“Today, Venezuela is being reborn,” Delcy Rodriguez said in her remarks to the international forum.

Rodríguez took over in Venezuela after a surprise U.S. military raid in January that captured then-leader Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.

This is the first trip to the United States by a Venezuelan head of state since 2018, when Maduro traveled to New York to participate in the U.N. General Assembly himself. He is currently being held only a few miles from the organization’s headquarters as he awaits trial.

“I do not promise you an easy way forward,” Rodriguez said, saying she was addressing her people “Rebuilding our national soul will be the priority.”

The filings are the latest against the world-famous amusement park operator and S&S Worldwide, the manufacturer of the X2 roller coaster. Six Flags recently settled a wrongful-death lawsuit from the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the coaster in 2022.

According to documents filed Monday, Pamela Guillen and her family visited the park in July for her daughter's 16th birthday and decided to ride the X2 roller coaster. When the ride stopped, her daughter saw her “sitting with a vacant stare and her mouth open,” confused and unable to exit the ride.

Shortly after she got out, the previously healthy 39-year-old collapsed and was taken to a hospital, where she underwent emergency brain surgery, according to the lawsuit.

Just five days later, 25-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson boarded the ride with her siblings. She also collapsed shortly after the ride ended and was taken to a hospital, where she was found to have massive brain bleeding inside the skull that required emergency brain surgery. She remains in a vegetative state in the hospital, unable to speak or move and dependent on a ventilator. Her family filed the lawsuit on her behalf.

Their attorney, Gary Dordick, said the firm has been retained by more than 100 clients that suffered brain injuries after riding the X2 roller coaster within the past two years.

“It’s inexcusable that more isn’t done,” Dordick said. “It was known by Magic Mountain that those injuries and deaths occurred and they kept the ride open.”

A spokesperson for Six Flags said it's their policy not to comment on pending litigation and the ride has been closed since the evening of July 12.

According to the Six Flags Magic Mountain website, the X2 roller coaster reaches a top speed of 76 mph (122 kph) and has a total length of 3,610 feet (1,100 meters). The seats rotate 360 degrees “so your body will be flipping around the entire time,” and the ride features two “raven turns” — half loops that turn into sheer drops midway. It debuted at the park in 2002 as X and reopened in 2008 as X2 with new trains and special effects.

Fans of X2 have discussed on Reddit forums the “unspoken rules” of how to ride the roller coaster without getting injured. Many cite the final raven turn as the most extreme part of the ride and say they have gotten major headaches and what felt like concussions if they didn't brace their heads properly. One even said they wore a soft head helmet the last time they were on the ride.

“The snapping bangs the head against the headrest and it’s causing brain damage, it’s causing hemorrhaging within the skull,” Dordick said.

Another one of his clients, Michael Wilk, visited the park with his daughter and grandchildren in February. Immediately after going on the ride, he felt stabbing pain in his head, dizziness, and had difficulty walking, the lawsuit states.

While he didn't seek medical attention immediately, his cognitive function quickly declined in the following weeks as he tried to return to his job as an insurance defense attorney. An MRI scan a few months later showed massive bleeding and swelling inside his skull, requiring multiple surgeries to relieve the pressure on his brain. He said he continues to suffer debilitating headaches, confusion, dizziness, memory loss, and personality changes, and can no longer practice law.

The lawsuit accused Six Flags of intentionally restricting “public disclosure of evidence concerning X2 injuries and safety issues.”

The new lawsuits follow a settlement for wrongful death in the case of Christopher Hawley, a 22-year-old who died the day after he rode X2 and was rushed to the hospital after the ride with severe brain bleeding. The medical examiner's office said his death was from “blunt head trauma.”

Dordick said the amusement park operator has argued that people are accepting risk by voluntarily going on a thrill ride, and that people who suffer injuries often have preexisting conditions.

“The risk people reasonably assume is they get dizzy, maybe someone might throw up,” Dordick said. “No one goes to a family fun amusement park and assumes the risk of brain damage.”

Trump's decision to greet Xi at Joint Base Andrews just outside Washington rather than receiving him at the executive residence shows how far the U.S. president is going to honor China's leader as he made his first state visit to the U.S. capital in more than a decade.

A 100-foot (30 meter) long red carpet was unfurled at the bottom of the staircase placed at the door of Xi's plane. A 21-person honor guard was arrayed on the sides of the carpet and Trump and first lady Melania Trump stood near a staircase on the side of the plane, where they greeted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, with handshakes.

Two American children presented bouquets of yellow-colored flowers to Xi and his wife. The welcome ceremony also included a flyover by two B-1 bombers, platoons from each military service, and a presentation of the flags and anthems of both countries. Trump and his wife spoke to their counterparts, but their words could not be heard. Trump, who wore gloves and an overcoat though it was a relatively warm 63 degrees Fahrenheit (17 degrees Celsius) outside, removed one of his gloves to shake hands with Xi. At one point, he slapped Xi on the back and said something to him that was inaudible.

“I think they appreciate it, tremendous people,” Trump said to reporters after he returned to the White House Wednesday evening.

In a statement marking his arrival in the U.S., China’s leader wrote that his country and the U.S. “should be partners, not rivals. Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand and the two countries can contribute to each other’s success, thereby benefiting the wider world.”

The salutation kicks off a three-day visit that's expected to be saturated with pomp, even by White House standards. The state visit, complete with a formal state dinner at the White House on Thursday, is supposed to reciprocate the ceremonial grandeur that marked Trump's May visit to China.

But it also is a showy patina at a time when tensions between the two geopolitical rivals are high over trade, artificial intelligence, Trump's war with Iran and China's designs on Taiwan.

The visit comes after Trump’s trip to China in May

Beyond using the visit to try to keep “strategic stability” between the two countries, Trump seems to be pulling out all the diplomatic stops to show off for Xi. Trump has lavished praise on Xi as a “great leader” and described a warm relationship with the man he has called a friend. That is all while he has given Xi a pass on many issues.

Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the “lavish welcome.” Wicker, R-Miss., said during a speech Tuesday in the Senate that Trump should not have invited the Chinese leader “based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.”

Wicker archly suggested a list of topics that Trump could discuss with Xi at the state dinner, such as “the purposes of China’s massive military buildup, or about China’s clear support for Iran,” saying that “during every minute of dialogue” Trump should keep in mind that “his guest is a brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbors and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. and China must interact at the highest levels because the countries are “the two largest economies in the world” and “probably the two most powerful militaries in the world.”

“The idea that we would not interact with them at the highest levels is irresponsible. It’s outrageous. We have to,” Rubio told reporters Wednesday while he was in New York.

Danny Russel, a former U.S. diplomat under former President Barack Obama's administration, said the airport pomp delivered a propaganda win for Beijing.

“Such extreme deference is valuable evidence that China’s leader is now held in extraordinarily high esteem by the President of the United States. Beijing uses this at home and internationally to show China’s—and Xi’s—growing stature,” said Russel, now a distinguished fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute.

Trump to welcome Xi with ‘the most respect’

Trump has made it clear he wants to wow Xi, telling reporters in recent weeks that he was delighted his new “work of art” helicopter landing pad would be ready for the visit while bemoaning that his massive White House ballroom would not.

“I wish we had it for tomorrow night," Trump said again Wednesday. "We have a packed house tomorrow night for President Xi.”

Trump on Wednesday was looking to match the pageantry he was met with in China earlier this year. Xi was not at the airport to meet Trump — Chinese Vice President Han Zheng was there instead. But a red carpet was rolled out to meet Air Force One in Beijing. A military honor guard, a military band and about 300 Chinese youths waving Chinese and American flags and chanting, “Welcome, welcome! Warm welcome!” also were present. The children wore white and light blue uniforms that mirrored the traditional paint colors of the presidential plane.

The first lady said earlier Wednesday that her husband decided to personally greet Xi when he arrived in the Washington region because “they have a great relationship.”

“He’s coming on our soil, and we need to welcome them with the most respect,” she said of Xi and his wife during an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends.”

The long red carpet recalled a similar extra-long one the U.S. laid out for Russian President Vladimir Putin when he touched down at a U.S. Air Force base in Alaska last summer for a summit aimed at trying to find an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

When Putin arrived in August 2025, he shook hands with Trump while both grinned. They then took the unusual step of climbing into Trump’s limo to share a ride to the building where they were holding talks.

On Wednesday at the end of the arrival ceremony, Xi and his wife climbed into their own car, and the Trumps retreated to theirs.

A black-tie dinner and visit to the archives will follow

Trump's airport ceremony for Xi will be followed on Thursday by more formalities, including an arrival ceremony at the White House and a review of troops. Before the black-tie dinner, which will feature tech industry leaders like Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and SpaceX’s Elon Musk, the two leaders are expected to dive into the weighty issues behind closed doors, even as expectations are low that the trip will produce any major breakthroughs in the relationship.

On Friday, Xi and Peng will be back at the White House for a private tea with the Trumps before joining them on a tour of the National Archives in Washington. The White House has said they will view historic documents underscoring the relationship between the two countries.

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Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Will Weissert and Didi Tang contributed to this report.

Trump’s decision to greet Xi shows how far the U.S. president is going to honor China’s leader as he made his first state visit to the U.S. capital in more than a decade.

Meanwhile, a judge heard arguments Wednesday but did not rule from the bench in a case on Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds. It’s the latest development in an extraordinary showdown between Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes. The administration has doubled down on its contention that it has the right to decide who can set foot in the White House, while the outlets call the ban a “blatant violation” of the First Amendment.

Also, Iran’s president said Wednesday that his people have been “victims of terrorism” by the United States, delivering a rare wartime speech on the second day of the U.N. General Assembly. Trump, on the U.N. General Assembly stage a day earlier, said he could “annihilate” the Islamic Republic. Toward the end of his speech, Masoud Pezeshkian called out Trump by name.

Here's the latest:

Xi says China and the US should be ‘partners, not rivals’

In a statement marking his arrival in the U.S., China’s leader wrote that his country and the U.S. “should be partners, not rivals. Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand and the two countries can contribute to each other’s success, thereby benefiting the wider world.”

Xi’s statement also suggested that the two sides “should move toward each other and work together to build a stable relationship – one where cooperation is the mainstay, competition is kept within proper limits, differences are managed and peace can be expected.”

In brief comments to reporters upon returning to the White House, Trump said of going to greet Xi’s plane, “I think they appreciate it, tremendous people.”

The airport pomp delivers a propaganda win for Beijing, former diplomat says

Danny Russel, a State Department official during the Obama administration, said President Trump has given the Chinese leader Xi Jinping what Beijing wanted.

“Such extreme deference is valuable evidence that China’s leader is now held in extraordinarily high esteem by the president of the United States,” said Russel, now a distinguished fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute.

“Beijing uses this at home and internationally to show China’s — and Xi’s — growing stature,” Russel said.

And it may not serve U.S. interests, because Beijing is likely to “see this level of deferential accommodation as an indicator of weakness,” he said.

Xi bids goodbye to the Trumps at the airport

After a brief exchange with President Trump on the tarmac, Xi walked over a few steps to shake hands with Melania Trump and bid farewell to the couple. Xi had a smile on his face and looked relaxed.

Both Xi and his wife Peng were seen entering their vehicle, and the Trumps waited a while before walking off.

The two leaders are set to meet Thursday for formal talks.

Trump sports black gloves and a long coat for Xi welcome

The president appeared to be the only one dressed in cold-weather attire. He took gloves on and off multiple times for rounds of handshakes with Xi and Peng.

It was about 65 degrees F (18 degrees C) with a brisk breeze, according to the National Weather Service.

Greeting for Xi in Washington echoes Trump rolling out red carpet for Putin last year

The 100-foot (30-meter) red carpet unfurled as Xi stepped off his plane outside Washington recalled a similar, extra-long one the U.S. laid out for Russian President Valdimir Putin when he touched down at a U.S. air force base in Alaska last summer.

This time, Trump and first lady Melania Trump, shook hands with Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, before appearing to chat and exchange pleasantries that couldn’t be heard.

There was a 21-person honor guard, a flyover from two B1 bombers, flower presenters, platoons from each military service and the flags and anthems of both countries.

When Putin arrived in August 2025, he shook hands with the President Trump while both grinned. The first lady wasn’t present.

Trump and Putin then took the unusual step of climbing into the U.S. president’s limo to share a ride that whisked them to ultimately unsuccessful talks about ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Kids present flowers to Xi and wife Peng

Two American children presented bouquets of yellow-colored flowers to the Chinese leader and his wife as the U.S. president and first lady welcomed them at Joint Base Andrews.

Welcoming red carpet rolled out — with a bit of a struggle

A giant red carpet was rolled out at the bottom of the red stairs leading down from Xi’s jet. It took several U.S. service members and an animated director of sorts to unroll the carpet, steer it into place and get it straightened out.

Chinese officials briefly waited at the entrance of the jet while the carpet was adjusted.

The US rolls out 100-foot red carpet for Xi

The Chinese president’s plane was greeted with a long red carpet, a salute with battery guns, a 21-person honor cordon and a flyover from two B1 bombers.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump took the unusual step of appearing in person to greet Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan.

As part of the ceremony, the national anthems of both China and the U.S. were played.

China offered Trump an elaborate welcome ceremony when Air Force One touched down for his visit to Beijing in May, involving top officials and school children acting as greeters, but Xi did not attend personally.

Xi arrives for Washington visit

The Chinese president’s jet touched down at Joint Base Andrews at about 5:40 p.m. Wednesday.

The Air China jet landed while U.S. troops were gathered nearby for a welcome event.

President Donald Trump and Melania Trump were waiting at the base for a rare airport welcome for Xi and Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan.

Trump is awaiting Xi touching down outside Washington

The president and first lady Melania Trump arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland via chopper, then stepped into the presidential limo to wait for Xi’s arrival.

The president saluted waiting Marines upon climbing off his helicopter, then fixed his coat on the windy tarmac.

The motorcade eventually drove past a riser with assembled media waiting to cover Xi’s arrival.

Trump could be seen looking at the reporters in attendance before the motorcade headed to a white tent next to the airport terminal.

Judge dismisses Trump’s lawsuit against Iowa newspaper

Iowa District Judge Scott J. Beattie dismissed Trump’s lawsuit that accused The Des Moines Register and its former pollster J. Ann Selzer of misrepresenting the state of the 2024 presidential race, rejecting the president’s claim that the newspaper’s poll coverage violated Iowa’s consumer fraud law.

Selzer and the Register described the lawsuit as a conspiracy theory and an affront to free speech protections.

Trump and his team have filed several lawsuits against media organizations accusing them of bias, calling into question the boundaries of First Amendment protections for speech and press. Some of those lawsuits have ended in settlements.

Trump filed the lawsuit against Selzer, The Des Moines Register and the newspaper’s parent company in December 2024, accusing them of fraudulently publishing inaccurate poll results to damage him and help Democrats, saying coverage of polls is not protected speech.

Trump’s push to acquire Greenland almost broke NATO. The winner of it all may be ... Greenland

In the end, it was all kisses and laughter as President Donald Trump hailed his “fantastic” relationship with Denmark and Greenland after signing a new security deal that America’s European allies hope will close one of the most dangerous chapters in transatlantic relations.

Trump’s territorial ambitions over Greenland almost broke the NATO military alliance and shattered trust with one of America’s oldest and closest partners.

Interestingly, one place may emerge from this standoff as the real winner: Greenland itself.

“I cannot stress it enough: This is the first time that we are venturing into a binding agreement as a country,” Naaja Nathanielsen, one of Greenland’s two lawmakers in the Danish parliament and a former government minister in Nuuk, told The Associated Press. “That is a huge step forward in our quest for more self-autonomy.”

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Major networks set to continue coverage ban at Xi arrival

The five major networks on Wednesday were poised to continue their ban on filming Trump coverage. At Joint Base Andrews, where the president is set to formally welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping later Wednesday, journalists from Fox News, CBS and NBC were present but not shooting, and some appeared to be breaking down their cameras.

Other television outlets whose crews were present, according to signs on their tripods and cameras, were NewsNation, Newsmax, Right Side Broadcasting Network, One America News and LindellTV.

Democratic leader says House Republicans are ‘running scared’ ahead of elections

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who is in line to become House speaker if Democrats win control in fall, chided Republicans for trying to distance themselves from Trump on the Iran war and other issues.

“On one hand, they want Donald Trump’s MAGA money. I mean, they’re feeding at the trough of Donald Trump’s MAGA money,” he said. “And on the other hand, they want to pretend that they creating distance between Donald Trump and themselves.”

Jeffries held a news conference at the empty House chamber, criticizing Republicans for cutting short the legislative calendar to go home and campaign.

Judge hears arguments without immediately ruling on Trump’s news outlet ban

A judge has heard arguments but did not rule from the bench in a case on Trump’s ban of three news outlets from White House grounds.

Wednesday’s hearing marked the latest development in an extraordinary showdown between Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes.

Trump banned the outlets beginning Friday, assailing what he called “fake news.” More recently the president has said negative coverage was dangerous for the country.

The outlets argued they were singled out because of the content of their coverage — in other words, viewpoint discrimination and called the ban a “blatant violation” of the First Amendment.

Hearing on Trump’s ban of 3 news outlets from White House is underway

In court arguments over Trump’s ban of three media outlets from White House grounds, the administration continues to defend the move as constitutional.

Justice Department attorney Michael Velchik told the court Wednesday that “access to the White House is a privilege, not a right.”

The case is being heard by U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, whom Trump appointed in 2017 and who ordered a CNN journalist’s access restored in a similar case in 2018.

Arguments began with attorney Theodore Boutrous Jr. calling the ban against CNN, MS NOW and Politico an “unprecedented, unreasonable punishment” and saying there was “not a semblance of due process.”

Trump to attend Texas-Tennessee football game

The White House confirms that the president, who has put athletics front and center in his second term, will attend the matchup Saturday.

No. 1 Texas is traveling to No. 14 Tennessee for the Southeastern Conference opener in Knoxville. It’s the first meeting between the two marquee football programs since the 1969 Cotton Bowl.

State Department orders diplomats to use ‘super intelligence’ rather ‘artificial intelligence’

The move follows Trump’s attempt to rebrand the technology in his address to the UN General Assembly.

“Following the president‘s remarks at the GA today, please change all references of ‘Artificial Intelligence’ to ‘Super Intelligence’ in our documents and positions. We will be using ‘SI’ in all remarks, positions and press elements moving forward,” said an email sent Tuesday to employees by Michael Drager, deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs.

That bureau is in charge of U.S. diplomatic missions to all U.N. and multilateral agencies around the world. The email was obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if other State Department bureaus would follow suit.

AI company leaders warn that without intervention, ‘AI could be a risk to humanity as a whole’

The heads of major AI companies are pleading with the United Nations to set controls over the burgeoning technology they are designing to save the world or at least its people.

“If managed poorly, I even believe AI could be a risk to humanity as a whole,” Dario Amodei, Chief Executive Officer, Anthropic said.

“We could lose control of the future to AI,” his competitor, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.

Both testified Wednesday to the U.N. Security Council. They said the countries of the world, through the council, have to set safeguards that would be actual controls to prevent the technology from getting too powerful to reign in. They also called for the world to make sure that the power of AI isn’t concentrated in one company or country.

Rubio says Trump has invited Putin to US-hosted G20 meeting in Florida

Speaking to reporters Wednesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Rubio said the Trump administration was hopeful that Putin would accept the invitation despite differences over Russia’s war with Ukraine and other matter.

“In order to solve problems, you have to meet with the people that you disagree with or the people that you might have some issues with, so we’ve invited President Putin to the G20,” Rubio said. “We think it’s an opportunity for him to engage not just with the president, but with other world leaders. We hope that’s, an invitation he’ll accept.”

Trump will host G20 leaders at his Miami country club in December.

County election offices in Texas are scrambling to process backlogged voter registrations

The problem started with the Texas Department of Public Safety, which allows people to register to vote or update their registrations when they renew their driver’s license.

State officials blamed an unspecified error dating to October 2025. It meant that applications were not being forwarded to the person’s home county, where they are processed and verified.

Now those counties are dealing with nearly a year’s worth of backlogged applications. Several county officials say they will need to hire temporary workers to handle the crush. Early in-person voting in Texas for the midterm elections starts Oct. 19.

The size of the backlog statewide hasn’t been determined, but the Texas Association of County Election Officials says it’s in the tens of thousands for some of the most populous counties. In Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, it’s about 45,000 voter registration applications.

State Department asks Americans to report suspected visa fraudsters

The State Department is asking Americans to report foreigners suspected of U.S. visa fraud for potential deportation and criminal prosecution.

The department said in a statement Wednesday that it had launched an online portal to make it easier to report such cases.

The department said tips from “upstanding and concerned” members of the public have been responsible for the revocation of visas from many of the tens of thousands of people who either lied on their applications or were violating the conditions of their stay in the U.S.

“This new online tool provides a convenient and reliable way for the public to submit crucial information for prompt review and action,” the statement said.

Americans’ views of China are a bit warmer than 5 years ago

The finding from a survey conducted in mid-September by the Pew Research Center comes just as Chinese President Xi is about to arrive in Washington for his first state visit to the U.S. in 11 years.

Americans were asked on the survey to evaluate how warm and positive or cold and negative they feel about China, using a scale from zero to 100.

About one-fifth of the Americans now have warm views about China, the analysis found, up from about 11% in 2021, when public sentiments fell to the lowest point in Pew’s 10-year trend in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than half of Americans feel cold about China, but it’s down from about 7 in 10 from five years ago.

Zelenskyy urges leaders to keep choking Russia’s revenues

Ukrainian President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging world’s leaders to keep choking Russia’s revenues and impede its war efforts.

He’s telling the U.N. General Assembly that “Russia’s revenues must remain a target.”

He says that trade, and the money it brings in, gives more time to the war. That, he says, is “why we insist on limiting trade with the aggressor.

Russia gets its turn Saturday to address the assembly.

President Vladimir Putin hasn’t traveled to the gathering in years, sending Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov instead.

Soybean farmers have high hopes for Xi visit

Before Trump’s tariffs, half of U.S. soybean exports went to China.

Since then, exports dropped from nearly $18 billion in 2022 to only $3 billion in 2025, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

“No one can replace the Chinese market,” said Dave Walton, a farmer from Wilton, Iowa.

Brazil and Argentina have made gains.

Brazil exported a record 108.7 million metric tons of soybeans in 2025, up 11.7% from the year before, with about 80% going to China, according to Brazil’s National Association of Cereal Exporters.

Walton says he’d like to see the U.S. tariffs removed.

“We think of Xi as a friend to American agriculture,” said Walton, who is the vice president of the American Soybean Association.

Schumer warns against weakening export controls for chips

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is warning Trump not to give China greater access to advanced semiconductor chips and equipment as part of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week.

Schumer is touching on voter concerns about the safety of artificial intelligence and contrasting Democrats’ call for greater regulation with the president’s call to “encourage it, not rein it in.”

“We must reject the false choice Trump keeps making,” Schumer told reporters.

“We can and must both maintain our lead on AI by restricting China’s access to our technology and put up guardrails to mitigate AI’s risk,” Schumer said.

“If managed poorly, I even believe AI could be a risk to humanity as a whole,” said Dario Amodei, chief executive officer of Anthropic. And from his competitor Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, came this assessment: “We could lose control of the future to AI.”

Both said the countries of the world, through the U.N. Security Council, where they testified Wednesday, have to set safeguards of some kind to prevent the technology from getting too powerful to rein in.

They also called for the world to make sure that the power of AI isn’t concentrated in one company or country. They also touted the benefits of the technology for bettering humanity and what Altman called “giving people more power over their own lives.”

Those tech leaders “are telling us in stark terms that it cannot be left to them to prevent disaster from befalling the world,” British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said at the Security Council. “We cannot ignore them because they are right.’’

AI will be at the heart of G20 discussions

Miliband said when the U.K. leads the G20 next year, it will put controlling AI at the heart of discussions, looking for a single set of global standards “to insure that AI development is safe.”

But, the United States said: Don’t do it.

Worries about control of AI are "not a reason to pause its further development or to constrain it with new global governance structure,” said White House Science Adviser Michael Kratsios. “We want you, our allies and partners, to share in the benefits of this technology.”

The U.S. and China are jostling for AI dominance — and Chinese U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong emphasized that all countries should be able to choose AI technology as they see fit.

He warned against “banding together into a petty us-vs.-them clique in the tech sector and forcing other countries to take sides” and enabling unnamed major powers that he described as seeking “digital hegemony.” He called on countries instead to promote open-source models -- China’s approach to the technology.

For most of the world leaders, one key question about AI is this: Who should control life-and-death decisions — human or machine?

Amodei, Altman and Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue, who spoke via a glitchy remote connection, spoke with the U.N.’s most powerful council because they and world leaders are trying to figure out not just whether to control AI, but by whom, how it could possibly be done and when it might be just too late.

The day before, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of “killer robots." Experts and European leaders said that’s not hyperbole but something that’s either already a grim reality or perilously close.

Amodei called on world leaders to agree on not letting AI build biological weapons, figure out how to verify what models have the capability to do and “establish common standards” for testing and for loss of control and misuse.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, whose country convened Wednesday’s meeting, compared the current state of AI to both the runaway computer HAL9000 in the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the dawn of the atomic age.

“Just as with the atom back then, the international community must now regulate AI in order to make the most of its potential and avoid the worst,” Barrot said.

Other leaders and nations are paying close attention to AI

His wasn't the only concern expressed during this high-profile U.N. meeting week.

“We must not allow the cost of today’s hesitation to become tomorrow’s catastrophe," said Liberian UN Ambassador Lewis G. Brown II.

Ukrainian President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking at the General Assembly, said some kind of human control over machines must achieved soon. Otherwise, he said, for his country — at war for 4½ years — it may be just too late.

“There is already a real possibility that AI, not only people, will begin to decide what happens on the battlefield. And we need peace before we reach that point,” Zelenskyy said.

Last month, a Russian drone seemingly using AI “autonomously made a targeting decision that killed three Ukrainians. Killer robots are technically easy to build, and they are real. We should not be under any illusions otherwise,” Kentaro Toyama, an information technology professor at the University of Michigan, said in an email.

Data scientist Rumman Chowdhury, co-founder of the accountability nonprofit Humane Intelligence, said the idea of killer robots "evokes a science-fiction villain, when the question I want the public to ask is much more concrete: Who authorized a machine to select and attack a target, under what constraints, and who answers for the result?”

The U.N. meeting unfolded as Chinese President Xi Jinping headed to Washington for a much-anticipated state visit. AI interests are looking to what comes out of Xi’s discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump. Earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two countries had discussed a potential new “notification mechanism” for AI incidents that could impact national security.

But on Tuesday, Trump, lauding AI as “superintelligence,” said the United States would reject efforts to control the technology as it tries to win the development race with China. Kratsios was the one of the few who used that term in the Security Council.

Meanwhile, regional groups in Europe, Asia and elsewhere also are trying to coordinate AI policies, and various nations — and even subcomponents, such as U.S. states — are crafting their own.

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Farnoush Amiri, Edith M. Lederer and Jennifer McDermott contributed to this report from the United Nations.

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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.

Voter turnout in the election for the 395-seat House of Representatives was 38% – the lowest since 2007 – and down by nearly 25% compared to the last elections in 2021.

The vote was the first since deadly youth-led protests nearly a year ago and a mass attempt by migrants to cross Morocco’s northern border into the Spanish territory of Ceuta that left dozens dead. It will determine the next prime minister and the makeup of the government, which will serve alongside a powerful monarchy that retains broad authority over strategic affairs.

Results are expected Thursday.

The next government will oversee billions of dollars in investment as Morocco prepares to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, prompting some to describe it as the “World Cup government.” The new political leadership will also face pressure to address everyday concerns, including jobs, wages and the cost of living.

For many young Moroccans, the election comes as doubts grow that political participation can improve their daily lives. Some have turned to street protests, while others have considered leaving the country or staying away from the ballot box.

Othmane Mouden, a Casablanca businessman in his late 30s, believes elections are the only way Moroccans can make their voices heard.

“Protesting like the Gen Z youth will not bring any change,” he said on his way to the polling station. “You can only claim your rights through the polls.”

Voters chose among 7,288 candidates from 27 political parties. Since no single party is expected to obtain an absolute majority, the winner will need to negotiate with others to form a governing coalition.

The Moroccan Constitution requires the king to appoint the head of government from the party that wins the most seats in legislative elections.

One possibility for prime minister is Faouzi Lakjaa, president of Morocco’s soccer federation, who recently joined the PAM party and has been buoyed by Morocco’s recent soccer achievements.

Another is Fatima-Zahra Mansouri, 50, mayor of Marrakech and minister of urban planning, who would be Morocco’s first female prime minister.

Some groups, including the far-left party The Democratic Path, called for a boycott of the election, saying that it “lacks the minimum conditions of democracy.” Banned but tolerated Islamist association Al-Adl Wal Ihsane issued similar claims.

Turnout at midday was just over 11%, slightly below the 12% at the same time during the last legislative elections in 2021.

The number of registered voters has declined by 9.7% since the 2021 election, even as Morocco’s population has grown, reflecting disenchantment with politics notably among young people.

As ballot stations opened in Casablanca and Rabat, voters of various ages formed small but continuous lines to cast their ballots.

Jamal Aamar, a 63-year-old retired banker, came to vote for the Federation of the Democratic Left, a left-wing coalition. Aamar said participating in the election allows his voice to be heard.

“If you boycott, you will leave others an empty seat,” he said.

The constitution recognizes the right to vote for Moroccans living abroad, but there is no voting by mail or ballot boxes at Moroccan consulates. Instead, they must travel to Morocco to vote or authorize a registered family member or acquaintance to vote on their behalf.

Moroccans in Madrid had mixed views on the elections, with some shrugging them off as having little impact.

Caterer Bader Eabram, 24, said Morocco's strong performance in recent World Cups and other soccer championships is driving some voters' choices, and providing hope.

“We’re all really eager to host the World Cup. It’s a great country,'' he said. ‘’We can do anything.''

——

Iain Sullivan in Madrid contributed to this report.

Grail Inc.’s Galleri test doesn't diagnose cancer but instead, with a single blood draw, looks for a signal that someone may have one of a long list of tumors. Those who receive a positive result need additional care to tell if they're really sick.

The Food and Drug Administration's advisory panel voted 7-2, with one abstention, that the DNA-based test offers more potential benefits than risks, such as causing false assurances or raising false alarms. The positive vote came even as the panel raised many questions about the technology that need more study.

“Perhaps my yes is a hopeful rather than an accurate one,” said Dr. Victor van Berkel of UofL Physicians in Louisville, Kentucky, describing how more research is needed even if the test is rolled out. “If we can find more early-stage cancers in the population that we can’t screen for currently, that will end up having benefit.”

The vote followed two earlier votes in which the experts affirmed that the test appears safe and effective for use by people age 50 and older.

Lots of companies are studying such blood tests and Wednesday's vote marks the first time a federal advisory group has backed the experimental approach. The FDA isn't bound by the advice but if it agrees, it could pave the way for widespread U.S. adoption of a long-sought way to find more cancers earlier. A final decision is expected in a few months.

Today there are a handful of recommended cancer screenings, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, that look for one kind of tumor at a time.

Those tests are designed to spot tumors in their early stages, when they’re easier to treat, and the panel balked at using that term for Grail’s test — saying it failed to show effectiveness for “early detection.”

The experts also came up with a list of precautions that doctors and potential patients to be told, including: The test would need to be used in addition to today’s routine cancer screenings, not as a replacement. A negative test doesn’t guarantee you don’t have cancer. And it will take more study to prove if the test is as beneficial as mainstay cancer screenings like mammograms.

People in the U.S. can already buy the Galleri test — typically by paying $700 or more in cash. But FDA approval would likely widen availability by opening the door to coverage from Medicare and private insurers.

FDA staffers and other outside experts spent hours debating the potential downsides to the technology.

Risks include that the test will miss a significant number of real cancers while also flagging a potential cancer in patients who are healthy. The test also was less accurate at detecting early-stage cancers, when treatment is easier and more likely to benefit patients. Grail also didn’t provide data showing that screening with its test led to fewer cancer deaths, a metric that would have required years of follow-up.

Representatives for Grail argued that its test is a leap forward because it can pick up signs of more than 50 cancers, including dozens for which there are no screening options, such as liver and ovarian cancer.

“Patients want opportunity, they want options,” said Dr. Mylynda Massart of the University of Pittsburgh, who presented on behalf of Grail. “They want the chance to fight their disease while the chance to survive is possible.”

Grail’s primary study in 140,000 older adults showed that its test detected about one third of cancers diagnosed over a one-year period. About two-thirds of patients who received a “cancer signal detected” were later confirmed to have cancer.

But FDA reviewers at the meeting flipped the company’s data to emphasize the potential downsides of that performance. The agency’s chief reviewer pointed out that the test missed 2 of 3 cancers that were diagnosed over the coming year, giving false reassurance to many patients.

Consumer advocates warned that patients might ignore early signs of cancer after receiving an all-clear from DNA testing test.

“When they start having symptoms there will be tendency to delay going to the doctor — just a little bit — and that could be deadly,” said Diana Zuckerman of the nonprofit National Center for Health Research, who spoke during a public comment period. “They will be told to continue other screening, but will they?”

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The Associated Press’ health and science coverage receives financial support from the AP Fund for Journalism and 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.

Days later, the vehicle is still missing, and so is the urn she planned to place at her mother’s grave.

“It’s been really rough,” Shelia Horn, who lives at the Parkview Tower Apartments in Warren, said. “I haven’t slept in days.”

Horn said she walked out of her building looking for her 2019 Kia Forte where she usually parked it, and instantly knew something was wrong.

“I’m like, ‘Oh my God. Oh my gosh,’” Horn said. “I walked out of my place, and I knew I parked right here. I saw other cars. Not mine.”

At first, Horn said she thought she might have parked somewhere else by mistake.

“I’m like click, click, click, my key fob,” she said. “I still walked around the building click, click, click and I didn’t see it.”

That’s when a second, even more devastating realization set in.

“I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. My dad’s in my car,’” Horn said. “That was the worst part of the whole thing, was realizing my dad, he was still in the car.”

By “dad,” Horn means her father’s cremated remains, which were in an urn in the backseat. She said she had placed the urn there because she was planning to take it to her mother’s grave.

“He was wonderful. He was the best grandpa ever,” Horn said, describing her father, Ron. “My kids just loved him, especially my oldest. That was Papa’s bug, Papa’s little bug. And I miss him a lot.”

Horn has filed a police report and is pleading with whoever took her car to return both the vehicle and the ashes.

“I really just hope that someone brings my car and my dad,” she said.

The Warren Police Department confirmed the case remains an active investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact them.

Horn’s family has also set up a fundraiser to help her during this difficult time. Details on how to contribute can be found here.

Calling the case extraordinary, Iowa District Judge Scott J. Beattie said that allowing the lawsuit and its “faulty” claims to proceed could have a chilling effect that “can discourage others from reporting on and debating public affairs.” He sided with pollster J. Ann Selzer and the newspaper in affirming that the poll and coverage of it were constitutionally protected political speech, not a commercial product.

The ruling Wednesday came hours after a judge heard arguments but did not rule from the bench in a case on Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from White House grounds. Trump banned the three outlets last Friday, assailing what he called “fake news.”

After the ruling in Iowa Wednesday, a spokesman for Trump's legal team said the president will take his case to the Iowa Supreme Court.

Trump filed the lawsuit against Selzer, The Des Moines Register and the newspaper’s parent company in December 2024, accusing them of fraudulently publishing inaccurate poll results to damage him and help Democrats, saying coverage of polls is not protected speech.

Trump and his team have filed several lawsuits against media organizations accusing them of bias, calling into question the boundaries of free speech protections, particularly for the press. Some of those lawsuits have ended in settlements.

Selzer’s case was taken up by the free speech advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. She said Wednesday she was grateful for the ruling, which “reaffirms the fundamental freedom to pursue and publish the truth without political interference.”

“Polling is a social science, not clairvoyance, and no responsible pollster can guarantee an election outcome," Selzer said in a statement.

Selzer's attorneys at FIRE and her co-defendants also celebrated the ruling.

“Today is a victory for the First Amendment — and for the essential role of a free press in American democracy," Polly Grunfeld Sack, USA Today Co. chief legal counsel, said in a statement. USA Today Co., formerly known as Gannett, owns The Register.

In dismissing the case, Beattie wrote that Trump’s lawsuit sought to “stretch both Iowa statutory and common law beyond their current bounds, turning speech that enjoys the highest category of First Amendment protection into a liability.” After hearing the arguments, the judge concluded the constitutional protection “is too great and the reach is too far. The case must therefore be dismissed.”

Beattie said the case would have to be dismissed even if, solely for the purpose of deciding the motions, he accepted the Trump team’s allegations that the poll was intentionally skewed and its results fabricated. “Even with this assumption, each of the three counts still fails,” the judge wrote, because the lawsuit did not meet the legal requirements for fraud or consumer deception.

The poll, conducted by Selzer’s company in the final days of October and released just days before Election Day 2024, showed then-Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ presidential nominee, capturing 47% of Iowa likely voters, to Trump’s 44%. Trump ultimately won the support of 56% of the nearly 2 million Iowans who voted.

U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and former Iowa state Sen. Brad Zaun, both Republicans, had joined Trump’s lawsuit.

Trump, Miller-Meeks and Zaun alleged the misleading coverage diminished their reputations, valuable time in the final days of the campaign, and campaign funds and resources.

Waltrip and his family shared a statement on Wednesday that noted the former driver, “has been diagnosed with Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) complicated by possible Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) – likely from injuries incurred during his racing career.”

The 79-year-old Waltrip was one of NASCAR’s storied characters, one of the first to build a brand around his supersized personality, and he served for decades as one of the sport’s strongest ambassadors.

Waltrip won 84 races and Cup Series championships in 1981, 1982 and 1985 before moving straight into the broadcast booth. He was inducted into the third class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in January 2012.

Waltrip was Fox Sports’ first hire when the network launched its NASCAR coverage in 2001 and became widely known for his signature “Boogity! Boogity! Boogity! Let’s go racing, boys” call.

A fearless Kentucky boy who first showed up on the NASCAR scene in 1972 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, Waltrip aggravated his competitors by beating them on the track and then running his mouth out of the car.

Rivals nicknamed him “Jaws” and Waltrip was at the forefront of parlaying his personality and fame into a lucrative side hustle of appearances, celebrity endorsing and, finally, the broadcast booth.

“While this disease will inevitably progress, thankfully it is currently limited to some minor noticeable symptoms,” the family said in a statement. "As a result, he will be stepping further away from the public limelight. Be assured, Darrell is happy and otherwise healthy — spending his time with his wife, Stevie, two daughters and his three young grandchildren. We are all grateful for your continued prayer, love and support!

Boogity! Boogity! Boogity!"

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See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

“It’s a big loss, for sure," Harbaugh said following practice on Wednesday. "It’s your starting quarterback. It’s a tough loss.”

Dart was injured on the first drive Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams when his left leg bent awkwardly as he was hit by two defenders. The initial hope was a sprained medial collateral ligament and a shorter absence, but an MRI revealed a more extensive injury that will keep him out for an extended period of time.

"The season’s not over, but it is for him," Harbaugh said. "You feel like it’s the end of the world, then you wake up and the world’s not done. The world keeps spinning. The games keep getting played.”

For that next game Sunday against Tennessee, Jameis Winston takes over as the starter. Winston completed 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards and threw an interception in the 28-6 loss at LA that dropped New York to 1-1.

“I have to execute better, and I am going to execute better,” Winston said. "No matter how big it may seem, being present and focus on doing all that you can do with what you have, with where you are. For right now, that’s keeping Jaxson’s spirits uplifted and going out there on that football field and being the New York Football Giants’ starting quarterback.”

The Giants’ next five opponents have a combined 2-8 record. Winston is 3-9 in 12 NFL starts since 2024.

“Jameis is capable of doing anything,” Titans coach Robert Saleh said. “He’s got tremendous arm talent. He’s capable of putting 500 yards and four touchdowns on you in a heartbeat.”

Harbaugh did not say when Dart would have surgery or go into details about the extent of the injury after the NFL Network reported there is damage to his meniscus and medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments.

“With Jaxson, just unfortunate," Tennessee starter Cam Ward said. “That’s something that you don’t want to see. And he’s a great quarterback, so all of us were looking forward to going against him, that team.”

Jake Haener, who is on the practice squad, is set to back up Winston. Haener, who played in eight games and started one for New Orleans two seasons ago, joined the Giants midway through training camp and stuck around over journeyman Brandon Allen.

Harbaugh said the Giants will add another QB but move forward with Winston at the most important position in football and build a game plan for the 32-year-old set to make his 90th professional start.

“He can throw it: He’s a big, strong passing quarterback,” Harbaugh said. “Jameis has been practicing every day. He’s taken reps. He knows the offense. He’s been in every single meeting. He’s been engaged every step of the way with everything we’re doing. From that perspective, it’s seamless. It’s not ideal at all, but it’s definitely seamless.”

Dart is not the only significant Giants player who is injured

Edge rusher Brian Burns, who sprained his left ankle late in the Rams game, did not practice Wednesday. Harbaugh called Burns — who ranked second in the league in sacks last season — day to day.

Kayvon Thibodeaux would figure to move into the starting lineup if Burns is unable to play.

“We are definitely blessed with depth at that position,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll see how it goes for the game. But if he can’t go, then we are very confident in the guys that we have.”

No. 1 receiver Malik Nabers, who popped his right shoulder back into place and returned Monday night, and starting left tackle Andrew Thomas, who limped off with a groin injury, were limited participants.

Harbaugh said of Nabers: “It looks good. I think he’s going to be OK.”

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AP Pro Football Writers Rob Maaddi in Tampa, Florida, and Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

It was only 112 days ago when Koivun helped lead Auburn to another NCAA title, the final chapter in a remarkable college career.

And on Thursday, the 21-year-old Koivun plays with Thomas in a fourballs match for his Presidents Cup debut. For a sport with a reputation of moving slowly, his career has been at warp speed.

“Definitely going to feel some nerves on the first tee, but we’re all human. I think everyone does," Koivun said Wednesday. “I told Justin once I get my first tee shot out of the way, I’m going to be good. Just kind of balancing adrenaline, nerves, everything like that to the best of my ability.”

Three days of practice on the No. 3 course at Medinah Country Club — rain-soaked when they arrived, drying out by the day — gives way to the opening session of five fourballs matches.

The Presidents Cup has a heavy favorite in the Americans — they have won the last 10 times and lost only once since the matches against the Internationals began in 1994 — and a sentimental favorite in Adam Scott, who has is playing for the 12th time without ever being on the winning side.

“History is history, and it’s nice to be a part of history on the good side,” Collin Morikawa said. “But history can always be changed. I think for us, starting tomorrow, it all starts 0-0.”

Pairings for the opening session

U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker wasted little time sending out world No. 1 Scheffler and Sam Burns against Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im.

They will be followed by Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele against the Japanese duo of Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Hisatsune; Thomas and Koivun against Corey Conners and Nico Echavarria; Morikawa and Wyndham Clark against Scott and Ryan Fox; and the anchor match of Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay against Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim.

“You kind of have an idea of how this thing’s going to go and got a good game plan set forth,” Snedeker said. “And now it’s just about getting out of these guys’ way and let them go do what they love to do.”

What to expect? Pretty much anything.

“I think everyone comes into these tournaments with optimism,” International captain Geoff Ogilvy said. “They’re very momentum-based tournaments.”

Ogilvy thought back to two years ago at Royal Montreal when the Americans made a big opening statement with a 5-0 shutout. The Internationals responded with a shutout of their own in foursomes in which three of the matches didn't even get to the 15th hole.

“You could never have predicted that,” Ogilvy said, a vice captain in 2024. “We've been thinking about this for a long time. So we're just excited to get going.”

The United States has another embarrassment of riches compared with the Internationals. With only five matches on opening day, Snedeker sat Russell Henley, the No. 6 player in the world, and Jacob Bridgeman, who came into his first Presidents Cup fresh off another PGA Tour victory.

Koivun is the X-factor for Team USA

It also has Koivun, one of the more intriguing characters in these matches considering how quickly he made it to this stage. Koivun won in his third start as a professional in the 3M Open — Scheffler was the runner-up — and Snedeker trusted his gut in picking him.

He wasted no time giving Koivun a taste of the matches.

“Jackson being a young kid, I feel like he’s really kind of found his way on our team really quickly,” Snedeker said. “I feel like he’s handled the adjustment really well. Justin is just a natural pairing for him. I think he’ll do a great job putting his arm around him and show him how USA golf is meant to be played.”

Koivun already has had a memorable week. As the only player who came without a plus-one, the Americans had him pose with the Presidents Cup trophy with all their wives and girlfriends. Clark told of the grief Koivun caught when he was the last one to show up for the bus ride to Medinah.

They all have high hopes for him between the ropes.

“The fact that he has the maturity and the correct outlook on everything, he’s obviously really competitive and he’s obviously really talented,” Thomas said. “I’m excited for him this week. It’s going to be an awesome experience for him.”

The Americans have won the opening session eight of the last nine times.

“We would love to be in front, have a winning session,” Ogilvy said. “That's the job tomorrow is to win a session. I'm sure we'll be in good moods either way, but the goal would be to win the session.”

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See AP’s full golf coverage here

State and local governments are leading, he said, as “Trump is trying to recreate the 19th century” by reopening coal plants, announcing new plans for oil drilling including off California, and centering his energy policy on fossil fuels that cause climate change.

“He’s doubling down on stupid, and he’s putting the American economy at risk,” Newsom said in an interview. He called Trump the most destructive environmental president in American history and “an invasive species.”

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers used Trump’s derogatory nickname for the governor, “Newscum,” in responding to the comments. She said his “doubling down on Biden’s unpopular, unreliable and costly Green New Scam is stupid.”

“No one is surprised to see him whining about the climate change hoax at another conference instead of fixing the problems plaguing his state: out-of-control crime, the highest homeless population in the United States, and wildfire victims still waiting on state permits to rebuild their homes and businesses,” Taylor wrote in an email.

Newsom has long been trying to counter Trump's climate approach

Newsom, a Democrat eyeing a 2028 presidential run, has sought to counter Trump’s stance on climate issues before. He went to the U.N. climate talks hosted in Belem, Brazil in 2025 when Trump skipped it.

Trump prioritizes fossil fuels to produce electricity. The Biden administration sought to ramp up clean energy as a climate change solution. Trump began reversing U.S. energy policies his first day back in office.

Last year at the UN, Trump called climate change the “greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.” He has hindered renewable energy, particularly offshore wind, while China and other countries invest heavily. China leads the world in adding wind and solar power, though it also added a lot of coal power last year.

Chinese President Xi Jinping begins his state visit to Washington Wednesday. As the economic and technological competition between the countries escalates, Newsom said the Chinese leader is "cleaning our clock from an economic perspective.”

Trump and Xi are expected to discuss artificial intelligence as they meet this week. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. has proposed a new “ notification mechanism ” for AI incidents that could affect national security.

Newsom also not happy with Trump AI stance

Newsom was critical of Trump for not doing more to add guardrails and instead listening to advice to let artificial intelligence “rip.” Newsom announced Wednesday a group of experts who will advise on oversight recommendations in California, including advancing the creation of a potential “kill switch” for rogue frontier models.

Trump was in New York on Tuesday. Unlike last year's climate-focused speech, Trump defended his actions against Iran as he spoke at the U.N. General Assembly and made the diplomatic rounds.

Newsom spoke at the United Nations on Wednesday alongside mayors grappling with the impacts of climate change and calling for collective action. He shared how the state is using renewables to change the way it produces and consumes energy, while reducing carbon pollution. While in New York, he also signed a new agreement with Spain's prime minister to strengthen collaboration on clean energy and climate issues and announced progress to link carbon markets with Washington state.

“California is not going to sit back and watch this guy roll back the last half century. We’re going to lead the next great revolution,” Newsom said.

“We’re going to dominate and we’re going to out compete and we are going to prepare the economy," he said, "not just in California, but the rest of the nation, for the fierce competitive fight against China as we move forward in this space.”

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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.

She’s Alive, the entity founded to manage and protect Parton’s estate, had filed the complaint against Seaver and Squadron Augmented Protection Services a day prior. The estate accused Seaver of threatening to commit violence and destroy his aunt’s legacy and business empire in court filings.

The order says the court took into account the repeated threats cited in the complaint, as well as the alleged demands for payment and Seaver’s “claimed access to weapons, experience with violence, and intention to retaliate.” It describes the communications as “concerning,” specifically noting the threat to use force.

As part of the order, Seaver and his company SAPS, which provided Parton’s security detail, must refrain from entering any She’s Alive property or talking with or being within 1,000 feet (305 meters) of She’s Alive employees and business partners. The order is also meant to keep Seaver from interfering with its business relationships.

A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 7.

Seaver, who was handpicked by the star to announce her death from cancer last month, did not respond to an email Wednesday from The Associated Press requesting comment on the order being granted.

Representatives for SAPS also did not respond, and no one was present at their office in downtown Nashville on Wednesday afternoon. No one came to the door at an address listed in court documents for Seaver in the semi-rural Nashville suburb of Fairview. A woman speaking to a reporter through a doorbell camera declined to comment.

In the temporary restraining order request filed by She’s Alive and other court documents, Seaver is accused of sending increasingly threatening messages over the last several weeks. She’s Alive is run by Danny Nozell, Parton’s longtime manager.

Last week, She’s Alive terminated Seaver and SAPS, saying his “terrorizing conduct made their continued retention untenable,” according to court documents.

The court documents showcase a series of messages She's Alive says were sent by Seaver, starting just before Parton's death. They start with threats to destroy Parton's brand, and then after her death, depict Seaver reveling in his newfound fame and calling himself an “international arms dealer.”

In one message written Sept. 1 and included in the court documents, he said: “I’m going to set up a podcast dedicated to ruining Dolly’s brand partnerships and telling the violations these people have done on us. It’s going to be great. Or f——— pay me.”

Seaver also claimed that he worked for private military contractors overseas during the Iraq War and used that experience as part of these threats, according to the complaint.

The messages have resulted in Parton’s trusts and estates attorney leaving and employees of She’s Alive resigning, according to the court documents. The entity has also had to hire private security for its employees, including at their homes, the documents state.

Kristin Mumford, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, said in an email that there are no reports against Seaver in their system.

Parton was a beloved country music icon who wrote hundreds of songs, including classics like “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Will Always Love You,” that earned a total of more than 100 million worldwide sales and more than 1 billion online streams.

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Golden reported from Seattle.

Created to be a representation of hope and the “spirit of man,” the statue has become a nationally recognized landmark.

Similar to the RenCen, it’s featured in logos, websites, merchandise and more. Unlike the RenCen, the Spirit of Detroit is on the official logo for the city. Detroit is very careful with how the logo is used.

Created by sculptor Marshall Fredericks, The Spirit of Detroit is a 26-foot-tall bronze statue of a seated man holding an orb emanating rays in his left hand and three people in his right hand. The sphere represents God and the people represent humanity.

Fredericks never named the piece, but the public took its name from a Bible verse on the wall behind the sculpture. We’re lucky the internet didn’t exist in 1958 or it would be called Detroit’s Green Boi and his Chonky Orb or Yassified Shrek.

The sculpture, weighing roughly 20,000 pounds, is the largest cast bronze statue since the Renaissance. Sitting at Spirit Plaza, it overlooks Woodward Avenue.

Fredericks began work on the icon in Norway after being commissioned in 1955.

After the cast for the statue was constructed, artists working with Fredericks carefully applied acid to the surface of the bronze cast to oxidize the alloy and turn it green.

The statue was shipped from Norway to Detroit on the Thomas Schulte, a German freighter that was reportedly the only vessel large enough to ship the statue but also fit through the Saint Lawrence Seaway. It was transported face down, wrapped in protective fabric and surrounded by a supportive frame.

After arriving in Detroit, the sculpture was placed on a 60-ton marble base on Sept. 23, 1958.

The wall behind it includes the seals of Wayne County and the City of Detroit, and a bible verse that became the source of the statue’s name.

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty”

II Corinthian 3:17

While the artwork features a verse from the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Fredericks met with multiple religious groups to reach a consensus on the design due to its spiritual nature.

Fredericks waived his fee for the sculpture, which cost him money to create, because he believed it was a part of his civic responsibility. In doing so, he created one of the most lasting and iconic symbols of the city.

The Spirit of Detroit is on police cars, manhole covers, city stationary -- it’s even the logo for the Detroit City Football Club. It gets dressed in sports jerseys to celebrate when one of our teams reaches the playoffs. It wore a tuxedo in 1999 when the Three Tenors visited the Opera House and it wore a medical scrub at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. During the 2024 NFL Draft, it wore a custom NFL draft jersey. It’s featured in music videos, movies, video games, commercials and more.

As soon as it was installed on Sept. 23, 1958, the community saw it as representing the city and its people.

Fredericks has artwork across the country, with statues in Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and more. Within Michigan, he’s responsible for “The Poet, Lord Byron” at Saginaw Valley State University, “Boy and Bear,” which was originally homed at Northland Shopping Center before being moved to the Southfield Public Library, “Night and Day Fountain” in Port Huron, “Flying Pterodactyls” at the Detroit Zoo, the Memorial Fountain on Belle Isle, “Christ on the Cross” in Indian River, and several architectural sculptures across Metro Detroit.

When he died, his estate donated his studio contents to the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum at Saginaw Valley State University. It features hundreds of works from his more than seven-decade career, including The Spirit of Detroit’s original plaster head. Admission is free.

To help celebrate the Spirit of Detroit’s birthday, we’ll be showing off your best photos and videos uploaded to MIPics -- just click below to upload yours, and your pet could be on TV today!

---> 📷 Upload your Spirit of Detroit photos to MIPics here

Republicans in key states like Iowa and Michigan called for ending exports of diesel refined in the United States to help boost domestic supply. President Donald Trump indicated he backs that step, though his energy secretary on Wednesday said a “blanket ban” won't happen. The U.S. has used 4.1 million barrels of diesel per day this year, and it has exported 1.5 million per day so far, according to S&P Global Energy.

The pain is obvious to anyone who drives a diesel-fueled vehicle or relies on a diesel generator to produce power. A gallon of diesel cost $6.52 Wednesday, up 73% from $3.77 right before the beginning of the war with Iran, according to AAA.

But the problem will likely spread to every consumer, fueling Democratic efforts to retake control of Congress by harnessing anger over runaway costs and an unpopular overseas conflict.

“The price of diesel touches everything in our economy that needs to move,” said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist for RSM. “That includes the thing we buy the most of, groceries.”

Diesel prices become the latest campaign issue

Although regular gas prices usually get more attention, diesel has swiftly become a hot issue on the campaign trail. Adam Hamilton, a Democratic Senate candidate who has mounted a surprisingly strong challenge to Republican Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas, told supporters in a Topeka coffee shop this week that farmers are afraid that it's getting harder to make ends meet.

“A war has sent up the price of diesel,” Hamilton said. “These guys said, ‘We don’t know if we’re going to keep the farm.’”

Elaine Luria, a Democrat running for a southeastern Virginia House seat, cited the high price of diesel at a Virginia Beach roundtable Wednesday.

“Iran is no further from acquiring a nuclear weapon. And Iran’s proxy groups, such as the Houthis in Yemen, are now expanding the footprint,” she said in an interview, adding that the conflict is becoming “an expanding economic crisis.” Luria is a former congresswoman trying to reclaim her seat from Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans.

Republicans like Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is running for Senate in Iowa, have called for an immediate end to the war and a ban on selling diesel overseas, hoping the extra fuel would then lower prices for Americans.

“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran,” Hinton said. “We need to use every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices.”

The idea has split Republicans. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said he's open to it. Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is also from Iowa, has become the proposal's strongest champion, rejecting criticism from his colleagues from fuel-producing states.

“IF U CAN EMBARGO CHIPS U CAN EMBARGO DIESEL,” Grassley posted on social media, referring to export controls on computer technology.

Trump on Tuesday told reporters that “I've called for that too,” although Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration was still exploring how it might lower diesel prices. Energy Secretary Chris Wright echoed that point Wednesday, telling a climate conference in New York that “nobody wants a full blanket ban of zero exports of diesel, that's not what's being discussed,”

Why diesel prices are so high compared to gasoline

Diesel prices have skyrocketed due to a collision of events.

The Middle East produces a disproportionate share of the oil used to refine diesel, leading its price to rise faster than gasoline since the conflict began in February. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the war took about 20% of the world’s oil off the market, which raised the prices of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel.

Some of that supply has come back, but it’s nowhere near prewar levels, said Debnil Chowdhury, who leads the Americas and Europe fuels and refining team at S&P Global Energy. Then there were significant attacks by Ukraine on refineries in Russia, taking 800,000 to 1 million barrels per day of diesel off the market, according to S&P.

“These attacks have been pretty prominent," Chowdhury said. "If there is a way to a peace deal or a peace agreement announcing that there will be no more attacks on Russian refineries, on Middle Eastern refineries ... that would obviously make the largest impact on the underlying price.”

“The last few months eroded everyone’s cushion, but the last few weeks? Diesel went from under $6/gallon to over $6.53. Again, that was just in the last two weeks. You tell me what business, small or even large, budgeted for that,” William Stern, chief executive officer of Cardiff, a San Diego-based small business lender that's seen requests for loans spike due to the price increase, wrote in an email.

An export ban could make an impact — in the wrong direction. The American Petroleum Institute warned that diesel prices would actually rise for most Americans if an export ban is enacted, a caution shared by several economists.

“That will result in Americans taking a one-two punch for food and fuel prices that just don't stop,” Brusuelas said.

Export ban could ultimately end American oil industry, cause global recession, analysts warn

If U.S. refineries, which take crude oil and turn it into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, stopped exporting diesel, they would wind up with a surplus of the material. They would need places to store it. Once those storage tanks filled up, analysts warn, refiners would have to stop making diesel. But they can’t just switch off diesel production without effectively cutting the supply of those other fuels and raising their prices.

“There really is no easy way to repair the kind of damage it would be to the global diesel supply chain,” Chowdhury said. “It really will have this effect across the entire global economy."

He added that "the chances of a global recession would increase massively as well.”

Phil Verleger, a longtime energy economist who advised the federal government during the 1970s oil shock, said he thought a diesel export ban could bring prices down but still have an extreme cost. ”In a couple decades," he warned, “the U.S. fossil fuel industry is dead.”

That's because the U.S. has been a reliable supplier of diesel to other countries that would likely look elsewhere if it cuts off supply. Verleger and other economists cited former President Richard Nixon's ban on the export of soybeans in 1973, which led to the rest of the world shifting to Brazil as a more reliable supplier. Now, the South American country is growing faster than the U.S.

But Verleger, who comes from an Iowa farming family, says he understands the visceral pain that a diesel spike causes, even though he also knows the dangers of trying to regulate it away.

“It’s terrible economics, the long-term consequences will be horrible,” Verleger said. “If I were an elected politician, I'd do it."

_____

Riccardi reported from Denver and Bussewitz reported from New York. John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, and Sarah Rankin in Virginia Beach, Virginia, contributed to this report.

Neria Leiter, a reservist in Israel's military, “needs a miracle," Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said in a social media post. The ambassador's older son, Moshe Yedidya Leiter, who also served in Israel's military, was killed in Gaza about a month after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack, which triggered the war in Gaza.

According to the military and law enforcement, a Palestinian man rammed his car into a security checkpoint Wednesday afternoon near the settlement of Beit Horon, seriously wounding the soldier.

Israeli forces at the scene then “opened fire at the terrorist as he attempted to flee” and killed him. More military forces were deployed in the aftermath in the area, which is crossed by a major highway connecting Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.

A paramedic with the Magen David Adom emergency service said the injured reservist was unconscious when crews arrived at the scene and was evacuated to a hospital in Jerusalem.

The suspect was identified as Mahmoud Suleiman, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog both sent wishes for Leiter's recovery. A social media post by Herzog described Leiter as “fighting for his life."

Netanyahu visited Leiter's family at the hospital Wednesday night before departing for the U.N. General Assembly in New York. The Iran war, which Israel launched together with the United States on Feb. 28, is a major focus of the gathering of world leaders.

Earlier this week, an Israeli man was killed in a shooting attack in the West Bank, which has experienced a surge in deadly violence since the war in Gaza began. Recent months have seen marked increases in attacks by settlers on Palestinians, evictions from Palestinian towns, Israeli military operations, as well as several Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

The latest violence happened in the middle of the Jewish High Holy Days, just after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which is widely considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

In mid-April, Ambassador Leiter was a central figure in the first direct diplomatic talks in decades between Israel and Lebanon in Washington. In late June, Leiter, Lebanon’s ambassador to the U.S., and Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon that was described as a first step toward peace following months of renewed conflict between Israel and the Lebanon-based, Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

The Panthers placed Brooks on injured reserve on Wednesday. He will have surgery on Thursday.

The expectation is that Brooks will return later in the season.

The injury occurred in the fourth quarter of Carolina's 34-3 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

“It was a pretty significant groin injury,” Canales said following practice on Wednesday.

Canales said the Panthers received multiple medical opinions after Brooks had an MRI on Monday.

“The timeline for return with surgical versus nonsurgical was going to be similar. We agreed this would be the best course of action to get him back,” Canales said.

Brooks has struggled with knee injuries in the past, limiting his playing time to only five of 36 games since joining the league as a second-round pick in 2024.

He tore his ACL during his final season at Texas and then reinjured the same knee during his rookie season with the Panthers. That caused him to miss the remainder of the 2024 season, and all of 2025.

Brooks was used sparingly in Carolina's first two games of the season as the Panthers were looking to slowly ramp him back up.

Brooks had been slowed by a groin injury in training camp.

“He was bummed,” Canales said of Brooks. “This hit him hard. Particularly after the game. The guys (in the locker room) could feel it too. We were just trying to encourage him. It's part of this process where your body figures out how you're going to go forward in this new mode. This is a part of it.”

Chuba Hubbard is Carolina’s starting running back and A.J. Dillon is third on the depth chart. Canales said Anthony Tyus will be promoted from the practice squad and is expected to suit up on Sunday at Cleveland.

Quarterback Bryce Young said he feels for Brooks because he's been through so much adversity.

“I am going to be praying for him,” Young said. "He works so hard. It’s tough. He’s a soldier and I know he will bounce back and do the work.”

The Panthers signed safety Isaiah Simmons from the practice squad to take Brooks’ spot on the 53-man roster.

Ekeler works out for team, does not sign

The Panthers worked out free agent running back Austin Ekeler on Wednesday, but did not sign him.

Ekeler spent last season with the Washington Commanders.

Dillon said he's friends with Ekeler and has had him on his podcast. He said they often get confused for each other on social media because they look so much alike.

"It's kind of like twins,” Dillon said with a laugh.

Dillon said he's not worried about if the Panthers sign another running back and how that might impact him.

“I don't really focus too much on who is coming in,” Dillon said. “I believe in myself and trust in myself and my ability to go play football. I'm always prepared to step on the field (like) I'm number one.”

Injuries on defense

The defense forced five turnovers against the Falcons in a dominant performance in Week 2, but came away a little banged up.

Inside linebacker Devin Lloyd sat out practice with a calf injury following a big game against the Falcons that included nine tackles, three pass breakups, a sack and two interceptions with one touchdown that earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips (back), safety Nick Scott (ribs) and reserve linebacker Claudin Cherelus (shoulder) also did not practice.

Canales said all four players will be evaluated later in the week.

On the positive side for the Panthers, defensive tackle Bobby Brown III (back) and outside linebacker Patrick Jones II (back) were listed as full participants. Jones had missed the team's first two games and Brown sat out last week.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

The problem, which officials in the Republican-controlled state have not publicly defined, also could have disenfranchised people who wanted to vote in the state's March primary but whose registration applications were never processed, local election officials said during a news conference Wednesday.

“This is really out of left field. Knowing that this one element of (state) applications didn’t come through, and we had no insight on it,” said Chris McGinn, executive director of the Texas Association of County Election Officials.

The size of the backlog statewide hasn’t been determined, but the association said it is in the tens of thousands for some of the state's most populous counties. In Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, the election office received about 45,000 backlogged voter registration applications.

Some election offices will need to hire temporary workers to handle the crush, officials with the association said.

The issue started last October in the Texas Department of Public Safety, which among other things allows people to register to vote or update their voter registrations when they renew their driver’s license.

An unspecified error failed to send a large number of records to applicants' home counties, where the applications are processed and verified. Those records could be a new voter registration application or an update to an existing registration, such as a change of address.

The association of local election officials said its members did not receive any communication from the Department of Public Safety about why the backlog occurred or why they were not informed of the issue for nearly a year.

In a statement, the Department of Public Safety said certain records submitted online “were incomplete and not fully transmitted” to the secretary of state’s office. It said the “system issue” had been resolved, without elaborating on the nature of the issue. The department did not immediately respond to a request for further explanation. County officials said the problem appeared to be with the department's online portal.

Counties have until early in-person voting starts on Oct. 19 to finish processing the late-arriving applications.

During their news conference, county election officials said it is possible that some people might have been prevented from voting in the state's primary earlier this year or initially turned away because there was no record of them registering to vote or updating their registration.

The unexpected backlog comes as counties are already inundated with tasks leading up to the November election in a state with a nationally watched U.S. Senate race between Democratic state Rep. James Talarico and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The Texas Secretary of State’s office and county election leaders say voters don’t need to worry about their registration as long as it is submitted by Oct. 5. If a person shows up to vote and they do not appear on the voter rolls, election officials said they can cast a provisional ballot.

They also can check whether they are registered on the state's online registration site or call their county election office.

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Wilder is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was nominated by Trump in 2017, didn't rule from the bench after hearing arguments in an extraordinary showdown between Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes.

But the judge questioned whether the administration met its legal responsibilities and provided CNN, MS NOW and Politico with adequate due process before banning them, assailing what he called “fake news.” More recently, the president has said negative coverage was dangerous for the country.

The news outlets argued they were singled out because of their coverage content — in other words, viewpoint discrimination — and called the ban a “blatant violation” of the First Amendment.

Kelly said his decision must be guided by prior rulings in comparable First Amendment cases, even if the government disagrees with them.

“I think it is fair to say that the processes that the court laid out wasn’t followed here,” Kelly said.

It wasn't clear when Kelly, who ordered a CNN journalist’s access restored in a similar 2018 case, would issue a decision on the outlets’ request for a restraining order. But he said he’d rule as soon as possible.

“These are urgent matters," Theodore Boutrous Jr., attorney for the outlets, said. "We’re at war. We have world leaders coming to Washington.”

CNN, Politico and MS NOW each told The Associated Press they’d have no comment on the emergency hearing.

Prior rulings indicate journalists should be heard before press passes are revoked

Kelly opened by reminding both sides that he’s required to apply case precedent.

The rulings in two prior cases over press access — including one that went to the U.S. Supreme Court — made clear that journalists were entitled to an opportunity to be heard before they have their press passes revoked.

Justice Department attorney Michael Velchik argued that the rulings in the earlier cases were wrong.

“Access to the White House is a privilege, not a right,” Velchik said.

In arguing that Trump was not engaging in viewpoint discrimination, Velchik said the president had criticized other news organizations even more harshly — such as calling ABC “the worst” — but hadn’t banned them.

“The president should be able to take immediate action to protect national security,” Velchik told the court.

In response, Boutrous said, “Suddenly it’s a national security case,” arguing that the president brought up that point only after the lawsuit was filed.

Trump “keeps proving our point,” Boutrous said, describing how the president has consistently used negative coverage of him as justification for the ban.

Boutrous called the ban an “unprecedented, unreasonable punishment” and said there was “not a semblance of due process.”

The Trump administration outlined ‘reporting incidents’ of each news outlet

In a filing late Tuesday, administration lawyers argued that the ban does not violate the First Amendment, which guarantees the right to a free press. It contended that the outlets, in their reporting, violated “standards of professionalism and decorum.”

The administration went on to detail letters sent to each outlet that identified “a non-exhaustive list of reporting incidents, including those that have threatened national security and spread falsehoods.”

The “reporting incidents” cited in the filing included: CNN reporting on “‘top-secret' construction details related to the East Wing bunker”; MS NOW reporting “on an alleged leak investigation”; and Politico publishing “a document detailing funding for the White House ballroom containing intricate descriptions of how the Secret Service would invest in security improvements.”

Further examples were given in individual letters. Politico’s letter detailed six reporting instances, including in June citing a “senior administration official … granted anonymity” predicting whether a preliminary deal would end the conflict with Iran.

That item appeared to reference a background briefing set up by the White House, where an official briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House itself. Several other outlets also reported the official's remarks.

Major networks continue to refrain from covering Trump for the media pool

The ban prompted other media outlets to take action in solidarity. The five-network U.S. network press pool — a rotating cast of news outlets that covers the president, and to which CNN belongs — decided to suspend coverage of Trump events until further notice.

After the hearing Wednesday, the networks were poised to continue their ban on filming Trump coverage. At Joint Base Andrews, where the president was to formally welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping later, journalists from Fox News, CBS and NBC were present but not shooting video, and some appeared to be breaking down their cameras.

Other television outlets whose crews were present, according to signs on their tripods and cameras, were NewsNation, Newsmax, Right Side Broadcasting Network, One America News and LindellTV.

Ahead of Wednesday's hearing, an amicus brief was filed by other news groups, urging the court to immediately restore the three outlets' White House access.

The brief — filed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the White House Correspondents' Association and 49 media outlets and industry groups, including The Associated Press, The New York Times and Reuters — says “the targeted expulsion of news media from White House grounds injures the public interest."

The proceedings are historic, said Katie Fallow, deputy litigation director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

“No president has taken this explicit of a step” to ban entire outlets because he doesn’t like their reporting, she said. “There have been various presidents throughout history who have grumbled about the press or threatened to take more major steps, but really there was nothing at this level before Trump.”

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Noveck reported from New York. Associated Press journalists Laurie Kellman in London and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.

Lawmakers have long found little downside to taking a hawkish tone on China, but the U.S.'s war with Iran has inflamed tensions as U.S. officials accuse China of propping up Iran's economy and supplying its military with components and intelligence, endangering U.S. service members in the Middle East.

In speeches, letters, press conferences and hearings, lawmakers from both parties aired criticism of Xi's visit. Their actions and events stand in stark contrast to the warm welcome that Trump gave Xi on Wednesday as he arrived in Washington for a lavish state visit.

Republicans air their dissenting views

Sen. Roger Wicker, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, took to the Senate floor Tuesday night, offering a list of issues for Trump to raise with Xi, but not before suggesting that Xi shouldn't have been asked to visit Washington at all.

“Quite frankly, had the White House asked me for advice, I would have suggested the president not invite Xi Jinping to Washington for such a lavish welcome here in the United States of America based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party,” Wicker said.

Wicker seemed particularly taken aback by the honor of a state dinner. Over the salad course, Wicker said the president could ask Xi about the Chinese Navy's harassment of Filipino fishermen and sailors. Then, while the servers are “switching from chardonnay to cabernet at the fancy state dinner,” perhaps the president could turn to the issue of Taiwan, he said.

He went on to say he hopes some progress will be made when the president discussed trade and artificial intelligence with Xi. But concluded with this: “During every minute of dialogue, our commander in chief should keep in mind that his guest is a brutal, unelected, and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbors and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America.”

House committee weighs in with a critical video

Ahead of Xi's visit, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a highly critical video that had been viewed more than 245,000 times on X. In the video, the committee details Xi's rise to power starting in 1974 and ends by labeling him "the biggest opponent of freedom and liberty in the world.”

The House created the panel in 2023. It's held several hearings on human rights issues in China and advocates for legislation on an array of economic and military issues. For example, the committee's chairman, Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., recently introduced a bill that would prohibit the manufacture or sale of Chinese cars in the U.S.

Republican senators press for Taiwan aid

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and three other Republican senators used the Xi visit to press the Trump administration to move ahead with aid and arms sales to Taiwan.

In a letter, they reminded Secretary of State Marco Rubio that he had previously stated that “deterring an invasion of Taiwan must be our top priority.” And they noted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had once declared that the U.S. ”will not let our allies and partners be subordinated and intimidated."

China has pressed Washington to halt the arms sales, most prominently during a summit in May between Trump and Xi in Beijing. After that meeting, the United States paused the sale of a record-breaking $14 billion package — and Trump described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” with China.

“It is difficult to imagine how the United States might credibly project influence deterrence in the Indo-Pacific,” the senators wrote, “if the price of keeping up diplomatic appearances is denying our partners key deterrent capabilities.”

Democrats pile on the criticism

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and three other Democratic senators held a press conference to warn against the U.S. weakening export controls for advanced semiconductor chips and equipment. They're concerned that such exports could erase the U.S.'s lead in artificial intelligence over China.

They touched on voter concerns about the safety of artificial intelligence and contrasted Democrats’ call for greater regulation with the president’s call to “encourage it, not rein it in.”

“We must reject the false choice Trump keeps making,” Schumer told reporters. “We can and must both maintain our lead on AI by restricting China’s access to our technology and put up guardrails to mitigate AI’s risk."

Meanwhile, on the Senate floor, Democratic senators urged Trump to confront Xi directly about the support his country is providing Iran.

“If we want to bring this war to an end, we need to cut off the outside support that allows Iran to keep fighting, and that starts with China,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democratic lawmaker on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.

Council Member Angela Whitfield Calloway said the policy is intended to give the city more information before deciding whether to approve tax breaks that can total millions of dollars each year.

“We award tax abatements, tax incentives like we hand out Skittles and Starburst,” said Calloway, who has taken issue with the number of approvals.

The City Council has the final say on tax abatements and tax incentives for development projects in Detroit.

“It’s our responsibility to do our due diligence on the front end to make sure that these folks are coming to the council with clean hands,” Calloway said.

The policy is modeled after practices used by the Michigan Economic Development Corp., which reviews applications and makes recommendations for financial incentives to the Michigan Strategic Fund.

That process is similar to the role the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. plays for the city.

Under the policy, each applicant, along with its key owners and personnel, will be subject to criminal and civil background checks for relevant convictions and civil liabilities in certain local jurisdictions within the past five years.

Any findings, along with mitigating circumstances, must be reported to the relevant city departments and the Law Department before a public hearing on the proposed incentive.

The same information must also be provided to City Council members before the public hearing.

“We’re going to give you a second look. You may not get the tax abatement that you’re requesting,” Calloway said.

The policy change came after a resident raised concerns with Calloway about the background of someone connected to a tax abatement request.

Detroit corporation counsel Conrad Mallett said in a memorandum to Calloway this month that the policy “represents a reasonable and significant step toward safeguarding the integrity of the City’s economic development programs and tax incentive determinations.”

The city says prior criminal convictions or civil misconduct do not automatically disqualify a tax incentive applicant under state law or Detroit’s ordinances.

“As a city, we have to be real careful about our willingness to grant or to award tax abatements and tax incentives to developers when they, some of them may not deserve these tax abatements,” Calloway said.

The charges are especially shocking, given that he was a teacher for years.

“You have to wonder how long has this been going on,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said on Wednesday. “Who’s it been going on with?”

“All these questions are still being investigated because the investigation never closes until we receive everything back from the search,” he said.

The charges are connected to Mark Sharrow, a teacher at the Warren Consolidated School of Performing Arts in Sterling Heights since 2017. The allegations began nearly 200 miles away in Roscommon County.

Prosecutors there say that Sharrow, 37, sexually assaulted a teenager in 2025 in Denton, Mich., which is near Houghton Lake.

They say the assaults happened between April and September.

In Roscommon County, Sharrow has been charged with six felonies, including first and third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

According to court documents, an arrest warrant was first issued on Aug. 12.

During a search of Sharrow’s home in Warren on Aug. 18, police say they found sexually explicit videos of minors on his cell phone – along with methamphetamine and LSD – leading to his arrest.

He was then charged with nearly a dozen additional crimes in Macomb County.

In Macomb County, Sharrow is facing five counts each of possessing child sexually abusive material and using a computer to commit a crime.

He also faces one count each of possession of methamphetamine and LSD.

On Sept., 14, Sharrow was given three additional charges of Criminal Sexual Conduct, including two 4th-degree charges and an assault charge.

A spokesman for the Warren Consolidated School District said Sharrow was on administrative leave at the time of the arrest and that they are cooperating with the Macomb County Prosecutor.

In total, on the charges in Roscommon County alone, Sharrow could face life in prison on the 1st Degree CSC charge.

As for the charges in Macomb County, Lucido said the investigation continues and could yield more, while adding that Sharrow is innocent until proven guilty.

“Although the charges are monumental, he does have a right to defend himself,” Lucido said. “But at the end of the day, if he’s found guilty, that’s a whole nother world that plays out.”

Local 4 reached out to Joshua West, Sharrow’s attorney, but we have yet to get a response.

Sharrow is due back in 37th District Court on the new charges in Macomb County on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

He’s currently being held at the Macomb County Jail on a $1 million bond.

Jurors heard two weeks of evidence and must now decide whether Facebook violated the state's Unfair Practices Act and if so, how many times. It would then be up to the judge to determine how much the company would pay per violation.

New Mexico is the only state that has taken the data breach claims to trial as part of its go-it-alone approach to press for more accountability from Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. Earlier this year 48 states reached a landmark settlement with Meta that addressed child safety concerns and privacy issues surrounding the same data breach.

New Mexico is seeking the maximum civil penalties, up to $5,000 per violation, and an injunction to halt future breaches of user data.

The case centers on accusations that Facebook failed to protect users from a third-party personality quiz that harvested data from roughly 87 million profiles and sold it to a political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, to generate targeted ads. The now-defunct firm’s clients included the 2016 campaign for Donald Trump.

“We became the product for Facebook. They turned our dreams into data they could sell to advertisers,” said Randi McGinn, an attorney for the state.

Attorneys for the social media company disputed that claim, telling jurors the platform does not sell user information.

A majority of Facebook’s revenue comes from advertising, and McGinn argued that the company was incentivized to provide targeted advertising opportunities. She said there was limited enforcement if third-party apps harvested users’ personal information and the company did not investigate whether those apps were owned by foreign countries or organizations.

Dane Butswinkas, one of Facebook's lawyers, said the platform investigated suspicious third-party apps following the breach. He told jurors the company has improved safeguards and privacy policies significantly in the last five years, since the lawsuit was filed.

Butswinkas said Facebook’s revenue and product development teams were kept separate and that despite having five years to investigate the platform's privacy practices, the state identified only two data breaches.

“How many other Cambridge Analyticas have you heard about in the case? The answer is one,” he said.

Butswinkas also said evidence shows that Facebook protects users from 99% of content that violates its standards and it is in the platform's best interest to ensure that violent or hateful content is taken down.

The trial included a video deposition of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who answered questions about a list of thousands of accounts that required additional checks before any of their content was removed from Facebook or Instagram.

The prosecution pressed Zuckerberg about an email in which he requested that employees add podcaster Joe Rogan’s accounts to the list.

“It’s not treating people differently to say we have a policy that’s about broad misinformation and not parsing political speech,” Zuckerberg said during the deposition.

Prosecutors said the list created a fact-checking backlog, allowing viral content to be seen by millions of users before being taken down.

Zuckerberg said the company needed to be careful about removing sensitive content and monitoring content is a challenging problem.

The state estimates that about 350,000 residents were exposed to the Cambridge Analytica breach, but McGinn asked jurors to consider that Facebook deceived all New Mexicans when making statements regarding privacy and violent content. Prosecutors estimated there were more than 1.3 million users in the state at the time of the breach.

If jurors agree, the company could potentially be forced to pay billions of dollars.

Meta agreed in August to pay up to $18 billion to settle the multistate suit surrounding child safety issues. Buried in the 130-page settlement was an agreement to release Meta from future liability related to the Cambridge Analytica privacy breach, making New Mexico the only state to pursue a case. Florida was the only other state that did not sign the settlement, saying it was not tough enough on Meta.

Also this year, New Mexico won judgments totaling $942 million from Meta in a two-phase trial about the company’s safety protections for minors. Furthermore the court ordered Meta to implement new safeguards, including age-verification technology and time limits on its platforms.

The judgments are on hold pending an appeal.

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Associated Press writer Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed. ___

Schuettler is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

---> Check out all the episodes of the Local Blend podcast here.

It’s been a year since Chelsea was diagnosed with cancer. She shared about it last August on the air.

“I didn’t know if I was stage one or two. But I knew I was not three or four. So, I was OK with sharing it. There’s not a lot out there known about ovarian cancer. There is no test for ovarian cancer,” Chelsea said. “So, to me, I thought, ‘OK, there’s a why behind it.’ So, I’m not sitting there saying, ‘Why me?’ but also, ‘Why me?’ There is a reason, I have a voice. He has a platform, and we need to educate women.”

She said the scan showed that she had a tumor on her left ovary. She called her friend who had pancreatic cancer and went over everything with her. Then she called her gynecologist, who got her in within a couple of days and told her to see an oncologist.

Karen asked what Chelsea did to calm herself during that stressful time.

“Sit with it. During the scan, I pray, honestly. I pray that if there is something growing, let them find it, so we can deal with it. And that’s just all. I have learned that I am a control person. This is out of my control. And so that’s been a huge lesson for me.”

And as for what this experience taught Mojo about Chelsea ...

“I have learned, this is a big one, that sometimes it’s OK for her to just be upset and to let her be. As a guy, and this is one thing I’d give advice to any guy that’s dealing with, you know, being married, or girlfriend. You don’t always have to fix a problem. And the problem that we get into as guys, we’re fixers. We wanna fix the problem and move onto the next thing. This is not a problem that I can fix, but I can listen. And, I’m not a very good listener normally,” Mojo said.

Chelsea said she used to hate relaxing and that she always thought of it as wasted time, but this experience has made her love it.

“It is my favorite thing to do, is just relax. I’m getting back into reading books. I’m just ... I’m not taking that for granted anymore. Like, I’ve lived my life rushing raising three boys and now I’ve earned the time to just sit and be present with myself,” Chelsea said.

The couple also has their own podcast, the “Mojo’s We Do(n’t) Podcast.”

Tune in to Local 4 at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 23, to hear the full podcast.

“The FBI is aware of a cyber-criminal enterprise group claiming a compromise of the FBIJobs.gov portal and alleged impact to FBI employee personally identifiable information," the FBI said in a statement. It said that while the “point of breach” was undetermined, "we are actively and aggressively investigating this matter and working closely with those third-party providers that support FBIJobs.gov to mitigate any and all risk.”

The jobs website, the main portal for prospective employees to learn about the FBI and initiate the application process, remained offline as of Wednesday afternoon.

A message that circulated online from a hacking group known as ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the hack.

“We have compromised the FBI. We hold very sensitive data on almost ALL FBI Agents and individuals who filed an application with the FBI for a job,” said the ShinyHunters message, which was directed to FBI Director Kash Patel and Brett Leatherman, the assistant director in charge of the bureau's cyber division.

The claims could not immediately be verified, and an email to an address associated with ShinyHunters was not immediately returned.

The hackers are seeking retribution over an FBI advisory

Miriam Wugmeister, a lawyer specializing in data, privacy and cybercrime who tracks hacking outfits like ShinyHunters, said that based on the group's past practices, there was reason to believe the hackers' claims, “so I think it’s likely that they were able to compromise this website and they got some data.”

She said that though the data that appeared to be compromised was the type of personal information that is routinely accessed during a breach, the hack nonetheless had alarming national security implications given that it could expose agents and their families to extortion, swatting and other harassment and because the identities of spouses were also said to have been obtained.

“Even if the agents and the analysts and the employees are sophisticated, you worry about their families too,” she said.

In its message, ShinyHunters said it would give the bureau one week to correct or remove what it said were false allegations contained in an FBI public advisory from May that described the organization as a “cyber criminal group specializing in large-scale data breaches and extortion.”

That advisory characterized ShinyHunters as “threat actors” who often "use their real or exaggerated claims of access to sensitive or personal information to prompt payment from victims," commonly harass or threaten victims and “may falsely claim to have sensitive or compromising information, including embarrassing photographs or videos of victims, which frequently do not exist.”

ShinyHunters said in its message to the FBI that it was “offended” by those characterizations and demanded that the FBI remove those claims. It did not say what would happen if the FBI did not do so within a week.

“This is not a ransom, coercion, or extortion. Your federal policies do not apply here. This PSA is NOT financially motivated,” the hacking group's message said.

ShinyHunters has a reputation for “causing trouble and being disruptive,” Wugmeister said, as evidenced by the group’s involvement in a hack last spring of Canvas, an online system that thousands of schools and universities use. The breach created chaos as students tried to study for finals and prompted the FBI’s advisory that ShinyHunters is now objecting to.

There have been other cyber incidents concerning the FBI

The hack was first reported by 404 Media, an online technology publication that said a representative of ShinyHunters shared what appeared to be a sample of personal data of 5,000 FBI employees, including an address, phone number and some information on spouses.

The publication said the ShinyHunters representative said the group carried out the hack through an apparent vulnerability in Oracle PeopleSoft software, commonly used by companies and government agencies for large-scale data processing and huma resources purposes. The FBI said in its statement that it had not determined whether the “point of breach” involved a “third-party or the FBI’s enterprise.”

The FBI, the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency, has been a common target for hackers.

In March, the FBI disclosed that it was investigating “suspicious activities” on an internal system that contains sensitive information related to surveillance operations and investigations. Also that month, a pro-Iranian hacking group claimed to have hacked an account of Patel's and posted online what appeared to be years-old photographs of him, along with a work resume and other personal documents dating back more than a decade.

The FBI described the compromised information as “historical in nature” and said it involved "no government information.”

Fast-food traffic in many markets, including the U.S., is flat, so for McDonald’s to continue to grow it has to grab share from competitors and improve restaurant productivity, McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said at a meeting with investors at the company’s Chicago headquarters. McDonald's wants to automate more tasks, like inventory and scheduling, and improve kitchen operations.

“The winners will be the companies that create more demand and deliver it more efficiently,” Kempczinski said.

McDonald's shares fell nearly 5% Wednesday, their largest percentage drop since April 2025, as investors shuddered at the eye-popping price of improving McDonald's 46,000 global stores.

On the product side, McDonald's said hand-breaded chicken, which has rolled out at 10,000 restaurants in Asia and a handful of restaurants near Chicago, has boosted sales and quality ratings. Many of McDonald's competitors, like Chick-fil-A and KFC, offer hand-breaded chicken. The company plans to expand its testing to more markets in the U.S. and Ireland next year.

McDonald's also plans to introduce grilled chicken sandwiches and wraps in the U.S. and other markets and experiment with products like egg bites and bowls to meet the needs of customers who are seeking more protein and varied portion sizes.

Skye Anderson, the president of McDonald’s USA, said approximately 30 million Americans are now using GLP-1 weight loss drugs, and they’re seeking smaller, more protein-packed meals as a result. But the company’s research indicates that 60 million Americans are actively seeking more protein in their diet.

“This is an opportunity. We need to keep giving them more reasons to make McDonald’s their first choice,” Anderson said at McDonald’s investor day.

McDonald’s said the restaurant modernizations include lockers to handle delivery orders, more visible coffee preparation areas to enhance quality perceptions, bigger play areas and improved kitchen layouts. Scales to help ensure order accuracy – which are already in use at 10,000 restaurants globally – will be in 20,000 restaurants by 2028, McDonald’s said.

The company is deploying its ArchIQ system, developed with Google, that improves order accuracy with artificial intelligence and automates tasks like inventory management and scheduling. Archy, the company's AI-enabled drive-thru ordering system, is now capable of taking orders in Spanish and English with a 90% accuracy rate.

Archy could eventually reduce at least 50 labor hours per week in a typical McDonald's, Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden said. But he said the intention is not to reduce staffing. Instead, employees can focus more on hospitality or on tasks like hand-breading chicken.

Kempczinski said customers have responded positively to Archy in testing because it helps make their orders more accurate.

“It's not AI is bad or AI is good. We try to be really thoughtful about how we use it,” he said.

McDonald's is also rolling out new employee training that will focus on hospitality and food quality, said Tiffanie Boyd, McDonald's chief people officer. The training will be more experience-based, showing employees what a perfectly cooked Big Mac tastes like, for example, and will encourage more pleasant interactions with customers.

At the same time, McDonald's is still focused on value. Kempczinski said low-income consumers, defined as U.S. households making $45,000 or less, continue to go out for fast food but not as often as they used to. McDonald's has done a good job with meal bundles, like its $5 meal deal, he said. But the company is exploring ways to offer entry-level prices on a basic menu of items in the U.S., as it does in Europe and other markets.

“This is the environment that we’re in right now. You have to be on your game and deliver that value,” Kempczinski said. “The pressure around cost of living isn't going away.”

McDonald’s U.S. franchisees typically spend up to $450,000 per decade to on required store remodels. Under the company’s new plan, they will have to spend an additional $800,000 over time, but McDonald’s will pay a portion of that cost in the form of rent relief and capital support.

Borden said the investments will be phased in over time when markets and individual franchisees are ready for them. Once the investments are made, the efficiency improvements will deliver roughly $100,000 in annual cash flow benefits to the average U.S. restaurant, some of which can be reinvested in the restaurant, Borden said.

“We'd love to see it going into hospitality to elevate the experience with our customers,” Borden said.

This year, the nation of 41 million has a new posture on the planet's biggest diplomatic stage.

Since a watershed speech to the World Economic Forum in January, Prime Minister Mark Carney has become a leading voice of what he and some others call “middle powers.” He has urged them to band together to update and preserve the international order, and protect their own interests, in an era of flexes by the United States and other global giants.

And he has shown himself willing to walk the walk when faced with U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff's.insults and cavalier talk of annexation. Carney rejected what he said were unacceptable U.S. trade demands and walked away from talks last month. Bluntly hedging his country's decades-long bet on U.S. trade and partnership, he has been courting other prospects — Canada might even become the European Union's first associate member.

“Partners are working with Canada because Canada’s predictable, reliable and principled in a world that’s anything but,” Carney told Canadian media at a news conference at the U.N. Tuesday as the General Assembly's big meeting got into full swing.

It's the international community's premier gathering of the year. And to Carney, it's an opportunity to demonstrate Canada's vision of “values-based realism” that's “both principled and pragmatic” — part commitment to such values as freedom, human rights and sustainability, part clear-eyed, “calibrated alliances” with partners that won't sign onto the whole list.

That's frankly practical talk for a forum that's prone to either diplomatic caution or soaring rhetoric, be it doomsaying, idealistic or, often, both. And Carney is finding an ear.

He's moving fast and building coalitions

Canada and a half-dozen other countries launched a new group Monday meant to stand up for economic cooperation and U.N.-style international collaboration. An air traffic control mess at New York airports kept Carney from making it to the “partners for multilateralism” kickoff event at the U.N. Monday night, but his schedule Tuesday included personal meetings with Jordan's king, the presidents of Chile and Angola, and an Emirati cabinet minister.

He also co-hosted a meeting on the long-elusive two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and pledged 100 million Canadian dollars ($71 million) in humanitarian and security funding for Palestinians. Canada last year joined more than 150 countries that have recognized a Palestinian state, over the objections of Israel and its key ally, the U.S.

Asked whether he interacted Tuesday with Trump or members of his administration, Carney replied that he saw the huge meeting of world leaders as a chance to “meet those whom you don’t normally see.” He did attend Trump's speech at the assembly, where the president made no mention of Canada — the country on the other side of the world’s longest international border, and now on the other end of a deepening trade war.

Trump went on to criticize Canada on social media Wednesday, saying that immigration was “destroying” the country. Carney has said immigration levels have dropped during his tenure.

Meanwhile, Carney co-led a meeting Wednesday on the assembly sidelines about ocean monitoring and pledged $82 million Canadian dollars ($58 million) before heading back to Canada for other commitments. Foreign Minister Anita Anand is set to deliver the country's U.N. speech Saturday.

She said in an interview Tuesday that the address “will be very much about implementing the middle power strategy” that Carney has articulated — memorably when he told the World Economic Forum that as great power rivalries increasingly shake the international system, “middle powers must act together, because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.” (There’s no official list of “middle powers,” but the term is often understood to mean countries that aren’t superpowers or their proxies but have some sway in global politics due to diplomatic or other strengths.)

Carney's “message resonates with many audiences, particularly those in the global North,” says University of Ottawa international affairs professor Srdjan Vucetic.

He noted that the prime minister's leadership is resonating at home, too. Carney, who took office in March 2025, enjoys high approval ratings from Canadians. Many are galled by Trump's remarks about making their country the U.S.'s “51st state,” his insistence on referring to Lake Ontario as “Lake America” and his trade policies. In Toronto, Canada’s most populous city, some neighborhoods are dotted with lawn signs encouraging eligible U.S. expatriates to vote absentee, and at least one coffee shop has crossed the Americano drink off its menu, substituting “Canadiano” instead.

Carney seeks to increase non-US trade

Carney, 61, a former central bank chief with a doctorate in economics, aims to double Canada's non-U.S. trade within a decade. He convened hundreds of international investment firm executives for a Canadian investment summit last week and is hoping for a trade deal with India, among others, by year’s end.

His government has touted security, defense and economic agreements with a roster of countries over the past year, and he has envisioned Canada as potentially forging an economic bridge of sorts between the EU and Pacific Rim countries.

His international efforts have drawn some questions, as when he became the first Canadian prime minister in over a quarter-century to visit Saudi Arabia. Predecessor Justin Trudeau's government had assailed Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, spurring a five-year diplomatic split. The two countries restored full diplomatic relations in 2023.

Carney said at the time of the July visit that he cares deeply about human rights, that there's no point in “lecturing countries from afar,” and that engaging with them doesn't convey approval of their every move.

At his U.N. news conference Tuesday, he said his approach “means actively, actively taking on the world as it is, not passively waiting for a world we wish to be.”

“We have a strategy that, I believe, has already made our country stronger,” he added, “but we’ve only just begun.”

Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection of a powerful sedative at the state penitentiary in Huntsville starting after 6 p.m. local time. He would be the sixth person executed to date this year in Texas, with three more scheduled in the next two months.

A total of 27 prisoners have been put to death in U.S. states so far this year, with Florida leading with 15 executions to date in 2026.

A jury convicted Ramey of capital murder and sentenced him to death in the shootings of Samuel Roberts, 24, Tiffani Peacock, 18, and Celso Lopez, 38, at the home they shared in the small city of Edna, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Houston.

Ramey and LeJames Norman believed there was cocaine in the house and hoped to steal it, according to court records. They found none and killed the three victims, who lived across the street from Norman, the records stated.

Norman was put to death on Sept. 16 at the Huntsville prison. He had no last words, and no relatives or friends of the victims witnessed that execution.

Ramey was described by officials as polite on the 45-mile (70-kilometer) van ride from the prison that houses death row inmates to the Huntsville Unit, where executions are carried out.

Authorities said he declined to have a spiritual adviser pray over him as the execution time approached, and a woman described as a friend was the only person he chose as a witness. No friends or relatives of the three victims in the case were listed on official documents as planned witnesses.

Hours earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a final appeal from Ramey.

The man's attorneys had argued that jurors never heard about how he suffered physical abuse as a child and grew up in poverty. State prosecutors told the court the appeal was “meritless” and argued that evidence showed Ramey had “an escalating pattern of criminal behavior."

Norman testified during Ramey’s trial in January 2007 that both he and Ramey shot the victims. Ramey’s attorneys blamed the shootings on Norman.

Norman was sentenced to death in December 2008 after pleading guilty to capital murder.

Ramey’s former girlfriend testified that she was with him when he threw two pistols into a lake after the killings, and that he told her in detail about his involvement.

Lopez was shot four times, including in the back of the head; Peacock was shot twice in the head; and Roberts was shot five times in the chest, neck and head.

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Stengle reported from Dallas.

The landmark New York prosecution began nearly a decade ago with multiple accusers, but after retrials, mistrials, acquittals and appeals, it was whittled to a single victim: Miriam Haley, who said the Oscar-winning producer forcibly performed oral sex on her at his Manhattan apartment. She had worked briefly on the Weinstein-produced reality series “Project Runway.”

Weinstein, 74, pleaded for mercy, citing his age and health issues, including cancer and congestive heart failure. He apologized “to anyone I have affected with my actions” and said he felt remorse for Haley. However, he added, “I have to reiterate my innocence.” His lawyers said he will appeal.

Once a towering figure in Hollywood, with such hits as “Shakespeare in Love,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Chocolat,” Weinstein’s downfall came quickly after sexual assault allegations in 2017 set off the #MeToo movement. Several of his dozens of accusers were in court on Wednesday.

Judge Curtis Farber said Weinstein wielded his power as a Hollywood kingmaker to prey on women looking to break into the industry, treating them as “mere objects to be played with and discarded with impunity.”

Farber said Weinstein’s refusal to accept responsibility, portraying himself as a victim during jailhouse interviews, weighed heavily on his sentencing decision. Weinstein had faced up to 25 years in prison.

Some of Weinstein's accusers attended the sentencing

Haley credited the swell of other accusers, some of whom she hugged afterward, for giving her the courage to come forward.

For years, she said, “it was like a dark and painful secret that ate away at my spirit, my enthusiasm and sense of self worth, that it took a long time to regain.”

Jailed since his original conviction, Weinstein has already served more than six years behind bars, leaving him with about nine years on his sentence. But a pending resentencing in Los Angeles, where he was originally ordered to serve 16 years in prison for a 2013 rape, could put him away for the rest of his life.

Farber said it'll be his counterpart in California who decides whether Weinstein can serve his sentences at the same time. If it were up to him, Farber said, he'd run them consecutively, stacking Weinstein’s New York punishment on top of his Los Angeles sentence.

Weinstein, seated in a wheelchair, was quickly moved out of the courtroom after the sentencing. In the gallery, Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress whose rape allegations ended in an overturned conviction and two hung juries, wept profusely as prosecutors, Haley and other accusers consoled her.

Weinstein and Haley both spoke in court

Haley, 49, fought through tears herself as she spoke in court. After testifying at two of Weinstein’s trials — the original and last year's retrial — it was her second time confronting the ex-studio boss at a sentencing proceeding.

“Having been sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein has had a devastating effect on my life and sense of security that may never go away,” Haley said. “Making the decision to speak up will have me looking over my shoulder for years to come.”

Weinstein hired private investigators to keep tabs on her, she said, and his defense lawyers and supporters ridiculed her in the media.

“It’s a life sentence for me,” she said.

Minutes later, Weinstein apologized while underscoring his claims of innocence. He maintains that he never raped or sexually assaulted anyone.

It was also Weinstein’s second time speaking at his sentencing — the latest in a series of courtroom soliloquies filled with complaints about his lodging at New York City's notorious Rikers Island jail complex, boasts about his philanthropy and reminiscence about his moviemaking prowess.

“Reflecting on all that has happened since 2017 has helped me recognize how my past conduct has negatively affected others,” Weinstein said, some of his accusers shaking their heads as he spoke. “I live with many regrets and sincerely apologize to anyone I have affected with my actions.”

“I really do have remorse for Miriam Haley,” he added. “I am not a violent man. I ask for mercy. I promise I will pass it on.”

Haley says Weinstein 'still feels entitled'

Haley said afterward that she was happy with the sentence. But, she said, it's clear from Weinstein’s remarks that he does not acknowledge what he did.

“I think he still feels entitled, and that’s part of the problem,” said Haley, who has also gone by the name Mimi Haleyi.

Other accusers, including psychotherapist and former model Kaja Sokola, stood with her as she spoke outside the courthouse.

Haley’s lawyer, Gloria Allred, rejected any suggestion that Weinstein’s sentencing means the #MeToo era is over, telling reporters: “Women are empowered in a way they have never been before.”

“Today was about the survivors,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who sat in the courtroom alongside Weinstein’s accusers.

“I’m moved, as we should all be moved, by their courage and their steadfastness,” he added.

A retrial, a split verdict and another sentencing

Weinstein was originally sentenced in 2020 to 23 years in prison — 20 years for assaulting Haley and three years for raping Mann.

New York’s highest court erased those guilty verdicts in 2024, ruling that Weinstein was prejudiced by testimony from other women whose allegations weren’t part of the case.

Tried for a second time last year, Weinstein was again convicted of a first-degree criminal sex act for assaulting Haley. In a messy split verdict, the jury acquitted him of forcibly performing oral sex on Sokola and could not reach a verdict on a rape charge involving Mann.

After another retrial ended in a hung jury in May, Manhattan prosecutors dropped the rape charge rather than pursue a fourth trial after Mann said she could not bear to testify again.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Haley, Sokola and Mann have done.

___

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio.

Aminata Seck, 26, is from Dakar, the capital of Senegal, and her attorney said on social media that she is in the United States on a student visa.

Her attorney, Sadiqa Reynolds, wrote that Seck was detained on Aug. 7 at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport, as she was planning to travel with her team to an HBCU tournament.

The Louisville Courier Journal, which first reported Seck’s arrest, wrote that Reynolds said Seck may have missed a student visa deadline because she was having back surgery, and that she also has an ACL injury.

Reynolds wrote that she spoke to Seck last week, and the player remained in a lot of pain. Reynolds said she was transferred to multiple detention facilities, then to a hospital.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday on the reason for her detention or the conditions of her confinement.

Seck is listed on the Grayson County, Kentucky, Detention Center’s online inmate roster. The offense description says: “US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY / ICE.”

Democratic U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, who represents a district including Louisville, said he is monitoring Seck’s situation, and that of others who have been arrested and detained in Kentucky.

“Aminata is a student-athlete who was arrested by ICE at the airport while traveling with her teammates,” he wrote in a statement. “The Trump administration’s cruelty knows no bounds, but we will never let this become normal and we won’t stop fighting for her.”

Seck was named to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Conference Third Team last season after she led the team with 11.7 points and 7.3 rebounds. Seck, a 6-foot-4 center, had five double-doubles last season and scored a season-high 30 points vs. Lane College on Jan. 14.

Seck also was named the SIAC Women’s Basketball Elite 16 award winner. The Elite 16 award is the SIAC’s highest academic achievement honor and is presented to student-athletes who demonstrate exemplary performance in athletics and the classroom.

The school declined to comment: “Out of respect for the privacy of those involved, Kentucky State University does not have information to share.”

“The technology is more persuasive, more intimate, and more powerful,” the Duke of Sussex said. “AI is learning how to enter our relationships. It doesn’t just want your attention, it wants your attachment.”

Harry's presentation was part of CGI's focus on finding ways to support women and children at a time when funding for their well-being is being cut by several nations.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told The Associated Press in an interview that they are issues that need to be addressed even more urgently this year because of the cuts.

“What’s happening now under the guise of both stamping out diversity, equity, and inclusion, but also in the name of ‘efficiency,’ like we saw with DOGE when they destroyed government agencies, has our country back in so many ways,” she said.

Secretary Clinton said that it has only been in the last year or two that menopause has seen increased attention. “We have begun to make progress because I remember when I was first lady meeting with a group of women senators who told me that the early trials on breast cancer were done on men,” she said. “If you’re gonna do research on women’s health, guess what? You need to research women.”

She said CGI commitments like Tuesday's announcement of a $100 million venture fund by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to speed potential therapies to patients show how nonprofits are stepping up to the current challenging environment.

“We don’t have time to waste because as you probably know cancer is striking earlier and earlier,” she said. “We feel really strongly about doing the accurate research to actually solve men and women’s problems and to get politics out of science, to get politics out of research.”

Harry's nonprofit faces ‘uphill battle’ working against social media

In 2024, Harry sounded the alarm at CGI about how social media has contributed to an “epidemic” of anxiety, depression and social isolation among today’s youth. Harry and his wife, Meghan, announced the founding of The Parents Network, through their Archewell Foundation.

Harry said that The Parents Network had made progress, but that technological developments had made an already “uphill battle” more difficult.

“There are major signals that families, young people, experts and advocates have finally shaken institutions awake to the reality that this technology can cause harm,” Harry said. “But bans, settlements and payouts are incomplete remedies.”

Last month Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion and add stronger child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms as part of a landmark legal settlement that ended a trial over teen social media addiction and settled claims filed by nearly every state.

The settlement resolved a pivotal case years in the making that sought to hold the tech giant accountable for the role its platforms played in undermining children’s mental health. The effort targeted features designed to hook young people’s attention.

Wednesday marked Prince Harry's first public appearance in the United States since he and his family returned to England in August for an extended stay.

Secretary Clinton also discussed the potential dangers of AI at the conference, adding that addressing risk through international agreements is something that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping should discuss this week.

Economic and tech competition is only escalating between the U.S. and China, especially through an artificial intelligence race. Neither expects any grand bargain, but the leaders are expected to play nice in their third meeting since Trump returned to the White House. Still, developing AI technology has emerged as a key battleground, with both sides showing little interest in slowing down despite warnings from tech CEOs about threats that rogue AI could pose to humanity.

Speaking at CGI, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman said he believes a proposed kill switch, which would require developers to have the capacity to shut down their systems if needed, is a good idea.

“It’s not a natural thing for a company to put in, so it’s a good intervention,” he said.

War Child Alliance announces $100 million plan to improve children's mental health

At CGI on Wednesday, War Child Alliance announced its new $100 million initiative, “Childhood Beyond Conflict,” a commitment to improve the mental health of 10 million children in conflict zones over the next decade.

Laura Miller, War Child's CEO, said that more than 520 million children are currently affected by conflict. The new initiative, she said, is the nonprofit's attempt to build a coalition around children's mental health, expanding the global footprint of its programs to help educate and support young people.

Academy Award-nominated actress Carey Mulligan, who serves as global ambassador for the War Child Alliance, told The Associated Press in an interview that the organization is trying to reverse a shift around the world that the physical survival of a child in a conflict zone was an adequate outcome.

“A child who is traumatized, illiterate, and wounded from an experience in conflict really has their hands tied behind their back for the rest of their lives in terms of rebuilding any kind of real, dignified future for themselves," Mulligan said. “Children deserve more than physical survival. A child who goes through a conflict has the right to proper psychosocial support.”

Mulligan said that the $100 million announcement was special because it can actually solve a problem, despite the issue of a global lack of empathy.

“We are coming to say, ‘Guess what, guys, you don’t need to feel overwhelmed because we’ve got these amazing evidence-based methodologies that have been rigorously, scientifically tested,’ ” she said. “We know that they work and they improve outcomes for children who’ve been affected by conflict.”

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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

Hurricane Polo, an “extremely dangerous” storm, is expected to skirt Mexico’s Guerrero state, submerging coastal areas with 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rain through Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Guerrero has been repeatedly pummeled by hurricanes in recent years.

Farther out in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Nolo was churning about 310 miles (498 kilometers) south of South Point, Hawaii. The storm is expected to approach the Big Island as early as Friday and could drop up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain, raising the possibility of flooding and mudslides.

Polo could bring flooding and mudslides to Mexico’s Pacific coast

Concepción López Villegas was busily bolstering her seaside restaurant in Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, against the expected onslaught of rain. Strong waves were already hitting some beaches and López Villegas said she feared the storm could destroy the small business she worked decades to build.

“We’re worried and trying to protect our businesses,” López Villegas said. “And of course, we’re sad because it’s our heritage, our legacy that from one moment to another could be destroyed.”

Guerrero state was particularly at risk of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, the hurricane center said.

Polo, which was swirling a couple of hundred miles off the coast Wednesday afternoon, was not expected to make landfall, meteorologists and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said. Rain and strong winds had already started to pummel the coast, with waves crashing onto the normally pristine beaches.

The hurricane center warned that Polo’s deluge could cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides, in particular in Guerrero.

The region most under threat from the hurricane is rural and mountainous, scattered with a few small tourist towns and ports. Much of the area is marked by poverty and residents routinely complain authorities abandon them to fend for themselves during natural disasters.

Mexico’s government has called for evacuations in some areas and set up shelters for those affected. Thousands of military and Red Cross personnel have been deployed to the region as a preventive measure.

Another hurricane could hit Hawaii as soon as Friday

The National Weather Service said Tropical Storm Nolo would likely strengthen before closing in on the Big Island on Friday or Saturday.

The storm has the potential to be a major hurricane, John Bravender, a weather service warning coordination meteorologist, said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

While high winds are expected, Bravender said the main concern is the possibility of flash flooding. He said 20 to 30 inches (50 to 76 centimeters) of rain could fall through Saturday on southeastern parts of the Big Island, the same region hit hard in August by Hurricane Lala.

“That by itself could cause catastrophic flooding, but when you put that on top of grounds that we’ve been raining off and on for the last couple of months … that rain could cause even more damage," Bravender said.

He urged preparation across all Hawaii islands in case the storm’s trajectory shifts.

“You need to take action now,” said Bravender. “Today is really the last dry day you have to get ready.”

Kauai’s electric cooperative urged residents to prepare for “the possibility of prolonged power outages,” and to store nonperishable food and potable water.

Over 100 Kauai households remain without power from Hurricane Lowell, which passed west of the island on Sept. 7.

Hawaiian Electric, the state’s primary utility, said crews would return to at-risk areas to help residents prepare for the coming storm.

Odalys strengthens into a hurricane

Hurricane Odalys, also in the Pacific, strengthened on Wednesday, carrying maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph). It churned about 1,265 miles (2,040 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and was not at risk of making landfall, according to the hurricane center.

An advisory said Odalys could increase in strength over the next couple of days but would likely weaken by the end of the week.

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Aoun reported from San Diego. Associated Press reporter Desiree Brooks in Atlanta contributed.

Brown is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 30 to make the deal final. Defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh said Brown will plead no contest to aggravated assault. He will be sentenced to probation, and adjudication will be withheld, meaning Brown will not be considered a convicted felon, the attorney said. Brown could have faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the original attempted murder charge.

Brown is accused of grabbing a handgun from a security staffer after a celebrity boxing match in Miami on May 16, 2025, and firing two shots at a man he had gotten into a fistfight with earlier, according to an arrest warrant. Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu told investigators that one of the bullets grazed his neck.

Attorney insists that Brown would have prevailed at trial

“This was not an easy decision,” Eiglarsh said in a statement Wednesday. “Antonio believes in his innocence. He believes strongly in his Stand Your Ground defense, and he believes he would ultimately prevail at trial. But when prosecutors put an offer on the table that transforms a potential decades-long prison sentence into a significantly reduced charge and probation, there was simply no way he could reasonably turn it down.”

Florida’s so-called Stand Your Ground law allows people who believe they face death or serious injury to use deadly force to defend themselves without a duty to retreat.

Richard Cooper, an attorney for Nantambu, called the plea deal fair.

“We are satisfied that justice is served. My client maintains what he said previously: that he forgives Brown and will not cooperate with law enforcement,” Cooper said in an email Wednesday. “We wish Mr. Brown good health and that he grows from this event.”

Nantambu's attorneys have said he'd decided to forgive Brown

In a previous statement, his attorneys said Nantambu, a devout Muslim, had made the decision to forgive Brown after “considerable reflection, prayer, and consultation with his family and counsel.”

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office declined to comment on Wednesday, with spokesperson Ed Griffith saying the details would be “fully clarified” at next week's hearing.

Brown has said on social media that he was defending himself from an attack and that others were trying to steal jewelry from him.

Brown, 38, spent 12 years in the NFL and was an All-Pro wide receiver who last played in 2021 for Tampa Bay, including winning a Super Bowl championship with quarterback Tom Brady. He spent much of his career with Pittsburgh. For his career, Brown had 928 receptions for more than 12,000 yards and accounted for 88 total touchdowns, counting punt returns and one pass.

Brown has faced legal problems over the years

Brown was extradited in November 2025 from Dubai, where he has business interests, after an arrest warrant on the attempted murder charge was issued in June 2025.

Brown has dealt with several legal problems over the years. He previously had been accused of battery of a moving truck driver, several domestic violence charges, failure to pay child support and other incidents. During a 2021 game with Tampa Bay against the New York Jets, Brown took off his jersey, shoulder pads and gloves and ran off the field, leading to his release by the Buccaneers and effectively ending his football career.

In a separate case, Nantambu was found guilty earlier this year of a misdemeanor charge of resisting an officer after police said he disrupted Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance in 2025. Nantambu was among dozens of dancers on the field at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans when he ran across the field with a Sudanese flag that read “Sudan and Free Gaza.” He surrendered to authorities after an arrest warrant was obtained.

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Associated Press writer Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

The grim warning by the University of Chicago-based Climate Impact Lab says that as many as 451,000 more heat-related deaths between June and the end of February could be attributed to El Nino, compared with heat deaths expected in a typical year.

The heaviest toll, the group says, is expected in poorer countries, already struggling with food insecurity and high energy costs, partly due to climate change and the fallout of the war in Iran.

Michael Greenstone, a co-founder of the group and the study's co-author, said the heat danger will likely persist beyond February — even though this El Nino is expected to end by then. The fallout of the weather phenomenon could be felt well into next summer, he added.

The research, he said, shows that heat is most dangerous in places that are already hot and relatively poor.

“If you’re already in a hot place, the extra couple of degrees are going to be much more dangerous,” he said. Wealthier places, he added, generally have greater access to air conditioning, reliable water supplies and functioning health systems.

The study combined seasonal temperature forecasts with localized estimates of how high temperatures affect mortality across more than 24,000 regions worldwide.

Researchers estimated the additional heat-related deaths by comparing deaths expected under El Nino-driven high temperatures with deaths expected if temperatures remained similar to what they have been in the last three decades. The projected fatalities are for the entire El Nino period, from June 2026 until the end of February 2027.

The report says the Global South will see more heat-related deaths

The study by Greenstone and his colleagues also warns that the Global South — a term that isn't geographical but a reference to developing countries in general — will bear the heaviest burden of the excessive heat.

The researchers behind the report found that the Sahel region in Africa — countries along the semiarid southern fringe of the Sahara Desert — is expected to be the hardest-hit, with about 66,800 additional deaths caused by El Nino-driven heat.

Other major hot spots include South and Southeast Asia and parts of Latin America, according to the report. The researchers project about 19,400 additional heat-related deaths across the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, as well as 19,300 in Indonesia, 15,800 in India and 13,300 in Brazil.

Heat warnings and cooling centers could prevent thousands of deaths

With such staggering numbers, there are recommended measures that governments can take, the report says. They include heat-warning systems, cooling centers, hydration stations, protections for outdoor workers, expanded hospital capacity and targeted outreach to elderly people and other vulnerable groups.

The authors also call for what they describe as anticipatory financing, so governments can move resources before dangerous heat peaks.

Abhiyant Tiwari, a heat expert at NRDC India who was not involved in the study, said the report’s projections should serve as a call to action rather than be another reason for alarm.

But while it's one thing to have well thought-out plans — as India does — implementing these plans and raising needed funds remains a challenge, he said.

"The real measure of our preparedness is not how many heat warnings we issue, but how effectively we protect people and reduce preventable deaths,” Tiwari added.

Climate change is amplifying El Nino’s record heat

El Nino is a natural climate pattern, but this year’s unusually strong event is occurring on a planet already warmed by human-caused climate change, increasing the risks from extreme heat.

The Climate Impact Lab said global land temperatures during this El Nino could be higher by about 1.2 Celsius (2.1 Fahrenheit), producing 44% more extremely hot days than in a typical year. The report said those temperature increases may mirror conditions that climate change could make common some 20 years from now.

That's why this El Nino could offer a preview of what's ahead as the planet continues to warm, the report said. It's also an opportunity for decision-makers "to see exactly where emergency actions can be taken now to save tens of thousands of lives,” the authors say.

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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.

Jaquoya Wix, 34, was killed in a random attack in an alley near Woodward Avenue and E Congress Street at around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026.

Wix worked at the nearby Chipotle and was working her regular shift when she was killed.

The suspect, Devon Watson, 42, of Detroit, was tracked to the area of Woodward Avenue and State Street, where he was arrested.

He has been charged with one count of premeditated first-degree murder and was arraigned Wednesday afternoon.

Read more --> Family remembers woman killed in random downtown Detroit stabbing

A mental health petition filed in Wayne County probate court on July 3, 2026, reveals that a nurse had observed Watson and said he appeared psychotic and needed to be hospitalized.

Watson had been brought to the emergency department by police for “acting out at a coffee shop.

Patient not making sense, appears psychotic. Does not know where he is, making nonsensical statements, like ‘I’m on menopause.’”

Those court records show that on July 13, 2026, Watson had been ordered to receive mental health treatment at Havenwyck Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Auburn Hills.

A doctor at a hospital in Trenton stated that, “Patient exhibiting acute psychosis and does not understand compromise of his mental state and make appropriate decisions.

Patient hyperverbal and unable to properly communicate.”

The doctor continued, writing that Watson was having “active delirium and tangential thinking and unable to cooperate or answer questions correctly.”

The day of the July 13 hearing, staff at Havenwyck said that Watson insisted on not appearing and that transporting him against his will to the video courtroom may place him and others at risk for serious harm.

They requested that his appearance be waived.

It was during that hearing that a Wayne County judge granted the petition, ordering treatment of up to 180 days, not to exceed 60 days.

The Investigators at Local 4 were able to find an address for Watson and went to that home on the west side of Detroit.

It was a boarding house where Watson was a former tenant. A person at the boarding house told us he was aware of his challenges.

Other residents in the area said they saw ambulances arrive to that home frequently.

One woman said he approached her while she was gardening and she felt uneasy.

A background check on Watson revealed that in 2010 he pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct and was sentenced to four years’ probation.

He’s not on Michigan’s public sex offender registry.

In 2016, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault. He was sentenced to pay $275 and spend 10 days in jail.

Update: Downtown Detroit stabbing suspect court ordered to undergo mental health treatment before deadly attack

Devon Jason Watson was charged with first-degree murder.

Jaquoya Wix, 34, was stabbed to death in an alley near Woodward Avenue and E Congress Street on Sept. 20 at around 2:30 p.m. Wix was working a regular shift at Chipotle on Sunday when she was attacked.

Related --> Family remembers woman killed in random downtown Detroit stabbing

The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said Watson approached Jaquoya while she was sitting in an alley on break from work and stabbed her multiple times with a knife before running away. Watson and Jaquoya did not know each other.

Officers used surveillance cameras to track Watson to the area of Woodward Avenue and State Street, where officers took him into custody.

“The alleged actions of this defendant appear to be random, but we are confident that we will be able to sustain the charge of First-Degree Premeditated Murder in a court of law. We will work hard to bring justice to Jaquoya and hold him accountable for her death,” said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy in a statement Wednesday.

Watson was arraigned in court via Zoom on Sept. 23 and was denied bond.

According to the arraigning judge, Watson was previously convicted of assault charges in Wayne County in 2010 and in Louisiana in 2024.

He is expected to return to court on Sept. 30 for a probable cause conference.

The S&P 500 fell 0.8% after finishing the prior day just 0.4% below its record set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 352 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq composite sank 1.1% from its own all-time high.

Stocks wilted after the yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 5.10% from 4.96% late Tuesday, which is a considerable move for the bond market. High yields undercut prices for stocks and other investments, while also slowing the economy by making it more expensive for everyone to borrow money.

Wednesday’s jump briefly sent the 10-year yield near 5.14%, back to where it was in 2007 before the global financial crisis caused yields to crater. Yields have been climbing since bottoming out in the COVID pandemic, and they’ve accelerated recently because of worries about high inflation, the U.S. government’s heavy debt and other concerns.

Worries about inflation got a jolt Wednesday morning after a preliminary report suggested growth in U.S. business activity surged to its strongest level in more than five years. That’s an encouraging signal, to be sure, but it indicates the economy may have plenty of fuel for more inflation.

The report also suggested costs for businesses are leaping at the fastest rate in four years, in part because of more expensive oil, according to Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. That could mean businesses will pass those higher costs onto their customers in coming months.

Oil prices are high because of worries that the war with Iran will keep oil bottled up in the Middle East for a long time.

The price for a barrel of Brent oil to be delivered in November rose 3.9% to $103.08 on Wednesday. That reversed a decline for Brent, which had been falling since it neared $110 last week. Talks are continuing with mediators between U.S. and Iranian officials, but nothing concrete has come from it yet.

Brent oil to be delivered in December, where most of the trading in the market has moved, rose 2.8% to $98.12 per barrel.

Even with its recent decline, the price for a barrel of Brent remains much higher than the roughly $72 it cost before the war with Iran began.

Inflation has remained so stubbornly high that the Federal Reserve raised its short-term interest rate last week for the first time in three years in hopes of slowing down increases in the cost of living.

Fed Gov. Michael Barr said in a speech on Wednesday that further hikes “are likely to be needed” to get inflation to the Fed’s 2% target. Traders now see better than a 50% probability that the Fed will hike its federal funds rate at each of its next two meetings, in October and December, according to data from CME Group.

So far, strong growth in profits for U.S. companies has helped support the U.S. stock market despite higher interest rates and more expensive oil.

KB Home became the latest to deliver a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But its stock nevertheless swung between losses and gains after the homebuilder’s executive chairman said conditions got even tougher for the industry over the last three months. It finished with a loss of 3%.

Potential customers are becoming more cautious because of higher mortgage rates caused by the rise in the 10-year Treasury yield. They also are feeling pressure from “geopolitical uncertainty and broader economic headwinds,” Jeffrey Mezger said.

General Mills likewise reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But the company behind the Cheerios and Progresso brands said it also expects growth this fiscal year to fall below its historical track record “driven by a continued challenging consumer backdrop,” and it did not raise its forecast for profit over the full fiscal year.

Its stock flipped between gains and losses before rising 1%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 58.61 points to 7,706.03. The Dow dropped 352.10 to 51,511.59, and the Nasdaq composite sank 308.24 to 26,936.04.

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

Stock indexes fell 1% in Hong Kong and 0.4% in Shanghai ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington, which is kicking off Wednesday.

The leaders are expected to attempt to steady fragile ties in their third meeting since Trump returned to the White House. That is despite the world’s two largest economies seeking the upper hand on artificial-intelligence developments and trade, while pushing for leverage in persistent hot spots like Iran and Taiwan.

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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.

Trump’s territorial ambitions over Greenland almost broke the NATO military alliance and shattered trust with one of America’s oldest and closest partners. The new defense agreement puts an end to the standoff. But was it worth the cost?

While the new defense agreement is a bit broader, the United States already had extensive military access under an existing 1951 deal and all the gains laid out in the agreement signed on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday could, ostensibly, have been achieved by asking nicely a year ago. The trans-Atlantic distrust created since the end of 2024 seems a very high price to pay for what may ultimately be a fairly incremental gain.

Interestingly, one place may emerge from this standoff as the real winner: Greenland itself.

The promised investments and contracts may never fully materialize, but the episode marks a major step forward in its push for greater autonomy and a more influential seat at the table. Greenland is no longer merely the subject of foreign policy decided by its former colonial rulers. Increasingly, it is helping to shape it.

There's been progress toward self-determination

“A notable change is Greenland itself at the table today, signing this agreement," said Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen speaking to a room cram packed with journalists and officials at the UN to witness the signing of the deal.

That's an understatement. The world’s largest island, home to about 56,000 mostly Inuit people, was still considered a colony until the early 1950s. Progress towards greater self-determination has been slow and it wasn't until 2009 that Greenland became a self-governing country within the Kingdom of Denmark.

Even then, while the Self-Government Act recognized Greenland’s right to independence when requested by local voters in the future, Denmark retained control of defense and foreign affairs.

“I cannot stress it enough: This is the first time that we are venturing into a binding agreement as a country," Naaja Nathanielsen, one of Greenland’s two lawmakers in the Danish parliament and a former government minister in Nuuk, told The Associated Press. “That is a huge step forward in our quest for more self-autonomy.”

Denmark and Greenland confront their own troubled past

Like most former colonial powers that discover history keeps receipts, Denmark's ties with Greenland are complicated. Greenland's economy is heavily dependent on Denmark, families and students often live between the two territories and the cultural linguistic ties are strong. Yet underwriting modern relations are centuries of Danish policies that dehumanized Greenlanders and their families.

They included forced contraception, the removal of Inuit children for reeducation by Danish foster families, and controversial parental-competency tests that led to children being separated from their parents.

“For many, many years you believed that you were a good colonizer,” Múte Bourup Egede, then Greenland's prime minister and now its foreign minister, reminded Danish journalists early last year, shortly after a newly elected Trump made his first military threat against the island. “But time has also caught up with us, and ... cruel things have come to light.”

The abuses are not distant history; many victims remain alive. Hundreds of Inuit women have claimed compensation from Denmark, alleging that health authorities violated their rights by fitting them with intrauterine devices — often when they were teenagers and without their informed consent. Danish authorities estimate that as many as 4,500 women and girls received IUDs between the 1960s and mid-1970s.

While the first official apology for the historic mistreatment had long been coming it was finally delivered in the summer of 2025.

The standoff with the United States “has been applying pressure and focused some of the Danish attention” on reconciliation with Greenland said Ulrik Pram Gad, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, but “perhaps, some Greenlanders feel that it’s not as credible as it could have been without Trump.”

Trump's involvement changed the equation

While Denmark moved to address past grievances, anger with Trump's tactics also helped shore up support for its sovereignty and take the edge off calls by some in Greenland for quick moves to independence.

At the height of the crisis over Trump's ambitions in January, Nielsen said that “if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO."

For Denmark, the main victory is no doubt getting the US president off its back and succeeding in framing the crisis as a European security problem.

Danish and Greenlandic diplomats “have been working very hard to have European allies be part of this," Pram Gad said. "The result is an attempt to patch together the NATO alliance.”

And while Denmark has accepted some limitations to its sovereignty, investments by adversary countries such as Russia had long been off the table.

“The benefit of keeping the transatlantic alliance, or patching it together, or at least not allowing Greenland to be the occasion for Trump to blow it up, I think that counts heavily on both the Danish and the Greenlandic cost-benefit analysis here,” he said.

After Tuesday’s signing ceremony, relief was palpable. But while the Danish and Greenland delegations celebrated with a cold beer on a rooftop bar in Manhattan, the Greenland crisis has scarred a once undefiable bond. It leaves leaders in Copenhagen, Nuuk and other European capitals now assessing the reliability of the United States — and whether a signed agreement can repair trust once it has been broken.

They reached out to Local 4 for help. Reporter Kyla Russell has spoken with more than a dozen people impacted.

A few months ago, Stephanie Campbell’s storage unit was filled to the brim with items from her late fiancé, David.

But, earlier this month, she found out about a mold issue. When she walked in, things were covered. Now, there are only a handful of priceless items she’s able to keep.

“This may seem insignificant to some people, but this was his racing number for one of his races he was in. I know it’s covered. It’s gotta be,” Campbell said, holding a race bib of David’s.

Last year, David died in a tragic accident.

Pregnant with their child, she packed away their most precious possessions in this Public Storage unit while she moved.

“All of my furniture,” Campbell said. “My late fiancé’s clothes, items, kids toys and whatnot that I planned to unpack when I moved into a new home.”

She pays $224 a month. She says she specifically chose this unit because it is climate controlled.

“When did you first hear about the mold?” Local 4 asked Campbell.

“I found about it on the fourth of September,” she said.

She tells me she wasn’t notified by Public Storage, but found out about this on Facebook.

“There was mold all over my car seat I had in here,” she said.

That was just the start. She had to get rid of nearly everything.

“I found a lot of his stuff was covered in mold – his shirts that I planned to make blankets out of. Stuff that may not hold a lot of monetary value, but a lot of sentimental,” she said.

On Wednesday, she was there while it was all put in this dumpster.

She started to connect with other people in the same boat.

“In this? There’s 16,” she said, speaking about a group chat those impacted by the mold are communicating in.

Local 4 talked to over a dozen people who say the same thing.

When they reach out to management and ask what caused the mold, they say they hear the same thing.

“They are quiet about it until they finish their investigation,” she said.

There’s an insurance agreement that may help cover some of the expenses for them, but they each tell me it’s not nearly what they’ve lost.

“I want to say at least $15,000,” Campbell said about what she’s lost.

Local 4 has been trying to get answers for them. We emailed their corporate office and went in person.

While in person, the property manager said Local 4 needed to call the chief legal officer, but did not have a number.

So, Local 4 called a number they could find. There was no answer.

Local 4 also messaged the company’s Chief Legal Officer on LinkedIn.

Campbell says she wants other people to know what they’re facing.

“It’s insignificant to some people, but it’s really important to me and his kids,” Campbell said.

“Following the president's remarks at the GA today, please change all references of ‘Artificial Intelligence’ to ‘Super Intelligence’ in our documents and positions. We will be using ‘SI’ in all remarks, positions and press elements moving forward,” said an email sent Tuesday to employees by Michael Drager, deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs.

That bureau is in charge of U.S. diplomatic missions to all U.N. and multilateral agencies around the world. The email, titled “Change in Nomenclature AI to SI,” was obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if other State Department bureaus had or would follow suit.

On Tuesday, Trump told the U.N. General Assembly that he would “officially” change the name of AI, saying the existing name makes the technology seem “fake” and that U.S. government documents would from that point forward use “super intelligence.”

“The use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake, it makes it sound fake and it is not fake. It’s actually amazing,” Trump said.

The president said at the U.N. that “from the point forward” U.S. government documents “will be changed to use the much more accurate term super as opposed to artificial. So it’s super intelligence.”

Drager's email was sent shortly after Trump's speech, but it wasn't clear on Wednesday whether similar orders had been sent at other agencies. Such an order would likely mean adjusting the name of the “AI Force” that Trump announced this weekend to the “SI Force.”

On Wednesday, U.S. representatives used the SI term at a U.N. Security Council meeting about AI, where tech executives urged the United Nations' most powerful body to rein in the developing technology.

AI's rapid ascent has spurred dire warnings from AI company CEOs, lawmakers and others about the technology outpacing humans' ability to control it and calls for global guardrails.

Trump has rejected efforts to slow the AI development race through greater government oversight, saying he does not want to hinder industry and that the U.S. needs to ensure an edge over China.

Trump claimed on social media Monday that the U.S. is leading over China on AI and that he was “not going to stifle Growth, of something that will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution, or the Internet, itself.”

AI is expected to be a key topic when Trump welcomes Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Washington for a visit starting Wednesday.

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Associated Press writers Josh Boak in Washington and Farnoush Amiri and Seth Borenstein at the United Nations contributed to this report.

Jackson police said late Tuesday that they arrested 25-year-old Earnest Lloyd Jr. in the death of 29-year-old Tasia Fortune, whose body was found hanging behind an abandoned home in the city on Aug. 3.

Like Fortune and the first man arrested, 51-year-old Jarques Ratliff, Lloyd is Black. He appeared at a brief hearing Wednesday, where he was denied bond.

According to local TV station WLBT, investigators said witnesses directed them to Lloyd, who had allegedly had a physical altercation with Fortune days or minutes before she was killed. Police contend that Lloyd hanged Fortune with a black cable cord, and three co-defendants are also suspected of being involved in her death, the station reported.

Police and the court clerk said Wednesday that they didn't know if Lloyd has a lawyer.

Fortune's mother Christy Spivey, who attended the hearing, said afterward that she was ecstatic to see arrests made in her daughter’s death. She said neither she nor several of her daughter's friends knew Lloyd, and she cautioned that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

“My family is not the only family that this is affecting,” Spivey said of the defendants' families. “I feel for them as well. The only difference is that mine can never come back.”

"I’ll never truly have peace,” she said.

Ratliff was arrested in September on murder charges. He pleaded not guilty and remains jailed without bond. His lawyer, Toney Baldwin, hasn't responded to multiple requests for comment.

Police said in a statement that they issued an arrest warrant for a third suspect, but gave no details about that person’s identity or alleged link to Fortune's death. They also said they expect to issue additional warrants.

After Ratliff's arrest, Jackson's police chief, RaShall Brackney, said Ratliff had an “association” with Fortune, but she didn't elaborate.

Although police haven't suggested a possible motive for the killing, the case has attracted widespread attention because the manner of death recalled lynchings in the Southern state.

A Kentucky native, Fortune had four children and had been living in Jackson for about a decade, relatives said.

Spivey previously said her daughter struggled with homelessness in recent years, and that she wasn’t sure where her daughter was living at the time of her death. She said that before her death, her daughter had talked about starting a cleaning business and was trying to get her life in order.

The 41-year-old Ronaldo was confirmed by coach Jorge Jesus as a starter for this 234th Portugal game — on Thursday against Wales in the Nations League.

Asked at a pre-game news conference if he thought of stopping his international career in July, after Portugal's round-of-16 loss to Spain, Ronaldo said: “Yes, I did. Of course, I’m always thinking on my decisions, my future, the present also.”

“I had a conversation with our president, with our coach,” he said of Jesus, whose previous job was leading Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr to the Saudi league title in May. “I still believe that I’m able to help the national team to reach what they want, and will finish when I feel like I’m not doing anything here.”

Ronaldo, who captained Portugal to the previous Nations League title in 2025, is closing in on 1,000 career goals.

“This is a new young generation,” he said. “But for me the basic point is to be able on the pitch to score the goals and to help the team win games.”

The superstar player is not universally still admired in his home country.

“I feel the Portuguese fans like me, but I do understand that some TV channels want to criticize me,” he said. “They are dying for me not to come to the national team any more, but I can still move away from it.

“Anyway, I am used to it. For over 20 years I have been doing this, but my memories are with people who love me. I know why young kids love Cristiano, because they see me as an example, and I will continue to do that. Even when I am retired… in 10 years,” Ronaldo said, smiling.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Two people were killed and 41 wounded in Ukraine’s capital as the attacks stretched into Wednesday afternoon. Palls of black smoke floated above the city following the latest in what have been daily Russian attacks that torment Ukrainian civilians. The drones set off fires and damaged buildings in Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine overnight, authorities said.

Zelenskyy was in New York for the annual U.N. gathering as part of his diplomatic effort to shore up and recruit further international support for his country’s grueling 4½-year fight against Russia’s invasion. He addressed the General Assembly, met with European leaders and was also due to hold talks with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. In his address to the Assembly, Zelenskyy urged the international community to keep limiting Russian oil revenues to prevent Russia’s ability to keep financing its war in Ukraine.

“When someone gives Russia more money through trade, they give this war more time. And that is exactly why we insist on limiting trade with the aggressor, and why we are burning Russia’s revenues ourselves,” he said.

Zelenskyy met on Tuesday with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has shown impatience with the lack of progress in talks aimed at ending the war and the escalating aerial attacks by both sides this year.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin hasn’t traveled to the gathering in years, sending Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov instead. Lavrov, who met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss Ukraine and other issues, reaffirmed Wednesday that Moscow is open for talks on ending the conflict in Ukraine, but wouldn’t accept a break in hostilities before a peace deal is agreed.

Rubio told reporters on the sidelines of the General Assembly meeting that Trump has invited Putin to the G20 meeting that he will host at his Miami country club in December, adding that “we think it’s an opportunity for him to engage not just with the president, but with other world leaders.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was grateful for the invitation, adding that the issue will be discussed further via diplomatic channels.

Ukraine has hit back at Russia by damaging oil refineries that are a vital pillar of the country’s economy.

Speaking in New York, Zelenskyy said that “our target is Russia’s ability to finance this war, to drag it out, to make it more brutal and more destructive. Russia’s finances and Russia’s production are what must be stopped.”

The Ukrainian leader said at the start of his U.S. visit that he had proposals for a possible de-escalation in the war. Urgent issues for Kyiv are halting devastating Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid and ensuring Ukrainian grain can be shipped to world markets through the Black Sea despite the war.

Ukraine also needs more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems as a shield against Russian ballistic missiles, but Patriots are in short supply after the war in Iran began.

In Zaporizhzhia, in southeastern Ukraine, two men aged 37 and 39 were wounded by a strike that started a large fire at a shopping mall. Emergency services said the fire spread across about 6,000 square meters (1.5 acres) before coming under control.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces struck Ukraine’s military-industrial and energy sector facilities, logistics centers and sea vessels in overnight attacks.

The ministry said its air defenses intercepted more than 500 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions, as well as illegally annexed Crimea and waters of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

In another development, the Polish military said a Russian military helicopter briefly violated Poland’s airspace Wednesday on the country’s border with Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave. It said that “the nature of the incident suggests that Russia is once again testing the readiness of our air defense.”

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

The group on Wednesday announced a campaign aimed at raising $10 million “to protect and honor our nation’s shared civic and cultural inheritance against urgent threats emanating from Washington."

In an interview, the group's president and CEO, Brent Leggs, said the fund was the first of its kind for the privately funded nonprofit organization, which is charged by Congress with protecting historic sites, and would help bolster its legal division and government relations staff.

“It is a response to the urgent and existential threats to historic preservation,” he said.

The group has been critical of efforts by the Republican president to put his lasting stamp on Washington and the White House.

So far that includes razing the East Wing to make way for a ballroom that will dwarf the rest of the complex; paving over the White House Rose Garden to create a patio in the style of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida; adding a helipad to the South Lawn; and redecorating the Oval Office with golden accents. Elsewhere in the nation's capital, he has been trying to rename and renovate the Kennedy Center, is working to build an enormous triumphal arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, and has tried repeatedly to refurbish the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

In December, the preservation group sued in federal court seeking to halt the ballroom project until it goes through multiple independent reviews and wins approval from Congress. The Supreme Court last month ruled against the group, with the majority saying it likely did not have the legal right to challenge the project, and allowed work on the ballroom to continue.

The group is part of a lawsuit aimed at halting the administration’s efforts to overhaul the Kennedy Center, which was abruptly closed to the public last week. Leggs said more lawsuits are coming.

The group has also been pushing back against proposed changes to the National Historic Preservation Act that it says threaten legal protections for historic sites and public land.

At a National Preservation Summit in Washington, Leggs painted the projects in stark terms.

“Our national inheritance hangs in balance today,” he said, according to a copy of his remarks. “It is not an exaggeration to say that this moment is existential. For our field, for the communities we serve, and for generations to come.”

“Together, we will raise an initial $10 million over three years in a moonshot effort to ensure our nation’s civic and cultural heritage remains intact through tangible connections to our shared history,” he said.

Acuña was listed as day-to-day with a contusion after X-rays and a CT scan showed no serious damage. He was able to walk slowly off the field under his own power after hobbling away from the battling circle and dropping to his knees in clear pain.

“Good news with Ronald,” manager Walt Weiss said after the Braves lost to the Reds 4-0.

The injury comes with the playoffs just a week away for Atlanta, which clinched its seventh NL East title in the past nine years. The Braves are likely to open the playoffs hosting a best-of-three series against the lowest-seeded wild-card team.

Asked if he had any worries about Acuña being ready for the postseason, Weiss replied, “Not as I sit here today, unless things change. But no, as I sit here today, no concerns.”

Acuña was tended to for several minutes by the Braves trainer, with Weiss looking on intently, before heading straight to the home clubhouse.

“Very concerned at the time,” Weiss said. “He hits the ball so hard. His foul balls off the feet and legs are not the same as the average Joe. The ball comes off his bat so hot, so I was concerned at first.”

Acuña went down on a 3-1 pitch from Brandon Williamson with the Reds up 1-0. The slugging outfielder took a big swing, sending the ball off his left shin, below the knee and just above a protective guard. He dropped to the dirt with a big grimace, pulled himself up and limped a few feet away from the box before going to the ground again.

The 2023 NL MVP has been one of Atlanta's hottest hitters down the stretch, hitting seven homers in his last 18 games — including a grand slam in a sweep of the Astros last weekend. He is batting .259 with 20 homers, 55 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.

“We'll see how he feels tomorrow,” Weiss said. “He's going to be sore. Obviously, we'll err on the side of caution at this time of years. But all things considered, it's good news.”

The Braves have five games left in the regular season. Brewer Hicklen took over the leadoff spot and right field after Acuña left the game.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

On a 3-1 pitch,

Acuna foul ball off left leg, just above a protective pad. Acuna went down in a heap, hobbled out of the batting circle and dropped to his knees again while attended to by manager Walt Weiss and the trainer. Acuna eventually left the game,

The livestream of the press conference has ended. You can watch a recording of it below:

Update --> Man accused of killing woman in random attack in downtown Detroit denied bond

Background

Jaquoya Wix, 34, was stabbed to death in a random attack in an alley near Woodward Avenue and E Congress Street on Sept. 20 at around 2:30 p.m.

Wix was working a regular shift at Chipotle on Sunday when she was attacked by a man with a knife.

Read more --> Family remembers woman killed in random downtown Detroit stabbing

What witnesses saw, heard

Two people who were right near the attack told Local 4 they heard her scream. She tried to walk back in the back door, but collapsed.

Employees at a nearby pub came out of their back door, tried to help her, then called 911.

The man went running, and an employee at another nearby business chased him while on the phone with police.

Suspect arrested

Officers used surveillance cameras to track the suspect to the area of Woodward Avenue and State Street, where officers took him into custody.

Investigators are working to determine a motive. Worthy said the attack appeared to be random.

Devon Watson, 42, was charged with first-degree murder. He is expected to be arraigned at 3:15 p.m. on Sept. 23.

Read more --> Family, friends hold vigil for mother killed in random stabbing outside of her job in downtown Detroit

Meanwhile, another ship attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz was struck by a projectile, highlighting the dangers that continue to restrict traffic through the critical waterway as the seven-month war grinds on.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Wednesday. More coverage of the U.N. General Assembly is available here.

Iran's president calls US attacks ‘cowardly’

Iran's president said his country's people had been the “victims of terrorism” by the United States.

Delivering a rare wartime speech at the U.N. General Assembly, Pezeshkian displayed images of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and more than 150 schoolchildren killed in the opening days of the conflict.

“We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” he said. “Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country.”

Turning to the United States, Pezeshkian added: “Yes, they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee.”

Rubio says Trump still open to a deal to make Iran ‘prosperous’

Pezeshkian addressed world leaders a day after U.S. President Donald Trump used the same stage to suggest that he might “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if an agreement was not reached soon to end the nearly seven-month war.

Hours later, Trump touted “a very good meeting” between his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and Iranian officials. Tehran, however, downplayed the talks. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said they were “not anything new.”

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that Trump remained open to an agreement “that allows Iran to be what it should be, which is a great and prosperous country.”

Rubio said the prospects for such a deal were hindered by Iran’s nuclear ambitions and “their support of terrorism.” If those policies continued, he said, Trump could exercise “a number of options,” including further military action.

Hard-liners in Iran criticize talks with US

Hard-line figures in Iran attacked Iran’s top diplomat for engaging with the U.S. at the U.N., triggering pushback from rival factions in Tehran.

In an X post, lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei demanded that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi explain the decision to meet with “the aggressor enemy.”

Ali Ahmadnia, a media official for Iran’s president, responded by posting an AI-generated image depicting Araghchi as a wounded warrior.

“How can a soldier be on the battlefield while the home front is being weakened from within?!", Ahmadnia wrote on X. “The Iranian delegation in New York operates in full coordination with the relevant institutions.”

Another ship hit in the Strait of Hormuz

A cargo ship was struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said, citing an unidentified company security officer.

The vessel was hit by an “unknown projectile,” resulting in two casualties, UKMTO said without providing further details. The crew abandoned the ship, which caught fire and was left adrift.

The attack was the first reported in two days. No one immediately claimed responsibility.

The incident highlighted the continuing danger to ships attempting to navigate the waterway. Some vessels appear to be making “dark passages” without transmitting identifying signals, but Iran and the United States have maintained their competing blockades. Commercial traffic remains well below prewar levels, according to ship-tracking data from analytics firm Kpler.

Restrictions on shipping through the strait have become one of the war’s most persistent consequences. Before the conflict, one-fifth of the world’s traded oil passed through the narrow waterway, along with large volumes of natural gas, fertilizer and other petroleum products.

Major Arab parties disqualified from running in Israeli elections

Israel’s election commission voted Wednesday to disqualify major Arab political parties and candidates from running in next month’s polls.

The disqualification came at the request of two right-wing parties, including the Likud party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The parties had said the candidates were ineligible under a law barring those who reject Israel’s existence, incite racism or support armed struggle against Israel.

Wednesday’s vote targeted the United Arab List, a religious Arab Muslim party also known by its Hebrew name Ra’am; as well as the Joint List, an alliance of left-wing and Arab-majority parties. Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas said the decision was a “political, illegitimate, and anti-democratic move” and that the party would appeal to the Supreme Court.

Elections will be held next month, the first since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that plunged Israel into war.

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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

The 33-year-old Kane is currently happy and setting records at Bayern Munich coming off a standout 73-goal season that has him in contention to win the Ballon d’Or in London next month.

Still, the England captain looked toward a future in the United States ahead of his team hosting World Cup winner Spain on Saturday in the Nations League.

“Maybe if I am in the MLS in the future or somewhere like that it might be a thing where you could connect the two maybe with the seasons,” said Kane, a longtime admirer of Tom Brady.

“That is something I will try and look at a bit more seriously,” Kane said. “It all depends on what happens in my career over the next five or six years, the motivation and what I want to do."

The former Tottenham forward compared the skill of place-kicking in the NFL with taking penalties in soccer.

“I take penalties and it is a very similar pressure, technique,” he said. “If I did that, in terms of training, I would be closer to that more than any other sport."

“If I was to do it, it is something I would take seriously. I would take maybe six months to a year of trying to practice before,” Kane said. “But, again, it is in the back of my mind because right now I am feeling that I want to play as long as I can here.”

Kane revealed he is “fairly close” to signing a new contract with Bayern where he is now in a fourth season and has won two Bundesliga titles.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

The Dodgers are once again among the best teams in the big leagues, and they'll have several challengers in October, including the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays. All three teams could finish the regular season with 100 wins or more. Los Angeles is rolling into the postseason and four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani is expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday after a stint on the injured list.

The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves have also clinched spots in the postseason. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, a three-time AL MVP, is dealing with a right calf strain that will likely keep him out through at least the Wild Card Series.

While the 12-team playoff field appears mostly set, there are a few long-shot contenders for the postseason, and specific matchups are in flux.

Here's some of what to watch as the season comes to a close.

Here's who can clinch a playoff spot Wednesday

In the American League, the Cleveland Guardians can qualify for the postseason with a win at Boston and a loss by either the Texas Rangers or Houston Astros.

The Chicago White Sox can cap a turnaround season and earn a spot in October with a win over the Kansas City Royals and a loss by the Rangers.

Over in the National League, the Chicago Cubs can clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Miami Marlins or a loss by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Philadelphia Phillies can clinch a wild card if they beat the Milwaukee Brewers and either the San Diego Padres or D-backs lose.

The Padres can clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Dodgers and a loss by the D-backs.

AL Central and West are tight, other division winners are set

There's quite a bit of mediocrity in the AL Central and West divisions this season, which has led to some fascinating pennant races and could lead to a sub-.500 team making the postseason.

The Guardians (82-75) have a narrow advantage over the White Sox (81-76) in the AL Central while the Texas Rangers (78-79) and Astros (78-79) are fighting for the AL West.

Over in the National League, the playoff bracket is close to set.

The Cubs (87-70), Padres (87-70) and Phillies (87-70) are jockeying for position in the wild-card race but will almost certainly make the postseason. The only team within shouting distance is Arizona (83-74), which is four games back. Chicago holds the head-to-head tiebreaker for home field over Philadelphia and San Diego, and the Phillies own the tiebreaker over the Padres after sweeping that season series 6-0.

MVP races, stats to watch

MLB's major awards probably won't have much drama this season.

Both MVP races have strong favorites with Chicago's Pete Crow-Armstrong running away with the NL honor while Houston's Yordan Alvarez is the probable choice in the AL, though Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero has also had a fantastic season. Alvarez still has an outside shot at a Triple Crown. He leads the AL in batting average at .314 and his 41 homers are tied with Caminero, but his 102 RBIs are six back of Baltimore's Pete Alonso.

For the Cy Young Award, Milwaukee flame thrower Jacob Misiorowski and New York ace Cam Schlittler are the favorites in the NL and AL, respectively.

The Rookie of the Year races also look set with Cincinnati's Sal Stewart and his 110-RBI season the leader in the NL and Detroit's Kevin McGonigle the favorite in the AL.

What is the MLB playoff format?

There are 12 teams that qualify for MLB’s postseason, including six teams from both the AL and NL. The three division winners in each league get seeds No. 1 through No. 3, ranked by win-loss record. Then the three wild-card teams get seeds No. 4 through No. 6, also ranked by win-loss record.

The top two teams with the best record in both the AL and NL automatically advance to the Division Series. The other eight teams play in the Wild Card Series, which is a best-of-three format beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 29. In both the AL and NL, the No. 6 seed will travel to face the No. 3 seed while the No. 5 seed goes to No. 4. The higher seed hosts all three games.

The winners then advance to the best-of-five Division Series, followed by the best-of-seven League Championship Series and a best-of-seven World Series between the winners of the AL and NL.

What is the MLB postseason schedule?

Wild Card Series: Sept. 29-Oct. 1 (NBC/Peacock)

Division Series: Oct. 3-10 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)

Championship Series: Oct. 11-20 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)

World Series: Oct. 23-31 (FOX)

Who are the favorites to win the World Series?

The Dodgers (+220) are the favorites to capture a third straight World Series title while the Brewers (+600), Yankees (+800) and Rays (+800) are viewed as the top contenders.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

At a meeting of the group’s board in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, the governors unveiled a 66-project blueprint to get things started while acknowledging enormous hurdles that must still be overcome. The projects include ambitious infrastructure, education and health initiatives that are designed to support Trump’s 20-point plan to end the Israel-Hamas war.

“The need is immense,” the board said, noting that full reconstruction from the physical damage across Gaza will cost roughly $35.2 billion over the medium term and an additional $71.4 billion over the next 10 years.

The proposal is largely aimed at potential donors who are being asked to foot the bill for reconstruction of the war-devastated territory that has seen numerous failed peace initiatives in the past. Those have included previous premature pronouncements of agreements between Hamas and Israel that have left would-be donors skeptical.

Board of Peace is seeking movement as Trump's ceasefire plan has largely stalled

The ceasefire, which took effect on Oct. 10, was meant to clear the way for a broader process to rebuild Gaza under the guidance of the Board of Peace. The plan included additional Israeli military withdrawals from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, the arrival of an international peacekeeping force and a new apolitical Palestinian government to administer the territory’s day-to-day affairs. It also envisioned an ambitious program for rebuilding war-ravaged Gaza.

But the U.S.-backed plan has largely stalled. While the ceasefire halted the heaviest fighting and humanitarian conditions have improved, the Israeli military has expanded its control of Gaza and now occupies some 60% of the territory. Hamas has not given up its weapons. The international military force and new government still have not entered Gaza, and reconstruction has not begun. The vast majority of Palestinians continue to live in tent camps or ruins of their former homes.

The board’s high representative, Nickolay Mladenov, has said progress hinges largely on Hamas disarming — a step the militant group has refused to take. But he also has pressed Israel to scale back its military operation.

“Given the complexities of what we’re dealing with, I think we’re making slowly and steadily progress,” he said. Mladenov added that discussions with Israel have been politically sensitive and emotional because of next month’s elections.

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Mideast envoy, acknowledged that the ceasefire had not been a 100% success but said the board “can point to real progress.”

“There is a ceasefire, imperfect as it may be, but it still exists,” he said.

Witkoff's partner in peacemaking, Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner praised the Board of Peace team for the work it has done to advance the prospects for peace.

“We’re building something that is really a platform to enable the Palestinian people in Gaza to finally focus on improving their livelihoods and improving their lives and for those who want to live in peace, to give them a chance to do so,” Kushner said.

The timeline for new projects and larger steps in Gaza still isn't clear

Despite laying out a six-month plan that prioritizes 66 projects — ranging from humanitarian shelters and home repair to education programs and food security — the timeline was still nebulous. Documents that the board released Wednesday says the programs are “ready to begin the moment funding and access allow.”

Speaking about the difficult steps of disarmament and Israeli withdrawal, Mladenov said, “I want to be very clear that we are not bound by a calendar — we're bound by verification. We want to make sure that this works.”

U.S. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, commander of the international stabilization force planned for Gaza, outlined a five-step approach to dealing with the thorny issue of demilitarizing Hamas. It begins with the first wave of the multinational unit being deployed with troops from Kosovo and Morocco, to be followed by additional personnel from Albania and Kazakhstan.

Their task will be to demilitarize the territory and decommission all of Hamas’ military infrastructure.

The goal, he said, is to gradually turn security control over to the interim government, after which Israel will be expected to withdraw its forces.

Speaking to reporters separately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the challenge is daunting but not impossible to meet.

“Obviously, this is a long-term project,” he said. “This is not something that can happen in six months, but at least gives people the hope (of a) future that awaits you if everyone does their part.”

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Associated Press writers Josef Federman and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Ben Finley in Washington contributed to this report.

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This story has been corrected to show that Nickolay Mladenov's first name was misspelled.

The nearly impossible part for the female cyclist from Afghanistan was trying to train in her country. To do that, she dressed as a man in a place where women have few rights.

“All the time when I was going to training,” she said, “I was dressing as a guy.”

She said she also hid her face when she could in order to not be recognized.

“Because sometimes when they recognized me, they were trying to throw ... stone(s) or hitting me," she said.

Hashimi, who is 23, won silver Tuesday in a time of 2 hours, 50 minutes, 5 seconds, which marked another leg in a journey that began in 2021 when she left Afghanistan.

“In 2021, when the Taliban moved into my country, I escaped my country because I wanted to follow my dream,” she said. “I want to show the Afghanistan women in the world that ... we can have an opportunity.”

Hashimi talked about having many dreams for women in Afghanistan, dreams for herself and dreams that may take time to be realized.

“I’m really, really happy and I’m full of emotion. I don’t know how I can explain it for you,” she said.

“I hope one day I come back in my country and ride the streets of Kabul — and riding with the women side by side to share the same passion," she explained.

“And I hope in the future changing some things,” she added. “I think we are really tired of the situation of our country and I hope the Taliban is watching. I know how much one woman can be powerful and that's why Taliban is scared (of) women.”

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SNTV video journalist Raj Mohan contributed to this report.

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See full AP coverage of Asian sports here

“When someone gives Russia more money through trade, they give this war more time. And that is exactly why we insist on limiting trade with the aggressor, and why we are burning Russia’s revenues ourselves,” he said in English, a language he often uses at the world body.

Russia gets its turn Saturday to address the assembly. President Vladimir Putin hasn’t traveled to the gathering in years, sending Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov instead.

Lavrov told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that Russia is prepared to negotiate toward a lasting peace but won’t just “pause” the war. He argued that such a pause would just buy Ukraine and its backers time to line up more weapons.

Zelenskyy cast doubt on Russia's interest in ending the fighting.

“Something always seems to stop Putin from saying, ‘That’s it. Enough. Peace,’” Zelenskyy said. “Can you even imagine him without war? He is ‘Patient Zero’, the one from whom war keeps spreading further. ... ‘Patient Zero’ must be stopped."

The war has reverberated across the planet

Russia invaded Ukraine more than 4½ years ago and says it's out to protect its own security and the interests of Russians and Russian-speakers in parts of Ukraine. Western analysts estimate that over 500,000 Russian troops have been killed and that Ukraine has recorded more than 500,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths. Neither country discloses its own casualty totals.

The war has had global repercussions for fuel, fertilizer and grain shipments — and for geopolitics, widening divisions between Russia and the West.

With front-line positions in eastern and southern Ukraine largely unchanged since last year, Russia and Ukraine have intensified long-range attacks with drones and missiles.

Russian drones pounded the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in daylight attacks on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding 23; two others were injured by a strike that started a big fire at a shopping mall in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it struck Ukrainian military-industrial and energy facilities, logistics centers, and sea vessels overnight. The ministry said its air defenses intercepted more than 500 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions and Crimea, as well as the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Crimea is the peninsula that Russia seized by force and illegally annexed in 2014.

Zelenskyy says ‘you can stand and survive’

Zelenskyy told the assembly that Russia has used 63,000 attack drones of different types against Ukraine so far this year alone. While celebrating that his own country "has proven that even against a much bigger enemy, you can stand and survive,” he implored world leaders to deny Putin money or foreign fighters.

“Limit his money. Limit his war," the Ukrainian leader said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has been looking for additional resources. Zelenskyy noted to reporters Tuesday that his country hasn’t yet gotten clear answers to its effort to acquire more U.S. Patriot air defense systems.

Zelenskyy met Tuesday with U.S. President Donald Trump on the U.N. sidelines.

In brief remarks to the media before the meeting, Trump reiterated that he believes “we’re going to make a deal” with Russia and Ukraine to quell the fighting. The president predicted on the 2024 campaign trail that he’d swiftly broker an end to the war but hasn’t succeeded so far. Zelenskyy said Tuesday he was hopeful.

“Sometimes, it may seem that Ukraine is focused, focused, only on war because we speak about weapons, we speak about defense and sanctions against the aggressor. But Ukrainians did not choose this war,” he told the assembly on Wednesday. “We choose not to die. …. We are defending ourselves.”

Xi largely succeeded, shaking hands with then-President Barack Obama to deepen economic ties and expand cooperation. In the Rose Garden, Obama declared that the U.S. “welcomes the rise of a China that is peaceful, stable, prosperous and a responsible player in global affairs.”

Those days are over.

Returning to the U.S. capital Wednesday for the first state visit in over a decade, Xi — more confident than ever — is seeking stability even as the globe's two largest economies compete over everything from artificial intelligence to space ambitions and global influence. Xi is expected to urge cooperation with the U.S. for the sake of the world.

“In 2015, China was a rising power still, profoundly and quickly rising, but rising undeniably,” said Mira Rapp-Hooper, a visiting fellow at Brookings Institution's Center for Asia Policy Studies. Now, “China is risen.”

Both economies have grown remarkably over the decade, and while the U.S. still maintains a strong edge, what's important is that Beijing has gained the capabilities to check the U.S. and “the will to use those capabilities,” said Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, a Washington-based think tank.

That was on display last year when China matched President Donald Trump's whopping 125% tariffs, nearly freezing trade and leveraging a near-monopoly in processing critical minerals — crucial for products from smartphones to fighter jets — to force the U.S. to stand down.

“In the past, China was disadvantaged in terms of strength, and it was not an equal to the U.S.,” Sun said. “But now it is considered a near-peer.”

US and Chinese leaders have shifted tones since the last state visit

In 2015, the U.S. raised myriad concerns: a level playing field for American companies in China, protection of intellectual property, cyberthreats, and freedom of navigation in the South and East China Seas.

Xi told Obama that “China is making all-around efforts to deepen comprehensive reform, to build law-based governance, to enforce strict party discipline.” Xi said Beijing would manage differences in the South China Sea “through dialogue” and told Obama that “China does not intend to pursue militarization” there.

Now, Xi remains in office after purging political rivals, abolishing presidential term limits and consolidating power. In the U.S., voters brought Trump back to the White House.

Most issues from 2015 either remain unresolved or have worsened: U.S. companies are still seeking market access, the Chinese have become more aggressive in cyberattacks, and the tensions in the South China Sea have only risen with the increasing Chinese military presence.

Xi made no mention of Taiwan in his Rose Garden remarks in 2015. But when hosting Trump in Beijing in May, Xi warned of “clashes and even conflicts” if the U.S. should mishandle the self-governed island that Beijing claims as its own. This week, Xi is expected to press Trump to further delay an arms sales package to Taiwan.

On the U.S. side, Trump will be welcoming Xi on Wednesday evening on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, a rare move that deviates from the typical protocol of waiting for leaders to drive up to the White House.

China reduces its economic reliance on the US, but the US is still dependent on China

The U.S. was China’s largest export market in 2015, accounting for nearly one-fifth of its $2.3 trillion in exports. Today, the U.S. remains China’s top export destination, but its share has slipped to 11% of China’s global exports, which rose to more than $3.7 trillion in 2025.

That’s because the U.S. is buying less from China due to higher tariffs, while the Asian country is shipping more goods to additional markets around the world to soften the blow of Trump’s trade war.

And China has moved up on the global value chain in manufacturing, widening the gap with the U.S.

In 2015, China launched a national strategy to pursue advanced manufacturing by investing in key sectors. It has helped China reduce dependency on imports in areas such as memory chips and medical devices, and it made Chinese companies competitive globally in industries from drones to electric vehicles, clean technologies and shipbuilding, according to an analysis last year by Rhodium Group, a research provider that tracks China's economy and policy.

“There’s an undeniable sense of China’s progress on the global stage,” said Kurt Campbell, a former veteran U.S. diplomat who is now chair of The Asia Group, a strategic advisory firm. “China is not arriving. It has arrived.”

Beefing up industry has meant China's military now poses a threat to the US

Beijing's manufacturing clout has turned into military strength.

Its shipbuilding power has allowed China to build the world's largest fleet by number of vessels, including a sophisticated aircraft carrier and advanced amphibious assault ships, said Matthew P. Funaiole, a senior fellow for the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

But the U.S. Navy still has an advantage in overall tonnage and weapons systems, he said.

China has developed fifth-generation fighter jets and expanded the fleet to hundreds — it had none in 2015, according to a RAND report.

In 2019, China became the first country to land spacecraft on the far side of the moon, and it is operating one of the two space stations in orbit. It is the only other country besides the U.S. to have a space force.

China's military buildup “has made the U.S. homeland increasingly vulnerable,” according to the latest Pentagon report on China's military powers. “China maintains a large and growing arsenal of nuclear, maritime, conventional long-range strike, cyber, and space capabilities able to directly threaten Americans’ security.”

That was not the picture in 2015, when the Pentagon warned that “China’s military modernization has the potential to reduce core U.S. military technological advantages.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters hours before Xi arrived that the two leaders must interact because the U.S. and China are “the two largest economies in the world” and “probably the two most powerful militaries in the world.”

And Trump, while he has slammed Democrats as communists in a tactic ahead of November’s midterm elections, now is looking to wow Xi, the leader of the world's most powerful communist country, in Washington.

Trump is greeting Xi planeside because of their “great relationship,” first lady Melania Trump told Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends.”

“He’s coming on our soil, and we need to welcome them with the most respect,” she said.

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Associated Press journalist Kevin Vineys contributed to this report.

The ProPublica report, published Tuesday, states that the FBI in 2024 planned to launch an investigation into Collins' dealings with Navatek, a Hawaii defense contractor and donor to her campaign. The investigation, which focused on an alleged pay-to-play scheme, failed to commence after President Donald Trump took office after winning the election, according to ProPublica.

The report arrived six weeks before an election where Collins is seeking her sixth term against Democrat Troy Jackson. Democrats have targeted the seat, in a state that Trump lost in 2024, as the party tries to win control of the Senate, making it one of the most competitive races on the November ballot.

Collins on Tuesday called the entire story “absolutely outrageous” and said it is frustrating and unfair to have such claims made against her so close to the election. Her campaign manager, Steve Abbott, also said Wednesday the allegation that “we charge people to have meetings” is categorically false and Collins accepting campaign cash for contracts “did not happen.”

Jackson called the allegation “corruption of the highest order.” He was not present Wednesday when a group of Maine Democrats held a news conference near Collins' Portland office, but said the allegations are a betrayal of trust.

“I cannot stress enough here today the seriousness of these allegations. Maine people deserve clear and real answers from Susan Collins right now,” Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson said.

FBI says allegations were already investigated

The ProPublica report stated that the head of a Collins super PAC met with executives from defense contractor Navatek in 2019 and asked them for a $500,000 campaign donation. The company's CEO, Martin Kao, sent an initial $150,000 donation using a shell company, the report stated. ProPublica reported that it reviewed an internal company email from Kao in which the CEO later told Navatek executives that Collins committed to getting the company $32 million in Navy contracts.

Kao and two other Navatek executives were later indicted on charges of funneling illegal donations to Collins. Kao sought to reduce his jail sentence by revealing to the FBI the full scope of illegal contributions to Collins, ProPublica reported.

Collins said Kao is "a liar" whose story is untrustworthy.

“He has been twice convicted in separate federal court cases. He’s been convicted of money laundering. He’s been convicted of bank fraud. He has been convicted of false submissions to the FEC. He’s being convicted of a lot of crimes,” she said.

An FBI spokesperson said in a statement that the allegations "had already been investigated by the FBI years ago and ultimately found nothing implicating Senator Collins or Senator Collins’ campaign. Any suggestion otherwise is totally false.”

The ProPublica article also states that Trump's return to the White House left the Justice Department unable to perform the investigation.

Corruption investigations have decreased in Trump's second term

The number of FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors specializing in corruption investigations plummeted in the first months of the Trump administration. The Justice Department, for instance, decimated its elite Public Integrity Section in early 2025 while the FBI disbanded a white-collar fraud and public corruption squad based out of its Washington field office.

The administration has also fired numerous law enforcement officials who participated in investigations into Trump, including over his efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election he lost and his retention of classified records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

An email seeking comment was sent to the Justice Department on Wednesday.

Collins said she first learned of the company through the University of Maine because of the research the Navy found to be valuable, which had to do with 3D printing for production.

She said the Justice Department has already reviewed the matter.

“I’m telling you this is completely false,” Collins said.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune dismissed the idea that Collins would be implicated in a pay-to-play scheme, calling the allegations “a political hit job.”

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Mascaro reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C., and Kimberlee Kruesi in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.

“Keep playing,” Scott shouted. They ultimately agreed to share the cup.

Asked for his recollections from his 2003 debut, the 46-year-old Australian smiled and said: “I think I strongly suggested that Ernie get to the 18th tee because we're playing. I was confident they could tee off. I don't know that they could have finished the hole.”

Scott never could have imagined then that it would be the closest he ever came to playing on a winning International team in the Presidents Cup. This week at Medinah marks his 12th consecutive appearance, tying the record held by Phil Mickelson.

It's another testament to a career built around a swing so pure it has kept Scott free of injury as he became only the second player to compete in at least 100 consecutive majors, and it has kept him relevant enough to be part of yet another Presidents Cup.

It's also one more chance, and Scott doesn't take it for granted.

“I feel like it's a huge opportunity for me,” Scott said. "There was probably a period 10 years ago, in the middle of my career, where it was, ‘Oh, this (winning) is going to happen.’ But now there's not many more, that's for sure. I've been given another chance. It might be the last one.”

The Internationals gathered for the team photo Wednesday morning, and it was only fitting that Scott had a place next to the gold trophy, with lifelong friend and International captain Geoff Ogilvy on the other side.

One is the captain who has been the model of quiet confidence. The other is the inspiration for a team that wants to win as badly as Scott does.

“He's part of the International furniture now,” Christiaan Bezuidenhout said. “All of us would love to win the cup, but it would be so much more special if we can do it while Adam is still in the team.”

Scott, coming off a runner-up finish in the BMW PGA Championship last week in England, still can find plenty of happy memories from his two-plus decades being on losing teams.

He partnered with Els for a pair of foursomes victories in South Africa — "He's a bit of a god down there. That was awesome," Scott said — and he was with K.J. Choi at Royal Melbourne in 2011 when they handed Woods and Steve Stricker their worst loss (7 and 6) in team competition.

But the beer-drinking celebrations with the cup in hand? Foreign territory.

“It's a quarter of a century. It's his whole career,” Ogilvy said. “Certainly the last two or three times he's been super motivated. Like: ‘This is something I have to do before I’m done. I have to be on a winning team.”

Scott's two closest friends in golf, Ogilvy and Trevor Immelman, have been or are captains. He surely is next in line, unless there's another Presidents Cup for Scott to play. In some respects, he already is one, given his presence — his experience — in the team room and on the bus.

“He's like a playing captain,” Ogilvy said. “You can hear in his voice his desire to win this tournament. He's the leader of the players, clearly, and he's embracing that role now.”

Scott started his Presidents Cup career playing alongside Els and Retief Goosen, Nick Price and Vijay Singh, all of them in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Now he's with Ryo Hisatsune and Tom Kim, who weren't even born when Scott turned pro.

South Africa wasn't the only close call. It went down to the final match in 2005 in Virginia and in 2015 in South Korea. The Internationals had the lead going into Sunday singles at Royal Melbourne in 2019 until the Americans rallied behind Woods, a playing captain, and finally secured victory in the 11th of 12 matches.

But it was another loss, and two more followed after that.

“It's come down to the last hole several times, and they can go any way. And it hasn't gone our way,” Scott said. “For me, of course, I want to win one desperately and I don't know how many more I can possibly play in. But it's a team effort to do it. We all have to want it so badly. I think it would be an amazing experience for us all to win this cup.”

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See AP’s full golf coverage here

Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender, was Wexner's former financial adviser. That relationship and Wexner's history of political donations has figured prominently in Ohio's U.S. Senate race, which could end up as the most expensive in the country this year.

Wexner, who has disavowed his prior association with Epstein, contributed about $116,000 to support Republican Sen. Jon Husted from 2001 to 2025, mostly during the two decades he spent in state politics before being appointed to fill Vice President JD Vance’s seat last year.

While that’s just a sliver of Husted’s prolific fundraising, his opponent in this year’s race, former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, is turning it into a campaign cudgel. He’s run at least three different television commercials pounding Husted for receiving more money from Wexner than any other current member of Congress.

Epstein's Ohio connections are expected to surface anew early next month, when a traveling display showcasing the Justice Department files comes to the state.

“We want to show these elected officials and the candidates that the public is interested in this topic, and the public is demanding justice for survivors and the public is demanding accountability, no matter how rich and powerful the perpetrators and enablers of these crimes are,” said David Garrett, executive director of the Institute for Primary Facts, the nonprofit that created the exhibit.

Both Senate candidates point to opponent's Epstein connections

Epstein’s decades of associating with some of the world’s most influential people and Congress’ varying attempts to force the Justice Department to release its files on him have flared up in U.S. House and Senate races across the country. In Ohio, it's been central to a race that will help determine the balance of power in Washington.

Brown's campaign has promoted a $3,500 donation Wexner gave Husted in July 2025, less than 10 weeks before Husted joined most Senate Republicans in defeating a Democratic effort to force release of the Epstein files.

One of his ads featured video of Wexner’s congressional deposition in February, during which he confirmed being a longtime political donor to Husted, a former Ohio lawmaker, secretary of state and lieutenant governor.

Another characterized Wexner as “an Epstein co-conspirator.” Documents released by the Justice Department show the FBI labeled Wexner as a potential co-conspirator after Epstein's arrest on sex trafficking charges in 2019. A spokesperson for the billionaire said Wexner provided background information, was told he was not a target of the investigation and was never contacted again.

After the barrage of Epstein-related ads against him, the Husted campaign punched back with ads attacking Brown for accepting donations from a number of individuals whose names arose in the Epstein documents. They included Wexner’s wife Abigail, former U.S. Treasury secretary and Harvard president Larry Summers and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Brown accepted no donations from Wexner himself, Federal Election Commission records show.

Husted's campaign also takes issue with the claim in Brown's ads that he “voted to cover up the Epstein files.” Campaign spokesperson Amy Natoce said “there has only been one vote” that counts on the matter — the one in November on the Epstein Files Transparency Act — and Husted voted yes. She called the earlier vote “procedural.”

Wexner, who is 89, is the magnate behind The Limited, Victoria's Secret and other retail giants. He stated under oath during his February congressional deposition that he never lobbied or asked Husted or anyone else to block the release of the Epstein files. He told members of Congress that he was “duped by a world-class con man.”

Natoce said Husted donated all available Wexner contributions — $34,300 — to an anti-human trafficking charity. The remaining balance had been spent in past campaign cycles.

Brown did not return any of his donations from about a dozen individuals named in the files, who Husted's ad described as “Epstein associates” even though none was accused of any crimes.

A traveling exhibit that includes Epstein victims is coming to Ohio

The Epstein Reading Room tour is an exhibit that displays more than 3 million pages released by the Justice Department. It has plans to make at least 20 more stops, including Ohio on Oct. 8.

Annie Farmer, an Epstein accuser who has been part of the tour, said the idea that some candidates have received donations from wealthy people with ties to Epstein means they will have an incentive to keep burying the truth.

She was 16 when she said Epstein abused her and her sister, Maria Farmer, in the 1990s. Maria alleges her sexual assault took place in 1996 in New Albany, Ohio, where Epstein had a house while working for Wexner, whose estate is located there.

During his deposition, Wexner testified that he never heard of Maria Farmer until her name appeared in media reports and that he didn’t know whether she had ever stayed on his property.

The accusers are demanding that the Department of Justice do more to investigate the wealthy who for decades helped enable Epstein’s abuse. The Associated Press does not name victims of sexual abuse unless they have come forward publicly.

“We should be asking hard questions to everyone who is related to Epstein and is financially supporting politicians. Are they hoping to benefit from silence?” Annie Farmer said. “To people with that much wealth, they feel they don’t have to play by the same set of rules. That’s what many people are saying is not right.”

Epstein case resonates in congressional campaigns

At the reading room tour’s first stop in Dallas, Farmer and other accusers met with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico and Democrat Gina Hinojosa, who is running to unseat Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Talarico criticized his opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, for not meeting with the accusers and called on him to use his position to sue the federal government for its handling of the Epstein files' release.

In Omaha, Nebraska, independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn pledged to prioritize fighting for justice for victims after visiting a smaller version of the exhibit and meeting some of Epstein's accusers. He has criticized his Republican opponent, Sen. Pete Ricketts, for being slow to back the release of the Epstein files.

In Ohio, the Epstein issue continues to anger — and divide — voters across the political spectrum.

A day after Husted announced he would donate his remaining Wexner contributions to charity, he stepped into a Norwalk coffee shop on a campaign stop and, according to the local news account, was heckled as a “pedophile protector.” And Brown has been forced to defend his decision not to offload the donations he received from individuals named in the files, as Husted did.

“They’re not tied in any way, the way the co-conspirator is tied in,” Brown told CNN earlier this year.

With Ohio's early voting starting in less than two weeks, Brown is continuing to focus on Husted’s Wexner contributions. On his X account earlier this month, Brown marked the one-year anniversary of Husted's vote on the failed Democratic amendment to release all the Epstein files by posting a video. It asked why Husted “would side with the billionaires instead of these victims.”

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Olson reported from New York.

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The Associated Press’ women in the workforce coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content.

“The Malvinas for us is a national cause,” Milei, a strong ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, said Wednesday while addressing the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

Milei accused the United Nations of failing to enforce international resolutions that urge the parties to “refrain from introducing unilateral changes while the dispute remains unresolved." He also called on Britain to resume negotiations to “find a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute.”

“The Malvinas issue is not merely a matter between Argentina and the United Kingdom; it is also a question regarding this organization’s ability to enforce its own resolutions,” he said.

The dispute has escalated in recent weeks

Milei has recently stepped up his efforts to draw attention back to the islands after facing some criticism of his strengthening ties with Britain and his professed admiration for Margaret Thatcher, who in 1982 led the British campaign to retake the archipelago during the Falklands War.

Following Argentina’s invasion of the Falklands under the country’s then-military dictatorship, Thatcher sent a task force all the way down the Atlantic and retook the islands after just 73 days of Argentine control. The war killed 649 Argentine and 255 British troops.

Earlier this month, Milei escalated the dispute with Britain, vowing new measures to halt an oil project near the British-controlled archipelago and praising Trump for saying Washington could reconsider its neutral stance on the islands’ sovereignty.

His government last week introduced a sweeping security bill that would toughen sanctions on companies exploiting resources around the islands without Argentine authorization, create a national security council chaired by Milei and expand the military’s role in protecting critical Argentine infrastructure.

Speaking to global leaders at the U.N. on Wednesday, Milei intensified his criticism.

“Today I come to say that Argentina will not sit and wait for the U.N. and the international community to live up to their own mandate,” he said.

He also sharply criticized the United Nations and its role, accusing it of becoming “a useless organization that serves only to feed a caste of fatally arrogant parasites masquerading as well-intentioned bureaucrats.”

Britain says it will ‘stand firm’

Against the backdrop of Milei’s recent remarks, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham also addressed the dispute during this high-profile diplomatic week, stating Tuesday that the U.K.’s position is “clear” and that it will “stand firm” in the face of any threats.

“We will defend the ​right of ​the ⁠Falkland Islanders to self-determination and to remain British,” ​Burnham told reporters following a meeting with Trump late Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N.

In August, Trump said he was reviewing the United States’ neutral position over the remote South Atlantic archipelago as he criticized Britain for not doing enough to support the U.S. war against Iran.

The Falklands, which Argentines call the Malvinas, are a small archipelago of about 3,500 people located around 300 miles (480 kilometers) east of the southeast coast of Argentina. They have been a British overseas territory since 1833. In a 2013 referendum, the islanders voted overwhelmingly to remain a British overseas territory, with 99.8% voting in favor and just three votes against.

Caesars has a dominant presence on the Las Vegas Strip, operating hotels like Caesars Palace, the Flamingo and Harrah's. It also operates casino resorts across the United States.

Fertitta owns Las Vegas' Golden Nugget and restaurant chains like Rainforest Cafe and Morton's. Billionaire owner Tilman Fertitta is the largest shareholder in Wynn Resorts and the sports betting company DraftKings. Fertitta stepped back from his role as president and director of his company following his April 2025 confirmation as U.S. ambassador to Italy and San Marino.

Tuesday's vote took place in Reno, Nevada, with over 133 million votes in favor of the merger and 4 million votes against, according to a Wednesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The merger was first announced in May, with Fertitta agreeing to pay $5.7 billion and take on close to $12 billion in debt from Caesars, putting the total value of the deal at about $17.6 billion.

Caesars and Fertitta still must complete the federal antitrust review process. If it goes through, Caesars will become a privately-held company. Its shareholders will get $31 in cash for each share they own.

Detectives with the sheriff’s office and Warren Police Department executed the search warrants at a home in the 5000 block of Paladin Drive on Sept. 17, with assistance from the Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators say 45-year-old Mark Cholagh, of Macomb Township, was taken into custody after officers located and seized the pills, three rifles, seven handguns, multiple magazines and rounds of ammunition, drug paraphernalia and packaging materials, and nearly $16,000 in U.S. currency.

Cholagh was subsequently charged with one count of delivery/manufacture of a controlled substance (cocaine, heroin or another narcotic) 50 to 449 grams, a 20-year felony; one count of delivery/manufacture of a controlled substance (schedules 1, 2 and 3 except marijuana and cocaine), a 7-year felony; and one count of felony firearm.

His bond was set at $100,000 cash/surety, which Cholagh paid, and has now been released from custody. He is due back in court for a probable cause conference at 1 p.m. Oct. 5.

Three others were wounded in the late-night mass shooting Tuesday in KwaMakhutha township, which is located about 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of the city of Durban on the east coast.

The motive for the shooting wasn't known, but some of the shooting victims were known to authorities as part of investigations into criminal activity, police said.

Police didn’t give out any more information on those investigations, saying it could compromise them.

“Although the motive of the shooting cannot be confirmed yet, (a) feud between rival groupings cannot be ruled out,” the South African Police Service said in a statement.

Ten people, including the pregnant woman, died at the scene and an 11th was declared dead at a hospital. Authorities didn't immediately give out details on the condition of the three people who were wounded.

They opened the door and ‘gunshots went off’

Nomusa Zulu, a community member, said two men killed in the shooting were her sons. She said witnesses told her that the victims had first gathered in the yard of the house, then went inside to continue the party as night fell and it became cold.

“They heard a knock at the door,” Zulu said. “When they opened the door, gunshots went off.”

Police are searching for the gunmen

Police said they were searching for three men and no arrests had been made, but the acting national police commissioner ordered local police to deploy officers in a special 72-hour operation to track down the suspects.

Thami Ntuli, the premier of KwaZulu-Natal province, told reporters at the scene that the killings were “really disturbing” and called on community members to provide any information they might have that would help find the gunmen. He said that there were known problems with drug dealing and illegal firearms in the largely poor community, where some of the houses are just a few meters apart with no fences or walls in between.

Ntuli confirmed in a statement that the woman who was killed was pregnant.

There have been several mass shootings in South Africa recently

It's the latest in a series of mass shootings in South Africa recently, including one in June when multiple shooters killed 12 people in a poor neighborhood in Johannesburg that police linked to criminal gangs. Two mass shootings two weeks apart in December killed 21 people. They were also carried out by multiple gunmen.

South Africa has extremely high rates of violent crime, with official police statistics recording 5,427 homicides in the latest three-month period between April and June at an average of nearly 60 homicides a day.

Shootings are the most common form of homicide in South Africa, and police and crime experts have long said that one of the biggest problems is that there is a high number of illegal firearms in circulation.

The army is being used to combat violent crime in some areas

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa authorized the deployment of soldiers on the streets in some areas earlier this year to combat violent crime in what critics said was an admission that police were failing.

Soldiers were deployed to areas around Johannesburg, the city of Cape Town and in Eastern Cape province on the south coast in the ongoing operation, but not to KwaZulu-Natal province where the latest shooting happened.

The bodies of some of the victims of Tuesday night's shooting were laid out on the ground and covered with white sheets outside the house where the shooting took place. They were later carried away on stretchers to pathology vans.

Police cordoned off the neighborhood with yellow tape while forensic investigators worked through the scene.

Police were also investigating if the torching of a car near the house was connected to the shooting.

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

The quarterback could brood over that devastating moment. Or he could focus on moving forward for Saturday's visit from Appalachian State.

“The last several days have been good,” Bailey said after practice Wednesday, four days after losing a fumble in the end zone that Vanderbilt recovered for a last-second touchdown. "A lot of guys have my back, Coach (Dave) Doeren, everybody in the facility.

“They've been leaning on me, I've been showing up. I've been waking up on the right side of the bed every morning, feeling good.”

It marked the first time the third-year starter had spoken to reporters since the loss, which came after N.C. State (1-2) led 31-28 and faced a fourth-and-3 play from its own 5-yard line with 6 seconds left. Doeren said Monday the call was for Bailey to burn time before going down to take a safety, leaving Vanderbilt hoping for nothing short of a miracle with nearly no time left.

And yet, that's exactly what happened.

Bailey had space to take a knee or scramble out of the back of the end zone. Instead, he started running toward the oncoming desperation pass rush, then took a hit that knocked the ball loose for Vanderbilt's winning recovery in a shocking moment.

Bailey said he “just was trying to get all the clock out.”

“The biggest thing was just hold the ball, bro,” he said. “That was the biggest thing. I was just trying to run around and make a play, being competitive. That’s who I am, I'm a competitive guy. I was just competing to the final second and it happens. I fumbled the ball, I’m going to kick myself up and keep going.”

Offensive lineman Teague Andersen was one of the first teammates to reach Bailey in the end zone and help him up. Andersen said Bailey was “pretty distraught” afterward.

Still, Andersen said Wednesday, he offered his QB an immediate message: "Dude, no matter what happens, bro, I've got your back.”

That kind of support carries Bailey now. Bailey said his mother is in town and made some home-cooked meals. He said he's heard words of encouragement from outside the program, too.

The list included former Wolfpack passing great and longtime NFL star Philip Rivers, as well as Peyton and Eli Manning, team spokeswoman Annabelle Myers said. Bailey previously attended the Manning Passing Academy, an annual camp attracting some of the nation's top college QBs.

Bailey patiently fielded questions Wednesday with an almost happy-go-lucky demeanor, pointing to optimism from how the team has practiced. He said he had addressed teammates with a key message.

“I just said: ‘We’ve got a long season,'" Bailey said, “'we've got so many more games and so many more plays that we can make.'”

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Ethiopian Airlines said it suspended flights to Tigray’s capital Mekelle and the cities of Axum and Shire “due to the current situation,” without providing further details.

The regional government said in a statement it had instructed its fighters to enter into “defensive war” after federal forces attacked Tigray on Tuesday using drones and heavy artillery.

The African Union Commission chairperson, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, called for restraint and immediate de-escalation.

In a statement, he expressed concern over the renewed tensions and occupation of the airport, saying these actions risk destabilizing the region and reversing gains made in a 2022 peace agreement.

He also condemned the “detention of federal personnel by the Tigray People's Liberation Front," but did not give details.

US Ambassador threatens sanctions

The U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin J. Massinga expressed disappointment over the fighting, calling it a “poor decision” and threatening sanctions.

Rejecting dialogue sponsored by the African Union and "engaging in an unwinnable fight does nothing for the people. Other armed groups would be wise to avoid this. While the U.S. has tools to sanction additional leaders who try to push Ethiopia down the wrong path, I still believe a reasonable political dialogue is the right way to go,” he wrote in a statement.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front Deputy Amanuel Assefa termed the African Union and U.S. positions “unfair,” accusing them of “turning a blind eye to airstrikes by the federal government”.

On Tuesday, the U.S Bureau of African Affairs condemned a drone strike on a Catholic Relief humanitarian assistance convoy in Tigray and called for investigations without stating which side was responsible.

A taxi driver told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the airport, which is usually controlled by federal forces, was occupied by fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front carrying light arms.

The driver, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, said a commander ordered him to leave the airport, saying no flights would be landing.

The takeover appeared to be peaceful, with no gunfire heard in or around the airport.

No other airlines fly to the region, although it is reachable by chartered flight.

The news came three days after seven opposition groups, including the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, formed an alliance aimed at removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his government.

Abiy’s Prosperity Party retained power in a June general election that was boycotted by the main opposition groups.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front fought federal forces during a deadly conflict in northern Ethiopia that ended with the signing of a peace agreement in November 2022. But since July there have been reports of drone attacks in Tigray, with the regional government accusing the federal forces of attacks.

Former Tigray lead peace negotiator Getachew Reda, now an adviser to the prime minister, accused the Tigray People’s Liberation Front of attacks in neighboring Afar and Amhara despite efforts to avoid another war.

“It has taken over federal controlled airports in Tigray leading to the suspension of flights to and from Tigray. The TPLF politico-military leadership has obviously taken irresponsibility to new heights,” he wrote on X.

The opposition groups announced the formation of a coalition they called the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival on Sunday.

Co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons kept the focus of their Spring-Summer 2027 collection firmly “waist down,” revisiting the subject of a traveling Prada exhibition staged two decades ago. That new show examined the place in contemporary wardrobes of one of humanity’s oldest garments: the skirt.

The collection arrived amid an uproar in Italy over remarks by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani suggesting that women who wear longer skirts are more faithful. Tajani later apologized, saying he had not intended to offend women. The coincidental timing of the controversy only gave resonance to a collection that treats the skirt as a way for women to express themselves — at any length.

Recasting an ancient form for modern times

For practicality and creativity, nothing surpasses the skirt, according to Prada, who favors skirts in her own wardrobe, including a pink silk one she wore for a backstage preview before the runway show that opened Milan Fashion Week on Tuesday.

“If you want to have a normal life, go wherever you want. It’s easy to camouflage even a beautiful skirt,’’ she said. “You need to camouflage the beauty so that you can live with people.”

The creative directors’ decision to keep trousers and dresses out of this collection was inspired by an old video interview of Prada likening the skirt to a T-shirt for men, as “the place where she can put all her ideas,” Simons said.

From the swath of material that ancient man wrapped around the waist, Prada used a rectangular piece of material as the collection’s starting point, which Prada said became the framework for creativity.

Using the skirt as a creative canvas

Reversing the runway convention of emphasizing the female bodice, black tops in varying styles provided a blank canvas for the first group of skirts.

Woolen numbers fastened with industrial Velcro to allow adjustable slits Sheer nylon formed feminine pleats, while short cotton skirts in naïve prints peeked from beneath coats and sheer crinoline overlaid crumpled silken skirts with flattened ruffles.

Bralettes, bandeaus and bustiers, tiny though they were, offered another outlet for expression. They included scoop-neck bralettes, bandeaus linked to arm bands and bustiers worn unhooked over homely knitwear.

Footwear ranged from silk slingbacks to industrial perforated-leather pumps, while handbags included canvas purses in bright colors.

Rather than proposing complete looks, the collection offered building blocks for self-expression.

“I think you can express complexity,” Prada said. “Everything is so complex — how can you be just one thing? When you express yourself, it is not that you are feminine, sexy, masculine; you are so many things together."

First in line is “bimpert,” a Bermudian word of unknown origin that is used to describe a stupid or foolish person. People on the tiny island in the north Atlantic often use it in this traditional phrase: “A bimpert is justah wuffless bye,” which roughly translates to: an idiot is just a worthless boy.

Another colorful addition is “hornerman,” a word used in the eastern Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago since 1975 to describe an unfaithful man or a man having a relationship with someone else's partner.

Leonard Alexander, a grocery store owner in Trinidad, chuckled at the inclusion of the word “hornerman.” He explained that to “horn” means being unfaithful, and now the world would know the term for a man who commits such an act.

“That’s our heritage, that’s what we grew up with,” Alexander said.

If someone in the Caribbean were to find out about such infidelities, they might be known “to get on,” which means to have an emotional outburst or make a scene, or “to cut someone’s tail,” meaning to beat someone.

Depending on the fallout from such infidelities, a woman might need “vex money,” which refers to “money carried or kept in a safe place by a woman, for use in an emergency or in any unexpected eventuality.”

Among other dark words that made the list is “jablesse,” defined as "a malevolent shape-shifting female spirit with one cloven hoof, which at night is said to assume the form of a beautiful woman to lure men to their deaths.” It is derived from “diablesse,” the French word for female demon.

Another supernatural entry is “douen." It is “typically depicted as short in stature, with backward-pointing feet, and wearing a large hat, said to be the spirit of a child who died before it could be baptized, and believed to lure children into the forest by calling their names,” according to the dictionary. It is a variation of the Spanish word “duende,” which means elf.

Avionne George, a 45-year-old maintenance technician in Trinidad, said formal recognition of such words helps preserve tradition for the younger generations: “Most of them are ignorant of certain terms from long ago like ‘douen.' They don’t know about ‘la jablesse.'”

Several food-related words were included this year: “shadeesh,” the Bermudian word for chorizo; “sugar cake,” made of grated coconut boiled with sugar, water and spices; and “peanut punch,” a wildly popular rich and frothy beverage made with peanuts or peanut butter, milk, sugar and several spices.

In the Caribbean, one might sit down to have a peanut punch with one’s “nana” or “nani,” Hindi words that are used to address one’s maternal grandparents. In Bermuda, one would sit down to partake with a “hamma,” or friend.

The final Caribbean English words added this year are “Trinbagonian,” which refers to people from both the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, and “canboulay,” which refers to Carnival festivities in Trinidad in the 1800s that celebrated the emancipation of slaves. They stem from a 1700s harvest festival that the British tried to quash, leading to riots reenacted to this day to mark the start of Carnival. Canboulay is derived from “burning cane,” which the dictionary noted was associated with “acts of defiance and rebellion.”

Sherwin Williams, a construction worker in Trinidad, said the inclusion of such words in the Oxford English Dictionary would help people around the world understand their Trinidadian origins. “People recognize us by our slang,” he said.

There are some 500,000 words and phrases in the Oxford English Dictionary, which details the history of words, some of which go back to the 11th century.

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Associated Press reporter Anselm Gibbs in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad contributed.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

After Tuesday night's games, the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros were tied for first place at 78-79. No full-season division champion has ever had a losing record.

In fact, no team has made the postseason with a sub-.500 record, unless you count a trio of participants from years the playoffs were temporarily expanded: In the 2020 season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, Milwaukee and Houston were both 29-31 and made the postseason. In 1981, the Kansas City Royals went 50-53 overall — but they were the AL West's top team in the post-strike second half, meaning they got in.

MLB expanded its postseason to 12 teams in 2022, raising the likelihood that a sub-.500 team would sneak into October at some point. Just a few weeks ago, it looked like the American League could have several clubs with losing marks in this year's playoffs. The AL Central's Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox have since reached 81 wins, so that won't happen. But the AL West title race could still yield a losing team.

In honor of that, here are 10 of the weakest teams to make the postseason, listed in chronological order with their records and run differentials in mind. Note that some of them went on lengthy postseason runs — so don't count out the Rangers or Astros just yet.

1973 New York Mets

Record: 82-79 (first in NL East)

Run differential: 20

Postseason: Beat Cincinnati 3-2 in NL Championship Series, lost to Oakland 4-3 in World Series

The rallying cry was “Ya gotta believe!” from reliever Tug McGraw. It wasn't easy when New York was in last place after an Aug. 30 loss, but the Mets went 21-8 the rest of the way to win the division by 1 1/2 games. Tom Seaver (19-10, 2.08 ERA, 18 complete games) was still at the peak of his powers, and New York held the Reds to eight runs in five games in the NLCS — a series best remembered for a brawl involving Bud Harrelson and Pete Rose. The Mets led the World Series 3-2 and had Seaver starting Game 6, but they couldn't close out the Athletics.

1984 Kansas City Royals

Record: 84-78 (first in AL West)

Run differential: minus-13

Postseason: Lost to Detroit 3-0 in ALCS

The Royals were 11 games under .500 in the middle of July, but they did enough to win the AL West. George Brett hit .284 — his worst average in a 14-year span from 1975-88 — and he was one of just two All-Stars on the team. The other was Dan Quisenberry, who had 44 saves while throwing 129 1/3 innings. He finished second in the Cy Young race behind fellow reliever Willie Hernández of the Tigers. Although Kansas City took the division almost by default in '84, the Royals improved to 91 wins the following year and won the World Series.

1987 Minnesota Twins

Record: 85-77 (first in AL West)

Run differential: minus-20

Postseason: Beat Detroit 4-1 in ALCS, beat St. Louis 4-3 in World Series

Frank Viola was the star of a pitching staff that otherwise offered little — aside from a trio of big names on the downside of their careers. Bert Blyleven allowed 46 home runs, Joe Niekro posted a 6.26 ERA and Steve Carlton made seven largely woeful starts for this Minnesota team. The Twins could hit, though. Kirby Puckett was third in the MVP race, while Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti and Tom Brunansky each surpassed 30 homers. Home-field advantage wasn't determined by record back then, so Minnesota had it in the ALCS despite finishing 13 games behind the Tigers, and again in the World Series after being 10 games worse than the Cardinals. The Twins went 6-0 at the Metrodome in the postseason.

1995 Colorado Rockies

Record: 77-67 (second in NL West, wild card)

Run differential: 2

Postseason: Lost 3-1 to Atlanta in NL Division Series

The first wild card in National League history was this Colorado team in a season shortened by the end of the 1994-95 work stoppage. The Rockies' ERA of 4.97 is the worst of the live ball era by a postseason team in a non-DH league. Colorado made up for that, not surprisingly, by leading the NL in runs. Dante Bichette led the league in home runs and RBIs and finished third in batting average.

2005 San Diego Padres

Record: 82-80 (first in NL West)

Run differential: minus-42

Postseason: Lost 3-0 to St. Louis in NLDS

Jake Peavy and a Trevor Hoffman-led bullpen helped San Diego reach the playoffs, but this team never looked the part. The Padres scored the fourth-fewest runs in all of baseball, and their starters went 52-60 with a 4.49 ERA. In the postseason, San Diego never had the lead at any point against the 100-win Cardinals. Game 1 was 8-0 after six innings, Game 2 was 6-1 after seven, and Game 3 was 7-0 after 4 1/2.

2006 St. Louis Cardinals

Record: 83-78 (first in NL Central)

Run differential: 19

Postseason: Beat San Diego 3-1 in NLDS, beat New York Mets 4-3 in NLCS, beat Detroit 4-1 in World Series

The Cardinals won at least 95 games four times under Tony La Russa, but their best postseason success came as a wild card in 2011 and with this team five years earlier. St. Louis nearly blew a seven-game lead in the division in the final two weeks of the regular season, but a roster with Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Chris Carpenter and a young reliever named Adam Wainwright always had a chance to get hot. Yadier Molina's homer — and Wainwright's strikeout of Carlos Beltrán — gave the Cardinals the pennant in an epic series with the Mets.

2017 Minnesota Twins

Record: 85-77 (second in AL Central, second wild card)

Run differential: 27

Postseason: Lost to New York Yankees in wild card game

After 103 losses in 2016, the Twins were in first place for a little while before eventually capturing the AL's final postseason spot and losing 8-4 to the Yankees. Byron Buxton played 140 games, the most of his career to date, and Brian Dozier hit 34 home runs. Joe Mauer had moved to first base by this point but was still quite good at the plate, batting .305. Ervin Santana led the rotation in his last good major league season. This team certainly wasn't great, but it was good enough in an AL that produced only five teams above .500.

2023 Miami Marlins

Record: 84-78 (third in NL East, second wild card)

Run differential: minus-57

Postseason: Lost to Philadelphia 2-0 in NL Wild Card Series

The Marlins posted the worst run differential to date by a postseason team — this year's Astros are currently at minus-59 — but Miami went 33-14 in one-run games. The pitching staff with Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Jesús Luzardo and Braxton Garrett helped Miami into the playoffs. Of the Marlins' top 12 players in plate appearances, seven of them finished with negative wins above replacement, according to Baseball Reference. The offense was basically batting champ Luis Arraez, designated hitter Jorge Soler and not much else. Miami lost 93 games the year before this playoff appearance and 100 the year after.

2023 Arizona Diamondbacks

Record: 84-78 (second in NL West, third wild card)

Run differential: minus-15

Postseason: Beat Milwaukee 2-0 in NLWCS, beat Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 in NLDS, beat Philadelphia 4-3 in NLCS, lost to Texas 4-1 in World Series

Just get in and anything can happen. These Diamondbacks were one of the best examples of that. Arizona started August with nine straight losses to fall below .500, but after doing enough to make the playoffs, they swept two division champions and then won the last two games of the NLCS on the road to capture the second pennant in franchise history. Arizona had a negative run differential in the regular season and was also outscored 30-21 in that series against the Phillies. It didn't matter.

2025 Cincinnati Reds

Record: 83-79 (third in NL Central, third wild card)

Run differential: 35

Postseason: Lost to Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 in NLWCS

The Reds had a respectable run differential but little star power aside from Elly De La Cruz and the often-injured Hunter Greene. Cincinnati beat out the Mets on a tiebreaker for the NL's final postseason spot — seven games behind the No. 2 wild card — and then made a quick exit. The Reds' best month was 15-11 and their worst was 12-15. Simply avoiding any extended slumps was enough to make the playoffs.

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See AP’s full MLB coverage here

The measure cleared the upper house 81-51 with seven abstentions. It marks a major step in Premier Giorgia Meloni’s drive to bolster energy security and meet climate goals, even though the construction of possible new reactors is still years away.

The bill, which earlier passed the lower Chamber of Deputies, establishes a legal framework for next-generation nuclear technologies. It authorizes the government to draft implementing decrees over the next 12 months covering reactor licensing, safety standards, waste management and criteria for future sites.

The vote puts Italy on a path toward reintroducing nuclear power after voters twice rejected it in national referendums, first in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and again following Japan’s Fukushima accident in 2011.

Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, minister for the environment and energy security, said the vote marked a historic step forward for Italy.

“Nuclear isn't a return to the past," he said. “When integrated with renewables, it's a winning technology, which can give extraordinary results for our energy security.”

Italy seeks energy security in resuming nuclear

Meloni’s government argues that rising electricity demand, climate targets and energy security concerns exposed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine justify bringing nuclear energy back into the country’s power mix.

Rather than reviving the large reactors of the past, the government is focusing on small modular reactors, or SMRs, and other advanced technologies that supporters say could be safer, more flexible and quicker to build.

The legislation does not authorize the construction of any reactors. Instead, it creates the regulatory foundation needed before future projects can be proposed, assessed and approved.

Italy was once among Europe’s nuclear pioneers, operating four reactors before a 1987 referendum effectively ended the program. Since then, the country has relied heavily on imported energy and has become one of Europe’s largest consumers of electricity generated by nuclear plants in neighboring countries.

The government says electricity demand could rise substantially in coming years as homes, businesses and transportation become increasingly electrified and as data centers and other energy-intensive technologies expand.

Broader acceptance of nuclear energy is growing

Italy’s move comes amid a broader European debate over nuclear power’s role in cutting carbon emissions and reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels. Countries including France and Poland are investing in new nuclear projects or planning major expansions.

Public attitudes in Italy appear to have shifted. A June 2026 survey by research firm Only Numbers found that about 55% of Italians support next-generation nuclear plants, with backing strongest among younger generations who have no direct memory of Chernobyl.

Even so, significant obstacles remain before any reactors could be built.

Italy still lacks a permanent national repository for radioactive waste from its previous nuclear program, with waste continuing to be stored at temporary facilities around the country. Future reactor projects and waste storage sites are also expected to face opposition from local communities.

Energy analysts have questioned the economics of nuclear power, pointing to high construction costs and the lack of commercially proven SMR projects operating at scale in Europe. Industry estimates place the cost of a single 300-megawatt SMR at between 3 billion and 6 billion euros ($3.5 billion and $7 billion), excluding additional infrastructure and grid expenses.

Environment groups Greenpeace Italy, WWF Italia, the Kyodo Club and Legambiente called the legislation an “empty box filled with false promises” that went against the will of Italian voters in past referendums.

“Nuclear power does not solve any of the many problems Italy currently faces, in the midst of its second energy crisis in the last four years,” the groups said in a joint statement.

New reactors still a long way off

Michele Governatori, a senior energy adviser at climate and energy think tank ECCO, welcomed the creation of a regulatory framework but said it would likely expose limited private-sector appetite for new nuclear projects.

“Having a regulatory framework in place is positive, but it will also make clear the limited interest of private investors in technologies that are either not competitive today or not yet ready, such as SMRs,” he said.

Governatori also said that Italy should focus on measures already available to cut energy costs and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, including electrification, energy efficiency, renewable energy, storage capacity and power-grid upgrades.

Environmental groups and opposition parties have already signaled resistance to the government’s plans and could challenge future projects once specific reactor and waste-storage sites are proposed.

The 22-year-old man, Andrea Moretti, specialized in working at altitude on ropes. He had been installing cabling for the project that was expected to be completed next month and died inside the Colosseum, the archaeological site's press office said.

Premier Giorgia Meloni said that the government was deeply shocked and saddened by the death and called for the cause to be determined as quickly as possible.

“Dying at the age of 22 is unacceptable — even more so when it happens in the workplace,” she said in a statement.

Authorities are working to determine the circumstances of Moretti's death, the park's statement said. A separate statement late Wednesday said the park would remain closed on Thursday to mourn Moretti and in solidarity with his family.

Representatives of Italy's main union, CGIL, were on site after the death to request information about Moretti's employer and contract and said that closing the monument was the least Rome authorities could do to honor his memory.

The Colosseum attracted 14.7 million visitors in 2024, according to Culture Ministry statistics. It topped the list of Italy's most-visited monuments, followed by Florence's Uffizi Galleries and the ancient ruins of Pompeii.

The Colosseum's closure on Wednesday caught thousands of tourists who had bought tickets and tours in advance by surprise. But many said they appreciated the gesture.

Colosseum authorities had allowed the first morning tours to go ahead as planned, with just the Colosseum's second tier closed. But they then closed the entire monument to visitors after the first group had exited.

Rachel Townsand, a tourist from New Zealand, said that she was disappointed.

“But then after looking up what’s happened, then it’s understandable,” she said.

“We search to find things that aren’t elsewhere,” said Susan, whose boutique is housed by a building that turned 150 years old last year. She shared that her boutique is hosting fashion week through September 25th, featuring exclusive limited time discounts and gifts with purchases.

Vitrine will host its fall fashion show on Sunday, September 27th.

Click here to learn more about Vitrine and to purchase fashion show tickets. Click the video above to watch the full segment!

The defiant speech by President Masoud Pezeshkian marked a striking instance of a foreign leader addressing the world body while their country is at war with the host nation. While defending his country, Pezeshkian held up large photos of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the more than 150 Iranian schoolchildren killed on the first days of the war.

“We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” Pezeshkian said at the General Assembly. “Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country. And we defended ourselves with utmost strength. America and Israel attacked us.”

He added of the United States: “Yes they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee.” Toward the end of his speech, Pezeshkian called out Trump by name.

“It must be understood by Mr. Trump and those who seek to bully us that we are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force,” he said.

Shortly after, both U.S. and Israeli officials blasted the speech, saying that it was hypocritical for the Islamic Republic to present itself as the victims of the world.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters: “I don’t know what standing Iran has to lecture anyone on human rights or the international system when they habitually violate it.”

A busy 24 hours for US-Iran relations

Arriving in New York under heavy security and scrutiny, Pezeshkian — who, within Iran’s political landscape, is considered a moderate politician — addressed world leaders a day after Trump used the same stage to mull whether to massively escalate a war that has already spiraled out of control.

“I have a big decision to make,” Trump said in his wide-ranging address Tuesday. “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world. Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”

Hours after those stunning threats, Trump told reporters that his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met for about three hours with the Iranian officials on the sidelines of the annual gathering. But he offered few details about how the discussions transpired or the substance of the exchange.

“It was a very good meeting,” Trump said. The president later added that the Iranian officials were “not the highest level, but it’s something.” Also on Tuesday, Rubio said Trump is open to meeting with Pezeshkian while he’s in New York.

But Tehran downplayed Tuesday's unscheduled exchange, which were the first indirect talks between U.S. and Iranian officials since a June ceasefire unraveled. Esmail Baghaei, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, maintained the country's negotiating position in talks with U.S. officials, demanding that Washington end its blockade of Iranian ports and release frozen Iranian assets,

Baghaei said the talks — conducted indirectly through Qatari mediators — were “not anything new.”

Rubio echoed that sentiment Wednesday, saying that “it was a continuation of conversations that have occurred in the past.”

“If there’s an opportunity to exchange ideas and messages, we will. And that’s what largely yesterday was — it was positive in that regard," he said. "But ultimately, I don’t want to mischaracterize this as a major breakthrough."

More than a year of negotiations have taken place

Pezeshkian's address elaborated on where Tehran stands as more than a year of start-stop negotiations between the two longtime adversaries have failed to produce a sustainable solution. His speech came as intermittent attacks continued in the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast, where commercial shipping remained below prewar levels.

His address last year came months after the 12-day Israel-Iran war that saw the assassination of many of the Islamic Republic’s highest military and political leaders and once again broke down weeks of negotiations with the United States.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you all bore witness that this past June, my country was subjected to a savage aggression and flagrant contravention of the most elementary principles of international law,” Pezeshkian said at the time.

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Associated Press Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in New York contributed to this story.

“Deafness can be hereditary,” explained Ian Ouzts with Michigan Humane. “Certain breeds and certain colorings even can be more prone to it, like pitties that are all white.”

Ouzts also explained that deafness can be caused by ear infections, trauma, or aging.

“Some things to watch out for is maybe they’re not responding to verbal cues or their ears aren’t twitching towards sounds,” Ouzts said.

Michigan Humane has multiple pets that are looking for their forever home, including a 3-year-old mixed breed dog named Marge.

“She can be a little bit shy in new environments, but she is a very big love bug when she gets used to you,” Ouzts said.

Watch the video above to meet Marge.

The UEFA president, in rare public comments two months into the divisive global rift in soccer, did not cite Infantino by name but said “not everyone places the game above their own ambitions.”

“The project that shattered the unity of world football may be abolished, but the trust it broke has not returned, and repairing it is our work now,” Ceferin said in a video message to an audience of soccer and business executives in Lisbon.

Ceferin led UEFA’s backlash in July that helped stop Infantino’s plan to sell at least 20% of FIFA’s future commercial rights for $4.2 billion to investors led by Josh Kushner, the brother of U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Though Infantino dropped the plan within days, UEFA said it would work toward removing him from office — before or at the FIFA presidential election in March — and preparing a criminal complaint against him in Switzerland for alleged financial mismanagement.

“Trust in our sport rests on three pillars: unity, transparency, and governance that serves the many, not the few,” Ceferin, a Slovenian lawyer, said Wednesday.

“In recent times, all three were disregarded by people who had sworn to protect them,” he said.

FIFA and Infantino have said the plan to create a FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) commercial spinoff was to accelerate development of soccer worldwide, outside the wealthy power base of Europe.

Countdown to find an election candidate to challenge Infantino

Ceferin has ruled out being a candidate in the FIFA election, where Infantino seeks a fourth and final term in office through 2031 to complete a 15-year presidency.

There were “many, many” potential candidates capable of challenging Infantino, Ceferin told reporters last week in Greece, after a UEFA executive committee meeting in Thessaloniki.

FIFA has a Nov. 18 deadline to enter the election contest, four months before the vote by 211 member federations in Morocco — a key ally of Infantino, where the governing body has its African headquarters near Rabat.

UEFA's suggested $10M payments counters FIFA's $20M offer

FIFA’s 211 members effectively already own the Zurich-based not-for-profit soccer body which has at least $5 billion in cash reserves after the 2026 World Cup in North America.

Infantino planned to offer the 211 members $20 million each this year to approve the FFE project. It would have been a subsidiary controlling tens of billions of dollars of commercial rights for all future World Cups, Club World Cups and other tournaments.

UEFA and its continental allies, the North American soccer body CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation, have said FIFA can afford to spend $2.1 billion giving each member a $10 million one-off payment from the reserves without involving investors.

Offer from Infantino to review how FIFA operates

Infantino moved this week to calm critics of his hands-on executive presidency by offering to open an independent review of FIFA’s governance standards and decision-making. He is scheduled to chair a meeting of his 37-member FIFA Council, that includes Ceferin, on Oct. 15 in Zurich.

UEFA asked last month for an independent review of the FFE project that was secretly developed over the past year without some FIFA senior management knowing.

Infantino has a checkered history with independent oversight of FIFA. In 2017, one year before the men's World Cup in Russia, FIFA removed its most senior governance official who had enforced conflict-of-interest rules to stop Vitaly Mutko, who was a Russian deputy prime minister, from standing as an election candidate to retain his seat on FIFA's ruling committee.

That removal of Portuguese academic Miguel Maduro prompted three of his independent colleagues on the FIFA governance panel — including former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, a South African judge — to resign in protest.

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Steve Simmons, owner of the Fitt Factory in Canton, describes your core as your foundation and explains that it can carry over into everything you do.

“If you’re picking things up, grabbing things, reaching, stooping, bending...that’s your foundation, your core right there. So I tell people your core can’t be strong enough,” Simmons said.

Watch the video above to see Simmons share multiple exercises that can strengthen your core, aside from a typical sit-up or crunch.

From Texas to Ohio and Alaska to Iowa, campaigns are grappling with a fed-up electorate that is sour on the president and angry over soaring fuel prices driven by an unpopular war. While Republicans are flush with unprecedented cash that could move the needle in some races, overall the mood is glum heading into the election's final stretch as campaigns try to counter palpable Democratic enthusiasm to maintain their narrow lead in the House and Senate this November.

“Everybody is tired. You see the poll numbers. Everybody is cranky about gas prices,” said Jeanette Hoffman, a Republican strategist from New Jersey. “The party in power is playing defense. This is a referendum on the incumbents.”

Trump is trying to protect Republicans with cash

After mounting pressure from endangered candidates in battleground states, groups affiliated with President Donald Trump finally began unleashing their stockpile of campaign cash earlier this month, joining with Republican committees that have amassed a record fortune that dramatically eclipses their Democratic counterparts.

“Republicans have air superiority. House Democrats are scrambling to catch up with the very limited resources they have,” said Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

But the spending underscores the extent to which Republicans are playing defense.

Three Trump-aligned groups — MAGA Inc., No Going Back PAC and Safety and Affordability PAC — have spent more than $163 million on advertising and air time since Sept. 1. Nearly 40% of that money — more than $63 million — has been spent in states and districts where Trump won by 10 percentage points or more in the 2024 election, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from AdImpact, which tracks media spending and ad buys.

That includes 12 House districts and three states with major Senate races.

In Texas, Republicans have spent nearly $107 million on ads and reservations since the beginning of the month trying to bolster scandal-plagued attorney general Ken Paxton in his Texas Senate race against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. The spending, which is for ads through Election Day, is nearly four times as much as Democrats in a state Trump won by nearly 14 points.

Further north in Ohio, Republican spending to defend Sen. Jon Husted has exceeded $152 million, compared with $90 million on behalf of Democratic nominee Sherrod Brown, according to AdImpact.

Terry Casey, an Ohio Republican strategist, said both Republicans and Democrats are "kind of sitting on pins and needles because of the national and economic circumstances.” The outcome, he said, would depend on whether Democrats can turn out voters.

Democrats are competing in Republican strongholds

States that Trump won by wide margins — like Texas, Iowa, Ohio and Alaska — have become some of the most competitive battlegrounds in the midterms.

The White House is even investing time in states that haven't been considered competitive for years. Vice President JD Vance recently traveled to Kansas to campaign for Sen. Roger Marshall, who is facing a challenge from Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton.

The founder of the nation’s largest United Methodist church, Hamilton received a rousing welcome from scores of people who crammed into a Topeka coffee shop to see him Tuesday.

“In all my 50, 60 years in politics, I’ve never seen a candidate that quite has the momentum going,” said Jim Ploger, an 82-year-old longtime Democratic activist from Topeka who believes Hamilton gives the party “the best chance we’ve ever had” to win a Senate seat.

Vance has also been to Iowa, Ohio, Maine and North Carolina to bolster Republican candidates, while Trump is also hitting the road. The week after the party's unusual midterm convention in Dallas, he traveled to North Carolina to hold a rally with Michael Whatley, his former national party chairman. Republicans are increasingly concerned that he could fall short in his Senate race against Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper.

There are more concerns about Georgia, where Rep. Mike Collins is trying to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Although Ossoff began the cycle as Republicans' top target, Collins has endured weeks of negative headlines about a House ethics investigation and his son-in-law's white nationalist views.

“I don’t think anyone’s expecting Collins to win,” said Tim Waters, chairman of the Peach County Republican Party. “Do I like that? No, I don’t like that. But it’s just the facts.”

In Texas, officials are hoping a huge influx of last-minute cash will help save Paxton. Sen. John Cornyn, who lost his primary to Paxton after Trump turned on him earlier this year, isn't so confident.

“I think it’s going to be very rough, lots of headwinds,” he said. “Even in places like Texas, which are pretty red, we’ve got flawed candidates who I think are going to have a hard time.”

Republican National Committee spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said the party is focused on turnout and is well aware of the historic trend in which the party in control typically loses seats in the midterm.

“We have money to spend and we’re not taking anything for granted this cycle," she said. “This is very high stakes, and it's unfortunate that other people feel glum and down. But we’re doing everything we can to protect and expand our majorities so we’re full steam ahead.”

Party officials are more bullish on races in Maine and New Hampshire, where Democrat Kamala Harris won in 2024, and remain optimistic about Michigan, where Trump won by less than two points and where former Rep. Mike Rogers faces progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.

Some Republicans call for an end to the war

Some Republicans are taking steps to distance themselves from Trump even as he urges his supporters to vote like he is on the ballot.

Rep. Tom Tiffany and Rep. John James, the party's nominees for governor in Wisconsin and Michigan, both joined calls for an end to the war in Iran.

"War is terrible, and no one likes war,” James told reporters.

Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee in Michigan, released an ad in which he also called for ending the war. Standing in a grocery store, he bemoaned high prices and said the government should suspend gas taxes and stop diesel exports.

“The war with Iran needs to end and end quickly,” Rogers said. ”Michigan families can’t afford to wait.”

In Iowa, where Republicans are trying to hold onto the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Joni Ernst, Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is locked in a tight race against Democrat Josh Turek, voiced the same frustrations.

“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran” she wrote on social media. “These actions to lower costs are needed ASAP, and the war needs to be brought to a successful and immediate end.”

Hinson, however, did not join two fellow Iowa Republicans in battleground districts — U.S. Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks — in voting with Democrats on a resolution intended to halt Trump’s ability to continue military action without lawmakers’ approval.

Perhaps the most dramatic break with Trump came from Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican defending her seat in a competitive, majority Hispanic South Florida district. Last week, she released an ad filmed in front of the White House as she criticized the president for going “too far” on immigration policy.

Others have continued to scrub references to Trump from their websites. The latest was Republican Byron Donalds, who is running for governor in Florida, who recently revamped his site so that it no longer includes a number of prominent references to Trump and his endorsement, the Miami Herald first reported.

‘It’s a very competitive environment out there'

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said Trump “is the unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party” and that "the choice has never been more clear: doubling down on President Trump’s winning, commonsense agenda or the Democrats’ extreme liberal policies and obstruction.”

Some Republicans are acknowledging that voters aren't satisfied.

“We shouldn’t say, ‘Hey everything’s perfect,’ because it’s not," said Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio. "But look what we’ve done in 18 months, and we need two more years to finish the job.”

Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, who has traveled across the country campaigning for his colleagues, said Democrats appeared to have enthusiasm on their side in the midterms, and he said his party needed to level with the country.

“You can’t look the American people in the eye and say, ‘Don’t believe your lying checkbooks,’” he said. “The cost of living increase is real.”

He also said that voters are “confused about the war” and “they don't understand how we're going to get out.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was measured in his assessment on Tuesday.

“Well, I’m hopeful, obviously, but also realistic," he said. “It’s a very competitive environment out there.”

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Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writers Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pa., Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, John Hanna in Topeka, Kan., and Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick, Steven Sloan and Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed to this report.

According to the Lansing Police Department, officers were dispatched to the 600 block of E. Jolly Road around 4:20 a.m. after receiving 911 calls about an armed man who was banging on doors and windows in the area.

Police say the man was shot by an officer “at some point” after police arrived at the scene, but gave no additional details about the circumstances leading up to the shooting. No police officers or residents were injured during the altercation, officials said.

The investigation was turned over to Michigan State Police for review, as per department policy, and police say additional details will be shared as they become available.

It's called Imperia, and its members include CEOs, founders, innovators, entrepreneurs and others.

A lot of the first lady's attention has been on children, but, with Imperia, she is leaning on her business skills to encourage women to harness their economic power and help others understand women's role in a global economy.

“For generations, women fought for a seat at the table,” she told a meeting of the group. “The next chapter is about owning, growing and making space for the women who come next."

She said that means owning businesses, equity, real estate, capital and investment assets, along with “our ideas, our intellectual property and our economic future.”

“People still do not fully understand the full scale of women's power in the global economy,” she continued. “Women are not just part of the marketplace, simple participants. We are its foundation, and we are its infrastructure.”

In a rare television interview earlier Wednesday on Fox News Channel's “Fox & Friends” to promote Imperia, the first lady addressed several other subjects, including this week's state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, her efforts to reunite children separated from their families by Russia's war against Ukraine, her new docuseries and the extent of her public engagements.

Some recent news reports have said the first lady is appearing in public less often than during President Donald Trump's first term.

Melania Trump said the difference is that she is more focused on getting results.

“You don’t see me everywhere, but behind the scenes I’m working nonstop,” she said, citing as an example the preparations for her events in New York this week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly and for Xi’s visit. “I’m working on so many projects ... in the future. So stay tuned.”

She was deeply involved in the planning for Xi's visit in her role as first lady. She said her husband decided to personally greet China's leader after his plane lands because of their “great relationship.” President Trump typically greets leaders at the White House.

As of July, Melania Trump had helped reunite five groups of Ukrainian and Russian children with their families, work that underscores the more global approach she has taken during the Republican president's second term. She said that she has a “direct channel” with leaders from the warring countries and that her team is working on another reunification.

“This is ongoing, and we want to reunite as many children as possible,” the first lady said. “And that's my focus as well. What they’re going through, it’s heartbreaking. And it’s nothing better to see than a child reunite with the parents, right?”

The first lady also rang the opening bell at the NYSE in January before the release of her Amazon documentary, “Melania,” about her life in the weeks leading up to Donald Trump's inauguration for a second term in office. A new two-part docuseries featuring her will be released in the fall. She said it will be different from the documentary and teased that it will include some surprises.

“It’s more conversation, one on one with me,” the first lady said. “So when I was traveling and doing all of the filming, the director was asking me questions, and there are some private questions that I will answer that people never heard before. So it’s kind of exciting.”

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Follow the AP's coverage of first lady Melania Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/melania-trump.

Schaefer says the culprit is the required minimum distribution, or RMD - the age, either 73 or 75 depending on birth year, when the government requires retirees to start withdrawing from tax-deferred retirement accounts and paying tax on that money.

“By the time you get to RMD age, you’re going to have a whole heck of a lot more than $1 million,” Schaefer said, describing what can happen to an account that started retirement at $1 million with no distribution strategy in place.

That growth isn’t necessarily good news, he said. Larger balances can push retirees into higher tax brackets, raise Medicare premiums and make more of their Social Security benefits taxable.

The retirement “gap years” matter most

Schaefer said the period between retirement and RMD age is often overlooked, even though it may be the best window retirees have to reduce their future tax burden.

“You have 8 whole years to go ahead and execute on an IRA tax plan to get ahead of those RMDs,” he said, describing a hypothetical retiree who leaves work at 65 with an RMD deadline at 73.

The cost of waiting falls on the whole family

Delaying that planning doesn’t just affect the retiree, Schaefer said - it can pass tax consequences on to a surviving spouse and even to children.

“Your surviving spouse, well, they can end up having to pay tax on those dollars. And when they’re paying tax as a single filer, they’re going to get taxed much higher,” Schaefer said. He added that heirs who inherit retirement accounts often face the bill at their own working tax rates, which tend to be higher than their parents’ rates were.

A plan built around control, not chance

Golden Reserve’s approach centers on managing that tax exposure proactively rather than reactively, Schaefer said during an appearance on Live in the D.

“Our planning really is built around identifying a plan over the course of your retirement where we’re taking money out of those retirement accounts, paying the tax on it, and getting it growing again somewhere else after tax,” he said.

The ultimate aim, he said, is protecting the next generation from an unexpected bill.

“Making sure that your surviving spouse and your children aren’t potentially stuck with a huge tax bill that Uncle Sam’s controlling,” Schaefer said.

To watch the segment, click on the video above. For more information you can call 313-888-8884 or visit goldenreserve.com.

Disclaimer: The information provided is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the particular needs of an individual’s situation. Financial instruments involve risk. Actual customer results may vary. Subject to full terms and conditions available at: goldenreserve.com.

The work is expected to take place mostly north of 8 Mile Road and west of Livernois, with crews seeking access to rear utility easements on private properties.

Officials say the inspections will be conducted by AAG Edge on behalf of DTE, and crews will attempt to reach out to homeowners before entering. They will also be wearing vests and ID badges to identify them as DTE and/or AAG workers.

A DTE representative should be on site to answer questions, however residents can also reach out to Ferndale’s Department of Public Works at 248-546-2519 to share questions or concerns.

The state just picked its 40th official Christmas tree, a 60-foot spruce donated by the Larry Riccio family from Iron Mountain in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The tree will be cut down on Nov. 5, and then it will make its way to the state Capitol in Lansing.

“It is pretty cool to be able to say that your tree is the state Christmas tree,” said Larry Riccio. “When we first bought our house in 1986, the tree was quite large but now it has outgrown the property. Our family is excited and honored to donate this year’s tree.”

Once at the Capitol, local Boy Scout troops will continue the tradition of untying the tree before it is hosted into place near the intersection of Capitol and East Michigan avenues.

From there, the city of Lansing’s forestry team will prepare the tree for lighting and decorations. The tree will be lit during a tree-lighting ceremony set to take place Nov. 20 during the 42nd annual Silver Bells in the City celebration.

This year’s spruce is the second tree selected from Iron Mountain, and the 26th from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula since an official tree began being placed at the Capitol each holiday season in 1987.

Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane in action again before the Ballon d'Or is announced.

Cristiano Ronaldo's relentless pursuit of 1,000 career goals and Erling Haaland, no doubt, doing Erling Haaland things.

International soccer is back after the World Cup and soccer's biggest stars are ready to do it all again.

Messi, who announced his retirement from the national team this month, is slated to make his farewell with one last appearance in the Oct. 6 friendly game against Benin in Buenos Aires.

The man many regard as the greatest player ever was in tears after Argentina relinquished its World Cup title with a 1-0 loss to Spain in the final at MetLife Stadium. His dream of winning back-to-back tournaments and emulating Brazil great Pele ended in bitter defeat. At the age of 39, it was widely expected it would be his final tilt on soccer's biggest stage.

Messi's retirement came as little surprise — even after his outstanding performances at the World Cup — and a farewell in front of his home fans will give him the opportunity to bow out in style.

The president of the Argentine Football Association, Claudio Tapia, said it would be “the farewell he deserves.”

Ballon d'Or contenders

While Messi is saying his goodbyes, the next generation of stars are fiercely competing to take his place as the world's best.

Mbappé, Yamal and Kane are among the favorites to win the Ballon d'Or, which is based on performances up to and including the World Cup.

But this international window is another opportunity for those frontrunners to show their talents. Messi is also among the nominees.

The rivalry between Mbappé and Yamal echoes Messi's great battles with Ronaldo.

With Mbappé at Real Madrid and Yamal at Barcelona, it pits Spain's two most famous and successful clubs against each other once again in the race for the Ballon d'Or.

For more than a decade it was Messi of Barcelona and Ronaldo of Madrid who turned soccer's biggest individual award into what seemed like a personal duel.

Yamal, who won the World Cup with Spain as well as the Spanish title with Barcelona, is still just 19 years old and already considered among the best.

“When you’re talking about so many great players, ultimately, people look at things like: ‘Well, this one is better than that one, but maybe the other guy won this or that trophy.’ The advantage I have is that I managed to win the World Cup this year, and naturally, that gives me an edge. I think that’s logical," he told L’Equipe.

Mbappe did not win a second World Cup, but he did set a new record as the highest scorer in tournament history with 22 goals.

As for Kane, he was awarded the golden shoe as Europe's top scorer last season and has continued that form with six goals in seven appearances this term.

England plays world champion Spain at Wembley in the Nations League on Saturday.

France plays for the first time under new head coach Zinedine Zidane with the pick of its games coming against Italy in the Nations League Oct. 2.

Ronaldo's pursuit

He may have missed out on his last chance to win the World Cup, but Ronaldo's pursuit of another landmark achievement goes on.

The Saudi Pro League announced his 979th career goal earlier this month and the Portugal great is edging ever closer to the 1,000-mark. He would be the first player to officially hit that total.

The 41-year-old Ronaldo was included in Portugal’s squad by new coach Jorge Jesus for its upcoming Nations League games.

Another player relentlessly chasing down goals is Haaland, who made new fans around the world with his performances and social media antics at the World Cup. He has started this season in devastating form with seven goals in his last five games to help Manchester City to a 100% winning run.

Superstar coaches

The star appeal will not be limited to the pitch. A raft of coaching changes have seen some of the biggest names in soccer take over national teams.

Three-time Champions League-winning coach Zidane has succeeded Didier Deschamps with France. Liverpool icon Jurgen Klopp is in charge of Germany after another early exit from the World Cup.

They join serial winning coaches like Carlo Ancelotti (Brazil) and Thomas Tuchel (England) by leaving the club game for international soccer.

Zidane is the only coach to win three straight Champions League titles and France will hope he can be just as successful with the national team.

Klopp answered Germany's SOS after it failed to reach the last 16 of a men’s World Cup for the third time in a row. But he delivered a spiky news conference when unveiled in July — immediately threatening to resign.

He said he would be prepared to leave without any severance pay if it doesn’t work out, or if criticism becomes overwhelming, and said he would resign if the media doesn’t “leave my family in peace.”

One coaching great who resisted the temptation to join the international influx was Pep Guardiola despite being a reported target for Italy.

Instead Roberto Mancini is back in charge of the Italian national team, which he led to triumph at Euro 2020.

Not that he is relying on that to ease any pressure on him.

“I’m not in credit because that’s in the past, it doesn’t count for anything,” Mancini said.

Where to watch

U.S. viewers can only find most games via streaming platforms – Fubo has every match, while Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and DirecTV Stream have select games, too. Several matches will air on Fox stations FS1 or FS2. That includes Norway vs. Denmark on Thursday on FS1, England vs. Spain on Saturday on FS2 and France vs. Italy on Oct. 2 on FS1.

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

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See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Hikers on the North Country Trail crossed the West Branch Ontonagon River downstream of the Victoria Dam on Aug. 23 and saw three lake sturgeon in pools in the channel. The hikers reported the sturgeon to the DNR’s Report All Poaching hotline, and the DNR forwarded the report to local fisheries staff.

According to the DNR, there is little to no flow in the part of the channel where the sturgeon were found around this time of year.

Victoria Dam, operated by the Upper Peninsula Power Company, is a hydroelectric dam generating power for the region. Under its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license, flow is diverted from the river to generate hydroelectric power, then rejoins the West Branch Ontonagon River downstream, leaving much of the river channel between that point and the dam dry or partly dry for parts of the year.

DNR fisheries technicians responded and relocated two sturgeon to an isolated pool downstream, where the river reaches full flow, nearly a mile over land in rugged conditions.

DNR staff returned to the site to search more for the third sturgeon that was spotted there. They then found a large number of live sturgeon in a pool clouded with sediment. Staff safely moved ten more fish downstream, but they could not rescue all of them because of their location and the equipment they had on hand.

Staff returned for a third mission and found another 15 sturgeon, which they moved to safety. The DNR confirmed none were led into the dewatered stream channel.

Sturgeon have been stocked in the Ontonagon River since 1998. Since sturgeon are long-lived and still recovering in this system, the DNR said the loss of 27 fish could have been detrimental to that population.

Lake sturgeon have been listed as a threatened species in Michigan since 1994.

The DNR said that if you see something unusual, like fish somewhere they shouldn’t be or an unknown fish species you haven’t encountered before, you should report it. You can report observations here or by contacting your local fisheries biologist.

If a threatened species appears to be in immediate danger, you can report it to the DNR’s Report All Paching hotline at 800-292-7800.

With over 97% of the vote counted from three days of balloting that ended Sunday, election officials said the main Kremlin party, United Russia, will get more than three-fourths of the seats in the lower house, the State Duma, a record high. The tightly orchestrated vote excluded virtually any genuine opposition.

Voter turnout exceeded 59% of the 111 eligible million voters, the most for a parliamentary election in over a decade. Authorities had spread the voting over three days to boost attendance at the polls and included illegally annexed parts of Ukraine. Online voting also took place in some regions.

“Such a record number of people who come to cast ballots shows that the people of Russia support our efforts aimed at strengthening the country,” Putin said in televised remarks at a meeting with top government members, his first public remarks on the outcome.

Voting came amid Ukrainian attacks

The election took place against the backdrop of incessant Ukrainian drone attacks. On Sunday, Russia's Defense Ministry reported it downed 1,110 drones overnight.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 450 drones were downed while flying toward the city in what he described as “the largest ever” attack on the capital in a failed attempt to disrupt the vote. The attack, which damaged an oil refinery and a residential building, also killed three people and injured 38 in the wider Moscow region, officials said.

“They tried to hamper our efforts, to derail the election, as evidenced by the enemy’s continuous efforts to breach air defenses around Moscow and in other regions,” Putin said. “But lines at polling stations have shown that Russia can’t be intimidated.”

The parliamentary election was the first since Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the first to include residents of four regions of that country that were seized and illegally annexed by Moscow later that year. At a polling station in the Russian-held part of the Donetsk region, voters dropped their ballots in a box under the gaze of an armed Russian soldier.

Voting also was held in Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Kyiv denounced the voting in those regions as illegal.

Putin also addressed Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

“Comrades, I want you to know that it was the vote for you. People trust you, they believe in our victory, believe in your courage, heroism and your devotion to the Motherland,” he said.

“I have no doubt that all the goals we set for the special military operation will be fulfilled,” Putin said, using the Kremlin term for the war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin launched a massive media blitz

A massive state media campaign and tight control over the election allowed the Kremlin to strengthen its political dominance despite economic troubles and long-range Ukrainian drone attacks.

The preliminary results indicated that United Russia would get between 347 and 355 out of 450 Duma seats. It received just under 58% of the vote for the 225 seats apportioned by parties and also won 208 single-seat races that fill the other half of the chamber.

Several smaller parties representing the “systemic opposition” that vote in sync with the Kremlin on all key issues are set to fill most of the remaining seats. Just a handful will go to candidates who ran without a party affiliation.

The liberal Yabloko party, the only registered political entity that dared to publicly criticize the war, was removed from the ballot last month by Russia’s Supreme Court, and only had a few dozen candidates in the single-seat races. Preliminary results indicated that no Yabloko candidates won a seat.

The Associated Press, in partnership with KFF, polled more than 2,000 rural registered voters and found broadly negative views of the national and local economies, including among many Republicans. The costs of groceries, gas and healthcare rank as top pain points for the rural voters, who were surveyed over two weeks starting in mid-August. A larger share than among voters overall say they are worried about being able to afford groceries or gas.

At the same time, about half of rural voters approve of Trump’s job performance, more than among U.S. adults overall in separate AP-NORC polling.

The findings suggest that many rural voters have not turned on Trump but that they also largely do not think he has delivered the economic renaissance he promised in his campaign.

Ed Westrick, a registered Republican and veteran, rates Trump’s job performance as “mediocre, middle-of-the-road.” Westrick, who lives in rural Texas, is not sure he will cast a midterm ballot, a troubling sign for Republicans in a key state in their fight to keep control of Congress.

Rural Americans skew Republican and historically have been an instrumental group of voters for Trump. The survey reveals that while rural voters seem unlikely to support Democrats on a large scale, Trump and the Republican Party could face challenges with them in November.

Rural voters are deeply unhappy about the economy

As the election approaches, only about 4 in 10 rural voters approve of Trump’s performance on the economy. They rate him similarly on his handling of the Iran war, an entanglement that has proved expensive for the U.S. and increased oil and gas prices. Rural voters rank pocketbook concerns and fraud in government programs higher among the things they want to hear about from politicians than other perennial issues, such as gun policy and abortion.

Westrick, 59, is a technical trainer in the electronics industry and has seen an increase in business in part because he works with defense contractors, but he said he is concerned about the cost of living.

“I hear the politicians talk about making groceries more affordable and making healthcare more affordable, but yet none of them are addressing the issues,” Westrick said.

In the poll, about three-quarters of rural voters rated the cost of living in their communities as “only fair” or “poor” — a 25 percentage point rise from a similar question asked in a KFF-Washington Post survey in 2017. Rural Americans, who have consistently lower wages than those who live in suburban and metro areas, have been hurting economically for decades, according to Tim Slack, a professor of sociology at Louisiana State University and co-author of the book “Rural and Small-Town America.”

“Many folks are connecting the cost-of-living crisis to many of the Trump administration’s policy choices: the war in Iran, tariffs, trade wars,” he said. “None of those things are going to bring down prices at the pump or the local Walmart.”

“Trump promised to lower prices on Day 1, and instead the cost of living’s continued to climb. And that’s especially painful in rural America,” Slack said, adding that he expects many working-class Republicans to skip voting in November.

Rural Republicans do have a brighter economic perspective than rural Democrats or independents, particularly about the United States as a whole, according to the survey. About 6 in 10 rural Republican voters say Trump has improved the national economy, compared with only about 2 in 10 independents and fewer than 1 in 10 Democrats.

But only 45% of rural Republican voters say Trump has made their local economies better off. About 1 in 4 said there are fewer good-paying jobs where they live than five years ago.

In Michigan, 37-year-old independent voter Brittainy Sosebee said she isn’t sure if she will vote in the state’s fall election, which includes a tight Senate race seen as crucial to the Democratic Party’s push to win back a majority. Sosebee voted for Trump in 2016 and Democratic nominee Joe Biden in 2020; she didn’t vote in 2024.

Sosebee, who lives in St. Johns, a small town just north of Lansing, said she used to have extra money to take a vacation or buy a new pair of jeans without worrying. Now, she scrutinizes every expense, cringing at the rising cost of fresh produce when she shops for her three children.

“We hunt, so we have a lot of venison and things like that, so we don’t have to buy meat from the grocery store, but it’s still crippling,” she said.

Healthcare policies go unnoticed

The AP-KFF poll found that rural voters overall don’t perceive much positive impact from the administration’s healthcare policies even as they have been a top priority for Republican leaders, who have promoted efforts to lower drug costs in addition to a $50 billion rural health program.

Only 17% of the voters said the administration’s healthcare policies have had a “positive impact” on their healthcare costs, while 41% said they’ve had “no impact” and another 41% said they’ve had a “negative impact.”

Sitting on her front porch in Woolwich, Maine, 71-year-old Democrat Kathleen Hanning sipped a chai tea latte in the sun and recalled how she stopped voting for Republican Sen. Susan Collins in 2020.

Collins and Trump are “intertwined,” Hanning said. “She is not independently voting on what’s best for Maine.”

Hanning, a retired federal worker, said she had not paid much attention to the health policies in Trump’s signature tax breaks and spending cuts bill passed last year. The law reduces federal Medicaid spending by roughly $900 billion over a decade but also includes billions of dollars for the Rural Health Transformation Program, which it created.

A year after the law’s passage, more than 8 in 10 rural voters said they had heard either “a little” or “nothing at all” about the health fund. About 60% said they had heard nothing, according to the survey.

Rather than transforming, Hanning said, “hospitals up here in Maine are consolidating.” She travels an hour to see a specialist and noted that mothers will now have to drive farther for care because the hospital in nearby Damariscotta announced it would soon close its labor and delivery center.

Nine in 10 rural voters said it was “extremely” or “very” important for candidates to talk about healthcare costs, with more than half saying it’s “extremely important.” Mirroring the general population, rural voters ranked healthcare costs and gas prices as top economic worries.

Rural Republican voters still trust the GOP more

When asked for the political party they trusted to do a better job handling issues such as the cost of healthcare or the cost of living, rural voters tended to side with their own party. The finding signals that Democratic candidates are more likely to benefit from rural Republicans staying home in November than from them voting across party lines in large numbers.

Republicans are more ambivalent about their party’s ability to handle key healthcare issues, compared with Democrats. About 8 in 10 Democratic voters say they trust the Democrats to address healthcare costs, while closer to 6 in 10 Republican voters say the same of the Republicans.

In Manassas, Georgia, a tiny town about an hour's drive inland from Savannah, Republican voter Wanda Rogers feels the Trump administration is doing the best it can to clean up what she sees as an economic mess that Democrats left behind when they lost power.

“I kind of think people think like I do, that he knows what needs to be done,” she said. “It’s just taking them a while to get it there.”

Still, the 66-year-old said, “gas prices, they’re eating me alive right now.” She said she has stopped traveling to the beach because it has become too expensive.

Pamela Shaw, an independent voter who lives in a rural area near Asheville, North Carolina, said she sees the impact of rising costs in her community.

“When hamburger is over $7 a pound and steak is $15 or more a pound, a lot of people are not able to buy some of the things that they are used to buying,” the 59-year-old said in an interview.

Trump’s rural standing has slipped

Trump remains relatively popular among rural voters in the AP-KFF poll, with 48% approval. That is substantially higher than in a July AP-NORC poll of U.S. adults overall, in which only one-third approved of his performance. But he also is down slightly, from 56% approval, among rural voters, based on a similar question asked in the earlier KFF-Washington Post survey.

Asunta Washington, 38, is a truck driver who lives in South Texas. He said he is not against voting for Republican candidates if he wholeheartedly agrees with what they stand for, but he has not seen that. Instead, he has seen a lot of flip-flopping.

“Like a lot of people that are giving us promises and the moment they get elected, all that’s out the window,” Washington said.

This year’s competitive elections feature Senate races in Ohio, Michigan and Maine, all of which have large rural populations. In close races, Democrats may have a chance to “show up and give a message that rural people might find appealing,” said Nicholas Jacobs, a political scientist at Colby College and co-author of the book “The Rural Voter.”

“But it’s nothing more and it’s nothing less than that — an opportunity,” Jacobs said. “And time and time again, Democrats have shown a certain proclivity for not seizing that opportunity.”

Many rural voters do not think the major parties or the president respect people like them. About half, 48%, of rural voters say the GOP respects people like them “a lot” or “some,” while 45% of rural voters say this about Trump and 37% say this about the Democratic Party.

On a recent Thursday, registered Republican Nate Lawrence answered his phone after paying $57 to fill up his Chevy Equinox in New Concord, Ohio, a village of fewer than 3,000 people about an hour's drive east of Columbus.

Lawrence, a middle-school English teacher, said the candidates should be talking about spending power: “I need to be able to go to the store and feed my family on what I make as a teacher,” Lawrence said. “I should be able to pay for a house on a teacher’s salary.”

Lawrence has voted for Trump in the past but did not in 2024. For Ohio’s Senate race, Lawrence said he is torn and not sure whether to pick Democrat Sherrod Brown or Republican Jon Husted.

Still, even if the politicians say they will lower prices, Lawrence said, he won’t believe them.

“Trump said that, and it didn’t happen,” he said.

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The poll of 2,241 U.S. adults registered to vote in rural areas of the country was conducted Aug. 12-24, 2026, using a sample drawn from the probability-based SSRS Opinion Panel. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In collaboration with AP, KFF researchers worked to design the survey sample and questionnaire, analyze and report findings.

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This report is a collaboration between The Associated Press and KFF Health News. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.

The warning came despite signs of improvement in other provinces, including Ituri, the outbreak’s epicenter. The outbreak has spread to seven provinces, with 7,773 confirmed cases and 3,759 deaths, according to the latest government figures.

Between Aug. 31 and Sept. 20, cases fell 26% in Ituri province and 15% in Haut-Uele, said Marie Roseline Belizaire, the WHO’s regional emergency director for Africa. But transmission patterns vary widely and the outbreak remains uncontrolled, she said.

“While cases and deaths are declining in some provinces, they continue to rise in others,” Belizaire said. “The outbreak is still not under control and remains spread across a wide geographic area.”

The outbreak is spreading under extremely difficult conditions, fueled by insecurity, displacement, a health workers’ strike and intense population movements. The World Health Organization has said it is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the deadliest on record, which killed more than 11,000 people, primarily in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Catherine Smallwood, the WHO’s Ebola incident manager, said cases and deaths had begun declining in North Kivu after several weeks of increases. But although treatment beds are being added daily, facilities still lack enough staff and partners to operate them.

“The human resources gap is one of the biggest gaps,” Smallwood said.

WHO representative in Congo Anne Ancia said one Ebola treatment center requires about 300 health professionals, including anesthetists, hygienists, nurses and general practitioners.

“We are building Ebola treatment centers but do not always have the human resources needed to operate them,” Ancia said. “Those health workers must be paid.”

Frontline workers in Ituri previously went on strike over unpaid wages, worsening access to care. Health Minister Roger Kamba said in July that the government was verifying payroll lists after the names of people not involved in the response were added. Frontline workers said officials promised to pay the arrears, but some workers received nothing and others only part of what they were owed.

Another major challenge in the response is the fatality rate among children, according to the WHO. Children under five have the highest case fatality rate, more than 60% compared with approximately 40% among adults, Belizaire said.

WHO Ebola Incident Manager Smallwood said detecting cases among children under five is also very difficult because the children can’t necessarily explain their symptoms, and the presentation of symptoms can be confusing.

The second year of the deal, the 2028-29 season, is at Leonard's option, according to the person who spoke Tuesday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The Raptors on Wednesday confirmed that the contract had been signed, without releasing the terms, which were first reported by ESPN.

Leonard, 35, led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA title and is now locked into a new deal with a team with eyes on competing for another title. He is coming off the highest-scoring season of his career, averaging 27.9 points for the Los Angeles Clippers in 65 games a year ago.

Leonard will make just over $50 million this season, the last year of his current contract. It was generally assumed that the Raptors would strike a deal to keep Leonard — a seven-time All-Star, two-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Finals MVP — soon after landing him in a trade with the Clippers.

The sides agreed to that trade in late June but didn't complete it until earlier this month, delaying the process because of the NBA's investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented salary cap rules on Leonard's behalf. The NBA found four deals that ran afoul of league rules, leading to a one-year suspension of Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, the forfeiture of five first-round draft picks, suspensions of other team personnel and a $30 million fine.

Leonard was fined $700,000 by the league but is not facing any suspension.

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See AP’s full NBA coverage here

Hundreds of friends and family went to the accident scene Thursday night where two of her boys died after 25-year-old Keenon Morrison lost control of his car with his 16-year-old brother Kalen Morrison in the passenger seat.

The accident happened on July 4 near Jefferson Avenue and Conner. Since then, Kimberly Morrison has been inundated with love and support.

“I’m getting all the love I ever put into them, that I ever put into the community. I’m getting it all back and it helps me get through,” Kimberly said.

Kalen was a saxophonist in the Cass Tech Marching Band. His bandmates performed for hours Thursday night at the crash site, just another example for Kimberly Morrison to know how much her boys were loved.

Their older brother, now the only surviving child, said he never knew how much his brothers gave to other people. Kimberly Morrison said it tells her one key thing, “I did my job.”

Cass Tech is establishing a scholarship to honor both brothers. It will be presented to a deserving member of the band each year upon graduation.

Keenon Morrison leaves behind a 3-year-old son, who has sickle cell anemia.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) reported the crash and freeway closure at 7:12 a.m. on Sept. 23.

According to Michigan State Police, troopers responded to a serious motorcycle crash on Westbound I-696 near Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak Wednesday morning. Drivers were detoured at Woodward Avenue while they investigated the crash.

The ramps from both northbound and southbound I-75 to westbound I-696 were also closed during the investigation.

State police said the freeway and ramps reopened just before 10 a.m., and the motorcyclist is expected to recover.

They're complaining about former President Joe Biden, promising to work with President Donald Trump to secure the border, insisting they'll never defund the police and criticizing democratic socialists as too extreme.

Taking shots at the left is one way that Democrats are trying to distance themselves from their party's tarnished brand. It's also a reflection of how the midterms are increasingly playing out in red states. Although progressives notched notable wins in Democratic primaries this year, the path to a majority in the House and the Senate runs through places where Trump won two years ago, such as North Carolina, Alaska, Kansas and Iowa.

“You need to own values that are where the center of the party is," said Adam Frisch, the finance director for Welcome PAC, which tries to boost Democrats in Republican-leaning districts. He previously ran twice for Congress in Colorado.

North Carolina's Cooper boasts of bipartisanship

Known for forging compromise with the Republican-led legislature during his two terms as governor, Roy Cooper argues in his Senate campaign that Democrats should be willing to do the same in Congress.

Cooper also served as state attorney general, and one of his ads says he “toughened bail laws, went after drug dealers pushing fentanyl and said, ‘No way do we defund the police.’” Another says Cooper “bucked his own party to oppose defunding the police” and “partnered” with the Republican president to crack down on drugs.

Conservatives and allies of Republican nominee Michael Whatley, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, have tried to link Cooper to national progressive figures like New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, former Vice President Kamala Harris and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.

When Cooper entered the race more than a year ago, the Senate Leadership Fund — a Republican super PAC affiliated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune — swiftly attacked him by saying he “masquerades as a moderate” but is ”just another radical, D.C. liberal in disguise.”

Earlier this month, Cooper explained a bit of his strategy to CNN, saying that he felt that “there are enough people who are skeptical of national Democrats" in North Carolina, a factor he cited in the state's tendency to elect Democrats to statewide offices more often than its congressional offices.

Alaska's Peltola and Iowa's Turek want distance from national Democrats

In Alaska, former Rep. Mary Peltola has tried to steer the same centrist path as in her House campaigns, reviving her “fish, family, freedom” slogan and expressing support for Second Amendment rights and border security — two issues that traditionally resonate with more conservative voters.

“I'll take on anyone, including Democrats, anyone in the Lower 48 who doesn’t understand what Alaska needs,” she said in one campaign advertisement that mentioned her support for the massive Willow oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope that was opposed by environmentalists. "When both parties are attacking you, you're doing something right.”

Peltola's tone hasn't kept incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan from seeking to align Peltola with “D.C. Democrats,” as well as characterizing her as ineffective during her time in Congress.

Meanwhile, in Iowa, Democratic nominee Josh Turek has emphasized his commitment to bipartisanship, highlighting hundreds of times he voted with Republicans as a state legislator. He represented a district won by Trump, and he leaned on that experience in this year's Senate race as evidence that he could appeal to independent and moderate Republican voters in November.

As he vies with Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson for the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, Turek is also running an ad decrying the U.S.' “broken immigration system,” saying, “I'll work with anyone to fix it, including President Trump.”

After Turek won the nomination, Hinson told delegates at Republicans' state convention that he was “masquerading as a moderate,” calling her opponent “a far-left fraud.”

Hamilton says Kansas is very distant from Washington's ‘extreme politics’

Pastor of a Kansas megachurch, Democratic Senate nominee Adam Hamilton describes himself as a centrist, running partly on “bringing people together" and noting that his congregation is nearly evenly split among Democrats, Republicans and independents.

That's the tenor Hamilton has brought to his campaign against Republican incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall, running ads noting that Kansas is “proud of being in the middle politically" and “about a million miles away from the extreme politics of Washington that are tearing us apart and driving up prices.”

“On one side, the far left pushes socialism and open borders," he said. "On the other side, Roger Marshall gives us higher gas and grocery prices, while slashing our healthcare.”

In a debate earlier this month at the Kansas state fair, Hamilton also wasn't shy to blame Biden for immigration problems while also criticizing Trump's policies.

“Immigration at the border under Biden was a disaster," Hamilton said. "That is how we ended up where we are today.”

Marshall has said Hamilton is “too woke for Kansas.”

Sand decries parties as ‘two private clubs’ in Iowa governor's race

It's not just Senate contests in which Democratic candidates are seeking to chart a new course.

Back in Iowa — where Democrats see an opportunity to win in a once-competitive state, with high costs, manufacturing job losses and a struggling agricultural economy weighing on voters — Democrat Rob Sand says he can win over independents and Republicans frustrated with party politics.

Central to his campaign message is the premise that America's political system is broken “largely because it’s run by two private clubs” — the two major parties — “the well fed versus the fed up.”

Republican nominee Zach Lahn has said Sand's critique of his own party isn't genuine. Appearing on the “Ruthless” podcast this summer, he said that Democrats “are realizing that their ideas don’t sell” and ”have to pretend to be somebody they’re not."

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

Richie underwent a common procedure for atrial fibrillation, or A-fib, and the “doctor said everything went perfectly,” it read. “Lionel is doing great but will take some time off and will be back on stage soon.”

A-fib is a quivering or irregular heartbeat that is a worrisome stage-setter for blood clots, stroke and heart failure. Some researchers believe more than 10 million Americans have it — most of them older.

The 77-year-old singer also postponed two concerts earlier this year, in June, after falling ill. And in August, reports of Richie checking himself into a hospital after a performance in St. Louis made the rounds online.

Richie was scheduled to perform with Earth, Wind & Fire Saturday in San Francisco, Sept. 30 in Chicago and Oct. 3 in Columbus, Ohio.

According to his website, he is currently scheduled to launch his “King of Hearts” residency shows at Las Vegas’ the Wynn in October and November.

The Oscar and four-time Grammy Award-winning Richie launched his career with The Commodores before becoming a successful solo artist. In addition to his well-known hits like “Hello,” Richie co-wrote the iconic charity single “We Are the World” with Michael Jackson and has sold over 100 million records. He is also a judge on “American Idol.”

Here was a fascinating tale with shades of “Network,” “Ace in the Hole” and “To Die For,” and an inscrutable personality at its center in host Chris Hansen, a newsman who had become a pop culture icon with his own catchphrase: Have a seat.

It was both old news, and, somehow, in the ether too. Last year, the show was also the subject of an acclaimed documentary, “Predators,” from David Osit.

Along the way, “Primetime” transformed into a dark meditation on performance, media and morality — more fever dream than biopic, according to filmmaker Lance Oppenheim. And, perhaps fittingly, it’s arriving in theaters Friday on a wave of both critical acclaim and intrigue over Hansen’s own objections to the film and its depiction of the show, which he called an “insult,” sight unseen.

The pressure of a hit show

“To Catch a Predator” had in 2006 become a kind of phenomenon. With the help of the citizen watchdog group Perverted Justice, the show would stage confrontations with men who were allegedly soliciting sex with minors in online chat rooms. Perverted Justice members would pretend to be underage kids online and invite the adults on the other side of the conversation to fake houses, where actors would play the teens and the show would “catch” the men on camera, while police waited outside to make arrests.

Two years after it debuted, it was averaging around 7 million viewers an episode and Hansen was a celebrity in his own right. And then, in November 2006, one suspect, Louis William “Bill” Conradt Jr., an assistant district attorney in Texas, killed himself as a local police SWAT team breached his home with the television crew outside. It led to a lawsuit, which was settled out of court, and various journalistic investigations including by ABC’s “20/20” and Esquire’s Luke Dittrich, whose article “Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die” inspired Ajon Singh’s script. By 2008, the show had been canceled.

“The thing which I was most interested in, it’s the sort of technicalities of like trying to have a hit show,” Pattinson told The Associated Press. “When you get up to a certain, like, level of numbers of viewers or like however much money is involved, suddenly the subject matter, like everything doesn’t matter anymore. … You’re just a hit and like and you’re judged along the same lines, and the same commercial expectation is put on you.”

The portrait melds fiction and reality with Merritt Wever playing a fictionalized producer who is under pressure to deliver shows that could compete with “Lost.” Then there is then-NBCUniversal TV Group CEO Jeff Zucker in the mix, playing himself.

Becoming ‘Chris Hansen’ the character

Pattinson wasn’t intending to star in “Primetime.” He was just helping to develop it with his production company. But he was also getting in the weeds, helping to shape the story and the character, and starting to realize what a great part he had in front of him.

“Chris was like a serious news reporter,” Pattinson said. “And I think what’s sort of fascinating about the story as a whole was like seeing someone who … you’re a journalist, you’re supposed to be in some ways a passive reporter of what’s going on and suddenly being recast in this thing where you’re not only like front and center of it but you’re kind of, your behavior, it’s setting the tone of the show.”

He was also just being inundated with videos and memes and Reddit threads from Singh and Oppenheim. And once he had committed to the part, Pattinson spent many, many hours watching Hansen on video and listening to his podcast. Chris Hansen was in his head, and the voice was hard to shake (he could hear it in “The Odyssey”). For him, it's also, fundamentally, a character.

“It’s impossible to, like, play somebody else,” Pattinson laughed.

Hansen himself has been rather vocal about the film too, on everything from who he would have cast (Denis Leary) to questioning the motivations of the filmmaker and the studio, A24, for using his name. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he referred to the Esquire story as “a bit of a hit piece.” He also purchased preshow advertising for his true crime streaming network TruBlu that will play in front of “Primetime” showings.

Pattinson said he’s not surprised that Hansen has been out talking about it.

“He’s a public person,” Pattinson said. “He is also just being asked about it. It’s kind of, I mean, I get it. But I’m surprised about the level of traction that everything gets.”

It’s also kind of a proof of concept; people remain interested.

“The fact that people are still discussing the ethics of it, of a 20-year-old TV show, I mean it’s absolutely insane,” Pattinson said.

Dissecting news entertainment through ‘Primetime’

The heart of “Primetime” revealed itself to everyone along the way. It wasn’t just a story about Hansen. It was also about performance and the nature of news entertainment, which is how Decoy Dan, played by Skyler Gisondo, became such a pivotal character.

Decoy Dan is an amalgamation of the adult actors who were cast to play the teenagers in the fake houses in the show. It’s a gig he gets through a standard audition process; but the realities of it transcend even improv. The juxtaposition between the journalist and the actor became a microcosm for the tension inherent in creating must-see television out of entrapment and public humiliation.

For Gisondo, the role took on a kind of meta quality too as he stepped out of his comfort zone and into this darker territory with Pattinson, an actor he’d long admired.

“This was so unlike anything I had ever done before that, uh, I was so nervous,” he said. “From the very beginning, there was this kind of like, you know, real sort of energy bleeding into it.”

Gisondo took the part, and what his character was going through, so seriously that he was a little caught off guard when he heard laughter in the audience (oftentimes when Dan is at his lowest) at the film’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

“Having more distance from it now, I see that clearly, just the contrast of how serious this subject matter is and then the outlandishness of the kind of setup of the show,” Gisondo said. “There’s something, I think, heartbreakingly kind of funny about how naive Dan is.”

It’s been a good year at the movies for Pattinson in particular, with a sleeper hit in “The Drama,” a bona fide blockbuster in “The Odyssey” and “Dune: Part Three” still to come (and this is all while he continues to film “The Batman” sequel). He’s also not letting it add to any anxiety about whether people will show up for “Primetime,” which will open in the U.K. on Oct. 30.

“My career has basically been like no one sees my movies,” Pattinson said. “My baseline is very low so everything’s a nice surprise.”

McEwan's essay and speech collection "Between Books” will be published next spring, May 25, Alfred A. Knopf announced Wednesday. It is the first full-length work of nonfiction by the author of “Atonement,” “The Innocent,” the Booker Prize -winning “Amsterdam” and many other novels. (In 2019, the British author released a brief work of nonfiction, “Science.”)

“Between Books” includes everything from “intimate personal recollection to bold intellectual enquiry,” according to Knopf. McEwan has written a new introduction for “Between Books,” which includes material both published before and never published before.

“'Between Books' is an intimate record of a great mind wrestling with the contours of his own life and all the themes and questions that inform his masterworks: the nature of truth and love, the human hunger for meaning and knowledge, the mysteries of the soul,” Knopf Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Jordan Pavlin said in a statement.

McEwan, 78, said in a statement that for his upcoming book he “started out contemplating a ragbag of disparate pieces and ended up with what I hope is an emotional and intellectual journey.”

Robert Fitz, 48, of Harrison Township, was arraigned in June on 20 counts related to the initial discovery, which occurred during a September 2025 fire investigation. As investigators continued their investigation, they reportedly found more evidence of sexual abuse of minor children, leading to additional charges

The charges against Fitz include:

• 14 counts of criminal sexual conduct – first degree (person under 13, defendant 17 years of age or older), a felony punishable by life or any term of years16 counts of criminal sexual conduct – second degree (person under 13, defendant 17 years of age or older), a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison

He is also being charged as a habitual offender - second offense notice, which is an aggravating sentencing factor.

Fitz’ bond was set at $500,000 cash/surety on the case involving the initial 27 counts of criminal sexual conduct, and $250,000 cash/surety on the second case involving three additional counts of CSC.

He is scheduled to appear in the 41B District Court for a probable cause conference at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 28.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) reported the crash just before 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 23. The crash caused the bridge to close for hours.

The bridge reopened to traffic just before 8 a.m.

According to Michigan State Police, two cars were traveling southbound when one car rear-ended the other. Multiple injuries were reported, including two serious injuries.

Click here to check the status of the Mackinac Bridge.

Gratiot Avenue at M-59 is closed to traffic at around 6 a.m. on Sept. 23. Police said a pedestrian was hit and killed. No other information was released to the public.

It’s unclear when the road will reopen.

For the first time, apparently in response to escalating threats, U.N. security required all staff and lower-ranking diplomats to have their belongings scanned.

The problem was that there were only two scanners for hundreds and hundreds of people trying to get into the building via the staff entrance between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Tuesday, when the meeting started. Many faced long delays, and some were frantic.

Motorcades carrying presidents, prime ministers and monarchs to the building had priority on nearby streets and traffic was often at a standstill.

Meanwhile, First Avenue — which runs uptown alongside the U.N. complex — was closed to normal traffic. Only motorcades could enter. That meant that many vehicles trying to get uptown were using the closest uptown street —- Third Avenue.

Then police closed that, too — at midafternoon Tuesday after a report of a suspicious package — fouling up traffic for New Yorkers even more.

Police said they got a call around 3 p.m. Tuesday about a suspicious package near East 43rd Street and Third Avenue, prompting a response by bomb squad and other officers.

The object, police said, turned out to be harmless.

The deal was officially signed Tuesday in New York, after U.S., Greenlandic and Danish officials had quietly negotiated for months behind the scenes — searching both for solutions to address some of Trump’s security concerns about the territory, as well as alleviating Danish and Greenlandic fears of being taken over by the U.S.

The three parties expressed satisfaction with the deal at the signing ceremony — but what exactly does it say?

The United States can expand its military presence on the island

Washington is allowed to “modernize and expand” its activities at the remote Pituffik Space Base in the northwest, according to the agreement.

The U.S. can also set up “defense areas” at Narsarsuaq in the south and Mestersvig in the east, and “may establish additional defense areas in Greenland and strengthen its military operations or facilities.”

The deal refers to a changed security situation in the Arctic

The accord calls for wide U.S. military mobility on Greenland’s territory, including “undersea access," noting that “ the security situation in the Arctic is changing and that more efforts are needed to ensure security there in the future.”

The accord stresses Denmark's territorial integrity and Greenlanders' self-determination

The agreement reaffirms “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” and recognizes the Greenlanders' "right to self-determination.”

The deal supports a stronger NATO engagement in the Arctic

The agreement says all three parties “support a stronger NATO engagement in the Arctic, including as regards planning, presence, exercises, and joint intelligence gathering.”

It allows U.S. military access to Greenland to defend the NATO area, Greenland itself and the American continent — including through a “Golden Dome defense system."

Non-NATO country installations are not allowed

The deal spells out that “no state that is not a member of NATO shall be allowed to establish its own manned or unmanned military installations in Greenland nor shall they be allowed a persistent presence of military forces in Greenland."

It vows to respect Greenland's environment and traditional ways of life

In the preamble, the signatories recognize “the need to protect the pristine environment of Greenland.” It also stresses “the economic, social, and cultural rights of the people of Greenland, including with respect to their lands and their way of life, including hunting, fishing, and other traditional, cultural, historical, future activities.”

It addresses what happens if Greenland becomes independent from Denmark

The accord “does not have an end date” and, if Greenland chooses to become independent, it will agree to remain in NATO and take on Denmark’s rights and obligations under the deal.

The agreement needs parliamentary approval

The deal will only “enter into force” once the “necessary parliamentary processes of the Kingdom of Denmark, in conjunction with Greenland, have been completed.”

🍇 Grapevine

🌅 Good morning! On this day in 1879, the city of Detroit purchased Belle Isle from the Campau family for $200,000, opening it to the public the following year.

Here are a few things to know for Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026:

🌥️ 4Warn Weather: Temperatures remain below average today, with highs only reaching the 60s across Metro Detroit. Check out the 10-day forecast.

💜 Heavy Hearts: A beloved Oak Park High School math teacher was killed in a crash after police said a 19-year-old driver disregarded a traffic signal while intoxicated. Read more.

🚌 School Bus Scare: A local couple says their son’s first school bus ride turned into a frightening ordeal after his bus driver dropped him off at the wrong stop, more than a half-mile from their home. Read more.

🚸 ‘DIY’ Roundabout: A so-called “DIY” roundabout installed by a school on Detroit’s west side in collaboration with the Department of Public Works has some residents concerned about its safety. See it here.

Forced Labor Complaint: A federal complaint filed on Tuesday against Quality Behavioral Health is alleging that the organization’s CEO used Medicaid beneficiaries as forced labor and submitted claims for services that were not provided. Hear what else the feds had to say.

🏊 Morning Dive

Good morning ☀️

The Detroit Zoo has been collecting old electronic devices since 2019 — and with help from Local 4, the effort is gaining new momentum this September.

The zoo’s “Gorillas on the Line” initiative encourages residents to drop off used electronics like iPhones, iPads, AirPods and gaming systems.

The goal is simple: recycle devices that contain minerals mined near gorilla habitats in Africa, reducing the demand for new mining in those fragile ecosystems.

“Gorilla conservation is vital for their survival — them not going extinct,” said Aaron Jesue, a primate zookeeper and head of the Gorillas on the Line program at the Detroit Zoo.

The initiative works on two levels.

First, recycling devices allows the minerals inside them to be reused, cutting down the need for mining in areas where gorillas live. Second, each recycled device translates into a dollar amount that goes directly toward gorilla conservation efforts.

The zoo collects devices year-round, but this month Local 4 is stepping in to help boost donations.

Learn more about the event here.

🗞️ Other headlines to know today

• 13-year-old boy accused of stealing multiple cars again, breaking into businesses in Oakland County
• New Detroit Red Wings season brings bobbleheads, giveaways, and more
• ‘Mojo in the Morning’ radio host, wife Chelsea talk cancer journey on ‘Local Blend’ podcast
• Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield declines comment on OIG investigation into Bettison call with activist
• Eastpointe mom brought fake son to appointment to use Social Security benefits for herself, feds say
• What Pontiac is doing to cut down on gun violence after 3 shootings in 10 days
• New Boston woman sentenced to 5 years for $4.6M child modeling fraud scheme
• What Jack White had to say about Comerica Park’s name change
• Demolition begins on historic Roseville church to make way for Sheetz gas station
• Oakland County Sheriff’s Office wants help finding missing 17-year-old boy
• Livestream: Bears getting ready for hibernation during Fat Bear Week
• Nonprofit awarded $20K grant to build new water trailhead at Southwest Detroit park
• Clarkston twins beat Hodgkin’s lymphoma, head off to college
• Is it ‘killer robots’ or ‘super intelligence’? At the UN, leaders see both
• Detroit woman facing human trafficking, prostitution charges after victim seeks help from motel housekeeper
• How Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas’ became the longest-running No. 1 hit of all time
• 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:

Vice President JD Vance and other Trump administration officials said Tuesday they plan to remove 760,000 Affordable Care Act enrollees from public healthcare exchanges, alleging that the individuals were fraudulently enrolled in the program, or simply do not exist.

Vance said the discovery and canceled subsidy payments for hundreds of thousands of people from the exchanges, part of an administration-wide crackdown on fraud, would result in $2.2 billion in cost savings.

“We’re actually making sure that the people receiving Obamacare subsidies are actually entitled to receive them,” said Vance, who leads a government task force to eliminate fraud. (Read more)

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A grand jury has declined to recommend charges in the death of Nolan Wells, a Black college student who was found dead two days after a July 4 boat trip and party on an island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The district attorney announced the grand jury’s findings late Monday after months of intense speculation about how the 18-year-old went missing from the party and why Wells’ friends left the island without him. Wells’ family immediately pushed back on the findings that said there was no evidence of criminal conduct, saying they still didn’t have answers about what happened. (Read more)

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Camp Mystic faces a criminal investigation that could include manslaughter or negligent homicide charges in the deaths of 27 girls amid devastating flooding in Texas last year, court documents show.

In applications for search warrants executed last week, investigators sought to obtain the electronic communications of the camp’s owners, saying they could provide evidence of manslaughter, negligent homicide, child abandonment or other crimes. No charges have been brought, and a representative of the camp did not immediately return messages seeking comment. (Read more)

---> Find more headlines from around the world right here <---

📝 Word Up

Today’s Word Up is: Hackneyed /ˈhak-nēd / (adjective) -- defined as “Lacking in freshness or originality.”

Example: ”The romantic comedy was filled with hackneyed tropes like running through the airport."

🧹 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 crafting the perfect sandwich. We don’t have one for that, sorry.

✍🏽 Written and curated by: Samantha Sayles (Have something to say? Feel free to send an email here.)

After this morning’s slight rain chance, dry weather is expected through early next week, setting up an extended stretch of sunshine and quiet conditions.

Temperatures begin to rebound this weekend, with highs reaching either side of 70 degrees. Seasonal temperatures in the 70s will continue into early next week.

The poll of more than 2,000 rural registered voters found that costs of groceries, gas and healthcare are among the top pain points for rural voters. They are also more likely than voters overall to say they are worried about being able to afford groceries or gas.

Rural Americans skew Republican and historically have been an instrumental voting bloc for Trump. The findings suggest that many rural voters haven’t turned against Trump but that they also largely don’t think he has delivered on his economic promises. While rural voters seem unlikely to support Democrats on a large scale, Trump and the Republican Party could face challenges with them in November.

The full story can be read here. Here are the takeaways:

Most rural voters disapprove of Trump on the economy

As the election approaches, only about 4 in 10 rural voters surveyed approve of Trump’s performance on the economy. Roughly 6 in 10 disapprove.

They rate him similarly on his handling of the Iran war, an entanglement that has proved expensive for the U.S. and increased oil and gas prices. And rural voters rank pocketbook concerns and fraud in government programs higher among the things they want to hear about from politicians than other perennial issues, such as gun policy and abortion policy.

In the poll, about three-quarters of rural voters rated the cost of living in their communities as “only fair” or “poor.”

Rural Americans, who have consistently lower wages than those who live in suburban and metro areas, have been hurting economically for decades, according to Tim Slack, a professor of sociology at Louisiana State University and co-author of the book “Rural and Small-Town America.”

“Many folks are connecting the cost-of-living crisis to many of the Trump administration’s policy choices: the war in Iran, tariffs, trade wars,” he said. “None of those things are going to bring down prices at the pump or the local Walmart.”

Rural Republicans have a rosier view of Trump

At the same time, about half of rural voters approve of Trump’s job performance, more than among U.S. adults overall in separate AP-NORC polling.

Rural Republicans do have a brighter economic perspective than rural Democrats or independents, particularly about the U.S. as a whole, according to the survey. About 6 in 10 rural Republican voters say Trump has improved the national economy, compared with roughly 2 in 10 independents and fewer than 1 in 10 Democrats.

But only 45% of rural Republican voters say Trump has made their local economies better off. About 1 in 4 say there are fewer good-paying jobs where they live than five years ago.

Trump's healthcare policies go unnoticed

The AP-KFF poll found that rural voters overall don’t perceive much positive impact from the Trump administration’s healthcare policies even as they have been a top priority for Republican leaders, who have promoted efforts to lower drug costs and touted a $50 billion rural health program.

Only 17% of the voters said the Trump administration’s healthcare policies have had a “positive impact” on their healthcare costs, while 41% said they’ve had “no impact” and another 41% said they’ve had a “negative impact.”

A year after the passage of the Rural Health Transformation Program, more than 8 in 10 rural voters said they’d heard either “a little” or “nothing at all” about the health fund. About 6 in 10 said they had heard nothing, according to the survey.

Rural Republican voters still trust the GOP more

When asked which political party they trusted to do a better job of handling issues such as the cost of healthcare or the cost of living, rural voters tended to side with their own party.

The finding signals that Democratic candidates are more likely to benefit from rural Republicans staying home this November than from them voting across party lines in large numbers.

Rural Republicans are more ambivalent about their party’s ability to handle key healthcare issues, compared with Democrats. About 8 in 10 Democratic voters say they trust the Democrats to address healthcare costs, while closer to 6 in 10 Republican voters say the same of the Republicans.

Many rural voters don't feel respected by Trump or the parties

Trump's approval among rural voters, while higher than among U.S. adults overall, is down slightly, from 56% approval in a similar question asked in a 2017 KFF-Washington Post survey.

Many rural voters also don’t think the major parties or the president respect people like them.

About half, 48%, of rural voters say the GOP respects people like them “a lot” or “some,” while 45% of rural voters say this about Trump and 37% say this about the Democratic Party.

This year’s competitive elections feature key Senate races in states including Ohio, Michigan and Maine, all of which have large rural populations. In close races, Democrats may have a chance to “show up and give a message that rural people might find appealing,” said Nicholas Jacobs, a political scientist at Colby College and co-author of the book “The Rural Voter.”

“But it’s nothing more and it’s nothing less than that — an opportunity,” Jacobs said. “And time and time again, Democrats have shown a certain proclivity for not seizing that opportunity.”

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The poll of 2,241 U.S. adults registered to vote in rural areas of the country was conducted Aug. 12-24, 2026, using a sample drawn from the probability-based SSRS Opinion Panel. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In collaboration with the AP, KFF researchers worked to design the survey sample and questionnaire, analyze and report findings.

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This report is a collaboration between The Associated Press and KFF Health News. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.

Range and charging

The Rivian R2’s range spans from 275 miles in the base Standard model to 345 miles in the Standard Long Range. Most other versions are rated at 330 miles. In the real-world Edmunds EV Range Test, the R2 Performance covered 304 miles, falling short of its 330-mile EPA estimate.

The Tesla Model Y outperforms the R2, ranging from 294 miles in the all-wheel-drive base model to 357 miles in the rear-wheel-drive Premium. The rear-wheel-drive base Model Y Edmunds tested covered 337 miles, and the new three-row Model Y L managed an impressive 358 miles — both beating their EPA estimates. For both rivals, all-wheel-drive versions are rated lower than their rear-wheel-drive counterparts.

Both electric SUVs use Tesla-style (NACS) charging ports, giving them access to Tesla’s vast Supercharger fast-charging network. Under ideal conditions, Tesla says the Model Y can add up to 162 miles in 15 minutes, edging out the R2’s cited 150 miles in 15 minutes. Edmunds’ testing confirmed that the Tesla charges slightly quicker.

Winner: Tesla Model Y

Tech features

The R2 and Model Y boast an impressive amount of standard tech, including a generous collection of advanced driver aids, wireless smartphone charging pads, large touchscreens with sharp-looking graphics, Google-based navigation, and camera systems that record your drive and monitor the vehicle’s surroundings when parked.

A hands-free driving mode is also available on both EVs. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) drives hands-free on highways and city streets, obeying stop signs and traffic lights and changing lanes on its own — in Edmunds’ testing, it’s been the most useful hands-free driving system available. Rivian’s Autonomy+ also works hands-free on roads with painted lane markings, but it doesn’t operate during city driving.

Overall, however, the R2’s tech features are impressive. Unlike the Model Y, it has a digital driver display that keeps important info in your line of sight. Also, the R2’s touchscreen system proved more responsive and enjoyable to use in Edmunds’ testing.

Winner: Rivian R2

Interior comfort and utility

The Model Y rides more smoothly over bumps than the firmer R2, though both have comfortable, supportive seats. Passenger space is similar, though the R2 has a bit more rear headroom. Tesla one-ups Rivian, however, with an available third row in the Premium and in the extended-length Model Y L — though it’s best for kids and small adults, and it eats up a lot of cargo space when raised.

As for cargo, the R2 tops the Model Y behind the rear seats when you include their underfloor storage compartments, and it offers far greater total capacity: 90.1 cubic feet versus the five-seat Model Y’s 75.5 cubic feet. Its front trunk is slightly larger too, and its 4,400-pound max towing capacity tops the Model Y’s 3,500 pounds.

The Model Y is more comfortable and offers third-row versatility, but the R2 delivers more utility and a roomier back seat.

Winner: tie

Pricing and value

Including destination fees, the Rivian R2’s starting prices range from $46,485 for the Standard trim to $59,485 for the top-level Performance trim. The Model Y spans $41,380 for the base trim to $63,380 for the three-row Model Y L. Note that for the R2, only the priciest Performance trim is available now; more affordable trim levels arrive in late 2026 and spring 2027.

In general, the R2 will likely cost you a little more to buy. But it justifies its premium with a richer-looking interior, distinctive styling, superior off-road capability, and uncommon touches like a drop-down rear window and dual glove boxes. Rivian also backs it with a one-year/12,000-mile adjustment warranty covering wheel alignment, factory defects and more — something Tesla doesn’t offer.

Winner: tie

Edmunds says

This electric SUV comparison ends in a tie — both earned the same overall rating score and are at the top of Edmunds’ rankings for electric small SUVs. You can’t go wrong with either, but if range and comfort top your priorities, the Model Y is for you. If you’d rather have a more capable, premium-feeling SUV, order the R2.

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This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds.

Michael Cantu is a contributor at Edmunds.