state line.

Temperatures will remain seasonably warm through the period, with afternoon highs generally holding in the 80s.

Looking ahead to the weekend, the forecast once again turns quieter, with plenty of sunshine and temperatures edging closer to the upper 80s.

After a brief interruption from late-week showers, summer heat appears ready to settle back into Southeast Michigan.

Share your weather photos with Local 4 at MIPics.

Grande had been due to star alongside her “Wicked” co-star Jonathan Bailey in a production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park With George” at the Barbican theater in 2027.

Empire Street Productions said Sunday that Grande will no longer be part of the London production. A representative for Grande told People magazine that the 33-year-old singer “will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour.”

“She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny,” the statement said. A representative for Grande did not offer further comment to The Associated Press.

With Grande’s recent breakup from “Wicked” co-star Ethan Slater, the ongoing tour and last week’s release of the album “Petal,” attention has swelled, fueling rampant speculation online about her health and appearance. Grande has previously expressed discomfort with public discourse around her weight.

“I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies, no matter what,” she said in a 2023 TikTok video.

Late last year, while promoting “Wicked: For Good,” she reshared a 2024 interview in which she said it was uncomfortable having being picked apart for her appearance since she was a teenager. In the December social media post, she called the clip a “loving reminder to all.”

Grande found fame as a child performer on Nickelodeon before releasing her debut album, “Yours Truly,” in 2013. She has won three Grammy Awards and was nominated for a supporting actress Oscar for her role as Glinda in “Wicked.”

Grande's next concert is Monday in Chicago. Her tour is due to wrap up in London on Sept. 1.

“We know this cannot have been an easy decision, and she makes it with our complete understanding and support,” Empire Street Productions said. The company said “Sunday in the Park With George” will open next summer as planned, and that casting would be announced “in due course.”

The deal, announced shortly before the 6 p.m. deadline on Monday (Aug. 3), also sends infielder Gage Workman to San Diego as Detroit continues reshaping its roster.

Tigers land two pitching prospects

Mayfield, 21, was ranked the No. 2 prospect in the Padres’ organization by MLB Pipeline and represented San Diego at last month’s Futures Game in Philadelphia.

The Padres selected him with the 25th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Elk City High School in Oklahoma.

Mayfield will report to Single-A West Michigan.

In his first professional season in 2025, Mayfield made 19 starts with Single-A Lake Elsinore, posting a 2.97 ERA over 60⅔ innings.

He struck out 88 batters while issuing 28 walks, ranking among the top Single-A pitchers in strikeout and walk rates.

This season, Mayfield has made 15 starts with Fort Wayne, going 3-1 with a 3.54 ERA while striking out 62 batters over 53⅓ innings.

Wolf, 27, was selected by San Diego in the fourth round of the 2021 draft out of West Virginia University.

He has spent six seasons in the Padres organization and made one major league relief appearance in 2023.

Wolf will report to Triple-A Toledo after pitching in 24 games, including 17 starts, for Triple-A El Paso this season.

He has struck out 90 batters over 89⅓ innings.

Mize, Workman head to San Diego

Mize, 29, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft by Detroit after starring at Auburn University.

He made his major league debut during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and went 27-31 with a 3.95 ERA in 105 appearances, including 103 starts, during his Tigers career.

After missing significant time because of an injury beginning in 2022, Mize returned and became one of Detroit’s more reliable starters.

The right-hander was in the middle of a career-best season in 2026, going 4-6 with a 2.70 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in 16 starts.

Mize allowed limited hard contact while improving his strikeout and walk numbers.

Workman, 26, split the season between Detroit and Triple-A Toledo.

The Tigers selected him in the fourth round of the 2020 draft out of Arizona State University.

Tigers eye future amid deadline moves

The trade comes after a busy deadline period for Detroit, which also dealt left-hander Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a package of prospects.

The Tigers entered the deadline trying to balance postseason hopes with building for the future.

Detroit recently moved back into the American League wild-card race after sweeping the Oakland Athletics, but the team remains behind Cleveland in the standings.

Despite the moves, the Tigers entered the final stretch with one of the better run differentials in the American League.

Detroit’s plus-63 run differential suggested stronger underlying performance than its record indicated, though bullpen struggles contributed to several late-game losses.

The Tigers are still searching for consistency after a difficult stretch that included a 6-22 May.

The deadline trades signal a focus on adding young talent to the organization’s future core.

Wildfires west of Athens jumped containment lines a day after a midair collision between two helicopters killed two crew members. A Greek and a Danish national died and two others were hospitalized following the collision on Sunday.

All four were private operators chartered by the Greek firefighting service.

In France, firefighters in the region around Bordeaux guarded against potential flare-ups inside a still-burning scar four times the size of Paris.

A prolonged heat wave and lack of rainfall led to the driest July in England and Wales in nearly 200 years of recordkeeping, according to provisional statistics, the U.K.’s weather service said Monday.

All of Wales and more than half of England are officially in drought, the Met Office said. The dry spell was accompanied by sweltering temperatures across much of the U.K., following heat waves in May and June.

Wales tied its record for its warmest mean temperature for July while England and the U.K. recorded their second-warmest July.

The Athens region remains at high risk with hundreds evacuated

Strong winds returned to southern Greece late on Monday, pushing flames into mountain home clusters, destroying farms and property, and closing a highway.

Areas surrounding the Greek capital remain at high risk through the week with temperatures set to rise further. More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from around the seaside resort of Porto Germeno and other areas west of the capital — including more than 250 rescued by boats from beaches in the area.

“This is a difficult fire that has troubled us,” Fire Service spokesman Yiannis Artopios said, adding that 12 water-dropping planes and 11 helicopters were operating in the area Monday.

The blaze was blamed on a faulty power line from a wind farm and led to the arrests of two contractors on charges of negligent arson.

Despite improved detection methods and expanded cooperation among European Union members, Greece and other countries along Europe's Mediterranean coast suffer devastating wildfires every summer as spells of heat wave temperatures grow longer.

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

France's massive blaze is contained as evacuees return home

Thousands of evacuees were allowed to return home or to their holiday accommodations in France on Monday after a massive wildfire remained contained. More than 224,000 people had fled in what officials said was the country’s largest civilian evacuation outside wartime.

The wildfire burned about 420 square kilometers (162 square miles), making it France’s largest wildfire on record. Monday's return includes Cap Ferret peninsula, a tourist hot spot along the Atlantic coast, and Le Porge, the municipality hardest hit by the fire, where 183 homes were destroyed. Campsites remain closed.

A second wildfire in Provence did not flare up overnight, but was still not contained on Monday as stronger winds were expected, firefighters and authorities said. About 1,500 firefighters, supported by water-dropping helicopters, continued reinforcing fire lines along the blaze that tore through about 18 square kilometers (7 square miles).

The European Forest Fire Information System said the risk of wildfire remains high across parts of the continent through Aug. 5, including in traditionally cooler northern countries.

Firefighters in the Netherlands were battling a large blaze on Monday in a forest in the southern province of Limburg, authorities said, as the country sweltered through another day of hot, dry summer weather. The national railway operator halted trains between two towns in the area due to the fire.

The Dutch air force sent two Chinook helicopters equipped with large water containers to help firefighters tackle the blaze. Media reported that a campsite in the area was evacuated due to poor air quality caused by a large plume of smoke.

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Corbet reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros in Athens; Thomas Adamson in Paris; Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, and Brian Melley in London contributed to this report.

Ronald Antczak has been raising his sons, 14-year-old Ronald Jr. and 13-year-old Ryan, on his own since their mother died three years ago.

The family had previously rented their home on Nottingham Road on Detroit’s east side before Antczak managed to purchase the home.

They’ve now been displaced after a devastating house fire that happened the evening of July 23.

Antczak told Local 4 the fire was started by a child who had come over to the house.

He said it was started on the front porch and quickly engulfed the entire front of the home.

He said flames quickly blocked the front door, forcing him to pull his older son out through a window.

“I carried him across the street, where we then just watched the house burn and waited on the fire department,” Antczak said.

The Detroit Fire Department confirmed the Detroit Fire Investigation Division determined the fire was set by a youth who does not live in the home. The department added that its Youth Fire Setter Program team is working with the youth and their family “to ensure they get the help they need.”

Antczak said he and his sons are living in a motel with assistance from the American Red Cross and are trying to find stable housing before school begins.

“School’s getting ready to start and my main concern is getting us in another home, having a stable roof over our head, and getting them enrolled in school on time,” he said.

Antczak’s family has been a longtime participant of the non-profit Brilliant Detroit, which transforms underutilized neighborhood houses into community hubs.

The organization created a GoFundMe to support the family.

Donations can be made here.

The crash occurred on Monday (Aug. 3) around 6:24 p.m. on Pine Lake Road between Seminary Drive and Indian Trail in West Bloomfield Township.

Police said the driver, a 42-year-old man, was traveling along Orchard Lake Road when the semi-truck and trailer lost control and overturned into the lake.

The driver was found sitting on top of the overturned truck when emergency crews arrived.

Officials said he suffered a leg contusion but declined transportation to a hospital.

Investigators said alcohol and drugs are not believed to have been factors in the crash.

Officials said a small amount of fuel leaked into Pine Lake following the crash.

The Oakland County Hazardous Materials Team, Oakland County Sheriff’s Technical Rescue Team and environmental cleanup crews responded to contain the spill and remove the vehicle from the lake.

Officials said they’re continuing to investigate what caused the driver to lose control of the truck.

Before late last week, the dollar was trading above 163 yen, touching 40-year highs. After regulators were suspected of stepping in, it fell below 160 yen.

Early Monday, after the official announcement of the intervention, the dollar fell to nearly 155.20 yen. That’s a big drop for the exchange rate. The dollar was trading at 156.70 yen early Monday Eastern time.

Even though it has attracted millions of bargain-hunting tourists, the yen's prolonged weakness against the dollar has been a source of frustration for Tokyo. Since Japan imports so much of what it consumes, a weak currency pushes prices higher. High oil prices have amplified that problem and that's putting pressure on the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to do more to address the rising cost of living.

Joint intervention was needed to stem the yen's decline

Efforts earlier this year to raise the value of the yen against the dollar did little to budge the exchange rate.

Normally foreign exchange markets determine the relative values of currencies, but there are many factors that shape what happens in the markets.

A big gap between interest rates in the U.S. and Japan has led investors to sell yen and buy dollars to take advantage of the higher yields from dollar-denominated assets. Both the Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve kept their interest rates unchanged at meetings last week, maintaining that gap.

So, last week, when the dollar slipped below 160 yen and stayed there, the U.S. side was suspected of lending a hand.

Officials usually stay mum on such actions. But on Sunday, Trump confirmed that the U.S. side had helped, and Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama likewise issued a statement saying the finance ministry had purchased yen in coordination with the U.S. Treasury Department.

“We will not hesitate to conduct further joint intervention,” she said.

Such overt acknowledgment of market intervention is rare, said Neil Newman, managing director and head of strategy at Astris Advisory Japan. He said the last big example was when governments intervened following a massive earthquake and tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan in 2011.

Why the US is helping support the yen

When asked why Washington was helping, Trump said Sunday that “We have a good relationship with Japan. We’re very strong —- very, very strong financially — and they are, you know, they have a weakening yen, and they wanted a little bit of help, and we’re always there for Japan. Japan’s been very good to us, with the exception, of course, of Pearl Harbor.”

Trump said the U.S. got “financial benefit” out of the intervention, calling it a “signal of friendship.”

“It’s also good for the world economy,” he said.

A weaker dollar makes U.S.-made goods more competitive, reducing their costs in yen terms, and might help increase American exports to Japan, Newman said.

“It’s very rare that the Americans will work with the Japanese on this, but there is an alignment of interests here basically between Japan and America,” Newman said.

It was a “low-cost” way for Washington to pay a favor to a key U.S. ally, while also protecting the stability of foreign exchange and bond markets, Shigeto Nagai, head of Japan economics for Oxford Economics, said in a report.

Analysts question if the intervention worked

The latest intervention appears to be having a more durable impact than earlier cases this year, and the yen may have a slightly stronger path for the rest of the year, Nagai said.

But the factors that have contributed to the yen's long-term weakness remain.

Takaichi has pushed to cut Japan's sales tax on food to 1% from 8% and to dramatically increase government spending. Such moves would tend to weaken the yen since it would increase inflation and add to Japan's already massive government debt.

The Bank of Japan has moved slowly to raise its benchmark rate from near zero to the current 1%, its highest level in 31 years but still well below the Federal Reserve' s rate of 3.5%-3.75%.

It likely will continue to slow-walk any changes as it evaluates the impact of the Iran war and other factors on the economy, Nagai said.

Meanwhile, a surge in oil prices because of the war and resulting higher inflation has kept the Fed from cutting rates.

“The yield differential remains wide, Japan’s energy-import burden remains significant, and the Bank of Japan is still moving more slowly than the market would normally require to generate a sustained currency reversal,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

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Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok. AP journalist Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Two photographs published with the announcement showed Suu Kyi shaking hands with Arnaud de Baecque, the ICRC’s representative to Myanmar, and meeting with him in a wood-paneled room.

The Presidential Press and Information Bureau, which released the photographs, said the meeting was held Monday morning but did not disclose the location or provide details about what was discussed.

The ICRC confirmed in a statement on Monday that one of its delegates visited Suu Kyi under its standards and procedures for visiting people deprived of liberty, and spoke with her in private, but it did not disclose details of the discussion.

The organization said it continues to engage with all relevant actors to maintain and expand its access to places of detention in Myanmar.

Two other photographs showed Suu Kyi cutting a pink birthday cake bearing the inscription, “Happy Birthday Aunty Suu,” suggesting they may have been taken during a celebration for her 81st birthday in June.

In the photos, Suu Kyi appeared relaxed and was smiling. She did not show any obvious signs of ill health, although her physical condition could not be independently assessed from the images.

The release came as calls are growing from other countries, including Myanmar's fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, for access to or engagement with Suu Kyi as part of efforts to resolve the country's political crisis.

Kim Aris, her younger son living in London, and Myanmar democracy activists have been waging an online campaign to demand evidence that his mother is alive and well.

In a statement sent to the AP, Aris welcomed the reported ICRC visit, saying it could mark the first positive development concerning his mother in more than five years.

“This may be a first step, but it must not be the last,” Aris said.

He thanked governments, the international community and supporters for standing with his family and backing his campaign to seek proof of his mother’s well-being, while stressing that he had not yet received independent confirmation of her condition.

He said he hoped the visit would lead to direct family contact and her eventual release together with all political prisoners.

Suu Kyi was detained Feb. 1, 2021, when the army seized power from her elected government. She has not been seen publicly since then, and the last official photo of her released was in April, when she was moved from prison to house arrest and her sentence was reduced as part of a prisoner amnesty for a Buddhist holiday.

The country's military leaders, who have faced sanctions and widespread international isolation since seizing power in 2021, have sought to project a return to normalcy by holding a 2025 election and increased engagement with regional neighbors.

However, critics say the transition to a nominally elected government largely composed of former generals and holdovers from the previous military-led government has done little to change the military’s grip on power.

Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for the opposition National Unity Government, said the ICRC’s meeting with Suu Kyi shouldn’t be taken as a real move to address human rights or democracy issues.

“Since, from the outset, a country’s leader was wrongfully arrested and imprisoned by finding faults where there were none, she must be released without any conditions,” he said.

The United Nations welcomed the ICRC visit and reiterated its call “for the swift and unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained as a fundamental step toward conditions conducive to a credible and transparent political process."

U.N. deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said Secretary-General António Guterres stresses the importance of a dialogue between all Myanmar parties and his special envoy Julie Bishop on how the U.N., the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and other key players can help peacefully resolve the current conflict.

Talks between the U.S. and Iran are critical to ending the monthslong conflict and reviving stalled cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway through which about a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed before the war.

Trump, who has made a habit of threatening strikes on Iran only to dangle the prospect of a last-minute diplomatic reprieve, said the negotiations would be the “last chance ” for Iran to forge a deal to reopen the strait and address his concerns about its nuclear program.

But Iran’s foreign ministry said it's negotiating with Oman, not the U.S., prompting Trump to criticize the country’s leadership, which has grown increasingly divided over the war’s endgame.

Whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking," Trump maintained.

Elsewhere, Israel bombed the Gaza Strip and the Syrian president met in Damascus with the Iraqi Kurdish regional leader over security concerns. In Iran, the government executed two men it claimed were Israeli spies.

Here is a look at the most important developments Monday in the Middle East.

Trump announces renewed talks

Trump said Sunday that he decided against carrying out major strikes against Iran at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

He said a plan was in place for U.S. forces to carry out “the biggest attack since World War II,” but he decided to give diplomacy more time after hearing from key Gulf leaders and fielding requests from unnamed Iranian officials. He did not provide further details or say who would be involved in the talks.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry maintained that the country was not currently holding negotiations with the United States.

Esmail Baghaei, an agency spokesperson, said Monday that ongoing talks were with Oman, the country on the other side of the strait, and were focused only on establishing a temporary route for safe navigation through the channel.

Nine vessels transited through the strait Sunday, most of them using an Iranian-controlled route, according to trade data and analytics platform Kpler.

Trump voiced frustration at Iran's public posturing, suggesting the country's leaders begged for the discussions, despite their claims of only wanting to deal with Oman.

“Iranian Leadership is unbelievably duplicitous!” the U.S. president vented on Truth Social, his social media platform.

Iran's top delegates head to Iraq and Pakistan

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived Monday in Iraq’s holy city of Najaf to participate in the Arbaeen commemorations, an annual pilgrimage for Shiite Muslims, his office said on social media.

Araghchi’s trip comes as Iraq has been walking a tightrope between Iran and the U.S., an act that has only grown more fraught since the U.S. and Israel went to war with Iran in February.

Meanwhile Iran's Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade, Mohammad Atabak, headed Monday to Pakistan for a two-day visit expected to focus in part on ways to ease transit bottlenecks and move more Iranian containers through Pakistani ports during the U.S. naval blockade.

Syrian and Iraqi leaders discuss security concerns

Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Iraq’s Kurdish regional president met Monday in Damascus to discuss ways of improving mutual cooperation and contributing to regional security.

The meeting between al-Sharaa and Nechirvan Barzani came amid regional tensions as Iranian-backed Iraqi militia groups carried out multiple drone strikes targeting American interests across Iraq, including the country’s Kurdish region.

Syrian state media reported last month that authorities at the country’s border with Iraq thwarted an attempt in June to smuggle weapons believed to have been headed to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. Hezbollah denied the charges.

Iran executes 2 men it says spied for Israel

Iran’s judiciary said it executed two men Monday after convicting them of spying for Israel during both last year’s 12-day war and the ongoing conflict.

The judiciary’s Mizan news agency identified the two as Omid Behzad and Pouria Safvat, who were accused of providing military coordinates, images and other intelligence used in attacks on Iranian targets. The agency did not specify where the executions took place.

Last week, Iran publicly hanged two men convicted of killing four police officers during nationwide anti-government protests in January.

Gaza official urges Israel to halt attacks

A top official overseeing Gaza’s postwar transition met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, in part to press him to halt military attacks on the territory.

Nikolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on the Board of Peace, also discussed with Netanyahu the need to decommission all weapons in the enclave, the international body established by the U.S. said in a statement.

An Israeli strike Monday evening hit a car in Gaza City, killing two men, according to Shifa Hospital, where the casualties were taken. Over the weekend, Israeli attacks left at least 17 people dead, including children, according to hospitals in Gaza.

The Israeli military said the weekend strikes targeted militants. It confirmed Monday's strike and said it would release more information later.

Days earlier, the U.S. and Hamas reached a deal to disarm the militant group, a potential step toward ending the war in Gaza.

Gaza residents swelter in tents

Soaring temperatures in Gaza this summer have turned the makeshift tents sheltering hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians into suffocating ovens. Made of plastic sheets, the shelters trap heat during the day and offer little ventilation, forcing many families to spend hours outside.

The extreme weather compounds an already dire humanitarian crisis. With limited access to clean water, electricity and sanitation, residents of the overcrowded camps are at high risk of dehydration, heat-related illnesses and the spread of skin infections, diarrheal diseases and other communicable illnesses, humanitarian agencies warn.

“There is no breeze, nothing,” said Aida Abu Hadeesha, a woman displaced from the town of Rafah, near the border with Egypt. “Our kids are suffering."

___

Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece, and Boak from Washington. Associated Press reporters Julia Frankel in Jerusalem, Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Philip Marcelo in New York also contributed to this report.

In Detroit, El-Sayed posed for photos and participated in interviews with content creators at a backyard pool party before a final rally with supporters. He projected confidence about Tuesday’s result, already looking ahead to a general election against Republican Mike Rogers.

“We have an opportunity to continue to build this movement. We got 13 weeks left to work,” El-Sayed said at his final event of the primary campaign in Detroit.

On the state’s west side, Stevens was barnstorming in the final hours with events in Muskegon Heights and Grand Rapids alongside Michigan Democratic officials. She continued to frame herself as the only candidate who could defeat Rogers.

It was a fitting final contrast in a race that has become one of the clearest tests yet of where Democratic voters want their party to go. El-Sayed, a progressive backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and other leaders on the party’s left, has run against much of the Democratic establishment. Stevens, a four-term congresswoman backed by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and many of Michigan’s top Democrats, has made electability and experience central to her case.

Tens of millions of dollars have poured into the race, much of it from outside groups supporting Stevens. But the contest now comes down to which candidate can assemble enough of Michigan’s Democratic coalition to win Tuesday.

El-Sayed opted to focus in his campaign’s final days on Detroit, which he called a “spiritual home” and a place where he wanted to “demonstrate what this movement is and what it could mean.”

Stevens, meanwhile, spent time in Detroit before heading to the state's west side. She called the final push the “last word phenomenon."

“Everyone’s trying to get in their last points," she said.

Both candidates focused on Detroit-area churches and union halls Sunday

Both candidates have spent parts of the campaign’s final days in Detroit, where Black voters have long been crucial to winning Democratic primaries.

El-Sayed began Sunday by sitting alongside his wife and Black political leaders in a packed Detroit church, clapping as the congregation sang and the pastor preached. Then he stood before the room and asked for their votes.

“I believe in the kind of America where no matter where you grow up, the color of your skin, how you pray, you deserve equal rights in this country,” El-Sayed told the congregation at Kingdom Covenant Church.

“You deserve to go to a good school, you deserve to get healthcare, you deserve to graduate and get a good job,” he added.

El-Sayed was joined by Democratic Reps. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, as well as Yusef Jackson, the son of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson who is president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Pastor David A. Johnson II said welcoming a political candidate was not something he typically did, but “this particular season, it’s time for us to do something different.”

For Robin Robertson, a 59-year-old Detroit resident, El-Sayed’s visit came just in time. Robertson said she had gone back and forth over whom to support, waiting until the campaign’s final days to decide.

She ultimately settled on El-Sayed, saying Stevens “had a good run.”

“His agenda seems to match more for me the things that we need right now,” Robertson said. “And then, he’s here in my little church. That was confirmation that I’m going to vote for him.”

Stevens, meanwhile, emphasized her longstanding connections to Detroit-area churches.

At a church in Pontiac on Sunday afternoon, Stevens stayed after the service to speak individually with congregants, greeting many like familiar faces.

“I come here year-round. This isn’t just a campaign thing,” Stevens said. “Our churches are places of community refuge, community connection.”

Stevens and her allies have also made a direct appeal to Black voters through advertisements highlighting her ties to former President Barack Obama and her work as chief of staff for his administration’s auto rescue effort from 2009 to 2011.

Her campaign acknowledges that a strong showing among Detroit voters will likely be necessary for her to win Tuesday.

Reggie Williams, a longtime constituent who was supporting Stevens at an Oakland County event Sunday evening in a union hall, said he continues to back her because she “has always been there for the people.”

“She is out and about in the community, always has boots on the ground,” Williams said.

Stevens, El-Sayed

focus on different parts of Michigan on final day of campaigning

After spending much of Sunday pursuing some of the same Democratic constituencies, El-Sayed and Stevens took different paths across Michigan for the final full day of the primary.

For El-Sayed, that meant leaning into a volunteer operation his campaign says has grown to 12,000 people statewide. Stevens is relying on the broader institutional support she has accumulated across the state, including endorsements from many of Michigan’s most prominent Democratic officials, such as Sen. Gary Peters and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

El-Sayed remained in Detroit, trying to turn enthusiasm in the state’s largest city into votes. Monday evening he closed his campaign with a voter mobilization event in Detroit, alongside other candidates running for Congress and state office.

Stevens' Monday included a stop at a soul food restaurant and bakery in Muskegon Heights, where she addressed just over 20 people and positioned herself as the only candidate who can win against Republican Mike Rogers in November.

Sharri J. Lane, who owns a jewelry business and grew up in Muskegon Heights, was in attendance and had already voted for Stevens.

“I hope that she will keep her word and will do things that will benefit so many communities like ours,” Lane, 54, said while standing next to a rack of her earrings for sale. “Sometimes we’re forgotten about, you know, after the voting ends.”

Can Michigan Democrats come back together after Tuesday?

The primary has been bruising and expensive. And after Tuesday, Michigan Democrats will have to figure out how quickly they can put it behind them.

The winner will immediately face the task of bringing together supporters of two candidates who have offered different visions for the party and whose campaigns have grown increasingly contentious in the closing weeks.

El-Sayed and his allies have sharpened their attacks on Stevens. He told Semafor in July that a pro-Israel group backing her needed to “teach her how to string together two coherent sentences.” Stevens escalated her own criticism in the campaign's final days, responding to a clip of El-Sayed on July 31 by saying, “Everyone in America understands you want to blame all of your problems on Jewish Americans.”

Michigan Democrats are hoping to begin the process of coalescing almost immediately. The party plans to bring its nominees from across the state together in the days after the primary for a general election kickoff aimed at presenting a united front heading into November.

—

GaNun reported from Muskegon Heights, Michigan.

Update: Semi overturns into Pine Lake along Pine Lake Road in West Bloomfield; driver suffers injury

The crash occurred on Monday (Aug. 3) along Orchard Lake Road near Pine Lake Road in West Bloomfield.

Aerial video from the scene showed the overturned semi partially submerged in the lake as emergency crews worked to contain the fuel spill and remove the vehicle.

Officials have not said what caused the truck to leave the roadway, and no information about injuries was immediately released.

Neighbors said the curve where the crash occurred has been the site of multiple accidents over the years and described speeding as an ongoing concern along that stretch of Orchard Lake Road.

Hazardous materials crews and other emergency responders spent several hours cleaning up the fuel spill and working to recover the truck from the lake.

Officials have not said how much fuel entered the water or whether the spill affected water quality.

The investigation into the cause of the crash remains ongoing.

The incident occurred on Monday (Aug. 3) when the officers from Gibraltar Police Department said they were dispatched at approximately 1:56 p.m. to the 29900 block of Kingsbridge Drive following reports of a domestic violence situation and possible child abuse.

Upon arrival, officers learned the suspect was intoxicated and had barricaded himself inside the residence, police said.

Officials requested assistance from several neighboring law enforcement agencies, including the Downriver SWAT Team, as officers worked to resolve the situation safely.

Police said the suspect was taken into custody without incident at approximately 4:22 p.m.

Investigators later obtained a search warrant for the residence and collected several items of evidence as part of the ongoing investigation.

Police said the investigation remains active.

Once it is complete, a warrant request will be submitted to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

No additional details have been released because of the active investigation.

In an hourlong presentation to journalists, Petro claimed that results from thousands of tally sheets were manipulated by programmers after vote counts were transmitted to the headquarters of Colombia’s national registrar, the agency in charge of organizing the elections.

The accusations of fraud have been dismissed by international observers as well as electoral authorities in Colombia, which declared in late June that conservative lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella won the election, defeating Petro ally Ivan Cepeda by 250,000 votes. De la Espriella will begin a four-year term on Friday after he is sworn into office in a joint session of Congress.

Petro, a longtime critic of Colombia’s political establishment, has refused to acknowledge the results of the June presidential election. On Monday, the outgoing president accused electoral authorities of running an “obscure” election manipulated by foreign powers, and said that officials did not provide metadata for tally sheets that were scanned and posted on a public website, where citizens can check the results of every voting center in the country.

“We are facing a profound institutional problem,” Petro said. “And it’s the inauguration of an illegitimate president.”

Under Colombian law, there is little Petro can do to stop de la Espriella from being sworn into office this week because the conservative leader’s victory has already been certified by electoral judges.

However, analysts say that Petro’s claims of electoral fraud could undermine de la Espriella’s legitimacy among some voters and further polarize the nation’s politics.

Cepeda has said he will organize a series of protests against the incoming president, and will not acknowledge him as Colombia’s leader until de la Espriella meets several conditions that include renouncing his dual U.S. citizenship.

Petro, a former member of a rebel group, earlier Monday also urged people in rural areas to form committees he described as “liberation guards” that could resist the actions of military detachments that, according to him, are allied with local mafia groups.

Andres Macias, a political-science professor at Colombia’s Externado University, said that Petro’s statements could help “justify the use of weapons by civilians” in areas that have already been affected by conflicts between the Colombian military, drug traffickers and rebel groups.

Petro said Monday he feared being “extracted” from Colombia after he steps down from office to become an opposition leader and continues to make claims that Colombia’s election was rigged.

“I’ve been told to behave well,” Petro said. “But as a democrat I cannot accept this electoral fraud.”

Speaking to reporters after Monday’s (Aug. 3) deadline, Harris said the Tigers’ position, 2½ games out of an American League wild-card spot, forced the organization to weigh its postseason chances against the opportunity to acquire high-end young talent.

“I hate selling with every fiber in my body,” Harris said. “I absolutely hate it. But I thought it would be irresponsible not to do it given the markets that we had for Tarik and Casey.”

The Tigers dealt Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers and later traded Mize to the San Diego Padres, acquiring multiple highly regarded prospects in return.

→ Detroit Tigers receive top pitching prospects Kash Mayfield, Jackson Wolf from Padres in Casey Mize trade

Harris said his decision centered on two questions: whether Detroit had done enough to justify trading away future talent to add at the deadline and whether simply keeping Skubal and Mize through the end of the season was worth passing on premium prospect packages.

“I don’t think we played well enough,” Harris said. “I don’t think I did enough for this organization to justify trading a significant part of our future for the present.”

Harris praises departing stars

Before discussing the trades, Harris thanked both pitchers for their contributions to the organization.

He praised Skubal and Mize not only for their performances on the field but also for their work ethic and commitment behind the scenes.

“They have made this organization better,” Harris said. “We’re grateful for everything they have done.”

Why Detroit targeted young pitching and power

Harris said Detroit’s priority was acquiring players capable of becoming impact major leaguers.

He highlighted outfield prospect Zyhir Hope, acquired from the Dodgers, as a potential middle-of-the-order hitter with a rare combination of power and athleticism.

“We wanted to make sure if we were going to lose an impact player, we were also going to gain potential impact players,” Harris said.

He also praised pitching prospects River Ryan, Kash Mayfield and Brady Smith, saying the Tigers needed to improve the organization’s pitching depth.

“In this current age of baseball, it is really hard to find elite stuff,” Harris said of Ryan. “Guys that have real potential to be front-of-the-rotation starters are really hard to find.”

Harris rejects criticism of early Skubal trade

Some observers questioned why Detroit completed the Skubal trade before deadline day rather than waiting for additional offers.

Harris dismissed the criticism, saying the Tigers had already maximized the market.

“The notion that we should have waited 24 or 48 hours later and extracted more value, that’s garbage,” Harris said. “That’s not how these negotiations work.”

He said multiple teams aggressively pursued Skubal and submitted their best offers before Detroit selected the Dodgers’ package.

“There was a bidding war,” Harris said. “The Dodgers ultimately had the best deal.”

Tigers explored extension with Skubal

Harris confirmed Detroit discussed a long-term contract extension with Skubal but said it became clear early that the reigning back-to-back Cy Young Award winner intended to test free agency after the season.

“We explored an extension once,” Harris said. “The response that I got from Tarik’s agent was pretty clear that he was intent on going to free agency.”

Harris said Skubal earned the right to explore the open market and should not be criticized for that decision.

Injuries shaped deadline decisions

Harris also pointed to an extraordinary wave of injuries as a major reason Detroit underperformed this season.

He said the Tigers placed 35 players on the injured list before the trade deadline, creating roster and bullpen issues that derailed the club during a disastrous 6-22 month of May.

“I didn’t really think it was possible to put 35 players on the injured list before the trade deadline,” Harris said.

Harris accepted responsibility for the roster construction.

“I should have built more depth,” Harris said. “I should have found ways to keep players healthier.”

Tigers still believe playoff run is possible

Despite moving two starting pitchers, Harris insisted the Tigers are not giving up on the season.

Harris pointed to recent improvements in the lineup, defense and young pitching, along with several players expected to return from injury.

“We’re not raising the white flag,” Harris said. “This team is talented enough to flip the script like the 2024 team did.”

Harris said internal promotions and returning players could provide the boost Detroit needs over the final two months of the season rather than outside acquisitions.

“We still have plenty of games left,” Harris said. “We can flip the script.”

After four practices without full contact, Campbell said the intensity will increase dramatically as the Lions evaluate position battles and young players.

“We’re about to get four really, really good days of pads,” Campbell said. “By the end of this week, this roster will begin to separate itself.”

The Lions shortened Monday’s practice after an extended red-zone session Sunday, but Campbell expects the physical workouts to provide a clearer picture of where players stand.

Rookie injury updates

Campbell said rookie offensive tackle Blake Miller is expected to participate after the team limited his workload Sunday as a precaution.

Former Michigan Wolverines defensive end Derrick Moore is expected to miss seven to 10 days with what Campbell described as a minor hamstring strain, while rookie Jimmy Rolder and rookie tight end Miles Kitselman will be sidelined longer.

Campbell stressed that none of the injuries are believed to be season-ending but acknowledged the lost practice time is significant for first-year players.

“These reps are valuable,” Campbell said. “You miss valuable time, but it also is what it is.”

Right tackle competition begins

With pads on for the first time, Campbell said the competition at right tackle officially enters its most important phase.

Miller has taken most of the first-team reps when healthy, but veteran Larry Borom remains firmly in the mix.

“Anybody’s got a shot,” Campbell said. “Now the pads are on.”

Campbell also praised rookie Miles Frazier for his versatility, noting he has worked at both guard spots and both tackle positions after playing multiple roles at LSU.

“Our eyes are open for him, too,” Campbell said. “Don’t sleep on him.”

Competition heats up in the secondary

Campbell highlighted an increasingly competitive battle among the team’s cornerbacks.

He praised Rock Ya-Sin’s consistency while noting rookie Ennis Rakestraw Jr. continues to show improvement despite expected rookie inconsistencies.

Campbell also singled out Nick Whiteside, saying the young defensive back has made plays in every practice on both defense and special teams.

“There has not been a day yet where he has not made plays,” Campbell said. “This is about to get interesting.”

Veteran cornerback Khalil Dorsey also drew praise from Campbell for his early camp performance.

Jahmyr Gibbs hold in

Campbell said it was encouraging to see running back Jahmyr Gibbs back on the practice field supporting his teammates, even in a limited capacity.

Gibbs, who has remained around the team during training camp, was on the field with teammates, something Campbell said carries value for the locker room.

“I think it’s good to see,” Campbell said. “He got a little work inside and to be able to come out and be around the guys. I think that’s always going to be important.”

Campbell emphasized that Gibbs remains an important part of the organization, regardless of his current workload.

“Look, he’s still part of us, and the guys, our players, love him,” Campbell said. “We love him, and he’s a part of what we do. So, yeah, it’s always good to see him.”

The Lions continue training camp this week as they prepare for the 2026 NFL season, with Gibbs’ return to full participation remaining a storyline to watch as he awaits a new deal.

Cedrick Wilson impressing

Wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. has quickly made an impression after joining Detroit.

Campbell praised the veteran’s route running, body control and professionalism while pointing to his contributions on special teams.

“There’s nothing better than true pros,” Campbell said. “They know how to go about their business. They come in here, they compete, they’re not entitled. They just go work.”

Campbell added Wilson’s instincts and versatility could make him valuable in multiple special teams roles.

Situational work remains emphasis

Campbell said Detroit continues emphasizing game-management scenarios, including end-of-half, end-of-game and four-minute situations.

The Lions recently simulated late-game situations with offenses attempting to protect leads and defenses trying to force stops, exercises Campbell believes are critical for preparing players for pressure moments during the regular season.

“We’ll always continue to do that,” Campbell said. “You just put your players in pressure positions and make them play.”

Fourth-down situations also remain a staple of Detroit’s practices.

New quarterback settling in

Campbell said quarterback Cade Mays continues adjusting well after joining the organization.

Campbell acknowledged the Lions’ offensive system places significant mental demands on a new quarterback but believes Mays has improved each day while becoming more comfortable with protections, pre-snap adjustments and the team’s offensive terminology.

“We’re throwing a lot at him,” Campbell said. “But I feel like he’s handling it well. Every day he gets more and more comfortable. I think he’s a good fit for us.”

As the Lions begin full-contact practices, Campbell expects performances over the next several days to have a major impact on depth chart decisions ahead of the preseason.

The Padres acquired left-hander Robbie Ray from the San Francisco Giants and right-hander Casey Mize from the Detroit Tigers on Monday, giving up three of their highest-rated prospects in deadline trades for two proven starting pitchers.

“We’re trying to win,” Preller said. “We don’t apologize for it. We’re trying to win championships. We’re trying to get to the postseason, and do it year after year.”

San Diego sent right-hander Miguel Mendez and 17-year-old shortstop Joniel Hernandez to San Francisco, which will pay part of Ray’s $25 million salary.

The Padres also got infielder Gage Workman from Detroit while giving up left-handers Kash Mayfield and Jackson Wolf.

Ray and Mize can become free agents this winter, so they could wind up being only late-season rentals for San Diego. But after stumbling into the All-Star break at .500 following a 15-28 skid, the Padres (58-54) have won eight of nine to move one game back of the final NL wild-card playoff position despite a patchwork rotation with an ugly 4.66 ERA.

That prompted their ever-aggressive GM to go into buyer mode again, shipping out yet another chunk of his severely depleted farm system to fill his obvious need for quality starters.

“We’re definitely excited to have them,” infielder Xander Bogaerts said in the Padres’ clubhouse in Arizona before they opened a key four-game series against the Diamondbacks. “We’ve been playing some good ball as of late. I think we showed them enough. We’ve got to continue doing that, obviously, with the nice additions that we have. Adding two guys of that caliber definitely boosts everyone in the clubhouse.”

Ray and Mize should slot in immediately for the Padres, who could also get back injured starters Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove and Lucas Giolito within the next month.

“We have a team that can compete and win,” Preller said. “(The thinking was) if we can supplement, that would be great, but there’s a lot of belief in this current team.”

Ray is 10-6 with a 3.08 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 122 2/3 innings this season, his third with San Francisco. He has been largely outstanding over the past two months, posting a 1.65 ERA since May while allowing one earned run or fewer in nine of his past 11 starts.

Ray is the only starting pitcher to beat the Padres in the past 10 days, throwing six innings of four-hit ball at Petco Park in the Giants' 4-1 win last Thursday. Ray won the AL Cy Young Award with Toronto in 2021 and had Tommy John surgery in early 2023 while with Seattle, but has returned to be a dependable starter for the Giants, who are retooling late in another disappointing season.

“We feel good about the moves we made back from a few weeks ago in the draft, and then now we feel like we’ve got some position players and pitchers that hopefully will have a bright future in San Francisco, but that still remains to be seen,” Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey said. “It doesn’t really matter until you do it out on the major league field.”

Posey wanted Giants fans to know the club isn’t satisfied with the results of recent years. San Francisco has made one playoff appearance since 2016.

“I guess you can characterize it how you want, (but) I wouldn’t necessarily say a rebuild,” Posey said. “Obviously we moved six major league players off of our roster today. I guess the message is we’re not satisfied with the way we’ve played this year and the last few years, and we’re trying everything we can to continue to build a product that we can all be excited to come and watch.”

Mize, the No. 1 overall draft pick by Detroit in 2018, is 4-6 with a 2.70 ERA and an 0.99 WHIP in 16 starts for the Tigers this season despite managing a groin injury. He also overcame Tommy John surgery and became an All-Star last season before starting two playoff games last fall.

The Padres' recent success has been driven by an offense that has awoken from its first-half slumber, making up for a starting rotation that was perilously thin due to injuries.

San Diego's only regular starting pitchers are Michael King and Walker Buehler, forcing the team to throw three bullpen games per rotation turn with Griffin Canning, Randy Vásquez and Germán Márquez anchoring the outings.

Dominant closer Mason Miller and elite left-hander Adrian Morejon were the subject of innumerable trade rumors this summer while the Padres struggled last month.

Instead, Preller kept his star relievers — and more help is on the way, with Pivetta, Giolito and Musgrove all taking steps toward their returns this month.

Preller made it clear he got no offers he couldn't refuse for Miller, a player he had coveted for years before acquiring him just 12 months ago from the Athletics for a package highlighted by blue-chip prospect Leo De Vries.

“We’ve let it be known, with any one of our players, it’s a very clear bar,” Preller said. “We’re going to listen at all times to any conversation that a team wants to bring up, (but) ultimately it was a high bar for all of our players.”

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AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley in San Francisco and AP freelance reporter Jack Thompson in Phoenix contributed to this report.

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