The housing measure will become law without Trump’s signature because he didn’t veto it. Still, the president’s rejection of the legislation cuts short the GOP’s efforts to address a key voter concern about rising costs, exacerbating tensions with his own party in a midterm election year.

Also, in another move to expand White House influence over the U.S. elections process, Trump ousted members of a bipartisan federal election commission that resisted his efforts to require would-be voters to document their U.S. citizenship before registering. The move builds on a recent Supreme Court ruling giving the president new personnel authority to fire members of independent agency boards.

Here's the latest:

DC calls on Michigan and the US Virgin Islands to bring their troops home

Washington, D.C., council members have added their voices to a chorus of groups asking Michigan and the U.S. Virgin Islands to bring their National Guard units home.

“Temporary, event-specific assistance for a major national celebration is fundamentally different from an open-ended military presence in District neighborhoods,” reads a letter sent Thursday that was signed by all 13 council members.

A coalition of groups previously sent a similar letter to Michigan raising questions about how troops sent to help with the July 4 celebration were diverted to a surge in President Donald Trump’s crime-fighting initiative in the nation’s capital.

“DC residents have been saying for 11 months straight that we need the National Guard and federal surge forces out of our communities immediately,” Keya Chatterjee, executive director of the group Free DC, said in a statement.

No immediate change in US military operations following end of ceasefire

Capt. Tim Hawkins, the spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said there were “no operational updates at this time” when he was asked about the end of the ceasefire announced by President Donald Trump in a social media post earlier Friday.

Trump said in a post on his social media platform that the United States told Iran “in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!”

When asked if the end of the ceasefire would mean a restart to the air bombing that was the mainstay of the conflict, Hawkins said he wouldn’t forecast future operations.

Hawkins did say that U.S. forces in the region “remain vigilant, lethal, and prepared to execute operations directed by the Commander in Chief.”

Critics accuse Trump of damaging voters’ trust

On Capitol Hill, the leading Democrats with election oversight responsibility said Trump, rather than bolstering U.S. election integrity, is further politicizing the voting process.

“President Trump is trying to dismantle yet another independent guardrail of our democracy designed to keep elections fair and secure,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, and Rep. Joe Morelle, D-New York. “Purging commissioners just months before the midterm elections and further gutting support for our state and local elections officials is a blatant part of his plan to politicize our elections and enable more unlawful and dangerous election interference.”

Padilla is the ranking member of the Senate Rules Committee and Morelle is ranking member of the House Administration Committee.

A US license could let Ukraine produce Patriot missiles, but it won’t be simple or quick

President Trump’s pledge to give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot air-defense systems could mark a major breakthrough for Kyiv, but experts and Ukrainian officials warn that turning the idea into real weapons would likely take years.

Speaking Wednesday alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said the United States would allow Ukraine to make the U.S.-designed systems Kyiv has long sought to shield its cities and infrastructure from Russian missiles and drones.

“We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it,” Trump said. “I think they can produce them pretty quickly.”

But the statement left open a crucial question: What exactly would Ukraine be allowed to produce?

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Trump says talks with Iran to continue despite ceasefire ending

The president posted Friday on social media that Iran had “asked us to continue ‘talks’” and his administration has agreed to do so.

But Trump added that “in no uncertain terms” that the ceasefire is no longer in place.

It’s unclear how productive talks can be to end the war with Iran so long as the status of the Strait of Hormuz is uncertain and attacks could supersede any commitments made in negotiations.

Trump’s decision on housing bill comes more than a week after he canceled plans to sign it

He announced then that he was using it as leverage in his push for a strict voter ID bill.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act aims to lower the cost of housing and spur more home construction. It’s the broadest federal effort in decades to address America’s housing affordability problems, as state and local regulations have made it difficult to build in many of the communities that are also sources of job growth and economic opportunity. White House economists estimated earlier this year a national shortage of 10 million homes and the bill could help to close a portion of that gap.

But Trump called the bill “a yawn” and “so unimportant” compared to legislation that would require proof of citizenship for all voters.

He surprised Republican lawmakers June 24, when, shortly before a planned signing ceremony at the Capitol, he announced he wouldn’t approve the bill until lawmakers first passed the voting legislation.

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Stocks and oil prices drift as global markets continue to calm

U.S. stocks and oil prices are drifting toward a quiet finish of the week Friday following earlier fireworks on worries about how the war with Iran will affect the global flow of crude.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1% and was on track to close out a fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 65 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.

Oil prices were holding relatively steady, even after a series of unclaimed airstrikes hit Iran after the U.S. said it finished its attacks. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 0.2% to $76.47.

That’s above the $72 it was at the start of the week, when it was back below its level from before the war with Iran, but it’s still well below its wartime peak of nearly $120.

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Trump won’t sign housing bill but will let it become law

Trump has chosen not to sign a sweeping housing affordability bill Friday, in protest of Congress not approving a strict voter ID bill that doesn’t have enough support to pass.

“I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump posted on social media.

The housing measure will become law without Trump’s signature. He had 10 days to issue a veto and stop the measure, which he chose not to do.

Trump’s rejection of the bipartisan housing legislation exacerbates tensions with his own party in a midterm election year and cuts short their efforts to address a key voter concern about rising costs.

Trump ousts election commission members in latest push to reshape US voting process

Trump has ousted members of the bipartisan federal election commission that resisted his efforts to require would-be voters to document their U.S. citizenship before registering.

The White House on Friday confirmed the executive action against members of the Election Assistance Commission, which distributes federal grants to states, oversees the testing of voting systems and maintains the national voter registration forms.

It’s the latest move in the Republican president’s effort to expand White House influence over how U.S. elections are conducted and comes after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave the president new personnel authority to fire members of independent agency boards.

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Unclaimed airstrikes target Iran after US attacks, raising questions of who launched them

The series of unclaimed airstrikes that hit Iran after the U.S. said it finished its attacks have again raised questions of who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.

The strikes Thursday, just as Iran prepared to bury the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hit areas across southern Iran. The country’s theocracy hasn’t directly blamed anyone for the strikes, though one lawmaker issued a warning to the United Arab Emirates over allegedly providing support to the United States in its campaign against Iran.

Gulf Arab states, which repeatedly have been targeted by Iran since the war began Feb. 28, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday over the strikes. The attacks come as they and the U.S. insist the Strait of Hormuz must be open and free to ships to transit.

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The S&P 500 rose 0.3% in afternoon trading and on track to close out its fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 121 points, or 0.2%, as of 1:12 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.

Oil prices eased following earlier fluctuations as a series of unclaimed airstrikes hit Iran after the United States said it finished its attacks. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell 0.9% to $75.58.

That’s above its $72 price from the start of the week, but it’s still well below its wartime peak of nearly $120. The worry is that continued fighting could block oil tankers from the Strait of Hormuz and prevent the delivery of crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

President Donald Trump said on his social-media platform that he agreed to continue talks with Iran but also that the United States told it “in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!”

With the wait ongoing for what will happen next with the strait, some of the strongest action on Wall Street was for the U.S. trading debut of a South Korean tech giant, SK Hynix.

The chip company raised roughly $26.5 billion by selling American depositary shares at a price of $149 each. That price jumped immediately after the ADRs began to trade on the Nasdaq in the midday hours, and it was most recently up 15.9%.

SK Hynix's stock in Seoul has already surged 634% over the last year thanks to euphoria around artificial-intelligence technology. The boom has created real profits thanks to surging demand for computer memory. But it’s also raised worries that AI stock prices have shot too high and that all the world’s spending on chips and data centers won’t be able to produce enough productivity and profit growth to make it worth it.

Beyond the sharp recent swings for AI stocks, the focus on Wall Street is shifting to the upcoming reporting season for companies’ profits during the spring.

Delta Air Lines said it was able to absorb higher fuel prices from April through June because of strong demand from customers to fly, including a wide range of corporate travelers. Its profit and revenue topped analysts’ expectations, and it gave a forecasted range for profit in the summer whose midpoint was above analysts’ expectations.

Delta’s stock fell 1.6%, though, after coming into the day with a strong 28.2% rise for the year so far.

Companies across industries will need to produce big growth in profits to justify the big moves for their stock prices, which are broadly near records. Next week will feature earnings reports from many of the biggest U.S. banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo on Tuesday alone.

Eleswhere on Wall Street, Circle Internet Group rose 6.8%. The company behind the USDC cryptocurrency, which is supposed to keep the value of $1, said it won U.S. regulatory approval to establish a bank. It will operate under the name Circle National Trust, and CEO Jeremy Allaire said the move “marks a defining step in bringing blockchain technology and digital assets into the core of the U.S. financial system.”

WD-40's stock jumped 11.5% after reporting much stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady as oil prices drifted. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.56% from 4.55% late Thursday.

High yields have shaken financial markets worldwide recently. They've climbed on worries about expensive oil and high inflation, which could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates.

Higher rates can keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow the economy and hurt prices for all kinds of investments.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.5%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.2% for two of the world’s bigger moves. Stocks fell 1% in Shanghai.

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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

The blaze, one of Spain's deadliest wildfires, broke out late Thursday in a semi-arid area near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains in Almeria province, as the country has been dealing with soaring temperatures.

Most of the victims died after ignoring shelter-in-place instructions, said Antonio Sanz, head of Andalusia’s emergency services. Some tried to escape via a dry riverbed that “turned into a death trap,” he said.

Four victims were believed to be British nationals because the steering wheel of their burned-out car was on the right side, as with British vehicles, regional authorities said. Other unspecified nationals also were believed to be among the dead, and the death toll was expected to rise, authorities said.

Seven people died while on foot after abandoning their cars, Sanz said, adding that most of the deceased were believed to be foreign nationals.

Dean Taylor, a resident who divides his time between Spain and the U.K., said he managed to just barely escape the neighborhood by using back roads to get out.

“It was quite terrifying,” Taylor said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It's a very sad day, isn’t it? It’s devastating, really."

The blaze is a challenge for firefighters

The fire was still burning as of Friday afternoon. Some 150 firefighters and 220 soldiers from Spain’s military emergency unit were battling the blaze, which had consumed more than 3,200 hectares (7,900 acres) of forest and farmland.

Moreno, the Andalusian regional leader, said containing the fire was difficult because of the steep, dry terrain.

“It consists mainly of scrubland and esparto grass,” Moreno said. “Everything is extremely dry due to the heat waves, making it the perfect fuel; combined with the wind, it’s a ticking time bomb.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed his condolences. “Immense sadness and desolation in the face of the terrible consequences of the fire affecting the province of Almeria,” he wrote on X.

Europe battles intense heat again

Spain has battled frequent and severe heat waves in recent years, with temperatures often exceeding 40 C (104 F). Wind, high temperatures and little rainfall help small wildfires grow into unchecked blazes.

In June, Spain experienced several days of record-setting heat, with over 1,000 excess deaths attributed to heat.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Parts of Western Europe are facing their third heat wave in six weeks. Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing several intense heat waves across Europe.

France also at risk of wildfires

France is experiencing the peak of its third heat wave of the summer, with temperatures reaching 40 C (104 F) across western and central areas and around 37 C (98 F) in Paris.

French authorities have also warned of a very high wildfire risk, as large fires in the south have already scorched thousands of hectares this week, disrupting the Tour de France cycling race and stretching firefighting resources.

The largest wildfire, in the eastern Pyrenees near the Spanish border, had decreased in intensity by Friday, authorities said. But it has burned about 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) and forced the temporary evacuation of more than 10,000 people from nearly villages.

Last month was France’s hottest June on record, with deaths surging by nearly a third during the hottest week.

Scientists warn that climate change caused in part by the burning of fuels like gasoline, oil and coal is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making certain regions more vulnerable to wildfires.

Spain and Portugal have faced deadly fires before

Spain is no stranger to wildfires, with last year's fire season burning more than 393,000 hectares (almost 1,520 square miles), according to the European Forest Fire Information System, an area twice as large as London. Four people died.

Spain's deadliest wildfire was in 1979 when 21 people perished in Lloret de Mar, a coastal town about an hour north of Barcelona.

In 2017, a wildfire in neighboring Portugal left 66 people dead in Pedrogao Grande, located 200 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of Lisbon. In that blaze, 47 people died on one road while similarly attempting to flee in their cars.

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Associated Press journalist Sylvie Corbet, in Paris, contributed.

“It’s a restaurant, it’s a bar and grill, it’s an event venue...whatever you want, we got it here, that’s why it’s massive,” said owner Tony “Massive” Little.

He says everyone who comes into the 10,000 sq. ft. space, is treated like a VIP. They also have another claim to fame, “we have the best Mac and Cheese on the Planet.” The claim is even on the sign outside.

Live in the D’s April Morton stopped by to try out the Mac ‘n’ Cheese for herself.

To see all the dishes - and the entire interview - please click the video above.

Disney’s live-action Moana brings Dwayne Johnson back as the demigod Maui in a scene-for-scene remake of the beloved animated original - a choice that’s dividing critics but likely to delight young fans.

Gayle Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass turns the lighthearted “hall pass” conversation into a full-blown comedy starring Jon Hamm, and it’s earning solid reviews for actually delivering the laughs.

Rounding out the weekend, Enola Holmes 3 lands on Netflix with Enola racing to rescue her kidnapped brother Sherlock - no prior knowledge of the series required to enjoy it.

Click on the video above to watch the full segment.

“This case was always about two courageous young girls who simply wanted the same opportunities as their peers to participate in school life,” their lawyer, Chris Erchull of GLAD Law, said in a statement Thursday. “Their willingness to stand up to extraordinary hostility made clear the human cost of laws that target transgender youth.”

The teenagers, Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle, took on Trump’s executive order last year, amending their 2024 complaint against New Hampshire's law on banning transgender girls from school sports. A federal judge had granted a court order allowing them to play as the case proceeded.

For Tirrell, it meant being able to keep playing on her high school girls’ soccer team. For Turmelle, it was having a chance to try out for different sports.

Both sides agreed to pause the case and wait for a ruling from the Supreme Court as it considered similar state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school and college athletic teams in Idaho and West Virginia. Last month, the court upheld the laws. It also said that barring transgender girls and women doesn’t run afoul of the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education.

One teen and her family decided to move from New Hampshire

Turmelle and her family moved out of New Hampshire last summer following proposed legislation against transgender people. One measure signed into law by Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte last year prohibits medical professionals from providing puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy to new transgender patients under age 18.

“Though there may be a carve-out for people already receiving gender-affirming care, that is way too close a call for us to risk staying,” Turmelle's mother, Amy Manzetti, wrote in an op-ed piece at the time. “Other New Hampshire laws also seek to erase her.”

Most Republican-controlled states in the past five years have adopted laws or policies limiting gender-affirming care for transgender minors and limiting which school bathrooms transgender people can use, as well as sports restrictions. The Williams Institute at UCLA estimates that about 3% of youth ages 13 to 17 identify as transgender.

“The challenges with relocation are significant and burdensome — this includes having to find new employment, buying and selling homes, packing and moving possessions, integrating kids with a new school system, losing access to longstanding family and friends, and potential loss of income,” Corinne Goodwin, the executive director of Eastern PA Trans Equality Project in Pennsylvania, said in an email.

"But these families do so because they love their kids and know that supporting them with the care and opportunities they need is critical to their long-term success and happiness.”

The other teen gave up playing soccer at high school

Tirrell, 17, began her junior year last fall on the girls' junior varsity soccer team. Things were fine at first, and each time she scored a goal, she got a round of ice cream from her parents. But a few weeks into the season, she decided to stop playing.

“With all of the political stuff going on, soccer wasn't just about the game anymore,” her mother, Sara Tirrell, told The Associated Press in an interview.

It became more about preparing for the possibility of conflict.

“Were there any local Facebook groups where they were sort of agitating about potential protests and how do we prepare, and what are we walking into, and we never kind of knew,” she said. “We were on a lot of pins and needles, especially after the previous season."

She was referring to a controversy at an away game where two dads from an opposing team were banned from school grounds for wearing pink wristbands marked “XX” to represent female chromosomes. They sued the school district and a judge ruled against them. They have appealed their case.

Last fall, there was an increased presence of school administrators at the games and bus drivers pulled in closer to the field so the students weren’t in the parking lot, she said.

“Parker didn’t talk about it a lot, but I think she could see that stress for everybody — for her, for her teammates, for her coaches,” Sara Tirrell said. "She felt kind of bad about pulling them all into that circus again. And so she ultimately said, ‘This isn’t fun anymore and I don’t want to do it.’”

Parker’s father described the atmosphere as “palpable tension.”

Even playing on her own turf, “there would typically be a couple of police officers at the home games where there weren’t previously,” Zach Tirrell said.

In the past, Parker also played soccer in a recreation league and could still do so.

“But I think it all kind of still sort of weighs on her,” her mother said. "It's the same group of kids that she plays with who, honestly, have been very supportive and love to have her on the team and have expressed that to her many times over. But I think she still has that worry in her brain around, ‘What are other people going to say and do if I show up at a game?’”

Parker's parents hope she'll return to playing soccer some day. In the meantime, “she plans to be around and use her voice to continue standing up to discrimination,” her mother said. “In some ways she’s had to grow up a lot faster than some of her peers.”

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Associated Press reporter Geoff Mulvihill in Haddonfield, New Jersey, contributed to this article.

In courthouses and public squares, they marked the nation's 250th anniversary with a dire warning: The rule of law in America is in grave danger. They delivered a similar message at a library in Grosse Pointe just outside Detroit — the last stop on an extraordinary tour to defend judicial independence and bolster trust in courts.

Americans' confidence in the court system and democracy has dipped in recent years. The country is more polarized, and President Donald Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on the fairness of the judicial system.

Some judges on the tour said in phone interviews this week that the United States was at a precipice.

“Looking back in history, we have teetered," former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Michael Donnelly said. "This is a moment where we can decide to reinstill those beliefs that we are a country of laws and not of men.”

Judges step off the bench

The four-day tour through the Rust Belt is a sharp departure for a typically reserved and insular branch of government. Federal judges in particular largely limit their comments to the courtroom and written decisions, focusing on the facts of individual cases.

But that restraint is loosening amid a barrage of attacks by Trump and other White House officials, the administration's rampant defiance of U.S. district court orders and its expansive view of executive power. Trump has called a district judge who ruled against one of his immigration moves “crooked” and suggested with no evidence that Supreme Court justices who struck down his tariffs were motivated by foreign interests.

More federal judges have recently begun talking about receiving death threats and profane messages, though they have not blamed Trump or any other officials. Some have blasted administration policies in sharply worded opinions that strayed beyond the legal dispute before them. Even U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has weighed in.

In an appearance in March, Roberts said personal criticism of federal judges was dangerous and had to stop. The rare rebuke from the head of the nation's top court came two days after Trump's remark about a “crooked” judge, though Roberts didn't mention Trump or anyone else by name.

The U.S. Marshals Service reported 564 threats against federal judges in the government fiscal year that ended in September, up from 509 the year before.

“I don’t want to say we have moved into an era of lawlessness, but it sometimes feels that way,” said former U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Roberts, who joined the bus tour in Michigan.

Timothy Lewis, another former federal judge on the tour, said his concerns about the politicization of the judicial branch reached a tipping point a decade ago, when Senate Republicans thwarted President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. Today, the rule of law is facing an "existential threat" from an ongoing breakdown of norms, according to Lewis, who spent seven years on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“I have fundamental concerns," he said, “about where we are headed as a nation.”

Their route has been varied

The tour started Tuesday in the western Pennsylvania town of Greensburg — once the hub of a thriving coal industry that now lures visitors from nearby Pittsburgh for highland recreation and a historic downtown.

Judges mingled with customers at a coffee shop before speaking at the domed, ornate Westmoreland County Courthouse. Then it was off to Washington, also in western Pennsylvania. The town of 13,000 people, where about 15% of the population is Black, was a key stop on the Underground Railroad and a regional base for the Civil Rights Movement.

From there, the bus headed west for events Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, and the city of Wooster in Amish country. The judges stopped at a Cracker Barrel restaurant on the way. They spent Thursday in Cleveland before circling Lake Erie north to Michigan.

The two groups that planned the tour — dubbed “Justice in Motion” — say they were inspired by a similar campaign in Poland in 2021 after that country's governing party took control of key judicial institutions.

Independent Polish judges visited scores of towns to promote the rule of law and teach voters about the country's constitution. The U.S. tour also aims to educate people.

An effort to combat misinformation about what they do

Maureen O'Connor, a former chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, said judges risk ceding the narrative about their roles and motives to “voices of misinformation” if they don't speak up.

A letter she received years ago, and still keeps, reminds her of that danger. The writer accused O'Connor, a Republican, of betraying her party when she repeatedly struck down Republican-drawn legislative maps as illegal gerrymanders. “There was just a basic misunderstanding of what my role was as a judge,” O'Connor said.

O'Connor is among roughly 30 judges, including two former federal judges and two current federal judges, who participated in the tour. One of the federal judges was nominated by a Democrat, the other three by Republicans. The state judges, some of whom are also still on the bench, represented both parties.

They were joined by former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, former Ohio attorneys general and a few lawyers. The event was put together by the Democracy Rising Collaborative and Keep Our Republic, nonpartisan advocacy groups.

Organizers say they chose stops that would get the judges in front of as many people as possible to build connections and trust. The judges embraced that mission.

“The lifeblood of the judiciary is public confidence,” Donnelly, the former Ohio Supreme Court justice, said. “If you lose that, it’s very difficult to get it back.”

Noted civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who was retained by the family of Nolan Xavier Wells earlier this week, has said the family has concerns about the investigation and planned to conduct an independent autopsy. Wells travelled by boat to Horn Island, Mississippi on July 4 with a group of friends, but did not make the return trip with them that afternoon. His body was found early Monday morning, more than a day later.

While Jackson County Sheriff’s Office officials said investigators don't suspect foul play in the Black college student's death, the sheriff has asked for any witnesses or people with video from the popular beach island about 10 miles (16 kilometers) off the coast of Mississippi to come forward to help shed light on the moments before Wells' disappearance and death.

Family members have raised concerns, saying they've seen video of a fight allegedly involving their son, and saying as an elite athlete he was able to swim. Wells, who would have turned 19 next month, attended Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he played wide receiver on the football team.

At the news conference Friday attorneys said the friends who left Wells on the island, took his phone and keys when they departed. Crump said Wells' family used an app to track his phone, and a friend went to where it was on land to pick it up.

“What teenager would leave their phone behind if they’re going to stay on this island? What teenager wouldn’t take their phone? It’s not adding up at all," Crump said.

He added that the family believes text messages from social media apps had been deleted from his phone when they got it back, and they plan to employ experts to try to receive all the data they can.

A photo posted to social media, allegedly from the boat ride to the island, shows Wells with his arms around three white, male friends. Speculation and suspicion about the teen’s death have been rampant online, as people grapple with the state’s history of racial tension and what it means to be a Black person in a majority white space.

Wells' mother, Christine Wonsley, looked to the sky several times as lawyers spoke Friday, to hold back tears. When she spoke, she said this was not how she wanted the world to know her son.

Wonsley said they had taught him about history, but he was a peacemaker who didn't like division, and wanted everyone to be included.

“We just wanna know what happened,” she said, through tears. “And why our baby didn't come home.”

Crump called for a thorough investigation, saying to law enforcement, "They want to know that you have not taken the path of least resistance.”

“If the roles were reversed and you had three young Black men on a boat with a young white man and that young white man ended up dead, what kind of investigation would be conducted by the Mississippi law enforcement officials? How many times would those three young Black men be interrogated?” he added.

It's the second case the noted civil rights attorney has taken on in the state in recent months. He also was recently retained by the family of a Mississippi 1-year-old who was killed when police fired into a moving car.

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said earlier this week that Wells' mother had called to report him missing around midnight into the morning of July 5. Crews from multiple local and state agencies began an extensive search Sunday of the island and surrounding waters. His body was recovered early Monday, family members confirmed.

An official autopsy was conducted Tuesday, though officials have said it could be weeks before results are released. Ledbetter said Wells’ friends were cooperating with the investigation.

“From the people we’ve talked to, it sounds like he chose to stay on the island with the assumption that he was going to ride back to the mainland with someone else,” Ledbetter told The Associated Press earlier this week.

Crump and Wells' family said some of those details didn't seem to add up either, saying from the videos they had seen Wells was one of, if not the only, Black person on the island where there were around 200 people celebrating the holiday. They said the girl the friends said Wells was speaking to gave a different story about him leaving with those friends. They raised questions about why no one would have given him a ride home if he chose to stay.

“If he’s drowning, nobody sees him drown? Nobody offers assistance? Nobody tries to help? I mean, obviously he stands out. I think he’s the only Black person I saw when I’m looking at the videos,” Crump said.

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AP reporter Jake Offenhartz contributed to this report.

Edgardo Luis Perez, 44, of Detroit, was arrested in Guatemala on July 8 and extradited to the United States to face multiple charges in the cold case.

According to the FBI, Perez befriended Machek at a health club and gained his trust within a few weeks. The victim’s roommate told investigators that Machek left to spend the day with Perez on Oct. 20, 2001, and that was the last time anyone heard from him.

Machek was reported missing on Oct. 22. When police checked his home, they determined that he had been murdered. However, his body was never found.

Police say an investigation revealed that Perez — who has reportedly been on the run since the incident — had a collection of books in his possession on how to be a fugitive, how to do money transactions over the internet, and how to change one’s identity. There was also DNA evidence recovered that FBI investigators say link Perez to Machek’s murder.

Investigators believe that Perez may have befriended Machek with the intent of stealing his identification and money to flee the country, as he reportedly feared being sent to prison for a probation violation at the time.

Related: The Farmington Hills Cold Case Team is investigating these 7 cold cases

The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office charged Perez with Felony Murder in 2003, and the U.S. Attorney issued a warrant charging Perez with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

He was arraigned in the 47th District Court on Friday on one count of felony murder, one count of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, and one count of manslaughter. His bond was denied.

The Farmington Hills Police Department is scheduled to hold a press conference after the arraignment to provide updates in the case.

“This has been an active case for 25 years. We have had numerous groups of investigators who have received this case, worked this case, and retired only to pass it on to next generations of officers,” said Farmington Hills Police Chief John Piggott. “I believe now this is the fourth group of OICs that have been following up on this case. So this is something that’s never left the minds of our investigators or our police department.”

View the full arraignment below.

British actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugh Laurie and Damian Lewis watched from the Royal Box, as did fashion designer Tom Ford and Anna Wintour.

Tendulkar, considered one of the greatest cricketers ever, retired in 2013 after playing in his 200th test match. Wimbledon called him “ cricket royalty.” Another former cricket star, Brian Lara of the West Indies, was also in the Royal Box, an area reserved for special guests invited by the All England Club.

Netherlands defender and Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was also a guest. The Dutch were eliminated at the World Cup in the round of 32.

The 88-year-old Hoffman wasn't in the Royal Box, though he was a guest there in 2024.

Earlier on Centre Court, Alexander Zverev advanced to Sunday's final by beating British wild card Arthur Fery.

___

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

The president at first suggested his renovations would last a century. But, within weeks of the project originally reaching completion last month, the water was beset by an algae bloom and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom.

Trump has blamed the peeling on vandals, though critics allege it's from shoddy repair work.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose agency oversees the National Park Service, told conservative podcaster Katie Miller in an interview released earlier this week that the new round of draining was planned. He also said that the water might still contain debris from an extensive Independence Day fireworks display over the National Mall.

“Drain the water, clean up the fireworks stuff,” Burgum told Miller, who is the wife of deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller. “Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again.”

The work on the Reflecting Pool is just one of a number of projects Trump has spearheaded across the nation's capital. Most prominently, he demolished the White House’s East Wing to build a $400 million ballroom and plans to build a towering arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.

He initially announced his intentions to beautify the Reflecting Pool this spring, saying he wanted it completed before the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations.

Water was drained and Trump directed that the bottom be painted what he called “American flag blue.” In May, the president posted on his social media site of the pool: “The goal is to have it done, at this higher level, prior to July 4th — We are ahead of schedule!”

But problems began quickly after the initial work was finished. Trump blamed vandals, and court documents later showed that the National Park Service reported to the U.S. Park Police a June 9 incident in which a sharp knife or razor cut the pool’s new liner.

On Thursday, former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn pleaded not guilty in D.C. Superior Court to deliberately damaging the Reflecting Pool. Hearn has said he reached inside the pool to examine the peeled sealant and let go of a chunk when he was told to by a park worker.

His attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided the case as an abuse of prosecutorial power and maintain he is being scapegoated for the poor job done fixing up the Reflecting Pool.

At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the Reflecting Pool, according to online court records. All three pleaded not guilty during their initial court appearances Wednesday.

The pool was closed for the Independence Day celebration, which featured what Trump said was the largest fireworks display in the world. The president had said that the pool would have to be drained anew as part of the new round of repairs.

Burgum has also said that the Trump administration won't seek bids for the new rounds of repairs. He told CNN's “State of the Union” last weekend: “We’ll use the same company because they did a fantastic job."

Ohio-based Green Water Solutions, also known as Greenwater Services, was given a $1.7 million contract to install a water-purification system in the Reflecting Pool, while Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor.

Democratic senators and House members are investigating the pool project, including seeking answers about how much taxpayer funding is involved.

Merlier was moved into position to attack by his Soudal Quick-Step team and timed his move well to clinch his fourth Tour stage win.

“I'm delighted. When I launched my sprint I didn't know how far it was," Merlier said. “But I made it, thanks to the team, it was great work from them. After all the hard work two days ago and today it feels good to know I could repay the guys.”

Four-time Tour champion Pogacar finished safely in the main pack along with two-time winner Jonas Vinegaard, his closest rival. He maintained his lead of 2 minutes, 42 seconds over second-placed Vinegaard in the overall standings.

Pogacar reclaimed the yellow jersey from Norwegian rider Torstein Traeen with a typical attacking masterclass in the mountains of the Pyrenees on Thursday.

Traeen crashed in that stage and, although he completed it, he pulled out of the Tour after medical tests revealed multiple rib fractures and concussion.

Stage 7 took riders on a mostly flat 175-kilometer (109-mile) route from Hagetmau to the wine-loving city of Bordeaux.

In sweltering conditions hitting 36 degrees (97 F) during an ongoing heatwave in the country, Frenchman Baptiste Veistroffer formed a two-man breakaway with Czech Jakub Otruba. They were caught with 18 kilometers left by the chasing pack as teams looked to place their leading sprinter in position to contest the victory.

Veteran Mathieu van der Poel rode hard and put Jasper Philipsen at the front with 250 meters to go, but Philipsen could not sustain his attack and was overtaken by Merlier.

“With 600 meters to go I got boxed in," Merlier said. “But I told myself I would fight until the finish.”

Norwegian Soren Waerenskjold finished second and Eritrean Biniam Girmay placed third.

All three crossed the line in 3 hours, 44 minutes, 20 seconds.

Stage 8 on Saturday is also made for sprinters and ends in the southeastern city of Bergerac.

The race concludes with its traditional finish in Paris on July 26. ___

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

The event, considered one of the city’s signature summer traditions, drew praise from local leaders ahead of opening ceremonies held at Jack Demmer Ford on Michigan Avenue.

Wayne Mayor John Rhaesa said the cruise captures something bigger than a car show.

“It means everything,” Rhaesa said. “It brings people into our community, the excitement. People just look forward to it. It’s just a great time for everybody - it’s inclusion. You see people from all walks of life just enjoying the cars and enjoying people, enjoying community.”

Rhaesa said local businesses stand to benefit well beyond the day itself.

“We’re 10 minutes from everywhere, so it gets people to remember where we’re at,” he said. “We’re a community that’s been around for 200 years, but sometimes that gets lost.”

He added the event’s energy tends to outlast the official schedule.

“People will get here early, they’ll stake out, and they’ll stay till it closes, even past the time that we say,” Rhaesa said. “The people just want to be here and hang out and be part of it.”

Jack Demmer Ford, a fixture on Michigan Avenue for more than six decades, is serving as the host site for the event’s opening ceremony. Owner James Demmer said the dealership’s involvement is rooted in gratitude.

“This is an opportunity for us to give back to the community and also say thank you to our team members, to our customers and to the community that’s helped us so much through the years in terms of our success,” Demmer said.

Demmer, whose dealership has been in business for 69 years - starting with selling Edsels on Wayne Road in 1957 - said what distinguishes the US-12 Cruise from other area car shows is simple.

“I think it’s the people,” he said. “The city of Wayne has a great crowd of people that they bring together for this.”

The cruise route runs along Michigan Avenue, with activities and vendors lining the strip throughout the day. Organizers say the event is designed for all ages, not just car enthusiasts.

You’ll find more details here.

The 23-year-old Robinson is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 assassination of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. State District Judge Tony Graf is not expected to rule immediately.

The hearing resumed Friday with Robinson’s lawyers planning to call a final witness as they try to raise doubts about the prosecution’s case. The defense has previously challenged the reliability of ballistics tests on a bullet fragment recovered from Kirk’s body and fought the release of a recorded interview with Robinson’s roommate, Lance Twiggs, as well as chat room messages Robinson wrote on Discord.

The Latest:

Judge says news media camera can stay, but can’t record video of evidence today

Graf said after reviewing livestream recording that it’s clear the news media camera operator caught the issue first, about 14 seconds before the judge himself spotted it and asked that the exhibit be taken down.

“Compliance with court orders is essential in all proceedings,” Graf says, and protecting the constitutional rights of both defendant Tyler Robinson and Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk is “paramount.”

Transparency for the public is also important, Graf said.

Defense attorney Richard Novak wanted the judge to bar the news media camera from the courtroom for the rest of the preliminary hearing as well as for a Sept. 1 proceeding, when both sides will present final arguments over whether the case should go to trial.

But Graf said the camera can stay, as long as it doesn’t record video of any evidence presented. He later noted that the livestream’s audio can capture discussion about such evidence.

Media attorney says courtroom livestreams are a team effort

Typically, an announcement is made that an exhibit is going to be shown on the courtroom screen. That gives the camera operator a moment to redirect the camera or to wait a beat before focusing in, depending on what the judge has ordered.

But in this case, prosecutors showed the exhibit with no warning, news media attorney Michael Judd said.

Judd said the camera operator quickly realized what had happened and moved the camera away within about two seconds.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride agreed that the image should not have appeared on the livestream, but told the judge the text of the messages — if not the actual image — had already been made public in law enforcement documents.

Graf said he wants to review the livestream recording before deciding how to handle the violation.

Judge is deciding how to handle a violation of an order barring some evidence from public view

Graf is taking a break to review livestream footage from Thursday, because a piece of evidence that was supposed to be kept from public view was briefly shown on camera.

The evidence — an image of written communication between Tyler Robinson and his then-roommate and romantic partner — has been published and is even able to be purchased as photographic prints, defense attorney Richard Novak told the judge. He said the publication violated Robinson’s fair-trial rights, and he wants the judge to issue sanctions, a kind of legal punishment.

The judge allowed prosecutors to display an image of the evidence on Thursday, but said it could only be shown to the courtroom gallery. Later, prosecutors put up a side-by-side comparison of that image with another photo, and the side-by-side view was briefly caught by the news media camera operator, who quickly panned away.

Salt Lake City woman came bearing gifts for the Kirk family

Tiani Shoemaker drove about an hour from her Salt Lake City home bearing gifts for Charlie Kirk’s mother and hoping for a seat in the courtroom. Security turned her away.

Shoemaker said she brought a hat decorated with the words, “love like a mother,” and a note expressing her condolences and admiration for Kathryn Kirk.

The note was to tell Kirk that “the whole world’s hurting because of the loss of your son,” Shoemaker said, adding that she wanted to be “a part of history.”

“This really is like the whole world is focused on little Provo, Utah right now,” she said.

Shoemaker said some of her friends and extended family members witnessed the shooting and were left traumatized. “They couldn’t even be in large crowds for a while. It’s really — it’s upsetting, you know?”

Zoomed-in version of ‘sniper’s perch’ video to be shown in court

The judge said at the close of Thursday’s hearing that at the request of Kirk’s family, he would allow to be shown inside the courtroom an altered version of a campus surveillance video that prosecutors said shows Robinson crawling out to a rooftop “sniper’s perch” before shooting Kirk.

The unaltered video was previously shown. The altered version includes footage that zooms in on a figure that prosecutors said was Robinson and red marks that were added to the video.

Court is in session

Graf is again reminding attendees of his courtroom rules, including restrictions on electronic devices for many attendees.

Court security director says courtroom visitors shouldn’t look at the parents

Chris Palmer, Court Security Director at Utah State Courts, spoke outside the courthouse as people lined up again hoping for a spot in the courtroom. He warned them that people in the gallery should not make the parents of Charlie Kirk or Tyler Robinson feel uncomfortable by looking at them during the hearing.

“These people come here to get justice, and they don’t need to feel like they’re under a microscope from somebody sitting behind them or ahead of them,” Palmer said.

Joshua Carr of Provo, Utah, was among those in the gallery and said “People were pretty respectful.”

“I wasn’t seeing people turning their heads. Again, we have the — the public was there. We had the Robinson family in front of us, we had the Kirk family behind us.”

Would-be court watchers hope persistence will pay off

Billie Webb of Salt Lake City was among the people who slept outside the courthouse all night hoping to get one of the few public seats inside the hearing.

“I’ve tried to go every single day,” Webb said Thursday night. “Today I wasn’t able to get in once again. I did get in yesterday for the first time. I did get in yesterday for the first time and I am absolutely determined to be there tomorrow.”

“Showed up at 3 a.m. Today for this one. Still did not get in. I was 16th and there’s 14 spots. So I will be camping all night here today. Probably 12 hours. 9 p.m. to 9 a.m.,” she said.

Score. Friday morning, Webb got the pink wristband she needed for a spot inside.

There are only 14 seats for the public in the courtroom

People have been lining up early — sometimes sleeping outside the doors overnight — in hopes of getting a wristband for a seat in the courthouse this week. Only 14 wristbands are given out each day, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Chris Palmer, the court’s director of security, warned Thursday morning that tents and other camping supplies won’t be allowed as people seek a seat for the final day of the hearing Friday. He also warned against jumping in line or saving spots for someone else.

Earlier in the week, court security said it discovered some people had bought colored wristbands to try to sneak in.

Defense tries to sow doubt about ballistics evidence

One of Tyler Robinson’s attorneys, Michael Burt, tried to inject doubt into the prosecution’s case by challenging the reliability of ballistics tests on a bullet fragment recovered from Kirk’s body.

Authorities sought to tie the fragment to the suspected murder weapon, but the results were inconclusive.

“Saying anything but inconclusive was inappropriate,” said Samantha Karner with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The defense earlier in the week had questioned the reliability of DNA evidence that investigators said linked Robinson to the scene. Experts say the science behind DNA testing is sound.

Robinson’s attorneys plan to have a second person from ATF testify Friday.

The prosecution ended its presentation Thursday afternoon.

Testimony in five-day preliminary hearing wraps Friday

After testimony in the preliminary hearing ends Friday, State District Judge Tony Graf will rule whether prosecutors have shown enough evidence to proceed to trial. But a decision from Graf won’t come immediately.

Attorneys on both sides say they’d like the benefit of seeing the court transcript of the preliminary hearing and want to submit written briefs before Graf weighs in.

That will take weeks to play out. Graf set oral arguments on the evidence presented in the preliminary hearing for Sept. 1.

Graf tends not to make immediate rulings.

Police asked residents to shelter-in-place around 10:30 p.m. in the area of West Rose Center Road and Hickory Ridge Road in Rose Township because of “an active police situation.”

According to a news release issued by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Friday afternoon, the incident began when the suspect — identified as a 56-year-old Lyon Township man — fled from a traffic stop in Livingston County.

When sheriff’s deputies located the driver in the area of South Hill Road and Eleven Mile in Lyon Township, he allegedly refused to stop, initiating a pursuit that continued at “relatively slow speeds” into Milford Township. Officers who attempted the initial stop said they suspected that the man was under the influence of crack cocaine and alcohol.

As the pursuit continued, investigators say the man rammed into two Wixom police vehicles in Milford Township and “intentionally struck” a Oakland County Sheriff’s vehicle in Highland Township.

Deputies were able to deploy a Pursuit Termination Technique (PTT) to safely end the chase in the area of Hickory Ridge and Rose Center roads, however deputies say the driver fled the scene on foot into a wooded area where he was observed entering a nearby pond to evade capture.

The OCSO Search and Rescue Team, K-9 Unit and Drone Team were called to assist with a search of the area, but he was not located until hours later, when Highland Township deputies received a report of a suspicious person in the 1800 block of North Milford Road.

He was taken into custody around 3 a.m. without incident and is expected to face multiple charges, the sheriff’s office said.

But eight months after its first mention and after repeated promises it was being drafted, the so-called MAHA agenda is nowhere to be found. When asked for a status update this week, an EPA spokesperson said MAHA is an ongoing effort, not a single report.

The apparent reversal on the release of a formal environmental health agenda is the latest in a cascade of disappointments for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s MAHA movement, who say they've lost faith that the Trump administration will take any significant action on pesticides, chemicals or other issues they view as key to address America's chronic disease epidemic. It also reflects the EPA's relentless rollback of environmental regulations even in the face of pressure from an important voting bloc that has supported President Donald Trump.

“I had really hoped that there would be specific steps that were taken through a MAHA agenda,” said activist Kelly Ryerson, whose social media account “Glyphosate Girl” focuses on nontoxic food systems. “We haven’t had any of the wins that we were requesting.”

Many in the diverse coalition of MAHA activists that Trump credits for helping him win back the White House say they plan to vote on issues over party in November's congressional elections, raising the political stakes of their increasingly public tensions with the Republican administration.

“People are done with the profits of corporations being prioritized over public health,” said Alexandra Muñoz, a molecular toxicologist who collaborates with activists on certain issues. “And I think that will have an important role in the midterms.”

MAHA is frustrated with EPA's actions

“Trump’s EPA,” as Zeldin frequently calls the agency, has vigorously pursued a deregulatory agenda. Earlier this year, Zeldin proposed overturning the landmark finding that climate change is a threat to human health. He moved to roll back dozens of environmental regulations in what he called “the greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen,” froze billions of dollars for clean energy and upended agency research.

At the same time, Zeldin has touted multiple “MAHA wins," some of which activists say are anything but. For example, he said the agency intends to regulate some chemicals called phthalates for environmental and workplace risks, but didn’t address the thousands of consumer products that contain the ingredients.

This week, the EPA diverted from past assurances that the MAHA report was in its “final stages,” telling The Associated Press in an email that the EPA’s actions should speak for themselves.

“The notion that MAHA is a single document waiting to be unveiled fundamentally misrepresents how we operate,” an agency spokesperson said, adding that work on MAHA priorities is “active and expanding every day.”

Ryerson and other MAHA activists said they've engaged with agency officials about changes they'd like to see, and occasionally succeeded. Her network of farmers worked with the administration on a recent executive order to advance regenerative agriculture. But she said EPA then used the order to justify new proposed uses for various herbicides, a move she called a “slap in the face.”

The same week, the Supreme Court dealt another blow to the MAHA cause in siding with pesticide maker Bayer in a ruling related to its legal liability for alleged harm caused by its Roundup weedkiller. The Trump administration had backed the company in the case.

Environmental activists say the rise of Kennedy and his MAHA mission has rippled across the administration, raising the public's awareness of pesticides — and expectations that Trump's administration would act.

“If RFK and the MAHA movement hadn’t put that issue in the center of the public spotlight, no one would be scrutinizing this nearly as closely," said Sarah Starman, a senior food and agriculture campaigner at the nonprofit Friends of the Earth.

EPA says getting microplastics out of drinking water is complicated

In a well-publicized gesture aimed in part at the MAHA movement, Zeldin in April included microplastics and pharmaceuticals on a list of contaminants that could be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Activists had pressured Zeldin for months to crack down on microplastics and other environmental contaminants.

But in a reversal in late June, the EPA did not include microplastics or pharmaceuticals on a list of chemicals it plans to test for under a mandatory program used to collect information about concerning chemicals in drinking water that could be harming human health.

The move rendered the EPA's earlier public health promises "functionally toothless,'' said Betsy Southerland, a former senior official in EPA’s water office.

Zeldin said on social media that “the technology to test and treat for microplastics in drinking water is still in development.” The EPA said in a Federal Register notice that it was “not feasible to develop a drinking water analytical method within the statutory timeframe.”

After making “a big splash in the press” on microplastics, "EPA has quietly stalled that momentum," said Southerland.

A White House Make America Healthy Again Report, released a few months into Trump’s second term, identified long-term exposure to environmental chemicals — including those widely found in plastics — as a leading cause of chronic disease in children.

Former industry lobbyists now have leading roles at EPA

Jeremy Symons, a senior adviser at the Environmental Protection Network, a group of former EPA employees and political appointees who are critical of the Trump administration, said Zeldin “pays lip service to MAHA, but sadly he is actually making Americans less safe from toxic chemicals.''

Alongside MAHA's influence on the Trump administration, industry lobbyists have made inroads at the EPA.

Kyle Kunkler, a former lobbyist for the soybean industry, leads pesticide policy at the EPA. The agency recently allowed continued use of dicamba, a weedkiller that has been linked to increased risk for some cancers.

Zen Honeycutt, a MAHA activist and founding executive director of Moms Across America, said the move is “what happens when the EPA allows itself to be pressured by corporations and by business.”

EPA also employs other former industry insiders. Nancy Beck, a former executive at the chemical lobbying group the American Chemistry Council, is a top official in EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. Lynn Dekleva, another former chemistry council executive, serves as a Beck deputy.

The EPA said Kunkler and other political appointees have consulted with agency ethics officials to resolve any potential conflicts of interest. The MAHA movement has “driven this agency's work since President Trump's first day in office," a spokesperson said in an email, citing various initiatives including $945 million in grants to help states and communities cut “forever chemicals” known as PFAS in drinking water and identifying 30 drinking water contaminants proposed for nationwide monitoring.

On Thursday, the agency announced it was teaming up with Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to protect consumers from heavy metals and other contaminants in food.

But for Ryerson and others, the lack of a promised MAHA agenda reads as a tactic to escape accountability.

“It absolves them of any failures, especially when it comes to midterms,” Ryerson said. “They won’t have to point to some list that they haven’t been able to achieve really anything on.”

The shooting in Houston has revived critical voices deriding the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and how ICE operates, especially after immigration arrests around the country surged to 10,000 over a recent five-day period, fueled in part by massive Congressional funding.

No evidence has emerged to support the Department of Homeland Security’s version of events that led to the killing early Tuesday of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo — that he rammed an ICE vehicle when it was chasing his white van and that an officer opened fire in self-defense.

Three other men inside the van told an attorney that officers are lying about what happened and that Salgado Araujo did not ram an ICE vehicle but that he was shot through the passenger side window.

The officers were not wearing body cameras and neither ICE nor DHS, which oversees that agency, have released photos, videos or other evidence from the scene.

Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old homebuilder who was shot and killed as he drove his crew to a construction site, was not who ICE was looking for, Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia said. Salgado Araujo's family said he had lived in the U.S. for more than 35 years, had no criminal record and was close to finishing the long process of obtaining legal status when he was killed.

ICE detained the other three men in the van and a lawyer who said he has spoken to them said the version told by DHS is “completely false.”

“At no point did they ever use the van to ram into the ICE agents and at no point were these ICE agents lives ever in danger,” attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra said on Instagram.

The other men detained by ICE included Salgado Araujo's brother. ICE has not released their names, but family members said they have been able to briefly talk with them.

ICE is pressuring the men to self-deport which would make it harder for them to share their version of events with investigators or others, and Daniel Tirado Pantoja has no legal permission to live in the U.S. but has no criminal record, his stepdaughter said.

“We just told him not to sign anything, that we’re going to fight this case,” Juana Degollado told The Associated Press.

DHS said these allegations are “categorically false."

When asked if officers were specifically targeting Salgado Araujo, DHS said Thursday that officers investigating a tip weeks before the shooting saw two white vans at the address of a target. While heading to that address Tuesday, officers saw a white van and someone inside who resembled the person they were looking for, the department said in a statement.

DHS said it will not release the officer’s name because they could face threats and violence and their family could be at risk.

DHS also has not responded to requests for other information, including how long the officer has worked for ICE or whether anyone involved in the shooting is administrative leave. The department has taken a similar stance after previous fatal shootings involving its officers, unlike many local and state agencies that routinely identify and provide biographical details about officers involved in critical incidents.

Unlike some previous deaths involving federal immigration officers, few photos or videos surrounding the shooting have emerged publicly in the days since Salgado Araujo's death.

The League of United Latin American Citizens offered a $5,000 reward for video or other evidence but the positions of the vehicles means surveillance cameras in the area were blocked from recording the shooting, Proaño said.

___

Brook reported from New Orleans and Foley from Omaha, Nebraska. Associated Press reporters Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C.; and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed.

The heat wave will start this weekend and last at least a week, with some areas feeling its effects until the end of the month, meteorologists said. Temperatures will be 15 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (8 to 14 degrees Celsius) warmer than normal in many areas, including at night, they said. Hotter nighttime temperatures are especially bad for both human health and efforts to tamp down an already active wildfire season.

“This upcoming heat wave does look pretty remarkable,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. “This is going to be a long duration, widespread and high-intensity heat event that’s going to affect millions of people for over a week.”

Trapping hot air, threatening records

A dome of high pressure — which traps hot air like a pot lid while blocking cooling winds and rain — will initially park over the Northern Plains, but it will be so big that it will trap sweltering temperatures across as much as two-thirds of the continental United States, three meteorologists told The Associated Press. While it will initially miss the East Coast, the heat dome will shift and wobble, maybe even spreading from coast-to-coast over the next 10 days or more, they said.

Forecasters are expecting record triple-digit highs this weekend in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

The weather service is predicting more than 90 U.S. local temperature records will be tied or broken through Wednesday, with two-thirds being overnight heat records that can hinder how the human body recovers from broiling days.

“Nights can be just as dangerous as days. If you don’t get heat relief at night, that’s going to spill out into your daytime experience and become extremely dangerous,” said meteorologist Bob Henson with Yale Climate Connections. “Heat is not to be played with. It’s just as dangerous as a tornado or hurricane that can kill you just as easily, just in a quiet and different way.”

Heat wave will be bigger, longer-lasting and stronger than most

Swain said what makes this heat wave so different is how big a warm shadow it will cast and how long it will persist.

In the past couple of weeks, major heat waves have caused extensive suffering in Europe, the U.S. East Coast and most recently the U.S. Southeast. Now any place in the United States that escaped the earlier July heat waves will get this one, Swain said.

Rain is likely to sneak below the southern edge of the heat dome and douse the U.S. Southeast during the daytime, setting up something strange, Climate Central meteorologist Shel Winkley said. Because of the added moisture and humidity, the Southeast could get record-shattering nighttime heat but below-normal daytime warmth, he said.

The weather service is predicting record nighttime heat in a number of locations from Texas to Florida to North Carolina on Saturday. Temperatures won't drop below 80 degrees (27 degrees Celsius) at night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Miami; Tampa, Florida; Galveston, Texas; and Charleston, South Carolina, according to the forecast.

While heat domes are not unusual in the summer, Winkley said this one stands out because of how strong it is, likely to set records for the amount of high pressure that it will contain. It's especially unusual for being so far north, he said.

It’s likely to persist so long because drought-stricken areas have less soil and air moisture that would normally slow the warming of the air, Swain said. The drier, hotter air then worsens the drought conditions and stokes more heat in a vicious cycle, he said.

This will add to wildfire risk, already bad because of the drought, he said.

Climate change is worsening the heat

The El Nino that recently formed is too young to have a pronounced impact on this heat wave, but climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas clearly does, the three meteorologists said.

“We know that heat waves are becoming more intense, they’re lasting longer, they’re covering larger areas than they used to because of human-caused climate change,” Swain said. “And so when we see an event like this, we know there is at least a partial contribution by the long-term warming trend.”

Climate Central uses 20 different computer models to compare what's forecast to what would be expected in a world without greenhouse gas-caused warming as part of its Climate Shift Index. A 20,000-square-mile (52,000-square-kilometer) swath of the country from Southern California to northern Minnesota where 24 million people live this weekend will have warmth reaching the highest level on that index, meaning the heat is at least five times more likely because of climate change. Their analysis produced similar readings for the East Coast heat wave over the July 4 weekend and the recent Southeast heat wave.

“Using attribution science we know that those temperatures would be virtually impossible without the influence of climate change,” Winkley said.

___

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

The strikes Thursday, just as Iran prepared to bury the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hit areas across southern Iran. The country's theocracy hasn't directly blamed anyone, though one lawmaker warned the United Arab Emirates about allegedly providing support to the U.S. campaign against Iran.

Gulf Arab states, which Iran has targeted repeatedly since the war began Feb. 28, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday about the strikes. The attacks come as those Gulf nations and the U.S. insist that the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for world energy markets, must be open and free to ships to transit.

Iran says the strait must now be under its sole control and that vessels should begin to pay fees to Tehran — even though the world for decades has considered it an international waterway. About a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the strait before the war began.

Iran's grip on the strait during the conflict led to an global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of $120 a barrel.

Israel, which took part in the Iran war, also has not claimed any recent attacks on Iran.

Unclaimed strikes came after US ended its attacks

The U.S. military's Central Command said Thursday around 6:30 a.m. local Iran time that it had concluded a round of strikes that hit 90 targets. Shortly after that, Iranian news outlets and state media reported a series of airstrikes and explosions targeting the country’s Bushehr and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, the cities of Ahvaz and Chabahar and other areas.

Central Command did not respond to a request for comment about the additional strikes.

Iran responded to the strikes Thursday by launching a wider volley of attacks across the Mideast, targeting Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. Missile alert sirens sounded in the four countries, sending people to seek shelter. One person was reportedly hurt in Kuwait as air defense systems targeted the incoming fire across the region.

The exchange of strikes again tested a shaky ceasefire deal between Tehran and Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated on social media Friday that he views the interim deal as “OVER!” But he said the U.S. would continue talks aimed at putting a permanent end to the war.

U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said there were “no operational updates” after Trump's pronouncement about the ceasefire.

The leader of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, traveled to Kuwait immediately after the Iranian attack for a meeting with the small, oil-rich nation's ruling emir. Gulf Arab countries also held calls with Qatar's foreign minister. He has been deeply involved, along with Pakistan, in mediating talks between Iran and the U.S.

During the Iran war, officials said both Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched airstrikes targeting Iran, after Tehran struck energy sites in their countries.

Israel, which under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has engaged in an intense campaign against Iran, has not attacked the Islamic Republic since June. Israel also broadly immediately claims its attacks on Iran.

Israel's government said Netanyahu spoke with Trump on Thursday night, with Trump updating Netanyahu “on American moves in the Gulf.”

Israel Katz, Israel's defense minister, also renewed threats that his nation stood ready to confront Iran if needed.

"If we will have to return, we will return with even greater force,” Katz told a military ceremony.

Iran keeps up its threats

On Friday, Iranian state media quoted Esmail Kousari, a member of the Iranian parliament's national security committee and a former commander in the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, as warning the UAE would “pay the price for its cooperation with the United States.” He accused the Emirates of having a “behind-the-scenes” role in the recent U.S. attacks.

Iran repeatedly accused Gulf Arab states of actively supporting the U.S. war effort, something they denied during the war. The U.S. since the 1991 Gulf War has maintained a broad footprint of military bases across the Gulf Arab states, including in Bahrain, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters.

Meanwhile, Iran insists it must be the sole controller of the Strait of Hormuz. But the U.S. continues to urge mariners to travel on a southern route through Oman's territorial waters to avoid Iran.

The Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational body overseen by the U.S. Navy, issued a new advisory Friday urging ships to travel that route. A similar message sparked an Iranian attack on Tuesday that saw three vessels hit.

“Notwithstanding recent unprovoked attacks on merchant vessels, mariners are reminded that the southern route of the (strait) has been expanded and remains available for all traffic,” the maritime center said.

Twenty-two ships transited the strait Thursday, down from 30 Wednesday and 41 on Tuesday, according to data and analytics company Kpler.

The White House on Friday confirmed the executive action against members of the Election Assistance Commission, which distributes federal grants to states, oversees the testing of voting systems and maintains the national voter registration form.

Though the move likely won't have major effects on the November midterms, it's the latest instance of the Republican president trying to exert White House influence over how U.S. elections are conducted, and it's the first test of his newly expanded presidential power after the Supreme Court ruled recently that the president can fire members of independent agency boards without cause.

“The President, and head of the Executive Branch, reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted. The Slaughter decision gives the President precedence to do so,” said a White House statement to AP.

The president removed the four-seat commission's two Democratic members, Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland. The panel's Republican member, Christy McCormick resigned. Former Republican commissioner Donald Palmer already had left his post voluntarily earlier this year. The changes were first reported by VoteBeat, a news outlet that covers elections and voting across the U.S,

Trump has repeatedly tried to reshape voting regulations, even though the U.S. Constitution grants control of elections to the states and not the president. Citing that separation of powers, courtshaveblocked most of Trump's two executive orders that sought to reshape voting. Trump has also launched an investigation of his 2020 loss, which he continues to falsely insist was due to fraud, and this week his administration threatened states if they did not try to purge what federal officials believe are noncitizens from their voter rolls.

Still, Trump has largely been powerless to change election processes through executive fiat and David Becker, a former Department of Justice attorney who runs the Center for Election Innovation & Research, said his purge of the EAC wouldn't alter that.

“This doesn't really change anything about how our elections will be run, and how states are successfully ensuring secure, convenient, safe elections,” Becker wrote on the social media site BlueSky Friday morning.

Critics accuse Trump of damaging voters' trust

On Capitol Hill, the leading Democrats with election oversight responsibility said Trump, rather than bolstering U.S. election integrity, is further politicizing the voting process.

“President Trump is trying to dismantle yet another independent guardrail of our democracy designed to keep elections fair and secure,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, and Rep. Joe Morelle, D-New York. “Purging commissioners just months before the midterm elections and further gutting support for our state and local elections officials is a blatant part of his plan to politicize our elections and enable more unlawful and dangerous election interference.”

Padilla is the ranking member of the Senate Rules Committee, and Morelle is ranking member of the House Administration Committee.

The lawmakers noted that the Supreme Court's conservative majority enabled Trump's move with its decision to “upend decades of executive power to appease the President.”

Staff at the Election Assistance Commission did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment on the agency's operations moving forward.

While the White House statement did not offer a specific reason for Trump's action, the commission has previously declined to change the national voter registration form to require documentation of an applicant's U.S. citizenship, as Trump's urged in a sweeping March 2025 executive order on U.S. elections. Though the form itself does not require citizenship documents, voter registration materials from the agency do state clearly that it already is illegal to falsely claim U.S. citizenship to vote.

A federal judge blocked the order, ruling it exceeded the president's authority since the U.S. Constitution grants authority over elections management and oversight to Congress and the states. The administration has indicated it will appeal.

Trump hasn't said whether he'll pick new members

It was not clear whether Trump planned to nominate new members immediately or leave the positions vacant — a move that, months ahead of midterm elections, could prevent the agency from distributing new grants to state or local elections offices and perhaps complicate its role in overseeing testing and certification of voting systems around the country.

“The Administration from the start has been working across all agencies and local partners to safeguard elections from fraud and abuse, and investing in a strong infrastructure to sustain that mission especially in the midterm elections,” the White House said.

Congress created the commission as part of the Help America Vote Act, a bipartisan law signed by Republican President George W. Bush in 2002. The act requires the commission to include two Democrats and two Republicans, nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Hicks and McCormick were appointed by President Barack Obama. Trump appointed Hovland during his first presidency.

According to VoteBeat, Hicks and Hovland were notified of their removal by an email signed by Morgan DeWitt Snow, the deputy director of presidential personnel in the Executive Office of the President.

More court fights are always possible

Hicks and Hovland could challenge their dismissals, but that ultimately could require the Supreme Court to revisit two decisions it just issued on the president's power over independent agencies.

The court ruled 6-3 last month in the case of former Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter that Trump had wide executive authority to fire political appointees of independent executive agencies. Trump had fired Slaughter without cause despite a provision of federal law that required a reason and a nearly century-old Supreme Court precedent insulating independent agency heads from presidential whims.

The court's six conservatives said that the previous restrictions on presidential prerogatives violated the Constitution's separation of powers. The logic extends to other agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board, the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, where Trump also has fired board members.

In the separate case of Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook, whom Trump had tried to fire, a 5-4 majority deviated from the Slaughter decision and ruled that the president could not fire central bank governors without cause. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh sided with the court's three liberals in the Cook case. They justified their exception to their Slaughter reasoning by citing the central bank's unique structure as congressionally chartered but independent, quasi-private institution whose “appearance of independence is key to the Federal Reserve’s design” and its role in setting monetary policy that shapes the U.S. and world economy.

Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.

Ward, 28, who starred in the Netflix crime drama “Top Boy,” was found not guilty by a jury in Snaresbrook Crown Court of two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration and one count of sexual assault.

Ward has appeared in films including “Blue Story,” “The Book of Clarence” and last year's American political satire “Eddington,” alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal.

In 2020, he won the Rising Star award at the British Academy Film Awards, or BAFTAs. He was nominated for an acting BAFTA for Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light” and for a BAFTA television award for the Steve McQueen-directbeed series “Small Axe.”

Ward had denied the charges and had said he had “full faith” he’d be cleared of the charges.

Defense lawyer Humzah Ilyas said Ward was “looking forward to getting back to doing the work he loves.”

First responders were dispatched to the 18000 block of Huron River Drive, just north of downtown, around 10:52 p.m. after receiving reports about the crash.

Despite lifesaving efforts, the 13-year-old boy — a Huron Township resident — died from his injuries at the scene. Police say the teen driver, who is also from Huron Township, remained at the scene and cooperated with law enforcement.

At this point, police say alcohol or any other impairment does not appear to be a factor in the crash.

“The young man we lost last night will never be forgotten. He was well liked by the students he went to school with. Our prayers go out to his family,” said Huron Township Director of Public Safety Everette Robbins in response to the tragic accident. “At this time, we are not releasing his name. We will give the family time to grieve and should they wish, we will be honored to tell everyone more about him when the time is right. We also pray for the young driver whose life changed last night. This was a tragedy for so many.”

The company is already one of the largest in South Korea, along with Samsung Electronics, and is a member of the Kospi index. Even with a recent pullback, the country's Kospi index is up 77% so far this year and SK Hynix shares have more than tripled.

SK Hynix priced its American depositary receipts, or ADRs, at $149 each Thursday and they opened Friday at $170 on the Nasdaq. The offering of 177.9 million ADRs raised proceeds of $26.5 billion, making it the biggest-ever initial share sale in the U.S. by a foreign company. An ADR is issued by a bank or broker and is a simplified way for U.S. investors to own foreign stocks through the U.S. markets.

SK Hynix is going public in the U.S. amid a surge in IPO proceeds. There were 48 IPOs raising a total of $104.8 billion during the second quarter, according to Renaissance Capital. It is the biggest quarter for deal proceeds in five years, in large part because of SpaceX raising $75 billion. Many of the companies going public are capitalizing on the demand for all things AI.

SK Hynix has a dominant position globally for high bandwidth memory, which is essential for the development of advanced AI technology. The company recently entered a partnership with Wall Street’s most valuable company, Nvidia, for advanced memory chips as AI infrastructure expands globally.

Increasing demand for AI has been driving a surge in profits for chipmakers. Memory chips have become more expensive as demand outpaces supply along with the advancement of artificial intelligence technology. Technology giant Apple recently announced an increase in prices for Macs and iPads because of the jump in price for memory chips.

The U.S. is SK Hynix’s largest market, accounting for 68.8% of its revenue last year. It is planning an expansion that includes building its first U.S. production facility, located in Indiana. Overall, the company had revenue of just under $65 billion in 2025. That helped profits double to about $28 billion.

The company recently joined with Samsung and the government in announcing plans to invest a combined 800 trillion won ($518 billion) in building a new computer chipmaking hub in South Korea’s southwest region, part of national efforts to expand investment beyond the greater Seoul metropolitan area, the country’s economic center and heart of its semiconductor sector.

The promise of growing profits has catapulted stock prices within the tech sector, particularly for chipmakers. Micron Technology's stock value more than tripled in 2025 and is on pace to more than triple again in 2026. Nvidia's stock had similar growth several years ago and notched more relatively modest gains in 2025.

Big chipmakers have become the most valuable and influential companies on Wall Street. Their high stock values give them outsized influence over Wall Street and major indexes have been setting records mostly because of the tech sector.

Shares in SK Hynix traded in Seoul slipped 0.3% on Friday.

“I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump posted on social media.

Trump had 10 days until the Friday deadline to sign the bill, issue a veto, or allow the measure to take effect without his signature. He has chosen to let the measure become law without his express approval, undercutting his administration's claims that he considers it a priority to combat inflation.

Trump’s rejection of the bipartisan housing legislation exacerbates tensions with his own party in a midterm election year and cuts short their efforts to address a key voter concern about rising costs. His post comes more than a week after he canceled plans to sign the bipartisan legislation, announcing he was using it as leverage in his push for a strict voter ID bill.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act aims to lower the cost of housing and spur more home construction. It’s the broadest federal effort in decades to address America’s housing affordability problems, as state and local regulations have made it difficult to build in many of the communities that are also sources of job growth and economic opportunity. White House economists estimated earlier this year a national shortage of 10 million homes and the bill could help to close a portion of that gap.

But Trump called the bill “a yawn” and “so unimportant” compared to legislation that would require proof of citizenship for all voters.

He surprised Republican lawmakers on June 24, when, shortly before a planned signing ceremony at the Capitol, he announced he would not approve the bill until lawmakers first passed the voting legislation.

That bill, the SAVE America Act, doesn’t have enough Republican support to pass.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said after submitting the housing bill to the White House that he told Trump he should get the “fattest black marker you have, and sign your name really big on that.”

“I hope he does sign it,” Johnson told reporters at the time. “If he doesn’t, it’s still law. We’ll still celebrate it.”

He said he also understood Trump was trying to make a point that the elections bill is the top priority. “And I think he’s making it very effectively,” Johnson said.

Still, Trump’s decision not to sign the bill gave Democrats an opening to criticize him on the issue of affordability.

“His priorities couldn’t be clearer: higher cost for families and more power for himself,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on X.

The housing bill passed the Senate on an 85-5 vote and the House approved it with an 358-32 vote.

That legislation seeks to cut federal housing rules, slim-down environmental reviews, make it faster to build homes and limit the ability of corporations to buy single-family homes.

The bill does not address all of the causes of the country’s housing woes, including a shortage of construction workers, climbing insurance costs and wages that have not risen fast enough for renters and buyers.

But the bill has drawn support from the real estate industry and housing advocates.

The U.S. housing market has been a driver of recent affordability challenges as skyrocketing prices have kept aspiring buyers out of the market. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that the median sales price increased 1.8% in June from a year earlier to $440,600, an all-time high on data going back to 1999.

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Associated Press reporter Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

While unemployment in Detroit remains higher than state and national averages, employers across multiple industries continue to report difficulty filling open positions. The issue, according to Alison Bell, regional vice president at Western Governors University, isn’t about a lack of jobs.

“Many employers have persistent vacancies, so the problem is not a job shortage, it’s a mismatch between the skills needed in available jobs and the skills the available workforce has,” Bell said.

That reality is prompting more adults to reconsider education and training -- not necessarily because they’re looking for a completely new career, but because they want to remain competitive in the one they already have.

Detroit’s workforce is evolving

Detroit has long been known as a manufacturing hub, but the jobs shaping the region’s future often require a different skill set than those of previous generations.

According to Bell, one of the most noticeable skills gaps is in manufacturing itself.

“The work is shifting toward robotics, automation, EV production and advanced mobility systems,” she said. “This shift requires workers who have both manufacturing and digital skills.”

The need extends beyond manufacturing. Healthcare organizations continue to face shortages in nursing, respiratory therapy, surgical technology, paramedicine and medical imaging roles.

At the same time, nearly every industry is being affected by advances in technology.

“All industries are being impacted by the need for workers with digital skills, especially in AI-assisted workflows,” Bell said.

As technology becomes more integrated into daily operations, employers are increasingly looking for workers who can adapt, learn new systems and build specialized knowledge throughout their careers.

Why more adults are returning to school

For many workers, the changing job market has sparked an important question: What skills will I need five years from now?

The answer often leads people back to education.

Whether someone wants a promotion, greater job security or a career change, many adults are recognizing that additional credentials can help open doors that may otherwise remain closed.

Research consistently shows that postsecondary education can have a significant impact on long-term earnings and employment opportunities. According to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, workers with a bachelor’s degree earn 70% more at the median than workers with a high school degree.

But the benefits go beyond income.

Studies have also linked higher levels of education to improved health outcomes, increased civic engagement and greater opportunities for upward mobility.

“Earning a postsecondary credential results in significant economic and social advantages,” Bell said.

What’s holding people back?

Despite those benefits, many adults hesitate to return to school.

Bell said the biggest barriers tend to fall into three categories: cost, time and self-doubt.

For working adults, tuition often competes with other financial priorities, from mortgages and rent to childcare and household expenses.

Time can be just as challenging.

Many prospective students are balancing full-time jobs, raising children, caring for family members and staying involved in their communities. Adding coursework to an already packed schedule can feel overwhelming.

Then there’s confidence.

“Many adults question whether they have the academic skills, discipline or confidence to succeed in a classroom,” Bell said.

Some worry they won’t fit in with younger students. Others carry memories of difficult educational experiences that make returning feel intimidating.

In many cases, those concerns are stronger than the reality.

Bell noted that many prospective students overestimate the cost of earning a degree while underestimating the amount of financial aid and scholarship support that may be available to them.

A different approach to higher education

One reason more adults are reconsidering college is that higher education itself has changed.

Flexible learning models have made it possible for students to pursue degrees while continuing to work and manage family responsibilities.

At Western Governors University, students complete coursework entirely online and can work through courses on schedules that fit their lives.

“WGU’s flexible education model allows working adults who balance busy schedules and competing priorities to earn a degree with minimal disruption to their day-to-day lives,” Bell said.

The ability to learn outside the traditional classroom has expanded access for people who may have once viewed higher education as unrealistic.

Taking the first step

For Detroit workers who know they want to grow professionally but aren’t sure where to begin, Bell recommends starting with information.

“The next step is always gathering information about degree options, actual costs, scholarship and financial aid options, and assessing long-term goals,” she said. “Research shows most people overestimate how expensive a degree will be, underestimate the amount of financial aid available, and may not know all of the options available for earning a degree.”

Understanding what’s available -- and what it really costs -- can help people make informed decisions about their future.

In a workforce increasingly shaped by technology, specialized skills and changing employer expectations, staying competitive often means continuing to learn.

Click or tap here to learn more about Western Governors University programs.

Zverev ended the “Ferytale” run of British wild card Arthur Fery with an overpowering 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4 victory in the semifinals at the All England Club on Friday.

“This Grand Slam has always been the one that I struggled with the most and all of a sudden I’m in the final of Wimbledon,” the 29-year-old German said. “We got one more match to go on Sunday and that’s what the focus is on.”

Zverev, whose breakthrough at Roland Garros came in his fourth Grand Slam final, is attempting to become the first man in the professional era (since 1968) to win his second title at the next event immediately after his first major trophy.

In Sunday’s final, Zverev will meet either defending champion Jannik Sinner or seven-time Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic, who were up next on Centre Court.

Djokovic beat Sinner in their last meeting in five sets in the Australian Open semifinals.

“It’s not going to be easy no matter who it is against,” Zverev said. “But I have to trust myself and I have to believe that I can win and that’s what I’m going to do.”

The 114th-ranked Fery, who grew up five minutes from the All England Club and played at Stanford University, was attempting to become the first wild card to reach the final since Goran Ivanisevic won Wimbledon in 2001.

“I think this was just the beginning of his career and I really think that he’s going to do amazing things in this sport,” Zverev said of Fery.

It was another warm day in southwest London, with the temperature rising to about 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 Celsius). It was also breezy and a bit cloudier than in recent days.

Zverev did well not to let the pro-Fery crowd get behind the local player too much and a double fault from Fery early in the first-set tiebreaker put Zverev in control.

The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Zverev was also able to dominate with his serve, which he cranked up to 139 mph (224 kph).

The 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter) Fery, by comparison, was serving closer to 120 mph (193 kph).

The British spectators did their best to encourage Fery early on, chanting his name between points as they sipped their Pimm’s under their wide-brimmed hats.

At one point early on, chair umpire Marijana Veljovic had to tell the crowd to pipe down.

“Ladies and gentlemen: Do not react, if possible, until the end of the point,” Veljovic said, before adding later in the first set: “Once again, do not react during the rally. That’s very disturbing for both players,” which was met with a round of applause.

When it was over, Fery walked off to a standing ovation and applauded the crowd in return.

“I know that 99.99% of the stadium was wanting Arthur to win. But it was still such an incredible atmosphere. It was such a fair crowd as well,” Zverev said. “A lot of crowds in the world can take an example of this crowd. It’s one of the best crowds to play tennis in front of.”

Zverev had previously never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon.

Now he’s the first German man to reach the final of the grass-court Grand Slam since Boris Becker lost to Pete Sampras in 1995.

The last German man to win Wimbledon was Michael Stich, who beat Becker in the 1991 final.

Becker, the three-time Wimbledon champion, wished Zverev “congratulations” in German on X: tweeting “Glückwunsch Sascha !!!,” using the player’s nickname.

The women’s final on Saturday features two Czech players, Karolina Muchova against Linda Noskova.

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AP Sports Writer Ken Maguire contributed to this report.

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

The university’s president, Kevin Guskiewicz, made the announcement on July 10.

“Jon has been an integral part of the innovation of MSU Athletics over the past year, and I have every confidence in his ability to maintain its positive trajectory as interim athletic director,” said Guskiewicz. “This will be a seamless transition for MSU Athletics, and we look forward to a successful start of the upcoming season for our programs and student-athletes.”

View this post on Instagram

Palumbo’s appointment follows former athletic director J Batt’s departure from the university.

He currently serves as MSU’s executive deputy athletics director and chief operating officer and holds the additional role of CEO of Spartan Ventures. According to the university, he will continue his role with Spartan Ventures and find someone to fill the board position for the duration of his time as interim.

“I’m honored to serve the university in this interim role, and I am grateful to President Guskiewicz for placing his trust and belief in me,” said Palumbo. “I look forward to working with our student-athletes, coaches and staff to build on the positive momentum we have established and continue to move MSU Athletics forward.”

Palumbo came to MSU in July 2025, serving as the primary sport administrator for football while also overseeing several units, including finance and budget, event operations, facilities, capital projects, strategic initiatives and equipment throughout the department.

He also helped with the hiring process of Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald after the 2025 football season.

Before his time in East Lansing, Palumbo was at Georgia Tech, where he worked with Batt.

When Batt was hired at MSU in 2025, Palumbo was appointed vice president and interim director of athletics at Georgia Tech.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research points to how Jewish adults’ attitudes toward their own personal safety have changed over a relatively short period as more Americans became critical of the United States' close alliance with Israel. The war in Gaza sparked U.S. protests over Israel’s military actions against the Palestinians in Gaza, and coincided with an increase in violent attacks against U.S. Jewish communities.

The findings highlight the vulnerability that many Jewish adults in the U.S. feel as bipartisan support for Israel erodes and significant divides emerge within the Jewish community about what constitutes antisemitism — particularly when it comes to protesting Israel.

A significant share of Jewish adults, about 3 in 10, say they or someone in their household has experienced physical assault, verbal abuse, online harassment or damaged property because of their Jewish background over the last year, according to the survey.

Hal Guberman, a 30-year-old in New Jersey, wears a kippah with some trepidation ever since a stranger in a passing car yelled a slur at him when he was walking down the street last year.

“That person, they don’t know anything about me. They don’t know my politics. They don’t know my beliefs. They don’t know my viewpoints,” Guberman said. “But they saw me being visibly Jewish, and they made an opinion about me.”

Jewish adults see prejudice against Jews as a serious problem, and many feel unsafe

About 6 in 10 Jewish adults say that prejudice against Jewish people is an “extremely” or “very” serious problem in the United States today, a view that is heightened among Jewish adults who say they are “extremely” or “very” emotionally attached to Israel.

About one-third of Jewish adults say they feel “very” or “somewhat” safe as a Jewish person in the U.S. today, while about one-third feel “very” or “somewhat” unsafe. The remaining roughly 3 in 10 say they feel neither safe nor unsafe. Those with a close connection to Israel or who identify as Jewish by religion — instead of saying they are religiously unaffiliated with a cultural, ethnic or family connection to Judaism — are more likely to feel threatened in the current environment.

About 6 in 10 Jewish adults say they feel “less safe” as a Jewish person in the U.S. than they did before Hamas' 2023 attack, including about 7 in 10 of those who are religiously Jewish. About one-third of Jewish adults say they feel “about as safe” and very few feel safer.

Erin Baskin, a 36-year-old in Pennsylvania, said the Oct. 7 attacks didn't change how safe she feels because she had her own experiences with prejudice before then.

“I’ve always grown up with antisemitism,” she said. “Among the rural community I’m in, they conflate Judaism with Zionism all the time. Unfortunately, that’s kind of been my experience. It’s nothing new.”

Some Jewish adults have grown wary of outwardly identifying themselves as Jewish following the Oct. 7 attacks, the survey found.

About 4 in 10 Jewish adults say they are “less likely” to wear, carry or display things that might identify them as a Jewish person than they were before Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. About half say they are “about as likely” and about 1 in 10 say they are “more likely.”

Caitlin Rosendorn, a 24-year-old in Illinois, said they used to wear a Star of David necklace, but now worries that wearing it could give people the incorrect impression that they support Israel's attacks against the Palestinian people.

“I don't want to wear a Star of David to work if that's going to alienate somebody who sees the Star of David as a symbol of Israel as opposed to a symbol of Judaism,” Rosendorn said. “I don't want people to get the wrong idea about my views.”

Many Jews report physical assault, property damage or harassment

About 1 in 10 Jewish adults say that in the past year, they or someone in their household has been physically assaulted. A similar share had property damaged or destroyed specifically because of their Jewish background.

About 2 in 10 Jewish adults say they or someone in their household has been called a slur, threatened, verbally harassed or verbally abused. Similarly, about 2 in 10 say they experienced online harassment or cyberbullying. Overall, about 3 in 10 of Jewish adults say that they or someone in their household has experienced at least one of these incidents because of their Jewish background.

Jewish adults who attend religious services at least once a month are much likelier than Jewish adults overall to say they or someone in their household has experienced attacks or harassment over their Jewish background — a finding that comes as there have been several targeted attacks on Jewish religious spaces in recent years.

Slightly less than half of Jewish adults who frequently attend religious services say they or someone in their household has faced verbal harassment. A similar share experienced online harassment, and about one-quarter have dealt with physical attacks or property damage.

Jon Kessler, 38, of California, who grew up in the Conservative tradition of Judaism, believes non-Jews might be surprised at the extent to which Jewish adults have to consider security at community events.

“Most people when they go to church don’t have armed security, but every synagogue has an armed security guard," Kessler said. "My son’s Jewish daycare has an armed security guard.”

Jews are divided over whether protesting Israel is a form of antisemitism

Protests surrounding speakers tied to Israel — whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanahyu’s address to Congress or college speakers seen as either too supportive or too critical of the country — became more common following the backlash over Israel’s war in Gaza.

Jewish adults, in particular, are divided over whether protesting an event related to Israel is an act of prejudice against Jewish people generally. About half of Jewish adults say anti-Israel protests are not a form of antisemitism, but roughly 4 in 10 say they are.

Many anti-Israel protests have been tied to criticism of Israel’s military action in Gaza. More than 73,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since Israel retaliated against Hamas’ attack in 2023, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilian and militant deaths.

About two-thirds of Jewish adults say criticizing Israel for its military actions is not a form of antisemitism, but Jewish adults with a close emotional connection to Israel are more likely to say that criticism of Israel’s military actions is antisemitic. That said, relatively few Jewish adults say it’s antisemitic just to criticize Israel for “any reason.”

Americans overall are less likely to say it’s antisemitic to protest an event that is supportive of Israel, or to criticize Israel’s military actions — but they are also much less likely to have an opinion.

Jewish adults are more unified in deeming some actions as definitively antisemitic. The overwhelming majority say vandalizing synagogues or Jewish-owned businesses because of Israel’s actions is antisemitism. The same goes for denying the reality or scope of the Holocaust, putting responsibility for Israel’s actions on Jewish people in the United States, saying Israel shouldn’t exist as a Jewish state or claiming American Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S.

There is less consensus among non-Jewish U.S. adults on whether some of these actions constitute antisemitism, with many saying they’re not sure.

Amanda Goldsmith, 53, who lives in Chicago, believes people have become too comfortable expressing antisemitic views online — something that she previously thought only existed in extremist spaces.

“Now, it seems like there was an undercurrent, and it’s a free-for-all, and everyone is free to say what they want,” she said. “The freedom with which people say horrible things about Jewish people is appalling.”

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This story has been corrected to show that Caitlin Rosendorn uses they/them pronouns.

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Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis and Peter Smith in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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The AP-NORC poll of 3,040 adults was conducted June 11-17 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The poll included interviews with 1,022 Jewish adults. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points and the margin of sampling error for Jewish adults is plus or minus 5.0 percentage points.

The governing body's last-minute tickets sales site, which at times had listed the game as sold out, had 1,178 seats available across five sections of the top deck along the sidelines: 282 in section 344, 299 in section 343, 139 in section 335, 443 in section 334 and 15 in section 333.

FIFA also was selling 68 front category one tickets in the lower deck at prices ranging from $19,995 to $32,970 and had remaining hospitality tickets in its Trophy Lounge and Trophy Lounge+ sections priced at $34,500 and $32,500, including food and drinks.

Soccer's governing body did not immediately respond to a request for details on why the additional tickets had become available.

In addition, FIFA had tickets available at $1,600 to $3,995 for Saturday's quarterfinal between Argentina and Switzerland at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

Resale tickets for the final were available on FIFA's marketplace at prices from $7,440.50 to $11,499,998.85.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

A Utah judge is deciding whether prosecutors have enough evidence to put Tyler Robinson on trial on a charge of aggravated murder. Kirk, 31, was killed as he spoke to a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.

One of Robinson's attorneys, Michael Burt, tried to inject uncertainty into the case Thursday by challenging the reliability of ballistics tests on a bullet fragment recovered from Kirk’s body.

Authorities sought to tie the fragment to the suspected murder weapon, but the results were inconclusive.

“Saying anything but inconclusive was inappropriate,” said Samantha Karner with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Earlier in the week, Robinson's team questioned the reliability of DNA evidence that investigators said linked Robinson to the scene. Experts say the science behind DNA testing is sound.

Robinson has not entered a plea. He turned himself in a day after the fatal shooting of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump credited with helping galvanize young voters for the Republican in the 2024 election.

At the request of Kirk's family, State District Judge Tony Graf said he would allow to be shown inside the courtroom an altered version of campus surveillance video that prosecutors said shows Robinson crawling out to a rooftop “sniper's perch” before shooting Kirk.

The unaltered video was previously shown. The altered version includes footage that zooms in on a figure that prosecutors said was Robinson and red marks that were added to the video.

The weeklong preliminary hearing ends Friday, but a decision won’t come until after Sept. 1, when Graf scheduled oral arguments in the matter.

Prosecutors on Thursday aired portions of a recorded interview with Robinson's roommate, Lance Twiggs. The day after Kirk was shot in the neck, Robinson allegedly told Twiggs “he wishes he hadn’t done it,” a recording played in court revealed.

Later that same day — and only about an hour before turning himself in — Robinson posted “it was me at UVU yesterday,” in a chat room on the Discord social media platform, according to investigators and messages shown by prosecutors.

Defense attorneys unsuccessfully fought the public release of the statements from Twiggs and the chat room messages. They argued prosecutors would characterize the material as a confession, undermining Robinson’s right to a fair trial.

Prosecutors contend the shooting endangered others at Kirk’s campus event — an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law. Robinson also faces possible sentence enhancements based on claims by prosecutors that he targeted Kirk because of his political views.

Twiggs said in the April interview with prosecutors and investigators that Robinson sometimes talked about politics, including Trump. But Twiggs said he never heard Robinson talk about Kirk before the shooting. The defendant also did not talk much about gender issues or LGBTQ rights, Twiggs said.

The weeklong preliminary hearing has attracted intense media coverage and spectators who have angled for one of the 14 seats in the courtroom that are reserved for the public.

People have lined up early — sometimes sleeping there overnight — in hopes of getting in.

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Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

The unconventional gift from the host of this week's NATO summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was meant to showcase his country's growing defense industry.

But it left officials across the alliance scratching their heads. Some were forced to leave their gifts behind due to gun laws in their countries, while others donated theirs to museums.

“It struck me that ⁠my gift of maple syrup kind of undermatched,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters, adding that the firearm was now in police possession. “I would like to reassure Canadians, they keep guns away from me.”

The revolvers were engraved with leaders' names

“An unusual gift from President @RTErdogan at the NATO Summit: a Magnum revolver with ammunition, engraved with my name,” Hungary’s new Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on X, posting a photograph of a display box containing the revolver and six cartridges.

It was not immediately clear what he did with the gift.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Union commission president, thanked Erdogan for the gift, which will be decommissioned and donated to a military museum, her spokesperson said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters that the gift bag included a note waiving export controls. Still, he left his behind to be decommissioned, because it would be illegal to import it into Britain.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever handed his revolver to airport police upon arrival. The revolvers gifted to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten were left at their countries’ embassies in Ankara and would also be taken out of service, officials said.

“My first reaction was, this is something a bit different to the box of syrup waffles that we gave out at the NATO summit in The Hague,” Jetten said Friday. “I think the Turkish president wanted to underscore what we saw during the NATO summit, namely that the Turkish defense industry is among the best in the world.”

Croatian President Zoran Milanović said he only found out after his return from the summit that Erdogan had given him a gun. His office said it would probably be handed over to a police museum.

“I didn’t take it. I shoot from different weapons,” Milanovic said, referring to his political style.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about Erdogan's gifts.

On a visit to New Zealand last year, FBI Director Kash Patel gave the country’s police and spy bosses gifts of inoperable pistols that were illegal to possess under local gun laws and had to be destroyed.

The gift was aimed at highlighting Turkey's growing defense prowess

Erdogan's office has not commented on the gift. Turkish media reports identified the revolvers as the Gumusay .357 Magnum, a vintage six‑shot revolver produced by the Turkish state arms manufacturer, MKE.

Reports said the gun aimed to highlight Turkey's defense industry, which in recent decades has transformed from a major importer into an increasingly self‑reliant producer of advanced military systems, including drones and warships. It is in the process of developing its own next‑generation fighter jet.

Gun culture is deeply rooted in Turkey, and the gift hardly triggered any reaction in the country. Umut Vakfi, a foundation campaigning for gun control, says incidents of armed violence have reached alarming levels, reporting more than 2,700 last year in the country of 86 million people.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency said participants at the summit were also given a more conventional gift: a copy of Erdogan's biography, titled: “The politics of courage: Erdogan and the rise of Türkiye.”

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Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Stefania Dazio in Berlin, Mike Corder in The Hague, Sylvain Plazy in Brussels and Elena Becatoros in Athens contributed.

Organizers say the week is about far more than medals—it’s about how adaptive sports can help veterans recover, rebuild, and thrive through competition, community, and confidence.

Hosted at venues across metro Detroit, the Games highlight the unstoppable character of veterans while fostering greater respect and opportunity for all people with disabilities. The event is open to U.S. veterans with spinal cord injuries, amputations, multiple sclerosis, or other central neurological conditions who require a wheelchair for athletic competition—drawing competitors from World War II through the post-9/11 era.

A mission built on rehabilitation and possibility

The Department of Veterans Affairs launched the Wheelchair Games in 1981 with just 7 events and 77 athletes. In 1985, Paralyzed Veterans of America joined the VA to expand the mission and reach. Since then, the Games have flourished as more VA therapists turn to adaptive sports as a powerful tool for rehabilitation—helping veterans become more active in daily life and, for some, reach national and international levels of competition.

Over the decades, thousands of veterans with disabilities have gained skills, confidence, and experience—learning to take on challenges in the spirit of opportunity rather than limitation.

Events and venues across the region

Many of the core events are centered at Huntington Place Convention Center (1 Washington Boulevard, Detroit, MI 48226), home to the NVWG Operations and Events Hub, opening and closing celebrations, expo and registration, plus competitions including:Air Rifle, Air Pistol, Archery, Adaptive Fitness, Basketball, Boccia, Cornhole, Disc Golf, Esports, Field Events, Kids Day, Powerlifting, Power Soccer, Slalom, Softball, Table Tennis, and Wheelchair Rugby.

Other major venues include:

• Belle Isle (99 Pleasure Dr, Detroit): Fishing, Cycling
• Skore Lanes (22255 Ecorse Rd, Taylor): Bowling
• Grosse Pointe South High School (11 Grosse Pointe Blvd, Grosse Pointe Farms): Swimming
• Henry Ford Museum (20900 Oakwood Blvd, Dearborn): The Rally

They’re looking for volunteers

With events spanning multiple sites and days, the Wheelchair Games are actively seeking volunteers—an opportunity organizers say is both meaningful and fun.

Why Volunteer?

• Opportunity to serve our Nation’s Veterans
• Opportunity to explore and fulfill your passions
• Sense of purpose, make new friendships
• Make a difference in the Detroit Community
• Learn about the National Veterans Wheelchair Games
• Have FUN!

Volunteers will receive:

• 45th NVWG Volunteer T-shirt
• Meal voucher (for shifts of 4+ hours)

For more information or to review the volunteer handbook, visit https://www.wheelchairgames.org/. Questions? Contact the NVWG Volunteer Team at the Huntington Place Convention Center at 313-506-6768 or email NVWGVolunteers@va.gov.

Local leaders and athletes sharing the impact

You can also watch our interview with Marty Dobek with the Detroit Sports Commission, Jennifer Purser, Co-Director of the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, and Army veteran and adaptive athlete Justin Hall—as they share what these Games mean to Detroit and to the veterans competing this week.

The 71-year-old Jesus has coached several Portuguese clubs, including Benfica and Sporting Lisbon. His last job was with Al-Nassr in the Saudi Arabian league, where he coached Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The experienced Portuguese coach will replace Spaniard Roberto Martinez after Portugal lost 1-0 to Spain in the round-of-16 of the World Cup.

The Portuguese national team wrote on X on Friday that “A new journey begins today. Welcome to the National Team, Mister Jorge Jesus.”

The hiring of Jesus as coach came two days after the Portuguese federation said it was parting ways with Martínez.

Portugal's underwhelming run at the World Cup sparked a debate among fans and media regarding the role of the 41-year-old Ronaldo. Many questioned Martínez still playing him major minutes at striker and focusing the team's attack on trying to find the aging scorer.

Ronaldo, the leading scorer for men’s international soccer with 146 goals, said that this was his final World Cup. But the global star has yet to say when he plans to retire from international play. He will be 43 by the time the 2028 European Championship, the next major tournament, rolls around.

Jesus, who called Ronaldo a “symbol” of Portuguese sports on Friday, said that he still needs to talk with him about his future.

“That’s a conversation we’re both going to have. What does he want to do for the future of his career?” Jesus told reporters at his presentation that was held shortly after the announcement of his hiring.

Ronaldo is under contract with his Saudi club through 2027.

Whether Ronaldo continues to play for his nation, Jesus inherits a talent-packed team, especially at midfield with Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha and João Neves.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

On July 10, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,562 cyclosporiasis cases since June 22, up from 1,251 on July 9. Of those reported cases, 44 were hospitalized.

“Anyone experiencing gastrointestinal illness, such as sudden and ongoing diarrhea, should contact their health care provider and their local health department,” MDHHS said in a statement this week.

The cases remain the highest in Monroe, Lenawee, Washtenaw, Wayne, Shiawassee, Jackson, Oakland and Livingston counties. MDHHS and local health officials are still working on identifying the source of the outbreak.

Related --> Detroit vertical farm highlights food safety measures as Cyclosporiasis cases near 1,300

What is cyclosporiasis?

Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal illness caused by a parasite and infects the small intestine.

Healthcare providers can diagnose the illness by testing a stool sample.

If infected with cyclosporiasis, people may experience watery diarrhea with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements.

The illness can last from a few days to over a month if the illness is not treated. Symptoms could relapse.

The timeframe from becoming infected to becoming sick usually takes about one week but can range from two days to two weeks or more.

In the US, outbreaks of cyclosporiasis have been linked to various types of fresh produce. People can get infected with Cyclospora more than once.

Anyone who experiences symptoms of cyclosporiasis should see their healthcare provider.

Read more --> What is cyclosporiasis? Know the signs, prevention as Michigan health officials investigate outbreak

Produce linked to previous outbreaks

Health officials said the following foods have been previously linked to Cyclospora outbreaks in the United States and Canada:

• Bagged salad mixes and kits (pre-cut lettuce blends with romaine, iceberg, red cabbage, carrots)
• Fresh cilantro (coriander leaves)
• Fresh basil
• Raspberries
• Snow peas
• Green onions (scallions)

Produce recommendations

MDHHS provided a list of recommendations on July 6 on preparing, processing or serving raw produce, including restaurants and other commercial kitchens.

Health officials said to take the following steps to reduce risk of exposure:

• Lettuce/leafy greens: Buy whole heads of lettuce (rather than prewashed, bagged lettuce or salad mixes), throw away the outer 2–3 layers of leaves and wash the inner leaves under running water. For leafy greens that can be cooked, cooking is the safest option.
• Cilantro, basil: Wash thoroughly under running water, separating the leaves. Safest when cooked.
• Green onions: Trim the root end and remove the outer layer, wash thoroughly under running water. Safest when cooked.
• Raspberries: Their bumpy surface makes them especially hard to clean; the parasite can hide in the tiny crevices. Safest when cooked (pies, jams etc.). Consider frozen raspberries as an alternative (freezing may reduce but does not guarantee elimination of the parasite).
• Snow peas: Wash under running water and rub the surface. Safest when cooked.

MDHHS said the recommendations are essential for people who have a higher risk of dehydration or weakened immune systems, such as patients on chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, infants and young children and elderly people.

General rules, routine food practices

Health officials said general rules of thumb to reduce the risk of getting the illness are to cook food -- when you can -- to 158 degrees or higher to kill cyclospora, and wash all fresh produce under clean running water, even if you plan to peel it.

Food safety reminders

Here are some reminders on food safety practices, according to the MDHHS:

• Wash hands with soap and water before and after handling or preparing food.
• Scrub firm fruits and vegetables, such as melons and cucumbers, with a clean produce brush.
• Cut away any damaged or bruised areas on fruits and vegetables before preparing and eating.
• Wash and sanitize utensils and surfaces before and after handling food. Wash and sanitize display cases and refrigerators where fresh produce is stored.
• Wash and sanitize cutting boards, surfaces and utensils used to prepare, serve or store fresh produce.
• Refrigerate cut, peeled or cooked fruits and vegetables as soon as possible. 

Instead of trying to make up ground on the weekend at The Renaissance Club, Scheffler was making plans to head to Royal Birkdale earlier than he expected to prepare for the British Open.

“Got off to a poor start and after that, I didn't really it close enough to give myself a bunch of looks,” Scheffler said. “That's how you shoot over par.”

Scheffler had made 78 consecutive cuts dating to the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship. It was the longest streak on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods set the record of 142 cuts in a row from February 1998 to May 2025.

The cut of top 65 and ties was not official until the second round was completed. Scheffler was tied for 88th when he missed a 6-foot par putt on the par-3 ninth to fall back to even-par 142.

Strong wind was in the forecast for Friday afternoon that could affect scoring, though the world's No. 1 player already was looking ahead to his title defense at the British Open at Royal Birkdale, a links course he has not played.

“A little different than I was planning,” Scheffler said. “Figure out how I get down to Birkdale and go from there.”

Scheffler's cut streak included 25 tournaments that had no 36-hole cut. Woods played in 31 such tournaments during his streak. Byron Nelson held the previous record at 113 in a row during an era where players had to finish in the money — typically the top 20 except the majors and a few other events — for it to be considered making the cut.

“It’s a little different now with some of the signature events not having cuts,” Scheffler said. “But I don't think I finished outside of the top 20 or something like that many times this year. I’m definitely proud of the consistency, and wish I had a couple days over the weekend to make up some ground.”

Scheffler was three shots out of the lead when he started Friday morning. He missed a 3 1/2-foot par putt on No. 11, his second hole. On the par-5 12th, his chip out of high grass to a back pin caught a ridge and rolled into a bunker, leading to a second straight bogey.

He holed a 30-foot birdie putt after making the turn at the par-5 first — his only birdie on a par 5 this week — and had one birdie chance inside 20 feet over the next five holes.

His last big hope was the par-5 seventh, when Scheffler said he caught a gust that caused his second shot to come up just short and roll back off the front. He pitched nicely to 7 feet and missed the birdie chance.

Then, his tee shot on the eighth found a divot in the middle of the fairway and he hit a clunker low and to the right into a pot bunker. He splashed that out to 20 feet and holed it for par to keep alive his chances.

“I felt like I needed at least a birdie coming in on my last few holes. I felt like the cut was going to be 2 or 3 under,” Scheffler said. “I know I had to make the putt on 8 and I had to make birdie, I felt, on 9. Just hit a good iron shot just a little short.”

His 7-iron hit the slope in front of the green with a front pin, his chip was weak and came up 6 feet short and he missed the putt.

Scheffler also missed the cut in the Scottish Open in 2022 a week before the Open at St. Andrews. He then missed the cut at the FedEx St. Jude Championship — the last year it had a full field with a 36-hole cut — and had not missed one since.

“For whatever reason, I just haven’t played my best golf on this course," said Scheffler, who has only two top 10s in his five appearances at The Renaissance Club.

“It could be one of those things where you just get over jet lag, get used to new style of golf, new types of grasses, and maybe I just haven’t adjusted as quick, or maybe this golf course just doesn’t suit my eye much,” he said. “I’ll reflect on that at the end of the year and assess what my plans are going into next season.”

Xander Schauffele had his streak of 72 straight cuts end at Torrey Pines in January. The longest active streak now belongs to Matt Fitzpatrick at 29 in a row.

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

"Effective immediately, the suspension of all involved South Carolina pilots has been lifted," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote Friday morning on social media. “Carry on Patriots.”

The suspension followed "Salute from the Shore," a July 4 tradition honoring servicemembers in South Carolina since 2010 that features vintage and modern military aircraft flying along the 187-mile length of the state’s shoreline, with the intent of sparking patriotism among thousands of beachgoers gathered for the holiday.

This year’s salute included F-16s with the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing out of McEntire Joint Base, as well as a C-17 from the 437th Airlift Wing based at Joint Base Charleston. For the first time, Apache helicopters joined the air parade, which also featured civilian-owned vintage planes like T-34s and T-6s.

Numerous attendees often post video on social media of the display, but this year, online images of the Apaches flying at what appeared to be a low height over crowded beaches sparked concern with the South Carolina National Guard, which launched a review of the event and temporarily suspended the eight pilots from flying duties while that was ongoing, later clarifying the suspension was “a routine, non-punitive safety measure, not a disciplinary action.”

Late Thursday night, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth noted on social media that the Pentagon was getting involved, writing, “We’ll fix this. Carry on, Patriots.”

The message was similar to one issued by Hegseth in March, after the lifting of a suspension for a pair of Army pilots who hovered two AH-64 Apache helicopters near Kid Rock’s Tennessee home during a training run while he clapped and saluted.

“No punishment. No Investigation. Carry on, patriots,” Hegseth said then in a social media post, less than three hours after the Army announced its review. Kid Rock, an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, said he thought it was “really cool” that the pilots stopped to hover at his house.

South Carolina Republicans rebuked the suspension of its Guard pilots. Rep. Russell Fry, who represents the Myrtle Beach area, said Thursday that the pilots "should be celebrated, not sanctioned.”

Ahead of Parnell's post noting the suspension had been lifted, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster — who serves as commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard — said he trusted the pilots' acumen, writing in a social media post that Guardsmen fly in wartime.

“Surely, they know how to safely navigate the coast of South Carolina — and her scores of cheering residents and tourists on our 250th anniversary," McMaster wrote.

McMaster's office said Friday the governor was pleased the suspension had been lifted. Asked whether the governor — a longtime Trump ally — had directly intervened, a spokesperson said the office “remains in regular communication with state and federal partners as part of its routine operations.”

The Pentagon declined to comment beyond Parnell's statement. Maj. Lisa Allen of the South Carolina National Guard confirmed in an email Friday that the suspension had been lifted but did not respond to a question over whether the Guard were still conducting an internal review.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

It also highlighted the complex engineering behind adaptive reuse projects, which have become increasingly popular as officials try to tackle a nationwide housing shortage by transforming offices that have sat underused since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plans call for turning two office buildings — one built in 1909, the other in the 1960s — into about 1,600 apartments by adding more than a dozen stories atop the older structure and redesigning and expanding the other. The buckling occurred on the 21st floor of the newer structure, and crews have installed temporary supports as officials investigate.

Engineering experts said the conversion project is complex and poses many challenges, which include making sure older buildings can safely support new loads and carving up office floors to accommodate residential living.

But none said the high-profile setback should make people doubt the ability of engineers to complete such projects.

“I don’t think it really brings into question our understanding of how to do something like this,” said Ben Schafer, a structural engineering professor at Johns Hopkins University.

How do you build a new tower on top of an old one?

On its website highlighting the midtown project, adaptive reuse firm Collaborative Construction Management says the nine-story building from 1909 will be “threaded through” with a new addition of about 30 stories of poured concrete.

Schafer, who is not involved with the undertaking, said the likely approach is to have the century-old building continue to carry its own weight while building a new structural system to support additions.

“My interpretation would be that they’re going to leave that building carrying its own load, and they’re just going to poke holes in it so that they can take the load from the building that they’ve put above it and bring it all the way down to the foundation,” Schafer said.

Schafer said construction on the other tower presents a different challenge: punching holes in the existing floor plate to bring light into apartments, while also ensuring that the steel frame can support the newly added loads.

City officials have not determined what caused the columns to buckle. But both Schafer and Emily Guglielmo, a San Francisco-based structural engineer, believe the failure likely resulted from the added load.

Spokespersons for MetroLoft, the project developer, didn’t respond to requests for comment Thursday. But Nathan Berman, the firm’s founder, acknowledged in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that the added weight from widening the top 15 or so floors of the building likely caused the damage.

Guglielmo thinks that either the original design assumptions were misunderstood, something went wrong during the design or construction process, or construction crews overloaded or weakened the structure.

Adding stories to existing buildings is common in dense urban areas where land is scarce, she said, but it requires reviewing original construction documents and inspecting the building before determining how additional floors will affect the structure.

“In cities and towns that don’t have that available geography, you’re going to see a lot more of this type of a design where there’s an adaptive reuse to an existing building,” Guglielmo said.

Why not just create a new building from scratch?

To many structural engineers, demolition should occur only as a last resort.

“Tearing buildings down is a terrible waste,” Schafer said, pointing out that buildings and the construction sector are responsible for about 40% of the world’s energy-related carbon emissions. “From a sustainability standpoint, that’s a disaster.”

Beyond the environmental costs, demolishing and hauling away the remnants of huge buildings is especially expensive in dense cities such as New York.

If an existing structure can safely be reused, engineers generally prefer that.

James LaFave, a structural engineering professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said a steel-framed building from the 1960s, like the former Pfizer structure, would typically be a “very good” starting point for a conversion.

Does the scare in New York call into question other adaptive reuse projects?

In recent years, officials across the country have embraced office-to-housing conversions as a potential lifeline for downtown business districts that have struggled since the pandemic.

New York, especially, has embraced this push, as officials have made zoning changes and enacted tax incentives to spur housing production. A report from the New York City comptroller's office last year noted there are 44 adaptive reuse projects in the city that, as of early 2025, had either been completed, were underway or could move forward.

Pfizer moved out of the building in 2023 after opening a new office near Penn Station, leaving the property vacant. Construction on the property began in 2024.

Joshua Harris, director of Fordham University’s Real Estate Institute, said office-to-residential conversions are a key part of solving the housing shortages in New York and other cities, even if they come with risk.

“In a certain sense, it’s not terribly surprising that this happened, and we should have a little bit of grace,” he said. “These are very, very complicated surgical procedures being done to very old buildings.”

“This is part of the reality of fixing the housing crisis,” Harris continued. “Things like this can happen. It doesn’t look as complex as putting a rocket into space, but, in a real estate sense, construction in an environment like Manhattan on 42nd Street and Second Avenue is very complex.”

Guglielmo, the California engineer, said a combination of building codes, inspections and experienced construction crews makes failures like this rare.

“We’re very fortunate here in the United States that we are not seeing these types of failures on a day-to-day basis,” she said. “We’re privileged to have really robust building codes that explain to us as engineers how to do our designs in a way that’s safe.”

Still, Harris said it is likely a gut check for the industry, as office conversions transform once sleepy business districts across the city into 24/7 neighborhoods, like parts of Wall Street in recent years.

“If this building has a problem, all the other projects that have been sort of greenlit, they’re going to want to review to make sure that it’s not something similar,” Harris said.

___

Rico reported from Atlanta and Hill reported from Las Vegas.

Speaking Wednesday alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said the United States would allow Ukraine to make the U.S.-designed systems that Kyiv has long sought to shield its cities and infrastructure from Russian missiles and drones.

“We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it,” Trump said. “I think they can produce them pretty quickly.”

But the statement left open a crucial question: What exactly would Ukraine be allowed to produce?

“America has recognized Ukraine as a country that is ready to do this,” Zelenskyy told reporters Thursday, adding that Ukrainian and U.S. diplomats and defense officials must now work “without pauses” to finalize the licensing arrangements.

A license might not cover the complete Patriot system

Patriot interceptor missiles, which are fired to shoot down incoming missiles, drones and aircraft, are produced by U.S. defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, part of RTX.

A production license would not automatically allow Ukraine to manufacture complete Patriot batteries — including launchers, radar systems, command posts and missiles — from scratch. It could instead cover narrower parts of the system, such as interceptor missiles, final assembly from imported component kits or production of selected components.

Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, said a U.S. license would typically come with technical documentation, training for specialists, supplier contacts and foreign consultants to help launch manufacturing.

Other experts say the first step would likely be more limited than full domestic production.

Anatolii Khrapchynskyi, development director of the Fly Group Ukraine defense company, said Trump’s wording was ambiguous because he referred broadly to producing “Patriots,” without specifying whether he meant missiles, launchers, radar systems, command centers or components.

Missile production alone involves a vast supply chain, Khrapchynskyi said, with hundreds of companies making parts such as control surfaces, engines, guidance systems and communications equipment.

The Trump administration has not offered details about the Ukraine license, but an administration official said the U.S. is significantly accelerating and expanding Patriot production to meet growing demand and is forming industrial partnerships with allies and partners globally to deliver Patriots. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Any additional Patriot systems would enter a war that has shown how quickly weapons production can expand when a country receives designs, technical support and access to components. Ukraine has become a leader in the manufacture of cheap, expendable drone systems. Russia has scaled up domestic production of Iranian-designed Shahed-type attack drones, known in Russia as Gerans, at a factory in Tatarstan.

But experts say Patriot interceptors are far more complex, requiring precision guidance, advanced radar technology, solid-fuel rocket motors, military-grade electronics and strict certification standards.

Full production could take years

Yehor Chernev, deputy chairman of Ukraine’s parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence, said the legal and bureaucratic process could be launched within months, but implementing production would take years.

Even if Ukraine received complete component kits from abroad, Chernev said, it would likely need at least 18 to 24 months to launch its first pilot production line, followed by more time to complete the first weapons.

The PAC-3 missile, designed to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles, is among the most sophisticated parts of the Patriot family. Producing a PAC-3 MSE missile in the United States takes about 24 months, and producing its solid-fuel rocket motor requires around 30 months, he said.

Chernev said some technology, especially the missile’s active radar seeker, is so sensitive that Washington would be unlikely to transfer full documentation for Ukraine to manufacture them from scratch. That means Ukraine might have to import some of the most complex components and focus first on assembly, integration or less sensitive parts of the supply chain.

Dr. Thomas Withington, an analyst specializing in electronic warfare, radar and military communications at the Royal United Services Institute, said expectations should be managed.

Ukraine’s existing defense industry could help, Withington said, but the country would still need time to set up facilities, train workers and secure the necessary supply chains.

“This is not going to be a fix for the air-defense threats Ukraine is going to face tomorrow.”

Other countries have produced Patriot systems

The United States has allowed Patriot-related production abroad before, and experts say those examples show that licensed production is possible but slow.

Japan has produced Patriot missiles under license for decades. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has assembled PAC-3 missiles under a licensed agreement with Lockheed Martin, and Japan later loosened its postwar arms export restrictions to allow the sale of U.S.-designed Patriot missiles back to the United States — a move that could indirectly help replenish stocks used to support Ukraine.

Germany offers a more recent example. Raytheon and MBDA Deutschland announced in 2022 a plan to produce Patriot GEM-T missiles in Germany. A major NATO procurement contract followed in 2024 for up to 1,000 missiles, and a new production facility in Schrobenhausen is expected to play a role in supplying Ukraine and replenishing European inventories.

But Ukraine would face an additional challenge that Japan and Germany did not: Russian strikes.

Khrapchynskyi said any facility helping Ukraine defend its airspace would become a priority target for Moscow. Production would have to be placed in protected locations, potentially underground or inside shelters, he said.

That makes the license more of a long-term strategic step than an immediate battlefield solution. If implemented, it could help Ukraine become a future producer of air-defense weapons and reduce dependence on allies whose own stockpiles are under strain.

“It would not solve the current missile shortage in 2026,” he said, “but it would lay the foundation for Ukraine to become one of Europe’s leading producers of air-defense systems in the future.”

___

Associated Press journalists Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine; Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo; Stefanie Dazio in Berlin; and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony is slated for Saturday, July 11, at 9:45 a.m., followed by a community open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Sterling Heights Athletic Hub features nine indoor pickleball courts built to USA Pickleball standards, six table tennis tables and the Rally Room, a flexible space for meetings, parties and programs.

For a peek inside, see the video at the beginning of this article.

Prosecutors in the case allege that Diamond Glenn, 27, had been driving recklessly in the area of Mound and Chicago roads on Dec. 21, 2024, resulting in a collision that killed 69-year-old Sterling Heights resident Christopher Andelean.

Glenn was charged in September of last year with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and attempted failure to stop at the scene of an accident causing death. She was also charged with assaulting/resisting a police officer for reportedly attempting to flee the scene and biting an officer multiple times during her arrest.

Following a brief trial in May 2026, Glenn was found not guilty of second-degree murder and attempted failure to stop at the scene of an accident causing death, and guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The jury took just over 48 hours to deliberate, and she pleaded no contest to the assault/obstruction charge.

Glenn will receive 565 days credit for time already served.

The first stage of a Long March-10B rocket separated from the second stage after liftoff and returned to a platform in the sea, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

It was the first time China recovered the first stage of a rocket. America's SpaceX has been doing so for several years to drive down launch costs by reusing the booster that helps lift the satellites or whatever the rocket is carrying into space.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have been recovering their rockets since 2015, saving vast amounts of money by recycling them rather than ditching them after liftoff. SpaceX leads the pack with more than 600 landings of its first-stage Falcon boosters, steering them to ocean barges as well as landing zones near the launch pads. Just this week, SpaceX launched a booster for the 36th time, a new record.

For SpaceX’s bigger and more powerful Starships making test flights out of Texas and soon to expand to Florida, the company is working to capture the returning rockets with giant mechanical arms at the launch pad.

Blue Origin started out by landing its New Shepard boosters in Texas following short flights to the edge of space, and has since recovered its bigger New Glenn boosters on a floating platform off the Florida coast.

Now that China has joined the rocket recycling boom, Japan is up next with a launch and landing attempt this weekend.

The Long March rocket was launched from China's Hainan Island, a popular beach destination off the country's southern coast.

The rocket's reusable configuration can launch a payload of up to 16,000 kilograms (35,275 pounds) into what is called low Earth orbit, Xinhua said.

The maximum payload of the SpaceX Falcon 9 is 22,800 kilograms (50,265 pounds), according to the SpaceX website. The Falcon rockets transport astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station.

For her, this World Cup couldn't make more sense.

Hallam is among a sizable number of English-speaking people in the U.S. who are doing something these days that might be considered a bit surprising: They're watching broadcasts of World Cup matches in Spanish on Telemundo, even though they have little idea — or in some cases, no idea — what the announcers are saying.

“I can’t really understand everything they’re saying on Telemundo because they’re speaking in Spanish,” Hallam said. “But you understand what’s going on.”

The math is simple. Census figures show that about 20% of the U.S. is Hispanic, yet Telemundo points to Nielsen ratings to show that roughly half the World Cup viewers in the U.S. have watched at least some portion of some matches in Spanish. Every match of the tournament has been available for U.S. viewers in English on Fox or FS1, on Telemundo or Universo in Spanish, and there are streaming options such as Fox One or Peacock.

Among the reasons commonly cited by viewers who spoke with The Associated Press in recent days: A fascination with famed broadcaster Andrés Cantor's “¡goooooool!” call. Telemundo doesn't cut away for commercials (as Fox does) during the much-maligned hydration breaks. The broadcasts, some simply find, are more entertaining. And in other cases, it's a cost-based decision: Peacock, which includes Telemundo, is lower-priced than Fox One.

Soccer as a global language, transcending a limited vocabulary

Jackson Braunius is a Michigan native who watched a U.S. game last week from a bar seat at a steakhouse in Miami Lakes, Florida. He said he speaks almost no Spanish — “I know ‘cerveza,’” he said, tapping his beer glass — but didn't mind watching on Telemundo whatsoever.

“I figured out the science here,” Braunius said. “When they’re not talking too loud, nothing is happening. When they get loud, there’s a chance. When they get real loud, it’s probably going to be a goal.”

Comedian Trevor Noah has been hosting World Cup watch parties on YouTube. He's made the switch to Spanish-language feeds, and the hydration break issue was a huge part of that decision.

“We’re seeing the players on the pitch discussing what’s happening. You see which coach is more stressed. Some players are tapping each other on the back. This is part of the game,” Noah said on one of his YouTube streams. “I feel like when you cut to ads, you lose this — you lose the stress, you lose the joy, the anticipation. So, shout out again, Telemundo: Really, really amazing coverage.”

Telemundo is hearing the praise, and has thanked English-speakers — as well as Noah directly — for lauding its coverage.

The good news for everyone is this: There seems to be more than enough viewers to go around right now. And the success of this tournament could lead to a bidding war for the 2030 World Cup, with some reporting the rights for English-speaking and Spanish-speaking television will be packaged together in that deal. That wasn't the case for this World Cup.

Fox Sports said that Monday night's Belgium-U.S. match saw a peak viewership total of around 41 million at one point, making it the “most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. history,” the network said. In other words, the final U.S. game in this World Cup had more viewers than anything in this country since the Super Bowl — with at least 45 million viewers, on average, between Fox (33 million) and Telemundo (an estimated 12 million). The most recent Super Bowl drew an average of about 125 million viewers, according to Nielsen data.

Anglophones become hooked on Telemundo

William Kennedy of Miami is married to a Colombian woman, whose native language is Spanish. He says he knows only enough Spanish to be able to order meals in restaurants. And yet, he finds himself often watching World Cup matches on Telemundo.

If Colombia was on, the Kennedy house was watching Telemundo. If Colombia — which was ousted in penalty kicks by Switzerland on Tuesday — isn't on, Kennedy finds himself usually making his way to Telemundo anyway.

“When the American commentators are doing the game, I don’t know what game they’re watching. I just don’t,” Kennedy said. “I’d rather get the excitement in Spanish because essentially what happens is they’re talking, and then they’re talking really, really fast, and then they’re getting loud and your brain is just like, ‘Oh, something’s happening — even if I don’t know what’s happening.’”

Hallam — who finds the World Cup has been a great way to bond further with her Spanish-speaking students — only became a big soccer fan a few years ago, when her daughter decided she wanted to play in a recreational league for elementary kids. The league needed coaches, so Hallam literally checked out a “coaching for dummies” book and began teaching herself the game.

She kept coaching her daughter all the way through high school. Now, she's hooked on soccer and hooked on Spanish-speaking broadcasts — and plans to keep watching, even when the World Cup ends.

“It’s just very comforting,” Hallam said. “We're really enjoyed it and I hope we get to continue. The next World Cup, we’re going to watch it just like this.”

___

Lamy reported from Indianapolis.

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Did you know 90% of Fortune 500 CEOs play golf, and executives who play earn about 17% more than those who don’t?

Golf isn’t just a sport; it’s a business tool. A lot of big deals and connections happen on the golf course, not just the boardroom.

But here’s the problem: It can be intimidating and hard to break into if you never learned how to play.

Black Tech Saturdays wants to change that.

On Saturday, at the Belle Isle Golf Center, they’re hosting “Founders on the Fairway.”

Beginners get paired with expert coaches who teach them the basics—how to drive, putt, and chip.

Then after the lesson -- lunch and networking.

The idea is simple. If golf is where business happens, Detroit’s professionals deserve a seat at the table. Or in this case, a spot on the course.

Johnnie Turnage, co-founder of Black Tech Saturdays, joined Local 4 Live to talk about the event.

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

Suspect who prompted shelter-in-place order in Oakland County arrested overnight

The individual sought by deputies after allegedly fleeing and eluding a police pursuit in northern Oakland County on Thursday is now in custody, the sheriff’s office confirmed.

Police asked residents to shelter-in-place around 10:30 p.m. in the area of West Rose Center Road and Hickory Ridge Road in Rose Township because of “an active police situation.”

Investigators gave few details about the nature of the precipitating incident, other than sharing that the pursuit began in Green Oak Township and traveled through Lyon Township, Milford, and Highland Township before ending in Rose Township with the suspect fleeing on foot.

Read more here.

Power outage prep: What Michigan families need to know before the next storm

We’re about halfway through the 2026 summer and that means we still have a lot of storms — and power outages — to deal with.

A power outage doesn’t just kill the lights. It can cut off water, spoil food and put people who rely on medical devices in real danger.

Experts say households should be prepared for at least 72 hours without power — but most aren’t. Building an emergency kit before severe weather arrives is one of the most important steps a household can take.

Read more here.

Breaking down literacy funding in state budget

It’s been a week since the Michigan Legislature passed the state budget, and for parents and educators, there is a lot to know about what’s in it for schools.

Michigan schools are getting a 2.5% funding increase per student. That means a school gets $10,300 per student, compared to $10,500 last year. All of that is part of the nearly $23 billion budget, and the focus: Literacy.

Michigan currently ranks 44th in the country in reading. The new budget is investing serious money to fix that—more funding for teacher training in reading methods, hiring literacy coaches, and expanding tutoring for students who are behind.

Read more here.

Man accused of kidnapping teen waiting for bus in Hamtramck pleads guilty

The man accused of kidnapping a 16-year-old girl while she was waiting for the school bus in April has pleaded guilty.

Donald James Joseph Arthur Fields, 48, was charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, one count of felonious assault, three counts of felony firearm and one count of felon in possession of a firearm.

On April 13, just after 7 a.m., a 16-year-old girl was waiting for the school bus in the area of Edwin and Brombach streets in Hamtramck when a man — later identified as Fields — approached her, placed something in her back and allegedly forced her into the back of his van. Fields then drove away from the scene.

Read more here.

Weather: Comfortable summer weather returns to Metro Detroit with isolated storms

Expect partly sunny skies today with afternoon highs in the mid-80s, accompanied by noticeably lower humidity. While most of Southeast Michigan will remain dry, a few showers and non-severe thunderstorms could develop this afternoon, mainly along and south of I-94, especially closer to the Ohio state line.

Although widespread severe weather is not expected, a few of the stronger storms could produce localized wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph and small hail before weakening later in the day. For the majority of Metro Detroit, today will feature pleasant summer conditions with a mix of sunshine and clouds.

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Michigan schools are getting a 2.5% funding increase per student. That means a school gets $10,300 per student, compared to $10,500 last year.

All of that is part of the nearly $23 billion budget, and the focus: Literacy.

Michigan currently ranks 44th in the country in reading. The new budget is investing serious money to fix that—more funding for teacher training in reading methods, hiring literacy coaches, and expanding tutoring for students who are behind.

So, who gets what?

The budget is working on a weighted system. That means some students get even more funding because they need more support. That includes students from low-income families, students with disabilities, and English language learners.

Free school meals for all students also continue.

And for teachers, some districts will be able to give pay increases. There is also more money for after-school programs, early childhood education, and career and technical education.

Lori Higgins with Chalkbeat Detroit, a non-profit news organization that covers education, joined Local 4 Live to talk more about this.

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

Update: Suspect who prompted shelter-in-place order in Oakland County arrested overnight

North Oakland County Fire Authority Assistant Chief Tim Seal urged residents in Rose Township to stay indoors on Thursday (July 9) and call 911 if they notice anything unusual.

Police have not released details about the nature of the incident or whether anyone is being sought.

This is a breaking news story, and updates will be posted as they become available.

Deputies are searching for a suspect who fled on foot after a police pursuit that began in Green Oak Township and ended in Rose Township in Oakland County.

The pursuit traveled through Lyon Township, Milford, and Highland Township on Thursday (July 9) before ending near Rose Center Road and Hickory Ridge Drive, where the suspect fled, according to police.

Multiple law enforcement agencies are assisting with the search, including K-9 teams, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Drone Unit, and the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team.

Officials said the suspect had not been located as of 10:50 p.m.

Officials added there is no known threat to the public, though residents in the immediate area may notice an increased law enforcement presence while the search continues.

Residents are encouraged to remain vigilant, secure their homes and vehicles, and report any suspicious activity by calling 911.

The investigation remains active.

Donald James Joseph Arthur Fields, 48, was charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, one count of felonious assault, three counts of felony firearm and one count of felon in possession of a firearm.

According to Hamtramck Mayor Adam Alharbi, Fields has a criminal history of sexual assault charges.

On April 13, just after 7 a.m., a 16-year-old girl was waiting for the school bus in the area of Edwin and Brombach streets in Hamtramck when a man -- later identified as Fields -- approached her, placed something in her back and allegedly forced her into the back of his van. Fields then drove away from the scene.

Students immediately called 911 and reported the kidnapping.

Police went to the teen’s school to investigate the kidnapping and learned several students were tracking the teen by putting her phone number into cellphone location data and social media. Police at the school notified other officers of the teen’s location.

Fields allegedly drove the teen to a gas station convenience store on Conant Street in Detroit. The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said he took her inside the store so she could buy cigarettes for him. While inside, the teen signaled to the cashier that she was in danger, prompting the cashier to help her immediately.

Fields then quickly left the gas station, where he was met by Hamtramck police officers. He was arrested, had his gun confiscated and his van was impounded.

“Our young survivor in this case was simply walking in broad daylight when she was viciously attacked and sexually assaulted. Despite what she had just gone through, her quick thinking and mental toughness saved her life. We cannot reverse what happened to her, but we can work hard to bring justice to her,” said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy in April.

On July 9, Fields pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping, three counts of felony firearm and two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. As part of a plea deal, all other charges were dismissed.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 20.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced on July 9 that the $45 million multi-state settlement resolves allegations that Block, the company behind the popular peer-to-peer payments app, misled consumers about the safety of Cash App and did not protect users from fraud.

“Customer safety should always be a top priority, and when a company misleads and fails to protect its users from fraud, it must be held accountable,” said Nessel. “This settlement requires Cash App to maintain strong safeguards for consumers and commits the company to putting stolen money back into the pockets of Michigan residents. Throughout my time in office, we have worked with multistate coalitions to halt deceptive business practices, and we will continue to pursue corporations that try to put their bottom line over the people of Michigan.”

According to Nessel’s office, Block told Cash App users that their money was safe, implying the app worked like a bank with the same protections -- which Nessel said was not true.

The attorney general’s office said Block promoted direct deposits of paycheck and government benefits into Cash App. Block reportedly grew its user base without ensuring it could support those users when problems arose.

Nessel said Block’s policies made fraud easier, including the following:

• Block’s sign-up process was reportedly designed to be fast and frictionless, with minimal identity verification. That made it easy for fraudsters to create accounts, not just legitimate users.
• For years, Cash App had no phone support. Users who needed help could only message through the app or on social media. People who got locked out – or just wanted to talk to someone – searched online for a phone number and often ended up calling fake 1-800 numbers run by scammers posing as Cash App. Those scammers would then take over accounts or drain users’ other financial accounts. Block knew this was happening and didn’t warn users or set up a real phone line until years later.
• Block ran a social media promotion called Cash App Fridays, encouraging users to publicly post their $cashtag – a unique Cash App identifier – for a chance to win a weekly prize. Fraudsters would then contact those users, tell them they’d won, and trick them into handing over their login information. Block knew about these scams and kept running the promotion anyway, for years.

Michigan will receive $936,540 of the $45 million multi-state settlement.

Block has also agreed to implement and maintain responsible practices to resolve these issues, including:

• Maintain customer support that can resolve fraud complaints, account lockouts, and other problems.
• Offer live support 24 hours a day, with a human available by phone at least 13.5 hours a day and by live chat at least 18 hours a day.
• Stop making false or misleading claims about Cash App’s safety and how it protects users from fraud.
• Discontinue marketing practices known to increase fraud on the platform.
• Directly educate consumers about common types of fraud.
• Fulfill its legal obligations to investigate fraud claims and reimburse users for unauthorized transactions.

Block will also distribute between $75 million and $120 million to compensate consumers nationwide as part of a settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Additional information regarding the CFPB’s settlement is available on the CFPB’s website and Cash App settlement website.

“We’ve reached an agreement that resolves a previously disclosed legacy matter that primarily relates to historical aspects of our business. Cash App has made significant investments in consumer protection, customer service, and compliance in order to safeguard and serve the tens of millions of Americans who rely on Cash App to meet their banking and credit needs. We share the commitment of the attorneys general to addressing industry challenges and continue to invest in operations and technology to promote a safe and healthy financial ecosystem.”

Block spokesperson

The Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said group sales fell 8.6% in the second quarter to just under 2.1 million vehicles, with sales in China alone plummeted by more than one-third.

After a board meeting on Thursday, Volkswagen said its “fundamental realignment” over the last three years had reached its next phase, announcing plans to streamline the model lineup by up to half, without providing specifics.

CEO Oliver Blume laid out plans to make VW faster and more competitive through less complexity, focused technologies, better alignment across regional markets and reduction of overcapacities, among other things, citing an “increasingly demanding environment.”

Among its main brands, the core Volkswagen unit saw deliveries of slightly over 1 million vehicles in the second quarter, a drop of 14% from a year earlier. Deliveries at Audi declined 8% and those at Porsche fell 18%.

Lamborghini, Skoda and the trucks unit reported upticks, and sales grew in the Americas and Europe.

Volkswagen cited dramatic change over the last year, including geopolitical tensions, rising costs mainly through tariffs, and increasing regulatory requirements alongside growing competition.

As recently as December, Volkswagen was betting big on China, where electric cars have been taking a greater market share and competition is stiff.

Research firm BernsteinSG, in a note after Thursday's announcement, expressed skepticism. “VW stated that it is extending its technology leadership, a claim that will likely raise eyebrows given the pace of innovation among its Chinese competitors,” it said.

Also Thursday, hundreds of employees led a protest outside the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau to demand protections for jobs and voice opposition to plans to close the site. The factory has fully switched to making electric cars.

The EU's executive arm issued a fresh set of charges against Meta Platforms as part of its investigation under the 27-nation bloc's strict digital rule book known as the Digital Services Act. The sweeping set of regulations from Brussels requires tech platforms to protect internet users under threat of hefty fines.

The European Commission said Meta failed to properly assess the risks its design features pose to the physical and mental health of users, including minors. And while the company has tools and controls to help manage Facebook and Instagram use, it said they were easily overridden, dismissed, or technically challenging to use.

Meta “needs to implement design changes” to Instagram and Facebook, such as disabling “key addictive features” like autoplay of videos and infinite scroll so they’re not turned on by default, the commission said in its preliminary findings.

Meta now has the chance to respond and defend itself before the commission issues its final decision, which could result in a fine worth up to 6% of the company’s global annual revenue.

Meta said Friday that the preliminary findings do not recognize the steps that the company has already taken to protect teens.

“Since this investigation began, we rolled out Teen Accounts that automatically protect teens and put parents in control - allowing them to block access to Instagram at night and cap daily screen time at just 15 minutes,” Meta said in a prepared statement. "We share the European Commission’s commitment to providing teens with safe, positive online experiences and will continue to engage constructively with them.”

Europe is committed to enforcing its legislation that holds platforms accountable for addictive design features, said Henna Virkkunen, an executive vice-president at the commission overseeing tech.

“Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms,” Virkkunen said in a written statement.

Facebook and Instagram design features, including personalized recommendations and push notifications, serve up an endless stream of content, putting users' brains on “autopilot” and fueling compulsive use, the commission said.

Meanwhile, screen time controls that parents can impose on their teens' devices can be “easily dismissed” and don't result in a meaningful reduction of use, the commission said. And the controls are undermined by the technical expertise, time and effort that parents need to understand and use them, it said.

The commission's proposed design changes also included finding better ways to encourage screen time breaks, and changing the content recommendation system so that it’s less “engagement-oriented.”

The preliminary findings are the latest charges since Brussels opened its investigation in 2024 over concerns that the social media giant wasn't doing enough to protect children online.

The EU said earlier this year that Meta had failed to prevent children under 13, the company's minimum age to use Facebook and Instagram, from signing up. It also said Meta was not doing enough to identify and remove underage users after they had opened accounts.

🍇 Grapevine

🌅 Good morning! On this day in 1962, Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin was issued a U.S. patent for a three-point seatbelt “for use in vehicles” — a major innovation for road and vehicle safety.

Here are a few things to know about for Friday, July 10, 2026:

⛅ 4Warn Weather: Expect partly sunny skies today with afternoon highs in the mid-80s, accompanied by noticeably lower humidity. Check out the 10-day forecast.

🌩️ DTE Braces for Storms: As crews continue making progress restoring power across Metro Detroit, DTE Energy says teams are positioned to respond to any new outages from storms expected tonight. Read more.

👎🏻 Westland Says ‘No’ to Flock: After community feedback, the Flock camera contract for Westland will not move forward, a city councilwoman announced Wednesday. Read more.

💔 Fallen Firefighter Honored: Detroit firefighters lined nine overpasses on I-94 Thursday morning as the remains of a 38-year-old Clinton Township woman killed while battling a wildfire in western Colorado returned home. Watch here.

💵 Cash App Settlement: Michigan will receive nearly $1 million as part of a multi-million-dollar, multi-state settlement over the “deceiving” practices on Cash App, the state’s attorney general announced on Thursday. Read more.

🏊 Morning Dive

Good morning ☀️

With a new billboard now staring back at Vista Maria’s campus and survivors gathering nearby Thursday morning, a long-running fight over accountability at the Dearborn Heights facility moved into an even more public phase, one aimed as much at Lansing as it is at the institution itself.

“It needs to be heard all over the world: trauma doesn’t have an expiration date. Neither should justice,” said Moose Scheib, an attorney involved in the civil case against Vista Maria.

Under current Michigan law, survivors who were assaulted as minors generally have until age 28 to pursue certain criminal charges, while adults have a limited window to report.

“There is no expiration date on healing — there’s no expiration date on fixing things,” said Linda Malone, a survivor of Vista Maria who missed the deadline due to Michigan’s statute of limitations. “There’s no expiration date on getting over it.”

Get the full story here.

🗞️ Other headlines to know today

• Power outage prep: What Michigan families need to know before the next storm
• Deputies search for suspect who fled after police pursuit across Oakland and Livingston counties
• Hamtramck bar warns its future is uncertain after financial struggles
• Michigan Department of Corrections releases autopsy findings in Women’s Huron Valley inmate death
• ‘They’ve almost hit kids’: Novi residents say construction is sending dangerous traffic into neighborhood
• Detroit vertical farm highlights food safety measures as Cyclosporiasis cases near 1,300
• National Archives Tour makes a stop at Henry Ford -- Here’s what to expect
• Michigan State Police helicopter helps arrest suspect after stolen ATV chase
• Mayor, transportation officials, bus drivers celebrate opening of new $160M DDOT Coolidge Terminal 
• 1 pedestrian dead after crash in Farmington Hills
• U-M nurses reach tentative contract agreement with Michigan Medicine, averting possible strike
• World-renowned Polish youth ensemble brings medieval music to Michigan
• Former DPD officer-in-training charged with reckless driving in fatal pedestrian crash
• 37 cats rescued from Redford Township home after hoarding investigation
• What’s Going Around in Metro Detroit: Gastrointestinal illnesses, poison ivy, bug bites, whooping cough
• Woman who police say bit officer after fatal Warren crash found guilty of manslaughter
• Mackinac Bridge clears national safety check prompted by bridge collapse in Baltimore
• Chick-fil-A’s ‘Dress like a cow, enjoy a free entrée’ deal is back -- Here’s how it works
• Woman charged with second-degree murder after fatal stabbing in Taylor
• Detroit man accused of shooting, killing girlfriend with semi-automatic rifle
• You’re probably buying the wrong sunscreen. A skin doctor says look for this
• FEMA is covering 90% of flood help in Dearborn -- Here’s what the $8 million will do
• Detroit’s Motor City Mile has reached over $100k in donations -- Here’s where the money goes
• 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:

Democrats in Maine began jockeying Thursday to become the new candidate for a pivotal U.S. Senate seat after progressive nominee Graham Platner announced he will withdraw from the race after a sexual assault allegation.

Democrats need to pick a candidate to replace Platner on the ballot by July 27, according to state law. Whoever is selected will have less than four months before facing longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the general election. Potential candidates had already been teasing their interest before Platner, who denies the allegation, announced he intends to drop out. Platner is expected to file paperwork to formally withdraw on Monday, the deadline to do so.

But a growing number began formally launching their campaigns Thursday. (Read more)

----

Mexico will request criminal charges over 17 Mexicans who died in ICE custody or during immigration enforcement operations by the Trump administration, officials said Thursday.

Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco’s announcement Thursday morning further escalated tensions with the United States, as Mexico’s government has sharply criticized the treatment of its citizens under U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to increase deportations.

The request, which carries no legal weight, will be submitted to state prosecutors’ offices and the U.S. Department of Justice, asking them to consider criminal charges against those responsible for the deaths. (Read more)

----

A South Florida airport officially changed its name on Thursday to the President Donald J. Trump International Airport. Signs for the Palm Beach International Airport have been removed, while new signage goes up.

“Because an entire airport transformation doesn’t happen overnight, you’ll notice a combination of both our classic look and our new brand elements coexisting while traveling through the terminal over the next several weeks,” airport officials said in a Facebook post.

“Trump Force One,” a Boeing 757 owned by The Trump Organization, was the first plane to arrive at the airport under its new name, shortly after 5 a.m. The president’s son, Eric Trump, was one of the passenger (Read more)

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

📝 Word Up

Today’s Word Up is: Inveterate / in-ˈve-t(ə-)rət / (adjective) — defined as “habitual; firmly established by long persistence.”

Example: “My toddler’s inveterate tendency to extend our bedtime routine has

🧹 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 charcuterie boards. We don’t have one for that, sorry.

✍🏽 Written and curated by: Jenny Sherman (Have something to say? Feel free to send an email here.)

Beautiful Weekend Ahead

High pressure will remain in control through the weekend, delivering near-normal temperatures, lower humidity and dry weather across Southeast Michigan. Highs will generally remain in the low to mid-80s, making for ideal conditions to enjoy outdoor festivals, sporting events, yard work, or time at the lake.

Heat Builds Back Next Week

The comfortable weather won’t last long. A warming trend begins early next week as temperatures climb back into the 90s. Forecast models continue to indicate the potential for another heat wave, with Southeast Michigan possibly experiencing three or more consecutive days of 90-degree temperatures.

Forecast Highlights

• Today: Partly sunny with highs in the mid-80s. Isolated showers and thunderstorms possible south of I-94, with a few stronger storms capable of gusty winds and small hail.
• This Weekend: Dry, less humid, and seasonable with highs in the 80s.
• Next Week: Hotter weather returns with highs in the 90s and the potential for another heat wave across Southeast Michigan.

Typhoon Bavi, with maximum sustained winds of 155 kph (96 mph), was first expected to pass north of Taiwan, bringing heavy rains to the island of 23 million people from Friday night into Saturday.

Schools were closed Friday in Taipei, the island's capital, and fishing boats have been tied up close together in ports in northern Taiwan. Many flights to Japan, Hong Kong and other destinations have been canceled through Saturday, though some were still scheduled, Taiwan's Central News Agency said.

The typhoon's current northwest track would take it over some remote Japanese islands before passing north of Taiwan on Saturday. It is forecast to make landfall in China on Saturday night south of Shanghai, near the border between Fujian and Zhejiang provinces.

More than 17,000 people have been evacuated in Zhejiang and 170,000 rescue workers placed on standby, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Fujian has suspended some ferry routes because of strong winds and rough seas and called for fishing boats to return to port.

Bavi has weakened from supertyphoon strength earlier this week, when it brought violent winds to Saipan and other U.S. territories in the Pacific.

In southern China, authorities announced Thursday that 39 people had died in flooding from Tropical Storm Maysak, which drenched parts of the Guangxi region for days with record rainfall.

The rains breached reservoirs, including the dramatic collapse of part of a dam in Hengzhou that inundated a wide area with fast-flowing muddy water. The floods stranded people on the second and higher floors of buildings for days, many without power, until rescuers could reach them.

Another 11 people died in central China when severe thunderstorms and tornadoes wreaked havoc in Hubei province on Monday night.

Separately, a landslide killed 21 forestry workers in western China's Gansu province on Tuesday in a disaster that was not storm-related.

The investigation began on the evening of July 5, when St. Clair County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a local fast food restaurant to talk to a woman who had been assaulted. Deputies learned that the assault happened in Wales Township.

According to the sheriff’s office, two men, who were living in the same home as the woman, allegedly assaulted her multiple times over the previous days. She said she was hit, beaten, threatened with a gun on multiple occasions and was held against her will.

Deputies located both men, identified as Tariq and Aimeir White, and arrested them.

Tariq, 30, was charged with domestic violence - second offense. His bond was set at $10,000.

Aimeir, 39, was charged with one count of unlawful imprisonment, five counts of felony firearm, one count of assault to do great bodily harm, one count of discharging a firearm in a building, one count of domestic violence - third offense, one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, one count of possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, and one count of possession with intent to deliver cocaine. His bond was set at $250,000.

Every performance is open to the public at no cost, and concertgoers are warmly invited to attend any stop on this demanding, music-filled journey.

A world-renowned Polish youth ensemble devoted to early music

Scholares Minores pro Musica Antiqua is a celebrated Polish children’s and youth ensemble specializing in early music, repertoire from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque eras.

Founded in 1975 in Poniatowa, Poland, by musicologists Danuta and Witold Danielewicz, the group has earned an international reputation for presenting historical European music with authenticity and artistry far beyond what most audiences expect from a youth ensemble.

What makes Scholares Minores unique

Scholares Minores is known for performances that are both musically compelling and historically immersive. Their concerts often feature:

• Authentic vocal and instrumental works from medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque traditions
• Historical instruments such as viola da gamba, rebec, crumhorn, psaltery, and recorders
• Period costumes and historical dance, helping audiences experience the music as it might have been heard—and seen—centuries ago

In other words, this is not simply a choir appearance. It’s a living, educational performance that blends singing, instruments, movement, and visual storytelling to recreate early European music in a way that feels immediate and unforgettable.

A legacy built over five decades

Over nearly 50 years, the ensemble has achieved an extraordinary record of performance and cultural outreach, including:

• More than 2,500 concerts
• Over 100 international tours, with appearances throughout Europe, North America, and beyond
• Recognition as one of Poland’s premier youth ensembles dedicated to early music

This Michigan tour is part of that long tradition—an ambitious itinerary that pairs cultural exchange with the discipline and joy of performance.

Full Michigan Concert Schedule (All Free)

• July 10, 7 p.m. — Galleria, Orchard Lake
• July 11, 7 p.m. — First United Methodist Church, Dearborn
• July 12, 12 p.m. — St. Albertus Catholic Church, Detroit
• July 13, 6 p.m. — Old St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Ann Arbor
• July 15, 7 p.m. — Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic Church, Bay City
• July 16, 7 p.m. — St. Matthew’s Catholic Church, Boyne City
• July 17, 7 p.m. — St. Anne’s Catholic Church, Mackinac Island
• July 19, 3 p.m. — Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, Elk Rapids
• July 19, 7 p.m. — St. Joseph Catholic Church, Traverse City
• July 21, 2 p.m. — Freedom Village Retirement Home, Holland
• July 21, 7:30 p.m. — First United Methodist Church, Holland
• July 22, 7 p.m. — Fountain Street Church, Grand Rapids

How to support the tour

While every concert is free, supporters who want to help make the journey possible can still contribute through the ensemble’s two ongoing fundraising campaigns. Community support helps sustain travel, logistics, and the many behind-the-scenes needs of a multi-city tour.

Here’s a link to donate in U.S. dollars: Fundraiser by Julia Colingsworth : Support Polish Youth Concert Tour in Michigan

Scholares Minores’ visit is a reminder that music can be both art and a bridge, connecting generations, cultures, and communities. As this ensemble travels across Michigan representing Poland, audiences have a special opportunity to hear early European music performed with authenticity, energy, and youthful excellence.

With 12 free concerts ahead, there are many chances to attend. Wherever you catch them, you’ll be witnessing not only a performance but a living tradition on tour.

Michigan Humane is caring for 34 cats removed from the property, along with two kittens that were born after the animals were taken into care.

Animal control officials said another cat was found in a live trap Thursday (July 9) morning, bringing the total number of rescued cats to 37.

The home at the center of the investigation was previously declared an imminent danger to public health.

Authorities have cited the owner, who could face potential animal cruelty charges.

Officials have not released additional details about the condition of the animals or the status of the investigation.

Michigan Humane is providing medical care and shelter for the rescued cats as the case moves forward.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, when Trooper 2, an MSP helicopter, provided aerial support during the investigation.

Police said the suspect attempted to carjack another vehicle while fleeing from law enforcement.

Officials said the helicopter’s assistance played a key role in tracking the suspect and coordinating the response, ultimately leading to an arrest.

Michigan State Police said that aviation resources provide law enforcement agencies with additional tools to safely locate suspects and support ground operations.

Additional details about the suspect and charges were not immediately released.

The ship, the Mayuree Naree, was hit by a projectile north of Oman on March 11, killing three people. The remaining 20 crew members were rescued and returned to Thailand about a week later.

Former crew members Panithi Tumkaew, Noppadon Wongsuvan and Surades Manpuen filed the lawsuit against Precious Shipping Co. as well as two affiliated companies and the ship’s captain.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants endangered their lives by sailing through the strait despite the security risks, according to their lawyer Kunpat Singhathong.

Kunpat said the three men were also dismissed before the completion of their nine-month employment contracts after the attack rendered the ship inoperable. He said they received compensation equivalent to two months’ salary.

The compensation was inadequate because they have since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, leaving them unable to continue working as sailors for the foreseeable future, he said.

“We tried to negotiate with the company, but it denied responsibility, so we believe the matter should be brought to the court,” Kunpat said before filing the case with the Central Labor Court in Bangkok.

He declined to identify the amount of compensation they are seeking, only that it would be over a million baht ($30,000) per person.

Panithi, who said he had worked for Precious Shipping for more than a decade, said his wife encouraged him to seek medical treatment after noticing changes in his behavior.

“When there are loud noises, I’ll get startled," he said. “I can’t work now, and I have to take medication.”

Precious Shipping did not respond to requests for comment.

The remains of the three crew members killed in the attack were repatriated to Thailand earlier this month.

In a statement on July 3, Precious Shipping thanked everyone involved in the repatriation process and expressed its condolences to the victims’ families. The company said it “remains committed to providing full assistance, care, and support to bereaved families throughout this difficult time.”

On Thursday, the United States launched new airstrikes against Iran, which responded by targeting American allies in the Middle East. The exchange of fire threatens an interim deal intended to help end the Iran war.

The conflict has choked off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for about a fifth of global trade in crude oil and liquefied natural gas. Most of this was bound for Asia, which has struggled with a continentwide energy shock since the war began on Feb. 28.

The safety of stranded seafarers in the Persian Gulf has been a source of concern among Asian nations — like India, the Philippines and Thailand — whose citizens make up a significant portion of ship crews.

“This is not simply a matter of shipping statistics,” said Arsenio Dominguez, the secretary-general of the United Nations' International Maritime Organization in a statement Wednesday. “Behind the figures are seafarers, and in some cases their families, who continue to bear the human cost of this conflict.”

In scenes like a heist movie in reverse, the priceless medieval artwork was spirited into the British Museum on Friday in the dead of night, after a high-tech, tight-security operation where any slip-up could have spelled disaster.

On loan from its home in France, the tapestry will go on display at the London museum from Sept. 10 until July 2027. It's a public homecoming for a vivid visual record of the 1066 Norman invasion, the last successful conquest of England.

The tapestry's arrival in London has been widely anticipated, but due to security concerns all details of when and how it would arrive were kept under wraps.

“It feels extraordinary that after so much work and planning and care and thought that it’s actually happening,” British Museum Director Nicholas Cullinan said as he waited outside the museum in the dark.

“It’s the first time in 1,000 years that such an important piece of British — French too — history is going to be on these shores,” he said. “It’s incredibly exciting.”

The 70-meter (230-foot) tapestry was folded accordion-style in a climate-controlled case that was placed inside a shock-absorbing cradle. That went into a truck that crossed from France on a vehicle shuttle train through the Channel Tunnel.

After an 11-hour, 350-mile (560-kilometer) trip, escorted by police, the truck backed slowly into a loading bay at the museum, where workers gingerly eased the container, the size of a small car, to the ground. Museum staff and British and French diplomats who had been watching in hushed silence broke into applause.

The priceless cargo will spend several days acclimatizing before it is carefully unpacked and unfolded for an exhibition that the museum expects to be one of the most popular in its 267-year history. Some 100,000 tickets were sold in their first day on sale this month.

“It was like trying to get tickets to Glastonbury,” Cullinan said. “I don’t take for granted that people care that much about a 1,000-year-old embroidery. I think that’s an amazing thing.”

The tapestry is a symbol of Anglo-French relations

Stitched in wool thread on linen fabric — technically an embroidery, rather than a tapestry — the artwork depicts events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, when William, Duke of Normandy defeated King Harold’s Anglo-Saxon army. The invasion ended Saxon rule, made William the Conqueror the first Norman king of England and bound Britain and France more closely together.

Historians believe the tapestry was commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, William’s half brother, and was probably sewn by women in England — possibly nuns — before being taken across the Channel. It has spent most of the last millennium in the town of Bayeux in northwest France, apart from two short periods at the Louvre in Paris.

The tapestry symbolizes the sometimes fractious, intertwined histories of France and Britain, and securing the loan was a high-stakes diplomatic mission. It was announced during a state visit to the U.K. by French President Emmanuel Macron in July 2025.

The loan coincides with renovations at the museum in Bayeux that houses it.

In return, the British Museum will loan treasures from the Sutton Hoo hoard — artifacts from a 7th-century Anglo Saxon ship burial — and other items to museums in Normandy.

Macron said in an article for Friday's Times of London that “our two countries are not merely lending each other artworks: they are sharing the great narratives of European history’s origins.”

Retired British diplomat Peter Ricketts, who helped cement the deal as the U.K.’s special envoy for the tapestry, said “it’s an extraordinary mark of friendship and confidence in the U.K. to entrust this object to us for a year.”

“Macron, when he offered us the tapestry, I think he understood that it would have far more impact in the U.K. than it does in France, because it’s more fundamental to our national story,” he said. "Everybody (in Britain) knows 1066.”

It's a vivid record of 11th-century life and death

The tapestry features more than 620 people and 737 animals and tells its story in 58 scenes brimming with vivid and sometimes gory detail. There are scenes of hand-to-hand combat, mutilated bodies and the unlucky Harold, felled by an arrow through his eye.

“It has an emotional richness that is really difficult to get from written sources,” said Millie Horton-Insch, project curator for the British Museum exhibition. “It just brings people closer to this history than any other object can. It’s not the same as reading a text. You are looking at something that was handled by the people who lived through it and felt compelled to record these events in this way.”

She said the document’s survival for 10 centuries despite myriad dangers — “moths, mice, mold, damp, fire” — is miraculous, and may be partly due to its humble materials.

“It’s not really made of any blingy fabric,” she said. “It’s not gold, it’s not silver. There wasn’t the same temptation to cut it up and make it into vestments or repurpose it for anything.”

Some French cultural figures opposed the loan, arguing that moving the tapestry was too risky. Cullinan said the expert teams went to great lengths to ensure its safety, including making two trial runs of the journey to show it would not cause the fragile item too much stress.

“Such care has gone into it. I can’t think of a level of care for any other museum loan,” he said.

He said he understands why there are concerns.

“The tapestry arouses great interest and passion,” he said. “Which is a wonderful thing.”

“Satluj” tells the true tale of a human rights activist who investigated thousands of disappearances and extrajudicial killings during a government crackdown on a separatist insurgency in India's Punjab state in the 1980s and early 1990s.

At the screening in Gurdaspur, elderly survivors of the insurgency sat beside teenagers born years after it ended. When the screen flickered to life and “Satluj” movie began, the crowd fell silent.

Originally titled “Punjab 95,” the movie was stalled for three years after India’s censor board demanded more than 120 cuts. After failing to secure a theatrical release, it debuted on the ZEE5 streaming platform last week, but was removed in India two days later.

The takedown had an unintended consequence.

Across villages in Punjab, Sikh organizations, local activists and residents have begun organizing community screenings using copies that have circulated online. The screenings have transformed Sikh temple compounds and village halls into makeshift cinemas where audiences watch not just a film but a retelling of memories of one of India’s bloodiest internal conflicts.

Spotlight on Punjab’s insurgency

“Satluj” draws on the life of rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, whose investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings exposed one of the darkest episodes of Punjab’s insurgency. The conflict pitted Sikh militant groups seeking an independent Khalistan against Indian security forces and claimed thousands of civilian, militant and police lives.

During the insurgency, rights groups documented allegations of enforced disappearances, custodial killings and secret cremations. Khalra’s investigation alleged that thousands of people who had disappeared were cremated anonymously by police without informing their families or maintaining official records.

Khalra was abducted in 1995 and later killed. Several police officers were convicted in connection with his murder.

Although the insurgency was crushed and support for Khalistan waned within Punjab, the Indian government continues to view separatist sentiment as a national security concern. It has not publicly explained why the film was removed, but officials told local media they ordered it taken down on security grounds.

Local organized screenings

The public screenings take shape through grassroots cooperation. Residents arrange for projectors, audio speakers and power generators, Sikh temples and village community spaces become open-air theaters for an evening, and volunteers spread the word from one household to the next.

Inderjeet Singh Bains, who helps coordinate screenings in Gurdaspur district, said the initiative aimed to create spaces where people can watch together and reflect on a period of Punjab’s history that continues to resonate across generations.

“When we screen the film, we see our elders and mothers, many of them 60 or 70 years old, crying because they have lost their sons. Our people have endured immense suffering,” Bains said.

Gurmukh Singh, who attended a screening, said the film gave voice to stories the young in Punjab had heard only in fragments. For families in his village, he said, the insurgency was not history but lived experience, with many losing loved ones in the violence.

“After watching the movie, there is a feeling of the grief our earlier generations had to bear,” Singh said.

Movie fuels censorship debate

The takedown of “Satluj” has reopened a debate over artistic freedom in India, where films have increasingly run into censorship battles under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government. Critics have said such cases have become more frequent and accuse Modi’s government of promoting films that align with its nationalist narrative.

“Everything happened right before our eyes, so what is there to oppose? The truth is coming to light, and people should be allowed to see it,” said Balwinder Singh, a Sikh religious leader.

The government says movie certification decisions are made independently under the law.

In a statement, ZEE5 said the film would no longer be available for viewing in India “in light of current developments.” It added that it would explore “every appropriate avenue through due process” to restore it.

Audiences revisit painful memories

Diljit Dosanjh, the lead actor who plays Khalra, said he was unconcerned about whether the film remained online because once audiences had seen it, “it cannot be erased.”

That sentiment appears to be playing out in Punjab’s villages.

Inside the temple compound in Gurdaspur, the audience watched scenes of police killings, crackdowns and families searching for answers. Afterwards, many lingered in conversation, comparing the film with the real-life memories they had carried for decades.

Pawan Deep Kaur described the film as a heartbreaking portrayal of the suffering endured by the older generation.

“It made us cry endlessly,” she said.

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Saaliq reported from New Delhi.

But after hours of combing the Mediterranean seabed in search of yellow-painted mock mortar shells, the divers surfaced empty-handed.

It was the team's fifth diving trip in the yearslong experiment to help prepare Israel to clear part of the sea from unexploded grenades and other munitions in order to return beach area to residents. But on this day in June, the divers couldn't find the dummy mortar and artillery shells they'd planted months prior, foreshadowing the challenges that lie ahead.

“It’s really hard to find things in the sea,” said Roy Jaijel, a researcher in the marine geology and geophysics department at Israel’s National Institute of Oceanography, as he emerged from a dive.

Jaijel co-leads a project aimed at returning some 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of shoreline to people living in Israel's central city of Rishon LeZion, an area that's been used as a firing range for decades. The initiative, the first of its kind in Israel, coincides with a global push to better protect the world's waters as demand increases for the use of seas and oceans for shipping, energy and recreation.

Experts say the clearance of underwater munitions has received more attention in recent years in part because of the boom in artificial intelligence, which requires millions of kilometers of underwater fiber-optic cables to allow for global connectivity.

Munitions can end up dumped into waters after wars, fall into seas during conflict or, in the case of Rishon LeZion, accumulate from firing practice. Erosion from seawater can lead toxic and explosive chemicals, along with heavy metals, to seep from the munitions, causing environmental contamination. There's also the risk of objects exploding if people step on them or children play with them, thinking they're toys.

Two years ago, Europe launched a project to better detect and clear non-military unexploded ordnance, such as from industrial or commercial sites. In a separate initiative in 2024, Germany piloted a program to recover and dispose of military waste from the North and Baltic seas, where some 1.6 million tonnes of unexploded munitions from two world wars lie, according to the German government.

Still, there's been less focus on clearing waters in the Middle East, such as the Mediterranean, which historically hasn't been the site of large dumps compared with Europe.

Leaders of the Israeli project say it's one of the first to focus on clearing smaller munitions in complicated underwater terrain, which is why many countries have avoided it.

“It's like looking for a needle in a haystack,” said Israel Faintuch, head of the Maritime Division at Israel's Ministry of Defense National Mine Action Authority as he checked his oxygen tank and suited up to go underwater.

Limited beach space in Israel is the driving force behind the clearing effort

The government says nearly half the country's 194-kilometer (120-mile) coastline is off limits to civilians, used for commercial ports, power plants, desalination facilities, military bases and firing zones.

Since the country's founding nearly 80 years ago, 7 kilometers (4.3 miles), nearly the entire length of Rishon LeZion's shoreline, has been used as a firing range, launching grenades as well as small and large mortars, leaving hundreds of thousands of people crammed into a narrow strip of beach.

Launched last year, the joint research project funded by Rishon LeZion's municipality is being led by Israel’s National Mine Action Authority and researchers from the National Institute of Oceanography. It aims to localize the most impacted areas, mapping the pattern of munitions to determine how far offshore and how deep to go before the clearance team steps in.

In order to gather data, divers place various sizes of fake munitions — some equipped with motion sensors — at depths of 5, 10 and 15 meters (16, 33 and 59 feet) and up to 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles) offshore. After several months, they retrieve the munitions, analyze the data and plant new ones.

In June, Associated Press journalists accompanied the team underwater as they placed new munitions for the next round of tests and attempted to find ones they'd left in January. Divers descended using a string, or measuring tape, to navigate the seabed. Tapping each other under the water, they'd point in different directions to search, rubbing their hands over the seafloor.

“You have limited air supply when you go with the divers and you have limited time in the water," said Dafna Eliahu, a graduate student at the University of Haifa working on the project. "So with actual live munition I expect it to be very difficult, very hard to locate and to actually be able to find them,” she said.

While the information, including from the sensors, is still being processed, preliminary findings show that the munitions moved less than expected, which means there might be less area that needs clearing, she said.

Israel's Defense Ministry wants to have enough data to start clearing by the end of next year and expand the shoreline by an initial 150 meters (492 feet) within a few months. Completing the project will take years and cost tens of millions of dollars. It's already been delayed due to Israel's multiple wars with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran as divers can't work when missiles are falling and could land in the sea.

During the current war that the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran as well as the 12-day war last June between Israel and Iran, the army said missiles aimed at larger cities like Rishon LeZion fell into the sea but wouldn’t specify how many.

Israel says no one has been injured or killed by unexploded sea ordnance, but there have been about a dozen sightings of devices in the last 20 years where the police and army were called. Most have been found on or near shore.

What's learned during the project could be useful beyond Israel

While the goal of the project is to expand parts of the shoreline, Israel also hopes its findings will yield new insights on clearing munitions from this part of the world, where there are threats but overall less is known.

According to the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, more than half of global incidents related to unexploded ordnance, such as sightings or drifting mines, were recorded in the Middle East between 2014 and 2023, with most occurring in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, largely a result of Yemen's civil war.

Pedro Basto, research and innovation program manager with the group, said it is important to keep interest high in removing underwater explosives given the increasing dependence on the seas.

“Both renewable energies based on the sea (wind turbines and harnessing water currents) and the global connectivity that most of the world relies on every minute of every day, depend massively on underwater cable laying,” he said.

As Israel's project advances, residents in Rishon LeZion say they're looking forward to being able to use more land.

Moria Malka, head spokesperson for the city's municipality, said the clearance will triple the area’s coastline and much of it will become a nature reserve as well as a residential area near the sea. For beachgoers like Mark Kostman, that is great news.

“Holidays and Saturdays, all of this place is completely crowded and too dense to even have fun,” said Kostman as he played volleyball with his children next to the firing zone. “Having it as public space for leisure and sport ... it's wonderful."

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Associated Press reporter Natalie Melzer contributed from Nahariya, Israel.

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Back-and-forth attacks, including a day earlier, have repeatedly threatened the ceasefire. But Thursday’s appeared bigger all around, with sirens sounding at least three times in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters, and missiles targeting Kuwait and Qatar.

Sirens sounded Thursday afternoon in Jordan as well, where the U.S. has stationed troops and aircraft.

An Iranian official accused the U.S. of launching an airstrike later Thursday targeting the area around Iran’s sole nuclear power plant, and other explosions were reported elsewhere in the country during the afternoon.

Early Friday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was laid to rest in his hometown of Mashhad after days of public mourning. Khamenei was killed in the opening salvos of the Iran war.

The strikes came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of a fragile ceasefire and threatened to escalate the conflict if they didn't stop. That raised concerns that the region could tip back into a war that would engulf several countries and could halt energy shipments through the strait that are crucial for the global economy.

In Iran, the two days of American airstrikes have killed at least 14 people and wounded another 78, Iran’s Health Ministry said Thursday. Most were reportedly members of the armed forces.

In Kuwait, the military said falling debris wounded one person as the nation shot down three ballistic missiles, a cruise missile and 10 drones. Bahrain said it shot down incoming fire, without elaborating, and Jordanian government spokesperson Mohammad al-Momani said all incoming fire from Iran had been intercepted. Iranian state TV said the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard fired missiles at a U.S. base in Jordan.

There was no immediate word of damage in Qatar.

US strikes hit more targets

The U.S. military’s Central Command said it hit 90 targets across Iran, releasing black-and-white footage of what appeared to be strikes on an airport runway and missile launchers.

The U.S. said the strikes were intended to “further degrade” Iran’s ability “to threaten freedom of navigation” in the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed before the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.

Traffic has picked up somewhat since a tentative deal last month included opening the waterway. Maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence said Thursday that preliminary data showed at least 576 ships passed through the strait in June, compared with 233 in May. More than 3,100 transited the strait in June 2025.

Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, including Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex, and southern port cities. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted Ehsan Jahanian, a local official in Bushehr, as accusing the U.S. of striking near the plant around noon, hours after Central Command said it had ended its latest round of strikes. Asked for comment on Bushehr, Central Command referred to a press release that detailed targets but made no mention of the nuclear power plant.

Streets are jammed for Khamenei’s final funeral procession

For the first time since April, U.S. strikes also appeared to target Iranian bridges. State media reported a strike on a railway bridge in Iran’s northeastern Golestan province, and the Revolutionary Guard said two bridges were attacked on the route to Mashhad, where tens of thousands of mourners thronged wide boulevards during the final funeral procession for Khamenei on Thursday.

People pressed forward to touch a vehicle carrying Khamenei's body. Many carried Iranian flags and images of the late leader or banners evoking Shiite Islam’s long history of martyrs. Some signs called for the death of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Khamenei ruled Iran for nearly 37 years before being killed in the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that started the war. The funeral processions began last Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran and other cities as throngs commemorated the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West.

Trump issues another warning to Iran if attacks on shipping happen again

After leaving a NATO summit in Turkey, Trump posted several videos on his social media site of what he said were explosions in Iran and issued another warning to the Islamic Republic.

“This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote Wednesday, a day after three tankers were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump also renewed his past threats to hit Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including electric and desalination plants, and to seize Kharg Island, through which some 90% of Iranian oil exports pass.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator in talks seeking a permanent end to the war, was defiant in a post on X on Thursday morning: “America still hasn’t learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. Let me put it plainly: If you strike, you’ll get hit.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on Telegram that he spoke by phone with his Saudi, Turkish and Omani counterparts and with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been one of the main mediators in the war. The outreach suggested efforts may be underway to reduce tensions.

Talks on reaching a final deal were to begin after Khamenei's funeral

Trump said Wednesday that the interim ceasefire agreement was “over.” He said he would allow negotiations to continue but thought negotiators were “wasting their time.”

Negotiations to reach a final deal were due to start after the funeral for Khamenei.

The talks are meant to focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency said Friday that a search had ended while an investigation was underway into the cause of the fire Thursday that gutted the Fujian Huiteng factory in Jinjiang, a manufacturing hub for sports shoes.

According to product listings on online sales and import platforms, Fujian Huiteng makes shoes for both Chinese and foreign brands.

Local media footage showed people trapped on the roof of the five-floor building, enveloped in thick black smoke, while the spray from fire truck hoses fell short of flames showing through windows on its upper floors. Xinhua said the factory’s owner and managers were arrested and the company’s accounts were frozen.

When the fire started, 237 factory workers and two visitors were in the building. Two of the 213 people rescued from the factory were pronounced dead after being taken to hospitals. Another 26 missing people were later confirmed dead, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Work safety has been a persistent problem in China. In May, an explosion at a fireworks plant in the city of Changsha in the central province of Hunan killed at least 37 people. In 2024, a fire at a refrigeration facility under construction killed 39 people in the city of Xinyu in the southeastern Jiangxi province.

Authorities have repeatedly ordered businesses to screen for workplace hazards. Official data show 18,261 people died in nearly 20,000 workplace accidents across the country in 2025, down from the previous year.

Chinese President Xi Jinping demanded a swift investigation of the disaster and said authorities would “strictly hold those responsible accountable.”

Jinjiang has thousands of shoe factories and is considered the “shoe capital” of China, making about a fifth of all athletic shoes, more than a billion a year, according to state media and industry reports.

The area’s transformation from small workshops and factories into an export industry hub, which Xi has often referred to as the “Jinjiang Experience,” is considered a model for China’s ascent as a world manufacturing power.

CCTV said the fire started on the first level of the concrete-structured building, where a workshop and a warehouse were located.

A local fire department official said in an interview with the state broadcaster that shoe sole material piled up in stairwells hindered firefighters from reaching the flames to extinguish them. The shoe materials were highly flammable, CCTV said.

CCTV also said the fire department sent 183 people and 35 vehicles to the factory and that open flames were extinguished after about four hours. Xinhua later said more than 500 people joined the rescue and search operation.

Harper and Walker join Boston’s Willson Contreras, Kansas City’s Jac Caglianone, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero and the New York Yankees’ Ben Rice in the competition at Citizens Bank Park. The other two participants haven’t been announced.

Harper, hitting .261 with 20 homers and 57 RBIs, was selected for his ninth All-Star Game as a Legend Pick for baseball's midsummer showcase. The 33-year-old slugger will try to become the fifth player to win multiple derby competitions. And Harper will try to do it in front of home fans — again. He last won it in 2018 in Washington while a member of the Nationals.

The 24-year-old Walker is a first-time All-Star who is having a breakout season. He hit his 22nd homer on Thursday night. The 2020 first-round draft pick is batting .294 with an .893 OPS and an MLB-leading 73 RBIs.

He'll be the eighth Cardinals player to compete in the competition, joining Jack Clark (1985), Ray Lankford (1997), Mark McGwire (1998-99), Jim Edmonds (2003), Albert Pujols (2003, 2007, 2009, 2022), Matt Holliday (2010-11) and Carlos Beltran (2012).

A Cardinals player has never won the derby. The Phillies have had two winners: Bobby Abreu in 2005 and Ryan Howard the next year.

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

The Democratic congresswoman, whose district includes the Houston neighborhood where the shooting occurred, said acting ICE Director David Venturella told her the agency has confirmed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo “was not a target.”

Salgado Araujo was a homebuilder who had lived in the U.S. for more than 35 years, had no criminal record and was close to finishing the long process of obtaining legal status when he was killed early Tuesday morning, according to his family.

“We’ve got to do something. This is just one more death too many,” Garcia said in an interview with MS Now. “And if we’ve got to bring outside, independent folks to come in and look at it, we should do that."

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return an email seeking comment late Thursday.

DHS, which oversees ICE, previously said that federal officers were conducting a targeted operation to arrest a person in the country without legal status when they attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Salgado Araujo. The agency has said Salgado Araujo rammed an ICE vehicle and that a federal officer fired a weapon in self-defense.

Asked whether ICE agents had been specifically targeting Salgado Araujo, DHS said earlier Thursday that officers had been surveilling a property where they had previously observed two white vans.

“On July 7, officers were almost at the target’s address when they observed a white van with an individual who resembled the target. Officers then initiated the vehicle stop,” the department said.

The federal agents weren't wearing body-worn cameras, DHS said, and few photos or videos surrounding the shooting have emerged publicly in the days since the encounter, unlike other deaths involving federal immigration officers.

In a statement, DHS said the agents at the scene in Houston had not yet been issued body cameras, which it blamed on Democrats and a record government shutdown that was fueled by President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee, a Democrat who also represents Houston, said if the agents didn't have the devices, it was because Trump and Republican lawmakers did not want them to be carrying them.

"Houston is done accepting excuses from an agency that has more money than it knows what to do with and still can’t manage basic accountability,” he said in a statement.

The Harris County District Attorney's office said it would conduct an investigation into the shooting. The office is consulting with local prosecutors in Minneapolis, where federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens, to learn how they have navigated investigations into federal immigration agents, spokesperson Rafael Lemaitre said.

“Although access to key evidence remains under federal control, we are pursuing investigative avenues available to us and will conduct a review of any information we collect within our reach,” Lemaitre said in an emailed statement.

Three men, including Salgado Araujo’s brother, were detained by ICE during the fatal traffic stop, according to Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, who has been communicating with their families.

LULAC has yet to obtain video footage that clearly shows what happened during the moments of the shooting and has offered a reward of $5,000 for information from witnesses, Proaño told The Associated Press. The position of Salgado Araujo’s van and ICE vehicles has obstructed security camera footage LULAC has reviewed, he added.

“It’s going to make it even more difficult to find the truth in all this,” he said.

DHS said the ICE agents involved in the incident were expected to receive body-worn cameras in the next 60 days.

In the aftermath of the fatal Minneapolis shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Democrats had refused to fund ICE and the Border Patrol without changes to those operations designed to increase accountability and transparency. Republicans in Congress eventually passed legislation funding just ICE and CBP for three years.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturns a lower court decision that found the ban unconstitutional. The 2-1 appellate decision found that the Illinois law does not violate the Second Amendment, and its restrictions are “consistent with the principles that underpin our Nation’s tradition of firearm regulation.”

“Whether to adopt them is thus a decision reposed in our elected representatives, and we reverse,” the appeals court said.

The majority opinion also pushes back on claims made by the plaintiffs that semiautomatic weapons are not at fault for mass shootings.

“The undisputed record evidence undercuts that claim, showing that the presence of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines is strongly correlated with the severity of the societal problem,” the opinion states.

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said in a post on X that the decision is “a victory in the fight to end gun violence that helps keep our communities safe.”

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry trade association seeking to stop the ban, said that it is disappointed with the decision and plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.

The gun trade group said it agrees with Chief Judge Michael Brennan’s dissent in which he wrote that the country prohibits governments from banning “firearms commonly owned for self-defense.”

“Because the people have overwhelmingly chosen the AR-15 rifle and its magazine as their weapon of choice, they are protected by the Second Amendment,” the judge's dissent states.

The Protect Illinois Communities Act was signed into law in 2023 by Pritzker and bans AR-15 rifles and similar guns, large-capacity magazines and an assortment of attachments.

It came six months after a 2022 shooting in which a gunman on a rooftop in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park opened fire on a parade, killing seven people and injuring more than three dozen.

The law prompted immediate pushback from county sheriffs who said they refused to enforce what they considered an unconstitutional law, while gun owners and advocates sued.

In 2024, a federal judge overturned the ban, leaning on recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that strictly interpret the Second Amendment right to keep and bear firearms.

The injunction was set to take effect 30 days after the judge's decision. But that same day, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a notice of appeal, which ultimately led to a stay in the injunction.

Raoul said Thursday's decision enhances public safety. “We have seen the damage that assault weapons and large-capacity magazines can inflict, and these weapons of war have no place in our communities,” he said in a statement.

Last month, the Supreme Court announced it will consider whether bans on semiautomatic rifles, often called assault weapons, violate the Second Amendment. In the fall, the court, which has expanded gun rights, is expected to hear appeals challenging a ban in the Chicago area, which predates the statewide law.

Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of a slow-moving cold front. The storms will continue moving from west to east through the evening.

Some storms could bring heavy downpours, frequent lightning and gusty winds. An isolated strong to severe storm is possible, with wind gusts of 40-60 mph and rainfall rates over an inch per hour in the strongest storms.

This is not expected to be a repeat of last Friday’s severe weather outbreak that brought widespread damaging winds and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers across Southeast Michigan. The damaging wind threat Thursday is isolated.

The timing of the storms could impact evening plans, including the final game of the series between the Detroit Tigers and Athletics at Comerica Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m.

Temperatures will be near 80 degrees around the start of the game, but fans should prepare for the possibility of a passing shower or thunderstorm that could cause interruptions.

The storm threat gradually decreases Thursday night as the cold front moves south.

Friday

A few showers and thunderstorms remain possible Friday, especially south of M-59, but the weather pattern improves heading into the weekend. Highs will be near 80 degrees north of I-69 and near the Lake Huron shoreline. Expect highs in the mid-80s near Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Monroe.

Weekend

Canadian high pressure moves in, bringing lower humidity, more sunshine and comfortable July weather. Highs will stay near normal, mainly in the lower to mid-80s Saturday and Sunday.

The break from the heat will not last long.

Workweek

A new heat wave could develop next week as temperatures climb to near 90 degrees Monday and into the lower 90s Tuesday and Wednesday.

A heat wave is defined as three consecutive days with temperatures of 90 degrees or higher.

While the heat and humidity will increase, the setup does not look as extreme as the dangerous heat Southeast Michigan experienced leading up to the Fourth of July weekend, when heat index values topped 105 degrees.

Stay with the 4Warn Weather Team for the latest on storms and the return of summer heat next week.

Share your weather photos with Local 4 at MIPics.

Officials also announced on Thursday (July 9) the temporary transfer of a second inmate following an emergency court motion.

Autopsy results released in Howard death

The department said it received the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner’s report for Khaira Howard, who died May 13 at the Ypsilanti-area prison.

The autopsy determined the cause of death was pulmonary thromboembolism due to lower-extremity deep vein thrombosis, commonly known as a blood clot in the lung.

The department said the autopsy report, along with Michigan State Police’s original and supplemental incident reports related to the case, have been posted to its public transparency website.

An internal MDOC investigation and mortality review remain ongoing.

Officials said investigations into other recent deaths at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility also continue.

Court motion filed on behalf of inmate Clark

Separately, the department responded to a court motion filed by attorneys for inmate Krystal Clark seeking her removal from the facility, citing alleged health concerns and facility conditions.

According to MDOC, the allegations outlined in the motion are not supported by the department’s medical findings.

Officials said Clark is not experiencing a medical emergency requiring a transfer from the facility.

The department said a court required it to respond to the emergency motion within three days rather than the standard 21-day response period.

MDOC said it agreed to temporarily relocate Clark to the Duane Waters Health Center in Jackson on July 9, allowing additional time for both parties to prepare for a hearing while extending the response timeline.

Corrections officials emphasized that the temporary placement is intended solely to facilitate the legal process and does not represent an acknowledgment that Clark is entitled to emergency relief or that a transfer is medically necessary.

Upon arrival at the Duane Waters Health Center, Clark will undergo a comprehensive medical assessment as part of the facility’s intake process, the department said.

Officials added that she continues to receive ongoing care from qualified health care providers.

Facility conditions, staffing addressed

The department reiterated previous statements regarding environmental conditions at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility, noting that independent testing conducted in 2022 and again in 2026 found no evidence of dangerous systemic black mold or toxic mold conditions.

MDOC said Director Heidi E. Washington and other department leaders have maintained a regular presence at the facility while additional clinical leadership has been assigned to support operations.

Officials said a revised health care staffing plan is being developed, including enhanced nursing management and expanded clinical coverage.

The department said it maintains established medical protocols for emergencies, provides incarcerated individuals with access to routine and specialized medical care, and refers all unexpected inmate deaths to the medical examiner for review.

More --> Fourth inmate from Huron Valley women’s prison dies within two months

The cameras, located mainly around Ford Road, capture license plates and vehicle information that police can search when investigating crimes.

Westland City Councilwoman Melissa Sampey said recent council meetings drew repeated public comments questioning whether the technology is worth the cost and what it means for privacy.

“It really became apparent that the community was against it,” Sampey said.

Police Chief Kyle Dawley decided not to bring a renewal contract to the Westland City Council for approval. In a statement, the Westland Police Department said discussions with council members about how the cameras are used showed the council is “deeply split on this matter.”

Sampey said the controversy mainly centered around who can access the data.

“The access of the information of your license plate follows you any place that you go that has a Flock camera, and anyone can access it from basically any police station across the country,” Sampey said, adding that she had the chance to view the software herself.

City Council President Mike McDermott said he initially supported a two-year trial but now believes that vote was a mistake.

In a statement, McDermott said he opposes continued use of the cameras, citing privacy and constitutional concerns, including worries about corporate data-sharing practices and access by outside agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

McDermott also credited residents and local advocacy groups, including DeFlock Michigan and the Socialists of Western-Wayne, for repeatedly raising concerns at council meetings. While he acknowledged police view the cameras as a useful investigative tool, he said residents shouldn’t “be monitored everywhere we drive” and praised city leaders for working with the community to end the program.

Online reaction to the decision was mixed, with some commenters calling the removal a step backward for crime-fighting and others praising council members for listening to residents.

Flock Safety defended the technology’s value in a statement, arguing that removing systems used to solve violent crimes and find missing people can slow investigations.

The company said that in 2025 its technology supported more than one million criminal investigations and incidents, contributed to an estimated 20% of solved cases in jurisdictions where it is deployed, and helped locate more than 10,000 missing people.

“Cases will take longer to solve, organized retail theft crews will operate with fewer obstacles, an Amber Alert may not be returned home, and victims may wait longer, or indefinitely, for justice,” the company stated.

Sampey said residents shouldn’t expect a change in day-to-day policing.

“What you’re receiving in Westland isn’t going to be changed because they do have technology that’s going to allow them to do their job,” Sampey said. “Our officers are well trained to do what they need to do to keep people in Westland safe.”

Police said they responded at approximately 4:23 p.m. to a report of a possible domestic dispute at a residence in the 48000 block of Sandifer Court on Thursday (July 9).

Upon arrival, officers said they found an adult man who was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are investigating the incident as a homicide.

Officials said the son was taken into custody, and there is no ongoing threat to the public.

The Local 4 source identified the suspect as the victim’s son.

Police have not released the identities of the people involved or additional details about what led up to the shooting.

The case will be submitted to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

Police said additional information will be released after formal charges are authorized and the suspect is arraigned.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Valencia entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh against Hogan Harris and sent a 425-foot shot to center to cap the scoring and help the Tigers seal their third straight series victory. The 26-year-old Venezuelan catcher was called up from Triple-A Toledo on Thursday with fellow catcher Dillon Dingler recovering from a right hand contusion.

Valdez (5-6) had a season-high nine strikeouts, while allowing one run on three hits. Kyle Finnegan worked the eighth, and Kenley Jansen the ninth for his 11th save.

Detroit has won five in a row and is 21-12 since June 1. The Tigers have climbed within 4 1/2 games of first place in the AL Central.

Jake Rogers and Zach McKinstry also homered for Detroit.

Rogers hit his third homer of the year, and second in two games, to left in the third to make it 1-0. McKinstry had a two-run shot to left in the fifth.

Jack Perkins (2-5) allowed three runs on two hits in three inning for the Athletics.

Henry Bolte drove in the Athletics' only run in the fifth on a groundout. The Athletics' Zack Gelof left the game in the third after injuring his knee crashing into the outfield wall.

Up next

Tigers RHP Jack Flaherty (2-8. 4.60 ERA) was set to start Friday night at home against Philadelphia and RHP Aaron Nola (3-6, 5.87). The Athletics had not announced a starter for their game Friday night in Chicago opposite White Sox RHP Sean Burke (5-4, 3.56).

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

A goat named Goldie — short for Golden Oreo — followed firefighters for hours as they actively engaged the Rock Creek Fire in Colorado Springs and cleared brush. She even took care of some of it on her own by chomping on leaves.

The 4-year-old Nigerian dwarf goat with a brown and white coat led firefighters down a hill and followed them to their trucks. She watched as they packed up for the day, then trailed behind one truck as it drove off, said Colorado Springs Fire Department Lt. Trevor Leland.

“I don’t know that she necessarily helped with the firefighting effort, but it’s always cool to see an animal like that who doesn’t mind us being there,” he said.

Earlier Thursday, Goldie spotted a U.S. Forest Service crew member having lunch, and tried to stick her head over his shoulder to get a bite and hang out with him for awhile, Leland said.

Goldie's owner, Lindsey Glader, says she's quite the social butterfly. Or, buttergoat?

Glader said the firefighters did a phenomenal job tackling the fire that was 50% contained late Friday. Crews hope to have it fully contained Friday, said Ashley Franco, a spokesperson for the Colorado Springs Fire Department.

That fire and others across the West have kept crews busy, fueled from a record lack of snow, high temperatures and erratic winds. The crew from Colorado Springs also was called to the Aspen Acres Fire southwest of Denver that forced the evacuations of thousands of residents this month.

Goldie figured they needed an “extra boost of support” and stepped in, Glader said.

“She was able to give some comedic relief and offer some necessary levity for these guys and gals who have worked really, really hard and creating a break for this fire, and keeping a lot of people and a lot of things safe,” she said.

Lance Twiggs, who was also defendant Tyler Robinson’s romantic partner, said in an interview with law enforcement that the teary interaction with Robinson happened in their apartment in southern Utah, more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from where Kirk was shot.

Later that same day — and only about an hour before turning himself in — Robinson posted "it was me at UVU yesterday,” in a chat room on the Discord instant messaging platform, according to investigators and messages shown by prosecutors.

Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and has not entered a plea. He turned himself in a day after the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump credited with helping galvanize young voters for the Republican in the 2024 election.

Ammunition found in the gun used to kill Kirk had engravings that included “Hey Facist! CATCH!” and “If you Read This, You Are GAY,” according to prosecutors, who are seeking the death penalty.

Robinson appeared to furrow his brow and smirk when text messages he sent to Twiggs about the engraved bullets were displayed in the courtroom Thursday.

Robinson's family sat behind him, and his mom cried as the Discord messages were read aloud. She rubbed the shoulder of one of Robinson’s brothers, who listened with his head bowed.

Defense attorneys unsuccessfully fought the public release of the statements from Twiggs and the chat room messages. They argued prosecutors would characterize the material as a confession, undermining Robinson’s right to a fair trial.

After prolonged debate that included an attorney for Kirk’s family arguing for the material to be publicly released, state District Judge Tony Graf allowed a redacted version of Twiggs' video interview to be played. Some parts were blacked out, with only audio.

Graf is weighing whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Robinson to trial. He won’t rule until after both sides present arguments on Sept. 1.

Notes and text exchanges were shown in court

Robinson’s attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence but have sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.

Defense attorney Michael Burt tried to inject doubt into the prosecution’s case by challenging the reliability of ballistics tests on a bullet fragment recovered from Kirk’s body. Authorities sought to tie the fragment to the suspected murder weapon, but the results were inconclusive.

“Saying anything but inconclusive was inappropriate,” said Samantha Karner with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a federal law enforcement agency.

The defense earlier in the week had questioned the reliability of DNA evidence that investigators said linked Robinson to the scene. Experts say the science behind DNA testing is sound.

Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a handwritten note to Twiggs that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.” The note, shown in full for the first time Thursday, continued, “I wish we could have lived in a world where this did not feel necessary."

Robinson also allegedly sent a text to Twiggs saying he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”

State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis recounted the messages exchanged between Twiggs and Robinson under questioning by a prosecutor Thursday. Included were texts from Robinson worrying about leaving fingerprints on a rifle that belonged to his grandfather, which authorities believe he used to shoot Kirk.

Twiggs spoke to authorities on Sept. 12 — two days after Kirk was assassinated while speaking to a crowd of thousands — and again on April 20, Davis said. He was given immunity for the statements, meaning what Twiggs said cannot be used against him in a potential criminal case.

Prosecutors contend the shooting endangered others at Kirk’s campus event — an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law. Robinson also faces possible sentence enhancements based on claims by prosecutors that he targeted Kirk because of his political views.

Twiggs said in the April interview that Robinson sometimes talked about politics, including Trump. But Twiggs said he never heard Robinson talk about Kirk before the shooting. The defendant also did not talk much about LGBTQ rights, Twiggs testified.

Kirk's friends react to new evidence

Kirk’s parents and widow, Erika, sat a few rows back from Robinson's family on Thursday. U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, also was in attendance.

Brandon Tatum, a conservative media personality and close friend of Kirk, said he was “shocked at how much relevant evidence" Twiggs' shared in his interview. He left court Thursday feeling confident about prosecutors' case but had mixed feelings about the judge's decision to hold off ruling until after a September hearing.

"I think the family's waited long enough, but I'd rather it be done right and done in confidence than for it to be hastily done the next day without being thoroughly, I guess, bulletproof," Tatum said.

Another conservative activist, Jack Posobiec, said he got emotional seeing photos of the bullet fragments that hit his friend. "But you have to push through that pain and push through all of that to be able to get justice,” he said.

Investigators say Robinson went to a rooftop near where Kirk was speaking and shot him once in the neck while the activist was taking questions from a crowd of several thousand people. Kirk, 31, was declared dead after being taken to a hospital.

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Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

Democrats need to pick a candidate to replace Platner on the ballot by July 27, according to state law. Whoever is selected will have less than four months before facing longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the general election. Potential candidates had already been teasing their interest before Platner, who denies the allegation, announced he intends to drop out. Platner is expected to file paperwork to formally withdraw on Monday, the deadline to do so.

But a growing number began formally launching their campaigns Thursday.

The Maine Democratic Party has said it will hold a nominating convention to choose the replacement. The party says the convention will involve hundreds of delegates from across the state, but how and when that’ll take place remains unknown.

Maine is considered a key state for control of the narrowly divided Senate, and Democrats are desperate for a candidate capable of defeating Collins while President Donald Trump is broadly unpopular.

Gov. Janet Mills, who sought the nomination during the primary campaign and suspended her campaign in late April, has not indicated if she's interested in running.

These are some of the people who have shown interest in the Maine Senate race:

Troy Jackson

Jackson is Maine’s former state Senate president. He unsuccessfully ran to be the Democratic nominee for governor earlier this year with the backing of Platner and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. Shortly after Platner said he would quit the Senate race, Jackson launched his campaign, arguing that Mainers want “a progressive fighter." Our Revolution, the organization founded by Sanders, has since said it would back Jackson, 58.

Jackson released a statement with dozens of endorsements, many from current and former state and local officials, on Thursday.

Nirav Shah

Shah, former director of Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, announced Thursday he was vying to be the next Democratic Senate candidate. He came in second in this year’s Maine Democratic governor's primary and was seen as more of a moderate candidate compared with Jackson while running for governor. Shah held a news conference Thursday in which he encouraged Platner supporters to join him.

“You have an important place in this campaign and we welcome your voices,” Shah said. “This campaign represents the values that we all care about.”

Dan Kleban

The co-founder of Maine Beer Company, Kleban also confirmed his candidacy on Wednesday after Platner's announcement. Kleban briefly entered the Senate race last year before dropping out when Mills announced her candidacy. Kleban, 49, endorsed Mills, who later dropped out of the Democratic primary.

“I'm ready to fight for Mainers and bring a new generation of leadership to Washington,” Kleban said.

Shenna Bellows

Bellows is Maine's secretary of state. She announced Thursday that she's running for the seat, saying she's spent her career “taking on tough fights and doing the right thing," where she's served as a former civil liberties advocate and sparred with President-elect Donald Trump over ballot access.

This wouldn't be her first time running for political office. Bellows, 51, placed fourth in the state’s Democratic governor's primary in June. And in 2014, Bellows ran against Collins as the Senate Democratic nominee and lost in a landslide.

Jordan Wood

Wood, 36, initially attempted to run in the Maine Democratic Senate primary last year but dropped out to run in the state's 2nd District. He lost that race, coming in third to state Auditor Matt Dunlap. He's since said he's interested in running for the Senate again, and announced on Thursday.

“To beat Susan Collins, we need a candidate who can provide a true contrast and run an unapologetically progressive campaign: Passing Medicare for All. Stopping ICE terrorizing our streets,” Wood wrote on social media on Tuesday.

Paige Loud

Loud filed paperwork to run for the Senate seat earlier this week. The 29-year-old social worker also ran in the state's 2nd District Democratic primary, but came in last during the state's first round of ranked choice voting.

Valli Geiger

Geiger, a previous Platner supporter and a state Democratic lawmaker, is another potential candidate. She hasn't announced her candidacy, but in an interview with MS NOW on Wednesday, Geiger, 70, said she would hire Platner's staff, whom she described as “deeply impassioned and confident young people.”

David Costello

Costello ran in the June primary and finished third behind Platner, who won, and Mills, who was still on the ballot despite having suspended her campaign. Costello announced Thursday that he is back in the race. He said in a social media post that he believes he is the right candidate because his “lived experiences are rooted in the same challenges countless Mainers face every day.”

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Kruesi reported from Providence, R.I.

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

The new pledge builds on the $2.2 billion mobilized at the inaugural Africa Clean Cooking Summit in Paris in 2024, bringing total commitments to more than $3.1 billion, which will be used to expand access to cleaner cooking fuels, stoves and related infrastructure across the continent.

The funding was announced during a virtual meeting on clean cooking in Africa convened by IEA and Kenya, where leaders reviewed progress made since the last summit and outlined priorities ahead of the next gathering later this year.

Nearly 1 billion people across Africa still lack access to clean cooking, relying instead on charcoal, firewood and other polluting fuels that the IEA says contribute to an estimated 850,000 premature deaths each year.

The meeting brought together Kenyan President William Ruto, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, African Union commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy Lerato Mataboge and IEA executive director Fatih Birol, among others.

Clean cooking refers to the use of low-emission fuels and technologies, such as ethanol, biogas and electricity, instead of traditional fuels like charcoal and firewood. The transition reduces harmful household air pollution and improves health outcomes for millions of African households.

“Access to clean cooking is one of the most impactful yet overlooked challenges of our time,” said Wright, adding that it directly affects the lives of billions of people, particularly women and children.

Kenya’s Ruto said financing remained the biggest obstacle to achieving universal access to clean cooking technologies across Africa. “Ambition alone is not enough. It must be backed by investment,” he said.

Birol said the IEA's latest tracking showed that $740 million, or about one-third of the commitments announced in Paris, has already been deployed across 22 African countries.

“The additional $900 million in commitments demonstrates growing momentum, with more expected before the next summit,” Birol said.

The IEA also released a report showing governments have introduced 121 new clean cooking policies across more than 30 African countries since the Paris summit. Those countries account for about 80% of Africans without access to clean cooking.

The agency said it is working with the African Union to help governments strengthen national clean cooking policies under a continentwide strategy and action plan ahead of the next summit.

It also launched a new public-private Clean Cooking Security Programme aimed at strengthening global supply chains for cooking fuels, particularly liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG. The initiative follows shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz earlier this year that affected about 30% of globally traded LPG, the agency said. More than 3.4 billion people worldwide depend on LPG as their primary cooking fuel.

The program will provide technical assistance to countries seeking to improve fuel security while exploring ways to strengthen international cooperation on clean cooking supply chains.

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

The conceptual artist, who died at the age of 83, first created the Pindakaasvloer, or peanut butter floor, in 1969. The work was unveiled on Thursday at the Depot offshoot of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam for a two-month show.

Schippers was a beloved non-conformist character in the Netherlands, where he also voiced Ernie and Kermit the Frog in the Dutch version of “Sesame Street,” and created absurdist and silly works that challenged conventional ideas about the meaning of art.

“Isn’t it fantastic that we are all standing here looking at peanut butter?” Schippers told journalists gathered at the Central Museum in Utrecht in 1997 where Pindakaasvloer was on display for the second time.

Schippers created the work as part of a Floor Covering Series, which also included floors covered with glass shards and salt.

The aroma, redolent of breakfasts and lunch boxes, is what lingers with many who experience the work first hand. Museum staff directed visitors for the opening to “follow the smell” which was wafting by the ticket counter, three floors below where the artwork is laid out.

“The thing I remember is the smell,” Mieke Weismann told The Associated Press. The food photographer and writer saw the 1997 exhibition as a teenager.

The art installation may not be for everybody. A sign at the museum's entrance warns visitors with peanut allergies that they might not want to enter the space.

It took two employees of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen several days to spread 40 buckets of peanut butter across a 25-square-meter (270-square-foot) hexagon last week.

“It was a lot of work,” Leon Duenk, one of the two men who installed the artwork, told AP.

The pair used drywall trowels to smear the peanut butter to a thickness of 2 centimeters (0.8 inch).

Prior to his death the museum and Schippers discussed how to recreate the work in the future, producing a 20-point plan that included the requirement to apply the peanut butter “as smoothly and boringly as possible” and that “no one is supposed to stand in, or lie down on the peanut butter.”

Schippers did not specify the size or shape of the work, but he did say it needed to be smooth peanut butter and that he preferred the Dutch peanut butter brand Calvé. The company donated 40 tubs of peanut butter for the work.

Multiple visitors stepped into the sticky artwork when it was on display in 2011. In 1997, the work was “vandalized” when a group of people placed 12 slices of bread and several bags of hagelslag — chocolate sprinkles commonly eaten on bread at breakfast in the Netherlands — on the floor.

“It doesn’t look bad,” Schippers told Dutch newspaper Volkskrant at the time. “The sprinkles have been applied with a sense of proportion and a skillful hand.”

———

Associated Press writer Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed.

The indictment, returned in Ohio, charges all eight in two separate conspiracies, one to provide material support to terrorists and a second to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official.

It remains unclear from the court records how close the would-be attackers could have come to being able to carry out the plan had it not been thwarted.

According to the new indictment, the plot began in May, when the group began amassing money, firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, medical equipment, communications equipment and other items.

It was on June 10 that law enforcement officials learned about a possible threat to President Donald Trump’s UFC cage-fighting show, four days before the mixed martial arts extravaganza was scheduled to take place.

The Justice Department last month announced a series of criminal complaints in different districts across the country in connection with the UFC plot, including from Ohio, Missouri, Washington, Nebraska and California.

The indictment announced Thursday represents an effort by the government to streamline the case and knit the defendants together into a single conspiracy prosecution in Ohio. Officials have said the group members harbored fringe conspiracy theories and hoped the attack would destabilize the government.

One of the defendants told investigators that they planned to fly explosive-laden drones into the event and then shoot panicked crowd members as they fled, according to a federal affidavit.

They communicated through online chat groups and forums and classified participants into tiers, with tier 1 participants committing “to put themselves in harm’s way, break the law, and potentially go into hiding," according to the federal indictment. Members of the group also engaged in marksmanship and combat training.

Tycen C. Proper 19, of Danville, Ohio, and four others were arrested and charged in Missouri, Nebraska and California the weekend of the cage-fighting event, called Freedom 250. Two more defendants were charged and arrested by the FBI about a week later in Washington and Missouri.

The Justice Department said an eighth man was charged this week. He is 21-year-old Chandler D. Scaggs, of Chapmanville, West Virginia, who was taken into custody in that state. Scaggs was allegedly assigned to be one of the snipers in the plotted attack, according to an affidavit.

The affidavit said Scaggs was apparently to be picked up by Proper and taken to Washington but lost contact with him after Proper was arrested, the same as the others. Scaggs allegedly signaled to the group that he was still willing to participate in the attack and arranged to travel to the event with another co-conspirator.

Scaggs' attorney, Eric Brehm, said his office was thoroughly reviewing the allegations and declined to comment further.

Conspiring to provide material support to terrorists is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and conspiring to commit murder carries a penalty of up to life in prison.

Federal prosecutors allege that the group planned to murder Trump, Vice President JD Vance, other federal officials, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, trillionaire businessman Elon Musk and “other high value targets” at the event.

___

Tucker reported from Washington.

But delivering soybean curd in all shapes and textures is only a small slice of her mission.

And it’s just that. A mission.

More than simply a vendor of healthy food, she’s also a social conduit who checks on elderly customers as she guides her pink cart, wearing a straw hat and tooting a small brass bugle to signal her arrival.

She knows the habits of many of her customers like family, and they know hers. She’s lost some elderly customers over the years who’ve died alone, which is becoming more common in Japan, which has one of the world's oldest populations.

“More than once I was the first one to find their bodies,” Sugaya explained, seated in a small store she also runs on a busy shopping street in Tokyo's Ojima neighborhood.

It's a largely residential area of small dwellings, layered with occasional strips of sprawling apartment blocks.

“In an area like this, some people just leave their doors unlocked," Sugaya said. “Or I can get access by asking the landlords.”

Uncollected newspapers and unattended laundry are telltale signs of trouble, easily seen in small houses on the street. But large apartment buildings hide these signs of possible distress.

Sugaya is a savior for many, and the job — she’s been at it for 23 years — has also strengthened her own self-worth. She feels that the job saved her.

She says she was bullied in school and fired from several jobs until she found that delivering high-quality, healthy food also nourished her own mental health and offered value to others.

“Selling tofu on a cart made me think I am OK to be myself," Sugaya explained. “I used to be repeatedly put down, but through cart-selling I built up my self-esteem.”

“I was still nervous with women around my ages,” she added. “But I felt safe when surrounded by the elderly whose smiles are warm and kind.”

Shinji Saito comes by Sugaya's shop daily. Saito, who has epilepsy, calls her accepting personality “magical.”

She’s also a link to a time when vendors walked through neighborhoods selling ramen, sweet potatoes, vegetables and other items.

“Delivery of newspapers or tofu, what used to be part of our daily lives, have been replaced by delivery apps or smart phones,” Sugaya said. “One can easily spend a day without having any verbal conversation with others.”

"When you go to a convenience store, you hit a button on a screen and don’t even say hello to anyone. It leaves you empty.”

Sugaya makes her rounds three days per week, a three-hour walk in the afternoon.

Her route twists through maze-like streets, and there are sporadic sales — and frequent conversations. A woman walks from her house to buy tofu, chats about her unruly cat and shows off a strand of wild vine growing in her garden. Another woman reminds Sugaya that cart-selling is a disappearing craft.

“Even when I'm in need of tofu, I tell myself I'd better wait for Ako-chan,” said customer Toshi Niiyama, using Sugaya's nickname. “We used to have someone coming to sell vegetables, but he stopped coming.”

Sugaya has no such plans to stop.

“I go this way on Mondays, that way on Saturdays and that way on Thursdays,” she explained. “I go even if it's raining because my customers expect to see me — or just because they want to have a talk."

Now Les Bleus have to hope he can overcome an injury that had him summoning for help and leaving the game in the 77th minute. Mbappé said the injury was minor, and he showed no ill effects while celebrating with his team after the whistle.

“I took a knock to the ankle, but I’m fine," said Mbappé, who was replaced by Jean-Philippe Mateta. “At that point, JP was in better shape than I was to play the final minutes.”

The reigning Golden Boot winner and only the second teenager — after Pele — ever to score in a World Cup final, Mbappé made up for his miss on a first-half penalty by scoring in the 60th minute. It was his 20th goal in 20 World Cup games and his eighth in 2026, equaling Argentina captain Lionel Messi for the tournament lead.

Mbappé also assisted on Ousmane Dembélé’s goal six minutes later to help the two-time champions reach the semifinals, where they will play either Spain or Belgium. France has never failed to make a World Cup final in two previous tournaments with Mbappé.

“There’s only one way to relax, and that’s by winning,” Mbappé said. “Until we’ve done that, we don’t let up. We’re in the semifinals and we’re very happy, but there’s still a long way to go. We realize that what lies ahead is even tougher than what we’ve been through, but we’re ready to face anything.”

Asked if this was his strongest France team yet, Mbappé said it has the most potential — “for the time being.”

“But I always say that the strongest teams are the ones that win,” he said. "I don’t see a World Cup next to me, so for now, we’re not the strongest team.”

Mbappé gave France fans a scare when he went to the field in pain after he was stepped on by Morocco defender Issa Diop in the 63rd minute. He remained in the game until the 76th minute, when he dropped to the turf and waved to the sideline.

After the training staff checked on him, Mbappé was subbed off — waving to the Gillette Stadium crowd as he left — and watched the end of the match from the bench with an ice pack on his right ankle.

“It's a slight pain in the ankle,” France coach Didier Deschamps said. “Nothing serious.”

Mbappé had a chance from the penalty spot in the first half after drawing a foul from Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui in the box in the 28th minute. But goalkeeper Yassine Bounou guessed correctly, diving to his left to stop the attempt.

Mbappé said the long delay while the play was being reviewed left him wondering if he would be attempting the shot at all.

“It’s complicated, because there’s some kind of imbroglio," he said. "I let myself be de-concentrated. That’s a scenario I hadn’t experienced yet.”

But Mbappé delivered in the second half when he dribbled into the area and let loose a rocket that went just inside the post.

Messi also has scored eight goals at the tournament and Norway forward Erling Haaland has seven heading into their quarterfinal matches on Saturday. (Mbappé technically holds the Golden Boot lead because he has more assists, which is the tiebreaker.)

Mbappé's 20th goal put him one behind Messi on the all-time World Cup scoring list. Messi has 21 goals in 31 career World Cup matches over six tournaments, breaking the record of 16 that had been held by Germany striker Miroslav Klose.

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Congress is looking for answers by July 24.

“Millions of casual fans now tune in to watch her play,” 11 members of the House Republican Study Committee wrote in a letter sent to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert. “Unfortunately, what they too often witness is not simply aggressive competition, but repeated acts of physical hostility and violence. Clark has been hip-checked, poked in the eye and struck in the throat during games.

"These incidents go far beyond routine physical play, yet the WNBA and its officiating have too often failed to address these unacceptable incidents and hold players accountable.”

It's the latest chapter in the Clark saga about whether league officials must do more to protect one of the WNBA's top players from unnecessarily aggressive physical contact.

The letter was sent two weeks after Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas made contact with her fist to Clark’s throat in a June 24 game. Thomas was not called for a foul on the play during the game, but the league subsequently upgraded the play to a flagrant foul and suspended her one game for “recklessly making contact with her fist.”

League officials have not yet issued a statement in response to the letter.

Thomas has called the play a “complete accident," adding that she has received death threats since the incident. Clark and her coach, Stephanie White, an ardent defender of Clark, have condemned threats levied at Thomas.

Where Clark stands among her WNBA peers

The 24-year-old Iowa alum has helped increase WNBA ticket sales and driven women’s basketball television ratings to unprecedented heights with her play.

However, many conversations around her tap into a variety of combustible hot-button topics, including race, officiating, money and politics. Clark has largely managed to thrive, but can't completely escape the noise.

“I think sometimes people think I’m a robot. I’m not a robot,” she said. “It can be really frustrating to me at times. I’m 24 years old trying to navigate a lot. I’ve been in this world for four years now — and you would never change any of it — but there are times that it is hard. And there are times when it affects me a little bit more than I do put on. I think it’s important that people remember that part of it, too.”

Lawmakers also suggested in their letter that government agencies such as the Department of Justice should investigate if discrimination or retaliation are creating a hostile work environment in the WNBA.

Fever officials said in a statement that neither Clark nor team officials have been in contact with the Congressional group and that they were unaware of the letter before its release.

“We have been clear in our public comments and in our ongoing dialogue with the league about the priority of player safety,” the statement read. “Our players and our fans know where we stand on those issues, and we will continue to stick up for our team and a standard of excellence across the league.”

Clark is one of the league’s most popular players, but she’s also one of the most polarizing — even amongst her peers.

Fans made her the No. 2 vote-getter for next week’s All-Star Game while Clark’s fellow players ranked her 11th among league guards — something three-time WNBA champ and Hall of Famer Candace Parker took exception with.

“If you’re sitting down and putting Caitlin Clark as the 11th best guard ... y’all need to go to a therapist and figure out what childhood issues you have,” Parker wrote on social media.

What makes Clark so polarizing

Clark instantly became the face of the league from the moment she was drafted first overall in 2024, before ever playing a pro game and even though she had not won an NCAA championship.

To accommodate her rampant fan base, opponents moved games from home arenas to larger venues which generated more revenue. And Fever games quickly became a regular feature on national television even after Indiana missed the playoffs from 2016-23.

Clark supporters say her immediate notoriety created resentment among WNBA veterans and has led to the hard fouls that cross the line.

Opponents counter that because of Clark's ability to shoot the ball and beat opponents with her ball-handling, players defending her try to be as physical as a referee will allow to slow her down.

Following the game on June 24, Fever coach Stephanie White angrily expressed players had crossed the line multiple times and highlighted two no-calls. The 6-foot, 157-pound Clark eventually left in the second half with a back injury that kept her out of the next two games.

Clark returned to action Wednesday night but was not expected to play Thursday night at Phoenix as a precaution.

The subject of race also has been injected into the Clark debate. White and Clark are both white; Thomas is Black.

“Because the bandwagon and the fandom became so obsessed with the whole thing, it turned into a cause,” said UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who has won a record 12 NCAA women's basketball championships. Clark, he added, “became the reason why white players get beat up in the WNBA and she became the reason why Black players don’t get the endorsements and don’t get the adulation that white players get.”

The coach noted that, "Not every foul is a good foul. Not every foul’s a bad foul, but there are fouls that are flagrant — but that’s all they are.”

What role Clark plays in debate

Clark has repeatedly attempted to downplay the noise surrounding her.

But she also has played a part in this ongoing storyline, showing her passion by throwing her arms in the air when she's unhappy with calls, exaggerating contact as a tactic to draw fouls and critiquing refs when she doesn't get one.

Clark is also among the leading trash-talkers in the WNBA. When she gets the better of an opponent, she isn’t shy about letting them know about it. Clark is averaging a career-high 20.5 points per game while ranking second in the league in assists with 7.9 — trailing only Thomas (8.3).

Part of Clark’s appeal is her antagonistic style.

However, there can be a price to pay: She has drawn five technical fouls this season, the most recent coming June 22 against Phoenix when she started clapping after a heated exchange with Mercury forward and former Fever teammate DeWanna Bonner, who also is Black. Booner and Thomas are engaged.

Players receive a one-game suspension when they reach eight technicals and Clark told reporters in that postgame news conference someone should pick a date for her suspension if clapping results in a technical foul.

All-Star center Aliyah Boston, who wants to ensure Clark stays on the court, said on her “Post Moves” podcast that she told her teammate: "We’re done. We’re done clapping. There’s no more claps. There’s nothing else to clap about."

It's more likely, though, that Clark and her fans will continue clapping — and her critics will keep clapping back.

___

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

Signs for the Palm Beach International Airport have been removed, while new signage goes up.

“Because an entire airport transformation doesn’t happen overnight, you’ll notice a combination of both our classic look and our new brand elements coexisting while traveling through the terminal over the next several weeks,” airport officials said in a Facebook post.

“Trump Force One," a Boeing 757 owned by The Trump Organization, was the first plane to arrive at the airport under its new name, shortly after 5 a.m. The president's son, Eric Trump, was one of the passengers. The Trump family regularly uses the West Palm Beach airport when they visit President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in nearby Palm Beach. A stretch of road from the airport to Trump’s estate was renamed Donald J. Trump Boulevard earlier this year.

“There is no person who has done more for Florida and our country, and no one more deserving of this incredible honor,” Eric Trump posted on X. “As a son, and someone who flies out of this airport nearly every day, I will forever be proud to see the initials ‘DJT’ on my boarding pass.”

While the name change took effect Thursday, the three-letter airport code will change from PBI to DJT on Aug. 18.

President Trump later praised the renaming of the airport in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

“A very big day in Palm Beach, Florida, where it was my Great Honor to have the Palm Beach International Airport be renamed, by a spectacular vote, The President Donald J. Trump International Airport. The Area is HOT, the Location is GREAT, and the Renovation will be SPECTACULAR. Thank you to all in Palm Beach for your Vote and your Confidence,” he wrote in part, calling it “one of the Greatest and Most Spectacular Airports anywhere in the World!”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation earlier this year that made the name change possible. Changing the airport’s name is expected to cost as much as $5.5 million for new signs, branding and other updates.

Keegan Collett, who was departing the airport Thursday morning on his way to Cincinnati, said he was surprised to see the new name. He said he doesn't think Trump deserves to have an airport named after him but isn't necessarily bothered by it.

“At the end of the day, it’s just the name of an airport,” Collett said. "There’s bigger things. I feel like it’s just more of a distraction. Why even worry about it?"

In Dandridge, Tennessee, on Thursday morning, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty and Representative Tim Burchett attended a ceremony to rename the I-40 Bridge in East Tennessee to the Donald J. Trump Bridge.

Bessent said ahead of the ceremony that “no one is more deserving” of the honor of a bridge renaming than Trump.

Trump received 82% of the vote in Jefferson County, where Dandridge is located, in the 2024 general election.

Les Bleus, with a star striker who said he's fine despite a right ankle issue, are headed back to the semifinals for the third straight World Cup tournament.

Mbappé had a goal and an assist after missing a first-half penalty kick, Ousmane Dembélé also scored and two-time champion France beat Morocco 2-0 Thursday in the quarterfinals.

“There’s only one way to relax, and that’s by winning. Until we’ve done that, we don’t let up,” Mbappé said. “We’re in the semifinals and we’re very happy, but there’s still a long way to go.”

Mbappé’s goal in the 60th minute was the 20th of his World Cup career and came in his 20th match at the tournament, moving him one behind Argentina captain Lionel Messi. Dembélé scored his fifth goal of the tournament in the 66th.

Mbappé went down to the ground in the 76th minute, about 13 minutes after being hit hard by a Moroccan defender, and was taken off for a substitute a minute later. He was then shown sitting on the bench with an ice pack on his right ankle.

After the match and with both shoes on, Mbappé ran and jumped in celebration with his teammates.

“I took a knock to the ankle, but I’m fine," Mbappé said. “At that point, JP (Jean-Philippe Mateta) was in better shape than I was to play the final minutes.”

France will face either Spain or Belgium in the semifinals in Dallas on Tuesday.

France beat Morocco by the same score in the semifinals of the 2022 tournament in Qatar when the Atlas Lions became the first African team to make it that far. France now remains on track to become only the third nation to play in the final of three consecutive World Cups.

“It is a confirmation of how we’ve played so far,” said France coach Didier Deschamps, who added there is a reason for his team's success in recent World Cups.

“Having great players. Excellent players. My credit goes to the players. But maybe I do my job well," he said. "The only truth is the one on the pitch.”

Mbappé got his goal with a perfectly placed shot just inside the far post after Morocco failed to clear the ball. He received the ball just outside the area, took a couple steps forward and then sent his shot sailing into the net. He extended both arms and ran to the sideline to celebrate with his teammates.

France's second goal came after Mbappé took a pass and tapped it back for Dembélé. Mbappé kept running forward and took defenders with him, opening space for Dembélé's shot.

Dembélé said he wasn't surprised with how Mbappé stepped up after his penalty miss in the first half.

“He's our captain and he has an incredible mentality,” Dembélé said. “We're expecting even more goals from him.”

France held a 21-4 advantage in shots on goal and 8-1 edge in shots on target for the game.

“We are very disappointed. We wanted to go on,” Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said. “When we had ball possession, our transitions were not great and we had to run a little more. Their players were in their comfort zone.”

Mbappé also had the first shot on goal of the game, just missing wide right in the fourth minute. Then, in the 25th, he was running up the left side when he was chopped down in the box by Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui. Referee Facundo Tello quickly pointed to the penalty spot.

Mbappé lined up waiting for his attempt but was held up by a lengthy video review. He was finally cleared to shoot in the 28th minute, but after a hesitation, Mbappé’s shot toward the right corner was corralled by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who guessed the direction of the shot correctly.

Deschamps said the long review also included a review for another foul.

Mbappé made his only other penalty attempt at this year's World Cup in France’s 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the round of 16.

Still, France was by far the more active team offensively in the first half, holding a 13-1 advantage in shots on goal.

Morocco’s best opportunity came just before the halftime whistle when Achraf Hakimi sent a free kick from just outside the box past the right post.

France now has a chance to emulate Brazil and West Germany in reaching three straight World Cup finals.

“We realize that what lies ahead is even tougher than what we’ve been through," Mbappé said, "but we’re ready to face anything.”

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Despite overwhelming public opposition, the National Capital Planning Commission voted to approve preliminary site and building plans for the 250-foot (76-meter) arch the Republican president wants to build on a traffic circle at the Virginia end of the Memorial Bridge from Washington.

The project, one of several being pursued by Trump in his quest to reshape parts of the nation’s capital to his liking, moved a step closer to reality with the vote.

Staff had recommended in its report on the project that the commission grant such approval and request a series of changes so the arch would comply with the Height of Buildings Act. The suggested changes included redistributing the heights among the main structure of the arch, the habitable roof, where an observation deck is planned, and the statues that would top it.

But commissioners, led by chairman Will Scharf, voted to continue deliberations on whether the law indeed applies.

The staff report said the commission has long applied the law in its approval process. Scharf said the applicant, which is the Interior Department, had, as requested, provided a legal analysis that he said makes a “compelling argument" that the law "is not binding on the federal government." The Interior Department oversees the federal land where the arch would be built.

“My view is that, today, we are just considering this project for preliminary approval and that, as a result, it’s not necessary for us to take up this broader issue of the applicability of the Height of Buildings Act to federal construction until our next meeting at the earliest,” Scharf said.

Arch is one of Trump's many construction projects

Eight of the 12 commissioners, including Scharf and two others appointed by Trump, voted for preliminary approval. One was against, and the remaining three commissioners voted present.

“This is a complex project,” Scharf said before the vote. He said a vote on final approval could come at the agency's next meeting, in September.

All 12 commissioners listened to a summary of the staff report and its recommendations, and heard from several dozen people who had signed up to testify about the project.

As the commissioners met, construction continued at the White House on a $400 million ballroom Trump is building there and crews draped tarps over the stone columns at the north entrance to the mansion, where work is being done to scrape off layers of paint.

Various reasons cited in opposition

Some of those who testified against Trump's project opposed building a celebratory arch so close to the solemn burial ground of Arlington National Cemetery. Others suggested it would be more appropriate for a neighborhood near the Capitol and sporting venues.

Michael Lemmon, who is among three Vietnam veterans and an architectural historian who have sued in federal court to stop the arch construction at Memorial Circle, said the arch would disrespect the memory of those laid to rest at the revered burial ground. Trump has said the arch will celebrate 250 years of America's independence.

“As a combat veteran, I feel a duty to protect the memory and honor the sacrifice of my comrades and all those buried there,” Lemmon said. "This vainglorious monumental arch does neither.”

Others noted that memorials to Vietnam veterans, those who fought in World War II and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. were built after much debate and years after they were first proposed, and pleaded with the commission for a more deliberative process for the arch.

Opponents say the arch is too big and would disrupt the carefully designed view between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery that was meant to symbolize the reunification of the North and the South after the Civil War.

The arch would be more than twice as tall as the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet (30 meters) tall, and close to half the height of the Washington Monument, at about 555 feet (169 meters) tall.

Concerns about vehicular traffic and pedestrian safety also were expressed on Thursday. Others insisted that Congress must approve the arch — a position Trump disagrees with.

No cost estimate yet for the arch

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a separate federal agency, approved the design for the arch in May. The National Capital Planning Commission oversees construction on federal land in the city and began reviewing the arch plan in June.

Trump had said last year that the arch could be paid for with unused funds from the hundreds of millions of dollars he said he has raised from corporations, donors and other wealthy people to pay to build a new $400 million ballroom at the White House.

But, as it turns out, some public money will be used for the ballroom project, as well as the arch. The White House has not released a cost estimate for the arch.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the arch's height is planned for 250 feet, not 260 feet.

The U.S. launched new airstrikes against Iran hours after Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of the ceasefire and threatened to escalate the conflict if they didn’t stop. Iran responded by targeting U.S.-allied Kuwait and Qatar and accused the U.S. of striking near its sole nuclear power plant.

Back-and-forth attacks have repeatedly threatened the ceasefire, but Thursday’s appeared bigger all around. And Trump’s mixed messaging — approving back-to-back military strikes while insisting they don’t mean a return to full-scale war — is fueling uncertainty about what comes next.

Whether it’s a negotiation tactic or a signal of further escalation, mediators are scrambling to save the interim deal. The inflamed tensions could also spell trouble for Republicans in November’s midterm elections if gas prices stay high.

Here's the latest:

The final funeral procession for Iran’s late supreme leader

People pressed forward to touch the vehicle carrying Ali Khamenei’s body.

Many carried Iranian flags, images of Khamanei or banners evoking Shiite Islam’s long history of martyrs.

Some signs called for the death of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been laid to rest months after being killed in Iran war

Khamenei ruled Iran for nearly 37 years before dying in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that started the war Feb. 28. He was laid to rest in his hometown of Mashhad early Friday after days of public mourning.

Khamenei is only the second ruler of the nation to be buried in the city. In 1747, Nader Shah was buried there after he was assassinated following nearly 11 years in power.

The funeral processions began Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran and other cities, as throngs commemorated the man who led Iran with an iron fist for decades while confronting the West.

A bitterly divided Iran grapples with Khamenei’s legacy as he is laid to rest

The funeral for Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was designed to showcase unity in a country that is bitterly split over his decades-long rule. Supporters thronged the streets for a leader they view as a martyr who defied the West and Israel.

But Khamenei’s long rule left large sectors of Iranian society disillusioned as he oversaw increasingly bloody crackdowns, economic stagnation and the empowerment of the Revolutionary Guard. Anger and despair run deep after a January crackdown killed thousands.

The war launched by the United States and Israel brought more suffering while leaving the government intact, deepening the feeling of hopelessness among its opponents.

▶ Read more

How a push to disarm Hezbollah is deepening divisions in Lebanon and raising fears of civil war

A deal between Lebanon and Israel was billed as paving the way for peace. But in Lebanon, it is deepening longtime divisions and raising fears of political paralysis or even a return to civil war.

The U.S.-brokered deal envisions an Israeli troop withdrawal from Lebanon and an eventual peace agreement between the two countries — which technically remain in a state of war nearly 80 years after Israel’s establishment. But the agreement says a full Israeli withdrawal will happen only after Hezbollah is disarmed, infuriating the Iran-backed militant group.

The tensions have stirred up memories of Lebanon’s devastating 1975-1990 civil war and reminded many of more recent clashes between Hezbollah gunmen and pro-government fighters in 2008. They also have raised deep questions over whether the U.S.-brokered deal will be able to get off the ground.

A resumption of the war between the U.S. and Iran would further complicate the deal’s prospects and raise the risk of renewed conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

▶ Read more

Stocks recover losses, and oil prices ease as calm returns to financial markets worldwide

Stocks rose, and oil prices eased Thursday as financial markets calmed in the wait to see what will come next after President Donald Trump raised doubts about the temporary truce in the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% and more than recovered its loss from the day before, even though the United States launched new airstrikes against Iran, which responded by targeting U.S. allies in the Middle East. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 139 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.3%.

In the oil market, prices gave back much of their jumps from the day before. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2.2% to $76.30. That’s down from $78.02 the day before though still above its $71.80 price from the end of last week.

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Trump speaks with Netanyahu, and raises ‘security concerns’ about Turkey

The Israeli prime minister’s office posted on the social platform X that the pair spoke on Thursday and that Netanyahu “raised the severity of the statements made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his people against the existence of the State of Israel.”

After this week’s NATO summit in Turkey, Trump indicated he may be ready to have the U.S. sell F-35 fighter jets to Erdogan’s country -- but he also says he’s not yet fully made up his mind.

Turkey and Israel have acrimonious relations. Netanyahu has urged Trump not to sell the jets to Turkey, saying it would put Israel in danger.

The statement from Netanyahu’s office also said Trump had updated the prime minister on American moves in the Persian Gulf.

South Florida’s Palm Beach airport renamed President Donald J. Trump International

A South Florida airport has officially changed its name to the President Donald J. Trump International Airport.

Signs for the Palm Beach International Airport have been removed, while new signs were unveiled Thursday.

“Trump Force One,” a Boeing 757 owned by The Trump Organization, was the first plane to arrive at the airport under its new name, shortly after 5 a.m. The president’s son, Eric Trump, was one of the passengers.

The Trump family regularly uses the West Palm Beach airport when they visit Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in nearby Palm Beach. A stretch of road from the airport to Trump’s estate was renamed Donald J. Trump Boulevard earlier this year.

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Deal between Israel and Lebanon is moving forward, US official says

After weeks of stagnation, an American official said Thursday that the U.S.-brokered framework agreement soon will shift to technical discussions in Rome.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic details, said “pilot zones” that both sides had agreed to will launch in the coming days while additional zones are mapped out and planned.

The zones will be where the Israeli military is to turn over control to the Lebanese army after clearing the areas of any Hezbollah presence. U.S. Central Command is coordinating with Israel and Lebanon on the zones, the official said.

The dates of the meetings and the location of the zones were not yet clear. A State Department spokesperson said they were not previewing those details yet.

— Farnoush Amiri

Iran’s foreign minister speaks to regional leaders about the escalating tensions with the US

Abbas Araghchi said on his Telegram channel on Thursday that he spoke with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Oman. He also spoke with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been one of the main mediators in the war.

Araghchi repeated Iran’s assertion that the U.S. has violated the interim peace deal reached last month. The U.S. says Iran violated the deal by firing on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The diplomatic outreach suggested efforts may be underway to reduce tensions.

Tarps go up as part of Trump’s restoration project to the front of the White House

Crews have draped tarps over the towering stone columns on the north side of the White House, where work is underway to scrape away decades of paint.

The new tarps on the building’s façade are partially see-through. They feature images of columns designed to cover the actual ornate stone columns beneath.

Scaffolding went up several days ago for work on the columns. It is the latest in dozens of projects Trump has led to remake the White House to his own tastes – including a massive ballroom and helipad on the South Lawn.

The White House hasn’t provided details on what is being done to the columns or how much it will cost. But Trump said on Monday: “We’ve taken about 150 years of paint off of the columns” and added that, “If you don’t strip the paint off, it gets worse and worse and worse.”

Ships are still going through the Strait of Hormuz but the situation remains volatile

Bridget Diakun, senior risk and compliance analyst for maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence, said in a news briefing that ships were still passing through the strait as of Wednesday, but Lloyd’s is still reviewing the numbers since some passages are “dark,” when ships stop broadcasting signals that show their location.

“The situation does remain really volatile,” she said.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence said preliminary data shows there were at least 576 transits in June, up from 233 in May, but down from 3,131 in June 2025.

Non-Iranian traffic in June included 264 outbound vessels and 137 inbound ships.

Outbound ships included bulkers, crude oil tankers and product tankers. Inbound ships included crude oil tankers, product tankers, bulk carriers and gas carriers.

In June, there was an even split between “dark” transits and online transits that broadcast their locations.

Germany reaches a deal with the US to buy long-range Tomahawk missiles, Merz says

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the agreement on the long-range cruise missiles, which are used to strike targets deep inside enemy territory, was reached this week on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey’s capital, Ankara.

“This will close an important strategic gap in our defense, and at the same time, we will work to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe,” Merz told parliament after returning from the two-day summit.

The deal struck with the Trump administration amounts to broader export of American know-how to some of its major allies in Europe, whose security posture has been upended by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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Former Olympian pleads not guilty in Reflecting Pool damage case after Trump alleged vandalism

The former Olympic canoe racer pleaded not guilty Thursday to deliberately damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a politically charged case that his defense attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided as an abuse of prosecutorial power.

David Hearn, who competed in three Summer Olympics, entered the plea during his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court. Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, was indicted last Thursday on a single felony count of property destruction.

Trump ordered a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Reflecting Pool ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary this month, but the project has been plagued with problems. Workers have used chemicals to curtail an algae bloom. Trump has said the pool likely would need to be drained again for liner repairs after chunks of blue coating were seen floating at the surface.

Trump has claimed without substantiation that vandals dumped fertilizer into the pool and slashed the coating with a box cutter.

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Ukraine says its Patriot production will take months

During Wednesday’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said the U.S. will meet a longstanding request from Ukraine and give it a license to make the Patriot air defense systems. He also praised Zelenskyy for doing “an amazing job” — a sharp change in tone from past criticisms of the Ukrainian leader.

But setting up domestic production of the mobile, surface-to-air systems will take many months, said Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister.

A production license would typically come with technical process documentation, training for specialists, supplier contacts and foreign consultants to help launch manufacturing, Beskrestnov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The main obstacle would be time, rather than Ukraine’s technical or organizational capacity, he added.

Eswatini receives 11 people deported from the US as part of migration crackdown

The southern African kingdom of Eswatini has accepted a fourth group of people deported from the United States under a bilateral agreement to host third-country nationals, with 11 people arriving this week, the government said Thursday.

Acting government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli said the group, predominantly from African countries, would remain in the kingdom temporarily while their rights were protected.

“The government reaffirms that, during their temporary stay in the Kingdom, the fundamental rights of the third-country nationals will be respected and protected in accordance with the laws of the Kingdom of Eswatini and the Kingdom’s international obligations,” Mdluli said in a statement.

Under a series of often-secret agreements that are part of a broad U.S. crackdown on immigration, the Trump administration has deported thousands of people to nearly two dozen countries that are not their own, advocates say.

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Global markets are mixed and oil prices rise as Iran and US launch new attacks

Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.1% before the opening bell Thursday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%. Nasdaq futures were up 0.5%.

Oil prices inched up again Thursday, with Brent crude, the international standard, rising 64 cents to to $78.66 per barrel. It briefly topped $80 on Wednesday. Before the Iran war began, Brent oil was trading at around $72 a barrel. Earlier optimism over an interim peace deal recently brought it back to prewar levels.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 54 cents to $74.06 a barrel.

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New attacks raise questions about what comes next in the Iran war

President Donald Trump says he believes the ceasefire with Iran is over. He says he’s not sure he wants a deal anymore and says the U.S. should “finish the job.” But he also insists continued attacks don’t mean a return to war or long-term action.

The confusion and uncertainty in Trump’s mixed messaging and his approval of back-to-back military strikes leave major questions about what comes next in the conflict, just weeks after difficult diplomacy to reach even an initial deal between the longtime adversaries.

The whipsawing rhetoric could be a strategy to increase the pressure on Tehran to stop attacking ships transporting oil and natural gas in the Strait of Hormuz and bend to U.S. demands on its nuclear program — something Trump has tried before.

Whether it’s a negotiation tactic or a signal of an escalation in fighting, mediators are scrambling to save the interim deal and the actions risk further inflaming tensions.

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No deaths have been reported and the source of the cyclospora infections hasn't been identified. Meanwhile, investigations into similar illnesses have been going on in 28 other states, including in Ohio, where people just across the Michigan border are also becoming sick.

Michigan officials first announced the outbreak last week, when they were aware of more than 170 cases — all in the southeastern corner of the state — since June 22. Michigan usually identifies only about 50 cases each year.

On Wednesday, the state reported the number had grown to 992, including about 40 hospitalizations. Just across the state line, Lucas County, Ohio, reported 306 cases as of Wednesday. Northwest Ohio has seen more than 500 cases.

Cyclospora surges can be tricky to investigate, and food poisoning sources can be hard to establish. But “there is clearly a linked outbreak happening right now,” Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Here's what to know about the current situation:

What is cyclospora?

Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The illness, called cyclosporiasis, is not usually life threatening and is typically treated with antibiotics. Outbreaks tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer.

The heat-loving parasite infects the bowels and spreads through feces. In the past, people have been infected by consuming fruits or vegetables that were exposed to feces-contaminated irrigation water.

It’s less common than a number of other kinds of foodborne illnesses, including salmonella and E. coli. For years, few U.S. cyclospora outbreaks were reported each year. But the number started rising about a decade ago, with a particularly notable spike in 2018 and 2019. Experts attribute the increases to climate change and better detection.

How does this outbreak compare to previous ones in the US?

Comprehensive data on cyclospora outbreaks is lacking. But available information shows only a small number of documented outbreaks in the last 20 years have surpassed 1,000 cases. That short list includes a 1997 outbreak tied to Guatemalan raspberries that sickened more than 1,000 in the U.S. and Canada, and a 2019 outbreak linked to Mexican basil that sickened more than 2,400.

There are several reasons it's challenging to know the exact toll, said Melanie Firestone, a University of Minnesota foodborne illness researcher. Some tests used to check for types of food poisoning are not geared to detect cyclospora, “so there is a lot of underreporting when it comes to this,” she said.

Other challenges: Technicians aren't able to grow the parasite in labs, making it hard to draw evidence from contaminated produce. And it can be hard to figure out what food sick people had in common, because sometimes it’s a single ingredient that might be common in multiple recipes — like basil or cilantro.

Also, it's possible that food distributors may channel contaminated foods to both grocery stores and restaurants, making it hard to discern where tainted food came from. Investigations can take months and sometimes never find a clear source.

What's the current situation?

Cases seem to be surging in and around southeastern Michigan. But it's not considered a national health emergency.

There's no evidence that the parasite has evolved to become more infectious, said Dianna Blau, the CDC's acting parasitic diseases branch chief.

Thousands of cyclospora illnesses are reported in the U.S. each year and it's not yet clear how unusual this year will be, she added. That said, the case total so far is four times higher than at the same point last year, according to current CDC national data, which lags dramatically from what's being reported by the states.

Michigan appears to be suffering the worst of it, but the state's aggressiveness in investigating and reporting cases may be “part of the reason why this looks like a Michigan problem,” Bagdasarian said.

How can you protect yourself from cyclospora?

People who have diarrhea that hasn’t gone away on its own within a few days should see a health provider and discuss the possibility of cyclospora, officials say.

The best way to prevent infection with a parasite is to avoid food or water that may have been contaminated.

Fresh produce should be thoroughly washed before being eaten. But be aware that cyclospora can really stick to some foods, so washing may not eliminate the risk of infection.

As Michigan officials investigate the potential source, they recommend consumers purchase whole heads of lettuce rather than prewashed, bagged lettuce or salad mixes, and to remove the outer two to three leaves before washing the remaining leaves under running water.

They also say to cook vegetables when possible.

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

As investigators search for the source of the parasite, one Detroit farm says its growing process is designed to keep that kind of contamination out entirely.

Planted Detroit, a vertical farm on Mt. Elliott Street in Detroit, grows its produce entirely indoors in a clean, controlled environment.

The setup limits exposure to outside contaminants, a design that’s drawing attention as cyclosporiasis cases continue to rise.

“We do about 35 different varieties of greens,” said Darian Ahler, chief operating officer of Planted Detroit.

Everything from romaine to arugula is grown inside the facility, where staff follow strict protocols before ever setting foot near the plants.

A clean room approach to food safety

Visitors and workers alike must dress head to toe in personal protective equipment before entering the nursery.

The precautions are similar to what you’d see in a medical setting.

Before a seed ever goes into a tray, it’s tested for bacteria, including E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella.

The farm also filters its water supply.

“We do get municipal water as our supply, but that goes through a double filtration process,” Ahler said. “There’s a particulate filter as well as a UV filter that would kill anything that might come through.”

The farm’s small staff runs through that process repeatedly, scrubbing in before each session in the nursery, much like surgeons preparing for an operation.

What makes this relevant now

Cyclosporiasis is caused by a parasite that can be transmitted through contaminated food and water.

The source of the current outbreak has not been identified, though past outbreaks have been linked to raspberries, fresh basil, and bagged salad.

Ahler says the farm takes its food safety standards seriously.

“We’re extremely food safe here,” he said. “We have to adhere to high standards to make sure that we can be as safe as we can be, to make sure that nothing is possibly getting in the farm.”

A small operation with a big message

While Planted Detroit ships produce Monday through Friday, the farm acknowledges it can’t supply everyone in the region. Still, Ahler says there are steps every consumer can take.

“Be careful what you’re buying, and make sure you wash everything thoroughly at home,” he said.

Click here for more information.

According to the latest case totals, more than 1,200 illnesses have been reported, including 44 hospitalizations.

The most recent county-by-county data shows Monroe County has recorded the highest number of cases, with 215 confirmed infections.

Emergency physicians continue to see patients seeking treatment for symptoms associated with the parasite, which commonly causes prolonged diarrhea, loss of appetite, stomach cramps, nausea, fatigue, and weight loss.

Symptoms can last for weeks without appropriate treatment.

Dr. Frank McGeorge spoke with emergency physician Dr. Nino Papale of ProMedica Monroe Regional Emergency Medicine, who described treating patients experiencing a range of symptoms, from mild gastrointestinal illness to more severe dehydration requiring medical care.

Health officials have not yet identified the source of the outbreak, though cyclospora infections are commonly linked to contaminated fresh produce.

The investigation remains ongoing as public health agencies work to determine how the parasite spread.

Officials encourage anyone experiencing persistent diarrhea or other symptoms consistent with cyclosporiasis to contact a health care provider.

The illness is treatable with prescription antibiotics once diagnosed.

Watch the full interview below

“It needs to be heard all over the world: trauma doesn’t have an expiration date. Neither should justice,” said Moose Scheib, an attorney involved in the civil case against Vista Maria.

Survivors of abuse at Vista Maria, joined by their attorneys, rallied along West Warren Avenue, pushing for changes to Michigan’s statute of limitations for sexual assault cases. Under current Michigan law, survivors who were assaulted as minors generally have until age 28 to pursue certain criminal charges, while adults have a limited window to report.

“There is no expiration date on healing -- there’s no expiration date on fixing things,” said Linda Malone, a survivor of Vista Maria who missed the deadline due to Michigan’s statute of limitations. “There’s no expiration date on getting over it.”

“It has to happen. It’s necessary. It’s needed. Our children, the most vulnerable, need to be protected,” said Ayanna Neal, an attorney also involved in the effort.

Survivors and their advocates argue that time limits don’t match the reality of trauma -- especially for children in institutional settings. They say the deadlines have kept many former Vista Maria residents from pursuing justice.

“Michigan law tells us that we took too long. I ask you how can a clock run out on a child who was never given a chance to understand what happened to them,” Vista Maria survivor Toni Bare said. “I didn’t have the voice then that I have now.”

Bare, who drove from Illinois to attend the rally, said she was abused at Vista Maria over 30 years ago.

“I don’t want this happening to anyone else, but then I found out that Michigan says, ‘Wait a minute, oh, you’re 46. You were supposed to heal when you were 28 years old or before,’” she said. “Whether you were at Vista Maria or somewhere else, whether you’ve told your story 100 times or never whispered it, I want you to hear me today: you are believed, you are not alone, and what happened to you matters.”

The gathering unveiled a billboard, just steps from the Vista Maria campus, meant to serve as a visible reminder to other survivors.

“When people drive past this billboard, some will see words,” Bare said. “Others will see memories they spent years trying to bury… and somewhere, someone will see it and realize for the first time, ‘I’m not the only one.’”

‘Pure Hell:’ previous allegations into Vista Maria

The Investigators on Local 4 began digging into allegations at the facility in 2025 after a teenager went missing from the campus.

Police records showed hundreds of calls for service in roughly a year, and state documents described a range of violations and complaints, including staffing issues, training concerns, and allegations of physical and sexual assault.

“It took me a lot out of me to come forward today about what happened to me,” said Michelle Rehahn, who said she lived at Vista Maria from 2014 to 2017.

Rehahn said her time at the facility was defined by trauma.

“Being in that place from 14 years old to 18 was pure hell,” she said. “Men would come into my room and molest me… They physically did sh*t to me at age 14 that I shouldn’t have had done -- I was a minor.”

Another survivor, Sarina Jensen, said she was severely beaten during her time at Vista Maria and said she was locked in her room “for days” at a time.

“It would take [staff] at least 45 minutes to days to respond to our room so we would urinate or go to the bathroom on ourselves,” she said.

Vista Maria discontinues residential program

Vista Maria has made major operational changes since Local 4 began investigating.

The organization permanently laid off more than 150 employees and discontinued its residential youth mental health programming in December 2025.

A previous letter from CEO Kathleen Regan said in part, “Vista Maria is committed to supporting each affected team member with compassion, transparency, and available transition assistance during this difficult time.”

Regan also addressed some of the allegations in a previous interview with Local 4.

“Reading those allegations kills us, and that’s why you’ve seen a lot of terminations coming out of Vista Maria, because safety is sacred to us,” Regan said.

Vista Maria has said it is not shutting down entirely and that other services, including foster care and independent living, would continue.

But some survivors still say they would like to see the campus closed entirely.

“It should be demolished wall by wall, brick by brick,” said Christian Edwards, who said she was at Vista Maria beginning in 2010 for about a year and nine months. “I want to be one of the people holding one of the sledgehammers to some of the walls.”

Edwards, who said she endured verbal, physical and sexual abuse at Vista Maria said the process of coming forward has been painful but said “at the end of it, I hope I can see the rainbow.”

New allegation: Vista Maria caused former resident’s death

As the push to lawmakers builds, a new allegation has also surfaced.

“We’re here to speak up for the girls who were victimized at Vista Maria first and foremost,” said Scheib. “Some of the girls didn’t make it out of Vista Maria, including Angelica, whose mother I represent.”

The mother of Angelica Harvey told Local 4 that her daughter died Dec. 24, 2014, while in Vista Maria’s care. She said she has sought information for more than a decade about the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death.

“She was more than a case file or statistic. She was a daughter, a child with hopes, dreams, and a future that was cut short,” Monique Harvey told Local 4.

In a statement provided to Local 4 regarding the lawsuit and new allegation, Vista Maria told Local 4:

“Vista Maria has been formally notified of the lawsuit and is reviewing the allegations.

We take matters involving the safety and well-being of youth very seriously, and we will address these claims through the legal process.

Because of privacy and confidentiality laws, we cannot comment on specific individuals or circumstances.

We remain fully committed to transparency within the bounds of the law, cooperation with appropriate authorities, and continued support for the youth and families we serve.”

Vista Maria

It was Smith's first time on the LA Metro in a decade, and the experience exceeded his expectations.

“Seems like a very functioning transit system, which is somewhat surprising given its reputation,” he said.

That is the reaction Metro officials were hoping for as they used the 2026 FIFA World Cup's eight LA games to introduce — or reintroduce — people to the region's public transit system, often an afterthought in car-centric Los Angeles. It is an early test run of sorts for the 2028 Olympics, which organizers have billed as a “no car” Games where there will be no parking for attendees at any of the venues. Spectators will have to rely on transit and shuttles to get to events.

Nearly 50,000 rides were taken on rail lines for the July 2 Spain-Austria game that Smith and his son attended. There is no train that runs directly to SoFi Stadium in the LA suburb of Inglewood, but Metro has added 15 shuttle lines to transport people there from major rail stations and transit centers — the farthest route taking one hour and 15 minutes. More than 30,000 rides were taken on those shuttles for that game alone, the agency said.

The Metro will take a similar approach for the Olympics because many venues don't connect directly to the system. For the World Cup, the agency borrowed about 200 buses to meet the increased demand. Officials have said they will need to borrow 3,000 buses for the Olympics.

Officials work to overcome safety fears

For many residents, public transit isn't baked into everyday life in Los Angeles, the nation's second most-populous city, quite the same way it is in other major urban centers like New York and Chicago. LA Metro estimates the system provides about 1 million rides each day — roughly the same as Chicago, a smaller city. In New York, meanwhile, it is well over 3 million on the average weekday.

Many view LA's rail and bus system as unreliable at best and unsafe at worse. Certain high-profile violent incidents, such as a 67-year-old woman who died from being stabbed on a Metro train in 2024, have driven those perceptions. Some riders are also concerned about drug use, cleanliness and the presence of homeless people.

In June, Metro opened applications for its police force, which it hopes to have fully deployed by 2029 to replace the LAPD. The agency hopes having its own sworn officers working along with homeless outreach and crisis response teams will help riders feel safer on its trains and buses.

Metro has also touted data that showed a decline in violent crime over the past two years, with a 13.6% decrease in overall crime in March 2026 compared to a year before.

Martha Banuelos used the transit system sporadically before but generally preferred to “avoid it like the plague.” She started riding the trains again recently to get into the city from North Hollywood for World Cup watch parties.

“It’s a lot cleaner and smells way better,” she said.

Officials see World Cup as an opportunity

Metro has partnered with FIFA to host fan zones and watch parties at key transit hubs — where thousands of fans from around the region gathered to drink, dance to DJ sets, and cheer for their favorite teams. Metro has advertised limited edition tap cards for different countries and leaned into social media to promote public transit during the games.

The system also upgraded its payment options before the World Cup to allow riders to pay directly with a credit card like other cities that have done away with tap cards.

Those efforts worked to draw in new riders like Yasmin Cortez, a 32-year-old who took the train for the first time ever to attend the official FIFA Fan Festival at the LA Memorial Coliseum to watch matches, volunteer for FIFA, and soak in the World Cup spirit. A week later, she took the rail again to root for Uruguay at the Union Station Fan Zone, from Cerritos about 16 miles (26 kilometers) southwest of LA.

“Especially with gas prices now, yeah I should be taking the Metro,” she said. “There’s a lot to explore, and I bought some new walking shoes.”

Looking ahead to 2028 Olympics

During the last Summer Games, Paris was lauded for how accessible the Games were, with nearly every venue reachable by Metro, commuter train, tram or bus.

LA, long known for congested roadways, is hard at work to expand its own transit options as the Games quickly approach.

Transit enthusiasts rejoiced at the long-awaited extension of the D line in May, which runs east-west connecting downtown LA to Koreatown, and now further west, where popular tourist attractions like the Grove shopping mall, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the La Brea Tar Pits are.

It marked the first opening of a heavy rail expansion project in the U.S. since 2020. Four more stations are under construction to extend the line to the University of California, Los Angeles campus, which will serve as the official Athlete Village for the 2028 games.

“LA is a transit city,” said Jennifer Vides, Metro's chief customer experience officer. “People want to try to say that it’s not. Obviously we have a lot more expansion to do and we’re working on it. But people really want transit.”

David Hearn, who competed in three Summer Olympics, entered the plea through one of his attorneys during his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court. Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Maryland, was indicted last Thursday on a single felony count of property destruction.

Before the country's 250th independence celebrations, President Donald Trump launched a multimillion dollar renovation project for the Reflecting Pool, which was plagued by problems, including damage to its new coating. Trump, without providing evidence, has alleged the damage was caused by vandals.

Hearn has said he reached inside the pool to examine the peeled sealant and let go of a chunk when he was told to by a park worker. He is accused of causing more than $1,000 in damage.

“Every American should be alarmed about this prosecution,” defense attorney Norm Eisen said after the hearing. “It is not a crime to touch the Reflecting Pool.”

At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the Reflecting Pool, according to online court records. All three pleaded not guilty during their initial court appearances Wednesday, records show.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, said vandalizing the nation's monuments and public spaces is “an affront to our shared history.”

“The law applies equally to everyone, and when it is broken, there are consequences," she said in a statement on Thursday.

Defense says prosecutors' evidence is ‘weak’

In front of a packed courtroom, D.C. Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean did not require Hearn to be supervised by the court while he is free awaiting a trial. A status hearing was scheduled for Aug. 5.

A prosecutor, Kevin Reddington, said the government wasn’t seeking any court supervision for Hearn, but just a “stay-away order” without specifying in court where it wanted to keep Hearn away from.

Mary Dohrmann, one of Hearn’s attorneys, urged the judge not to impose any conditions of court supervision, calling Hearn an “upstanding citizen and member of the community.”

“The government’s evidence is weak,” she added.

Supporters cheered after the hearing

Dozens of supporters, many carrying homemade signs, gathered outside the courthouse and chanted “Davey!” as Hearn left after the hearing. Hearn joined his attorneys in front of a bank of cameras and smiled to supporters but did not speak. He raised his right hand and pumped his fist as he left.

Adam Van Grack, who chaired the U.S. Olympic national governing body for canoe and kayak sports, joined the throng of supporters who cheered for Hearn after the hearing. Van Grack said Hearn has spent decades voluntarily maintaining National Park Service property that the canoeists used as a training course along the Potomac River.

“This is a person who has devoted his life to representing the United States on an international stage, caring for the community and protecting and caring for National Park Service property,” Van Grack said. “So the idea that he is a malicious destroyer of federal property shocks the conscience and makes no sense to anybody who’s ever known Davey Hearn.”

Hearn previously told The Associated Press that he was detained by National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police for five hours after stopping by the pool during a 64-mile (103 kilometer) bike ride on June 19. He said he reached in to examine newly peeled coating and briefly touched a chunk attached to the side of the pool, but obeyed a park worker who told him to let go of it.

Pool project has been plagued by problems

The pool's renovation has been riddled with problems. Workers have used devices called nanobubblers to curtail an algae bloom. The devices infuse ozone into the water to kill algae and bacteria. Officials have said the pool most likely would need to be drained again for liner repairs after chunks of blue coating were seen floating at the surface.

Trump has claimed without substantiation that vandals dumped fertilizer into the pool and slashed the coating with a box cutter. Pirro, a former Fox News host who was appointed by Trump, said last week that six other people were arrested on misdemeanor charges related to the $16 million pool project.

Pirro accused Hearn of causing more than $1,000 in damage by ripping up recently installed sealant from the pool and acting belligerently toward an employee who told him to stop.

Hearn’s attorneys have said the charges against him are based on a “concocted narrative” and “should be alarming to every American.”

“This indictment reflects the administration’s effort to shift blame for their own failures,” the lawyers said in a statement. “The justice system exists to determine facts, not to provide political cover.”

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Associated Press writer Matthew Daly and AP video journalist Nathan Ellgren contributed to this report.

The demand for help comes as the United Nations launched an appeal for roughly $300 million to assist 1.3 million people in urgent need of aid in the South American country where nongovernmental organizations until recently were targets of government repression. Mobile kitchens and clinics as well as field hospitals now dot public spaces in the northern state of La Guaira, where most of the devastation occurred.

“It is clear at displacement sites that, particularly after two weeks, that people are turning up because they haven’t been able to get their other treatments,” U.N. relief chief Tom Fletcher told The Associated Press during his visit to Venezuela. “So, they’re not turning up with just the fractures now, they’re turning up with those longer-term health needs. And it’s vital that we’re there for them.”

Doctors treating people in that state’s Catia La Mar community on Thursday reported an increase in skin conditions and diarrheal diseases, as well as of requests for medications for the treatment of chronic illnesses, including diabetes and high blood pressure. The emerging diseases can be tied to crowded living spaces and poor water and sanitation conditions, which in many communities predate the earthquakes.

Irma Echarri showed up at a mobile unit on a sidewalk across the street from a church with the boxes of the eyedrops and pain reliever she usually takes, hoping that doctors there could give her new ones. She also wanted to be seen for the pain she developed in her nose after the June 24 earthquakes.

“It hurts a lot,” Echarri, 67, said while waiting to be seen. “It hurts because it hurts.”

Echarri’s home was not damaged, but many of her neighbors are living in temporary shelters or outdoors after 190 buildings collapsed and 856 others were damaged, according to Venezuelan officials, in the back-to-back earthquakes that killed 3,889 people.

The government of acting President Delcy Rodríguez has estimated that the earthquakes left about 18,000 people without a home. The displaced are now living in schools, sidewalks, parks, plazas and other public spaces.

Fletcher, the head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told AP the United States has so far provided most of the earthquake-response aid. Much of the assistance on the ground is being delivered by local groups that have partnered with global humanitarian organizations.

Among the displaced is Zulbey Reyes, who went to the clinic ran by the Venezuela-based organization Paluz in partnership with the global relief agency International Rescue Committee. Reyes, who was also robbed by the earthquakes of her job as a nanny, sought treatment for the onset of chest pain.

“I thought it was my heart that was sick,” Reyes, 41, said after being diagnosed and receiving medication. “But it’s a nerve that became inflamed after the screams that day.”

Armando Denegri, representative in Venezuela of the Pan-American Health Organization told reporters Thursday that “50% of the health professionals in La Guaira were directly affected" by the earthquakes.

"Some disappeared, some died, others were severely affected by the crisis, impacting their families,” Denegri said without giving further details.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has estimated direct physical damage to housing and infrastructure around $37 billion.

The widespread presence of nongovernmental organizations in the country and the freedom with which the government is allowing them to operate contrasts with the repression and persecution to which they were subjected in recent years. While Rodríguez served as vice president to former President Nicolás Maduro, organizations were repeatedly accused of anti-government activities and the U.N. local human rights office expelled.

“When you have a crisis of this magnitude, people put the politics to one side and are able to focus on saving as many lives as possible, and that’s what I’m seeing so far in this response,” Fletcher said.

Murakami made two rehab appearances with Triple-A Charlotte, going 2 for 7 with a double. Following Chicago's 2-1 loss to Boston on Thursday, White Sox manager Will Venable said Murakami would be in the starting lineup for the opener of the team's weekend series against the Athletics.

“He’s ready to go,” Venable said. “He was challenged running the bases, defensively, had a really long game yesterday. So feel good about the workload, recovered well today so he’s ready to go.”

Murakami got hurt during a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on May 29, grabbing his right hamstring after beating a throw to first on a fielder’s choice in the third inning. At the time of the injury, the Japanese rookie ranked among the major league leaders with 20 homers, 41 RBIs, 43 runs and a .947 OPS.

Chicago (47-45) is in a virtual tie with Cleveland (48-46) for the lead in the sluggish AL Central. But the White Sox have dropped three in a row and six of eight overall. They managed just two runs and 15 hits in the three-game set against the Red Sox.

White Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi said getting Murakami back right now is huge.

“Obviously, he’s a presence in the lineup,” he said. "He’ll bring the energy, I think. It seems like the vibe in here is kind of down right now but I’m sure seeing him tomorrow will spark it back up.”

The 26-year-old Murakami signed a $34 million, two-year contract with Chicago in December. The White Sox went 17-18 while he was on the injured list.

“We understand the impact he makes on the field and in the clubhouse so to activate him is going to mean a lot for our group,” Venable said. “Really excited about him.”

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

Funk died Wednesday at her apartment in an assisted living facility in the Dallas and Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, Texas, Grapevine City Councilwoman Duff O'Dell said Thursday. O'Dell, who described herself as Funk's caregiver, said she was by Funk's side. Funk had fallen a couple of times recently and had an infection in her leg.

“It took its toll,” O'Dell said in a phone interview.

Funk was one of 13 female pilots who went through the same tests as NASA’s all-male astronaut corps in the early 1960s but never made it into space with that agency. In 2021, she got her chance aboard Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket.

At the time, the 82-year-old was the oldest person to go into space, though the record was later broken by “Star Trek” actor William Shatner and Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate. They were both 90.

Bezos chose Funk as an “honored guest” to ride alongside him and two others on an up-and-down hop from West Texas.

In a post on X, Blue Origin said Funk was a “pioneer in every sense of the word.”

“We were humbled to be part of her journey,” the post said.

O’Dell said Funk was the “most eternally optimistic person” she had ever met.

“She was told by many, many, many men, ‘No, you can’t do this. No you can’t do that,’ ” O’Dell said. “And she never got mad about it. She just was more determined.”

Funk was the first female inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration and the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, according to a brief biography released by the City of Grapevine.

In the 1960s, she and other female pilots went through astronaut training in the Mercury 13 program, but they were not allowed to become astronauts.

“Wally Funk never stopped believing that one day she would reach space. Her passion for flight, perseverance, and love of exploration will continue to inspire generations of Americans. Godspeed, Wally,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman posted Thursday on X.

Justice Department prosecutors said they learned Thursday morning that Rahmanullah Lakanwal was rushed to a hospital overnight “for medical treatment necessary to preserve his life.” The U.S. Marshals Service notified prosecutors last month of concerns that Lakanwal was at risk of long-term health consequences, including death, due to his “refusal to consume adequate nutrition for an extended period,” the filing says.

The filing doesn’t elaborate on the circumstances of Lakanwal’s refusal to eat, but prosecutors noted that courts have held that prison officials can involuntary feed “hunger-striking prisoners” to save their lives.

The judge presiding over Lakanwal's case convened an emergency hearing related to the defendant's medical condition while he remains in federal custody. At the end of the hearing, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta instructed prosecutors to submit a proposed order that would give them access to Lakanwal's recent medical records.

Defense attorney Shelli Peterson and a spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office declined to comment after the hearing.

Lakanwal, an Afghan national, has pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree murder in the November 2025 shooting that killed West Virginia National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and critically wounded Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe.

Beckstrom, 20, and Wolfe, 24, were deployed from West Virginia to Washington, D.C., for the surge of federal law-enforcement patrols that began last summer in the nation's capital at President Donald Trump’s direction.

Lakanwal is accused of driving to the nation’s capital from Bellingham, Washington, while in possession of a stolen firearm and ambushing the two Guard members outside a subway station three blocks from the White House. Another National Guard member heard gunshots and saw Beckstrom and Wolfe fall to the ground as Lakanwal fired a gun and screamed, “Allahu Akbar!” according to a police report.

Lakanwal was shot during the confrontation and appeared remotely by video from a hospital bed in December for his first hearing before a judge. A trial date for his case hasn’t been scheduled yet.

WAYNE COUNTY – Gastrointestinal illnesses, poison ivy, bug bites, whooping cough, chicken pox

Dr. Ali J. Bazzi -- Pediatrician, Corewell Health Dearborn Hospital

“We have been seeing patients with poison ivy and bug bites now that kids are out and about. We have also seen a few patients with vaccine-preventable illnesses, including chicken pox and whooping cough.”

Dr. Christopher Loewe -- Emergency Department, Henry Ford St. John Hospital

“Seeing patients with G.I. symptoms and diarrhea, lasting for greater than a week.”

OAKLAND COUNTY – E-bike & scooter injuries, heat-related illnesses, dehydration, gastrointestinal illnesses, sunburns, sinus infections, mononucleosis

Dr. Rena Daiza -- Primary Care Physician, Henry Ford Medical Center Bloomfield Twp.

“We’ve continued to see a mix of seasonal concerns, including allergy symptoms, minor outdoor-related injuries, and sun/heat exposure issues. We are also reminding patients to stay vigilant with tick prevention and monitoring for any concerning symptoms after outdoor activities, especially as summer illnesses and exposures increase.”

Dr. David Donaldson -- Emergency Center Chief, Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital

“We’ve had several bad E-bike and E-scooter head injuries all without helmets. We are still seeing heat-related illnesses and dehydration. There have also been a lot of patients with diarrhea worried about cylclospora.”

Dr. Adam Haezebrouck -- Emergency Department, Henry Ford Rochester

“Recently, we have seen a fair amount of people staying out in the heat too long without hydrating. Remember, keep up daily water intake and to get into the shade and cooler environments when you have the chance.”

Dr. Rachel M. Klamo -- Primary Care Physician, Henry Ford Glennan Primary Care

“We have seen some sunburns, back strains from yard work, and an increase in viral sinusitis that turns into bacterial infections.”

Farmington Hills MinuteClinic -- Lindsi Shaw, MinuteClinic Family Nurse Practitioner & Senior Practice Manager

Recent visits include:

•One confirmed case of Influenza A

•Shingles

•Work-related health screenings

Educational Insights:

•Although influenza activity remains low, it’s important to practice good hand hygiene, cover coughs and sneezes, and stay home when feeling ill to help prevent the spread of illness.

•Shingles often begins with pain, burning, or tingling before a rash develops. Adults who are eligible should speak with their healthcare provider about shingles vaccination.

•Work health screenings are a great opportunity to discuss preventive care, wellness goals, and any health concerns with your provider.

Waterford MinuteClinic -- Deborah “Micki” Bailey, MinuteClinic Nurse Practitioner

Recent visit of note:

•Mononucleosis

Educational Insights:

•Mononucleosis (mono) can cause fatigue, sore throat, swollen glands, and fever. Recovery may take several weeks, so getting plenty of rest and staying hydrated is important.

•Because mono spreads through saliva, avoid sharing drinks, utensils, lip products, or toothbrushes while sick.

WASHTENAW COUNTY – Gastrointestinal illnesses, asthma flare-ups, croup, outdoor injuries, seasonal allergies, ear infections, poison ivy

Dr. Brad Uren -- Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Michigan Medicine

“We are seeing a fair amount of GI illness, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Currently very little upper respiratory infections on the adult side.”

Dr. Stuart Bradin -- Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, Michigan Medicine

“We are seeing asthma, croup, some GI illness and burns. We have seen several orthopedic injuries and e bike/scooter injuries.”

Ann Arbor MinuteClinic -- Sean Sullivan, MinuteClinic Nurse Practitioner

Common visits this week include:

•Seasonal allergies

•Ear infections

•Skin conditions, including eczema and poison ivy

Educational Insights:

•Allergy symptoms can often be managed by checking local pollen counts, keeping windows closed on high-pollen days, and showering after spending time outdoors.

•Ear infections can sometimes follow colds or allergies. If you or your child has ear pain, fever, or difficulty hearing, contact your healthcare provider.

•For eczema, keeping skin moisturized and avoiding known irritants can help reduce flare-ups. If spending time outdoors, learn to identify poison ivy and wash exposed skin promptly after outdoor activities.

MONROE COUNTY – Cyclosporiasis, seasonal allergies, upper respiratory viruses

Dr. Laura Grima

ProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital Family Medicine Residency

“We are continuing to see a higher number of patients with allergic rhinitis symptoms, along with a lower level of viral upper respiratory illnesses. It is important to monitor for fever and continue frequent handwashing. We are also seeing patients with cyclosporiasis, which is trending in surrounding areas. Symptoms can include fatigue, general malaise, nausea and frequent episodes of diarrhea. If you develop persistent or worsening diarrhea, please contact your primary care physician, as treatment may be available for this parasitic infection. We recommend watching for signs of dehydration, such as dry mouth and an increased heart rate. We also support the local health department’s recommendation to thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables and cook them when possible.”

MACOMB COUNTY – Heat exhaustion, dehydration, asthma flare-ups, outdoor injuries, gastrointestinal illnesses, sunburns, colds, ear infections

Dr. Matthew Steck -- Emergency Physician at McLaren Macomb

“While there were patients seeking care for dehydration and degrees of heat exhaustion during the recent extreme heat, the more serious heat-related conditions were those that exacerbated a chronic conditions, such a cardio or pulmonary conditions. The trend of patients seeking care for injuries remains high, though more injuries are being sustained in and around water and when operating a personal motor vehicle, such as an e-bike. The recent extreme heat also further complicated many patients’ asthma, causing wheezing and, in severe cases, shortness of breath.”

Dr. Maria Samuel -- Primary Care Physician, Henry Ford Medical Center Sterling Heights

“We continue to see sun burns, colds, gastroenteritis, and outdoor injuries recently. “

Macomb MinuteClinic -- Catherine Polito, MinuteClinic Nurse Practitioner

Common visits include:

•Ear infections

•Diabetes-related care

Educational Insights:

•Ear infections are common, especially in children. Early evaluation can help reduce discomfort and prevent complications.

•For those living with diabetes, regular blood sugar monitoring, healthy eating habits, staying active, and attending routine healthcare appointments can help support long-term health and wellness.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY – Did not report this week

It does not necessarily mean that the trade is off. The Raptors said they still want Leonard, and the Clippers, in a statement sent to multiple outlets including The Associated Press, again insisted that they are not guilty of any wrongdoing related to an endorsement contract between Leonard and a now-bankrupt California-based digital bank that touted itself as environmentally friendly.

But the probe, as detailed by the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, could lead to penalties that include a substantial fine, the loss of draft capital — and, potentially, even the voiding of a player contract — if the league finds there was a deliberate circumvention of cap rules.

“The NBA league office informed us that as a result of the ongoing investigation involving the Clippers, we would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation impacting Kawhi,” the Raptors said. “In light of this, we will wait until the league’s investigation is complete.”

There is no timetable for the conclusion of the NBA's probe, which is being performed by outside counsel — Wachtell Lipton, a New York-based firm. Commissioner Adam Silver said in recent weeks that he'd like to see a conclusion.

“My instruction to them is we can’t be investigating forever. At some point you have to wrap it up,” Silver said last month at the NBA Finals. “But at the same time, the most important thing is that we get it right."

Through a spokesman, the NBA said Thursday that it doesn't “have a specific timeline for the conclusion of the investigation but expect the firm to finalize its work in the coming weeks”

The NBA opened an investigation back in September into whether a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC — a company that filed for bankruptcy in 2025 — broke league rules, following a report by journalist Pablo Torre. Last month, Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to defrauding investors and lenders of at least $248 million.

“At the heart of this investigation are Joe Sanberg and Aspiration,” the Clippers said Thursday in a statement. "We did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard through Aspiration. Like many sophisticated investors, financial institutions, and business partners, we were victims of a fraud initiated by Sanberg, who has been convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

“We recognize the uncertainty this has created and the impact it has had on our team, our fans, the Raptors organization, their fans, and the players whose futures remain affected while this process continues. We remain confident that, when the facts are evaluated fairly and thoroughly, the NBA will confirm exactly what we have said from the beginning: We have not done what we are accused of doing.”

For its part, Toronto reaffirmed that it still wants to acquire Leonard.

“The Raptors remain eager to bring Kawhi back to Toronto and look forward to a swift resolution for our players, our organization, and our fans,” the Raptors said.

The Raptors and Clippers struck a deal on June 30 on a trade that would send Leonard back to the city that helped win the 2019 NBA championship.

The Raptors agreed to send Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round draft picks, two second-round picks and pick swaps to the Clippers for Leonard — who spent one season in Toronto, and that was the year the Raptors won their lone title.

He turned 35 earlier this month but is coming off the highest-scoring season of his career, averaging 27.9 points for the Clippers in 65 games.

Leonard is a seven-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, a two-time NBA champion (also winning in 2014 with San Antonio) and is generally considered one of the game’s top defensive players. He has said there was no wrongdoing.

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

There are dozens of brands, hundreds of bottles, and labels that can leave shoppers wondering: Which sunscreen is actually the best?

Metro Detroit dermatologist Dr. Steven Grekin, founder of The Grekin Skin Institute, met us at the Southgate Meijer sunscreen aisle to help cut through the confusion.

Mineral vs. chemical sunscreens

Dr. Grekin said there’s chemical sunscreens and mineral sunscreens, and when presented with a choice, choose a mineral sunscreen.

Mineral sunscreen is better at protecting your skin than chemical sunscreen. Though, if your choice is chemical sunscreen or nothing, then you should use the chemical sunscreen.

“I found like a whole bunch of mineral-based sunscreens and I have to tell you, the part that I found most interesting, look at what it says, it says, ‘mineral face’, ‘mineral baby bump,’ ‘baby protection’, ‘baby mineral’, ‘pure and simple baby,’” Grekin said.

He said if it’s good enough for a baby, then it’s good enough for everyone.

SPF

When it comes to SPF, broad spectrum means the sunscreen protects against both UVA rays, which can age the skin, and UVB rays, which are most likely to cause a sunburn.

You should choose a sunscreen that’s at least SPF 30, it’s the minimum recommendation by most dermatologists. For comparison, SPF 50 provides 98% protection, and SPF 100 provides 99% coverage.

Most importantly, apply enough sunscreen and make sure to reapply it every two hours. Grekin said that lotions are always better than sprays and that you should use a shot glass full.

Remember to get the spots people often miss. Apply sunscreen to your ears, the back of your neck, the tops of your feet, and your scalp.

The best sunscreen isn’t the most expensive one. It’s the one you’ll wear every day.

A power outage doesn’t just kill the lights. It can cut off water, spoil food and put people who rely on medical devices in real danger.

Related: Metro Detroit residents frustrated as DTE power outages continue days after severe storms

Experts say households should be prepared for at least 72 hours without power -- but most aren’t.

Before the storm

Building an emergency kit before severe weather arrives is one of the most important steps a household can take.

That means stocking non-perishable food and water, gathering flashlights and batteries in an easy-to-reach location, and filling your car’s gas tank before a storm moves in.

Families should also make a household plan -- one that includes pets -- and keep a paper contact list on hand in case a phone dies or loses charge.

The Michigan Public Service Commission has a checklist for how to prepare. It can be found here.

Keep the fridge closed

Once the power goes out, one of the easiest ways to protect food is also one of the easiest to forget: keep the refrigerator and freezer closed.

Keeping those doors shut helps maintain a safe internal temperature for several hours longer than if they’re opened repeatedly.

---> Power’s out: What to toss, what to keep, and what was never at risk

Medical devices, medications

For those who rely on medical devices or refrigerated medications, planning ahead is critical. People in this situation should contact their medical provider before an outage occurs to develop a specific plan and ask how long refrigerated medicines can remain safe without power.

Phones can be charged in a running vehicle, but never run a car in an enclosed garage because of the fumes.

A laptop battery or portable power bank can also provide a charge in a pinch.

Don’t wait

The worst time to make a power outage plan is when the power is already out. Assuming an outage could last days, not hours, is the mindset that keeps families from being caught off guard.

More information on how to best handle outage can be found here.

He faces multiple felony charges, including firearm offenses and felonious assault. He’s also linked to two alleged robberies in Ohio.

Cizquindrie Smith, 38, was arraigned in 23rd District Court and received a $75,000 cash/surety bond with GPS tether and house arrest conditions.

Charges against Smith

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged Smith with one count of carrying a concealed weapon, one count of felon in possession of a firearm, one count of fleeing and eluding, third degree, one count of felonious assault, one count of resisting and obstructing a police officer, and two counts of felony firearm.

How the incident unfolded

The incident began around 11:32 a.m. Monday, when a license plate reader flagged a stolen U-Haul outside the Sheetz gas station in the 20600 block of Eureka Road in Taylor.

Authorities allege Smith refused to exit the truck and backed into a police cruiser.

Officers then observed him fumbling with an object resembling a handgun and pointing it in their direction, prompting them to open fire.

Smith was struck and transported to a local hospital.

A firearm was later recovered from the driver’s side floorboard of the vehicle.

Police say information from a woman who was in the U-Haul led detectives to a nearby Red Roof Inn, where investigators found two other women and several children, along with evidence believed to be connected to the case.

That woman has since been released from police custody.

Ohio connections

Investigators say the same stolen U-Haul is believed to have been used in at least two robberies in Ohio just days before the Taylor incident, an armed robbery at a Family Dollar in Cleveland and a bank robbery in Toledo.

“We are still investigating, still working with other out-of-state agencies, including the FBI,” said Detective Lt. Joshua Schneider of the Taylor Police Department.

Court records also show Smith was convicted of child endangerment in 2015 in Canton, Ohio.

Concerns over bond

Taylor police expressed disappointment with the bond amount set by the court.

“When you take a weapon and point it in the direction of police officers, and unknown if he fired at this time or not, you’re showing right there that you have no regard for human life. So, we are disappointed in the $75,000 bond given today by the court,” Schneider said.

Under the terms of his bond, Smith is not permitted to leave the state, is prohibited from possessing firearms or other dangerous weapons, and must surrender his driver’s license and passport.

He is due back in court July 20, 2026, for a probable cause conference.

More: New photos show moments before Taylor police shot armed suspect in stolen U-Haul outside Sheetz gas station