It will certainly take something special to eclipse it as the goal of the tournament, even only three days in.

Deep into added time at Los Angeles Stadium and with virtually the last kick of the game, Gio Reyna capped a spectacular 4-1 win for the United States against Paraguay on Friday with an exquisite finish to a wonderful team move.

This was Pochettino-ball at its finest.

“This might be one of the best back-to-front team goals this country and this team has ever put together," Fox TV analyst Stu Holden said.

It might've been even better than that.

Done in 70 seconds

With the clock on 96 minutes and 10 seconds, the U.S. just had to see out time and ensure a Paraguay team that had already pulled one goal back in the second half didn't spark a late rally.

Over the course of the next 70 seconds, Mauricio Pochettino's team put together a 26-pass move from left to right, through defense and attack and left Paraguay's players chasing shadows. Not one Paraguayan got a foot on the ball. Then it was over to Reyna, who went on for a cameo as an 82nd-minute substitute for the outstanding Malik Tillman.

Receiving a pass from Alexander Freeman outside the box, Reyna took one touch to control the ball and another to carry it into the area. Then, with the outside of his right boot and with a touch of curl, he swept the shot past Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill into the far corner to send the U.S. supporters wild one last time.

And they weren't the only ones going crazy. As Reyna wheeled away in celebration, hands covering his ears, he was mobbed by teammates, substitutes and even Pochettino, who raced across the field to join in the moment.

“There’s not a whole lot of words to describe the feeling,” U.S. captain Tim Ream said after the team's biggest ever World Cup win.

Just like watching Brazil

Such was the U.S. control of the ball that it brought back memories of what many believe to be the greatest ever team goal in the World Cup when Brazil's Carlos Alberto finished off a multi-pass move against Italy in the 1970 final.

That game also finished 4-1 and Carlos Alberto's strike, like Reyna's, came late, in the 86th minute.

A nine-pass move ended with Pele laying the ball off to Carlos Alberto, who drove a low shot into the corner.

The stakes were much higher for Brazil, but for the U.S. it was an opening statement performance against a Paraguay team that had one of the best defensive records among the South American teams during qualification. Pochettino's team already has more goals than the U.S. managed in the entire 2022 tournament where it scored just three and was eliminated at the round of 16.

“Congratulations to Team USA on their Big Win, 4-1, over a very good Paraguay team,” President Donald Trump wrote Saturday on his social media site. “Keep it going!”

A taste of what's to come

The U.S. Men's National Team went big when it hired Pochettino, the former Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Tottenham coach in 2024.

There was a run to the Gold Cup final last year and he has not been shy about his ambitions at the World Cup.

“Why not us?” has become something of a motto going into the tournament.

With extended time to work with the players ahead of the opening game, Pochettino believes the full potential of the team will be seen.

“When you only have few days, you know, to reunite and to play, you only select players, but you cannot coach players,” he said Friday. “Only in this type of tournament like the Gold Cup or now the World Cup, because you have preparation, two, three, four weeks, I think that is the only moment that we can coach.”

Reyna's goal was a perfect example of Pochettino's insistence of concentrating on the team over individuals.

“One thing we need to praise is the collective effort,” the coach added.

Reyna erases pain of 2022

It was a triumphant return for Reyna after controversy in Qatar four years ago for alleged lack of hustle nearly got him sent home from that World Cup by then-coach Gregg Berhalter.

Pochettino made the bold call to include Reyna in his squad even though he made just four league starts last season for Borussia Mönchengladbach and none after Dec. 19.

Reyna's celebration with his hands over his ears may have been in reference to the noise that has surrounded him since the last World Cup.

The US has had great goals in the past

Fans will debate whether this was the greatest goal by the USMNT.

In 1989 Paul Caligiuri struck a long-range volley against Trinidad and Tobago that saw the U.S. qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1950.

In 1994, the last time America hosted the tournament, Eric Wynalda's free kick against Switzerland earned the U.S. its first point in the World Cup since 1950.

There was also Benny Feilhaber's volley that won the Gold Cup in 2007.

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

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

The preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Massachusetts also orders a pause on any additional changes, writing that the plaintiffs have shown that these efforts are meant “to rewrite the Nation’s history with a white-out pen.”

“History cannot be faithfully told while excluding the experiences of communities whose contributions, struggles, and achievements form an important part of our Nation’s story,” the judge wrote.

The Trump administration must also provide a status report every week describing the progress they’ve made with these changes, the judge wrote.

“Under the guise of promoting American dignity, this Administration seeks to share a limited history by ordering the removal of all signs, displays, and interpretive exhibits at National Parks that do not align with its preferred narrative, thereby telling half-truths,” Kelley wrote.

The order comes in response to a February lawsuit filed by conservation and historical organizations over National Park Service policies that the groups say have forced park service staff to remove or censor dozens of exhibits that share factually accurate and relevant U.S. history and scientific knowledge, including about slavery and climate change.

Many of the changes were at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park, where the administration removed exhibits on the lives of nine people enslaved at the site in the 1790s under George Washington, the first U.S. president. Other changes included removing a sign at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Arizona describing basalt bubbles because it had an image of a visitor holding a Pride flag while films on labor history were removed from the Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts.

President Donald Trump signed the executive order “restoring truth and sanity to American history” at the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks last year. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum later directed removal of “improper partisan ideology” from museums, monuments, landmarks and other public exhibits under federal control.

An email seeking comment from the Interior Department was sent Saturday.

Alan Spears, senior director for cultural resources for the National Parks Conservation Association, one of the organizations that brought the lawsuit, said the ruling will help protect national parks from the administration's effort “to erase history and science at these one-of-a-kind places.”

“National parks belong to the American people and censorship of any kind goes against the values these places represent,” he said.

Bill Wade, executive director for the Association of National Park Rangers, another organization that brought the lawsuit, said this is especially good news for National Parks employees who “have prided themselves for being able to provide truthful, accurate and unbiased information."

The new requirement, also under consideration in California, attempts to thwart the latest technique for producing untraceable “ghost guns” that have turned up in crimes. But there are questions about whether the technology can work and concerns about its effect on personal privacy and constitutional rights.

About one-third of U.S. states already have taken steps to ban or regulate build-it-yourself firearms that lack serial numbers and evade the background checks required to purchase guns from federally licensed dealers. What makes the new effort unique is that it targets the equipment used to produce the firearms, not the people who make them.

The blocking technology being pushed in two of the nation's most populous states has the potential to set industry standards for 3D printers. It also could serve as a model for other Democratic-led states wanting to add to their gun regulations, which often already ban certain semiautomatic weapons and allow firearms to be temporarily confiscated from people deemed to pose a threat to themselves or others.

More privately made guns are being used in crimes

Three-dimensional printers have become increasingly common over the past couple of decades.

Since 2012, the number of 3D printers worldwide has grown from an estimated 30,000 to over 3 million while the industry's value has multiplied from around $2 billion to $26 billion annually, said Bill Decker, executive chairman of the Association of 3D Printing. Though high-end printers cost thousands of dollars, some 3D printers now can be bought for as little as several hundred dollars.

The devices can make toys, prosthetic limbs and even airplane parts. They also can make firearms — or the pieces necessary to assemble them — using digital designs available online. Homemade guns that lack serial numbers often are called “ghost guns," because they are hard for law enforcement officers to trace.

Firearms made with 3D printers are increasingly being used in crimes, according to a U.S. Department of Justice report released last year. The number of privately made guns recovered in crimes and submitted to federal authorities rose from about 1,600 in 2017 to nearly 27,500 in 2023, though the report didn't specify how many came from 3D printers.

In a high-profile New York case, police say a 3D-printed gun likely was used to kill UnitedHealthcare’s CEO in 2024.

How 3D printers could refuse to make gun parts

A New York law signed last month and a bill in the California Legislature both would direct panels of experts to come up with standards for firearm blueprint detection algorithms. The technology would analyze every design submitted for 3D printing, compare it to a digital library of firearm parts, and reject those that are similar.

Though the study process would start now, the mandate that 3D printers come equipped with firearm blocking technology wouldn't begin until 2029 — or later, in New York's case, if the study group determines it's not yet feasible.

The concept is a bit like a smartphone app that identifies trees or flowers from an uploaded photo, said Solomon Diamond, an associate engineering professor at Dartmouth College who was among several experts at a recent online seminar about the legislation.

For 3D printers, one possible method could use a geometric analysis of shapes, dimensions and other structural features to reject print projects that closely resemble firearm parts.

"Geometric search is mature, it’s deployed, it is ready to be applied to this problem,” said Julian Chultarsky, a technical account manager at Physna, a Columbus, Ohio-based company that develops such technology.

Could 3D printers block both too little and too much?

The Association of 3D Printing supports the legislation in New York and California, but “it's not going to work,” Decker said. "It’s more of a political statement than anything else.”

Criminals still will come up with ways to make guns from 3D printers, either by altering their designs or taking their printing projects elsewhere, Decker said.

The more aggressive the technology becomes, the more likely that it also blocks unintended items, said Rory Mir, director of open access and technology community engagement at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit digital rights group. Some harmless pipes might look like gun parts, or an S-shaped wall hanger might resemble an auto sear trigger used to modify a semiautomatic weapon into a machine gun.

“These sort of censorship algorithms don’t work, and they wind up capturing and blocking a lot of lawful speech," Mir said.

If print instructions are submitted for a cloud-based artificial intelligence search, it also risks the privacy of people's artistic and proprietary creations, Mir said.

Does the right to bear arms extend to making them?

Gun safety advocates say 3D printers have created a new pathway for people who cannot legally purchase firearms — like children or convicted felons — to nonetheless obtain them. Eleven states already generally prohibit 3D-printed guns, and six additional states require them to receive serial numbers, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.

Blocking the actual 3D printing of firearms could make it harder for people to ignore such laws.

“3D printing really is the new frontier of the fight against ghost guns,” said Samuel Levy, director of policy advocacy at Everytown for Gun Safety.

The National Rifle Association might partly agree with that assertion, though it disagrees with the policy.

“Despite desperate fear-mongering campaigns, homemade firearms are nothing new — they are a proud, time-honored American tradition dating back to the founding of our Republic," John Commerford, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement. He added that "these measures only restrict responsible Americans — who do follow the law — from participating in constitutionally protected activities.”

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Saturday that a deal aimed at ending the war in the Middle East is closer than ever before and expected to be finalized within 24 hours. Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the agreement, followed by technical-level talks next week.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the deal was “scheduled to get signed tomorrow,” and that the Strait of Hormuz would open immediately. But Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said no signing would occur Sunday and left the possibility open for the coming days.

Previous declarations of an imminent breakthrough failed to materialize.

Iran exchanged fire with the U.S. and Israel earlier in the week, threatening to push the region back into a full-scale war. The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 has rattled the region and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 7.

Here's what to know:

A 60-day period would address Iran's nuclear program

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday the terms of dealing with Iran’s nuclear program would be finalized in the 60 days after the initial agreement is signed and that the parties could decide to extend that period.

The U.S. and Israel fear Iran’s nuclear program could lead to an atomic weapon — a main reason their leaders cited for going to war. Tehran has insisted its nuclear efforts are for peaceful purposes.

A senior U.S. administration official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said Friday that the emerging agreement would begin the process of destroying or removing Tehran’s highly enriched uranium.

The official said the 60-day period after both sides sign the deal would be used to work out technical details for removing the uranium. The official did not say who the U.S. envisions taking charge of removing the uranium, which is believed to be entombed under three nuclear sites battered by U.S. strikes last year.

The deal would include address reopening the Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. official said the emerging agreement includes provisions for reopening the strait.

Araghchi said Iran wants a deal that allows Tehran to charge ships “for services rendered” when they transit the strait. Iran imposed a toll system during the war, which the U.S. and other nations have said violates international law.

Transit through the strait, a vital shipping lane for oil and natural gas, has disrupted global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics like fertilizer more expensive well beyond the region.

The agreement would include Iranian sanctions relief

Three regional officials said the emerging deal was expected to include the phased lifting of sanctions on Iran and the release of frozen Iranian assets. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.

They said they expect a signing ceremony for the agreement in the coming days after officials in Washington and Tehran approve it.

What will happen to Lebanon remains unclear

Iran has insisted that any deal must also include a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Friday that Israel could still act independently toward Iran and that the country would not pull out of the zones it is occupying in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, nor would it withdraw from the northern refugee camps of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Fighting continued in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

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Weissert reported from Washington and Mednick from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price and Aamer Madhani in Washington and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media the deal was “scheduled to get signed tomorrow,” and that the Strait of Hormuz would open immediately. Iran foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei, however, said “although it will not happen tomorrow, the possibility that it could take place in the coming days cannot be ruled out."

Each side was expected to sign electronically.

Meanwhile, Trump was expected to discuss demining the Strait of Hormuz during the Group of Seven summit that starts Monday. And Iran’s state-run television said funeral ceremonies for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in the war's opening attack, will take place in July.

A senior U.S. official, who briefed journalists on condition of anonymity under rules set by the White House, said Trump planned to meet on the G7 sidelines with the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and United Arab Emirates to discuss efforts to wind down the war.

G7 members Britain and France have expressed interest in assisting with demining once the conflict is paused. It was not clear how many mines are in the strait that Iran has effectively controlled since shortly after the war began, virtually shutting down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. The U.S. has blockaded Iranian ports in response.

A tenuous ceasefire has been in place since April 7.

Pakistan says a deal to end the war is imminent

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a deal aimed at ending the war was expected to be finalized within 24 hours. Pakistan's foreign ministry said the electronic signing ceremony was scheduled for Sunday, but did not provide details.

Sharif told his Qatari counterpart “a peace deal was ready for signatures by the relevant parties very shortly,” another statement said.

Iran signaled optimism but indicated more time was needed. Baghaei said in a statement carried by state TV that "the likelihood of finalizing the memorandum of understanding in the coming days is high.”

Iran has long expressed wariness in negotiations, pointing out that previous talks with the U.S. last year and early this year ended with attacks by the U.S. and Israel.

Baghaei said the memorandum under discussion was focused on ending the war and "at this stage, it has been decided that there will be no discussion of the nuclear issue.”

Iran's nuclear program and highly enriched uranium have long been at the center of tensions with the U.S. and Israel and an international source of concern.

Trump on social media asserted that “when all is calm,” the U.S. would go in and “downblend and destroy” the enriched uranium in Iran or in the U.S.

The apparent breakthrough came after Iran exchanged fire with the U.S. and Israel earlier in the week, threatening to rupture the ceasefire and push the Middle East back into full-scale war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X on Friday that an agreement “has never been closer.” Trump, who has asserted multiple times in recent weeks the countries were on the cusp of a deal, shared Araghchi’s post on social media.

Trump on Thursday claimed significant progress in negotiations, hours after he threatened to seize Iran’s oil industry.

Khamenei to be buried at the holiest of Shiite shrines

The funeral, burial and farewell events for Khamenei will occur between July 4 and 9 during Muharram, a traditional period of mourning in the Shiite Muslim calendar.

Khamenei is succeeded by his son, Mojtaba, who is considered less compromising and has not been seen publicly since the war began.

Funeral ceremonies are expected to begin in Tehran and move to Qom, a stronghold of many senior Shiite clerics, then to Mashhad, Khamenei's birthplace. He’ll be buried there at the Imam Reza Shrine, considered the holiest place among Shiite devotees.

Khamenei remolded the Islamic Republic following the death in 1989 of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the fiery, charismatic ideologue who led the overthrow of the shah and installed rule by Shiite Muslim clerics.

Khamenei ruled far longer than Khomeini. He greatly expanded the Shiite clerical class and built the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard into the most important body underpinning his rule. The Guard became a military and business behemoth, the country’s most elite force and head of its ballistic missile arsenal — a key target for Israel and the U.S. in the war.

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Magdy reported from Cairo and Madhani from Washington. Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed.

Trump, who is trying to make progress on finalizing an Iran war deal in the coming days, is expected to have a busy schedule of one-on-one meetings with foreign leaders on the sidelines of the summit in the French lakeside town of Evian-les-Bains, according to senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.

The Republican president is expected to discuss with U.S. allies plans to remove mines from the Strait of Hormuz as confidence grows for a deal, one official said.

Britain and France, both G7 members, have expressed interest in assisting with demining the critical waterway once the conflict is paused.

Trump also plans individual meetings on the sidelines of the summit, which opens Monday, with the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and United Arab Emirates to discuss efforts to wind down the Iran war.

Macron's office said the French president will host Trump for a dinner Wednesday to mark the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States, at the Palace of Versailles, “a historic symbol of Franco-American friendship.”

The palace was the residence of French kings from the time of Louis XIV to Louis XVI. It regularly hosts heads of state and foreign dignitaries.

Macron hosted King Charles III and Queen Camilla there in 2021 for the palace’s 400th anniversary, with a dinner in the Hall of Mirrors, one of the features of the 2,300 rooms in the palace.

In 2017, before his personal relationship with Vladimir Putin deteriorated because of the war in Ukraine, the then newly elected Macron hosted the Russian president at Versailles.

Trump and Macron will meet after the U.S. leader arrives in France on Monday afternoon. Trump will depart Washington after celebrating his 80th birthday with a primetime mixed martial arts show on the White House lawn Sunday.

Trump also plans separate talks with India's prime minister, officials said. India, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt are attending the summit at Macron's invitation because they are not G7 members.

Leaders of the G7 countries, which also include Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan, are meeting to discuss economic growth and development, strengthening supply chains for critical minerals, illegal immigration and artificial intelligence, among other issues.

The wars in Ukraine and Iran are also expected to be front and center. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also be at the summit. A formal meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy is not currently scheduled, officials told reporters, though they could meet on the sidelines.

Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are likely to discuss progress toward a trade deal between their countries when they meet, officials said.

The U.S. and India signed a joint framework agreement earlier this year and negotiations continue. One of the officials told reporters a deal is possible, but unlikely to be settled on at the summit.

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Petrequin reported from London.

Drone debris sparked a fire at a sea terminal, local Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev said. He did not give details, but Russian news outlets reported that a Black Sea export terminal transporting terminal crude oil, petroleum products and liquefied gas in the village of Volna was damaged.

Ukraine’s General Staff did not comment on the Krasnodar strike Saturday, but said that its forces had hit an oil preparation and pumping station overnight in Russia’s Volgograd region, as well as Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine's Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

The attack comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country’s forces had struck several military and energy infrastructure sites deep inside Russia, including a military factory that he said supplied components for Russian drones and missiles.

He said Wednesday that Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo long-range missiles had hit the facility in Cheboksary, in the Chuvashiya region, more than 900 kilometers (560 miles) from the front line.

At the moment, he’s not scheduled to hold one-on-one talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, who will be in Evian-les-Bains for the Group of Seven summit, according to a senior U.S. administration official who briefed reporters on planning for the summit. The official spoke on the condition anonymity on ground rules set by the White House.

Trump and Zelenskyy last met in December, when the Ukrainian leader visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and the resulting global energy disruptions have overshadowed the conflict in Ukraine and pulled much of Trump’s attention away from the conflict in Europe that he vowed to quickly bring to an end during his 2024 White House run.

More than four years since the start of Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine, the more than 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line has remained largely static as swarms of drones hinder advances. As a result, both sides have increasingly relied on long-range strikes.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to strengthen air defenses after Ukrainian attacks set ablaze an oil terminal in St. Petersburg and also hit a nearby naval base, casting a cloud over a showcase economic forum in his hometown.

Elsewhere, Russian attacks injured nine people in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, setting fire to a local marketplace, regional authorities said.

Russia attacked three districts of the region more than 20 times with drones and aerial bombs, according to regional head Oleksandr Hanzha in a Telegram post on Saturday. Six were hospitalized including a man in critical condition, he added.

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AP writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report from Washington.

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

Of course, that won’t stop orange-and-blue-blooded Knicks fans from teeming into the area near the team’s Manhattan arena to watch on bar TVs and big screens as their team — playing 1,580 miles (2,545 kilometers) away in San Antonio — looks to clinch its first title in 53 years.

After a rift with the city over security measures for Game 4, the Knicks are again holding a watch party outside Madison Square Garden. Up to 3,000 fans can attend, the team said. Advanced registration is required and all fans in attendance will be screened by police. Other watch parties are being held at Radio City Music Hall and Wollman Rink in Central Park.

For Game 4 at the Garden on Wednesday, the Knicks were granted a permit for a watch party for up to 1,000 people, but team owner James Dolan declined to hold one as he lashed out at Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the police department for keeping in place a security perimeter, metal detectors and other restrictions after President Donald Trump‘s visit to Game 3 on Monday.

Those restrictions remain in effect for Game 5.

All postseason, Knicks fans have flocked to the Garden by the thousands, making playoff pilgrimages to a place known as the “Mecca of Basketball” to cheer, commune and revel in a remarkable feat: 14 wins in 15 games since April 23, and a 3-1 lead over the Spurs in the best-of-seven series.

On Saturday, Knicks fever collides with the New York City area’s first World Cup game in 32 years. The match at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey kicks off about three hours before the Knicks game, but traffic and transit restrictions extend to Manhattan, and soccer fans returning to the city by train will be arriving at Penn Station — right underneath the Garden.

Complicating matters: a concert at the Garden that is expected to bring another 15,000 to 20,000 people to the area and prevents a watch party inside the arena and a scorching heatwave that has city officials advising people to stay indoors. On Sunday, the city is hosting another big event, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade.

The concert, by the Australian pop band 5 Seconds of Summer, follows the Knicks’ 4.5 seconds of delirium Wednesday night at the Garden — a magical sequence in which OG Anunoby tipped in a Jalen Brunson miss to complete a historic 29-point comeback and put them a game from the third title in team history.

Wild scenes outside the Garden

Outside, it was pandemonium.

Fans in blue Brunson and orange Karl-Anthony Towns jerseys ran through the streets. Subway cars erupted in cheers as fans peeped the winning shot on their cellphones, their feeds interrupted at times by spotty underground reception.

Just beyond the Garden’s police-prescribed security perimeter, crowds swelled to about 10,000 people, the NYPD said. Thousands more were taking in the game and its see-it-to-believe-it ending at watch parties at nearby Bryant Park and Wollman Rink in Central Park.

But as the game progressed, the police department said in a statement, “the crowds became increasingly destructive, and there were many incidents of incredibly reckless and dangerous behavior.”

People fought in the streets and set off fireworks. They climbed scaffolding and traffic lights and smashed the windshields of four police vehicles. Some people tried to physically flip over a taxi or jump on top of moving trucks and other vehicles, police said. One group broke into a tractor trailer, took items from inside and threw them at police officers.

At least 10 officers were hurt in the mayhem, police said. One was hit in the head with a glass bottle.

In all, 56 people were taken into police custody during and after Game 4. Of them, 15 were arrested and 41 were released with criminal court summonses.

Other Knicks-related crimes remain unsolved.

On Wednesday, about two blocks from the Garden, a 17-year-old boy was beaten into a coma by people who had been arguing with him about the Knicks after their Game 4 comeback win, the NYPD said. Later, at the Spurs hotel five blocks from the arena, someone hurled an egg at star Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, but missed.

After the Spurs won Game 3 on Monday, a 39-year-old Spurs fan had his Tim Duncan jersey ripped from his body while walking back to his hotel near Times Square, the NYPD said.

New York declares Gridlock Alert

With the confluence of events on the pitch, court and stage, the city has declared a Gridlock Alert for Saturday, with severe traffic congestion expected in midtown Manhattan. Street closures and limited access to parts of Penn Station will be in effect for each of the eight World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium.

Starting at noon, two streets adjacent to the Garden — 32nd and 33rd — will be closed to vehicle traffic and used as queues for people waiting for trains from Penn Station to the World Cup. They will reopen three hours after the match ends.

The city is also barring truck deliveries from 30th Street to 60th Street from noon to 11 p.m., closing streets around the Lincoln Tunnel to New Jersey and converting some streets to bus-only corridors, including 42nd Street, which traverses Times Square. Of late, the tourist haven has been co-opted as yet another place for New York fans to cheer.

If the Knicks win Game 5, the next stop for their roving faithful will be a celebratory parade in Lower Manhattan, through a skyscraper-filled stretch of the city known as the Canyon of Heroes.

If not, the Knicks and their fans will be back at the Garden on Tuesday for Game 6.

The shooting occurred on Thursday (June 11) around 7:11 p.m. in the 9000 block of Somerset Avenue near I-94.

ShotSpotter detects more than 30 rounds

Detroit police said officers were alerted by a ShotSpotter notification that detected more than 30 rounds fired in the area.

Shortly afterward, officers received reports of a person shot and responded to the scene.

Detroit Deputy Chief Arnold Williams said investigators determined the 16-year-old boy suffered two gunshot wounds.

The teen was transported to a Metro Detroit hospital, where he underwent surgery.

Police said his injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Two girls, 12 and 13, were also injured but were not struck by gunfire.

Williams said one girl was hurt by flying glass, while the other suffered scrapes as people scrambled for safety after the shooting began.

Both girls were listed in stable condition and are expected to recover.

Argument escalated into gunfire

Investigators believe the shooting stemmed from an argument that escalated when someone retrieved a firearm and opened fire.

“We believe it started with an argument,” Williams said. “That verbal argument led to someone retrieving a weapon and firing shots.”

Police are actively searching for a person of interest but have not released a description.

Williams said investigators do not believe the individual poses an ongoing threat to the general public.

Children, families outside as shots rang out

The shooting unfolded on a warm summer evening as children and families were outside in the neighborhood, raising concerns among residents.

Williams condemned the violence and urged people to find alternatives to resolving disputes with firearms.

“There is no reason to resort to a gun to try to end a dispute or confrontation,” Williams said. “What we’re doing right now, we have one child in the hospital because of it.”

The investigation remains ongoing.

Watch the full press conference below

Matt Floca, executive director and chief operating officer of the performing arts venue, told a federal court Saturday that the institution had complied with an order to remove Trump's name from the facade. In a filing, Floca said the board of trustees and the center had removed “all physical signage on the Kennedy Center building and grounds, including the front portico, that purports to rename the Kennedy Center after President Trump.”

But for onlookers who have gathered on the plaza in front of the center over the past day hoping to witness a dramatic moment symbolizing the limits of Trump’s power, it was virtually impossible to see whether the signage was gone. A tarp hung over the scaffolding constructed for workers to perform that task. It was unclear when the tarp might be removed to reveal the original lettering that had endured for decades: “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

By the end, the Kennedy Center's leadership had dug in against a federal judge's order to erase Trump's name from the building. Two courts rejected the institution's last-minute request to keep retain Trump's name pending an appeal. After severe thunderstorms raked Washington on Friday evening, the Kennedy Center sought one more extension before complying with a noon Saturday deadline.

Those who pushed for the scrubbing of Trump's name were in a celebratory mood. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex officio member of the board who sued to remove references to the president from the building and the center's operations, was spotted in the plaza late Friday and Saturday morning. She posted a video to social media that purported to show her performing the “Trump dance” in one of the Kennedy Center's great halls.

“Today’s victory is the beginning of returning the Kennedy Center to the American people," Beatty said in a statement. “The rule of law prevailed, and that is worth celebrating.”

Leo Bartholomaus, a recent graduate of Syracuse University who lives in Virginia, said he was walking by the Kennedy Center on Friday afternoon after visiting the National Mall to see events related to this weekend's UFC match at the White House. He said he was not happy that Trump added his name to the building.

“My grandmother had a big love of the arts,” he said. “I've been here to see ‘The Lion King.’ I wasn't a fan of Donald Trump putting his name on it. I thought it was better as the Kennedy Center."

Closing an unusual chapter

The removal of Trump's name closes one of the more unusual chapters in the history of the Kennedy Center, which began construction in 1964 and was dedicated to the memory of the slain president, Democrat John F. Kennedy. At what is typically one of the few relatively nonpartisan spaces in Washington, Trump has wielded tremendous influence over the venue during his second term.

Though he rarely discussed the Kennedy Center during his 2024 campaign, Trump moved quickly to oust the institution's leadership when he returned to office in January 2025 and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairman. His name was quickly added to the building.

While the removal of his name marks a setback for Trump, he is moving forward with plans to reshape the physical landscape of the nation's capital in ways that have few modern parallels.

He demolished the East Wing of the White House and is building a controversial ballroom in its place. He remodeled the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and plans extensive renovations of a golf course in East Potomac Park, moves that could significantly reduce the public's access to running and biking paths. He is also moving forward with a triumphal arch that will sit near Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River in Virginia.

Indeed as Trump's name was being removed from the Kennedy Center, the South Lawn of the White House has been transformed into a venue for a UFC match intended to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence but also coinciding with Trump's birthday on Sunday.

Questions linger about the Kennedy Center's future

Back at the Kennedy Center, there are many questions about the institution's future. The same May court decision that ordered Trump's name to be removed from the building also blocked a planned two-year closure for renovations that was set to begin next month.

The Kennedy Center's calendar for the weeks ahead include performances of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Bluey's Big Play.” Comedian Bill Maher is to be awarded the Mark Twain Award for American Humor during a ceremony on June 28.

But little is scheduled for the stages beyond that and, after substantially reducing staff, it is unclear how quickly the Kennedy Center could build out a robust performance list. Trump, angered by the court's order to remove his name, has said he would turn the Kennedy Center over to Congress and has suggested it might simply shutter because of public safety concerns.

In its unsuccessful appeal on Friday seeking a pause on the order removing Trump's name, the Kennedy Center's leadership argued, in terms that seemed similar to the president's speech patterns, that the lower court was interfering with needed renovations.

“The District Court is not allowing us to close in order to properly fix up and repair the Building, including potentially life threatening structural damage like beams and parking garage ceilings that are rusted, and in serious danger of falling onto people below,” according to the appeal. “Indeed, total collapse!”

The institution also suggested that the president's name could return to the building if the Kennedy Center later wins its appeal.

If the court denied the venue's request for a pause, the Kennedy Center argued it would “be forced to squander time and money — by both removing the signage and then potentially returning it after appeal.”

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Associated Press journalist Emily Wang contributed to this report.

The anti-racism rally came after nights of fiery violence in parts of Northern Ireland following the arrest of a 30-year-old man from Sudan on charges of attempted murder in a stabbing that left a man partly blind.

Protests turned violent when groups of masked men set fire to several homes they believed to house immigrants, torched a bus and pelted police with bricks, bottles and firebombs. More than two dozen people were left homeless and 12 police officers were injured in what officials called “thuggery.”

“All it takes is for one person who’s not white and local to commit a crime and that fire of racism is rekindled," Elaine Crory told the crowd gathered outside Belfast City Hall.

Peaceful demonstrators carried signs saying, “The problem is evil & violence not race,” “Your racism is not patriotism” and “Protect people not prejudice.”

Newlyweds Cara Bell and Matthew Richardson said it was a happy coincidence to emerge from getting married in City Hall and joining the peaceful demonstration after the ugly violence they witnessed earlier in the week.

“It’s important to note that things like today really show that this is not the general feeling of people in Belfast,” Bell said, noting it was "a week where you’ve seen the worst of humanity and the best of humanity in Belfast.”

Despite calls for calm by officials and the family of the victim, far-right and anti-immigrant figures were blamed for whipping up protests in several place across the U.K. earlier in the week.

Disorder in Glasgow, Scotland, targeted minorities and terrified worshippers at a mosque went into lockdown, police said.

On Saturday, an anti-racism group rallied thousands to reclaim Glasgow streets and “stand up to the far right.”

The group was met by a much smaller contingent of mostly men who appeared to make Nazi salutes and shouted anti-Muslim chants.

The anti-racism group shouted, “Nazi scum off our streets.”

Katie’s Kerstetter, looking at dozens of people warming up at MLK High School in Detroit.

Her husband, MSP Motor Carrier Officer Daniel Kerstetter, was killed in 2024 in a traffic crash.

Saturday’s event was about building bridges between law enforcement and the public they’re sworn to protect.

“We need to be there and show up and we need the community to support us as well,” said Colonel James Grady, the director of MSP.

“The cause is all about bringing people together,” added a young dad. “There’s too much division out there so we want to bring the community together and do it in a way that’s special.”

Officer Kerstetter was passionate about the link between moving your body and a better mindset.

“Even when he came after a long shift you could find him in our garage working out with our boys, doing something with their daddy,” Katie said.

“It’s important to have a greater and deeper meaning and getting everyone out here because at home you don’t realize what’s going on and how they’re affected,” said a neighbor.

Katie says this is only the beginning for the Officer Daniel Kerstetter Foundation.

“Danny would be so proud,” Katie said between tears. “I’ve told everybody it’s not about money it’s about showing up, people have driven from so far, bringing their kids. That means more to me than money. Money helps, but that means more to me than anything.”

“When I walked out for the ninth, my whole body shivered and the adrenaline really kicked in,” he said.

Misiorowski threw a 104.5 mph pitch, the fastest by a starting pitcher since tracking began, and struck out 15 with no walks in a one-hitter that led the Milwaukee Brewers over the Philadelphia Phillies 6-0 on Friday night.

“That was as good as it gets,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “To pitch a game like that against an offense like that with all those All-Stars over there, it was an incredible performance.”

Misiorowski had never pitched past the seventh inning in 27 previous big league starts.

As he strode to the mound for the ninth inning, the capacity crowd of 40,205 rose in unison. Misiorowski retired Gabriel Rincones Jr. and J.T. Realmuto on groundouts, then struck out Justin Crawford with a 103.1 mph pitch that ended the game.

Misiorowski raised his hands in the air and turned to embrace catcher William Contreras.

“There was no chance I was going to throw anything other than a heater right there. I was amped up,” Misiorowski said.

He struck out Kyle Schwarber leading off the game with his fifth pitch, a 104.5 mph offering at the low, outsider corner that was tipped into Contreras' mitt.

Misiorowski (8-2) threw four pitches of 104 mph or higher, all faster than the previous high for a starter of 103.7 mph he set at Colorado on June 7. The fastest pitch overall since tracking began in 2008 was 105.8 mph by Cincinnati reliever Aroldis Chapman in September 2010.

Misiorowski reached 100 mph with a record 58 pitches, one more than he threw against St. Louis on May 25. He tossed 74 of 95 pitches for strikes and lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.34 in just the eighth complete game and fifth individual shutout in the majors this year.

He has a 0.17 ERA in his last eight starts and the 15 strikeouts were the most by any pitcher this season. Milwaukee had not had a complete game since Brandon Woodruff on Sept. 11, 2023, against Miami.

Misiorowski started the game with four straight strikeouts and fanned eight of his first nine batters.

“You pretty much better be ready to hit the fastball. You don’t see guys like this often,” Phillies manager Don Mattingly said before the game. “We see more guys throw 100 mph or up in that range, but you don’t see guys that are consistent like him. If you can’t hit a fastball, you’re in big trouble.”

Misiorowski faced the minimum 27 batters. Schwarber singled on a slider on the first pitch of the fourth and, after Bryce Harper struck out, Trea Turner grounded into an inning-ending double play.

“It was a backdoor slider that I located well, but maybe slightly off,” Misiorowski said of the pitch to Schwarber. "I was trying to jump out ahead of him. He made good contact and poked it through. End of the story.”

Murphy said Misiorowski has continued to mature.

“His work between starts is consistent,” Murphy said. “He’s worked hard in the weight room. He’s worked hard building a routine. This guy loves the ball in his hand.”

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

The 24-year-old right-hander struck out Kyle Schwarber leading off the game with his fifth pitch, a 104.5 mph offering at the low, outside corner that was tipped into the mitt of catcher William Contreras.

Misiorowski (8-2) threw four pitches of 104 mph or higher, all faster than the previous high for a starter of 103.7 mph he set at Colorado on June 7. The fastest pitch overall since tracking began in 2008 was 105.8 mph by Cincinnati reliever Aroldis Chapman in September 2010.

Misiorowski reached 100 mph with a record 58 pitches, one more than he threw against St. Louis on May 25. He tossed 74 of 95 pitches for strikes and lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.34.

He faced the minimum 27 batters. Schwarber singled on a slider on the first pitch of the fourth and, after Bryce Harper struck out, Trea Turner grounded into an inning-ending double play.

With the capacity crowd of 40,205 at American Family Field on its feet, Misiorowski struck out Justin Crawford to finish the game and raised his hands in the air in his first professional complete game. It was just the eighth complete game and fifth individual shutout in the major leagues this year.

Contreras put Milwaukee ahead in the first with a two-out RBI double off opener Tanner Banks (0-4) and Andrew Painter threw a run-scoring wild pitch in the second.

Jake Bauers hit a three-run homer in the fifth off Painter and Jackson Chourio added a run-scoring single in the sixth.

Philadelphia placed outfielder Adolis García on the 60-day injured list with a right lat tear and recalled outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. García left in the seventh inning of Wednesday night’s game at Toronto after making consecutive throws to home plate on sacrifice flies. The team also placed outfielder Steward Berroa on the paternity list.

Milwaukee put right-hander Coleman Crow on the 15-day injured list with a right flexor strain and recalled right-hander Craig Yoho from Triple-A Nashville.

Up next

Aaron Nola (3-4, 5.86 ERA) gets the start for the Phillies on Saturday against the Brewers' Shane Drohan (3-1, 3.11 ERA).

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

The rest is up to the Knicks.

New York can win its first NBA championship since 1973 on Saturday night, with the Knicks holding a 3-1 lead going into Game 5 of the NBA Finals against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.

The Knicks are 3-0 in closeout opportunities this season, winning them by an average of 39.3 points — all of them on the road.

“We’ve been preaching all year it’s about the next possession, the next possession, the next possession,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “We understand any time you try to play a closeout game, the level of desperation — for your opponents — increases (and) the level of desperation for the fans of your opponents is increased. You have to bring your best effort because even if you bring your best effort, it may not happen, especially on the road.”

New York got to the brink of this title by rallying from 29 points down in Game 4 to win 107-106 on OG Anunoby's tip-in with 1.2 seconds left. It was the largest comeback in NBA Finals history and the biggest comeback in any game this season, regular season or playoffs.

The Spurs have led each of the four games entering Saturday by double figures and let three of those games become losses.

“The biggest thing for us is just can’t take our foot off the gas in a sense,” Spurs guard Dylan Harper said. “Can’t get comfortable with a lead. It’s the NBA Finals. Anything could happen, like we just saw. But just at the end of the day, we’ve just got to stay together as a group.”

The referees selected for Saturday's game were Scott Foster, James Capers and Tyler Ford. Foster and Capers both worked Game 1 and Ford worked Game 2 of the series.

If the Spurs win, Game 6 would be Tuesday in New York.

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

Israel's military appears to be trying to make as many gains as possible in case a U.S.-Iran agreement is reached to end the war in the region, which is likely to include Lebanon.

The departure from the army barracks in Kfar Tebnit came as the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for about 20 locations, including the southern city of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported airstrikes on Saturday on different villages near Nabatiyeh, including one that killed two people in Deir al-Zahrani. It added that Nabatiyeh was subjected to artillery shelling on Saturday.

A senior Lebanese military official told The Associated Press that the Lebanese army moved its forces from the Kfar Tebnit barracks following an incursion by Israeli forces into the area. The official, who did not elaborate, spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Israeli troops were likely trying to capture the strategic Ali Taher hill on the edge of Kfar Tebnit that overlooks large parts of Nabatiyeh and some of the roads that link the city with nearby villages.

Israeli troops held the Ali Taher hill for 18 years until they withdrew from Lebanon in May 2000.

Hezbollah said in statements that its fighters carried out several attacks on Saturday including a morning one that targeted Israeli troops on the edge of Kfar Tibnit with two drones.

Hezbollah has been using fiber-optic drones since the start of the latest war inflicting casualties among Israeli troops.

In late May, Israeli troops captured a nearby strategic mountain topped with the Crusader-built Beaufort Castle in the deepest incursion into the country since 2000.

The Lebanese army said that later Saturday an Israeli drone targeted a soldier who was traveling near a hospital in Nabatiyeh, but missed. Later, however, another drone struck the soldier as he traveled on the road linking Nabatiyeh with the nearby village of Kfar Rumman, seriously wounding him.

The push on the edge of Kfar Tebnit came a day after Pakistan’s prime minister said that the United States and Iran have agreed to wording of an agreement aimed at ending their war in the Middle East and that mediators are working with both sides to finalize a deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian state TV on Friday that both sides were working toward signing an initial agreement declaring an end to the war “on all fronts, including Lebanon.”

Senior Hezbollah official Hussein Haj Hassan told Al Jazeera TV that they have been informed by Iranian officials that Lebanon will be part of a future ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran.

Iran is Hezbollah’s main backer, supplying the group with different types of weapons over the past four decades as well as billions of dollars.

Attacks by Israel and Hezbollah have continued despite a ceasefire that went into effect on April 17 and was renewed several times but remains a ceasefire in name only.

Israel continues to occupy large swaths of southern Lebanon while battling Hezbollah fighters, causing civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure. Hezbollah, which is not part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, has launched frequent rocket and drone attacks.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel two days after the U.S. and Israel began their attacks on Iran.

More than 3,700 people have been killed in Lebanon in the latest fighting, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Also, 30 Israeli soldiers and a defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, and two civilians have been killed in northern Israel, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

Here’s a snapshot of prominent economic data and news that occurred over the past week and what it potentially means for you.

Elon Musk becomes the world's first trillionaire

The world’s richest man has become its first trillionaire.

Shares in Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX soared 25% after opening for trading Friday, an auspicious start for history’s biggest initial public offering and enough to push the net worth of its founder and CEO over the trillion dollar mark.

That price gave the company a market value of $2.21 trillion. Musk, who also is a major shareholder and CEO of Tesla, is now worth an estimated $1.1 trillion, according to Forbes.

Inflation hits 3-year high

Rising gas prices pushed inflation to its highest level in three years last month, a headache for the Federal Reserve and a potential political challenge for the Trump administration as midterm elections near.

Consumer prices rose 4.2% in May from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday, up from 3.8% in April and the third straight increase. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.5% last month, after big gains of 0.6% in April and 0.9% in March.

Outside energy costs, price increases were not as dramatic, a sign that inflation hasn’t yet spread throughout the economy. Should the Iran war end and oil and gas prices decline, headline inflation could begin to cool. Gas prices have fallen this month.

US producer prices spike in May at fastest pace in more than 3 years

U.S. producer prices climbed last month at the fastest pace since November 2022, fueled by a surge in energy prices after the start of the Iran war.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that its producer price index — which captures inflation before it reaches consumers — jumped 6.5% from May 2025. It rose 1.1% from April, as it did the previous month. Wholesale gasoline prices surged by more than 23% from April to May, and nearly 70% from a year earlier.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core wholesale prices rose 0.4% from April and 4.9% from May 2025.

Social Security’s retirement trust fund faces funding shortfall one year earlier than expected

Social Security’s retirement trust fund is projected to face a funding shortfall in 2032, a year earlier than last year’s projections, according to an annual report released Tuesday, while Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund will be unable to pay full benefits in 2033, which is unchanged from last year’s estimate.

Rising healthcare costs and government spending have contributed to a projected depletion date that is less than 10 years from now.

The looming challenge for the programs is a partial funding gap, not a collapse. Even after trust fund depletion, the system will continue issuing benefits, albeit at reduced amounts.

Last year, Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund go-broke date was pushed to 2033 from 2036 the year before that, according to the report from the programs’ trustees.

Meanwhile, Social Security’s combined trust funds — which cover old age and disability recipients — will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2034, unchanged from the 2025 report. After that, incoming revenue would cover about 83% of scheduled benefits.

May home sales surge to fastest pace this year

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes accelerated last month to their fastest pace since December, a sharp turnaround in demand after a lackluster start to the spring homebuying season.

Existing home sales rose 3.2% in May from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. Sales also rose 3.2% compared with May last year.

Home sales increased from a year earlier in the Midwest, South and West, but fell in the Northeast, NAR said.

The latest sales figure topped the roughly 4.07 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

Home sales have been mostly hovering close to a 4 million annual pace going back to 2023, far short of the historic norm that is closer to 5.2 million.

Average US long-term mortgage rate rises to just below high for the year

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate ticked up this week to just below its high for the year, the latest sign that borrowing costs on home loans remain elevated relative to where they were before the war with Iran started.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.52% from 6.48% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. Despite the increase, the average rate remains below 6.84%, where it was a year ago.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers refinancing a home loan, also rose this week. That average rate climbed to 5.84% from 5.79% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.97%, Freddie Mac said.

When mortgage rates rise they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, reducing their purchasing power.

Unemployment claims climb modestly

U.S. applications for jobless aid rose modestly last week, but remain at a historically low level despite economic headwinds brought on by the war in Iran.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment aid for the week ending June 6 rose by 4,000 to 229,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most since early February, before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran, but still considered a healthy level. It’s also more than the 216,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.

Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.

Wall Street drifts as oil declines

U.S. stocks rose this week as oil prices continued to retreat.

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both rose. The Nasdaq composite was lower.

Stocks got a lift from a dip for the price of Brent crude oil, deepening its loss for the week. Oil prices have come down since President Donald Trump on Thursday called off his threat to launch strikes on Iran and said a potential deal with Iran may be imminent.

Several fighters on this Sunday’s championship fight card from Grand Rapids participated in a media workout and boxing clinic for youth members of the Puerto Rican Cultural Committee of Western Michigan on June 12 at PK Boxing Gym.

The special 5 p.m. presentation live on DAZN from GLC Live at 20 Monroe coincides with New York’s Puerto Rican Day Parade and features multiple matchups between Puerto Rican and Mexican fighters in celebration of one of boxing’s greatest rivalries.

In the main event, Puerto Rico’s Jonathan “Bomba” González (29-4-1, 14 KOs) defends his WBA Interim Flyweight World Championship against unbeaten Mexican contender Abraham “Hammer” Perez (14-0 7KOs) in what oddsmakers have set as a near-50/50 fight.

ABRAHAM “HAMMER” PEREZ:

“For this camp I trained in Albuquerque, and the only real adjustment we made for this opponent was bringing in some southpaws to spar.

“Nothing prepares you for a fight quite like fighting for your life. I was in a coma for four days on life support with organ failure after drowning (referring to a 2024 near-fatal training incident). They told me I could have woken up brain-dead or lost my legs. The only reason I fully recovered is because I was in peak athletic shape.

“That experience completely shifted my mindset. I want fans watching me on Sunday to realize that anything is possible.”

In the co-feature, Puerto Rican undefeated contender Joshua “JJ” Pagan (15-0 5KOs) puts his WBO NABO Lightweight title on the line against Mexican challenger Rodolfo Bustamante Salazar (22-1-1 12 KOs).

Members of the Puerto Rican Cultural Committee Of Western Michigan will walk out González and Pagan for their respective bouts to celebrate the occasion and Grand Rapids’ large and vibrant Puerto Rican community.

JOSHUA “JJ” PAGÁN:

“After a long camp down in Florida, there is absolutely nothing like the feeling of coming back home.

“Having those kids right there in the gym with me during the clinic from the Puerto Rican Cultural Committee of Western Michigan was incredible. It reminded me exactly who I do this for. I love this community, and fighting in front of my family, friends, and those kids in my hometown is everything to me.

“On Sunday, I’m going out there to finish the job. This weekend, I’m not just defending my belt, I’m defending my city.”

RODOLFO BUSTAMANTE SALAZAR:

“We started camp out in Mexico focusing heavily on strength and conditioning, then wrapped things up in California.

“I leave the strategy entirely up to my coaches. They prepared me to go a hard ten rounds, and if the knockout is there, we’re taking it.

“On Sunday, I want to show the fans my elegant style and give them a class performance. I prepared myself the best I can, and I’m ready to give everyone a great show.”

Also working out and guiding the local youth on Friday was Troy “Transformer” Isley (15-0, 5 KOs), who will put his unbeaten record on the line against hard-hitting Leonardo Di Stefano (17-7, 14 KOs).

TROY ISLEY:

“Camp went amazing, the weight is right where it needs to be, and I am just excited to get out there Sunday and put on a show.

“As far as a prediction, I’m going to spend the first two rounds testing his gas tank and slowly breaking him down mentally and physically. Once round three hits, I’m picking up the pace. I see a beautiful, methodical breakdown that ends in a stoppage by the sixth round at the latest.”

Electric vehicles. Brain implants. Underground tunnels. A social media platform once called Twitter. And a rocket maker that blasted off its trading from Wall Street this week.

Over time, more and more of these ventures have found themselves under the same roof. Musk merged SpaceX — which went public on Friday — with his artificial intelligence company xAI just earlier this year. But he still holds the CEO role at several corporations today, in addition to other various executive titles or ownership stakes.

Here's a look at Musk's vast business empire.

SpaceX

Musk is CEO of SpaceX, which he founded in 2002. The company has grown far beyond rockets. It owns satellite communications service Starlink, a big source of cash for the company that generated $4.4 billion in operating income last year. SpaceX also houses social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, which Musk bought for $44 billion in 2022 and parked it under xAI, the maker of the Grok chatbot.

Both xAI and X are money losers (the AI business lost $6.4 billion in operations last year). Nonetheless, SpaceX — which lost $2.6 billion overall from operations last year — was able to whip up enough market hype to debut with the biggest initial public offering in history on Friday, closing at just below $161 per share, or a total market value of $2.1 trillion.

Some think that price tag significantly overvalues the company. SpaceX has promised it will become a leader in AI and one day help make human life multiplanetary — with lofty, and at times sci-fi sounding, goals that range from putting data centers in space to colonizing Mars. But the bulk of that hinges on unproven technology and massive capital needs.

Tesla

Musk is also CEO of Tesla, a role he has held at the electric car maker since 2008.

Tesla has struggled with rising competition in the EV space. Last year, the company lost its crown as the world’s largest EV maker to China’s BYD. Sales were also bruised during boycotts over Musk’s politics. Those numbers have since rebounded some, but Musk has repeatedly shrugged off troubles — emphasizing that Tesla’s future lies less in car sales than getting people to take rides in them as self-driving taxis.

Beyond the road, Tesla has been upping production of robots for homes and businesses. And it's also been in the solar energy business for about a decade with it purchase of SolarCity, which was founded by Musk and two of his cousins. Tesla went public in 2010, and went on to join the trillion dollar club on the S&P 500. Its market cap currently stands around $1.5 trillion.

Neuralink

Musk has also the CEO title at Neuralink, a brain-computer interface company he co-founded in 2016.

Neuralink is one of many groups working to connect the human nervous system to machines. It's launched clinical trials for people who have spinal cord injuries, ALS and other conditions. The company (and sometimes Musk himself ) has announced a handful of brain implants over recent years. In January, Neuralink said it had 21 trial participants worldwide.

The Boring Company

Musk also founded The Boring Company, a decade-old tunnel digging and underground transportation business.

The Boring Company is behind projects like the “Vegas Loop” — a network of underground, Tesla-hailing tunnels that first opened around around the Las Vegas Convention Center in 2021. It's promised to deliver a network of high speed transit — with plans to also make tunnels in Dubai and Nashville. Still, pushback has piled up along the way. The company has been accused of breaking multiple safety and environmental requirements in Las Vegas, where its full route is still unfinished, and other criticism from some local officials in Nashville.

Paypal and other previous endeavors

Musk made his initial fortune by creating two companies, Zip2 and PayPal ( once X.com ). Those then-startups were sold to new owners decades ago — but netted him about $200 million at sale, which Musk used to later start SpaceX and invest in Tesla.

The news conference Friday night featured the fighters who are preparing to face off Sunday in the Octagon built outside the White House. But it was also a chance to see the UFC fans who have thronged to Washington and endured lightning, humidity and bugs for the spectacle.

Tracy Philbeck and his son Levi drove from Charlotte, North Carolina, with a group of friends to support their favorite fighter, American Justin Gaethje, in the upcoming lightweight title bout against Georgian Ilia Topuria.

"You will hear an eagle screaming when Justin Gaethje wins,” the elder Philbeck chuckled.

David Halstead journeyed from Albany, in Western Australia, to watch the sport he has loved for a decade. Halstead said Trump, who regularly attends the fights, “put UFC on the map."

The UFC has said it spent $60 million on this weekend's festivities, and Republican president has billed it as “the greatest show on earth.”

Not everyone agrees.

The Public Integrity Project described the event as a “private, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain” in a lawsuit the watchdog group filed to try to stop it from happening on federal land. A federal judge ruled on Friday that the White House was allowed to go ahead.

Only about 1 in 10 U.S. adults consider themselves mixed martial arts fans, according to Ipsos Sports polling conducted in February and March. That polling suggests MMA fans skew male and nonwhite. They are more likely to identify as Republicans than Democrats.

“One misconception is that everyone who watches UFC is a Trump supporter, but that’s not the case," said Ricardo Rodriguez, 24, explaining he loves the physicality of the sport. “People also expect a knock out every time," he said.

Ellie Louizes, who practices Muay Thai, or Thai kickboxing, and jujitsu martial arts, drove from Daytona Beach, Florida, with her boyfriend, Jacob Purvis.

Female fans of MMA are the minority. But Louizes said she knows a lot of women who get into watching the sport through their male partners. She said “female fighters are often way more aggressive” than the men.

Fans brushed off the criticism about White House as host

The fans at the Lincoln Memorial brushed off criticism about the bouts being held at the White House.

Holding fights at the “People's House,” Tracy Philbeck said, "goes back to the days of Teddy Roosevelt.”

Roosevelt regularly held sparring sessions at the White House, though they were not formal public prizefights. He was an enthusiastic amateur boxer who had boxed at Harvard and continued the sport throughout much of his life.

Boxing fans also make up a large part of the UFC's fan base.

At a UFC-sponsored community event this week at the District of Columbia's Midtown Youth Academy, the boxing gym's executive director was helping out with a visit from UFC fighter Randy Brown, who sparred with more than dozen local teenagers and preteens.

Gloria Lee said meeting the fighter was a big deal for kids at her gym. “It's just been a thrilling week, and I was about to fall out when he came in the door!” she said.

Asked about her personal UFC fandom, Lee said she had not watched it much. But by the end of Brown's visit, she got into the ring with the professional fighter and threw some slugs of her own.

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Associated Press writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report.

“It was just kind of normal,” said Ricky, a 17-year-old recent graduate in Superior, Wisconsin. “Kids were vaping in class, in the bathrooms, wherever.”

Nationally, nearly 6% of middle and high school students — amounting to 1.63 million kids — reported using electronic cigarettes in 2024, federal figures show. Although that’s down from previous years, e-cigarettes remain the most commonly used tobacco products among teens, and nearly 9 out of 10 of kids choose flavored products.

Some doctors are concerned that youth vaping rates may rise again. The Food and Drug Administration recently announced its first authorization of fruit-flavored vapes intended for adults interested in quitting or cutting back on more harmful traditional cigarettes. The policy shift came after months of appeals to President Donald Trump from the vaping industry. An FDA memo released this week said these fruit-flavored e-cigarettes are not significantly better at helping smokers quit than tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes.

“I understand the goal of giving adult smokers a less harmful off-ramp, but fruit and sweet flavors are precisely what draw young people in,” said Dr. Scott Hadland at Mass General Brigham for Children and Harvard Medical School. “I worry this could erode the hard-won progress that brought teen vaping to its lowest level in roughly a decade.”

Experts say there are ways parents can counteract the allure of e-cigarettes, teach kids about the dangers of vaping and help them quit.

Vaping poses many dangers to kids

Dr. Devika Rao sees lots of kids with respiratory problems caused by vaping, including coughing, worsening asthma, bronchitis and more severe types of lung disease.

Studies show teens who vape report higher rates of wheezing, shortness of breath and a reduced ability to tolerate exercise. Gaby Cuadra of Miami, who vaped for nine years starting at age 15, remembers how it hurt her high school track and field performance.

“As the years kept going on and I would keep vaping, the distances that I used to be able to run, I, like, couldn’t do them anymore,” said Cuandra, 25. “I would run out of breath.”

While an e-cigarette's aerosol doesn't contain most of the 7,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, most vapes “emit numerous potentially toxic substances,” according to a comprehensive 2018 consensus report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Researchers said the long-term health effects of e-cigarettes are not yet clear.

One of the biggest dangers of vaping is nicotine addiction, which can disrupt the developing brain and affect attention, learning and mood.

“The addiction factor cannot be overstated enough,” said Rao at Children's Health in Dallas. “Adolescent brains are primed for addiction.”

How to talk to your child about vaping

Start by asking questions, experts advise. You can raise the issue by, for example, pointing out a new vape shop.

“Start open-ended conversations,” Rao said.

Ask what your child knows about vaping and its harms, whether they've seen e-cigarettes and if their friends are using them.

Even if your kid is already vaping, Rao said, take a deep breath and don’t yell. Be nonjudgmental.

Consider what your child may see on social media, where some influencers call nicotine a “hack” for stress relief. Some studies show that many people misinterpret the curbing of nicotine withdrawal symptoms as stress or anxiety relief and that quitting reduces stress. A 2025 study in the journal Tobacco Control said vaping may be linked to adverse mental health outcomes and that those who quit “experience fewer urges to vape, reduced anxiety, and stabilized mood.”

Teens’ decisions are often based on their peers and what’s cool, said Anthony Alberg of the University of South Carolina, a member of the expert committee that produced the National Academies vaping report. Tell your teen they don’t have to succumb to peer pressure and that their friends should want to be friends whether they vape or not.

Younger children, Alberg said, may be more likely to listen to arguments about health effects, such as comparing vaping to “putting poison in your system.”

Arming kids with information is better than simply trying to limit access to vapes, experts said, since age restrictions often don’t keep them out of kids’ hands.

“Most teens get e-cigarettes from friends, older peers or online sellers rather than buying them in a store,” Hadland said.

A teen’s journey through vaping and quitting

When Ricky first tried e-cigarettes, he used an older cousin’s vape. Later, an older friend bought e-cigarettes for him and his friends. He particularly liked the flavors blue raspberry, strawberry, watermelon and kiwi.

In the early days, he thought vaping helped him with his ADHD.

“What I didn’t realize is that because I was addicted to nicotine, when I didn’t have it, I’d be anxious and really couldn’t focus,” he said. "Instead of being something that helped me, it just made things worse.”

Vaping also sapped his stamina, made it harder to sleep, worsened his asthma and compromised his performance as a football player and wrestler.

Eventually, he got into trouble with his school and parents for vaping and selling vapes to others. He began meeting with a school social worker and joined the American Lung Association’s Not On Tobacco program, which helps teens to quit.

The first couple of weeks were extremely difficult. But eventually, he stopped thinking about vaping as much. He quit for good in 2022.

Like Ricky, most middle and high school students who vape want to quit, researchers have found.

Parents can help them by first seeing their doctor, who can connect them with counseling or free text-message quit programs for young people.

For kids who vape heavily, Hadland said doctors may consider medications like Chantix or nicotine replacement therapy as part of a supervised quitting plan.

Cuandra quit after giving up e-cigarettes for Lent, assisted by a free program developed by Truth Initiative and Mayo Clinic called EX, which provides text message support, advice and encouragement.

“The best thing I ever did for myself was quit vaping,” said Cuandra, who has shared her story on social media.

Since Ricky gave up vaping, he’s also shared what he learned. Usually, he asks his peers what triggers their vaping and how they can avoid those situations, as he did.

“I tell them, like, ‘I’m not here to judge you,’” he said. “'I’m here to help you.'”

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

SpaceX is now worth $2.1 trillion after its stock launched 19.2% higher in its debut on Wall Street. Whether or not you believe it deserves to be worth more than Exxon Mobil, Bank of America and Coca-Cola combined, the collective market does. And if SpaceX maintains that big a value, it will join some high-profile stock indexes.

Many of these indexes don't care about how realistic a company's growth plans are or who its CEO is. They're simply trying to show how slices of the market, or the whole thing, are performing. And if SpaceX is big enough to meet the qualifications to join those indexes, whether it's in a few weeks or a year, it will gain entry.

That matters for investors and their 401(k) accounts because they're depending more than ever on funds that simply mimic these indexes. It's a lower-cost way to invest, allowing savers to keep more of their investments. Partly because of that, such index funds have usually proven to be better performers than funds that try to pick and choose individual stocks.

Just one in five actively managed U.S. stock funds survived and beat their average index peer over the last decade, at 21%, according to Morningstar's data through 2025. Such disparities in performance meant investors had more money invested in U.S. index funds than actively managed ones beginning in 2024, and the gap has only grown since then.

Here's a look at what's going on:

What indexes are

They're things the investment industry has created to answer the question: What is the market doing? It's otherwise tough to answer quickly when the U.S. market has thousands of stocks moving in different directions at any moment.

The S&P 500 is perhaps the most famous and influential index. It tracks 500 of the biggest U.S. stocks, and trillions of dollars in investments are either directly mimicking it or at least benchmarking themselves against it.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is well known because it's been around since the 19th century, but it tracks only 30 big stocks so Wall Street pays it little attention.

Companies want to be in indexes

Because index funds are the way so many investors put money into the stock market, companies want to be part of indexes. Stocks can see a big jump in their prices after S&P Dow Jones Indices, Nasdaq, FTSE Russell or other companies announce they'll be joining their indexes.

The investment industry has created funds, including both traditional mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, to track almost every kind of index. More than 1,000 index funds were available at the end of last year, according to the Investment Company Institute. Of them, 185 tracked the S&P 500.

SpaceX could soon be in indexes

Nasdaq changed its rules to allow some huge companies to join its Nasdaq 100 index after just 15 trading days. That's a break from the past, where it would wait until each December to add new members in an annual reconstitution to make sure it includes the 100 largest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq.

Some popular funds track the Nasdaq 100 index, including the QQQ exchange-traded fund from Invesco that has roughly $477 billion in total investments. That means QQQ holders could soon own shares of SpaceX, without doing anything on their own.

Other AI giants could as well

Anthropic and OpenAI are two other huge AI-related companies looking to sell their own stocks soon on a U.S. exchange for the first time. Their IPOs could potentially make each worth close to $1 trillion.

It used to be that companies would have an IPO long before they got that big. But SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI swelled to tremendous sizes thanks to dollars from private investors, including pension funds, companies and rich investors, away from the public market.

That's forcing the reconsideration for the investment industry about how quickly to add companies to indexes that they say track the biggest companies.

Not every index is making changes to fast-track big IPOs

The company behind the S&P 500 is not making changes to allow SpaceX and other “mega” IPOs faster entry into the index. For it, a stock needs to trade on an eligible exchange for at least 12 months before it can join the index.

Not only that, S&P Dow Jones Indices also requires companies to have made a profit in its most recent quarter and over the sum of its last four quarters.

SpaceX lost $4.9 billion last year and another $4.3 billion through the first three months of 2026. It acknowledges that it “may not achieve profitability in the future.” Over the long term, a stock’s price tends to track with how much profit the company is making.

Not everyone is happy about SpaceX's IPO entry to indexes

Officials from pension funds for firefighters, teachers and other workers in California and New York sent a letter to SpaceX last month decrying its corporate governance, including how much power Musk will hold over the company through his ownership of a special class of stock with more voting power.

They said they could become owners of SpaceX stock because they hold index funds.

If Musk is able to control so much of the voting power on the board of directors, it would make him tremendously powerful atop SpaceX, “essentially making him unfireable without his own consent,” the CEO of California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the New York state comptroller and the New York City comptroller wrote in their letter.

If an investor doesn’t like certain companies in the index

Index funds track indexes. And if a stock is in an index, the index fund will buy it, even if investors may not like it.

Tesla has remained in the S&P 500 even though critics called it overvalued for years, for example, and Musk's electric-vehicle company has grown to become one of Wall Street's 10 biggest companies.

Some indexes say they will not include companies that have poor corporate governance standards or other narrowed criteria, but investors need to look for them.

The S&P 500 ESG index famously kicked Tesla out in 2022, for example.

The Pentagon on Monday added several non-state-owned Chinese companies, including electric vehicle maker BYD, tech giants Alibaba and Baidu to its list that seeks to identify Chinese companies it deems to have ties to the Chinese military, preventing them from landing U.S. defense contracts.

By adding these firms to the list, “the U.S. side has ignored the consensus reached during the meeting between the heads of state of the two countries in Beijing,” a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said Saturday in a statement.

The U.S. has “disregarded the overall interests of bilateral economic and trade relations, continuously generalized the concept of national security, and abused state power to unjustifiably suppress Chinese enterprises,” the spokesperson added.

BYD, Alibaba and Baidu said earlier there’s no basis to include them in the list.

Trump in mid-May visited Beijing in a much-anticipated summit with Xi. The two leaders agreed to boost economic ties between the countries, including China's purchase of more U.S. agricultural products and Boeing jets, and the setting up separate boards of trade and investment.

The posture is an escalation from a year ago, when Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer was widely criticized within his party for a spring vote with Republicans to keep the government open. Since then, Democrats have forced government shutdowns, slowed Trump’s nominations and now blocked the bipartisan intelligence law as they seek leverage in a Republican-led Congress.

The risky strategy has consequences when government programs go dark, and Democrats have little to show for it so far in terms of policy victories. Republicans say it is a grave threat to national security to let the surveillance law, which aims to prevent terrorist attacks, expire just as millions of people are entering the United States for World Cup games and as celebrations for the nation’s 250th anniversary get underway.

But the hardball approach has helped unite Democrats inside and outside of the Capitol as they say they have no other choice — and that the blame should fall on Trump for how he is governing.

“I don’t deny that this is dangerous,” Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Thursday about Democrats allowing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to expire starting Saturday. “But this didn’t have to happen.”

Democrats’ growing confidence also comes at a time when Republicans are often sparring with Trump, who has made clear he has little interest in compromise with lawmakers in either party. Democrats are blocking renewal of the law, known as FISA, in protest of Trump’s appointment of federal housing regulator and loyalist Bill Pulte to temporarily lead the nation’s intelligence agencies. The choice also rankled Republicans, who said Pulte lacks the required experience for the job.

Lawmakers in both parties urged Trump all week to pull the appointment, and on Thursday he nominated a permanent replacement for the job just after lawmakers left Washington for the weekend. But the Senate confirmation process will take time, and Trump has not budged on Pulte’s appointment as an interim director.

With no change, Democrats “are going to use every tool we have to fight back,” said Schumer, D-N.Y.

The standoff over FISA has won Senate Democrats some respect with base voters revolted a year ago. Schumer and the caucus have “shifted to more of a fight posture,” says Joel Payne, a Democratic strategist who served as an aide to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Republicans say blocking FISA is a dangerous strategy

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Democrats have been playing “fast and loose” with national security for the past year. He pointed to the 43-day government shutdown last fall and a monthslong delay in funding for Trump’s immigration enforcement operations.

“How did we get to the point where one party has completely abdicated any responsibility for our nation’s security?” Thune asked.

Democrats argue that Pulte, with little national security background, is a greater threat. They note that as a federal housing regulator, he has pushed for investigations of high-profile political figures whom Trump considers political foes.

“It’s not a close call,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. “We cannot extend these capabilities if the president is making clear that he’s going to use them not to protect the nation, but to protect himself politically.”

Democrats fight for more leverage

Strategist Payne says he believes Democrats have gained a bit of leverage since the shutdown in the fall.

Democrats did not get the extension in health care subsidies they demanded because a small group of moderate Democrats voted with Republicans to end the impasse. They did not achieve the changes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol that they sought when they delayed passage of funding for those agencies for months. But the White House did agree to negotiate, even if those talks ultimately failed.

Democrats also have grown more unified. While moderates ended the fall shutdown, the party stayed together in blocking the immigration funding and the surveillance authority.

“They’ve showed Republicans they are not going to fold,” Payne said.

Still, it may not be enough for some in the party base or to win Democrats a majority in November's midterm elections.

Andrew O’Neill, national advocacy director for the Democratic resistance group Indivisible, said he was concerned to see some Democrats praise Jay Clayton, Trump’s permanent pick for the intelligence job.

Republicans are rushing to confirm Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, before Tulsi Gabbard leaves the job and Pulte takes over as interim director on June 19.

It is unclear, so far, if Democrats will support Clayton or allow Republicans to speed up the process and confirm him quickly.

O’Neill said he is glad Democrats blocked FISA over Pulte’s appointment, but activists are wary.

“It’s a mixed bag,” O’Neill said of the past year. “The frustration is it took so long.”

Republicans navigate Democrats and Trump

Caught in the middle are Senate Republicans, who had to spend months to fund border enforcement agencies and are now navigating the dispute over FISA, even after lawmakers reached a bipartisan compromise.

Republicans are also trying to work with Trump, who derailed the intelligence legislation when he announced Pulte’s appointment as senators were on the verge of passing that deal.

Trump has weakened Republicans' position — and his own support in the Senate — by backing primary challenges to incumbent senators. Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana both lost in primaries to Trump-backed opponents last month and have joined Democrats in criticizing Pulte.

Senate Democrats say hope their strategy gives them enough leverage to win more Republican allies.

Being in the minority is “a difficult dynamic for us,” said Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt. “But I’m seeing the Republicans start to move a little bit.”

The 35-year-old suffered serious leg and arm injuries in the attack at 11:15 a.m. off Coogee Beach, a police statement said.

“I saw the shark come out of the water and just the size of it shocked me,” lifeguard Charlie Verco told Sydney’s The Sunday Telegraph newspaper. He was in the area on his 5.5-meter (18-foot) paddleboard and was the first rescuer to the scene.

“I kept paddling towards her and the shark took her underwater and I was going, ‘What do I do now?’ A couple of seconds later, she popped up again,” Verco said.

He said the woman was too weak to climb onto the board, but he managed to grab her by an arm and they headed toward the beach. Other bystanders reached the pair and helped them back to shore.

An off-duty hospital doctor Ian Ferguson was spending the morning at the beach with his young family when he said he heard screaming and saw a “big cloud of blood in the water.”

Ferguson and others applied tourniquets to her wounds after she reached the beach. She had a 30-centimeter (12-inch) wide bite on her thigh, the flesh had been removed and bone was exposed, Ferguson told the newspaper. She had a similar wound to her arm, he said.

The victim was taken to a rugby field near the beach, from where she was flown by helicopter to a hospital. Police described her condition as critical.

The woman, who was not identified, was swimming with two friends 30 meters (100 feet) from the beach when she was attacked, ambulance official Michael Corlis said.

She was attacked by a 3.5-meter (11-foot) white shark, lifeguard Tony Waller said.

Three spearfishing divers have been killed by sharks off the Australian coast since May 16, bringing the total of fatalities in the nation this year to four. In January, a 12-year-old boy died in a hospital days after he was mauled by a bull shark in Sydney Harbor.

Australia has averaged between two and three fatal shark attacks a year since 2000, according to the Australian Shark Incident Database, a partnership of the Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Flinders University and the New South Wales state government.

Last year, Australia recorded five fatal shark attacks. Attacks in Australia have become more common over the decades as the population has grown and activities such as surfing and scuba diving have gained in popularity.

Girard is under contract through the 2027-28 campaign and becomes the franchise’s seventh player signed.

She is also the second addition during Phase 3 of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Expansion Player Distribution Process, following defender Sydney Bard.

The signing marks a homecoming for Girard, who spent three seasons in the PWHL with the New York Sirens and Boston Fleet.

Girard also played in the league’s first two games at Little Caesars Arena in March 2024 and March 2025.

Originally selected by Boston in the ninth round, 51st overall, of the inaugural PWHL Draft, Girard began the 2024-25 season with the Fleet before being traded to New York early in the campaign.

The 27-year-old has recorded 17 points (12 goals, 5 assists) in 63 career games.

That includes a career-best eight-point season in 2025-26, which featured seven goals, including the league’s first hat trick of the season in New York’s opener on Nov. 22, 2025.

Girard’s path to Detroit

Girard developed in Detroit’s Honeybaked youth hockey program and played collegiately at Lindenwood University and Quinnipiac University before turning professional with the Connecticut Whale of the Premier Hockey Federation.

She was selected first overall in the 2021 PHF Draft and earned Rookie of the Year honors.

With PWHL Detroit, Girard reunites with former New York Sirens assistant coach Josh Sciba.

Girard also joins former Boston Fleet teammates Sydney Bard and Hannah Bilka, both of whom are signed to two-year contracts.

Building Detroit’s roster foundation

Detroit has added defender Cayla Barnes and forwards Britta Curl-Salemme and Jesse Compher on three-year deals, as well as forward Daryl Watts on a four-year contract.

At the conclusion of Phase 3, each expansion team may have up to eight players.

Teams can protect up to six players total under league rules.

The Phase 3 signing window ran through Friday (June 12) at 3 p.m. ET, with protection ending at 5 p.m. ahead of Phase 4.

TeSlaa, who turned heads with multiple highlight-reel catches during organized team activities, said his acrobatic catching ability traces back to a daily routine with his father.

“Me and my dad would do this routine,” TeSlaa said. “Every single day, we had like a 30-minute to an hour routine of me just catching different balls.”

The drills included stationary catches, off-angle throws, and one-handed repetitions designed to simulate difficult in-game situations.

“I think that really just contributed, like all those repetitions of me just getting catches off balance,” TeSlaa said. “It led to me being able to do it in big moments like that.”

Learning from Lions’ elite receiver room

TeSlaa also praised the Lions’ wide receiver room, which includes veteran Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, calling it a “blessing” to learn from established playmakers.

“Just to be able to be in his shadow now and be able to learn from him and obviously J-Mo, it’s just an incredible room to be a part of,” he said.

As a rookie last season, TeSlaa said adjusting to the NFL required time and patience as he learned the playbook and built trust within the offense.

“Just being around all these guys that I knew, but they didn’t know me, I was just trying to find my role,” TeSlaa said.

Timing, trust key to historic touchdown rate

TeSlaa finished his rookie season with 16 receptions and six touchdowns, a high touchdown rate he credited to timing and trust with Goff.

“Everything just comes down to timing and trust,” TeSlaa said. “If I can be where I’m supposed to be when he thinks I’m going to be there, that’s the biggest thing to JG.”

TeSlaa added that he has his sights set on an expanded role heading into the upcoming season.

“I have bigger goals than that this upcoming season,” TeSlaa said.

Eyes on a higher standard in Detroit

TeSlaa also reflected on the team’s expectations under coach Dan Campbell following a disappointing finish last season.

“Everyone in the room knows that our standard is better than what we put on film last year,” TeSlaa said.

He said offseason practices have focused on detail and installing new offensive concepts while building momentum toward training camp.

TeSlaa also addressed his viral rookie dinner story, recalling a restaurant bill that briefly appeared to reach $41,000 before being reduced significantly.

“We were very relieved,” TeSlaa said.

The wide receiver also touched on his nickname, “Vanillatron,” a nod to former Lions star Megatron (Calvin Johnson), and said he fully embraces the comparison.

“I’ll take that, and I’ll run with it for sure,” TeSlaa said.

Ford sponsorship

TeSlaa joked about his name drawing attention, while clarifying he has no ties to Tesla and instead embraces a sponsorship with Ford.

TeSlaa, whose last name is often associated with the electric vehicle company Tesla, addressed the recurring question.

“The first thing that everyone asks me is like, ‘Do you drive a Tesla?’ I’m like, ‘No, I don’t drive a Tesla,’” TeSlaa said.

He added that he has not had any connection with the company and questioned the need for additional marketing given its visibility.

“I don’t know how much marketing they do outside of, everyone knows who Elon Musk is,” TeSlaa said. “Everyone knows what a Tesla is.”

TeSlaa said he was more excited about a sponsorship opportunity with Ford, which has ties to the Lions organization.

“I’m a Ford guy,” TeSlaa said. “They never reached out, but I was excited when Ford did.”

TeSlaa said the partnership was meaningful because of Ford’s connection to the team and the city of Detroit.

“Obviously, to be sponsored by the company that owns my team was pretty cool,” TeSlaa said.

Click here to watch the full interview.

Missed trash pickups, delayed collections, and unanswered phone calls have plagued Priority Waste customers in Southeast Michigan for more than a year.

“When you boil it all down, you got to have drivers, you got to have trucks, and customers need a container to put their waste in, too, and when all that breaks down, they got to be able to get ahold of us,” Aaron Johnson said.

Acknowledging the problem

Johnson did not mince words about the state of the company’s service.

“I know service is not as good as it’s supposed to be,” Johnson said.

The newly appointed CEO says the issues stem from a driver shortage, an aging fleet, and a backlog of residents still waiting for new trash bins.

At one point, the company had more than 10,000 overdue cart requests.

“We had over 10,000 out-of-date cart requests the past few days; we’ve dwindled that down to 4,000,” Johnson said.

Hiring drivers, adding trucks

Johnson says Priority Waste has moved quickly to address the staffing and equipment shortfalls.

The company has hired 41 drivers in the past three weeks, with some still in training.

On the equipment side, the company has made significant investments to boost its fleet.

“We bought 198 rental trucks, two weeks ago, we put in a purchase of 91 brand new automated side-loading trucks,” Johnson said.

Those trucks are trickling in as the company works through its backlog.

Johnson also noted that Priority Waste has paid off all outstanding vendor debts, allowing the company to obtain the parts and supplies needed to keep its existing trucks on the road.

Cities push back

For some municipalities, the fixes have not come fast enough.

St. Clair Shores Mayor Kip Walby says his residents have lost patience with the service provider.

“At the end of the day, core service is garbage pickup, and they were just falling short,” Walby said.

The frustration, he says, goes beyond inconvenience.

“They’re upset. The summer is busy, they’ve got compost out there that smells, they have garbage they’re concerned about, rodents, etc.,” Walby said.

St. Clair Shores has since hired Express Waste to take over its trash collection service.

Westland is also taking action. Mayor Kevin Coleman says the city is withholding $100,000 from a future payment to Priority Waste over missed pickups, delayed collections, and what he called “unacceptable service disruption.”

‘I accept full responsibility’

Johnson says he understands the frustration, especially for residents who called the company and could not get through to anyone.

Priority Waste has brought on an outside team based in Troy to help manage overflow calls.

When asked what his message is to frustrated residents and municipal leaders, Johnson did not hesitate.

“I accept full responsibility. We put ourselves in this situation, and we’ll put ourselves out, that’s why I’m here,” Johnson said.

Two sisters were arrested after allegedly stabbing a restaurant worker on Detroit’s east side over a wrong food order.

Brianna and Kierianna Long were charged with assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and assault with a dangerous weapon.

Police said the stabbing happened in the 17100 block of E Warren Avenue on May 30, just after 6 p.m.

Prosecutors allege that after the sisters received the wrong food order from a worker, they argued with the worker, went behind the counter and began assaulting the worker.

Brianna and Kierianna allegedly chased the worker throughout the restaurant while throwing things at the worker. While the worker threw things back at Brianna and Kierianna, prosecutors said they picked up a knife that was thrown at them and used the knife to stab the worker in the stomach.

Prosecutors also said hot grease was attempted to be thrown at the worker, and one of the sisters allegedly told the worker, “I’m going to kill you,” during the alleged assault.

The worker was taken to a local hospital and had to undergo surgery, officials said.

Brianna and Kierianna allegedly drove away from the scene, but were later taken into custody.

Brianna, who was 9 months pregnant when the alleged stabbing happened, gave birth four days before her arraignment.

During the arraignment, Brianna’s defense attorney claimed the worker told the sisters that they “don’t give a f---” about the wrong food order and threw things at Brianna and her sister first.

Brianna pleaded with the judge during the arraignment hearing, stating that she was innocent and that she had a 4-day-old baby at home.

The judge expressed serious concern that a food order error led to an alleged violent assault, resulting in him setting their bonds high.

Brianna was given a $25,000 cash bond. Kierianna was given a $100,000 cash bond, but will be back in court on June 10 for a bond redetermination hearing. If bond is posted, they are required to wear a GPS tether.

A snapshot of the real estate market shows buyers are moving despite home sales dipping 3.6% year-over-year.

However, RE/MAX Southeastern Michigan reports home sales jumped 15 percent month-over-month, calling it an encouraging sign.

The data shows the bigger question isn’t whether people are buying.

It’s where they’re going.

The answer might surprise you.

Hidden gems drawing buyers west

Realtor Eric Meldrum of Tru Living Group tracks housing market trends closely, and the communities topping his list aren’t the usual suspects.

Forget Birmingham.

Forget Royal Oak.

The suburbs quietly attracting buyers are Northville, South Lyon, Plymouth, Rochester Hills and Dexter based on new construction data.

“There’s a lot of new construction happening, and I think people from the Metro Detroit area are certainly people coming from in and around, you know, out of state,” Meldrum said. “They’re looking for new construction just from affordability and what they actually want.”

Meldrum says older homes dominate the core of Metro Detroit, pushing buyers to look north and west for space, newer builds and the lifestyle amenities that come with growing communities.

Growth by the numbers

In Lyon Township, there’s a lot of new construction going on that includes kind of the western parts of Novi, Northville and South Lyon and they’ve grown over 60% over the last decade in population, Meldrum said.

“They went from 14,000 to 27,000 people and it’s slated for the next decade that they’re going to double and go to about 45,000,” he said.

For buyers wondering whether they’ve already missed the window, Meldrum has a reassuring take.

“I don’t think it’s ever really too late,” he said. “People have still been moving to Royal Oak, like I said, in Birmingham for a long time. Those continue to be popular areas as well.”

What buyers can expect to pay

Price points vary depending on the property.

In the South Lyon area, single-family homes run around $450,000. New construction, however, commands a premium — typically between $500,000 and $800,000.

For families drawn by bigger lots and more acreage, Meldrum says the western suburbs are a natural fit, especially for those relocating from other states.

“When you’re moving in from out of state, you’re used to that coming from a place; maybe you have some acreage,” Meldrum said. “Where you’re going to find that is typically in South Lyon, kind of the western part of Metro Detroit and the outskirts of Ann Arbor.”

South Lyon: Small-town charm, big growth

South Lyon, the city with small-town charm, is home to roughly 12,000 residents.

New subdivisions are luring buyers from across the country, including Bob O’Connell, who recently traded upstate New York for a brand-new home in the city.

“We were looking for something with a neighborhood feel,” O’Connell said. “We didn’t really want be kind of the only house on a busy street.”

O’Connell and his family have only been in their new home about six weeks, but he’s already sold on the area.

“It’s really nice,” he said. “People are very friendly. There’s a lot of things around here. The parks are beautiful. A lot of lakes.”

Residents also appreciate the duality of having proximity to bigger cities while living a slower pace of life.

“We’re a very small-town feel, and you feel like you’re kind of in the country, but 20 minutes one way is Novi, 10 minutes the other way is Brighton,” said Amanda Fanson, a longtime South Lyon resident. “You’re very close to Ann Arbor, so you get the big city or you get all the conveniences you need that are very, very close by, but you get to live in kind of that more country and small community.”

Fanson has called South Lyon home for roughly 15 years and says the last eight years in particular have brought rapid change.

“It is sad to see the farms and the orchards, right, that are getting built up,” she said. “That does make me a bit sad.”

Still, she’s proud to see her community on the radar.

“It’s like, oh no, our special little gem,” Fanson said. “But also it feels a little bit selfish because it is so wonderful here. So, I get it, I get wanting to preserve what we have.”

Her husband, Paul Fanson, who is newer to the community, says downtown South Lyon is what hooked him.

“I really like the downtown,” he said. “The sort of like very classic Midwestern downtown with a lot of kind of interesting little shops and restaurants. That’s always been kind of the special part for me.”

Northville: Where authenticity meets charm

Northville earns its spot on the list for similar reasons.

Vicky Stearns, who visits regularly and lived there briefly, says the city has held onto something rare: a downtown that feels timeless.

“I love the feel here when I come here,” Stearns said. “When we hang out, we have a good time. I feel like I’m on vacation.”

For Stearns, Northville would be a natural next step.

“If I come from downriver, this would be one of the first places I would think about,” she said.

Schools, seniors, luxury condos

Growing communities bring growing pains and school districts are no exception.

South Lyon Community Schools Superintendent Steve Archibald says the district is cautiously optimistic about what the new housing surge could mean for enrollment.

“Like many districts, we have experienced a modest decline in enrollment in recent years, largely due to lower birth rates,” said Archibald in a released statement. “However, we are optimistic that new housing developments will attract young families and help stabilize enrollment moving forward.”

Archibald also pointed to a significant community investment in education.

Voters approved a $350 million capital improvement bond in November, which will fund projects including the renovation and expansion of the district’s Early Childhood Center.

“It is truly an exciting time for SLCS,” he said.

But it’s not just families driving demand.

Meldrum says an emerging trend is reshaping the market in these communities — luxury condominiums built for buyers looking to downsize.

“There’s not a lot of ranch-style condos or luxury homes that people that have been living in their 3,000-square-foot, nice homes can migrate to,” Meldrum said. “So, developers are now starting to develop luxury condominiums that are ranch-style side-by-side units and it’s going very well for them.”

The initial six industrial powers that huddled at the Château de Rambouillet for three days of brainstorming about fixes for the global economy became the G7 the following year when Canada joined the elite club.

During and after the Cold War, the G7 became a powerful tool of influence, enabling Western allies and Japan to hammer out common positions not only on economic issues but also their foreign policy and security priorities.

The combined economic, industrial, military, and diplomatic strength of G7 nations ensures the summits they hold annually, rotating hosting duties, are always major news events.

The next G7 summit is in France next week.

As part of its coverage, The Associated Press is republishing extracts of the story that AP correspondent Arthur L. Gavshon wrote on the first day of the inaugural summit in 1975, hosted by French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and also including the leaders of West Germany, the U.K., Italy and Japan, as well as Ford.

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By ARTHUR L. GAVSHON

President Ford called on leaders of five other major industrial nations Saturday to set themselves the task of transforming the world’s economic slump into prosperity by 1977.

Addressing the opening session of an economic summit meeting amid the splendor of the 14th-century Chateau de Rambouillet, Ford “categorically rejected the view” that expansion in the industrial world is impossible at pre-recession rates, an aide told newsmen.

He added that Ford said America’s economic recovery has been stronger than anticipated and forecast a growth rate of between 6 and 7 percent through 1976.

The first meeting with leaders of France, Britain, West Germany, Japan, and Italy began shortly after the President arrived at the historic chateau, 30 miles south of Paris.

The free-flowing talks broke nearly three hours later for dinner, and the host, French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, told newsmen: “I am optimistic. I think we can arrive at something concrete.”

A French spokesman said the leaders were reaching “a remarkable convergence of views.” British officials indicated a consensus was emerging that the worst of the economic downturn might already be over.

Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger struck the same positive note, saying the meeting “went very well.”

The dinner was remarkably simple in comparison with the usual fare for a state occasion in France and was in line with the low-key approach favored by the French.

Stuffed chicken was the main course, with wines that were good but not spectacular.

In other developments at the six-nation talks:

— Japanese Prime Minister Takeo Miki who reported his country has been hurt by a decline in world trade, began pressing immediately for a freer flow of international commerce.

— British Prime Minister Harold Wilson disclosed through aides he wants his fellow leaders to back up a plan for a new and strengthened world code to check the spread of nuclear know-how, equipment, and weapons.

— Ford will join Giscard d’Estaing and Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro Sunday morning for services at the Roman Catholic church in Poigny la Forêt, a 10-minute drive from the chateau.

The setting was priceless furniture and statuary trucked from the Louvre for the occasion, but the mood at the start of the summit was that of a relayed businessmen’s weekend seminar.

“It’s just a beautiful place here,” said Ford as President Valery Giscard d’Estaing of France led the participants from six nations into the pink and gray hall of marble at the chateau where Louis XVI passed idle hours and Napoleon his last night in France before banishment to St. Helena.

“The facilities are really gorgeous,” Ford said to Giscard d’Estaing. “It’s very comfortable.”

“I hope you feel as positive about all this afterwards,” Giscard d’Estaing shot back with a laugh. Then he called out “Helmut, oh Helmut,” as West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt entered the room.

The relayed mood also was apparent in the dress of the leaders. Giscard d’Estaing wore a greenish tweed weekend suit, and Schmidt had on a light gray one. Ford was the most formally dressed of the leaders in a dark blue suit with a vest and white shirt.

The group, 18 in all including the finance and foreign ministers of participating nations, was spread out nine on each side of a 30‑foot long table. Giscard d’Estaing and Ford faced each other across the chestnut-colored upholstery covering the table, as did Harold Wilson of Britain and Aldo Moro of Italy, and Takeo Miki of Japan and Schmidt.

Each of the participants had earphones on which to follow proceedings. There were five closed-in interpreters’ booths at one end of the smallish room, and a bust of King Francois I of France, who died at the chateau, at the other end.

The leaders do not expect to reach firm decisions at the three-day seminar but to define directions their individual governments can take in fighting inflation, unemployment and declining world trade.

Presidential press spokesman Ron Nessen said during Ford’s flight across the Atlantic that the summit may result in an improved performance in the American economy.

“The President has always thought of it in practical terms – what it means to the American consumer,” Nessen said.

Each of the visiting leaders was assigned an apartment in the chateau, home of French kings and rulers from the 14th century. Moving men had worked until the early hours Saturday uncrating furniture and paintings brought from the Louvre to spruce up the rooms.

More than 3,000 armed French police were deployed around the wooded grounds and gardens of the palace.

Ford was given the top room of the Francois I tower, which a French spokesman described as “the most comfortable apartment in the chateau.” It has a Spanish-made bed with a working fireplace at the foot and a direct telephone linking Ford to the White House.

Prime Minister Harold Wilson of Britain was given an apartment done in mahogany and satin overlooking the garden ponds; Japanese Prime Minister Takeo Miki was down the hall in an apartment with heavy beams and Louis XVI furniture; Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of West Germany was in an apartment furnished in Directoire style, and Premier Aldo Moro of Italy had rooms furnished in Empire style.

With the idea of achieving general economic growth – and a cutback of the 15 million jobless in Western countries – the six nations intend to try to align their policies on such big issues as:

— The old French-American dispute over reform of the world monetary system. The French dislike the present floating exchange rates and want to return to a more rigid system while the United States and Britain would as soon leave the system flexible.

— The formulation of a common energy policy. Ford can count on majority backing for his view that the economic and political future of the industrial democracies cannot be left to the mercy of the oil producers. New sources of supply and new conservation programs should be jointly and quickly developed.

— The general world economic outlook and ways of tackling the inflation which is undermining political stability many places.

— Relationships between the older industrialized nations of the West, the newly rich producers of oil and other scarce raw materials, and the poorest developing lands.

The remains of the girls, who were students at Utumishi Girls Academy, were placed in white coffins adorned with flowers and topped with their portraits. The coffins were lined up in front of their families, schoolmates, community members and local leaders, who called for justice.

The nine accused girls, who were students at the school, remain in police custody, with interrogations revealing that the May 28 blaze was started by lighting a mattress at the dormitory’s exit using a matchstick and paraffin. No motive has been revealed so far.

During the memorial service, hundreds of students from Utumishi Girls Academy sang a somber hymn declaring that all shall be well. One of the presiding officials reminisced about being a victim of Kenya’s deadliest school fire in 2001, when 67 boys died in a dormitory blaze in Machakos County in eastern Kenya.

Mourners called for accountability and justice as dozens of schools have closed in recent days because of student unrest. The Kenya Red Cross said that it had responded to 37 school fires since the beginning of the year.

School fires are common in Kenya, with some linked to arson attacks by students protesting disciplinary measures or scheduled examinations, while others are caused by electrical faults.

Congested dormitories, a lack of emergency exits and insufficient firefighting equipment have often contributed to loss of life and extensive damage.

Last month, Kenya's Education Ministry suspended the principal of Utumishi Girls Academy for failing to comply with school fire safety regulations. The ministry also said that it had closed more than 300 schools following a 2024 fire tragedy that killed 21 boys in central Kenya.

During the Friday memorial service attended by Kenyan first lady Rachel Ruto, the presiding bishop questioned how much longer Kenyan children and families would continue to suffer from school fires.

The school captain, Abigael Wanjiku, eulogized the girls as “friends, study partners, teammates and companions.”

“The pain of losing them is one that we will carry for a long time,” she said.

A mother representing the parents broke down in tears during her speech as she called for accountability and justice, while reassuring the surviving students that ensuring their safety remained a priority.

The world’s biggest soccer tournament finally returned to the U.S. on Friday night after a generation of anticipation.

With this phenomenal match, the Americans also look like they've arrived.

Balogun scored twice in the Americans' three-goal barrage before halftime, and the U.S. opened its first home World Cup in 32 years with its biggest win in the tournament, a dynamic 4-1 victory over Paraguay.

Christian Pulisic had an assist in a stellar first-half playmaking performance for the Americans, who enthralled their Southern California fans with an aggressive attack while streaking to a 3-0 lead — the team's largest in any World Cup game.

“It meant everything for us,” Pulisic said. “A half like that, for it to go as it did, and have the fans excited about our performance, it felt amazing.”

Gio Reyna ripped another goal in the dying moments of second-half injury time, giving the Americans four goals in a World Cup match for the first time in their tournament history dating to 1930.

This production, this confidence, this dominance — it was nothing like the vast majority of the Americans' previous performances on the international stage over the years and decades.

They've won exactly one knockout-round game in the World Cup. They've almost always struggled to score in the biggest events, most recently managing only three goals combined in their four matches at the Qatar World Cup in 2022.

In this pressure-packed home opener, the Americans were a team transformed while playing in coach Mauricio Pochettino’s more creative system in front of a passionate, star-studded Los Angeles crowd of 70,492. Led by the elite talent and coach-inspired fearlessness of Balogun, Pulisic and Weston McKennie up front, the U.S. finally had its breakthrough performance at SoFi Stadium.

“It’s difficult to compare with the past,” said Pochettino, who took over in late 2024. “I don’t know what happened in the past. I think we need to talk about today, because it was a great match. It was amazing for our fans to see, to watch this type of game, and today, I am so proud and we are so proud. I think we are winning a lot of fans, adding fans for the sport here in America.”

Not everything went perfectly: Pulisic was replaced by Sebastian Berhalter at halftime for precautionary reasons. Pochettino said Pulisic was kicked in the back of his left calf during a training session this week, and felt some subsequent tightness during the match.

“Staying positive,” Pulisic said. “I don’t think it’s anything.”

Maurício scored in the second half for Paraguay, but La Albirroja fell too far behind early in their first World Cup match in 16 years.

“The U.S. won this match very clearly and fairly,” Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro said through an interpreter. “They dominated tactically, technically and physically as well. ... This team is a complex challenge because they have answers to everything you throw at them.”

After the U.S. went ahead on an early own-goal created by Pulisic's playmaking, Balogun scored in the 31st minute and again in the fifth minute of first-half injury time.

The New York-born, London-raised striker made his World Cup debut with the first multigoal performance from a U.S. player in the tournament since 1930. Balogun chose to represent the U.S. three years ago instead of staying in the English system, where he likely would have struggled to make the Three Lions' roster — and the 24-year-old Monaco professional has swiftly provided the top-level striker play historically lacking on U.S. rosters.

“Poch has said many times, ‘Why not us?’” Balogun said. “We have to believe. You can’t do anything if you don’t believe in yourself.”

Pulisic created the first two U.S. goals with exceptional runs down the left side. In the seventh minute, the AC Milan standout cleverly split two defenders and passed to McKennie, whose centering touch hit Paraguay midfielder Damián Bobadilla’s outstretched foot and went in, setting off pandemonium in the stands.

The Americans gradually amplified their attack centered around Pulisic’s runs — and three minutes after an apparent goal from Balogun was erased by an offside call, Pulisic again drove the left side and got a deflected pass to the trailing Balogun, who banged it home.

Malik Tillman then made a perfectly weighted pass in injury time to Balogun, who sidled through the Paraguay defense and beautifully found the top shelf.

The Americans were less cohesive without Pulisic in the second half, but Reyna still added the finishing touch by gliding into the box and toe-flicking home his first World Cup goal. The moment was sweet for Reyna, who barely played at the Qatar World Cup amid a messy family dispute with former U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter.

Dozens of American celebrities and cultural icons turned out for the match 10 miles south of Hollywood, including Tom Cruise, George Lucas, Bill Gates, Halle Berry, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

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

A judge earlier in the afternoon rejected a request to pause a court-ordered deadline of Friday to remove references to Trump from the building and other aspects of the Kennedy Center's operations. The institution appealed that ruling, an effort that was also rebuffed Friday evening.

Scaffolding was erected around a section of the building that includes Trump's name but the Kennedy Center sought a short extension to complete the work. Shortly after midnight, the Kennedy Center asked a judge to extend the deadline until noon Eastern Time on Saturday because of storms that had swept through the Washington area Friday, causing a delay. Some of the thunderstorms included lightning.

In the filing, the Kennedy Center offered assurance that the “removal work is presently ongoing” and would “conclude in the early hours of the morning.”

Dozens of people spent hours on the plaza in front of the Kennedy Center taking pictures and cheering occasionally as they broke into chants of “take it down.” Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, an ex-officio board member who sued to have Trump's name removed from the building, was spotted at one point on the plaza as well.

After ignoring the Kennedy Center for much of his first term, Trump has wielded tremendous influence over the venue during his return to office. Just a month into his second term, he ousted the center’s previous leadership and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairman. Trump's name was quickly added to the building.

In his ruling that only Congress could make changes to the Kennedy Center's name, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper also blocked the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major renovations that had been planned to start in July and last for two years.

The Kennedy Center's leadership argued in its appeal Friday that the renovation was badly needed and accused the lower court, in terms that seemed similar to Trump's speech patterns, of interfering in the effort.

“The District Court is not allowing us to close in order to properly fix up and repair the Building, including potentially life threatening structural damage like beams and parking garage ceilings that are rusted, and in serious danger of falling onto people below,” according to the appeal. “Indeed, total collapse!”

Even as the Kennedy Center has fought efforts to remove Trump's name from the building, it has taken steps to comply with Cooper's initial ruling.

A June 4 memo to staff from the Kennedy Center’s Office of General Counsel said email signatures, letterhead and other documents must reflect the name as “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center.”

The Kennedy Center’s website has dropped Trump's name. And an earlier email sent to members offering ticket packages for the June 28 Mark Twain Award for American Humor ceremony came from the Kennedy Center without including Trump’s name.

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Associated Press journalists Anna Johnson, Mark Sherman and Emily Wang in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

The 24-year-old striker scored two goals as the Americans opened with a 4-1 victory over Paraguay on Friday night in front of a rabid and star-studded red, white and blue-clad sold-out crowd of 70,492 at SoFi Stadium.

“I visualized my debut in the World Cup scoring, but the reality did surpass that,” Balogun said. “A very dreamy night.”

With retired England captain David Beckham looking on, Balogun became the first U.S. player to score multiple goals in a World Cup game since 1930. Back then, Bert Patenaude scored all three goals in a 3-0 U.S. win over Paraguay, the first hat trick in World Cup history.

“The kid’s insane,” teammate Christian Pulisic said. “He’s lethal right now. We’re really lucky to have him.”

Balogun was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn to Nigerian parents. A month later, he moved to England, where he grew up in London. He joined Arsenal's academy at age 8. He represented England at the youth level and also played for the U.S. under-18 team.

England's roster is traditionally filled with stars. Nigeria failed to qualify for this World Cup. So Balogun is making himself an American household name during this summer of soccer.

“Everyone will look at the goals,” Pulisic said, “but the way he’s fighting against these center backs, holding up the ball, getting fouls, I really like it.”

Balogun committed to play for the U.S. three years ago.

“I've always said the fans gave me so much motivation and showed me so much support. The most important thing has always been to be able to repay that,” he said. “I just want to continue to show the fans I made the right decision.”

Among the crowd were Balogun's relatives, with extended family watching around the U.S. and in London.

“I was able to spot them out in the crowd, but it was tough because so many fans were wearing red and white,” he said. “I had to sort a lot of tickets, but I’m happy to do it because this is a once in a lifetime occasion and I want everyone to experience it.”

The U.S. took a 1-0 lead on an own goal by Damian Bobadilla.

Balogun extended the lead to 2-0 when Christian Pulisic played the ball into the box to set up Balogun with his 21st career assist. That tied Pulisic for fourth most in U.S. history.

Minutes earlier, Balogun nearly had another goal, but it was called back when the U.S. was offside.

Undeterred, Balogun scored again just before halftime, putting the ball in the upper left corner for a 3-0 lead.

“I’ve not been able to take it all in,” he said.

Balogun was heading back to the team hotel to rest.

“To be honest, I think I’ll just watch some Netflix,” he said, smiling.

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

Only this time, the sport was soccer.

The U.S. team's home opener in the World Cup on Friday brought more than 70,000 passionate soccer enthusiasts to the massive stadium near Los Angeles, where they saw the U.S. beat Paraguay 4-1. They had, in many cases, paid thousands of dollars to see their team play on the biggest global stage for a sport that has long been eclipsed in the United States — a sport many say is finally having its moment.

Many fans said they grew up playing soccer in recreational leagues as young children, and well into high school and college. Nakisha Gutierrez, a 37-year-old occupational therapist from Los Angeles, and her sister both played the sport. Their Argentine father raised them on soccer, and the next generation is now taking it up, too, she said.

“It's in the family blood,” said Gutierrez, her cheeks painted with sparkling red-and-blue stars. “It is the American culture — it's starting to be.”

The World Cup is played every four years, and fans around the world track their national teams, hoping they'll have a strong enough showing to qualify for it. In many countries — like Friday's opponent, Paraguay — just making it to the tournament can prompt street parties, fireworks and national holidays. In the United States, though, the response is often a bit more muted. Soccer has long been overshadowed by football, basketball and “America's pastime” of baseball.

But soccer's popularity has risen in the United States since the country last hosted the World Cup in 1994. Major League Soccer was launched two years later, and soccer has become especially popular among young athletes.

There was palpable joy in the air for U.S. fans watching the match as Folarin Balogun scored an electric two goals in the first half of the game, and star player Christian Pulisic made a shot that led to a Paraguay own goal. But the stadium was aroar when Gio Reyna sealed Paraguay’s fate with a late fourth goal during added time.

Samuel Esquivel, 9, said he was screaming when the match ended.

“That was probably, like, the second best goal,” he said of Reyna's shot. He started playing soccer last year and said he already wants to win a World Cup.

His father Roman Esquivel said they came from a family that played football, basketball, and baseball. But Esquivel's daughter and son both fell in love with soccer, and their enthusiasm for the game has spread to him as well.

“It's the most beautiful sport in the world,” he said. “There's a reason why the whole world plays soccer.”

Interest has also been buoyed by immigrants from countries where, as Gutierrez puts it, “soccer is life.”

Ava Cupit, 14, traveled with her family from Franklin, Tennessee, to cheer on the U.S. team, dressed up as the Statue of Liberty. Her great-grandfather was from Spain and helped bring soccer to their small town, where he built fields and promoted the sport.

“He made us all fall in love with it, and our whole family loves soccer,” Ava’s mother Rachel Cupit said. “The people who’ve married in, they’ve just become a part of it too.”

In the massive stadium in Inglewood, California, usually home to football games, seats were a sea of red and white. Fans wore glitter, Stars-and-Stripes high-tops, overalls, robes and the team's hallmark jerseys. Some dressed as that ultimate symbol of American patriotism, Uncle Sam, with long white beards and top hats. A few wore George Washington costumes.

They came to show their support for their team, and to show that Americans, like the rest of the world, can be passionate about soccer, too. Many were trying to attend all of the U.S. team's group round matches. One spectator said he came from Texas after seeing the U.S. team previously face off in international matches before large crowds backing their opponents.

Self-proclaimed soccer “addict” Jose Contreras said he grew up playing the sport with his uncle in Mexico because it was cheap and accessible. He flew from Georgia to support the U.S. in its opening match, even though there are games he could attend in Atlanta, closer to home.

“This is one of the happiest days of my life,” Contreras said.

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

After entering the ring, Apollo switches into an Uncle Sam costume. “I want YOU!” he roars as he points to Rocky Balboa, the far less flamboyant palooka he's chosen for this bicentennial bout in Philadelphia.

Then the two boxers pound the daylights out of each other.

It's as accurate a representation of the American bicentennial vibe as has ever been put on film — plenty of fireworks, but not much thought about how 200 years of independence led to this.

I was 13 years old in 1976. Kids my age — the tail end of the Baby Boom, or the vanguard of Generation X — grew up skeptical of the government. We had outlasted the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, with the occasional moment of joy — the moon landing, say — to break the gloom. The state of the union was intact, even if many Americans were still on edge.

My family lived in Newport News, Virginia, not far from the Historic Triangle of Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg. So there was plenty of buzz surrounding the bicentennial. President Gerald Ford and his wife, Betty, took a carriage ride through Colonial Williamsburg, foreign leaders came to visit, and the living museum regularly staged reenactments of the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Ford and plenty of other dignitaries went to New York for what the president called “the greatest Fourth of July any of us will ever see.” Operation Sail was a floating parade of 16 tall ships and more than 100 smaller vessels from around the world — including, even, the Soviet Union. It was a boon for the beleaguered Big Apple, proving that “New Yorkers could get along, even during difficult times,” according to the Gotham Center for New York History.

All aboard the Freedom Train

For history buffs who couldn't make the trip east, there was the American Freedom Train, a 26-car behemoth that toured all 48 contiguous states. It displayed two centuries of artifacts like George Washington's copy of the Constitution, the original Louisiana Purchase, Judy Garland's dress from “The Wizard of Oz” and a moon rock. Merle Haggard even released a song about it.

I had a nifty 3D poster of the Freedom Train on my bedroom wall. A different poster captured everyone's eye later in 1976 — one featuring “Charlie's Angels” star Farrah Fawcett-Majors.

It's patriotic in its own way. There's Farrah, sporting big hair, a blinding white smile and a red swimsuit, posed in front of a red, white and blue blanket. The color scheme may not have been intentional, but it might as well be titled “All-American Girl" for its presentation of what much of society saw as one.

There were plenty of more deliberate anniversary collectibles out there. A quick search of eBay in 2026 digs up hundreds of collectible plates, glasses, beer mugs and bumper stickers. The government unleashed special quarters, stamps and license plates. And of course Madison Avenue jumped in, selling bicentennial cereal, candy, beer and soda. You could get a different 7-Up can for each of the 50 states.

Even the creator of the Pet Rock — the preposterous 1975 phenomenon that was, yes, a rock in a box — tried to get in on the act. That fad, alas, had run its course, and the Bicentennial Pet Rock flopped. You'd have been better off buying a Pez dispenser with the head of Paul Revere or Betsy Ross.

Broadcast television — remember, we only had three networks — was more subdued. For kids, ABC's beloved “Schoolhouse Rock!” spun off “America Rock.” But while that cartoon did include some history, it's best remembered for the mournful civics lesson “I'm Just a Bill.”

More prominent was CBS News' "Bicentennial Minute." Starting July 4, 1974, barely a month before President Richard Nixon resigned, it ran every night in prime time, presenting the news from 200 years earlier. It was so unavoidable that sitcoms like “All in the Family” referred to it; “Saturday Night Live,” which debuted in 1975, paid tribute with a “Bisexual Minute.”

Still, all three networks pulled out the stops on July 4, 1976. Walter Cronkite led the pack with 16 hours of coverage on CBS, while “Bob Hope's Bicentennial Star-Spangled Spectacular” ("the show that took 200 years to produce") on NBC celebrated with Sammy Davis Jr., Captain & Tennille and Donny and Marie Osmond.

The bad news bearers

Certainly, not everyone was in the mood to celebrate. Richard Pryor released an influential album whose title was “Bicentennial,” followed by an ethnic slur. The title track is a monologue from a 200-year-old slave; it ends with “I ain’t gonna never forget it.” In the same album's ”Bicentennial Prayer," Pryor proclaims, "We are celebrating 200 years of white folks kickin' ass.”

Popular music wasn't in a particularly patriotic mood either. Elton John's 1975 hit “Philadelphia Freedom” became a de facto anthem of sorts, even though it's barely about Philadelphia and is more about individual independence.

Indeed, the prevailing pop attitude was: Let's forget about this mess we've left behind and go to the disco. So the Billboard singles charts were topped by the likes of Johnnie Taylor's “Disco Lady,” The Sylvers' “Boogie Fever,” The Bee Gees' “You Should Be Dancing” and KC and the Sunshine Band's “(Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty.”

On the album charts, California's hippie culture was shaking off its hangover with haunted LPs like the Eagles' “Hotel California” and Jackson Browne's “The Pretender.” Something else was breaking loose in New York, though, with aggressive debuts from the Ramones and Blondie. The Ramones' logo included an eagle holding an olive branch and a baseball bat, and their repertoire included the future stadium anthem “Blitzkrieg Bop.” What could be more American?

Speaking of America's pastime, I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up the year's funniest movie, “The Bad News Bears.” It's baseball the way it was meant to be played — by a bunch of foul-mouthed juvenile delinquents coached by a surly, alcoholic has-been embodied by Walter Matthau. Double 50-year-old spoiler alert: Like Rocky, the Bears don't win in the end. But they do have fun.

The same can't be said for the characters in most of 1976's dramatic films. Hollywood did its best to get a patriotic movie — the World War II epic “Midway” — in theaters in June, but it quickly fizzled. The top box office draw on July 4th was “The Omen,” about an angelic-looking boy who turns out to be the Antichrist.

More prestigious films continued to wrestle with the paranoia of the Nixon era. “All the President's Men” dramatized The Washington Post's investigation of the Watergate scandal. In “Taxi Driver,” a Vietnam War veteran plots to assassinate a presidential contender. In “Network,” a TV anchorman urges his viewers to open their windows and scream, “I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!”

All three are undisputed classics. All three were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. All three lost to “Rocky.”

Tren de Aragua has been labeled by the United States as a terrorist organization. Guerrero Flores was charged in a New York federal court with racketeering conspiracy and other crimes, including lending support to terrorists in crimes that stretched more than a decade, authorities announced in December.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X that the strike occurred earlier in the week on a Tren de Aragua compound in Venezuela.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said at the time that the gang is responsible for countless acts of violence, extortion and drug trafficking in North America, South America and Europe. Trump nominated Clayton on Thursday to be director of national intelligence.

The U.S. State Department had offered rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to Guerrero Flores’ arrest.

In a post on his social media site, Trump wrote, “Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else and, under my leadership, we will find these vicious murderers and drug lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong.” Trump's post referred to Guerrero Flores by his alias, “Niño Guerrero.”

The post also included unclassified video, shot from above, of a small building with a green roof exploding.

Hegseth said, “The operation underscores the shared U.S. and Venezuelan commitment to take the fight to narco-terrorists and deny them any safe haven in our hemisphere.”

Venezuela's government released a statement confirmed its participation in the operation and revealed it took place in the southeastern state of Bolivar.

“During the operation, clashes occurred with members of criminal groups, resulting in the death of Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias ‘Niño Guerrero,’ the leader of one of these criminal organizations,” according to the statement.

The mineral-rich state, which borders Brazil and Guyana, is home to large illegal mining operations long controlled by gangs and other actors who mine with the consent — and to the benefit — of officials and the military.

Trump has taken a series of extraordinary actions against the gang, including a series of strikes on small boats his administration has accused of smuggling drugs to America. At least 207 people have been killed in boat strikes by the U.S. military in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in early September.

Trump and administration officials have consistently blamed Tren de Aragua for being at the root of the violence and illicit drug dealing that plague some U.S. cities. The president spent months repeating the claim — contradicted by a declassified U.S. intelligence assessment — that Tren de Aragua had operated under Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s control. The U.S. whisked Maduro out of Venezuela to face U.S. drug charges in January.

Tren de Aragua originated more than a decade ago at an infamously lawless prison with hardened criminals in Venezuela’s central state of Aragua. The gang has expanded in recent years as millions of Venezuelans migrated to other Latin American countries or the U.S. in search of better living conditions.

Guerrero Flores returned to the prison in Aragua for murder and other convictions in 2013, when Venezuela’s crisis began as corruption, mismanagement and a drop in crude prices wrecked the oil-dependent economy. Guerrero Flores and a few other inmates saw a profitable opportunity as the government neglected prisons.

They assumed control and administration of the prison, establishing a system that controlled the entire inmate population through force and extortion. Over time, they transformed the facility into a sort of city that included a zoo, baseball field, casino and restaurants. Guerrero Flores had his own lavish suite.

The size of the gang is unclear. Countries with large populations of Venezuelan migrants, including Peru and Colombia, have accused the group of being behind a spree of violence in the region. Still, unlike other criminal organizations from Colombia, Central America and Brazil, Tren de Aragua has no large-scale involvement in smuggling cocaine across international borders, according to InSight Crime, a think tank that tracks crime across Latin America.

In Venezuela, gang leaders have long been known to participate in various illegal activities, including gold mining and drug trafficking.

The legal mining of gold and other minerals is a component of the Trump administration's phased plan to turn the crisis-wrecked country around. In March, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum told reporters during a visit to Venezuela that the government of acting President Delcy Rodríguez was giving security assurances to mining companies interested in investing in the South American country.

Trump campaigned for a second term promising to crack down on immigration and crime. While polls show his favorability ratings have sagged on his handling of the economy, immigration remains Trump’s strongest issue, according to the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

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Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano in Mexico City contributed.

A slow start and an early deficit turned into a rousing celebration once late substitute Cyle Larin scored in the 78th minute for a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday in Canada’s tournament debut on home soil.

Playing in the shadow of Toronto’s iconic CN Tower, and with hockey star Connor McDavid and actors Ryan Reynolds and Mike Myers in the stands, Larin converted Promise David’s pass a mere two minutes after entering the game.

“The crowd, I think, willed us into the game as (the players) could feel that energy in the second half tilting more and more,” said Marsch, who took particular delight upon learning Myers, who portrayed international man of mystery Austin Powers in the movies, was on among those on hand.

“Oh, sweet,” Marsch said.

It was an even better feeling for Larin, who normally starts but had to bide his time watching on the bench until late in the second half.

“It was amazing feeling, just to score a goal on home soil, where I’m from, and just to celebrate with the fans, amazing atmosphere,” said Larin, who plays for second-division English club Southampton and is from Toronto’s suburb of Brampton.

The goal was only the second in World Cup play scored by Canada after the team lost all three of its games at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and again four years ago at Qatar.

Injury fill-in Jovo Lukic headed in a corner kick in the 21st minute for Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is making its second World Cup appearance. The team previous played at the 2014 tournament in Brazil but failed to advance out of group play.

Starting in place of Edin Dzeko (shoulder) and Haris Tabakovic (undisclosed), Lukic was in an ideal position to cap a set piece with captain Sead Kolasinac flicking along a header off Ivan Basic’s corner kick. The goal was Lukic’s first in international play and coming in the 27-year-old attacker’s fourth international appearance.

Despite giving up the lead, the small Balkan nation of about 3 million people keeps coming up big on the international stage — including eliminating four-time champion Italy in the European playoffs.

Bosnia coach Sergej Barbarez couldn’t help but feel relief in how his team persevered amid such a tough environment.

“This is huge pressure and it’s a huge compliment for my team to have not succumbed to that pressure and I’m very satisfied with that aspect of the game, too,” Barbarez said through a translator.

Though a large majority of the 43,000 fans filling the temporarily expanded Toronto Stadium along the shores of Lake Ontario were Canadians, a small but vibrant group of Bosnian fans in blue also stood out in the upper deck of the stands.

The Bosnians now head west, with games against Switzerland on June 18 in Los Angeles and Qatar on June 24 in Seattle.

Canada also heads west, to Vancouver, for its final two group games, against Qatar on June 18 and Switzerland on June 24.

Marsch’s challenge is to get his team off to a better start.

“I told them after the match that if we play like that second half the whole match, we win, right?” he said.

“We’ve got to find a way to have a bit more confidence and a bit self-belief,” he added. “The good part was is in a difficult moment we responded.”

Before Larin’s goal, Canada’s best scoring chance came in the 54th minute when captain Stephen Eustaquio fed the ball to Richie Laryea in front of a wide-open net. The ball deflected off Kolasinac’s foot and hit the crossbar.

Canada was playing without Alphonso Davies (hamstring), who scored the nation’s first World Cup goal four years ago in Qatar.

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

The suspect, 45-year-old Victor Mata Villarreal, already was being sought by authorities when he began firing at police and bystanders in Midland on Friday before barricading himself in an abandoned veterinary clinic, where he was eventually found dead, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Police have provided limited details about how the shooting unfolded. Police arrived in the area after receiving reports of an active shooter, and Mata Villarreal started firing at officers, said Midland Police Chief Greg Snow. Several officers were pinned down behind their patrol cars and had to be rescued by an armored vehicle, Snow said, but no officers were shot.

Police then got everyone out of the area. “We moved to deny more targets for this active shooter,” Snow said.

A few hours after the shooting began, authorities used robot and drone footage from inside the building to confirm the shooter was dead, Midland Mayor Lori Blong. Police did not say how he died.

A spokesperson for the city identified a man killed in the shooting as Ed Scott, a father and husband who worked in solid waste for Midland. He also did a lot of work with local and regional softball organizations, according to the city.

Friends mourning his death described him in social media posts as a softball umpire and volleyball official who was known for his kindness and jokes.

Mata Villarreal, of nearby Odessa, was wanted for attempted capital murder of a peace officer after firing multiple times at a Midland police officer on Wednesday, the state’s public safety agency said.

The officer, who wasn't injured, fired back after initially trying to pull over Mata Villarreal, who drove away, investigators said. His vehicle was found empty a short distance away, they said. Police have not said why the officer tried to stop Mata Villarreal.

Friday’s standoff happened about a half-mile (1 kilometer) from where the shots were fired at the police officer Wednesday.

Police have not said why Mata Villarreal began shooting on Friday or provided any details about the victims, including who they were, how they were shot or the conditions of those still hospitalized.

Midland Memorial Hospital said four people who were brought there underwent surgery and that five had been treated and released.

Calls to numbers listed for some relatives of Mata Villarreal in Texas went unanswered Friday or appeared to be lines that had been disconnected.

Mata Villarreal had several previous encounters with law enforcement, including some arrests, records show.

He was convicted on a 2009 charge of unlawfully carrying a firearm in San Angelo, according to Texas criminal history records.

He was charged in 2003 and 2004 for unlawfully carrying a weapon and unlawful possession of a prohibited weapon, but both cases appear to have been dismissed as part of a plea. He also pleaded no contest to a domestic violence charge in 2008 that was later dismissed.

As police responded to Friday's shooting, dozens of squad cars and law enforcement vehicles descended along what’s normally a busy roadway lined with hotels and auto businesses a few miles west of Midland’s downtown.

Andrea Mendias said she heard what sounded like a small explosion at the closed veterinary clinic next to the auto body shop where she works and saw a number of heavily armed police officers rush into the parking lot. Some appeared to go inside the building.

Mendias said she earlier heard what sounded like at least 40 gunshots.

Video from Mendias showed officers pouring out of the back of an armored police vehicle and police deploying robots into the area.

The city with about 140,000 residents sits in the heart of the state’s oil and gas region and was near the site of a deadly shooting rampage in 2019.

In that shooting, a gunman who had been fired from his oil services job killed seven people and wounded two dozen others while firing at random as he drove around the Odessa and Midland areas. The two cities are more than 300 miles (482 kilometers) west of Dallas.

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Associated Press reporters Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia and Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, contributed.

He became the eighth player to hit a grand slam and a multi-run homer in an inning and the first since Angels slugger Kendrys Morales did it against Texas in 2012, according to Sportradar.

The left-handed Alvarez drove in two runs with an opposite-field homer early in the inning and cleared the bases with a two-out shot to center, giving him six RBIs in Houston's nine-run inning.

With his two-homer inning, Alvarez moved into a tie with Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead at 24.

The 28-year-old designated hitter, who is from Cuba, was the AL rookie of the year in 2019 with Houston. The three-time All-Star was the AL Championship Series MVP in 2021 and led the Astros with six RBIs the next year when they won the World Series.

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

Overnight calls for open windows with a cool low of 62 and no chance of rain.

Saturday

Saturday gets a little sticky as the dew points creep up throughout the day.

Breezy and humid with a high in the upper 80s.

Saturday night, the chance for spotty showers increases, but most of the rain will fall Sunday morning.

Sunday

Hoping to dry things out a bit in the afternoon as cooler air returns. Highs on Sunday struggle to reach the low to mid-70s.

A cooler-than-normal workweek, with highs staying in the 70s.

Find the latest forecast from the 4Warn Weather team here

Remember to download the free 4Warn weather app -- it’s easily one of the best in the nation. Just search your app store under WDIV, and it’s right there, available for both iPhones and Androids! Or click the appropriate link below.

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The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has closed the westbound I-94 ramps to and from Middlebelt and Merriman roads while crews repair the road surface.

The closures are expected to remain in place through Monday morning (June 15), though officials said the ramps could reopen sooner if work is completed ahead of schedule.

Despite the construction, access to DTW remains available via southbound I-275 to Eureka Road.

With increased traffic and potential delays, travel experts recommend arriving at the airport 90 minutes to two hours before a domestic flight.

Drivers may want to allow an additional 30 minutes due to ongoing road work near the airport.

Passengers are also encouraged to check in for their flights before leaving home, verify flight information, and have identification and boarding passes readily available when arriving at security checkpoints.

Wearing shoes and clothing that are easy to remove can also help speed up the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening process.

In addition to the work near the airport, eastbound I-96 is closed from the Southfield Freeway to Schaefer Highway as MDOT crews demolish the Hubbell Bridge deck.

That closure is also expected to remain in place until Monday morning.

Transportation officials advise motorists to check for updated traffic conditions before traveling and to allow extra time to reach their destinations throughout the weekend.

The “community prom” was held at the Anton Art Center on Friday (June 12) and was open to all juniors and seniors.

Organizers said security was on site, including coordination with the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office and private security, to help students feel safe.

The district canceled the original prom after receiving a gun threat about an hour before the event was scheduled to begin.

Officials said the threat remains under investigation.

Students, alumni, local businesses, and community members raised money and organized the alternative event, which featured a DJ, professional photography, and traditional prom elements, including a red-carpet-style entrance and a dance floor.

Organizers said they relied heavily on social media to spread the word since the event was not affiliated with Clintondale Community Schools.

Interim Superintendent Kevin Knoblock said in a statement earlier this week that the district could not participate in or coordinate any rescheduled prom due to ongoing safety concerns.

“Clintondale Community Schools is proceeding with refunds for prom tickets. Individuals who purchased tickets will receive communication from the district this week regarding the refund process.

After extensive discussion and careful consideration, the district is unable to move forward with rescheduling prom.

The situation that led to the cancellation of prom remains an active investigation. Until proven otherwise, the threat is still being treated as credible.

Because there is currently no timeline for when the investigation will be completed, the district chose to refund purchased tickets so that students and families would not be asked to wait indefinitely.

We recognize and appreciate the engagement, commitment, and support shown by members of our community who have worked to explore alternative options on behalf of our students.

Any plans, discussions, or activities related to dates, locations, or amenities associated with the Community Activist Project, including efforts to independently organize or reschedule prom, are solely those of community members and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or coordinated through the district.

Our priority remains the safety and well-being of our students. We remain committed to that and are grateful for the continued care and dedication shown by our community."

Interim Superintendent Kevin Knoblock

At a school board meeting on June 8, Knoblock and board President Jared Maynard said they supported community efforts but could not move forward with a school-sponsored event while the investigation continued.

Despite the cancellation, students said they were determined to celebrate their milestone night together, leading to Friday’s privately organized event.

Ohtani was sidelined for Friday night's 8-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox. But manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani could play this weekend and remains in line to make his next scheduled start on the mound on Wednesday.

Ohtani was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of Thursday night’s 8-6 win at Pittsburgh.

“He’s doing fine today,” Roberts said before the series opener against the White Sox. “I think that we got some pictures. There was no findings. It’s just the normal wear and tear. I thought initially it was a hamstring, it was the knee. So it just kind of got upset, swelled up a little bit.”

Ohtani, 31, is batting .305 with 13 homers and 40 RBIs in 67 games for the NL West leaders. On the mound, the reigning NL MVP is 6-2 with a 1.06 ERA in 11 starts.

Ohtani had surgery on his left knee in September 2019. Roberts said the swelling is in the back of the knee.

“That’s where a lot of the swelling with the knee kind of like builds,” Roberts said. “But again his range of motion today is good and so if it was another time in the season he’d be in there tonight.”

Ohtani did not speak with the media before the game.

Alex Call was in the leadoff spot for Los Angeles and Santiago Espinal stepped in as the designated hitter. Espinal contributed an early two-run single, but the Dodgers finished with just four hits — all in the first three innings.

Roberts also said utilityman Tommy Edman is on track to be activated from the 60-day injured list on Tuesday. Edman, who is coming back from offseason ankle surgery, is on a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who is on the 60-day IL because of a back issue, could start playing catch soon.

“(Glasnow) feels great, so he’s going to start kind of ramping things up,” Roberts said.

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

On Saturday, June 13, 2026, beginning at 2 p.m., Mulligan’s Pub and Grub invites the community to pay $20 at the door, with all proceeds to help cover the funeral expenses of Sterling Pierce, Holly Kimball, and Tanner Pierce.

A separate fundraiser has also been created to help cover Nevaeh Finch’s funeral expenses.

Robert McKiddie, the bar’s owner, said Sterling was a longtime regular he first met years ago when he worked at the bar as a bouncer.

“We became good friends ever since then, and he was just a guy you wanted to know,” McKiddie said. “He had a heart bigger than he was.”

McKiddie described Sterling as the life of the party, with a laugh that filled a room.

“He had a boisterous laugh, you felt it in your chest, you felt it in your heart,” he said. “When he laughed, the room laughed with him.”

McKiddie said Tanner, whose 23rd birthday would have been Friday, worked alongside his father as an operating engineer. He said Tanner was excited to build a life with Finch, his longtime girlfriend, and that his dad was his biggest inspiration.

He said the shock of their loss still hasn’t fully set in.

“I pretended it wasn’t him until I found out, and then yesterday, I drove by his house. That was hard,” McKiddie said. “I went back to his house and put a candle and a balloon there, knowing I’ll never have another reason to go over there.”

McKiddie said those who can’t donate are still encouraged to attend the fundraiser on Saturday and share memories of the family.

“If you can donate, great; if you can’t, just come and share,” he said. “It’ll make a difference in somebody’s life if everybody’s here.”

Gage Wade Pierce, the son of Sterling and Holly and brother of Tanner, was charged Friday with four counts of first-degree murder and four counts of felony firearm.

He was denied bond at his arraignment.

He’s scheduled to return to court June 25 for a probable cause conference and July 2 for a preliminary examination.

GoFundMe pages were also created to help support the families impacted.

• Support for Pierce-Kimball Family Memorials
• Honoring Holly, Sterling, Tanner, and Nevaeh

Shalit's family announced the death Friday to NBC News, saying in a statement that he “passed away peacefully today after 100 years of an amazing life.”

Shalit joined “Today” as a contributor in 1970 and became arts editor in 1973, later settling in for his segment, “Critic’s Corner.” When he left the show in 2010, he was one of the last high-profile film critics on a major network.

“What resonated above his unusual appearance was his incredible wit, his remarkable intelligence. But he didn’t pound you over the head with it. He amused you. He enlightened and amused whatever subject he was on,” Guy Ludwig, Shalit’s producer for more than 20 years, wrote in an essay at the time of Shalit's retirement.

It was no coincidence that Chicago critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel’s local “thumbs-up, thumbs-down” movie-review program, “Sneak Previews,” went national on PBS in the late 1970s and that “Today” show's ABC rival, “Good Morning America,” hired Joel Siegel to be its movie critic in 1981.

“Shalit was instrumental in changing the balance of critical power in America. When he began his ‘Today’ tenure, newspapers and magazines were the primary sources for movie reviews. That’s where cinematic opinion was sparked and shaped,” The Plain Dealer wrote in 2010, calling Shalit “Daniel Boone in a bow tie and Groucho glasses.”

Magazine work led to NBC offer

Shalit started as an entertainment columnist for McCall’s magazine, eventually becoming senior film critic for Look magazine in 1968 and writing for Ladies’ Home Journal. His popularity in magazines led to an offer from NBC.

“No one at NBC had seen him. They’d only read his stuff. So he walked into this executive’s office and the executive took one look at him and said, ‘Mr. Shalit, have you ever thought of radio?’” wrote Ludwig. “They didn’t know how the public would react to someone who looked so different from people who were typically on TV in 1967.”

On the air, Shalit was a middle-of-the-road critic. Of 1986’s classic “Stand By Me,” he said it was different from other movies about youth “because of instead of grossing you out, ‘Stand by You’ is engrossing.”

“Many critics will give so much of the plot of a movie away that they destroy the movie for the viewer. ... I just don’t give away the story,” he told The Associated Press in 1993.

Highlights in words

He liked “Enemy at the Gates,” starring Jude Law, calling it “a vivid dramatization of one of history’s titanic turning points.” But he called “Brokeback Mountain “wildly overpraised, but not by me” and drew condemnation from GLAAD for calling Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, Jack, a “sexual predator.” Shalit apologized.

He called “Frozen” “very cool.” He said the oddball title of “The Men Who Stare at Goats” was “heard to bleat,” and his review of “The Lovely Bones” read in part: “There’s no bones about it.”

He began reviewing on air the year of “Patton” and “Love Story” and ended his run with a critique of “Shrek Forever After,” of which he noted that the “bellow fellow is now a mellow fellow.” One highlight of this tenure was his descent into a fit of giggles while interviewing Carol Channing.

He called a remake of “King Kong” so “gargantuan that I must create new words to describe it: fabularious … a brilliantological humongousness of marvelosity.” His take on Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple”: “It should be against the law not to see it.”

In a 1981 interview with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, Belushi said Shalit’s hair looked like “an ant farm on fire.” Nevertheless, he peppered his guest with so many questions about their daily life that it felt like therapy. He asked both comedians what their last meals would be. “What do you want to be doing 10 years from now, John Belushi?” Shalit asked. “Fiddler on the Roof” Belushi replied.

During his tenure, he traded quips with anchors ranging from Edwin Newman, Barbara Walters and Jane Pauley to Tom Brokaw, Bryant Gumbel, Katie Couric, Al Roker and Meredith Vieira.

Gumbel was not always a fan, once saying Shalit’s reviews “are often late and his interviews aren’t very good.” The critique came in what was supposed to be a confidential memo to Marty Ryan, the show’s executive producer at the time.

In 1994, while in St. Pete Beach, Florida, to cover Major League Baseball spring training, a car hit Shalit as he was crossing a street and broke his leg. After that, “Today” began recording his movie reviews in his home studio.

Early life

He was born in New York and grew up in Morristown, New Jersey, starting his grammar school’s first newspaper before writing a humor column for the newspaper while a student at Morristown High School. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1949.

Shalit played the bassoon, but he said he started out on the clarinet.

“I didn’t practice for a few weeks and the teacher got furious,” he recalled in 1988, before playing bassoon in a New York City fundraiser. “He took away my clarinet and as punishment he said, ‘From now on, you’re gonna play THIS.’”

In 1987, he edited a book called “Laughing Matters: A Celebration of American Humor,” saying he wanted to introduce and reintroduce such old and new masters of American humor as Mark Twain, James Thurber and Russell Baker.

Shalit was regularly mocked on “Saturday Night Live” by cast member Horatio Sanz, who would appear on the “Weekend Update” desk dressed as Shalit and go on extended, barely coherent rants that punned the title of every movie he reviewed. Shalit also made cameos on “Sesame Street,” “Family Guy” and “SpongeBob SquarePants.”

Shalit was predeceased in 1978 by his wife, Nancy Lewis, and had six children.

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This story has been corrected to show that a movie Shalit liked was “Enemy at the Gates,” not “Defiance.” It also removes a reference to Daniel Craig, who was in “Defiance” but not “Enemy at the Gates.”

The export controls mark the U.S. government’s most significant step to date to restrict access to the most advanced AI models. Anthropic released Fable widely this week. That model is a limited version of the even more advanced Mythos, to which the company has tightly limited access due to cybersecurity fears.

In a statement, Anthropic said it disagrees with the government’s handling of the matter, saying it received the directive from the U.S. government Friday afternoon and it did not specify the national security concerns. “We believe the government should have the ability to block unsafe deployments, as part of a statutory process that is transparent, fair, clear, and grounded in technical facts,” the company said. “This action does not adhere to those principles.”

Anthropic called it a “misunderstanding” and said it hopes to restore access to the models “as soon as possible.”

The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The action comes 10 days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to a month before their public release. Participation by AI developers would be voluntary, the order said.

The Alabama Attorney General’s office filed a motion asking the Alabama Supreme Court to authorize a death warrant for Jeffery Lee, this time using lethal injection. The request came less than 24 hours after the state was thwarted in plans to use nitrogen to execute Lee, who was convicted of killing two people during a 1998 robbery.

“In sum, ADOC has not been barred from executing Lee, only from executing him by nitrogen hypoxia,” state lawyers wrote.

A spokesperson for Lee’s legal team said they did not have an immediate comment on the action. The next step is for his attorneys to respond to the request at the Alabama Supreme Court.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday night refused to lift an injunction blocking the state from executing Lee with nitrogen gas. A district judge issued the injunction after finding the state’s nitrogen protocol violated the ban on cruel and unusual punishments established in the Constitution's Eighth Amendment. The injunction, however, did not block the state from using one of its other authorized methods, lethal injection or the electric chair, to put Lee to death.

A spokesperson for Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall declined to comment Friday, citing the pending litigation. Marshall on Thursday said he would “never stop seeking justice” for Lee’s victims.

“The State is prepared to do whatever is necessary to see Mr. Lee’s lawful sentence carried out,” Marshall said Thursday.

Rulings raise questions about nitrogen executions

The development came after a week of legal rulings that cast doubt on the future of nitrogen executions, a method the state began using in 2024. It involves strapping a respirator to a person’s face and replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen gas, causing death from lack of oxygen.

Lee filed a lawsuit in 2025 challenging the constitutionality of the state’s nitrogen protocol. U.S. District Judge Emily C. Marks, after holding a three-day bench trial, initially ruled the method constitutional. However, a three-judge appellate panel on Monday reversed part of her conclusions and sent the case back. Marks issued a new finding Tuesday that the state’s execution protocol violates the Eighth Amendment and permanently enjoined the state from using it to execute Lee.

The state asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the injunction so Lee’s execution could go forward Thursday night. The court on Thursday declined to do so. The high court voted 6-3 and did not explain its reasoning. Three of the conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch — said they would grant Alabama’s request to lift the injunction and let the execution go forward.

The Supreme Court decision was only a ruling on Alabama’s emergency request to stay or lift the injunction. The court has not made a merits decision on the constitutionality of using nitrogen gas, said Robin Maher executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. However, Maher said there is now a very significant ruling by a district judge that “this method, as Alabama has chosen to use it, is unconstitutional.”

“Anyone else who’s facing a potential execution in Alabama, in which the state intends to use nitrogen gas, will argue that the very same equities that resulted in Alabama being prohibited from using it in Mr. Lee’s case should also prohibit the state from using it in their case,” Maher said.

Lee was convicted of two counts of capital murder for killing Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson while robbing a pawnshop on Dec. 12, 1998. Prosecutors said Lee entered Jimmy’s Pawnshop with a sawed-off shotgun and shot Ellis, the owner of the store, and Thompson, a store employee.

Future of nitrogen executions remain uncertain

Nitrogen has been used in eight executions in the United States — seven times in Alabama and once in Louisiana. Lee was scheduled to be the ninth.

Alabama could appeal the case back to the Supreme Court, which so far has never ruled a state’s execution method unconstitutional.

Deborah W. Denno, a professor at Fordham Law School, said it’s difficult to predict what will happen.

“What seems pretty clear to me is that Alabama is going to have a very hard time carrying out a nitrogen hypoxia execution. It’s basically three courts telling you they can’t do that,” Denno said.

The Alabama Supreme Court recently authorized a nitrogen execution for another Alabama inmate, Michael Taylor. His lawyers asked the court to recall the warrant in the wake of what happened with Lee’s case. His lawyers wrote they don’t suggest the Supreme Court's “denial of emergency relief constitutes a ruling on the merits of the State’s appeal” but said the state shouldn't move ahead for now.

The Kentucky General Assembly in April enacted a 14.25% tax on prediction market operators' transaction fees, a levy the lawsuit says is discriminatory, unconstitutional and preempted by federal law.

Prediction markets are platforms where customers can buy, sell or trade event contracts — a form of derivative that allow placing trades based on whether real-world events, such as election results or economic indicators, will or won't happen.

The new tax is higher than for Kentucky's “favored incumbent industry,” the lawsuit filed in state court by the Coalition for Fair Markets says, noting a 9.75% tax on wagers at horse tracks.

In a statement using gambling terminology, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman vowed to fight the legal challenge.

“You can bet our Office will defend these statutes and the people of our Commonwealth from out-of-state companies that seek to cancel Kentucky’s sports betting laws," he said. “In any courtroom, the attorneys with the AG’s Office are the odds-on favorite to win.”

The tax disincentivizes the operation of prediction markets in Kentucky, the lawsuit says.

“No State currently levies a State-specific excise tax of any kind on derivatives transactions that take place on a federally designated exchange, let alone the sort of specifically targeted and discriminatory tax that Kentucky has imposed here," it says.

Taxing federally regulated markets “just pushes people toward illegal platforms with no oversight and no protections,” Kalshi said in a statement. "Kalshi is an American company, regulated here at home, and we’re joining the fight for Kentuckians’ access to safe, legal markets.”

Prediction markets have been pushing hard to gain legitimacy among the public and policymakers as a legitimate platform where users can bet on everything from sports to the weather to geopolitical events.

There have been several incidents where traders have used inside information to profit on prediction market platforms. It was recently disclosed that former former Congressman George Santos was under investigation for allegedly illegally betting he wouldn’t attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address after initially saying he would. In April, a U.S. Army soldier was charged with using classified information to make a $400,000 profit trading on Polymarket on the timing of the U.S. military operations in Venezuela earlier this year.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the U.S. and Iran have reached a “final, agreed upon text.” He said Pakistan, which has taken the lead in mediation efforts, was working with the warring countries on next steps.

“Peace has never been this close as it is now,” Sharif said in a post on X.

The apparent breakthrough in negotiations comes after Iran exchanged fire with the U.S. and Israel over three days this week, threatening to return the Middle East to full-scale war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday an agreement “has never been closer” in a post on X. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said multiple times in recent weeks the countries are on the cusp of a deal, shared Araghchi's post on his own social media.

The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 has rattled the Middle East and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 7.

Iranian official says nuclear details will follow an agreement to end the war

Araghchi told Iranian state TV on Friday that both sides were working toward signing an initial agreement declaring an end to the war “on all fronts, including Lebanon.”

Israel has been fighting the Iranian-allied militia Hezbollah in Lebanon since early March. Israel is not a party to the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, and its leaders have said they don’t plan to withdraw from Lebanon.

Araghchi said terms dealing with Iran’s nuclear program would be finalized in the 60 days after the initial agreement is signed. He said the parties could agree to extend that period.

Iran’s nuclear program has been a key point of division. The U.S. and Israel fear it could lead to an atomic weapon — a main reason their leaders cited for going to war. Tehran has insisted its nuclear efforts are for peaceful purposes.

A senior U.S. administration official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said Friday that the emerging agreement would begin the process of destroying or removing Tehran’s highly enriched uranium.

The official said the 60-day period after both sides sign the deal would be used to work out technical details for removing Iran’s enriched uranium. The official did not detail who the U.S. envisions taking charge of removing the uranium, which is believed to entombed under three nuclear sites that were battered by U.S. strikes last year.

Also critical is Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for oil and natural gas. Disruption of transit through the strait has crimped global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics more expensive well beyond the region.

The U.S. official said the emerging agreement includes provisions for reopening the strait.

Araghchi said Iran wants a deal that allows Tehran to charge ships “for services rendered” when they transit the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has imposed a toll system during the war, which the U.S. and other nations say violates international law.

“There will be costs involved,” Araghchi said, “and those costs must be paid.”

U.S. Central Command late Friday said in a social media post that it intercepted several Iranian attack drones that were targeting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Officials say a deal could be signed in the coming days

Three regional officials said the emerging deal is also expected to include the phased lifting of sanctions on Iran and the release of frozen Iranian assets. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.

They said they expect a signing ceremony for the agreement in the coming days after officials in Washington and Tehran approve it.

Trump on Thursday claimed significant progress in the negotiations, just hours after he threatened to escalate attacks and seize Iran’s oil industry.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is not a party to the deal being negotiated. He said in a statement Friday that he and Trump were in “full agreement” that Iran must not have nuclear weapons.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a separate statement that Israel also expects Trump to uphold key Israeli interests, including weakening Iran's missile program and proxy network.

Katz warned that Israel could still act independently toward Iran and that the country would not pull out of the zones it is occupying in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, nor would it withdraw from the northern refugee camps of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The deal was largely being brokered by Pakistan, led by its army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, the regional officials said, with backing from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar.

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Price reported from Washington and Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press journalists Sahar Ameri in Berlin, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem, and Collin Binkley and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed.

Update: Clintondale High School students attend community prom after threat cancels event

Clinton Township Trustee Shannon King, whose daughter is a junior at Clintondale High School, said families were devastated by the sudden cancellation.

“She was part of the crew that was setting up that night, so to hear that she’s hurrying, setting up, then trying to get her dress on and get ready to go, and then to only hear that it was canceled was just, the wind was taken out of your sails,” King said.

In response, organizers raised money for what they are calling a “community prom,” which King said will include traditional prom elements such as a red carpet, DJ, dance floor, and photo opportunities. Organizers said they are relying on social media to spread the word since the event is not affiliated with the school.

The district said it cannot participate in any official rescheduling because the threat that led to the cancellation remains under investigation.

Interim Superintendent Kevin Knoblock issued a statement Monday afternoon, emphasizing that any efforts to recreate prom for students are not affiliated with or coordinated by the district.

“Clintondale Community Schools is proceeding with refunds for prom tickets. Individuals who purchased tickets will receive communication from the district this week regarding the refund process.

After extensive discussion and careful consideration, the district is unable to move forward with rescheduling prom.

The situation that led to the cancellation of prom remains an active investigation. Until proven otherwise, the threat is still being treated as credible.

Because there is currently no timeline for when the investigation will be completed, the district chose to refund purchased tickets so that students and families would not be asked to wait indefinitely.

We recognize and appreciate the engagement, commitment, and support shown by members of our community who have worked to explore alternative options on behalf of our students.

Any plans, discussions, or activities related to dates, locations, or amenities associated with the Community Activist Project, including efforts to independently organize or reschedule prom, are solely those of community members and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or coordinated through the district.

Our priority remains the safety and well-being of our students. We remain committed to that and are grateful for the continued care and dedication shown by our community."

Interim Superintendent Kevin Knoblock

At a school board meeting on Monday (June 8), Knoblock and board president Jared Maynard said they support the community effort but could not move forward with a school-sponsored event, citing safety concerns.

“No dress, tuxedo, or limo is worth more than the lives of our students,” Knoblock said. “I would rather there be disappointment than devastation.”

The community prom is scheduled for Friday, June 12, at the Anton Art Center in Mount Clemens.

Organizers are coordinating security with the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office and a private security firm.

A GoFundMe has also been started to support the event.

“This is a true testament to what it means to live in a community and have a community come to action to be able to find common ground,” King said.

The wounded man, identified as Benjamin Del Real, underwent surgery and is recovering from his injuries, his lawyer, Joseph Murphy, said in a press release.

Pam Menaker, communications partner at Clifford Law Offices, said Del Real is 25 and has been in the Army for three years. His rank is private first class. Menaker said via email that Del Real has been receiving therapy at an undisclosed location.

Maj. George Wasickanin, spokesperson for the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, said Del Real is stationed there and was undergoing training to become an enlisted member of the special forces at the time of the incident. “Our focus is on the continued support for Pfc. Del Real and taking care of his family,” he said.

Del Real was near the White House May 23 when he was seriously wounded during an exchange of gunfire when a man approached Secret Service officers at a security checkpoint near the White House and began shooting. The gunman, identified as Nasire Best, 21, was killed.

According to District of Columbia court records, Best was arrested in July 2025 after he attempted to enter a different White House checkpoint without authorization, didn’t heed officers’ commands to stop, “claimed he was Jesus Christ” and said he wanted to be arrested.

Washington television station NBC4 quoted several sources in reporting that Del Real was wounded by Secret Service officers. The Metropolitan Police Department and the Secret Service both declined commenting on that report.

At a briefing on public safety in Washington, D.C., this summer, interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said the ballistics were not back to determine who had shot the bystander. He said Del Real was visiting the city as a tourist at the time of the shooting.

Metropolitan Police Internal Affairs is investigating the shooting and will turn its findings over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Murphy, a former Army officer, said in the press release that the law firm was investigating the circumstances as well “and gathering all available facts. We will continue to work with the appropriate authorities to determine exactly what occurred and to ensure a full and accurate understanding of the events that led to our client’s severe injuries.”

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AP reporter Konstantin Toropin contributed to this story.

The agency said Friday that it closed its probe into the deal, with regulators at its antitrust division concluding that the impact of the merger “will be to increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem, with benefits for American consumers and workers.”

David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance reached a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in late February. Paramount’s victory came after months of negotiations and a rival bid by Netflix that ultimately fell short. Paramount was bought by Skydance last year.

The companies contend that merging will be good for growth in the industry and give consumers access to more content, particularly if the HBO Max and Paramount+ libraries are combined. But critics have decried what further consolidation could mean in an industry already controlled by just a few major players.

Among the potential market impacts from the merger, regulators weighed whether the deal would hurt competition in video streaming. They concluded that the merger would likely increase competition by giving customers a more “robust competitive alternative” to larger video streaming alternatives.

The agency also determined that YouTube, TikTok and other social media portals that also offer video streaming content “do not appear to be competitive substitutes here under well-established antitrust legal precedents, although they compete broadly for consumer attention.”

Regulators also concluded that the merger is not likely to harm competition for so-called linear television, citing a strong competition for live programming.

On the question of competition in Hollywood, regulators found that the combination of two major film studio operators is not likely to harm competition in studio development, production or distribution of films for theatrical release.

“Instead, evidence shows extensive competition within the industry, which has generated greater output and diversity of film offerings, and is likely to continue unabated,” regulators concluded.

Thousands of actors, directors, writers and other industry professionals have voiced “unequivocal opposition” to the Paramount deal, arguing that further consolidation will lead to job losses and fewer choices for filmmakers and moviegoers. Many lawmakers have similarly sounded the alarm.

Ellison, chief executive of Paramount Skydance, has pledged to keep Paramount and Warner Bros. as standalone movie studio operations, and vowed to release a combined 30 movies a year in theaters. Paramount has acknowledged the merger will also lead to significant cuts due to duplication.

While the Trump administration’s Justice Department has now confirmed it won’t be challenging Paramount’s $81 billion purchase of Warner, the mega merger is still being reviewed by other regulators both in the U.S. and abroad.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has been particularly vocal about the transaction, and he said his state is investigating it.

Beyond the U.S., European regulators are also looking into the deal. The European Commission has listed July 7 as a tentative deadline for its review. And the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority is aiming to make an initial decision about its probe by early August.

Paramount and Warner previously said that they hoped to close their deal sometime in the third quarter of this year. And that clock is ticking. Paramount pledged to give shareholders some compensation if the acquisition doesn’t close by Sept. 30 — in the form of a 25-cent per share “ticking fee” for every quarter past that date. It has also agreed to a regulatory termination fee of $7 billion.

However, nothing might top doing the postgame show Wednesday night from center court at Madison Square Garden after the New York Knicks made the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history to beat the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4.

“That’s the best. None of the fans are leaving. They just want to soak this whole thing in. It was like a college atmosphere. And then to do the show right there with that energy going on, that’s why you do it,” Johnson said.

Who knows how many signature moments are left in the series, but the quartet of Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith is certainly enjoying anchoring pregame, halftime and postgame NBA Finals coverage for the first time.

“Inside the NBA” moved to ESPN and ABC this season under a licensing agreement with TNT Sports, following Warner Bros. Discovery’s inability to retain NBA rights.

The show’s addition has elevated ESPN and ABC’s NBA coverage just as Joe Buck and Troy Aikman’s arrival in 2022 took “Monday Night Football” to another level.

The series resumes Saturday night in San Antonio with the Knicks one win away from their first NBA title since 1973. Johnson will present the Lawrence O’Brien trophy at the end of the finals. If the Spurs stave off elimination, Johnson presenting the trophy to the Knicks at home after a Game 6 win on Tuesday could surpass the bedlam from the comeback.

“The transition has been seamless, and it’s been a wonderful year together. Having Ernie, Chuck, Shaq and Kenny anchor our NBA Finals coverage, in tandem with our outstanding game broadcast team, has elevated our entire presentation,” said Burke Magnus, ESPN’s president of content.

“Inside the NBA” has a 90-minute pregame show, with the first hour on ESPN before shifting over to ABC. The postgame show begins on ESPN as soon as ABC's coverage ends and goes at least an hour.

Mike Breen, who is calling his record 21st finals, has enjoyed having “Inside the NBA” serve as a lead-in to coverage.

“They’re must-see TV even after all these years. They have so much fun, and because of their status in the league, what they say really matters,” Breen said. “And then you have somebody like Ernie Johnson who runs the whole thing. I don’t know if there’s another person in our industry I respect more.”

Same show, different network

Because TNT didn’t have the NBA Finals, “Inside the NBA”‘s season would end at the conference finals. Johnson said it felt different when he arrived at the arena in San Antonio before Game 1 on June 3.

“I haven’t felt like that on a game day in a long time. I was excited to be there and heading to the arena. I left earlier than planned because I didn’t want to sit around anymore,” he said. “Doing that in San Antonio and then going to New York to be in the middle of that scene was so cool. I think we are trying to make our show match the energy in the building. And I think we did that.”

“Everybody’s swinging by and shaking hands and patting us on the back. It’s surreal. We’re honored to be part of this. And it’s just been an amazing series.”

What also makes it special is that this is also the first NBA Finals for most of the show’s production crew, many of whom have been with “Inside the NBA” since the start.

Even though “Inside the NBA” airs on ESPN and ABC, TNT Sports still produces the show from Atlanta. It’s still irreverent at times and isn’t afraid to pull punches — as evidenced by Barkley’s criticism of the Spurs after Game 4, where he called them “the dumbest basketball team in the history of civilization.”

Barkley added, “When you blow a 29-point lead, the other team has to help you. The San Antonio Spurs helped the New York Knicks win this game by doing some of the stupid-ass stuff I’ve seen on a basketball court.”

For those who worried that the show wouldn’t be the same on ESPN, those fears have gone out the window throughout the season. ESPN even bought into some of the show’s humor by doing an ad with Johnson singing a song by DMX.

“There was never a ‘Hey, you guys can’t do that anymore.’ It was just ‘No, do your thing.’ And we’ve had the freedom to do that,” Johnson said. “The great thing is we have access to all these ESPN resources with pregame pieces and reporters. It's been a great deal for everybody involved.”

Successful finals for ABC

Wednesday night’s comeback averaged 20.9 million viewers and peaked at 23.2 million for the conclusion. According to Nielsen, it was the most-viewed Game 4 since ABC started showing the finals in 2003.

The series is averaging 19.6 million viewers, a 116% jump from last year’s matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers. It is on pace to be the most-watched series since 1998, when the Chicago Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz in six games.

The Game 3 pregame averaged 9.9 million viewers, a record

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

“If Texas Tech will not do the right thing, the Big 12 should,” Drummond wrote Friday in a letter to the conference. “Texas Tech should be sanctioned. I also note that the injunction granted to Sorsby applies only to the NCAA. It does not impede the Big 12 from suspending Sorsby.”

The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warned the Big 12 on Thursday of potential legal action from Texas Tech as the conference considers its options. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said the notice came shortly before the start of the league’s executive board meeting to discuss Sorsby's situation.

Drummond said claims that sanctions against Texas Tech would violate antitrust laws are meritless.

“By adopting and enforcing its bylaws, the Big 12 Conference is simply upholding integrity and fair play among membership," he said.

A Texas district court's temporary injunction that was issued Monday prevents the NCAA from enforcing its permanent ban of Sorsby, a decision that sent shock waves across college sports.

The transfer quarterback had been ruled ineligible after he acknowledged years of gambling that included more than $90,000 in wagers and at least 40 bets on his own team while he was a freshman at Indiana.

NCAA rules call for a permanent loss of eligibility for any player who wagered on his own team.

Drummond weighed in because Oklahoma State is a member of the Big 12. He suggested the conference could act under a bylaw that says a supermajority of the league’s athletic directors can sanction a member school if that school has “engaged in any action or a course of conduct materially adverse to the best interests of the conference as a whole.”

“Sadly, that fits Texas Tech to a ‘T’,” Drummond wrote. “Its actions in obtaining eligibility for Brendan Sorsby ... have constituted a shameful chapter in the story of college football. Texas Tech has acted in a manner adverse to the Big 12 and the integrity of college football as a whole."

Texas Tech says Sorsby has completed a month-long inpatient treatment program and will have to meet stipulations laid out in the court ruling if he is going to play this fall.

The school posted a 21-minute video Thursday night in which school president Lawrence Schovanec, athletic director Kirby Hocutt and coach Joey McGuire defended Texas Tech's approach with Sorsby. Hocutt said the school wasn't party to Sorsby's lawsuit against the NCAA and hasn't helped him with legal fees.

“There’s no reason whatsoever to question the integrity of our athletics department, or the competitive product that we put on the fields or on the courts each and every time that we go out,” Hocutt said. “Integrity of the game is sacred, and that’s why we’ve gone to such great lengths to ensure the monitoring and the compliance measures are in place for Brendan’s return.”

Big 12 athletic directors in a conference call Tuesday expressed strong opposition to Sorsby playing for the Red Raiders in what will be his final college season. Some of those athletic directors suggested not playing Texas Tech if he does.

The Big 12's board of directors, which is made up of presidents and chancellors from the league’s 16 schools, is set to meet Monday.

Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech in January for a reported multimillion-dollar deal after playing the past two seasons at Cincinnati, another Big 12 school. The 22-year-old Texas native first spent two seasons with the Hoosiers.

The Red Raiders, with one of college football’s most expensive rosters, won their first Big 12 title last season, set a school record with 12 wins and made the 12-team College Football Playoff.

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

The Central African Republic, a deeply impoverished country plagued by conflict, is one of at least nine African nations with this type of agreement.

Under a series of often-secret agreements that are part of a broad U.S. crackdown on immigration, the Trump administration has deported thousands of people to nearly two dozen countries that are not their own, advocates say.

The Trump administration uses deportations to third countries as a legal loophole to indirectly force asylum seekers back to their home countries, immigration lawyers said.

It was unclear exactly how many migrants were on the deportation flight that left Louisiana late Thursday on the way to the Central African Republic’s capital, Bangui.

Some of the migrants are temporarily staying at a firefighters’ base near the U.S. Embassy compound under construction in Bangui, while others will be housed at other locations, according to a source close to the embassy. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to speak publicly on the matter, also said women and men were separated upon arrival.

Among those set to be deported Thursday were people from Iran, Jordan, Armenia, Turkey, Georgia and Afghanistan, according to Ali Rahnama, interim executive director of the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, who has been in touch with some of the migrants.

Three Iranian women in the U.S. were originally scheduled to be sent to the Central African Republic, according to Sahar Jalili Pawelski, one of their immigration lawyers, who said two of them received emergency court orders temporarily stopping their deportation while judges reviewed whether the government was acting legally.

All had been granted court protection against deportation to Iran after judges ruled they faced credible fears of persecution on the basis of politics or religion, Rahnama said.

“Despite being granted withholding of removal, these individuals are being removed from the United States and abandoned in a country where they have no status, no connection and no support network. We fear they will ultimately be forced to return to the countries they originally fled,” Emily Trostle, an attorney representing two of the women, said Friday.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday would not comment on the case, saying it would not confirm future removal operations for security reasons. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Central African Republic has been plagued by years of conflict between pro-government forces and armed groups and is one of the poorest countries in the world. Despite vast reserves of gold, one in three people live on less than $2 a day.

It also is one of the countries where Wagner, a Russian mercenary group, was first active in Africa. The group has been responsible for President Faustin-Archange Touadéra’s security and fighting rebel groups.

The country remains one of Russia’s closest allies in Africa, despite recent tensions between Touadéra and Moscow over Russia’s push to replace Wagner with the state-controlled Africa Corps.

Rahnama of the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund expressed concerns about an Iranian asylum seeker being sent to the Central African Republic, noting Russia’s influence in the country and Moscow’s close security ties with Iran.

The International Organization for Migration, a U.N.-affiliated agency, will “provide post-arrival humanitarian assistance” to the migrants at the request of the Central African authorities, a spokesperson said.

The U.S. earlier this year awarded $85 million to ⁠the IOM for ​operations in the Central African Republic to provide “assistance to migrants” and promote “community stabilization.”

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Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana in Washington and Akram Oubachir in Casablanca, Morocco contributed to this report.

Thursday's storms ripped roofs off of buildings, flattened homes, brought down scores of trees and power lines and caused hundreds of thousands of power outages and major air traffic disruptions. Officials said there were no reports of deaths or life-threatening injuries, though there were several people treated for minor injuries.

Tornado damage was reported in several towns including Merrillville and Hebron in Indiana and Streator, Illinois. Authorities were surveying the damage Friday and preparing to issue emergency declarations needed to get recovery funding.

Marsha Smith was in her apartment building in Merrillville, about 33 miles (53 kilometers) southeast of Chicago, when the tornado struck the complex, tearing roofs off three buildings, knocking down trees and breaking car windshields before heavy rain caused more damage to the homes. She and some neighbors huddled under an indoor stairwell holding hands and praying.

“The louder the tornado got, the louder I started praying,” said Smith, 54, a CPR instructor. “I said, ’Oh God it’s here.′ I said, ’Lord Jesus make it pass, let it pass, let it pass over. I said, ’God give us the strength to make it through this.’ And it just started wrecking.”

Smith said there was an eerie calm just before the tornado struck. Then it sounded like a freight train smashing into her building, she said. She thanked God no one was hurt. Friday morning, she surveyed her neighborhood and described it as a catastrophe.

Officials in Merrillville said more than 200 buildings were damaged, including some that were destroyed. Downed trees and power lines blocked streets, and part of a high school's roof was ripped off. Cleanup crews were out working Friday.

Multiple agencies from the region helped local first responders search and assessed damaged areas, town officials said on social media. Crews worked into the night clearing roads. The American Red Cross set up a 700-bed shelter.

In and around Streator and Hebron, photos and videos posted on social media showed damage in those areas similar to that in Merrillville. The National Weather Service said tornadoes hit those areas as well, and it was surveying the damage to determined exactly how many tornadoes touched down.

In Streator, a manufacturing and farm city about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Chicago, emergency crews were inspecting the damage. Officials said nearly a dozen homes were damaged, including some that were destroyed. A reunification center for displaced residents was set up in its city hall and the Red Cross opened a shelter.

Streator Mayor Tara Bedei said there were no reported deaths. “We are incredibly grateful for the safety of our residents and the quick action of emergency personnel,” she said in a statement. Officials said four people were treated at a hospital for minor injuries.

First responders also worked through the night in Hebron, a small town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Chicago, officials said in a Facebook post. Damage assessments were underway.

Jennifer Hall was in her garage in Elkhart, Indiana, as the winds and rain picked up Thursday evening. Suddenly, she said, she heard a loud crash and discovered a tree limb had gone through the roof of her rental home. She used buckets to catch the rain coming in from the hole.

“I’m just nervous because it’s just been one thing after another,” said Hall, explaining she just had surgery and her husband is out of town.

The tornadoes came after severe storms swept through the Midwest on Wednesday, knocking out power, damaging buildings and canceling flights.

There were nearly 180,000 power outages in Illinois on Friday afternoon, down from more than 200,000 earlier in the day. Nearly 115,000 homes and businesses in Indiana were in the dark, down a few thousand from earlier Friday, according to poweroutage.us.

Commonwealth Edison, a major electricity provider in Illinois, said it expected to restore 80% of the power outages from Wednesday's storms by Saturday night, and 80% of outages from Thursday's storms by Sunday night. In Indiana, NIPSCO said it was working to restore power as fast as possible but did not provide a timeline.

The storms delayed or halted flights at airports in some cities, including Chicago, Philadelphia and New York on Thursday. Parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic also strained under high heat and humidity. Dozens of flights were canceled or delayed Friday at Chicago’s O’Hare International and Midway International airports, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking website.

Police in Des Moines, Iowa, said a 54-year-old man was found critically injured Thursday morning at a homeless encampment in a park after being hit by a tree that “broke apart and fell during strong storms." He died at the scene.

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This story was updated to correct that police said a man in Des Moines hit by a fallen tree was found Thursday, not Wednesday.

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Associated Press writers Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, and Gene Johnson in Seattle contributed.

The final two days at Midland Country Club also includes Juli Inkster, the 66-year-old Hall of Famer who became the oldest player to make the cut when she teamed with 27-year-old Angel Yin for a 68 in fourballs.

“I’m happy I played,” said Inkster, born 10 years after the LPGA was founded. “Sometimes you’ve got to put yourself out there and I felt like I did that this week.”

Mack and Borge were among the late starters and posted a 60 to reach 12-under 128 and zoom past the Japanese duo of Ayaka Furue and Yuna Nishimura (61).

Korda and Cowan shot 60 to finish two shots behind, with Korda doing most of the damage and Cowan stepping in for a 20-foot birdie putt on their final hole.

“We just wanted to go out and have some fun. That’s when we play our best,” Korda said. “Last week was a great week. This is the perfect week to back up that week. It’s just a little more relaxed. It’s been a blast.”

Korda said there wasn’t a lot of golf talk, mostly trying to finish to get lunch and head for their favorite coffee shop.

The U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera was her fourth win of the year, and fourth career major, solidifying her perch atop women’s golf. She played the part most of the second round in fourballs with several birdie putts.

“Nelly made a lot of putts today,” Cowan said. “I felt like I needed to make the last one.”

JoAnne Carner holds the LPGA record for individual events, making the cut in 2004 at age 64. The Dow Championship counts as official, so Inkster goes into the record book as the oldest.

This also could be a big week for Cowan, who would get a two-year exemption on the LPGA if she and Korda were to win.

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

Three regional officials say the emerging deal is expected to pave the way for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the phased lifting of sanctions on Iran, and the release of frozen Iranian assets. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.

A senior U.S. administration official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said that technical details on how to remove Iran’s enriched uranium, according to the emerging memorandum of understanding, would be worked out during a 60-day period following the two sides signing off on the agreement.

Here's the latest:

Court denies Kennedy Center request to pause removal of Trump’s name

An appeals court has rejected a last-ditch effort by the Kennedy Center’s leadership to keep Trump’s name on the building, leaving the institution with few options other than removing the name in the coming hours.

With storms dancing around Washington before a court-ordered deadline to remove references to Trump, workers were seen Friday building scaffolding around a section of the building that includes the president’s name.

A crowd gathered nearby and cheered their work as Trump’s name moved closer to being taken down.

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Migrants deported from US arrive in Central African Republic

An Iranian woman is among around two dozen migrants who arrived Friday in the Central African Republic on a deportation flight from the United States, lawyers said. It’s the latest example of the Trump administration’s widely criticized deals with African and Latin American nations to take third-country deportees.

It was unclear exactly how many migrants were on the deportation flight that left Louisiana late Thursday on the way to the Central African Republic’s capital, Bangui.

The Central African Republic is one of at least nine African nations accepting third-country deportees under widely criticized deals with the Trump administration. Immigration lawyers argue the administration uses deportations to third countries as a loophole to force asylum seekers back to their home countries.

The Central African Republic is impoverished and has strong Russian ties, raising concerns for the Iranian deportee.

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Treasury expands bank data-sharing rules tied to Trump immigration crackdown

The Treasury Department has moved to involve banks more deeply in the administration’s immigration crackdown.

The department issued new guidance Friday allowing banks to share information about suspected customers more freely.

The changes are framed as a crackdown on fraud and crime. In May, Trump signed an executive order requiring banks to scrutinize customer citizenship. The new guidance expands banks’ ability to share information, including flags tied to immigration status.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told bankers that the new guidance is part of what the banking system needs to do as part of their routine operations.

“The advisory does not ask banks to become immigration officers,” Bessent said. “It asks banks to do what they do best: know their customers, identify risk, recognize suspicious patterns, and report illicit activity when they see it.”

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Platner’s nomination reflects Democrats’ desire for a bigger tent to gain seats

Support for Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner despite a growing list of controversies reflects a Democratic Party increasingly willing to overlook behavior it might once have deemed disqualifying.

For some Democrats, the shift reflects lessons learned during the Trump era. Republicans stood by Trump through scandals, impeachments and criminal convictions, often without paying a lasting political price at the ballot box.

“I think what the people of this country and the people of Maine are interested in is how we’re going to have a government that represents all of us and addresses the many crises we face. Not the marriage problems of a campaign,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Among the controversies concerning Platner are a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol, sexting with other women shortly after he married and allegations, which Platner denies, that he locked an ex-girlfriend in a room and forcefully twisted her arm.

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Take a peek inside more new UFO files

One was a rotating disc that sent out beams of light. Another was a shining red orb of a hue the observer had never seen before. Then there was the one compared to a potato, and also a bean, but with a coat of shimmering, fish-like scales.

Those were some of the UFOs described in documents released Friday by the Pentagon, the third release since Trump directed his administration to give the public full disclosure around what it knows about alien life and mysterious objects in the sky.

The 72 files released on Friday don’t include the kind of blockbuster revelation that Trump has teased. There’s no conclusive evidence of alien life or government cover-ups. But the files reveal new details about some recent sightings, along with the government’s efforts to explain what many find inexplicable.

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As Trump again says the Iran war could soon end, some objectives are unfulfilled

The Trump administration has said its war aims are clear and unchanging. However, the list has expanded and shifted as the president and his administration have spoken about the conflict, now in its fourth month.

All the while, the war has battered the global economy, tested alliances and raised unanswered questions about the planning for the conflict, its justification and its aftermath.

By most accounts, the strikes by the U.S. and Israel have significantly degraded Iran’s military capabilities and killed scores of senior leaders. But those tactical successes don’t necessarily translate into achieving all the president’s strategic aims, even as the administration said Friday that it was meeting the goals it had laid out.

Here’s a look at the objectives laid out by Trump at various points during the war, and what we know about where they stand:

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The rise of UFC: Dana White’s path from ‘human cockfighting’ to the White House starts with Trump

Dana White and the UFC’s journey to the White House began 25 years ago with a modest event in Atlantic City called “Battle on the Boardwalk.”

At the time, White was a new UFC president who said his goal was to make the fledging promotion “the Super Bowl of mixed martial arts.”

The site of this seemingly absurd proclamation: Trump Taj Mahal.

After larger fights outside the cage for legitimacy and legalization, UFC is back at Trump’s home this weekend, though both the promotion and the businessman have long since leveled up in status and stature.

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White House is trying to assure Netanyahu about emerging deal

Trump spoke on Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the latest efforts to reach an agreement with Iran, according to a senior U.S. administration official.

The official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said that the U.S. administration is stressing to Israeli officials that any deal will require Iran to begin delivering on concessions in the deal before Tehran receives any potential benefits from the settlement.

— By Aamer Madhani in Washington

Cuban president announces economic reforms amid tensions

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Friday announced a package of economic reforms aimed at attracting investment, expanding participation by Cubans living abroad in the economy and decentralizing parts of the country’s administration.

The president did not provide details during remarks to state media.

“Every opportunity in the midst of a crisis must be seized as a moment for takeoff, as a moment for growth,” Díaz-Canel said, according to a statement from the presidency that was republished by state-run media.

The reforms come amid heightened tensions in U.S.-Cuba relations. The U.S. has pressed for economic reforms since launching a blockade that has deprived Cuba of fuel since February.

Technical details are still in flux for emerging Iran deal, US official says

A senior U.S. administration official said that a deal with Iran was 80% to 85% done, and the U.S. side believes “most of the people who have authority” in the Iranian government want to sign on to the deal “but not everybody.”

The official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said that technical details on how to go about removing Iran’s enriched uranium, according to the emerging memorandum of understanding, would be worked out during a 60-day period following the two sides signing off on the agreement.

The official did not detail who the U.S. envisions taking charge of removing the uranium, which is believed to be entombed under three nuclear sites that were battered by U.S. strikes last year.

— By Aamer Madhani in Washington

Judge rules Trump can stage UFC fights at the White House this weekend

A federal judge has refused to stop the White House from staging a UFC mixed martial arts event this weekend in an elaborate ring already built on the South Lawn to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary — on Trump’s 80th birthday.

The nonprofit Public Integrity Project sued to challenge Trump’s UFC Freedom 250 event.

The White House calls the lawsuit baseless, saying it’s no different from many other events hosted at public forums in the capital.

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Judge denies Kennedy Center request for pause in ruling ordering Trump’s name removed from building

That denial came Friday. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled last month Trump’s name was illegally added to the iconic Washington performing arts facility. Cooper ruled only Congress could institute a change to the Kennedy Center’s name and ordered references to Trump to be removed by Friday.

A June 4 memo to staff from the Kennedy Center’s Office of General Counsel said email signatures, letterhead and other documents must reflect the name as “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center.”

The Kennedy Center’s website has dropped Trump’s name. And an email earlier this week sent to members offering ticket packages for the June 28 Mark Twain Award for American Humor ceremony came from the Kennedy Center without including Trump’s name.

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Pakistan says US and Iran agree on ‘final’ text of a peace deal

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Friday that a “final, agreed upon text of the peace deal” between the United States and Iran has been reached and that Pakistan is now working with both sides to finalize the next steps.

“Peace has never been this close as it is now,” he added.

In a post on X, Sharif said Pakistan was engaged in “ongoing intense mediation efforts” and accused unnamed actors of spreading “incessant misinformation” aimed at undermining the process.

The U.S. and Iran did not immediately comment on Sharif’s statement.

Thunderbirds and Blue Angels fly over White House before Sunday’s UFC matches

Dana White, president and CEO of UFC, was on hand to watch as the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and U.S. Navy Blue Angels did a practice run over the White House, where the lawn is set up for Sunday’s matches.

White is a big Trump supporter. Sunday is also Trump’s 80th birthday.

Trump’s name remains on Kennedy Center as removal deadline approaches

Yet there were signs of activity on this steamy summer afternoon, as workers put up scaffolding around a section of the performing arts venue that includes Trump’s name.

Workers have appeared in the area before so it’s unclear whether they were preparing to immediately take down his name.

Much of the attention is on U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who must decide whether to grant a last-minute pause for his earlier ruling to remove Trump’s name. The judge ruled in May that only Congress could make such changes.

U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio, made a filing earlier Friday opposing the request. An ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board, she filed the lawsuit seeking to remove Trump’s name from the institution.

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Iran’s top diplomat says a deal with the US is close

Striking an unusually optimistic tone, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that a Pakistan-brokered agreement between the U.S. and Iran to end their war “has never been closer.”

He added that the media should not speculate about the deal’s content, apparently in reference to reports circulating with lists of points purportedly included in the agreement.

“All details will be shared with the public in due course,” Araghchi said in a post on X.

Trump shared Araghchi’s post on his own social media account.

Official details US reductions to NATO resources in Europe

The U.S. notified NATO in early June that it’s reducing the American military assets that would be available to Europe in case of attack, according to a NATO official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The reduction included an aircraft carrier strike group as well as a number of submarines, fighter jets, maritime patrol aircraft, air refueling planes and drones, the official said. However, U.S. space capabilities that help with targeting are not being drawn down.

The official said details are still being worked out on exactly when those assets are being reduced and when other NATO countries will step in to fill gaps left by the U.S. The timeline will be discussed further at the NATO summit in Turkey in July.

German news outlet Die Welt earlier reported some details of the cuts.

— Ben Finley

Vice President JD Vance pushes back on critics of in-the-works Iran deal

Vance in a social media post appeared to be chiding some of the president’s supporters who “said Donald Trump was a historic president a month ago” were now “criticizing a deal based on unconfirmed media reports.”

“The president is going to get us a good outcome, one way or the other,” Vance said.

The vice president in his post said the Iranians “are not receiving any cash,” but that Iran would receive “economic benefits” if it meets obligations.

“This deal has the potential to remake the region and lead to lasting peace,” he said, without releasing details.

Judge extends block on Trump’s $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund

The federal judge agreed Friday to extend a court-ordered block on the Trump administration’s creation and operation of a $1.8 billion settlement fund for compensating people who claim to be victims of a weaponized government.

Earlier this month, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress the government is scrapping its plans for the fund in the face of a fierce bipartisan backlash. Government attorneys have argued that lawsuits challenging the fund are now moot, but plaintiffs’ attorneys aren’t satisfied by Blanche’s assurances that the fund won’t move forward.

President Trump, meanwhile, has not publicly and unequivocally endorsed its cancellation.

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US official says Iran deal has five key terms that include destroying and removing nuclear material

A senior U.S. official said there are five key terms in the agreement: Iran’s nuclear material will be destroyed and removed, its nuclear program will be dismantled, none of its frozen money will be released until it meets certain demands, the Strait of Hormuz will be open, and Iran must not fund terrorist groups.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details about the sensitive talks.

Trump on Friday lashed out at Iranian officials on social media and said, “They better get their act together, and FAST!”

— Collin Binkley

NATO weighs options to defend Europe as the US plans for conflict elsewhere

NATO’s top military officer is weighing alternative plans to defend Europe should it come under attack from Russia, after the United States announced it’s cutting the number of aircraft and warships it would provide in a security crisis.

The so-called NATO Force Model is Plan A for making forces from the 32 member nations available in times of peace, crisis or war. It sets out the military assets commanders can call on in phases over the first six months of any conflict.

But last month, the Pentagon warned its NATO allies it would be scaling down its commitment to focus on potential threats elsewhere, notably from China in the Indo-Pacific region.

European countries and Canada had waited impatiently for over a year for the Trump administration to detail its plans after it warned that Europe is no longer a top U.S. security priority. They knew cuts were coming, but not how big, fast or what kind.

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Tensions between Trump and Macron could be on full display at next week’s G7 summit in France

The relationship between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron started simply enough, with a handshake, nearly a decade ago.

But even then, there were signs of strain in their relationship — tensions that could be on full display during next week’s G7 summit in France.

Back in 2017, Trump was a brash businessman just elected to America’s most powerful office, and Macron was an upstart politician who had won his race in a landslide. At a NATO summit in Brussels, they clinched hands far longer than most people do when they meet for the first time. Neither seemed to want to be the first to break a grip so tight that it exposed white knuckles.

Nevertheless, a friendship was born. And early on, Macron seemed to be the one European leader with a knack for managing his mercurial, three-decades-older counterpart.

But by the end of Trump’s first term, the bromance had faded. And in his second term, the leaders now openly trade barbs, disagreeing over tariffs, Ukraine and the Iran war.

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A key US government surveillance program is set to expire

The surveillance tool seen as vital in preventing terror attacks and catching foreign spies is set to expire Friday after congressional efforts to temporarily extend it failed in bipartisan fashion.

It’s a significant lapse for the program known as Section 702, and even as President Donald Trump nominates a new national intelligence director more palatable to both Republicans and Democrats than his initial pick, it’s unclear how soon lawmakers — set for recess — would be able to revive the spy program.

Still, there may not be an immediate drop-off given that a court order from March authorized these government surveillance powers to remain in effect for another year.

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City officials say young people have been asking for more options and fun activities during the summer months.

The initiative also comes as Detroit and other major cities have dealt with unauthorized gatherings, including so-called “teen takeovers,” which have at times turned chaotic.

Organizers say proactive youth engagement is a key part of the solution.

“We started planning at the top of the year,” said Kayla Rice, who is helping coordinate the effort with the mayor’s office as crews prepared the Adams Butzel Recreation Center to welcome hundreds of youth and families for the kickoff.

Rice said the launch event includes activities designed to draw kids in and keep them active.

“Right behind that, we’ll have some inflatables. Some bouncy houses, a foam pit. The kids love the foam pit. So, we have to bring that back every year,” Rice said.

Mayor Mary Sheffield said the initiative is focused on investing in young people as part of a broader public safety strategy.

“This is about young people. Engaging them, creating safe spaces for them this summer, and empowering them with resources to improve their quality of life,” Sheffield said.

The program includes extended hours at recreation centers across Detroit, where youth can take part in a range of activities.

Organizers say leagues and the return of midnight basketball are also part of the schedule.

Sheffield told Local 4 she has been hearing from teens for years, well before the recent teen takeover incidents, about the need for more structured opportunities.

“I’ve been listening, not just now, in light of the teen takeovers,” Sheffield said. “We always knew that prevention and safe spaces and investing in youth was a part of the holistic approach to how we address public safety in Detroit. So, this is just one strategy.”

Sheffield said enforcement will still be part of the city’s approach, but she emphasized the importance of creating positive alternatives.

“We’re going to still enforce. We’re going to still hold people accountable. But we are also going to engage young people and create fun, engaging places for them to have fun this summer,” Sheffield said.

In addition to daily programming, the city will host special “Occupy the Summer” activations every Friday for the next 10 weeks, rotating through different neighborhoods and featuring entertainment and youth-focused events, including the kickoff at Adams Butzel.

“We’ll have Skilla Baby kicking off today. And moving forward, we have local artists. We have some NFL players that will be popping in and joining as well,” Sheffield said. “So, you never know what to expect at Occupy the Summer.”

Parents say the initiative is needed, especially when school is out, and kids don’t have structured activities.

“I think it’s real good for the kids, because it’ll keep them off the streets,” said parent Dione Mason. “Sometimes when they don’t have nothing to do, they get into things.”

Organizers say the kickoff also includes giveaways, such as more than 700 bicycles for registered youth, as part of an effort to keep Detroit kids active throughout the summer.

“No excuses,” Sheffield said. “There’s something to do every single day throughout this summer. Safe things to do. You could have a good time, but also be safe, and connect with important information and resources.”

The Friday “Occupy the Summer” events will feature local and nationally known artists, athletes, and entertainers.

Friday night’s headliner is Detroit rapper Skilla Baby.

More information about the citywide youth initiative is available at occupythesummer.com.

Shares in SpaceX jumped more than 19% after opening for trading Friday, a sign that investors are looking past the billions the company is losing and instead betting that its massive investments in satellites, orbital data centers and artificial intelligence will pay off in the future.

SpaceX opened around midday at $150 a share, then rose to around $168, before finishing the day just below $161. That price gave the company a market value of $2.1 trillion, making it the sixth largest public U.S. company — larger even than its founder and CEO's other big business, the electric vehicle maker Tesla.

Between his holdings in SpaceX and Tesla, where he is also CEO, Musk is now worth an estimated $1.1 trillion, according to Forbes.

Why SpaceX is going public now

Musk says SpaceX, founded in 2002, is going public now because it needs money to fund its ambitions of putting satellites and data centers in space and eventually establishing a colony of people on Mars.

He marked the opening of trading on Nasdaq by joining a ceremonial bell ringing from Starbase, the South Texas home of SpaceX.

He reiterated his lofty goals “to make life multiplanetary.”

“Not just a few astronauts, I mean literally you,” Musk said. “Whoever you are watching this, SpaceX wants to be able to take you to the moon, take you to Mars and ultimately beyond.”

Known for his technological breakthroughs, as well as wild claims and missed deadlines, Musk was able to whip up enthusiasm for the IPO. The typical company going public has seen a 7% jump in its first day of trading, from 1980 through 2025, according to Jay Ritter, a professor at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business.

Institutional and retail investors alike jumped at the opportunity to buy a piece of the company at $135 per share before trading began. The $75 billion in proceeds SpaceX raised easily topped the previous record IPO from oil giant Saudi Aramco in 2019.

In addition to establishing a one-million person Martian colony, the company has promised to save humanity by establishing other outposts in space, launch data centers the size of football fields into orbit and outdo rivals Anthropic and OpenAI in the race to make money from artificial intelligence.

To reach its goals, SpaceX needs billions more than it currently takes in from its rocket and satellite business. Between the start of 2025 and March 31, 2026, the company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., lost $8.7 billion.

Pros and cons for investors

Betting on SpaceX is in many ways a bet on Musk himself. In an unusual arrangement that has drawn criticism from shareholder watchdogs, he holds 82% interest in a special B class of shares, giving him sweeping power to control the company even though his ownership stake is about half that.

“There’s a lot of hype, but I see the faith that investors have in Musk,” said Yordys Coro, an IT support contractor in Miami as he watched his $14,000 investment in SpaceX shoot up to $17,000 in just a few hours. “I’m going to hold on.”

Wall Street bankers that helped take SpaceX public are also enthusiastic about the company — and the big fees they will earn — but not everyone thinks the stock price is justified.

Analysts at research firm Morningstar, which doesn't earn any investment banking fees, wrote that the IPO is “significantly overvalued."

Citing SpaceX’s technology challenges, including shielding its orbiting datacenters from radiation damage and catching up to leaders in AI such as Anthropic and OpenAI, they estimated the company is only worth $780 billion — less than half its IPO value.

SpaceX itself has hinted at the challenges, conceding in regulatory documents that some of its business plans rest on “unproven technologies.” It also indicated that another part of the company, its artificial intelligence business called xAI, has no clear path to profitability and is burning cash to catch up with rivals.

On a livestreamed conference Thursday with the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, one of the investment banks making big money off the IPO, Musk offered few details.

He entertained the crowd with talk of “moon hotels,” a future Martian colony and a network of Earth-orbiting data centers powered by the sun. But when asked about plans for his flagship chatbot offering Grok, he pivoted to talking about his satellites.

How Elon made his fortune

Still, Musk has pulled off the seemingly impossible before.

The now-trillionaire — on paper at least — made his initial fortune by creating two companies, Zip2 and PayPal, that netted him about $200 million at sale. He used that money to start SpaceX and invest in Tesla, and defied the odds by creating a space company that figured out how to reuse rockets and a car company that made electric vehicles cool.

Musk has realized vast sums of wealth for himself, much of it in stock he has yet to cash in or grants for shares he’ll only receive if Tesla or SpaceX hit ambitious performance targets.

His recent pay package from Tesla was so large it even drew criticism from the Vatican. At Tesla, he’s worried shareholders by fighting with regulators or dividing his attention between multiple companies and last year by taking a role in the Trump administration.

But a rising stock price has cured all ills: Since it went public in 2010, Tesla has returned 20,000% for shareholders, or more than $1.2 trillion in investor wealth.

SpaceX is the first of three “megacap” companies expected to go public this year, with Anthropic and OpenAI to follow. Nasdaq even revised its rules to allow SpaceX to gain entry into funds tied to its indexes in 15 days, which means investors will end up buying the rocket maker's shares much earlier.

Not all investors are thrilled about SpaceX potentially showing up in their holdings of index funds.

Officials from pension funds for firefighters, teachers and other workers in California and New York sent a letter to SpaceX last month decrying some of the provisions in its IPO, including mandatory arbitration of shareholder claims and how much power Musk will hold over the company.

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AP reporters Stan Choe and Wyatte Grantham-Philips contributed from New York and reporter Matt O'Brien contributed from Providence.

The scholar, Min Zin, was suspected of “engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security,” said China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian.

It is uncommon for Beijing to arrest a U.S. citizen on national security allegations. The case comes just a month after U.S. President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing as the two countries aim to reset a tumultuous relationship.

A Burmese activist who knows Min Zin said he disappeared June 3 after going to Kunming, in China’s Yunnan province, for a conference. The activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of government retribution and arrest, said Min Zin had visited China multiple times before.

The U.S. State Department confirmed Min Zin, a U.S. citizen, was detained during a trip to Yunnan province in China.

“U.S. consular officers have visited him, and the Department of State is providing all appropriate consular assistance,” the State Department said. “We are engaged with Chinese officials on this case.”

Min Zin was a student activist in Myanmar’s 1988 uprising, a student-led movement that the government at the time reacted to with military force. He eventually sought asylum in the U.S. He was not engaged in any direct activism work currently, said the activist.

Min Zin is the founder of a think tank called ISP Myanmar, which in recent years has written about Chinese foreign policy and trade with Myanmar, located on China's southwest border. The think tank was involved in regular exchanges with Chinese think tanks, and had published on issues such as Myanmar's rare earth exports to China.

Min Zin is also a Ph.D candidate at the University of California, Berkeley.

Amnesty International, the human rights organization, called for Min Zin’s immediate release.

“The circumstances around Min Zin’s mysterious arrest are extremely concerning, as is the apparent charge of espionage,” said Joe Freeman, a Myanmar researcher for the group.

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Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

The president did not provide details about the measures or a timetable for their implementation but said during remarks to state media that it is now “time to change” and that the country “simply cannot continue on its current course.”

“Every opportunity in the midst of a crisis must be seized as a moment for takeoff, as a moment for growth,” Díaz-Canel said, according to a statement from the presidency that was republished by state-run media. “We have established a group of priorities to confront this situation,” he added without offering specifics.

The announcement comes as Cubans have struggled with fuel shortages as a result of the U.S. oil blockade and food insecurity. In January, the United States tightened restrictions on Cuba’s oil supplies in an effort to pressure the island’s government to change its political and economic model, exacerbating challenges that have persisted for about five years.

The U.S. State Department had no comment on the Díaz-Canel remarks and referred to the statement released Thursday on the latest sanctions.

Díaz-Canel said officials are evaluating measures related to foreign trade, exports, supply chains and logistics. Without elaborating, he suggested the government could eliminate mandatory state intermediaries in import and export operations and grant tariff benefits to those who bring raw materials into the country for production.

“The numbers don’t add up, and the government wants to make this look like a matter of will rather than a math problem,” Cuban economist Pedro Monreal wrote on X, in response to Díaz-Canel’s proposals.

The Spain-based former UNESCO official went on to criticize the collapse of a centralized planning model, for which he said “there are two respectable alternatives: assume the political price of failure, or self-critically rectify and drastically transform the model.”

For decades, Cuba maintained a centralized, vertical system under strict state control. This structure began to shift gradually over the last decade when the government introduced permits for independent workers. More recently, the state authorized the operation of the country’s first small- and medium-sized private enterprises.

Earlier Friday, a ship carrying nearly 100 tons of food and essential goods arrived from Colombia as part of the humanitarian aid that several countries have sent to Cuba in recent months as a U.S. energy embargo persists.

The ship, which departed Cartagena in early June, crossed the Havana Bay channel early in the morning flying the Colombian flag and escorted by a small Cuban auxiliary vessel, The Associated Press confirmed.

The Colombian Presidential Agency for International Cooperation said that, on orders of President Gustavo Petro, the shipment included nonperishable food, medicine, hospital supplies, electrical materials, solar panels and other items.

The ship also carried seven tons of goods collected by solidarity groups.

Last weekend, another ship carrying 1,700 tons of essential goods from Mexico and Belize arrived in Havana.

In late January, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. The move has deepened a preexisting crisis caused by U.S. sanctions. Washington is pressing the Cuban government to release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalization in return for a lifting of sanctions.

Cuba produces only 40% of its oil, leaving the island semiparalyzed and subjected to severe power outages.

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AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report from Washington.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

But on Friday (June 12) at Cass Tech, Williams, better known as Jamo, was having fun with the kids during his 2026 youth football camp.

“Kids coming out and having fun is the main thing to me,” Williams said. “That’s what I’m here for: encouraging the kids.

“You give them the face to see out in the community,” Williams said. “Show them things that they want to do could be possible.”

The camp, for boys and girls ages six to 16, was hosted by FlexWork, which has also hosted sports camps featuring Jamo’s teammate, Amon-Ra St. Brown, former Lions running back David Montgomery, and Tigers outfielder Riley Greene.

While he wasn’t running routes with the kids, Williams, along with a group of coaches from the Detroit Prowl, a women’s professional football team, had the kids running drills, catching passes, working on their tackling, and working on other skills.

“It’s a way to reach out to the community,” said Michael Vitale, the co-owner of the Detroit Prowl. “Little boys get to these camps on a constant basis. Bringing little girls into these camps is huge for our team.”

“Most of these kids get a chance to see Jamo on Sundays, or see him only on film or on TV,” Vitale said. “Today, they get a chance to actually see him doing things and working out.

Williams, a St. Louis native, has embraced Detroit as a second home since the Lions drafted him in 2022.

The kids were especially excited to see him out there, and camps give him a chance to help some youngsters learn the game that has changed his life.

“To me, it means a lot. I love the game,” Williams said. “I play the game for a reason. It just keeps me focused and keeps me going.”

As a large column of air descended on Merrillville, Indiana, a town about 33 miles (53 kilometers) southeast of Chicago, the city’s police warned residents to take cover. By the evening, downed trees and power lines blocked the streets, homes were torn up and part of a high school's roof was ripped off.

Meanwhile, emergency crews were in the nearby manufacturing and farm city of Streator, Illinois, as the community reeled from tornado damage. A reunification center for displaced residents was set up in its city hall and the Red Cross opened a shelter.

Streator Mayor Tara Bedei said there were no reported deaths. “We are incredibly grateful for the safety of our residents and the quick action of emergency personnel,” she said in a statement.

Strong storms delayed or halted flights at airports in some cities, including Chicago, Philadelphia and New York on Thursday. Parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic also strained under high heat and humidity.

The tornadoes came after severe storms swept through the Midwest Wednesday, knocking out power, damaging buildings and canceling flights.

In Des Moines, Iowa, a 54-year-old man died at a homeless encampment in a park after being hit by a tree that “broke apart and fell during strong storms,” police said in a statement. The man was found critically injured Thursday morning and died at the scene, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of other deaths or injuries from the storms.

Tree limb breaks through roof

Tornado warnings were also in place in Chicago and in parts of Indiana and Michigan Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. In Chicago, a series finale between the White Sox and the Atlanta Braves was postponed due to rain.

Jennifer Hall was in her garage in Elkhart, Indiana, as the winds and rain picked up Thursday evening. Suddenly, she said, she heard a loud crash and discovered a tree limb had gone through the roof of her rental home. She used buckets to catch the rain coming in from the hole.

“I’m just nervous because it’s just been one thing after another,” said Hall, explaining she just had surgery and her husband is out of town.

A home vanishes before residents' eyes

Shane Tipton stepped out of his truck in Unionville, Missouri, Wednesday afternoon to find a twister bearing down, said his daughter, Kylie Rouse. He rushed to get his 87-year-old dad out of his mobile home.

They made it back to the truck, drove just far enough away and watched as the tornado obliterated the home. Shattered cabinets, furniture and appliances littered the ground. Clothes hung in trees. They believe they lost one of their hunting dogs, who has been missing since it struck.

“Everything's destroyed,” Rouse told The Associated Press in a phone interview Thursday. “It was scattered clear for miles. If my grandpa would have been in there, there's no way that he would be alive.”

Storm damages animal shelter in Illinois

Residents of Springfield, Illinois, believe a tornado touched down in their area late Wednesday. Two buildings at the Animal Protective League shelter in Springfield were heavily damaged, but none of the nearly 150 cats and 28 dogs housed there were injured, said Deana Corbin, the group's executive director.

“It pretty much wiped out our shelter facility, took the roofs off both of our buildings,” Corbin said. “It’s a miracle. We were so blessed to not have any injuries of either people or animals.”

The community pitched in to take in all the cats and dogs temporarily, including a local animal control center, veterinarians and residents, she said.

Damage also was reported at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield.

Weather service meteorologist Frank Pereira said the system that produced the storms, including high winds and hail, was moving eastward Thursday, fueled by cool air from Canada clashing with warm, humid air from the South.

Record high temperatures expected along East Coast

Potentially dangerous heat and high humidity arrived Thursday and was expected to continue Friday for a swath of the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast, where daily high record temperatures could be broken in numerous places, the weather service said. Temperatures in the mid-90s Fahrenheit (mid-30s Celsius) were expected, but with the humidity it could feel like 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) or more, the service said.

Philadelphia declared a heat health emergency for Thursday and Friday, activating cooling centers, home visits by field teams, outreach to people experiencing homelessness and other services. New York City officials were also urging residents to take precautions, including drinking plenty of water and finding a cool place to stay if they do not have air conditioning.

Severe weather wreaks havoc on air travel and power

At various points Wednesday and Thursday, ground stops were issued at Chicago's O’Hare International and Midway International airports, and at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

The Pittsburgh International Airport experienced a temporary power outage after a storm produced an “extraordinary” power surge, the airport said.

More than 1,000 flights going into and out of Chicago had been delayed or canceled, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website.

Commonwealth Edison Company, which provides electric service across northern Illinois, said the storms had downed poles and wires. On X, it wrote that it expected “80% restoration” by late Saturday.

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This story was first published June 11. It was updated on June 12 to correct that police said a man in Des Moines hit by a fallen tree was found Thursday, not Wednesday.

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Associated Press reporters Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, and Gene Johnson in Seattle contributed.

Corey Eubanks and Elijah Eubanks were arrested and each charged with nine counts of converting semi-automatic weapons to fully automatic, along with one felony firearm charge.

Police said they executed search warrants Tuesday (June 9) at a home on Maxwell Avenue, where they recovered multiple weapons and manufacturing components, according to authorities.

Seized items, according to officials, included a Draco AK-47-style pistol, two 3D-printed handgun frames, nine “Glock switches,” a 3D printer, and additional components used to build untraceable firearms.

Both men are being held in the Macomb County Jail.

No additional details were released.

These changes are part of the administration’s push to remove undocumented workers from the nation’s banking system without explicitly mandating that banks do so. In order to get banks to participate, the administration has framed these actions as a crackdown on fraud and crime, not explicitly about immigration.

“The information in your purview can help stop a cartel financier, disrupt a money laundering network, uncover labor exploitation, or protect taxpayers from fraud,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in prepared remarks at a banking conference in Houston.

Bessent's remarks and the Treasury Department's new guidelines come from an executive order signed in May by Trump that requires banks to take a closer look at the citizenship of their customers as well as directs bank regulators and government departments to look for signs that people without legal status are opening accounts or obtaining loans or credit cards. But that executive order did not include an explicit mandate that banks collect citizenship information, which the industry for months lobbied against.

Banks have long been able to share information about their customers with other banks under the Patriot Act program when they suspect money laundering or fraud, part of the post-9/11 effort to combat terrorism and other crimes.

Friday’s actions widened that system on two fronts. Banks can now share such information with one another in real time and more freely, the Treasury Department said.

Secondly, the Trump Administration is giving banks a wider variety of reasons to share information, which now include flags historically tied to immigration status. One example is a customer having an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), which are disproportionally used by undocumented immigrants when applying for work.

Bessent told bankers that the new guidance is simply part of what the banking system needs to do as part of their routine operations.

“The advisory does not ask banks to become immigration officers,” Bessent said. “It asks banks to do what they do best: know their customers, identify risk, recognize suspicious patterns, and report illicit activity when they see it.”

Bankers have been wary about sharing customer information with the federal government as part of immigration enforcement. Bankers never collected citizenship information on their customers, so any effort to do so would require a massive effort by banks and significant amounts of paperwork. There's also the fact that banks send millions of what are known as Suspicious Activity Reports to the federal bank regulators under the Bank Secrecy Act. Last week, the Treasury Department expanded the reasons why a bank might file a SAR to include potential undocumented workers.

“The administration is saying they don't want banks to be immigration officials, but they are trying to get as close to the line as possible,” said Nicholas Anthony, who focuses on bank regulation issues at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute.

At the time Trump signed the order, the White House framed the effort on the premise of combating fraud, but also it said undocumented workers introduce risk to the overall financial system by taking out loans that could potentially never be repaid because the borrowers could be deported. Since banks haven't historically collected citizenship data on their customers, it's hard to quantify how much of a risk undocumented workers are to banks. One study by the left-leaning Urban Institute estimated that between 5,000 and 6,000 mortgages were issued to customers with ITINs, which would be a tiny fraction of the millions of mortgages written each year.

Immigration advocates have previously said any order that would order banks to collect citizenship information would likely result in undocumented immigrants moving out of the financial system, increasing the number of “unbanked” individuals.

The White House has taken other measures to discourage undocumented workers from using the financial system. The Treasury last November announced that it would reclassify certain refundable tax credits as “federal public benefits,” which bars some immigrant taxpayers from receiving them, even if they file and pay taxes and would otherwise qualify.

Raheim Johnny Foster faces charges of first-degree premeditated murder and multiple felony firearm offenses in the death of a 20-year-old man.

Background: $5K reward offered for info in deadly shooting on Detroit’s west side

According to police, the victim was shot around 3:30 p.m. Oct. 24 near the intersection of Humboldt Street and West Forest Avenue.

Officers responded to the area on reports of a shooting and found the victim’s body.

Police said a person of interest was seen fleeing the scene and was later picked up near a gas station on Warren Avenue and Lawton Street.

Details surrounding the shooting have not been released.

Authorities later identified Foster as a suspect in the case.

Foster is scheduled to return to court on June 18 for a probable cause conference.

And he's fine with that.

Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs — who just became the first team in NBA Finals history to lead a game by 29 points and still lose — need to win the next three games, or they'll watch the New York Knicks celebrate an NBA title at their expense. And when the Spurs gathered for practice on Friday, Wembanyama insisted the belief within the Spurs camp is still there.

“Everybody thinks, everybody knows, we’re going to do it,” Wembanyama said.

If he was nervous, he hid it well. The 7-foot-4 French star has helped the Spurs stave off elimination twice already in these playoffs, after San Antonio won Games 6 and 7 of the Western Conference finals against Oklahoma City and ended the Thunder's reign as NBA champions.

Now, the Spurs have to do it again on Saturday in Game 5 against the Knicks. And if they win Saturday, they'll have to do it again in Game 6 on Tuesday. And if they win Tuesday, a Game 7 awaits next Friday.

“I feel like we need to isolate that one game and take it one game at a time,” Wembanyama said. “I think it would be a mistake to waste our energy on multiple games. It’s one game at a time.”

The Spurs led Game 1 by 14 points and lost by 10. They led Game 2 by 12 points and lost by one. They won Game 3 by four, then had the 29-point lead in Game 4 and lost by one.

Clearly, they know how to get into position to beat the Knicks.

They just haven't finished it off in three of the four games. And now, they will try to be just the second team in NBA Finals history to successfully rally from a 3-1 series deficit; Cleveland did it against Golden State in 2016. The other 37 teams that have tried to do so all failed.

“It definitely matters," Spurs guard Stephon Castle said. “I feel like we’ve made history all year, and we’ve proven that with our backs against the wall that we can step up. So, I don’t really expect this to be any different.”

Neither does Wembanyama.

The Spurs know they're good enough. They've had the leads. They've won every first quarter, then frittered those advantages away. In Game 3, they recovered. In Games 1, 2 and 4, they didn't. In Game 5, they'll have to — or else.

“You said all of it,” Wembanyama said. “We’re very confident. I wouldn’t say it was so hard to shake off (Game 4). Harder than any other game before, by far, for sure. I mean, now we’re over it. It’s the playoffs. There’s no time to regret things for too long."

___

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

Update: Detroit man charged with first-degree murder in fatal west side shooting

It happened at about 3:30 p.m., Oct. 24, at a home near the intersection of Humboldt Street and West Forest Avenue. Police responded to the area on reports of a shooting and found the body of a 20-year-old man.

Police said the person of interest was seen running away from the scene and was picked up in a Chevrolette at a gas station near Warren Avenue and Lawton Street.

Background: Man killed in afternoon shooting on Detroit’s west side; witnesses cooperating

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Detroit Police Department at 313-267-2260 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.

A $5,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to an arrest.

Tips must include the case number 2510240249.

More information can be found on DetroitRewards.tv

The 80-year-old was named a “Companion of Honour,” one of the highest awards the king can bestow to citizens in the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth, limited to only 65 people at any time.

Mirren's elevation to the group, which also includes British environmentalist David Attenborough, Canadian author Margaret Atwood and former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, was one of the highlights of Charles' latest award of honors.

The honors, which aim to reward individuals for their contributions to British life, are awarded twice a year to celebrities and public figures as well as ordinary people, once at New Year’s, and then in June, to mark the king’s birthday.

Nearly 1,200 people received honors in the king’s 2026 birthday list,

The award recognizes Mirren's services to drama

Mirren is no stranger to awards and has for decades been a star on stage and screen, as well as a powerful advocate for female actors.

She has tackled numerous classical parts in theater — both in the National Youth Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company from the 1960s — before winning roles in movies such as “The Long Good Friday,” “Excalibur,” and “The Madness of King George.”

She also wowed British television audiences with her portrayal of Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison over seven seasons of “Prime Suspect.”

At the Oscars in 2007, she won best actress for her performance in “The Queen," a film that follows the late Queen Elizabeth II in the aftermath of the 1997 death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

The awards recognize an array of achievements

Introduced in 1917 by King George V, the "Companion of Honour" recognizes people who have made “a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government" over an extended time period.

They remain members until they die, when a replacement is then added. A new member will likely be named at the next honors list in the new year following the death Thursday of David Hockney, one of the most popular and critically lauded British artists of the last century.

Others recognized on Friday include British author Julia Donaldson, who last year surpassed Harry Potter writer JK Rowling as U.K.’s all-time top author, with more than 50 million books sold worldwide. She was named a dame, the female equivalent of a knighthood, for services to literature, a title that Mirren herself was awarded in 2003.

“Receiving this honor has been a very happy surprise,” said the 77-year-old author of such books as “The Gruffalo, " and “The Highway Rat.”

“It’s really gratifying to have children’s books recognized in this way," she added.

Success in sports was also recognized on Friday, with Kevin Sinfield knighted for his glittering rugby league career and subsequent fundraising exploits to aid research and support families affected by motor neuron disease, a neurological disorder.

The 45-year-old has raised over 11 million pounds ($15 million) since being inspired by his friend and his teammate Rob Burrow, who died from the disease in 2024.

Golf's two-time Ryder Cup winning captain Luke Donald was handed the Order of the British Empire. He will attempt to become the first person in Ryder Cup history to lead a team to three consecutive wins against the United States next year in Ireland.

Chloe Kelly, who scored the winning penalty for England's women's soccer team in Euro 2025, became member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, along with six other teammates.

Other notable recipients were Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi for services to music and charity nearly a year after the death of the band's legendary lead singer Ozzy Osbourne. Broadcaster and the former lead singer of Catatonia Cerys Matthews was recognized for her services to music.

The awards are not just for the famous

The array of awards are chosen by civil servants’ committees based on nominations from the government and the public. They are usually given out by the king or a senior royal acting in his place, increasingly at Windsor Castle where Charles largely resides.

The honors don’t just reward people in the public eye.

Debbie Lewis, who set up the bereavement support group COVID-19 Families U.K. after her father died in 2020 of the coronavirus, just four months after her mother’s death.

Lewis first wrote on Facebook that her father had just died and she was on her own, hoping to connect with others going through something similar. Within a week, 40 people had contacted her.

Six years on, there are more than 4,500 people in Lewis’s support network.

“I’m still a little bit in shock,” the 56-year-old said of her honor on Friday. “I know it’s a huge achievement and I’m just a little bit overwhelmed at the moment.”

According to authorities, Martin Yost beat his girlfriend to death in November 2023. Police said he was found passed out in the driver’s seat of his vehicle with her body in the passenger seat on Gratiot Avenue, near I-94. He was reportedly covered in blood when police arrived.

Police said the victim, Dhoua Lao, appeared to have “sustained significant trauma to her head and face.”

Police believe Lao was assaulted in Detroit, put in the vehicle, and then driven to the Roseville location where police found her.

Lao, a mother of two, was 45-years-old when she was killed.

Yost was initially charged with second-degree murder, but after a two-week trial, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder.

He will be sentenced July 28. He faces the possibility of life in prison.

Are Spurs fans worried? Maybe.

Do Spurs fans still believe? Absolutely.

Among the team's slogans is the phrase “Por Vida.” Translated, it means “For Life.” Generations of fans in San Antonio have held those words dear through the eras led by George Gervin to David Robinson to Tim Duncan to, now, Victor Wembanyama. And even now, with the Knicks on the brink of winning this championship, the words ring true among Spurs fans.

“With absolute certainty, always,” Joe Michael Benavides, the boys basketball coach at Hebbronville High School — some 150 miles from San Antonio — said when asked if he was still a Spurs fan.

Make no mistake, there are many like Benavides. Frost Bank Center will be electric when the Spurs take the floor on Saturday night, with the stands filled by those who wore San Antonio silver and black to the game.

Thing is, there will be a copious amount of New York blue and orange in there as well.

There are some fans who sold their tickets on secondary markets for Game 5. It's unclear how many, but with prices topping $1,500 apiece in the highest rows and reaching $5,000 or more in the lower level — big money for sure, yet a sliver of what Knicks fans paid for Games 3 and 4 — it's easy to see why some ticketholders are making business decisions instead of basketball ones.

“Of course I’m upset with Spurs fans selling their tickets, but if they can’t afford ‘em, nothing can be done,” said Rick Vela, known to Spurs fans as the “Masked Bandido Of San Antonio.” “Just sad these Knicks fans have to buy ’em, but their arena is way worse with those ticket prices.”

Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox understands.

“People are making money,” Fox said. “It’s the economy we live in. It’s the world we live in. Am I upset about it? No. Do I understand it? Sure. I don’t think that changes what happens on the court.”

It is not a frontrunning fan base in San Antonio. The city celebrated five NBA championships and had a record-setting run of 22 straight postseason appearances under Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich, but Spurs fans also suffered for decades.

There was the heartbreak of blowing a 3-1 lead to the then-Washington Bullets in the 1979 Eastern Conference finals. Mention Derek Fisher's game-winning jumper with 0.4 seconds in Game 5 that helped the Los Angeles Lakers win the 2004 NBA Western Conference semifinals at your own peril in this city; it'll go over as well as saying, “I dislike cowboy hats.” And the pain of Wednesday night has not subsided either, after the Spurs blew a 29-point lead in losing 107-106 to the Knicks in Game 4.

The Spurs are the only major pro team in town. There's no Yankees, no Mets, no Nets, no Rangers, no Islanders, no Devils, no Liberty, no NYCFC, no Red Bulls here. The Spurs are San Antonio's everything.

“They're still there for us," said Rene Gonzalez, still proudly flying a Spurs car flag on his truck. “They still bring this community together.”

Those who think trailing 3-1 in the NBA Finals is going to darken the spirits of Spurs fans might get a two-word answer in San Antonio.

¿Estas loco?

You're crazy.

“All year these boys have proven everyone wrong,” said Raylyn Boyson, a member of the Spurs superfan group, The Jackals, a group born from an idea by Wembanyama to have San Antonio fans mimic what happens at games in his native Europe. “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t keep believing. If anyone is going to defy all odds, it’s this group.”

___

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

The S&P 500 added 0.5% to close out its 10th winning week in the last 11. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 353 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.3%.

Stocks got a lift from a 3.4% drop for the price of Brent crude oil to $87.33 per barrel, deepening its loss for the week. Oil prices have come down since President Donald Trump on Thursday called off his threat to launch strikes on Iran and said a potential deal with Iran may be imminent.

A deal to end the war could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow oil tankers to once again deliver crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. Its near closure since the war began has sent the price of Brent up from roughly $70 per barrel and caused a wave of painful inflation for the world.

Of course, financial markets have rallied in the past on hopes that an end to the war with Iran was near, only to get disappointed each time.

The bigger factor for Wall Street over the last week has actually been artificial-intelligence stocks, and how they have gone from roaring to records to suddenly turning lower. The concern is whether such stocks shot too high, too fast because of AI mania, and their careening moves have sometimes reversed direction by the hour.

SpaceX suggested plenty of demand still exists among investors for AI after its stock leaped 19.2% in its first day of trading. That gave Elon Musk’s rocket company a total value of $2.1 trillion, making it bigger than Exxon Mobil, Bank of America and Coca-Cola combined. In addition to building rockets, SpaceX also owns the artificial intelligence company xAI.

AI-related stocks were otherwise mixed following their roller-coaster moves over the last week. Micron Technology’s drop of 1.4% was one of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500, but CoreWeave jumped 5% after learning it will join the Nasdaq 100 index later this month.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, Adobe dropped 6.8% despite reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Its stock has lost nearly 42% so far this year, and it announced its chief financial officer is leaving the company on Monday. Adobe is already looking for a CEO to replace Shantanu Narayen, who announced in March that he is stepping aside after 18 years as Adobe’s leader.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 37.16 points to 7,431.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 353.51 to 51,202.26, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 79.18 to 25,888.84.

In the bond market, Treasury yields rose to regain some of their sharp slide from the day before, when oil prices dropped following Trump’s announcement. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.48% from 4.45% late Thursday.

High yields can slow entire economies and undercut prices for all kinds of investments, including stocks and cryptocurrencies. They hit investments seen as the most expensive in particular, and some critics are calling the AI industry a bubble where investment inflated too far.

Yields got a boost after a report suggested sentiment among U.S. consumers is not as bad as economists feared. The preliminary survey from the University of Michigan said sentiment improved by more than expected. U.S. consumers said they were feeling some relief after gasoline prices eased a bit early in the month.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rallied as they caught up to Thursday’s big gains on Wall Street.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 4.6% and trimmed its losses from earlier this month taken because of sell-offs for AI-related stocks. The Kospi has nearly doubled since the start of the year.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.8%, and France’s CAC 40 climbed 1.8% for two of the world’s bigger moves.

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

WAYNE COUNTY – Outdoor injuries, heat-related illnesses, seasonal allergies, asthma flare-ups.

Dr. Ayed Mahmoud -- Trinity Health Livonia Emergency Medicine Physician

“With the recent warm weather, trauma-related visits have increased as more people spend time outdoors and on the roads. As temperatures continue to rise during this heat wave, we encourage everyone to stay well hydrated, avoid strenuous outdoor activities during peak afternoon hours, wear light clothing, and check on elderly family members and neighbors. Taking simple precautions can help prevent heat-related illnesses and keep our community safe.”

OAKLAND COUNTY – Stomach viruses, outdoor injuries, seasonal allergies, colds, sinus infections, heat-related issues.

Dr. Karolina Maksimowski -- Chief of Pediatric Emergency, Children’s Hospital of Michigan Troy

“We are uncharacteristically for this time of year still seeing gastrointestinal viruses. And the summer injuries are back: broken arms especially.”

Dr. David Donaldson -- Emergency Center Chief, Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital

“We are seeing a lot of gastroenteritis. We have also seen a few drownings and near drownings.”

Dr. Robert Wahl -- Vice Chief, Emergency Medicine, DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital

“We’re seeing the classic summer illness: slips, falls, broken arms, respiratory issues. Flu and COVID are gone.”

Dr. Josh Newblatt -- Pine Knob Urgent Care

“Seeing seasonal allergies with upper respiratory symptoms. Common colds and secondary infections like sinusitis. Also seeing environmental illnesses related to the heat. Sunburns, Dehydration, etc.”

Teresa Pfaff -- Nurse Practitioner, Rochester Hills MinuteClinic

“Summer activities are in full swing, and we’re seeing a significant increase in sports and camp physical appointments. Families are encouraged to schedule required physicals early to ensure children are ready for camps, sports, and other summer programs.”

WASHTENAW COUNTY – Stomach viruses, respiratory viruses, heat-related illnesses, pneumonia, asthma flare-ups, outdoor injuries, poison ivy.

Dr. Brad Uren -- Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Michigan Medicine

“We continue to see URIs and low levels of GI illnesses this week. Some heat related illness this week with the hotter weather as well.”

Dr. Stuart Bradin -- Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, Michigan Medicine

“We are seeing viral respiratory illnesses, pneumonia and GI illness. There are several cases of asthma and orthopedic injuries.”

Sean Sullivan -- Nurse Practitioner, Ann Arbor MinuteClinic

“With more people spending time outdoors, we’ve seen an increase in poison ivy cases. Community members should be aware that poison ivy can cause an itchy, blistering rash after contact with the plant. Wearing long sleeves and pants when hiking or gardening and washing exposed skin and clothing promptly can help prevent reactions.”

MONROE COUNTY – did not report this week.

MACOMB COUNTY – Outdoor injuries, seasonal allergies, asthma flare-ups, strep throat.

Dr. Erin Cuddeback -- Emergency Physician at McLaren Macomb

“Mainly through falls, injuries — broken bones and soft tissue lacerations — have been the leading reason by far for patients to seek care in the emergency department. These injuries have affected all age groups, with pediatric patients sustaining injuries through athletics and other outdoor activities, while the majority of adult patients were injured in hobby-related activities, such as fishing, landscaping, and motorcycle riding. Environmental irritants and airborne allergens continue to cause complications, specifically and most seriously with asthma sufferers, who may experience shortness of breath and other difficulties breathing.”

Catherine Polito -- Nurse Practitioner, Macomb MinuteClinic

“Our Macomb clinic has noted an increase in strep throat cases. Symptoms may include sore throat, fever, swollen lymph nodes, and painful swallowing. Anyone experiencing these symptoms should consider seeking medical evaluation, especially if symptoms are persistent or worsening.”

LIVINGSTON COUNTY – Upper respiratory infections, seasonal allergies, asthma flare-ups.

Dr. Bashar Yalldo -- Henry Ford Byron Family Medicine- Howell

“I have been seeing some upper respiratory infections and asthma flares lately. It is important to keep track of allergy symptoms as many are spending more time outdoors.”

Mississippi Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, ranking member of the House Committee of Homeland Security, said he and other legislators met with Puerto Rico mayors as part of a two-day trip to the U.S. territory and heard their concerns including delays in reimbursements and project approvals.

“We’ll move some of those concerns into corrective actions,” he said at a news conference. “The system should work better.”

Pablo José Hernández, Puerto Rico’s representative in Congress, said the island’s mayors flagged their concerns after former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem implemented a policy that DHS expenditures over $100,000 be personally approved by that office.

The policy further delayed recovery efforts in Puerto Rico from hurricanes Maria and Fiona, and a series of strong quakes that struck in late 2019 and early 2020.

In April, new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin rescinded the rule, but challenges remain.

Thompson noted that about a third of the workforce of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency “has been done away with.”

He added: “Not a lot of people to answer the phones or look at the paperwork because they’re not there.”

Thompson said Mullin has promised that he’ll bring back employees, but it’s unclear when that might happen.

“FEMA’s role is to be here in a time of need when local resources have been overrun,” Thompson said. “Obviously, hurricanes that you’re dealing with over time have overrun local resources.”

Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in September 2017 as a powerful Category 4 storm. It shredded the island’s power grid and caused an estimated $90 billion in damage. In the storm’s steamy aftermath, an estimated 2,982 people died.

Hurricane Fiona pummeled Puerto Rico in September 2022 as a Category 1 storm, lashing once more a power grid that hadn’t been rebuilt from Hurricane Maria.

Meanwhile, a series of earthquakes that shook southern Puerto Rico caused an estimated $3 billion in damage.

The island is trying to recover from the disasters, with some 30% of projects still pending.

So far, nearly $43 billion in federal funds have been allocated, nearly $40 billion obligated, and $12.7 billion disbursed, according to Puerto Rico’s Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency. The office receives and awards federal grant funds.

Caguas Mayor William Miranda Torres said that a bottleneck of pending projects is driving up costs, which in turn causes more delays. He said there are many projects pending in his city.

In September 2025, a DHS report found that FEMA “did not ensure the timely rebuilding of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid” after Hurricane Maria and that FEMA officials “missed opportunities to provide more assistance to Puerto Rico."

Meanwhile, a February 2024 audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that Puerto Rico’s government had spent less than 10% of the more than $23 billion in available federal funds at the time.

Challenges included rising costs, a lack of workers, significant reductions in insurance coverage and interruptions in the global supply chain. Many of those issues persist.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Williams finds his footing in Year 2

Second-year defensive tackle Tyleik Williams said he feels significantly more comfortable entering his second NFL season after spending his rookie year adjusting to the speed and complexity of the professional game.

“I feel way better. I don’t feel as nervous,” Williams said. “I’m playing faster.”

Williams said the biggest lesson from his rookie season was understanding how different the NFL is from college football.

“Players are way better, schemes are way better,” Williams said. “Just having a year under my belt, I feel like I’m playing faster and more fluid.”

Williams expects to see an expanded role along the defensive front this season, potentially lining up at both nose tackle and three-technique.

He also noted the Lions’ offseason additions at edge rusher have brought noticeable size and length to the defensive line.

“We did bring in a bunch of long-arm guys,” Williams said.

He credited veteran defensive lineman Alim McNeill for helping guide his development following D.J. Reader‘s departure.

“Last year, it was D.J. and Alim. Now it’s Alim,” Williams said. “He helps me whenever I need help, and he’s been a great leader for me going into Year 2.”

Michigan/Ohio State

Williams said the storied Michigan Wolverines-Ohio State Buckeyes rivalry remains alive even as former rivals become teammates at the next level.

Asked about conversations with fellow defensive linemen Derrick Moore and another former Aidan Hutchinson in the room, Williams said the competitive banter has continued despite now sharing the same locker room.

“We have our conversations about the game,” Williams said. “Obviously, I troll him. He (Moore) trolls me, but he’s a good dude. He’s a great player, and he’ll help us.”

Williams, who starred at Ohio State, was part of one of college football’s fiercest rivalries before making the jump to the professional ranks.

While the rivalry remains a source of friendly trash talk, Williams made it clear there is mutual respect between the former opponents.

The defensive tackle praised his Michigan counterpart, emphasizing that any ribbing stems from competition rather than animosity.

Now teammates, the former Big Ten rivals are focused on a common goal: bringing their talents together on the defensive front.

Still, the annual showdown between Ohio State and Michigan remains a topic of conversation, with both sides eager to remind the other of their school’s accomplishments whenever the opportunity arises.

For Williams, the rivalry may have shifted from the field to the locker room, but the playful exchanges are still part of the experience.

“It’s all good fun,” Williams said, noting that his Michigan teammate can make a significant impact for the team moving forward.

Reed focused on health after difficult 2025 season

Cornerback D.J. Reed said his primary focus entering the season is remaining healthy after battling through a significant hamstring injury in 2025.

Reed revealed he traveled to Panama during the offseason for stem-cell treatments as part of his recovery.

“The main goal for me is just to stay healthy,” Reed said. “This offseason, I did a lot as far as treatment regarding the hamstring just to get back to where I needed to be.”

Reed described the injury as one of the most difficult challenges of his career.

“It was tough,” Reed said. “I had to teach myself how to walk, how to jog, sprint again, and then going back to playing football.”

Although Reed returned to action last season, film study showed he lacked the burst and recovery speed that defined his play before the injury.

“Guys were just running by me,” Reed said. “I didn’t have that extra gear.”

Now Reed believes that explosiveness has returned.

“It’s definitely there now,” Reed said.

Reed also praised defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, who is heading into his second season leading the defense.

“I think Coach Shepp seems a little more poised this year,” Reed said. “I think he’s explaining things even better than he did last year.”

Reed also highlighted the quick emergence of veteran safety Chuck Clark within a secondary that has seen significant offseason changes.

“He’s in Year 10, so he’s been around a lot of football,” Reed said. “You can tell because he just understands it.”

Rodriguez returns healthy, hungry for larger role

At linebacker, Malcolm Rodriguez said his offseason was focused almost entirely on regaining full health after playing through lingering effects of injury last season.

“It was never about playing big. It was always about getting healthy,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said he now feels “10 times better” than he did late last season, acknowledging that overcoming both physical limitations and mental hurdles was part of the process.

“I’ve never had to deal with injury, so it was something new for me,” Rodriguez said.

Despite a potentially larger defensive role ahead, Rodriguez said his mindset remains unchanged.

“Every year I come in, it’s always competition,” Rodriguez said.

That competition, he added, is already lifting the entire unit.

“It brings the level of play up for sure,” Rodriguez said. “Training camp is going to be a great one this year.”

Like Reed, Rodriguez credited Sheppard’s self-scouting approach for helping the defense continue to evolve.

“They did a good job of looking at what worked well last year and what didn’t,” Rodriguez said. “He’s always implementing and teaching us all the little details.”

Camp competition expected to intensify

As the Lions move closer to training camp, players throughout the defense appear united on one point: roster spots and playing time remain up for grabs.

With several veterans returning healthier, young players pushing for larger roles, and newcomers entering the mix, the competition-defining spring practices are expected to intensify once the pads come on later this summer.

The comments were made in response to speculation that the bullet fragment could exonerate defendant Tyler Robinson. Conjecture over the evidence in Kirk’s killing has fueled unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that there might have been a second shooter or that his death was staged.

Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted. The 23-year-old from southwestern Utah is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 killing of Kirk, a conservative activist who was shot in the neck while addressing a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University. Robinson has not yet entered a plea.

Robinson’s attorneys accused prosecutors of going on a “media tour” to discuss expert reports about the bullet fragment, violating the judge's restrictions against speaking about the case outside court.

Prosecutors countered that they had a right to speak to the press to correct misinformation about a preliminary finding by ballistics experts. Those experts' initial tests did not match the bullet fragment with a gun that investigators believe was used to kill Kirk.

In court filings, defense attorneys made public a federal agency's failure to conclusively link the bullet fragment with the rifle. They said it appeared to be “exculpatory evidence” — information that tends to absolve a defendant of guilt — without noting that the finding was preliminary and that further testing was planned.

That spurred stories by some publications raising questions about the prosecution's case: A March 30 headline in the U.K.-based Daily Mail reported that the bullet that killed Kirk “did NOT match” the rifle investigators say was used to kill Kirk.

Authorities have said DNA consistent with Robinson’s was found on the trigger of the rifle, the fired cartridge casing, two unfired cartridges and a towel used to wrap the rifle.

“The rules expressly allow lawyers to set the record straight,” Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard wrote in a court filing.

Ballard argued Friday that he didn't speak to the media about case specifics and only spoke generally about how ballistics testing can be inconclusive. He said his goal “was to respond to the substantial undue prejudicial effect of the media stories.”

Defense attorney Richard Novak disagreed, saying Ballard did not speak to the media using general terms and tried to “influence public perception” of the case.

“What was going on here was an attempt to influence the jury pool,” Novak argued.

State District Judge Tony Graf said he will issue his decision about the contempt allegation on June 22.

Earlier Friday, Graf declined a defense request to halt the proceedings while they appeal a June 1 order in which the judge declined to bar cameras from the courtroom.

The ruling comes ahead of a key hearing scheduled to begin July 6, when prosecutors must show they have enough evidence to warrant a trial. That would mark the most significant presentation of evidence to date in the case, which has so far focused on matters of media access.

Before Friday's hearing, the defense team pointed to another criminal case in which prosecutors were accused of contempt and suggested that one potential remedy would be to bar the state from seeking the death penalty.

While the judge in that earlier case disagreed that an order barring the death penalty was merited, Robinson’s attorneys noted that “the court did not conclude that such a remedy was beyond its authority where the facts support it.”

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Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

Cheng Li-wun told reporters during a trip to Washington that the Kuomintang Party she chairs shares common ground with President Donald Trump, who said after his May trip to Beijing that he was not “looking to have somebody go independent” or fight a war thousands of miles away.

“I think our basic stances are the same — that is peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and to avoid any unnecessary war,” Cheng said after a three-day visit to the nation's capital, where she met American lawmakers and scholars.

Cheng said she also met Trump administration representatives but would not offer more information.

The visit, as part of her two-week trip to the U.S. to promote her party's approach to the Taiwan Strait, has come at a time of rising uncertainty in U.S.-Taiwan relations. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has warned of a possible clash if the U.S. does not properly handle the issue of Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing has vowed to seize by force if necessary to achieve what it considers reunification.

Congress has pledged to better arm Taiwan, giving preliminary approval to a $14 billion arms sales package. The Trump administration has yet to greenlight it.

Cheng, who met Xi in Beijing in April and whose party agrees that both sides of the strait belong to the same Chinese nation, has been promoting dialogue with Beijing. She said it is necessary for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

Beijing has cut off official contact with Taipei's government for the past decade, because Taiwan’s ruling party does not recognize the “One China” principle.

“To initiate the dialogue cross-strait with Xi Jinping doesn’t mean that we will give up the deterrence strength in Taiwan, and, of course, it doesn’t mean that we will compromise or give up our democracy and freedom,” Cheng said, dismissing accusations that she was doing Beijing's bidding.

Asked about her meeting with Xi, Cheng described the Chinese leader as “very gentle and very nice and very real” and said she believed Xi wanted to address the Taiwan issue “with peaceful means and avoid war.”

But the Taiwanese government has pointed out Beijing’s increasingly bellicose behavior in the Taiwan Strait, including regular military operations around Taiwan in the past several years.

While the U.S. recognizes Beijing's position that Taiwan is part of China, it opposes any use of force in altering the status quo. It also is obligated by a U. S. law to provide the island with sufficient hardware to deter any invasion. In December, the Trump administration approved an $11 billion arms sales package to Taiwan.

Trump has indicated that he may still speak with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te even after China has publicly urged him not to do so.

Washington has been disappointed that Taiwan’s opposition-controlled legislature last month passed a $25 billion special defense budget to fund major U.S. arms purchases, down from the original $40 billion proposed by Lai.

On Friday, Cheng said her party objected to the initial proposal because it couldn't write a “blank check” for a proposal lacking details but put forward an interim measure to prioritize purchases of U.S. weapons.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, met Cheng on Thursday and wrote on social media that Cheng's party needs to join with Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party to “finish the defense budget and support the Alaska LNG project.”

Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., met her Wednesday and said in a statement that the opposition party's “resistance to a robust defense budget raises concerns for me that the party is drifting closer" to the ruling Chinese party and “weakening deterrence.”

Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn., who met Cheng on Wednesday, said in a statement that he is willing to engage with leaders from all parties and pledged his commitment to “supporting Taiwan's sovereignty and expanding the U.S.-Taiwan relations."

That level of wealth, all owned by just one person, was once unfathomable. Before Friday, the trillion-dollar mark was reserved for measures like the GDP (or staggering debt ) of a handful of major economies — and, in the last decade alone, the value of some of the biggest companies to ever trade on the stock market.

Musk's new title arrives amid a wider acceleration for the richest of the rich. Year after year, his former (although now very distant) billionaires club has reaped a growing number of members — from tech titans to celebrities. All the while, more and more people worldwide are struggling to pay their everyday bills. Many have decried the arrival of the first trillionaire as the latest and most alarming example of that wealth gap.

The number “one trillion” is hard in itself for the human mind to comprehend. One trillion dollars is a thousand times greater than $1 billion. And a million times more than $1 million.

According to Forbes, Musk’s net worth actually hit $1.1 trillion on Friday, after SpaceX soared in its market debut. Most of that money is in stock. Still, here are some ways to think about how far one trillion could go.

To the moon and back, over 200 times

Thinking about what $1 trillion looks like is almost as astronomical as the interplanetary — and at this point, still far from realized — goals SpaceX has laid out for itself.

In terms of physical cash, one trillion U.S. dollar bills laid end to end would stretch nearly 97 million miles (or almost 156 million kilometers). That would account for the distance of more than 200 round-trip journeys to the moon — which NASA says sits an average of 238,855 miles (nearly 384,400 kilometers) away from Earth. It would also surpass the roughly 93 million miles (about 150 million kilometers) between Earth and the sun.

$122 for every person on Earth

There are nearly 8.2 billion people living on Earth today, per the latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau. If $1 trillion was divided among the entire population, each person would receive almost $122.

Double the GDP of South Africa

One trillion dollars is more than double the annual GDP of South Africa, the country where Musk was born. According 2026 numbers from International Monetary Fund, the nation’s output of goods and services stands at nearly $480 billion.

Only about 21 countries in the world have a GDP over the trillion-dollar mark today. The U.S. and China lead the pack at more than $32.38 trillion and $20.85 trillion, respectively, but that is far ahead of most other economies.

2.5 million homes in the US

Houses sold in the U.S. have a median sales price of about $403,200, per the latest numbers from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. With $1 trillion, you could buy nearly 2.5 million homes at that cost.

243 billion gallons of gas

At current U.S. gas prices — which averaged at nearly $4.11 a gallon Friday per AAA — $1 trillion could buy more than 243 billion gallons of regular fuel.

To help put that in context, that far surpasses the nearly 137 billion gallons Americans used on finished motor gasoline all last year. And prices at the pump were much less expensive in 2025. Steep oil prices, spanning from the U.S. and Israel's ongoing war against Iran, propelled the national average above $4 a gallon for the first time in four years.

Over $700 billion ahead the world's second richest person

According to Forbes, the second-richest person in the world today is Google co-founder Larry Page — who carried a net worth of nearly $294 billion as of midday Friday. That's $706 billion under the trillion dollar mark.

In fact, the combined net worth, as of Friday, of the four men following Musk on Forbes' richest list — which, beyond Page, includes fellow Google co-founder Sergey Brin ($271 billion), Amazon's Jeff Bezos ($249 billion) and Oracle’s Larry Ellison ($232 billion) — amounted to about $1.05 trillion.

Those fortunes can oscillate by tens of billions of dollars by the day, or even a matter of hours. Musk's own net worth has rapidly ballooned in value. Just last year, his net worth sat at $342 billion per Forbes — up from $195 billion in 2024.

Game 1, Knicks led by four with 58 seconds to go. Game 2, Knicks won by one when Victor Wembanyama's game-winning try just misses. Game 3, Spurs won by four. Game 4, Knicks won by one again after OG Anunoby got a miracle tip-in.

There hasn't been a finals like this, with a margin of four points or less in the final minute of each of the first four games, since 1973. New York won that series. The Knicks haven't been champions since.

That could change Saturday. New York — leading the series 3-1 — can close out the Spurs in San Antonio when the finals resume with Game 5.

“You have to be present,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said Friday. “You can’t think about the outcome. It’s about the process, the next play, the next play, the next play."

The series could easily be tied right now, after San Antonio wasted a 29-point lead in Game 4 in what became the biggest collapse in NBA Finals history.

The Spurs led 81-52 in the third quarter on Wednesday night and got outscored 55-25 the rest of the way, missing 29 of their final 35 shots and losing on OG Anunoby's tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining. Taylor Swift was among the many who celebrated long after the final horn, and now the Spurs have to find a way to somehow regroup from absolute agony.

“There’s conviction in strength and confidence,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “That’s what it is. There’s no trick. There’s no avoiding what’s happened. There’s no avoiding all four games have been winnable games. There’s no avoiding we’re down 3-1. There’s not avoiding ways that we could be better. There’s nobody that’s going to be harder on ourselves and accountable to ourselves than the people in the locker room and each other.”

Entering Game 4, teams with leads of 29 or more points in a game were:

— 249-0 this season.

— 288-2 over the last 30 postseasons.

— 4,088-13 over the last 30 seasons, counting regular season and playoff games.

That means the Spurs — who have had double-digit leads in all four games — had about a 99.7% chance of winning Game 4, tying the series and coming home with all the momentum. They’re on the brink of elimination instead.

“We still have that belief that we have a chance to win,” said Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox, who has heard tons of criticism since Wednesday for his decision to try a layup instead of running down the clock when he had the ball and San Antonio leading by one in the final moments. “But we’re taking this one game at a time. We’re not looking at it as we need to win three games. We need to win tomorrow and then we give ourselves a chance to play another game.”

It will not be easy. When the Knicks have had a closeout opportunity this season, they've left no doubt.

New York is 3-0 in closeout games in these playoffs, winning them by the almost comical average of 39.3 points per game. The Knicks led by 61 points before winning 140-89 to close out Atlanta in Round 1, led by 44 points before winning 144-114 to close out Philadelphia in Round 2, then led by 45 points before winning 130-93 to close out Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals.

All that happened on the road, too. And thousands of Knicks fans are expected in San Antonio on Saturday night, all ready to see New York end that long title drought.

“One possession at a time, one play at a time, one quarter at a time,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said. “You’re thinking about the now, how you can be better the next possession, how can you turn the page, positive or negative. Regardless of what’s going on, our mindset and approach has to stay the same. I think we’ve done a very good job of that. It’s something that has grown over the season. It’s really important, especially obviously now.”

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

Appointed in late 2017 to replace Sen. Al Franken after fellow Democrats demanded his resignation amid allegations of unwanted touching and kissing, Smith entered Washington during the height of the #MeToo movement. Democrats were pushing members from office and contrasting their approach with Republicans’ willingness to stand by Donald Trump through scandal and controversy.

Nearly a decade later, Smith says Democrats are focused on something simpler.

“Democrats want to win,” she said.

As the party aims to flip both chambers of Congress in the midterms, Smith and other Democrats have backed Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner despite a growing list of controversies, including a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol, sexting with other women shortly after he married and allegations, which Platner denies, that he locked an ex-girlfriend in a room and forcefully twisted her arm. Platner cruised to victory in this week’s primary after Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign.

The support for Platner is about more than one candidate. It reflects a Democratic Party increasingly willing to overlook behavior it might once have deemed disqualifying, and instead judge candidates by whether they can energize voters and help the party regain power.

“Voters are looking for candidates that are speaking their language and talk about the things that matter to them,” said Smith. “That's the standard that we have to hit in order to win.”

Democrats grapple with the reality of a big tent

The support for Platner comes at a fraught moment for Democrats, who are in the minority in both chambers of Congress while Trump once again occupies the White House.

In the wake of their sweeping losses in 2024, many Democrats argued the party needed a bigger tent with fewer purity tests and more room for candidates and voters who don’t fit neatly within the party’s traditional coalition.

But expanding that tent has raised difficult questions about where Democrats should draw the line. In Virginia, Democrat Jay Jones won election as attorney general after reports surfaced during the campaign that he had texted a fellow delegate suggesting the then-House speaker should get “two bullets to the head.”

Some in the party also condemned Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed for appearing with progressive streamer Hasan Piker for a campaign event. Piker, a 34-year-old streamer with 3.1 million followers on Twitch and 1.8 million on YouTube, has made many controversial remarks, including that “America deserved 9/11.”

Platner’s candidacy has become one of the clearest examples. While some Democrats view his controversies as disqualifying, others argue that voters made their choice.

“He won the nomination. That was the decision of Maine voters. And I respect that decision,” said Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, who has endorsed Platner, agreed the decision lies with voters.

“It’s not up to the politicians to decide,” he said.

For some Democrats, the shift reflects lessons learned during the Trump era. Republicans stood by Trump through scandals, impeachments and criminal convictions, often without paying a lasting political price at the ballot box. Many Democrats now argue voters care more about whether a candidate speaks to their concerns than whether they meet traditional expectations for personal conduct.

“I think what the people of this country and the people of Maine are interested in is how we're going to have a government that represents all of us and addresses the many crises we face. Not the marriage problems of a campaign,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an early Platner supporter.

The voters decide

Progressives who have long argued that Democrats spend too much time policing candidates and not enough time channeling voter frustration see Platner’s victory as evidence that the party’s base is hungry for something different.

Maine voter Elizabeth Massey, a Platner supporter from Penobscot, said she took the allegations seriously and remains troubled by parts of Platner’s past. But she said his willingness to apologize and the issues facing the country ultimately mattered more to her vote.

“So do I care more about texts that he sent or the war in Iran and what that’s doing to gas prices?” Massey said. “Pretty clearly the latter.”

Massey said Platner’s appeal is that he speaks directly to voters’ concerns, not that he is without flaws.

“He owns them. He has apologized for them,” she said of the allegations.

Other supporters argue that Republicans are holding Platner to standards they have not applied to Trump.

“The Republicans don’t have much moral high ground to stand on when they’re criticizing him for what he’s done when Trump is a convicted felon,” said Annette Babcock, who is from Platner’s hometown of Sullivan.

The willingness to embrace candidates with baggage comes as many Democrats remain deeply dissatisfied with their party.

Only about two-thirds of Democrats had a “somewhat” or “very” favorable view of their party in an April AP-NORC poll, a decline from 85% in September 2024. In a separate AP-NORC poll in August 2025, many Democrats described their political party as “weak” or “ineffective.”

But while Platner may fire up the base, questions linger about whether that will translate to general election wins. Platner now faces Republican Sen. Susan Collins, one of the GOP’s most durable incumbents and a politician with a long history of attracting independents and crossover Democratic voters.

“The test is never going to be who wins the primary,” said Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, who led the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm in 2022 and 2024. “It's going to be who wins the general election.”

Not everyone is on board

Many Democrats have not given full throated support of Platner’s candidacy.

Among them is New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the chair of the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, who has primarily focused on defeating Collins rather than embracing Platner. Gillibrand helped lead the push for Franken’s resignation, saying “enough is enough” and that she believed the women who accused him.

Other Democrats have been more openly skeptical. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer have spoken out against Platner, while some lawmakers have offered only qualified endorsements after his primary victory.

“Well, Maine supports him. So yes,” Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., responded when asked if he supports Platner.

Emily Cherniack, the executive director of New Politics, an organization that recruits military veterans and national service leaders to run for office, said she has been “stunned” by some Democrats’ willingness to downplay allegations of aggression and volatility against Platner.

“Democrats are saying, we think it’s actually more important to win the majority and protect democracy, regardless of what he did. That to me is what the message is,” Cherniack said.

“Just be honest and explicit about that choice.”

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Associated Press reporter Patrick Whittle in Maine contributed to this report.

But Spielberg is hardly the only one making headlines of late about UFOs and the possibility of life on other planets.

What was once considered fringe or conspiratorial has in recent months popped up everywhere from the White House to the Catholic Church, as public fascination with unidentified anomalous phenomena — or UAPs, as the government calls them — becomes more mainstream.

The Pentagon in May made public large swaths of UFO files with very little context, leaving curious sleuths to piece together their own interpretations. The dump came just weeks after former President Barack Obama set off a media frenzy for stating unambiguously in an interview that aliens are real, though he later tempered that take.

“Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there,” the former president, who made a surprise visit to the “Disclosure Day” set, posted on social media. “I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!”

Some religious adherents, as well as some nonbelievers, maintain that the existence of life on other planets might undermine many faiths because it would complicate assertions that humans are unique. But others argue the opposite.

“Belief in UFOs is really one of the best things that’s happened to religion in a long time,” said Diana Walsh Pasulka, a religion scholar at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. “It’s a blow to the secular, materialist worldview.”

An intersection of aliens, demons and Catholics

Even if broad interest in UAPs bolsters the case for an enchanted universe, some believers in religions such as Christianity think they are something to be wary of.

“I don’t think they’re aliens. I think they’re demons,” Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, said in a recent podcast interview.

That sentiment was echoed by Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, formerly an exorcist with the Archdiocese of Washington. He was removed last week by the archbishop, who said statements by Rossetti “gravely undermine” Catholic teaching on demons and the devil.

“It’s my personal belief that probably many, if not most, of these UFO sightings are in fact demons,” Rossetti said in a May 29 video posted on his Facebook page. “Aliens, if there are aliens, don’t possess people.”

Christopher Baglow, who heads a science and religion initiative at the University of Notre Dame, was surprised by the firing given that Rosetti made clear in the video he was expressing his own opinion. Baglow speculated that there may be other factors behind the decision.

“I ask forgiveness for any ways that I have not been faithful to the teachings of the Church’s Magisterium,” Rosetti said in a statement online.

Despite the assertions by Vance and Rossetti about demons, Baglow maintains the Catholic Church has long been open to the possibility of extraterrestrial life. “Theologians have been speculating about this for centuries and the church has never ever taught one way or the other,” he said.

While meeting with astronomy students last year at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV spoke about the “ancient light of distant galaxies” and the “mysterious joy” provoked by the study of outer space. Some interpreted these remarks as tacit speculation about the possibility of life on other planets.

Extraterrestrials, old and new

In one sense, the idea of otherworldly beings coming to Earth can be traced back millennia.

“People would call it the plurality of worlds. So even back in the time of Socrates and Aristotle, there were Greek philosophers who talked about beings on other planets and other stars,” Walsh Pasulka said.

But it wasn’t until after 1945 that modern conceptions of UFOs began to develop, according to Jeffrey Kripal, a historian of religions at Rice University. “The flying saucer and the alien and the UFO — it’s definitely a Cold War invasion narrative,” he said.

That narrative explains why UAPs are often perceived as hostile to humans. But it’s also evolved over time and led to the formation of some religions — like Scientology, which counts many a Hollywood celebrity among its adherents — that see extraterrestrials as good or even part of a divine plan. Some adherents to the Nation of Islam, for example, believe that its founder will inaugurate an apocalyptic return to Earth on a spaceship.

The International Raëlian Movement, also know as Raëlism, is a UFO religion that was founded in France in the 1970s. It is still practiced today, with its strongest followings in parts of Asia, Africa and Canada, according to Susan Palmer, a sociologist who studies new religious movements at Concordia University in Montreal.

Its founder, Raël, claims he is a direct descendant of Yahweh, whom Raël visited on the planet of Elohim in 1975. Raëlism claims the Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad are all hybrids of humans and extraterrestrials, as well as Raël’s half brothers.

Of the groups she has studied, Palmer argued Raëlism is the most sympathetic toward UFOs. “They’re not interested in extraterrestrial wars,” she said.

But some think that sentiment might be growing.

Kripal, who heads Rice’s archival collection of reported paranormal experiences called the Center for the Impossible, perceives an increasing openness to these kinds of conversations about the existence of UFOs — and the possibility that they are not hostile.

“People are reporting these experiences or these encounters with entities and they’re religious through and through,” he said. “My colleagues in the academy, they’re really starting to listen in a different way.”

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

Carney's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, became a symbol of middle-power resistance in January, when he declared the global rules-based order over and condemned coercion by great powers on smaller countries. But this summit comes as tensions have been ramping up between Trump and Canada.

Carney met Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, a few days before the summit in Evian-les-Bains, France.

He didn’t mention the U.S. directly but referenced artificial intelligence and said both Canada and France “are determined to act in this way to strengthen our strategic autonomy in a world dominated by hegemonic powers and hyperscalers.”

Macron said the two countries “share the same view of the world.”

The Group of Seven summit of industrialized democracies that begins Monday in France comes ahead of the scheduled July 1 review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. It is a crucial moment in trade talks for the latest iteration of the North American free-trade pact that has intertwined the economies of the three countries since the early 1990s. Trump said this week that he may not renew the deal.

Preserving the accord is critical for Canada, where 70% of exports go to the U.S.

Canadian historian Robert Bothwell said Trump is more of a problem for Carney “than anybody else because we are more exposed to the United States.”

Trump leaves for the G7 summit right after he hosts UFC fights at the White House on Sunday for his 80th birthday.

Carney downplayed the notion that it could be six countries against one at the summit, saying there will be some issues where each country has more extreme views compared to others.

The summit comes amid strain in the Canada-U.S. relationship — one of the most durable and amicable alliances.

Trump’s actions, including launching a trade war and suggesting Canada become the 51st U.S. state, have infuriated Canadians and created the political environment for Carney to win the job of prime minister in 2025 after promising to confront Trump.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, the leader of Canada's most populous province, had a reception with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington canceled Monday at the last minute, although one of his ministers called it "a badge of honor.”

Trump said again this week that the U.S. doesn't need anything that Canada has. Carney has set a goal for Canada to double its non-U.S. exports in the next decade, saying Trump’s trade war is causing a chill in investment.

On Thursday, the opening of a major Canadian bridge across the Detroit River that Trump previously threatened to block was delayed due to unresolved issues.

Trump administration officials keep noting that only two countries, China and Canada, retaliated against America in the trade war. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says Canada’s retaliatory measures are a major issue in talks.

Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said Carney seems to have moderated his tone toward the Trump administration to avoid worsening relations.

“There is a clear tension between what Prime Minister Carney said in his Davos speech about middle powers standing up to hegemons and his attempt to nudge the U.S. administration ‘in the right direction’ with regard to the USMCA review and trade policy more generally,” Béland said.

Carney has downplayed Trump’s most recent comments about Canada becoming the 51st state.

Canada and Mexico want the USMCA to be renewed for another 16 years. More likely it will be subject to annual reviews for the next 10 years.

Carney will also travel to Ireland this weekend to meet with the Irish prime minister in a bid to diversify trade away from the U.S.

This is Carney's ninth trip to Europe in the 15 months since he became prime minister in March 2025.

Those were some of the UFOs described in documents released Friday by the Pentagon, the third release since President Donald Trump directed his administration to give the public full disclosure around what it knows about alien life and mysterious objects in the sky.

The 72 files released on Friday don’t include the kind of blockbuster revelation that Trump has teased. There’s no conclusive evidence of alien life or government cover-ups. But the files reveal new details about some recent sightings, along with the government's efforts to explain what many find inexplicable.

Take, for instance, the potato.

It happened in 2022, on a brisk February morning in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Five U.S. Army members at Fort Carson walked out of an office building and saw something strange hovering over Cheyenne Mountain, a few miles to the west.

“The object was ‘potato’ shaped with distinct edges and appeared to look painted in a creamy/whitish opalescent color,” according to an account in an FBI document. It was made up of “articulating fish scales or panels that were non-symmetrical, non-overlapping and irregular shaped.”

It stayed motionless, shimmering, for about two minutes, the men recounted to the FBI. Then it vanished in the blink of an eye. None of the men had phones on them. There's no video, no photos.

Report says ‘potato’ could have been a trick of light

Authorities tasked with investigating the episode said they couldn't explain it easily. Their report found — with “low confidence" — that it may have been “backscattering of sunlight." Low light from the rising sun could have reflected off the mountain's snow and illuminated low clouds above, it said.

The men insisted it was a clear, cloudless day. No aircraft or balloons were believed to be in the area. The four-page report, heavily redacted and attributed only to an “intelligence community partner,” said it didn't appear to be technology from a foreign adversary. An FBI rendering looks just like one might imagine — like a scaly, pale potato above a low mountain.

The case remains unsolved.

A similarly inclusive report examined a series of sightings in October 2023, this time by six federal law enforcement agents. Multiple times, the agents said, they saw a bright orange orb appear above a ridgeline and spawn two to four smaller red orbs.

The orbs disappeared quickly most of the time, but in one instance, the agents said an orb hovered motionless in the sky for several hours. There's no video or photo evidence of the sightings, the report said.

An analysis dated this month goes through a series of possible explanations. Military aircraft were conducting exercises in the area, and some deployed flares. There could have been other testing of developmental U.S. technology nearby, the report said. It listed those as “plausible” but not conclusive explanations.

Yet it didn't rule out the possibility that it was some “unrecognized technology." With relatively little evidence to work from, it called for more investigation into the case.

White House boosts video of red orb

The analysis was conducted by the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, which Congress created in 2022 to investigate reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena, also known as UAP. Previous reports from the agency say it has not found any evidence of extraterrestrial life.

Among the most recent files is an FBI report from February detailing a sighting in an undisclosed part of the Northeast United States. A person whose name is blacked out reported coming home and seeing an intense light hovering below the trees in their backyard. It was described as a sphere of a “brilliant and beautiful” red, which the person had never seen.

“Inside the red sphere, at the center, there appeared to be what (redacted) described as a ‘white plasma sun’ about the size of a basketball,” according to the FBI file.

A second sphere appeared, and both silently flew out of sight, the file says. Cellphone footage shows two glowing red orbs floating across the sky. The White House shared the video on social media on Friday with no message beyond the file’s name: “‘NORTHEASTERN ORB SIGHTING,’ 2025.”

Zimbabwe sighting included ‘beams’ from a disc

So far, the Trump administration's transparency campaign has led to the release of about 300 files dating to the 1940s, some brand-new to the public and some adding detail on previously known cases.

The newest batch includes a 2008 CIA report from Zimbabwe labeled as “never before released.” On a July day above the country’s main airport, observers reportedly saw something straight out of a Hollywood movie: It was “disc-like in shape with a hollow center, and had a series of rotating lights on the underside of the airframe.”

“At one point during observation, ‘beams’ were observed emanating from the object,” the CIA report said.

The lights changed colors, and the aircraft ascended high out of view, the report says. There was debate about where it came from, according to the report, with some suggesting a foreign government and some positing “extraterrestrial origins."

Judge Lewis J. Liman said in a written decision that Lively can recover legal fees and costs related to her defense against a countersuit Baldoni brought against her after she sued him in December 2024.

In his written ruling Friday, Liman cited a California law designed to protect survivors of sexual harassment and discrimination from retaliatory lawsuits meant to intimidate and silence victims.

The judge said the law requires that the plaintiff must pay the defendant’s legal fees and costs if a defamation claim made in response to a lawsuit is dismissed, even if the facts of the case have not been developed through the gathering of evidence.

Liman said an exception would be if Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios LLC, could prove malice fueled Lively's claims, but that Baldoni and Wayfarer had produced no evidence to show that.

The judge rejected her claims to triple any damages and pursue punitive damages as well under the California law, saying that they did not fall within “carefully crafted federal procedural rules designed to protect the rights of the parties.”

Lively and Baldoni settled the bulk of their dispute last month just as a trial was about to start on Lively’s retaliation claims. She received no money from the deal but was permitted to pursue legal fees.

In their statements, both sides cast Liman's ruling as a victory.

Lively lawyers Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson said the award of legal fees “makes it clear that Ms. Lively brought her claims in good faith, that there was no evidence she acted with malice, and that she is the prevailing defendant.”

Bryan Freedman, Baldoni's lawyer, said Lively failed to get her demands for $300 million in fees and damages, with 10 or her 13 claims tossed out by the judge before the settlement was reached, and then “pivoted to exploit a California law” to get damages.

“Once again, she failed,” he said, noting that she was entitled now to limited attorney fees for a single claim in a portion of the litigation that existed for only a few months.

The lawyer said his clients were “threatened by one of the most famous movie stars, who tried to rip away their life’s work and pristine reputations.”

“Throughout this process, innocent people had their reputations unfairly tarnished. There was no sexual harassment. There was no retaliation. There was no smear campaign. The court recognized it, the record reflects it, and we have maintained it from the very beginning,” Freedman said.

Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation, along with his production company, in late 2024. She said the actor engineered an effort to damage her public reputation and credibility.

Baldoni, who directed the dark romantic drama and starred in it with Lively, denied harassing her or orchestrating a smear campaign. He claimed the complaints about his behavior were made up by Lively as part of an effort to seize creative control of the movie. He countersued, accusing Lively and her husband, “Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds, of defamation and extortion.

Liman threw out Baldoni's countersuit last year and then dismissed Lively's sexual harassment claims weeks ago, saying she could not bring them because she was an independent contractor rather than an employee on the movie set.

“It Ends With Us,” an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel about a relationship devolving into domestic violence, was released in August 2024 and exceeded box office expectations.

Lively appeared in the 2005 film “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and the TV series “Gossip Girl” from 2007 to 2012 before starring in films including “The Town” and “The Shallows.”

Baldoni starred in the TV comedy “Jane the Virgin,” directed the 2019 film “Five Feet Apart” and wrote “Man Enough,” a book challenging traditional notions of masculinity.

After Local 4 received tips about the issue, the City of Detroit confirmed inspectors have been at the property for the past two days to investigate complaints.

Update: Why dozens of Detroit seniors were left without A/C during a heat advisory -- and what it took to restore it

Arthur Rushin, Chief Enforcement Officer with Detroit’s Building, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED), said inspectors have issued a correction order to the property’s management over the faulty system.

Rushin said the problem surfaced in late May.

“They went to turn their AC on, back in the latter part of May. Discovered that they had some issues,” Rushin said.

Several residents told Local 4 they have been opening windows for relief as temperatures climb.

Tenants who spoke with us did not want to be identified on camera, but confirmed they’ve been in communication with property management about the repair timeline and a part needed to fix the system.

A representative for Presbyterian Village Company, the property management company, said replacement parts have been ordered and repairs should be completed soon.

The company also said it is taking steps to keep residents cool in the meantime, including placing chillers in hallways on each floor and bringing in additional fans.

Rushin said inspectors also verified that cooling areas are available inside the building.

“The management company has established some cooling areas in the building. So, they have portable AC units in the community room,” Rushin said. “We also had the inspector verify that the temperature in the community room was 75 degrees.”

Residents also told Local 4 they’ve been working with senior advocates, a resource the city rolled out earlier this year to assist tenants at senior complexes across Detroit and help identify issues.

“So, each senior building, they go, and they talk to the property managers and the owners to see if there are any issues that the seniors have,” Rushin said.

Representatives for Brush Park Manor said the part needed for the A/C repairs is expected to arrive on Friday (June 12), and maintenance crews are standing by to fix the unit.

City inspectors noted that the complex has faced similar air-conditioning complaints in 2024 and 2025.

A representative for Presbyterian Village Company said residents are being closely monitored and that their comfort and safety remain a priority.

Representatives from the complex stated on Friday, that the system is fully operational after replacing a part.

Some tenants at the senior living community complained that, on Thursday, they had been without working air conditioning for several days as a heat advisory remained in effect.

After Local 4 received tips about the issue, the City of Detroit confirmed inspectors have been at the property for the past two days to investigate complaints.

Arthur Rushin, Chief Enforcement Officer with Detroit’s Building, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED), said inspectors have issued a correction order to the property’s management over the faulty system.

Rushin said the problem surfaced in late May.

“They went to turn their A/C on, back in the latter part of May. Discovered that they had some issues,” Rushin said.

Several residents told Local 4 they have been opening windows for relief as temperatures climb.

The senior living community is managed by Presbyterian Village Company. In a statement, Stacey Oldson, Vice Presidents of Sales and Marketing provided some context around the issue.

“The timeline referenced appears to coincide with the annual HVAC seasonal changeover process performed by our contractor, Great Lakes. Great Lakes began work on May 21 as part of the standard transition from heating mode to cooling mode, prior to the air conditioning system being activated for the season,” Olson explained. “During this process, technicians entered resident apartments to perform routine preventative maintenance activities, including draining condensate lines, replacing furnace filters, and preparing equipment for summer operation. These activities are part of our normal annual procedures and are conducted before the cooling system is placed into service.”

She added, “As a result, residents observed maintenance personnel working throughout the building beginning in late May. However, the presence of technicians at that time should not be interpreted as evidence that a known air conditioning system failure had been identified or that residents were experiencing a loss of cooling service at that point. Rather, these activities were associated with the planned seasonal startup and maintenance process.”

Tenants who spoke with Local 4 confirmed they had been in communication with property management about the repair timeline and a part needed to fix the system.

“Once the mechanical issue was identified earlier this week, our team worked promptly with our contractor to diagnose the problem, order the necessary replacement parts, implement interim cooling measures, and maintain communication with residents regarding repair progress,” Olson explained.

As tenants waited for repairs, cooling areas were established in the community, portable cooling equipment as brought in, and staff said they continued to closely monitor residents.

After Friday’s air conditioning system repairs, Olson added, “Water is circulating through the system at 40°F, and Great Lakes Construction (contractor) is currently completing airflow testing throughout the facility. Vent temperatures are reading 46°F, a strong indication that the system is performing as designed.”

Cooper was arrested Thursday night on multiple charges that he violated a protection order filed against him after his initial arrest stemming from a domestic dispute with his girlfriend last week.

Cooper is now facing new charges of harassment from repeated phone calls and violation of a protection order, according to court records.

The protection order was put in place for Cooper's girlfriend after two additional charges, including a felony charge of second-degree assault by strangulation, were added Wednesday from his June 4 arrest in Parker.

Aside from his legal troubles, Cooper could face a lengthy suspension from the league.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told The Associated Press on Friday, “We continue to monitor all developments in the matter which remains under review of the personal conduct policy.”

The Broncos also issued a statement to AP, saying, “We are disappointed to learn of Jonathon Cooper's arrest on Thursday and continue to review this matter.”

Cooper is accused of sending 20 messages and making two unanswered phone calls to his girlfriend Thursday before going to her apartment and knocking on her door, according to the arrest affidavit. He left when she called 911. Cooper told officers who went to his residence later Thursday that he had not been served with a protection order.

Cooper was ordered during an appearance in the 23rd Judicial District Court in Douglas County on Friday to abide by a stricter protection order that prohibits any contact with his girlfriend. Also, he must have court approval to travel out of state. He was released on a personal recognizance bond.

Cooper originally faced misdemeanor domestic violence charges and pleaded not guilty Monday in a Douglas County courtroom. Additional charges were announced in court Wednesday, including felony assault by strangulation and third-degree assault of knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury.

The new charges stemmed from a forensic nurse's examination of Cooper's girlfriend at a hospital during which the nurse wrote that the woman experienced an injury from being choked that led to a “substantial risk of death” or substantial risk of injury, including the possibility of a traumatic brain injury, according to court records.

Cooper, 28, was originally arrested June 4 by Parker police along with his girlfriend, and both were booked into jail early that next morning. Cooper was held on suspicion of criminal mischief with a domestic violence enhancer. His girlfriend was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence and petty criminal mischief.

The arrests followed an argument and physical confrontation between Cooper and his girlfriend over cell phones that were damaged in the scuffle after she accused him of infidelity, according to a police affidavit.

Last weekend, Cooper posted a Bible verse about anger on his Instagram account and wrote, “I apologize to my family and my friends and my community. ... And so many others.” He added, “I realize positing a bible (verse) after something very serious happens does not just mean everything is okay.” In another post, Cooper wrote, “I apologize. This situation is not who I am.”

A seventh-round draft pick out of Ohio State in 2021, Cooper is entering his sixth season with the Broncos. He’s had at least eight sacks in each of the last three seasons, including a career-best 10 1/2 sacks in 2024 when he signed a four-year contract extension worth up to $60 million.

Cooper has a motions hearings set for July 6 on his original arrest and July 14 on his latest arrest, in addition to a trial set to begin July 22, just before the Broncos report to training camp.

Cooper has been participating in the Broncos' offseason training program and on Thursday coach Sean Payton said he had a talk with Cooper about his arrest. "We’ll follow the league’s guidelines, and I’m sure a lot of that will be led by the local authorities’ guidelines. We’ll pay attention to all of it,” Payton said.

The Broncos hold their mandatory minicamp next week before their summer break.

___

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

But some of the key objectives Trump laid out for the conflict seem to remain unfulfilled. And while the Trump administration has said its objectives are clear and unchanging, the list has expanded and shifted as the president and his administration have spoken about the war since it started Feb. 28. All the while, the conflict has battered the global economy, tested alliances and raised unanswered questions about the planning for the conflict, its justification and its aftermath.

By most accounts, the strikes by the U.S. and Israel have significantly degraded Iran's military capabilities and killed scores of senior leaders. But those tactical successes don’t necessarily translate into achieving all the president’s strategic aims, even as the administration said Friday that it was meeting the goals it had laid out.

Here’s a look at the objectives laid out by Trump at various points since the outset of the war and what we know about where they stand:

1. Destroy Iran's ability to fire missiles

One of the prime objectives laid out by the administration was to “destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground."

Trump said in late March that Iran's missiles “are mostly decimated" and that 90% of their missiles and launchers were knocked out.

By mid-May, that shifted to a more conservative estimate, with the president saying that 82% of Iran's missiles were gone.

Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, told lawmakers in mid-May that Iran maintains a “very moderate if not small capability to continue strikes” in the region.

Iran proved as recently as this week that it still had the ability to launch missiles when it attacked three Gulf allies of the U.S.

2. Destroy Iran's defense industrial base

Early in the war, the president and his administration sometimes listed this as a standalone objective. Other times, it has fallen off their list.

U.S. Central Command has said its targets for strikes in Iran have included weapons production and missile and drone manufacturing facilities.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers in early June that Iran has had “massive destruction” of its defense industrial base and “80 to 90% of attrition. It will take years for them to rebuild it.”

Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview that aired Sunday: “Most of the drone factories have been knocked out, most of the launching pads have been knocked out and most of the missile manufacturing areas have been knocked out. But they still have capacity.”

3. Eliminate Iran's navy and air force

The U.S. and Israel quickly established air superiority in the skies above Iran, where they flew largely unchallenged.

Rubio told lawmakers that Iran still has drone capabilities, but it lacks the ability to use swarms of drones to attack targets, as it did at the start of the war.

He also said Iran does not have a navy but small crafts outfitted with machine guns that harass ships and sometimes drop mines in the water.

Iran has shown its ability to still launch attacks in the region, such as a deadly June 3 attack of drones and missiles at Kuwait that led to the brief closure of its main airport. The U.S. and Bahrain also said they intercepted missiles and drones fired at the Gulf kingdom by Iran.

And on Tuesday, Trump blamed Tehran for the downing of a U.S. Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz after it collided with an Iranian drone.

4. Obliterate Iran's nuclear program for good

Trump made a marked shift over the last year after declaring that the U.S. had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program in June, only for his aides to warn that Iran was just weeks away from a bomb to justify the current operations.

One of the most pressing questions is what will be done with about 970 pounds of enriched uranium that Tehran has that could potentially be used for a weapon. The material is believed to be buried under three nuclear sites bombed by the U.S. and Israel last year. Trump said in a May 29 social media post that it will be retrieved by the U.S. “in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED.”

Iran has not said whether it would consent. Without permission from Iran, seizing it would be a dangerous mission, experts say, and would require a sizable deployment of U.S. troops into the country.

Trump told reporters on Thursday that there was an agreement “conceptually” on the uranium, but he did not offer details and Iran has not yet confirmed it.

A senior administration official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity on Friday to provide an update on negotiations, said that Iran has agreed that the uranium will be destroyed and removed, but details of what that looks like have not yet been hammered out.

5. Protect America's Middle Eastern allies

Trump, in a March social media post, added a fifth objective for the U.S: “Protecting, at the highest level, our Middle Eastern Allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others."

The U.S. maintains thousands of troops on bases and other installations in the region, but Trump has been unclear on how far he'd be willing to go to protect Middle East allies from threats.

As Trump said the U.S. was nearing a deal with Iran in recent weeks, he's said that any agreement should somehow bind many of the Gulf allies to join the Abraham Accords, agreements from Trump’s first term that seek to normalize relations with Israel. But that seems exceedingly unlikely as Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip have created a bigger distance from Gulf Arab states and the wider Muslim world.

As the U.S. and Iran traded back-and-forth strikes this week, Tehran’s targets included attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, prompting the U.S. to respond with a fresh round of strikes.

The Trump administration has begun exploring whether to let Gulf allies use Iran's frozen assets to pay for damages sustained in the war, but officials have not said whether they are moving forward with that plan.

The senior administration official said Friday that the memorandum of understanding would guarantee a long-term peace in the region, but did not offer details on what that would look like or how it would be achieved.

6. Reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Keeping shipping traffic flowing through the vital waterway was not one of the reasons for launching the war, but after Iran leveraged its ability to effectively shut traffic through the strait, it has become a key problem to tackle in the conflict.

The Strait of Hormuz is a chokepoint for 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas and its effective closure since the war has spiked global energy prices, along with the costs of other goods. Iran had allowed ships seen as friendly to pass through, while charging considerable fees.

Trump has said that a proposed deal with Iran would include the reopening of the strait and the U.S. ending its blockade of Tehran's ports.

7. Cut off

support for Iranian proxy groups

In March, Trump and his administration repeatedly included degrading Iran's proxy terror networks as a key goal of the operation.

As time has gone on, administration officials have offered fewer updates about this objective, which the president described as ensuring that “the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces” and “ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.”

The U.S., early on, struck Iranian-aligned militia groups in Iraq. But the biggest question has been Israel's deepening war in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which Iran backs. Iran has insisted that the fighting in Lebanon must be stopped as part of any deal with the U.S., but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing his goal of destroying the militant group.

Israel said Thursday that it was not a party to the agreement that the U.S. had reached with Iran.

The administration official said Friday that the U.S. was confident that broad regional peace terms in the memorandum of understanding would include both Hezbollah and Israel. If the Iranians hold up their end as it pertains to constraining Hezbollah, the Israelis would not feel a need to respond, the official said.

___

Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.

“The league notified Stefon Diggs today that it concluded its investigation and there is insufficient evidence to support a finding of a personal conduct policy violation,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in statement to The Associated Press.

ESPN was first to report the league's finding.

Diggs was found not guilty last month of assaulting his personal chef. The charges stemmed from a Dec. 2 incident at his house in Massachusetts where Jamila Adams, a former live-in personal chef, testified that Diggs slapped and choked her during an argument. He had pleaded not guilty to a felony strangulation charge and a misdemeanor assault and battery charge. The jury deliberated for less than two hours before clearing Diggs of all charges.

Diggs spent last season with the New England Patriots, helping them reach the Super Bowl, where they lost to Seattle. He was released in March and remains unsigned.

Several NFL players, including Ben Roethlisberger, Jameis Winston and Ezekiel Elliott, have been suspended for violating the personal conduct policy despite not being arrested or charged with a crime.

Diggs led New England with 85 receptions and 1,013 yards receiving with four touchdowns in his only season with the team. He was the go-to option for Drake Maye, who finished runner-up to Matthew Stafford for the AP NFL MVP award.

Diggs, who turns 33 on Nov. 29, has played for three teams in the past three seasons. He began his career in Minnesota in 2015 and went from fifth-round pick to No. 1 receiver in five seasons with the Vikings.

He was traded to Buffalo for a first-round pick in 2020 and had an All-Pro season that year. Diggs spent four seasons with the Bills. He played for the Texans in 2024.

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

Some of those storms were about to produce wind gusts over 70 miles per hour.

Over 20,000 people woke up without power on Friday, June 12.

See the latest forecast here.

Here are photos of the damage left behind following the overnight storms late Thursday night into Friday morning:

Dearborn

In Dearborn, a 6-year-old girl was rushed to a local hospital early Friday morning after a tree fell on a home. She is expected to be okay.

Read more --> 6-year-old girl injured after tree falls on Dearborn house

Also in Dearborn, a dog has died Friday morning after touching a fence that was charged by a downed utility line.

Read more here --> Dog killed by downed power line in Dearborn

Detroit

Dearborn Heights

Westland

Clay Township

FIFA said Friday in a statement that the 32-year-old Partey won’t be able to travel from his team's base camp in Smithfield, Rhode Island, for Ghana's opening match with Panama in Toronto.

“His visa application has been refused by the Canadian government,” the governing body of world soccer said. “FIFA is not involved in the immigration processes of host countries, including the adjudication of visas. As with previous FIFA events, the host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and is admitted into the country.”

The Ghana soccer association did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in a statement that every person wanting to come to Canada is assessed individually “based on the facts available and the law that applies.”

"Canada is proud to be a host country for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and is working to facilitate a successful event while maintaining the safety and security of Canadians," the IRCC said in the statement. “Canada has been consistent that hosting major events does not change Canada’s immigration laws.”

Partey was traveling back to Ghana's base camp in Rhode Island after his visa denial. He will be able to play June 23 when Ghana plays England in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Ghana concludes group play June 27 against Croatia in Philadelphia.

Partey is scheduled to stand trial in November or later on allegations dating to his time with English club Arsenal from 2020-25. Partey, who now plays in Spain for Villarreal, has pleaded not guilty.

A second World Cup player, Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi, is awaiting trial on similar charges in Paris.

Ghana is making its fifth appearance in the last six World Cups.

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

Corey Eubanks, 20, and Elijah Eubanks, 19, were both charged with nine counts of firearms - devices to convert semiautomatic to automatic and one count of felony firearm.

Detectives from the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office and the Warren Police Department executed search warrants at a home in the 8700 block of Maxwell Avenue in Warren on June 9.

There, authorities said they found the following items during the search:

• Draco AK-47 style pistol
• Two 3D printed Glock handgun frames
• Nine Machine Gun Conversion Devices (MCDs), often referred to as “Glock switches”
• 3D printer
• Multiple magazines and ammunition
• Firearm components and accessories used in the manufacture of untraceable “ghost guns”

The sheriff’s office said a Glock switch is a conversion device that can be attached to a semi-automatic handgun that can make it function as a fully-automatic handgun.

“Ghost guns,” according to authorities, are privately-made guns that typically do not have serial numbers, making it hard or even impossible to trace.

“This case highlights the growing threat posed by illegal firearm conversion devices and the manufacturing of untraceable firearms,” said Sheriff Anthony M. Wickersham. “These modified handguns are capable of firing at an alarming rate, placing our communities at significant risk. I commend the members of SET and our law enforcement partners for removing these dangerous weapons and devices from our streets.”

Corey and Elijah were arraigned in court. Corey was given a $100,000 cash bond and is required to wear a GPS tether upon release. Elijah was given a $75,000 cash bond and is also required to wear a GPS tether upon release.

Both were ordered not to contact each other. They remain lodged at the Macomb County Jail.

Brock Delia-Shea was taken into custody Thursday, June 11, after an investigation that led to a search of his Washington Township home.

Authorities said they received information from the Troy Police Department indicating Delia-Shea was in possession of child sexually abusive material and had reportedly sexually assaulted a minor on more than one occasion.

After the search warrant was executed, Delia-Shea was arraigned Friday, June 12, on the following charges:

• Two counts of aggravated child sexually abusive material
• One count of child sexually abusive activity
• Four counts of aggravated possession of child sexually abusive activity
• Five counts of using a computer to commit a crime
• One count of accosting a child for immoral purposes
• One count of aggravated indecent exposure

Delia-Shea’s bond was set at $500,000 cash, and he remains lodged at the Macomb County Jail.

The investigation is ongoing and further charges will be sought.

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The races set up significant tests of whether Democrats' redraw of California's House maps will pay off for the party.

Several other major U.S. House races also were set Tuesday as California's protracted vote count from the state's June 2 primary ground on. Two Republicans will face each other in a Southern California House district drawn to end one of their careers. And a Sacramento seat will become a high-profile generational clash between two Democrats.

But the most attention was on two districts in the vast midsection of the state that will help determine whether Democrats can claim victory in California's role in the mid-decade redistricting wars. Both will be crucial to determine which party controls the U.S. House in this year's midterm elections.

Democrats hope to pick off a perennial GOP target in the Central Valley

Progressive Randy Villegas, a political science professor and school board member, on Tuesday beat the favored pick of establishment Democrats, moderate Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, to advance to the November election against Valadao, a perennial target whose district Democrats redrew to shift further to the left.

Democrats narrowly beat Valadao in their 2018 wave, only to see him win back the seat in 2020. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee threw its weight behind Bains, but Villegas won the primary and will test whether progressives or moderates are best positioned to face the resilient Republican.

"Voters in the Central Valley have spoken and they have declared that the Valley is not for sale,” Villegas said in a statement.

Republicans had hoped to face Villegas.

“Socialist Randy Villegas clawed his way out of a bruising Democrat primary by sprinting to the far left and embracing the same failed policies that made California unaffordable for working families,” said Christian Martinez, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, in a statement.

An independent hopes to keep Democrats from winning redrawn district

For a few days after last week's primary, California's 6th District near Sacramento was a possible warning sign for Democrats, as Kiley and a long-shot Republican who ran on peace in the Mideast held the top two slots in the nonpartisan primary. But the state's slow but regular tally of late Democratic mail ballots catapulted Pan onto the November ballot.

Democrats broke up Kiley's conservative Northern California district, so the congressman opted to run in the new, Democratic-leaning district, left the GOP and became a vocal opponent of partisan redistricting.

“This race will be a choice between the extreme partisan politics that have made California the most unaffordable state in the country, and the independent leadership that allows our local communities to thrive,” Kiley said in a statement.

California Democrats scrambled their map to counter gains Republicans made in Texas and elsewhere after President Donald Trump called for the GOP to create as many conservative seats as possible in its bid to hold onto the House of Representatives in November.

California’s 52 House races provided a miniature of national trends. That included the fallout from redistricting ahead of this year’s midterm elections, this time with Democrats redrawing the map, the generational battle among Democrats and questions of whether moderates or liberals are better positioned to win in swing districts.

New districts set up clashes between members of the same party

In more fallout from redistricting, Republican Rep. Young Kim on Tuesday advanced to the November election. She will face fellow Republican Rep. Ken Calvert after Democrats drew them both into a single district, guaranteeing that one would not return to Congress next year.

“Throughout this campaign, we made the case that after more than three decades in Washington, it is time for fresh conservative leadership, and I look forward to continuing that conversation with voters in the months ahead,” Kim said in a statement.

Calvert replied in his own statement: “Voters throughout the district recognize I'm an effective member of Congress with a history of delivering results, cutting taxes and making life more affordable.”

Also on Tuesday, a major generational Democratic clash was set up as Sacramento City Councilwoman Mai Vang advanced to face longtime incumbent Rep. Doris Matsui on the November ballot.

The 81-year-old congresswoman has held the Sacramento-based seat since the death of her husband, former Rep. Bob Matsui, in 2005. Bob Matsui had represented the district since the 1970s.

Vang, 41, is one of a slew of Democrats across the nation mounting an explicitly generational challenge in the wake of Joe Biden’s presidency.

“People are tired of leaders who answer to their biggest donors instead of the families they represent,” Vang said in a statement after the race was called. “The squeeze on working families doesn’t check your party registration — and neither will I.”

Matsui released her first ad of the general election Tuesday night, focusing on a local mother whose son had muscular dystrophy and who praised Matsui for legislation funding therapies for the disease.

Veteran Democrats survive challengers as others vie to replace Pelosi

Two other veteran House Democrats in California also made it past younger challengers to the November ballot. Rep. Brad Sherman, 71, a 15-term congressman representing part of Los Angeles, will face a Republican in the fall. Mike Thompson, 75, is seeking his 13th term in a Northern California district.

In San Francisco, a wealthy progressive challenger was unable to crack the top two slots to fill retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s seat. Instead, state Sen. Scott Wiener and city Supervisor Connie Chan will face off to replace the former House speaker.

The 7th District seat held by Matsui is considered a safe one for Democrats, but was redrawn as part of the party’s bid to add five more U.S. House seats elsewhere. Voters signed off on the changes with a constitutional amendment last year.

Democrats initially were concerned about getting locked out of the general election in a San Diego-area seat under the state’s primary system, which sends the top two vote-getters to the November ballot regardless of party. But San Diego City Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert managed to emerge from a large field of other Democrats and will face Republican Jim Desmond, a San Diego County supervisor.

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In this story first published June 9, 2026, The Associated Press erroneously reported Rep. Brad Sherman’s age as 72. Sherman is 71.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta rejected a legal advocacy group's request to block organizers from using the White House lawn as the venue for Sunday’s planned UFC mixed martial arts event.

Mehta concluded that the plaintiffs likely don’t have legal standing to challenge the event and have failed to prove that they would suffer irreparable harm by the event going forward as planned. The judge also cited the plaintiffs’ “unreasonable delay” in suing to challenge an event that’s been in the works for months.

“In the context of an emergency application — and coupled with the fact that the UFC fight date was long ago known — it is fair to say Plaintiffs unreasonably delayed bringing suit, undercutting their claims of irreparable harm,” Mehta wrote.

Attorneys from the nonprofit Public Integrity Project sued to challenge Trump’s “UFC Freedom 250” event on behalf of an activist and a Vietnam War veteran. The two plaintiffs also asked the court to block organizers from building anything for the event on White House grounds, including a 92-foot-tall, 600-ton steel structure called The Claw.

The plaintiffs’ alleged “aesthetic harms,” the judge noted, are temporary since The Claw will be disassembled starting Monday morning and staging equipment at the Lincoln Memorial must be removed before then. “The President’s musings about permanency of the Claw does not move the dial in the face of a White House official’s clear representation,” the judge wrote.

The White House called the lawsuit a baseless attempt to prevent Trump from hosting an event that’s no different from many others routinely hosted at public forums in the nation’s capital.

Trump's administration can’t issue permits for sporting events on the South Lawn or at the Lincoln Memorial, where UFC fighters planned to hold a press conference in front of fans on Friday, according to plaintiffs’ attorneys. They noted that the event is a privately organized, for-profit business venture, with VIP packages costing millions of dollars.

“The President’s administration is granting the UFC an extraordinary business opportunity it may not lawfully grant, and in exchange the UFC is throwing an event at which its leadership, fighters, advertisers, and various celebrities will all pay tribute to the President on his birthday,” plaintiffs’ attorneys wrote.

Public Integrity Project attorney Brendan Ballou said the plaintiffs were disappointed in the judge's decision but respect it and intend to "keep bringing cases to raise the cost of corruption in America.”

“This isn’t a case about a sporting event, it’s about corruption, as a handful of people and companies stand to profit from our public monuments," Ballou said in a statement.

The National Park Service and the Interior Department are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

In 2019, during his first term in office, Trump became the first sitting president to attend a UFC show. Trump, a Republican, is a friend of UFC president and CEO Dana White.

Mehta was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Mehta has presided over other Trump-related cases, including civil litigation accusing Trump of inciting a mob of his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, a Democrat.

If ratified, the four-year agreement with American Axle — a Tier 1 supplier to General Motors — would secure a significant wage hike for UAW workers of $30 per hour by 2030 – marking a more than 36% increase to the top wage rate.

Union members cited “major concessions” in the form of wage cuts as the reason for the strike that began at midnight on June 1, noting that employees were forced to accept pay cuts in 2008 to save the facility from closure. At the time, wages were cut nearly in half from $29 an hour to $14.50 an hour, with wages topping out at $22 an hour under the previous contract.

“This fight at American Axle will go down in the history books, because it teaches us some vital lessons,” Fain said in a livestream published on Wednesday. “These members have waited for nearly two decades to start winning back what was taken from them in the great recession. In 2026, the waiting was over.”

Under the new contract, legacy UAW members hired before May 31, 2012, would get an immediate $8 per hour wage increase. Other demands made by workers in the agreement include more paid days off without an increase in healthcare costs — something UAW leaders say the company insisted could not be done.

“Despite what the company pushed for, we would not accept any concessions from this agreement,” said UAW Local 2093 Bargaining Chair Josh Jager on Wednesday. “This contract ensures there will be no healthcare premium cost increases for the life of the deal. What you pay today is what you’ll pay for the next four years.”

Additionally, Jager said, American Axle workers would get more time off for holidays, including Martin Luther King Day, Veteran’s Day, and Christmas, and employees with one-year seniority would receive an additional nine vacation days per year, as well as a ratification bonus and one-year anniversary bonus for employees.

American Axle, which produces axles for the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra — both built at GM’s Flint Assembly plant — has generated $8.4 billion in profits for GM over the last decade, according to the UAW. Over that time, the company’s CEO has been paid $111 million, with the top five executives receiving nearly $231 million in compensation.

“This contract will change lives in Three Rivers and across southwest Michigan,” Jager said. “I am damn proud of this agreement, and I am damn proud to be a member of UAW Local 2093.”

Local 2093 members are expected to vote on the tentative agreement in the coming days.

View UAW Local 2093’s bargaining update below.