Ahead of the meeting hosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Zelenskyy said the talks would focus on further efforts to help Ukraine's war effort, including air defense.

“Europe must be part of the negotiations and must be strong,” he said on X.

Also present at the meeting at 10 Downing Street are French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Macron and Merz left after a couple of hours of discussions leaving Starmer to continue talks with Zelenskyy.

The U.K., France and Germany, the so-called E3 group of European nations, have been prominent backers of Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The U.K. and France lead the “coalition of the willing” initiative to provide security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a peace process.

The meeting comes in the wake of a Russian drone strike that killed three people waiting at a bus stop in southeastern Ukraine. Another person was wounded in the drone attack in Balabyne in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, wrote on his Telegram channel.

A separate drone strike damaged a storage center for spent nuclear fuel in the Kyiv region, just 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s General Staff said. The attack sparked a fire that was extinguished within an hour. Radiation remains within safe levels, officials said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said the incident was “deeply concerning” due to the large amounts of nuclear material held at the facility. He said in a statement that the agency would visit the site of the attack soon.

Elsewhere, a Ukrainian attack killed one man and injured a woman in Russia’s Kursk region, local Gov. Alexander Khinshtein said.

The Russian attacks follow a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Saturday that targeted Saint Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, underscoring Kyiv’s growing ability to hit deep inside Russia.

With the front line barely moving as swarms of drones hinder advances, both sides have sought an edge by launching long-range strikes. The war that followed Russia’s invasion of its neighbor is more than four years old, with no end in sight.

The St. Petersburg attack, which came less than 24 hours after the end of the city’s flagship economic forum, was an embarrassing blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to cast the conflict as a distant event that doesn’t affect Russian daily life.

Putin on Friday rejected Zelenskyy’s offer for a meeting, saying he sees “no point” in it.

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Associated Press writer Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.

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

TV footage showed the 34-year-old midfielder clutching his chest with both hands in an off-the-ball action in the 65th minute of Denmark’s international friendly against Ukraine at Nature Energy Park in Odense, Denmark.

In the next TV image shown, Erikson was lying on his back on the ground, surrounded by worried-looking players. Ukraine’s coaching staff were seen waving medical personnel onto the field.

Within minutes, the Danish soccer federation sent a post on X saying Eriksen was “conscious and, under the circumstances, doing well.”

A fuller statement by the federation came 10 minutes later, with Denmark team physician Morten Boesen saying: “Christian is doing well and walked off the pitch by himself. As I see it, the pacemaker responded as it should.

“He was briefly unconscious, but regained consciousness very quickly, and we were quickly in contact with him.”

Boesen said Eriksen “will now undergo further examinations at the hospital to determine what caused the incident.”

“We are in ongoing contact with him and the doctors at the hospital," Boesen added. "But Christian is doing well, and he asked me to send his regards to all the players and tell them that he was OK.”

The game was officially abandoned by the referee in the 79th minute — with Denmark leading 2-1 and there having been no further play after Eriksen's collapse — after the match official spoke to both coaches and sets of players.

While Eriksen was being treated, there was initially a hush in the crowd before a chant of “Eriksen, Eriksen” went around the stadium.

After the match was called off, players from both teams formed a circle around the two coaches in one half of the field. The coaches were seen talking to the players. The teams then walked around the field to applause from the crowd, with some players visibly upset.

Denmark great

Eriksen, one of Denmark’s greatest ever players, was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator in the months following his face-forward collapse during Denmark’s opening European Championship group game in 2021, against Finland in Copenhagen.

In that incident that sent soccer into shock, Eriksen was resuscitated during a lengthy period of on-field medical treatment led by Boesen and said he was later informed he was “gone from this world for five minutes.”

Eriksen resumed his professional playing career 259 days later after getting a contract at Brentford in the Premier League. After a spell at Manchester United from 2022-25, he joined German club Wolfsburg in a deal through the 2026-27 season.

In a post on X, Wolfsburg said Eriksen had been taken to Odense University Hospital and that the club was following developments.

“All the best and a speedy recovery, Christian,” Wolfsburg said.

United also released a statement, saying it was “encouraged by Denmark’s update on Christian Eriksen.”

“The club is sending strength and love to Christian and the Eriksen family as we await further news,” United said.

Neither Denmark nor Ukraine have qualified for the World Cup.

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

Less than 48 hours after missing a shot at the end of Game 2 that would have beaten the New York Knicks and evened the series, the 22-year-old big man from France who is becoming the face of the league said the pressure of the situation does not bother him as the Spurs enter Game 3 facing a 2-0 deficit.

“There’s really no reason to overthink it,” Wembanyama said Sunday. “This is what I’m built for.”

Wembanyama has not been the problem for the Spurs. He led them with 26 points in the series opener and had a Game 2-high 29 points.

Teammate Keldon Johnson's message after Wembanyama's would-be game-winning jumper clanked off the rim and out is, “Shoot it again.”

“He’s our guy,” Johnson said. "From day one, he’s been our guy. He’s the engine offensively and defensively. You can’t make every game-winner, but you can’t make a shot you don’t take. And we’re living with that shot. Every day of the week, twice on Sundays, we’re living with Vic taking our game-winning shot because that’s our guy and that’s the belief that we have in Victor.”

The belief team-wide is strong, players said before practicing at Madison Square Garden, where they know they'll confront a hostile atmosphere on Monday night. Guard Stephon Castle called each of the first two games at home winnable, but falling short has ratcheted up the urgency.

“Our sense of urgency is probably the highest it’s been all playoffs,” said Castle, who insists his ankle feels better than expected after injuring it Friday night. “I think it’s just human nature to come out with a certain sense of urgency, especially after a loss.”

San Antonio lost back-to-back games to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals, though that came after winning the opener. The Spurs have not lost three in a row all season.

“If they’re not desperate now, I don’t know,” Knicks guard Deuce McBride said. “They know their backs are against the wall, and they’re going to have to come out and they’re going to have to fight. We’re going to be ready, we’re going to exceed that and we’re going to do everything we can do to bring home a win.”

Trying to turn things around, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson had not yet taken a walk around New York City before running practice Sunday. He and his staff maintained the same routine they've gone through all playoffs.

“You dig into the film, you argue, beat yourself up,” Johnson said. “You give each other feedback, figure out how to help the guys for the next game.”

One of his takeaways is a feeling his team has not played up to its standard as much as New York, which has won 13 in a row. Perhaps going on the road will help.

The Spurs are 6-3 on the road this postseason, including a win in Game 7 of the West finals at the defending champion Thunder. Keldon Johnson said he and his teammates believe they can win “regardless of where we’re playing at, whether it’s here, on Mars, away, home.”

Center Luke Kornet thinks there's something fun about the environment.

“All the adversity, noise and all that stuff just honestly helps you sharpen up and kind of focus even more on the basketball,” said Kornet, who played his first two NBA seasons with the Knicks from 2017-19. “That kind of you-against-everybody-else-in-the-building atmosphere, the pressure kind of brings you together.”

The pressure has never been higher, given that no team in league history has lost the first two games of the finals at home and gone on to win the title. Veteran leaders hope the Spurs can park the past and not dwell on a gut-wrenching defeat.

“The only thing that matters is what’s in front of us right now,” forward Harrison Barnes said. “We can’t take last game and bring it into this game. You can learn from it, but I think the biggest thing for us how do we focus on making the plays, focus in on just how to begin as a team and just going out there and just playing free.”

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

The Bulls announced that King died Sunday and said they were notified by a family member. No other details were immediately available.

“Stacey King was a cherished member of the Bulls family and one of the truly unique personalities in our organization’s history,” Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “His connection to Chicago, the Bulls and our fans spanned more than three decades — first as a player and later as the unmistakable voice that helped bring Bulls basketball into the homes of generations of fans. We will miss him deeply and remember the joy, energy, humor, candor and passion he brought to our organization, our broadcasts and our fans every day. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”

King began his NBA playing career with the Bulls, who selected the 6-foot-11 forward/center out of Oklahoma with the sixth overall pick in the 1989 draft. He averaged 6.6 points and 3.3 rebounds over his five seasons with the Bulls.

He played a total of eight seasons in the NBA during a career that also included stops in Minnesota, Miami, Boston and Dallas. King posted career averages of 6.4 points and 3.3 rebounds.

As a broadcaster, King endeared himself to a new generation of Bulls supporters. He spent more than two decades as a commentator on Bulls games.

“Stacey loved being a Bull,” Bulls president and CEO Michael Reinsdorf said in a statement. “You could feel it in everything he did — the way he played, the way he called games and the way he connected with our fans. He had a unique gift for bringing people together and making every game feel personal. He brought an energy and love for the game that came through in every broadcast, helping fans feel connected to our team. Whether it was through a broadcast, a conversation or a photo with a fan, Stacey made people feel seen and valued.

“We were fortunate to know him not only as a player and broadcaster, but as a friend. Stacey genuinely cared about people, and he made our organization better. We will miss him dearly, and his impact, memory and legacy will remain a part of the Chicago Bulls forever.”

Chicago Sports Network president and CEO Michael McCarthy called King “one of the most beloved figures in Chicago sports.”

“Stacey had a unique ability to connect generations of Bulls fans,” McCarthy said. “Whether through his basketball insight, his humor, or his unforgettable calls, he made every game more enjoyable and every broadcast better.”

King delighted fans with his memorable calls and nicknames. His enthusiasm was apparent every time the Bulls hit a big shot.

“We enjoy what we do,” King said last month on his “Gimme the Hot Sauce” podcast, a reference to a comment he'd frequently make after big plays. “It's a fun job. It never seems like work for me. Every night, I go to work, win, lose or draw, I'm having fun.”

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

It just hasn't seen much of the NBA Finals.

The New York Knicks have brought the finals back to their home court for the first time since 1999 and can make sure they don't leave again this year. Fans are spending astonishingly high prices for tickets and the potential to witness a celebration more than five decades in the making.

With a 2-0 lead over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, the Knicks are halfway to their first championship since 1973. They are the biggest thing in the Big Apple, and it seems everyone is caught up in the hoopla except the Knicks themselves.

“I know the fan base is really excited, as they should be,” captain Jalen Brunson said. “But as a team, us inside the locker room, we have more work to do.”

Game 3 is Monday, with President Donald Trump in the building. Whether they've played in the arena or sat way up in the cheap seats — not that there is such a thing this time with tickets reselling for more than $10,000 — people know this night will be different.

“I think it’s going to be through the roof,” Spurs guard Dylan Harper said. “I think it’s going to be everything that I’ve kind of seen or dreamed of times 10.”

It will be the first NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden since June 25, 1999, which ended with the Knicks watching the Spurs celebrate their first championship after winning Game 5.

That series, and one in 1994, were the only finals games played at MSG since the Knicks won the 1973 title. They were rarely close again until this 13-game winning streak, the second longest by any team in one playoffs, with the atmosphere around the city seemingly becoming more raucous with each victory.

“Fans have earned the right and deserve the right to see finals basketball be played here at Madison Square Garden," Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said. "For this to be the first game in a long time that they have seen finals basketball, it’s up to us to bring it, give them something to cheer for, give them something to get loud for and also give them something to believe in.”

Wembanyama, Brunson and the rest of the players will be only part of the scene Monday, sharing it with the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game and the celebrity fans who surround the court. Some of them were already there Sunday for practices, with Knicks coach Mike Brown finally getting to meet actor Ben Stiller, then having his news conference extended when rapper Fat Joe insisted on a chance to speak from the back.

Wembanyama got to show his stuff at MSG in his second season, when the Spurs were given the leadoff game on the NBA's marquee Christmas schedule and he scored 42 points. Opportunities like that, which the Spurs increasingly have been treated to since drafting the 7-foot-4 phenom from France, could help them with what they will face Monday.

“This arena’s like no other. The added circumstances will be on top of that,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “We’ve been fortunate to play some games in this arena recently that have been, again, not finals, but a Christmas game. Again, I just think added attention around Victor and being in this arena a few times, we’ve experienced that. I would expect tomorrow will be more than that.”

The Knicks have been so dominant during this run that they haven't gotten to see MSG much. They have played only four home games since May 4, when they opened the second round of the playoffs. So even the home team struggles to put into words exactly what Monday will look and sound like.

“I’ve seen a lot of crazy atmospheres,” guard Deuce McBride said. "I don’t think I’m going to know what to expect, but I’m just proud to be here, I’m so blessed to play here and I know the fans are going to bring it and we’re going to do everything we can.”

The arena that shook when Willis Reed walked onto the court for Game 7 in 1970 will be rocking again Monday. The current MSG had opened just a couple of years earlier, and the previous one never even saw the NBA Finals. The Knicks made it three straight years from 1951-53, but those games were played at the 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Avenue because the Garden was hosting the circus.

Game 3 kicks off a massive sports week in the New York region, with a World Cup game scheduled for Saturday in nearby East Rutherford, New Jersey, which will host the final. Knicks forward Josh Hart had signed on in an ambassador role for the local World Cup committee but knows the Knicks have put even the world's biggest sporting event on the back burner for the moment.

“I love football, man, so obviously a little bummed I can’t go to some of those matches, but I have something a little more interesting right now going on in my life,” Hart said. “It also adds to the energy of the city.”

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

Trump, in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press,” said he “didn't guarantee” there would be no wars if he were back in office.

"First of all, I didn’t guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?" Trump said.

Trump also defended plans for a now-scrapped $1.8 billion fund that would have compensated allies of the Republican president and he repeated his baseless claims of mass fraud in California’s drawn-out vote count from Tuesday’s primary. He ended the interview abruptly when he became frustrated with pushback from NBC's Kristen Welker.

Iran ‘is not an endless war’

In his 2024 campaign, Trump repeatedly cast his Democratic opponents as warmongers and said he was a president who started “no new wars" and would bring an era of peace.

But Trump said in the NBC interview, taped Friday in Wisconsin, that as a candidate, “I didn’t promise anything.”

“I don’t like these endless wars. This is not an endless war. We’ve been doing this for three months,” he said of the war with Iran, which began Feb. 28.

Trump said he was “doing the world a service” and “doing our country a service” because he had to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon. But elsewhere in the interview, Trump repeated a contradictory message where he said U.S. strikes last year “obliterated” Iranian nuclear sites.

He also defended his decision in his first term to withdraw from Democratic President Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, an agreement he has heavily criticized, without negotiating the “better deal” he has promised to reach.

“It takes years to do these things,” Trump said.

Trump without evidence claims fraud in California vote

California's notoriously prolonged vote count has been a magnet for election conspiracy theories, and Trump since Tuesday's election has claimed without evidence that Democrats are rigging the election. The Trump-appointed top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles said Friday that his office had opened “multiple election fraud investigations.”

Late-tallied Democratic-leaning mail ballots have eaten into the vote totals for Trump's preferred candidates for governor and Los Angeles mayor. While Trump has often said that changes to vote totals as late ballots are counted are a sign of fraud, they are merely a reflection of a slow vote-counting process.

Trump in the interview kept claiming that it was a sign of “cheating” and “a rigged election," and grew increasingly frustrated as Welker pressed him for evidence to support that.

“All I have to do is look. All I have to do is look,” Trump said.

“But that’s not evidence,” Welker responded.

“And I listen. And I listen to people. And let’s see what happens,” Trump replied.

‘Anti-weaponization’ fund

Trump defended plans that his Department of Justice said it has now abandoned to create a $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund” as part of a settlement to resolve Trump's lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Wednesday that the department was scrapping the plan. That announcement came after the plan was paused by a judge and after both Democrats and some Republicans said they were concerned about the fund's lack of oversight and the possibility of payouts being made to participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

Trump told NBC he thought the fund was “a great idea” and that he would be “disappointed” if it were not approved.

When asked if he thought people who attacked police officers on Jan. 6 should get a payout, Trump said, “I wouldn’t be inclined to say so, but I have to see it." He then began making unfounded and false claims about the riot and those who stormed the Capitol. Trump granted a sweeping pardon on his first day back in office in January 2025 to the more than 1,500 people prosecuted over Jan. 6.

Rain interruptions and an abrupt end

The NBC interview was conducted in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, before Trump was set to speak at a roundtable event with farmers. The interview was repeatedly interrupted as waves of heavy rain fell on the metal roof of the barn where the taping took place, making it difficult at times to hear.

At the end, Welker pressed Trump on the settlement fund and his claims about the California election. Trump raised his voice and began calling Welker and the media “crooked," attacking her credibility and complaining about what he called “the fake, dirty press.”

As Welker tried to switch subjects, Trump continued on and there was cross talk between the two. Trump ended the interview, saying said, “Let's call it quits." He took off his microphone, telling Welker, “Thank you, darling. Have a good time." He said he had given the interview enough time, stood up and walked away.

Welker said during the broadcast that she spoke to Trump on Saturday and he agreed the rain had caused complications and said he would do another interview in the future.

Iran’s state broadcaster confirmed the missile launches and cited the armed forces as saying that “if Israel responds to Iranian attacks or does not stop its attacks on Lebanon, Iranian attacks will continue.”

Israel’s military said it intercepted all missiles from Iran but warned “the defense is not hermetic,” adding that sirens sounded in several areas of the country. Multiple explosions were heard in northern Israel, but there was no immediate comment from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which often fires at the area.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in Israel. The White House did not immediately respond to messages about the missile launches.

Tehran had warned of retaliation after Israel on Sunday struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning in defiance of Washington’s request days ago to stand down. Israel called it retaliation for Hezbollah firing at northern Israel earlier in the day.

Israel’s attack on Beirut came a few days after the Lebanese and Israeli governments agreed to a ceasefire in U.S.-hosted talks, though Hezbollah rejected the deal. The strike on a residential building killed two people and wounded 20, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

Iran had warned that an attack on Beirut would renew full-scale war across the Mideast, even as Pakistan tries to restart talks between Tehran and Washington. Iran wants a deal to include ending the war in Lebanon.

“U.S. forces across the Middle East remain vigilant and ready,” the U.S. Central Command posted on X shortly before the missile launches.

Associated Press journalists heard loud explosions in the sky over Damascus. State media in Syria attributed the booms to Israeli air defenses.

Israel’s strikes and ground invasion in Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah, and the militant group’s resistance to disarming, have complicated an overall deal to end the war in the Middle East. Iran says any deal must include an end to fighting in Lebanon.

The White House did not comment on Israel’s strike in Beirut. Israel on Monday had announced it would strike the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, but urgent talks via Washington halted that on the condition that Hezbollah stop targeting Israeli border towns.

Hezbollah on Sunday night claimed responsibility for firing at Israel earlier in the day.

Hezbollah wants the direct talks between Lebanon and Israel to end and instead supports Iran’s stance that an overall ceasefire deal between Tehran and Washington include the situation in Lebanon.

Mediation efforts on that larger deal continued Sunday as Pakistan’s interior minister visited Iran to talk with officials and Egypt said its foreign minister and his Qatari counterpart discussed “proposed elements” of a potential agreement, with no details.

U.S. President Donald Trump did not comment on the war Sunday, but in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired after a Friday taping he said he would like to see a “more surgical attack on Hezbollah.” He also said he was “not demanding” that Lebanon be part of an overall ceasefire deal in the Iran war.

Meanwhile, Iran continued to assert its grip on the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. continued its blockade of Iranian ports, with shipments of oil, natural gas and fertilizer affected and the global economy in pain.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces elections later this year, wants to press ahead with Israel’s offensive until he believes Hezbollah no longer poses a threat.

Mediation efforts continued

Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, was delivering a message to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei from Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency. There were no details on the message's contents.

Khamenei has not been seen in public since he was named the Islamic Republic’s ruler after his father was killed on Feb. 28, when Israeli and U.S. strikes sparked the war.

Pakistani authorities have said Islamabad, with support from regional countries including Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, is working to help bridge differences between the United States and Iran.

In Cairo, the Egyptian and Qatari foreign ministers discussed “proposed elements” of a potential agreement between the U.S. and Iran, Egypt's foreign ministry said, without details.

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Chehayeb reported from Beirut, Magdy from Cairo and Lidman from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Matthew Lee in Washington, Abby Sewell in Beirut and Michelle L. Price in Bridgewater, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

Sergio Pérez finished strongly at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday to cross the line in 10th but was bumped down to 15th after the race when he was ruled to have false-started when the race resumed after an earlier suspension.

Pérez had a wheel outside his grid box at the restart, his second false start of the race after lining up in the wrong spot at the original race start.

“To finish 10th on the road is an incredible testament to the resolve of the team to keep fighting until the end,” team principal Graeme Lowdon said in a statement.

“After the red flag restart, Checo (Pérez) drove fantastically well to make up several positions on the road — it was a real shame that the penalty dropped us back as he fought like he was going for the win.”

That penalty handed 10th and the single championship point to Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, which has been Cadillac's closest rival through most of the season so far and had also yet to score in 2026.

Pérez called the race “an amazing thing for the team” and claimed he hadn't benefited from his position at the restart "but that’s how it is — it doesn’t detract from the result today.”

The General Motors-backed team's other driver Valtteri Bottas was a non-finisher with a repeat of the brake problems which were an issue for Cadillac through the Monaco weekend.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Hundreds of kids participated in the free camp at the Lincoln Athletic Building, which included athletic drills, position-specific skill sessions, friendly competitions, a camp t-shirt, food, autograph signings, prizes, and more.

Longtime friends Mabry and Osborn, former standouts in the Lincoln High School football program, have honored a promise they made upon reaching the NFL: to give back to the community that raised them.

“Just seeing how this brings the community back together in unity, it’s very beautiful,” said Mabry.

“A kid was taking a picture with us, he let us know that he’s came to every single camp,” said Mabry. We’ve seen these kids grow up, so it’s just a great way to give back and to see how their lives are changing."

“It’s been awesome to come out here and teach the kids the game of football,” said Osborn. “Obviously, we’ve been blessed to be able to play professional sports, and it’s a longshot but kids being able to see two people from their hometown be able to do it, give them courage, give them life, speak it to them, teach them the fundamentals of the game, it’s a blessing every year, and we look forward to it every year.”

The camp emphasizes hard work and competitiveness, but also skills beyond the field.

“Some of the intangibles that you learn in sports: character, discipline, communication with your teammates, adversity if you don’t have a play go your way, the things that teach you,” said Osborn on what the camp teaches.

“You get that in camps that maybe you don’t get somewhere else, but in sports you’re able to get that, and those kids learn that here,” said Osborn.

“All we want to do is plant a seed, and once we see that seed grow every year, it gets us excited and also motivates us to keep encouraging them,” said Mabry

While Osborn and Mabry achieved their NFL dreams, their annual camp showcases their dedication to inspiring the next generation in their hometown.

“We want to remind them, you do have a chance,” said Mabry. “You can go to college. Yes, you can play at a professional level.”

“We are a living product of grace and hard work and a community that they grew up in, so if we can do it, they can do it too,” said Osborn.

Osborn and Mabry played three seasons at Lincoln High School before transferring to IMG Academy for their senior season.

Both excelled at IMG and committed to Buffalo University, where they each played three seasons.

The pair separated for their senior seasons, in which Mabry transferred to Maryland and Osborn transferred to Miami.

Osborn was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft as a wide receiver.

During his three-year stint with the Vikings, Osborn emerged as a reliable playmaker, recording 158 receptions for 1,845 yards and 15 touchdowns. Entering the 2026 season, he will play for the Tennessee Titans.

Mabry signed with the Seattle Seahawks in 2020. In the 2022 season, he recorded his first career touchdown.

Mabry’s NFL career came to a close in May 2026. He now dedicates his time to ministry work as a leader with a Christian nonprofit The Circle.

The camp is a reflection of the pair’s strong connection to the community as volunteers share longstanding ties with them, including several former Lincoln High School football players.

K.J’s mother, Valerie Osborn, Lincoln High School Athletic Director Chris Westfall, Lincoln High School Assistant Athletic Director Katie Moffett, other Lincoln Schools staff and sponsors helped make the camp happen for a fifth year in a row.

The vote was Kosovo's third in less than 18 months. It was scheduled after the main political parties failed to agree by a March deadline on who should replace former President Vjosa Osmani. The first inconclusive election in February 2025 left the country without a functioning government for much of last year, forcing a second election in December.

Kurti's ruling Vetevendosje party won around 43% of the votes followed by the Democratic Party of Kosovo with 21,7% and the Democratic League of Kosovo with 18%, the state election authorities said after counting nearly 90% of the ballots cast on Sunday. The final tally also will need to include some 100,000 votes of Kosovars living abroad.

Kurti and his party had a comfortable majority of more than 50% of the votes in a previous early election in December. Coupled with a lower turnout, the fall in support appears to reflect voter disappointment with mainstream politicians who have kept the small Balkan nation in a state of a prolonged crisis.

The political stalemate has negatively affected Kosovo’s economy, already hit hard by the global energy crisis and rising fuel prices. Kosovo, one of the youngest and poorest countries in Europe, declared independence from Serbia in 2008, after a 1998-99 war that ended in a NATO bombing that forced Serbia to withdraw.

Kosovo’s president is elected by at least 80 lawmakers in the 120-member assembly, requiring a broader political consensus. The newly elected lawmakers will face the same task once the new assembly is formed after Sunday's vote despite a reshuffle in the their numbers.

The main opposition parties have accused Kurti of seeking to impose full control over all political institutions in the country.

“Today is a sunny Sunday, a very important day for democracy in Kosovo,” Kurti said after voting. “I hope the people of Kosovo once again will show their maturity as always, with a very high turnout.”

Osmani joined the opposition LDK in the election, having turned against Kurti after he refused to back her for a second term. Osmani on Sunday expressed “great optimism” that the election will “take us out of the repeated crisis that has damaged our country, both domestically and beyond our borders.”

While the key players blamed each other for the crisis, their inability to reach a compromise has fueled frustration among Kosovo’s just under 2 million voters, who want the government to focus on the economy and living standards instead.

The turnout on Sunday was 36,3% while it was nearly 45% in December.

Arton Smajli, 42, a resident of the capital, Pristina, said that “we are tired, but the will for change is greater than that.”

Sejdi Shala, 73, is also optimistic that the election will bring “stability of the institutions and the society.”

The institutional vacuum, without a stable government, has delayed access to the EU and other international funds available to the country. European Council President António Costa, during a visit last week, urged Kosovo to end the political stalemate and unite over the goal of EU integration.

Kosovo has been recognized by the United States and most EU countries, but not by Serbia and its allies, Russia and China. Pristina and Belgrade have been told that they must mend relations to move forward with their EU membership bids.

Toledo Deputy Police Chief Joe Heffernan said it appeared that at least two people fired weapons on Saturday near the Old West End Festival and were “probably shooting at each other."

Multiple videos posted to social media showed people running amid the sound of gunshots and emergency officials tending to others who appeared wounded.

As the search for the shooters wore on, Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates vowed “justice will be swift and strong.”

“Those who were frightened, traumatized or harmed by this violence will remain at the forefront of our efforts. I’ve felt outrage before, but this is personal,” Bates said in a statement. "This is my home. These are my friends and neighbors. It is not OK.”

Authorities say a search for the shooters was ongoing and had not identified any potential suspects. They urged festivalgoers to come forward with any photos or videos.

“As far as violence, this is over the top, right?” Toledo police Lt. Dan Gerken said. “Twelve people being shot, that’s the most I’ve been to a scene. I’ve been to a lot of scenes, but this is way over the top.”

Hundreds of people were at the festival, an annual two-day celebration in Toledo’s historic district that includes live music, food vendors, home tours and shopping.

The remainder of the festival was canceled Sunday. Organizers said “it would not be compassionate, responsible or possible to continue.”

“We are heartbroken about those that were injured at the Old West End Festival,” the festival said in a statement.

Two of the victims were in critical condition on Saturday, Heffernan said. The ages of the victims ranged from 14 to 61, with most of them in their early 20s.

Fire Chief Allison Armstrong said it was difficult for emergency responders to get the injured to the hospital due to closed roads and traffic from people leaving the festival, but all were transported within an hour.

Kevin Berry was sitting in the neighborhood arboretum listening to live music with friends when he heard gunshots ring out.

“Everybody hit the deck,” he said.

When Berry looked back up, he saw a gun being tossed to the ground less than 50 feet (15 meters) away from him. Officers who were already on site for the festival responded immediately.

Berry, who has medical training and served in the Navy, walked around looking for anyone who might need help and saw at least five people with gunshot wounds.

“The folks who were hit were spread out around the arboretum area,” he said.

George Kral, the city’s safety director, said the Old West End Festival is one of the most iconic festivals in Toledo.

“And it’s a shame that something like this had to ruin it," Kral said.

Police say the crash happened on June 7, around 1 p.m. in Bloomfield Township.

The crash was near the intersection of Telegraph Road and Lone Pine Road.

Police say the Officer was transported to the hospital for minor injuries and is currently being evaluated.

There are no reported injuries to the other vehicle involved, according to authorities.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office was called to the scene and is investigating the crash.

Keiko Fujimori, a conservative and daughter of a disgraced former president, and Roberto Sánchez, a nationalist congressman, beat 33 other candidates in the first round in April, but neither earned even 20% of support. Pollsters estimate that roughly 30% of voters remained undecided.

Sunday’s results were expected to be tight, and the outcome may not be known for days. Electoral authorities took more than a month to declare Fujimori and Sánchez the winners of that vote.

Voting is mandatory for Peruvians aged 18 to 70. More than 27 million people are registered, and of those, about 1.2 million are expected to cast ballots from abroad, mainly in the United States and Argentina.

Crime was the top concern for voters

Official results from April’s election showed Fujimori received 17% of the vote and Sánchez got 12%. More than six weeks later, a nationwide poll conducted by Ipsos found that similar shares of voters were supporting the candidates, with about 3 in 10 saying they were undecided.

Fujimori is linked to the authoritarian and corrupt legacy of the government of her late father, Alberto Fujimori, in the 1990s. She became Peru's first lady in 1994 after her parents’ separation.

Sánchez is one of the closest allies of jailed former President Pedro Castillo, whom many perceive as corrupt and chaotic. Castillo’s 16-month term saw more than 70 Cabinet changes.

Both candidates voted in the capital, Lima.

Food vendor Magali Quiquia said she cast a blank ballot because she did not find either candidate convincing,

“Five years ago, I was disappointed by Castillo with his corruption, and ... Roberto Sánchez is the same," Quiquia, 44, said. She added that she believes “Fujimori hasn’t done anything either” despite her party having multiple seats in Congress.

Surging crime, particularly extortion, remains the overarching concern for voters. A 2025 national survey carried out by the state’s National Institute of Statistics and Informatics found that 84% of respondents in urban areas feared becoming victims of a crime in the following 12 months.

Experts attribute the increasing power of organized crime in Peru to the profits that decades-old criminal groups are earning from illegal gold mining in the Andes and the Amazon.

Campaigns mostly focused on crime-fighting strategies

For most of her fourth presidential campaign, Fujimori promised to crack down on crime. Her proposals include implementing technology to track extortion, militarizing borders and increasing the presence of police and military personnel in high-risk areas. Fujimori, 51, has also said that prisoners will be required to work and “repay society.”

In the only debate before the runoff, Fujimori defended her father’s government and promised to defeat crime just as he defeated the Shining Path, a violent extremist group.

Sánchez, a former minister now popular with rural voters, has pledged to combat corruption within the police force and promote reforms that would enable the military to support security efforts.

The 57-year-old, who wears a wide-brimmed peasant hat gifted by Castillo, told debate viewers that he would be open to “all options to generate jobs and progress” but also emphasized his support for Chinese investments.

Sánchez has tried to ease the concerns his candidacy is generating among investors, saying he will not nationalize any assets of transnational companies that extract minerals or gas from Peru.

Lima resident Heidi Ramírez, 41, said she was undecided until she was in line at the voting center. After talking with friends who “convinced me,” she said she chose Sánchez.

The United States ambassador to Peru, Bernie Navarro, stopped by a voting center in Lima on Sunday. Upon leaving, he told the television station Latina his visit was to “observe and ensure that there is transparency here.”

Navarro added that the U.S. "wants to work with any candidate who is elected.”

Sunday's winner will be sworn in next month.

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Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.

“You're catching me up,” Lewis Hamilton, who has the most wins in history with 105, told Antonelli after the 19-year-old Italian beat him in a bizarre and much-delayed Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.

Antonelli replaced Hamilton at Mercedes last year, and only won his first race in March. He now has five wins in a row and a vast lead of 66 points over Hamilton.

“He’s only 19, so just imagine what the future holds for him, but I’m going to do my best to try and chase him down for the rest of the year,” Hamilton said. “It’s a real privilege to witness it.”

Antonelli said he needed to find his focus again but stayed cool when the race was stopped and briefly seemed set to be abandoned before a restart. All that on a tight, twisty circuit threaded between metal barriers where any slip brings a crash.

An uncertain restart

Antonelli was on course for victory with 10 laps remaining when the race was red-flagged after parts of the asphalt broke away and two cars crashed in quick succession, one of them Charles Leclerc in third place.

After a long delay, officials said the race would be resumed from a standing start. When that happened, Antonelli took control again to become the youngest F1 winner in Monaco, and was never in real danger of being overtaken.

“Thank you so much guys, the car was a beast today," he told the Mercedes team.

Hamilton was second as a raft of penalties and investigations meant other positions weren't immediately clear. Isack Hadjar was on the podium in third for Red Bull after battling engine problems but was one of those under investigation.

Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate George Russell missed the points for the second race running, dropping out of the top 10 with a penalty. That followed an engine failure while battling Antonelli for the lead of last month’s Canadian Grand Prix.

Russell said Thursday the title was Antonelli's “to lose.” Now it certainly seems that way.

Max Verstappen started second for Red Bull but lost power at the start and dropped to the back before retiring the car at the end of the first lap. Like many F1 drivers, the four-time champion lives in Monaco and suggested he’d watch the rest of the race from home.

Confusion continues after the finish

The track damage put a decidedly un-glamorous twist on one of F1’s most prestigious races as drivers waited in the pit lane, officials gazed at the damaged asphalt and a road-sweeping machine inched along the circuit clearing away loose stones. Antonelli admitted he'd been hoping the race wouldn't be restarted at all.

There was more confusion as numerous drivers received time penalties or were under investigation, meaning the final standings remained uncertain.

Hadjar was facing an investigation after the race for a potential breach of red-flag rules after the FIA's technical delegate said Red Bull had tried to replace engine parts, against the rules, but stopped when challenged.

Hadjar kept the place, his first podium finish since joining Red Bull, after a hearing decided no penalty was needed because no changes were actually made.

Russell had been second in the standings before the race — the position is Hamilton's now. Russell ended the day in 13th after a hefty penalty for failing to serve an earlier penalty properly. He said he didn't understand what happened.

New team Cadillac could have had its first F1 point when Sergio Perez crossed the line 10th, but lost it for a false start at the restart. That put Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso up to 10th for his team's first point of a year which it started with severe reliability problems.

More disputes were to come Sunday evening as Alpine said it was challenging the spate of penalties issued for pit lane speeding, one of which cost Gasly third.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

He’s finally a Grand Slam champion.

In his fourth major final, Zverev beat Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 for the French Open title on Sunday.

It was a unique opportunity for Zverev without Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz across the net and the third-ranked German took full advantage on the red clay of Roland Garros.

When Cobolli missed an overhead on the second championship point after more than four hours of the five-set encounter, Zverev dropped on his back to the clay and covered his face with his hands as he began sobbing. When he got up, with his shirt and arms covered in clay, Zverev put his hands back on his face before he lifted both arms in celebration.

When Zverev was handed the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy, he lifted it with both hands and let out a liberating roar.

“This court is so special to me in so many ways. I’ve had the best moments of my life on this court; I had the worst moment of my life on these courts," Zverev said, referring to when he was injured and pushed off on a wheelchair during a semifinal against Rafael Nadal in 2022.

“I was laying in that corner over there four years ago with seven broken ligaments and two fractured bones," Zverev said. “I lost a Grand Slam final here two years ago but now finally it’s a happy end.”

Zverev has now joined an elite group of players that captured their first major in their fourth final: Eight-time major champion Andre Agassi, 2001 Wimbledon winner Goran Ivanisevic and 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem.

No Sinner or Alcaraz

Zverev had been an overwhelming favorite for the title ever since the top-ranked Sinner struggled in the first week’s heat wave and wasted a two set and 5-1 lead against Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round. A day later, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic was also eliminated.

Alcaraz, the two-time reigning champion, withdrew before the tournament with an injured right wrist.

It was Zverev’s second French Open final, having wasted a lead of two sets to one against Alcaraz in the 2024 championship match.

Zverev had an even bigger advantage — two sets to none — in the 2020 U.S. Open final and lost that one, too, to Thiem. He was also beaten in straight sets by Sinner in the 2025 Australian Open final.

It was the 25th title of Zverev’s career.

Cobolli's 1st Slam final

The 14th-ranked Cobolli had never been past a Grand Slam quarterfinal until this week. He was attempting to become the first Italian man to raise the singles trophy at Roland Garros since Adriano Panatta 50 years ago.

Cobolli comes from the same tennis club in Rome as Panatta did and Panatta was asked by tournament organizers to present the trophy to the champion to celebrate the anniversary of his 1976 triumph.

The honors, however, went to Zverev.

Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva won the women’s singles trophy on Saturday.

Zverev took control early on

The match was played in perfect conditions and Zverev’s game was almost flawless at the start.

Zverev broke Cobolli’s serve in a long opening game when Cobolli shanked a forehand into the first row of the stands. The break came after Zverev had a bit of luck when a backhand return hit the net but dribbled over on game point for Cobolli.

A group of women in the stands held up letters to form Zverev’s nickname: “Sascha.”

Cobolli likes to stand way over near the corner of the court and hit big kick serves out wide into the ad court. Zverev knew what was coming and returned one such kick serve early in the first set with a backhand that he wrapped around the outside of the net post. Cobolli ended up winning the point, but it was a message from Zverev that he knew how to handle his opponent’s tactics.

The next time Zverev hit a wrap-around-the-net-post return, Cobolli couldn’t handle it and Zverev won the point.

Cobolli’s supporters in his box were all dressed in blue, the color of Italy’s national teams, and as Cobolli worked his way back into the match, there were chants of “Ole, Ole, Ole; Flavio, Flavio.”

After Zverev held for a 6-5 lead in the fourth, he had his upper right leg treated by a trainer. Then Zverev wasted a 3-1 lead in the tiebreaker, which Cobolli concluded with a forehand winner up the line that produced a roar from the crowd.

But Cobolli appeared to run out of energy in the fifth, running down a drop shot only for Zverev to then pass him up the line for a 3-0 lead and a double break.

Abuse allegations

Moments after Zverev’s previous Grand Slam final in Australia in 2025, a person in the stadium yelled out the names of two of his ex-girlfriends who accused him of physical abuse.

One case was resolved following an agreement between German prosecutors, lawyers for Zverev and his former partner. The ATP Tour investigated another case and concluded there was insufficient evidence.

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AP Sports Writers Samuel Petrequin and Jerome Pugmire contributed to this report.

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

Packwood's death on Saturday was announced in an obituary sent to media outlets by his family. The release didn't include additional details.

Packwood was a political scrapper who first refused to quit the chamber in which he had served for 27 years, saying he didn't want to be remembered only for that controversy.

Before the #MeToo era, Packwood stood out as an example of private behavior undermining a man’s public image. He had been praised by Planned Parenthood and others.

The great-grandson of a member of the 1857 Oregon Constitutional Convention, Packwood established himself as a social moderate and fiscal conservative who often voted across party lines. He considered running for president in 1980.

Elected to the Senate in 1968, Packwood was best known as the leading Republican advocate of abortion rights and was widely admired by women's groups throughout the country until the Senate Ethics Committee launched an investigation into the allegations of sexual and official misconduct in 1993.

More than two dozen women, former employees and acquaintances, accused him of making unwanted or uninvited sexual advances.

The allegations remained the target of an ethics probe that widened to include other alleged acts of official misconduct. He resigned in September 1995, then went to start a lucrative lobbying business in Washington.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, who replaced Packwood in 1996, said while he should be praised for his record on abortion rights and tax reform, how he treated women overshadows it all.

“His horrible history as documented in his own diaries will forever overshadow that public record. Simply put, historians’ first line about Bob Packwood must include those women who he abused and assaulted for years and years,” Wyden said in a statement.

As chairman and then ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Packwood was a master of cutting deals and forging compromises needed to pass tax legislation through Congress. He was most proud of the lead role he played in a sweeping tax reform of 1986 that lowered the top income tax bracket and eliminated many itemized deductions.

Over his career, he was described as a blunt, independent, outspoken politician who was a maverick, boat-rocker, loose cannon, skilled partisan, and, above all, political survivor.

"I think they probably all ring true," Packwood told The Associated Press in December 1992.

"I would like to think that I am nobody's lackey. I try to reach conclusions independently and then I'm willing to fight for those conclusions; if necessary, having to fight against my party or my party's president," he said.

Packwood won his first Senate election at age 36, narrowly defeating Democratic Sen. Wayne L. Morse, an Oregon legend who had held the seat for 23 years. He quickly grabbed attention as a rising star in the GOP. By 1980, he was elected chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

But he lost the seat when the White House backed a competitor after Packwood publicly accused President Ronald Reagan of alienating women, African Americans and Jews.

Just two weeks after Packwood's reelection in 1992, The Washington Post printed allegations from former female employees and acquaintances that the senator had subjected them to uninvited sexual advances.

The Senate Ethics Committee also investigated allegations that Packwood solicited jobs from lobbyists for his ex-wife, used his staff to try to threaten the female accusers into keeping quiet and obstructed the investigation by altering his personal diaries.

The Senate held two days of extraordinary debate in 1993 over whether Packwood should have to comply with an ethics committee subpoena for his diaries, in which he reportedly made entries relevant to the investigation. The Senate voted 94-6 to enforce the subpoena.

Packwood took the case to federal courts and lost, ending when Chief Justice William Rehnquist refused Packwood's request for the U.S. Supreme Court to intercede.

Packwood launched his lobbying business, Sunrise Research Corp., in 1997. By 1999, the firm was grossing $1.5 million a year. His business slowed in later years, but he told a City Club of Portland audience in 2010 that he was still spending about half his time in Washington lobbying for a number of clients.

It was interesting work, Packwood told the audience, according to The Oregonian, but "it is not as much fun as being in the Senate."

As Congress became increasingly partisan following his departure, Packwood continued to advocate a centrist tact and called for Oregon to create nonpartisan elections in his 2010 City Club speech.

Packwood's wife, Elaine Franklin, was his former chief of staff who became a political consultant in Portland. The couple had homes in the Portland area and Washington.

In a November 2002 interview with the Salem Statesman Journal, Packwood said he had gotten past the scandal that forced him out of office.

"People have told me it must have been tough on me, or it seems unfair," he said. "But you cannot go through the rest of life and say look what happened. Pretty soon you become a bore to your friends.

"I told myself I was not old enough to retire,” Packwood said, “so I have got to get at life and not complain about it.”

Leo celebrated Spain's Christian roots and culture with the huge morning Mass in downtown Madrid and an evening spectacle that featured flamenco dancers, classical guitar and a moving meditation by Spanish actor Antonio Banderas on art, faith and beauty.

In his remarks, Leo challenged Europe to consider what the continent's identity would be without the influence of Christianity. He cited its art, culture and the role played by Christians — “motivated by their faith” — to build its schools, hospitals and other institutions.

“Is it seriously possible to believe that Europe — which we deeply love — would be the same without the influence of faith?” Leo asked, in demanding that religious expression be allowed to keep its place in the public sphere.

A morning Mass and procession on floral carpets

Leo, who arrived in Spain on Saturday at the start of his weeklong visit, has been keen to highlight the long tradition of Christian culture and devotion here to encourage especially young generations to find their faith. It’s a tall order in a once-staunchly Catholic country where religious observance has largely been on the wane.

Sunday fell on the Catholic Corpus Domini feast day, which often features processions of faithful through towns and cities led by a priest carrying the Eucharist. In Spain, as in other predominantly Catholic countries, the processions often feature elaborate floral carpets arranged along the route.

During Sunday's Mass, Leo said that the floral carpets express the “spiritual sentiments of this country” through “altars erected in the streets.”

“This is not an exhibition, a remnant of folklore or a simple display of beauty,” he said. “It is a profession of faith in the presence of the risen Lord, who is alive and continues to walk among us.”

He said that the continued observance of such devotional practices points to what Spain can and should be for the world.

“Herein lies the task of Spain today and in the future: to ensure that the religiosity which has shaped and defined this country for centuries is not a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today,” he said.

At the end of the Mass, Leo carried a gilded monstrance, or container, holding a Eucharistic host and walked over some of the 16 floral carpets that decorated the half-kilometer (less than half-mile) procession route, as children dropped additional petals before him and the crowd tossed petals from behind the barricades.

Huge crowds greet the American pope

Leo's visit to the country of 50 million has drawn huge crowds, with a vigil service Saturday night. drawing an estimated 600,000 young Spaniards. They knelt for several minutes in silent prayer alongside Leo, suggesting that there is indeed interest in the faith among young people, despite Spain’s heavily secularized society.

On Sunday, their numbers doubled: Organizers said that 1.2 million people had turned out on a brilliant spring morning for Leo's Mass at Madrid's iconic Plaza de Cibeles and surrounding streets, with more trying to get in.

“It’s spectacular,” said Julián Tapiador, a consultant who came to the Mass. “I’m so proud that the pope is in Spain after 15 years. Hopefully he comes again and we can all see him again.”

Octavio Puche, a retiree, thanked Leo for making the trip.

“Apparently society is not as secularized as it seems, because there are a million people here in Madrid, and I think he has shown a very human face of Christ, very close to the people, to their suffering,” he said.

Sex abuse scandal hangs over visit

Despite the warm welcome, the clergy sexual abuse scandal, which has erupted belatedly in Spain in recent years, has loomed over Leo's trip. The Catholic hierarchy has begun to reckon with its legacy after reporting in the local media.

Leo is expected to meet survivors while in Spain, but several victims groups have complained that they have been left in the dark about when the meeting is taking place and whether they are invited.

Miguel Hurtado, a prominent survivor who accused a monk at Montserrat Abbey outside Barcelona of sexually assaulting him more than two decades ago, protested outside the Vatican’s embassy in Madrid on Sunday. He said that he wrote to the Vatican requesting a meeting with Leo and for the pope to cancel his planned Wednesday visit to the 1,000-year old Benedictine monastery.

“I understand you can’t meet with all of us victims, because we are more than 400,000,” Hurtado said, speaking to a cardboard photo of Leo.

As he spoke, a crowd of nuns and others lined the street outside the Vatican embassy, waving Spanish flags and chanting slogans in favor of former dictator Gen. Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain with an iron grip for nearly four decades after the 1936-39 civil war.

The Catholic Church was a pillar of Franco’s dictatorship, and at least until the 1960s, the church enjoyed broad control and influence over Spanish society that waned after democracy took root.

“Spain is Christian and not Muslim!” the crowd yelled.

A form of popular piety dating back centuries

The tradition of laying flower carpets — and destroying them when the procession tramples them — dates back two centuries and is popular also in Latin America, where elaborate sand designs are also made. The painstaking displays are considered an offering to the Eucharist.

According to Spanish organizers, the 16 flower carpets decorating Sunday's procession route off Plaza de Cibeles were prepared by a Spanish florists association from the northern region of Galicia. Florists used more than 30,000 flowers, most the yellow and white colors of the Holy See flag, for the carpets that feature decorations such as the Holy See keys.

Poland has already had its tradition of Corpus Domini flower carpets recognized by UNESCO, and Galicia is trying to have its tradition listed along with other countries as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage.

Wildly popular religious processions, pilgrimages and feasts continue to be held in most Spanish regions. The most recognizable are Semana Santa, or Holy Week, processions during the final week of Lent where brotherhoods and robed penitents parade ornate statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary through cities, towns and villages alongside marching bands. Such processions draw the faithful as well as droves of nonbelievers and tourists.

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Alicia León and Srdjan Nedeljkovic contributed to this report.

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

The filing Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two Virginia residents contends the Trump administration’s authorization of the June 14 event was unlawful. The lawsuit says such approval violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, Congress did not consent to the towering arch overlooking the event space and no environmental review was conducted before the construction.

“This is fundamentally a private, commercial, corrupt use of our most sacred national monuments for private gain,” said Brendan Ballou, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “And that is what is motivating this lawsuit.”

The White House said in a statement that the legal challenge was “an obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory” attempt to prevent Trump from hosting the fight and that the event was “no different than the various other White House-hosted events on the South Lawn and properly permitted events on the Ellipse and National Mall throughout the year.”

UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.

Crews are erecting an octagon-shaped cage on the South Lawn. Trump has said the finished UFC project will feature “a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House.” Additional large screens broadcasting the fights will be set up in a park at the nearby Ellipse, and the UFC has said it plans to issue as many as 85,000 free tickets to accommodate spectators at both locations.

The octagon and surrounding structures are the latest project in the White House building boom Trump is leading.

The attack came at a time of heightened tensions following a spate of Israeli settler attacks, and the deadly shooting of a Palestinian baby over the weekend, in the nearby West Bank. Police identified the attacker as a resident of the Arab town of Taybeh in his 20s, but his precise motives weren't immediately known.

The attack began with a shooting Sunday morning at a gas station near the town of Kokhav Yair, located on the Israeli side of the boundary with the occupied West Bank. Several other shootings were reported in two nearby Israeli towns and close to the Israeli settlement of Salit, inside the West Bank.

Police initially feared a series of coordinated attacks, but eventually determined that a gunman and an accomplice who may have served as his driver were involved. The suspected accomplice was arrested later after he tried to stab police with a glass bottle.

Israel's military said that a 55-year-old reservist was killed near Tzur Natan. The Magen David Adom rescue service said that five other people were wounded, two severely.

Fears of a widespread attack prompted authorities to order residents to stay at home, and children in the area were kept in lockdown at school for at least three hours.

“Since Oct. 7, the scenario we were expecting was terrorists crossing into our towns from over the boundary. I don’t think that anyone imagined that we would discover the attackers were Israeli citizens,” Oshrit Gani Gonen, the regional council head, told Israeli media, referring to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza.

Security minister posts video reportedly with dead gunman

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the security forces who killed the attacker, while Israel’s hard-line public security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the police force, released a video of himself standing next to what appeared to be a blurred image of the dead gunman.

“This is the end of every terrorist, this is how it should look,” said Ben-Gvir, who recently led an effort to pass a new law that seeks to impose the death penalty on Palestinian attackers. That law faces legal challenges.

Ben-Gvir has come under sharp condemnation from other Israeli leaders for making contentious videos, such as his treatment of flotilla activists who were detained after attempting to break the maritime blockade to Gaza.

The West Bank has experienced a surge in deadly violence since the war in Gaza began. Israel has stepped up military operations across the territory, killing hundreds of people. It says raids are aimed at militants, but scores of civilians have also been killed.

The Oct. 7 attack killed around 1,200 people and took 251 as hostages. Israel’s ensuing offensive in Gaza has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, including combatants and civilians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It doesn't give a breakdown of civilians and militants.

Israeli strikes kill 9 in Gaza

Also on Sunday, at least five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit a police point in Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The dead were taken to a field hospital run by the Red Crescent. At least 10 others were wounded, the charity said.

An Israeli strike later in the day killed at least four Palestinians when it hit a vehicle in the western part of Gaza City, according to Shifa hospital, which received the casualties.

The Israeli military didn't immediately comment on either strike, but has said in the past that it would target militants that pose a threat to its troops.

The U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal from Oct. 10 attempted to halt the Israel-Hamas war. While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the ceasefire has seen almost daily Israeli fire.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu, in a Cabinet meeting, repeated his pledge to take 70% of Gaza: “We are presently holding more than 60% of the territory, and soon we will reach 70%.” He said that Israel isn't allowing Hamas to “rearm or harm us,” in comments released to the media.

The head of the U.S.-created Board of Peace that oversees the ceasefire acknowledged last month that next steps in the truce have stalled over the key issue of disarming Hamas.

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Samy Magdy contributed to this report from Cairo.

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A previous version of this story was corrected to show that the location where the Israeli man was killed was on the Israeli side of the boundary with the Israel-occupied West Bank, not inside the West Bank.

First up for the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion is the doubles tournament at Queen’s Club, marking her first competitive tennis since the 2022 US Open.

“I can’t say no right now, I feel like I probably need to train a little bit more if I want to play singles, and we will see if I get there, and if not… that’s not my journey right now,” Williams said in an eagerly anticipated press conference on Sunday.

Williams will play alongside 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko, who is 25 years her junior. Their first match is scheduled for Tuesday against third seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe.

The 44-year-old Williams has not competed since bidding farewell at the 2022 U.S. Open. At the time, she said she didn’t want to use the word “retiring” and instead declared that she was “evolving” away from tennis.

Williams, who shares her two daughters with Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, revealed that as recently as December she believed she “definitely was not” returning to tennis, but, after some conversations, thought: “Well, why not? For lack of a better explanation.

“It’s summer, the kids aren’t in school, so it’s a perfect time to get out there, have fun, and see what happens.”

Williams won seven Wimbledon singles titles and six at the U.S. Open before stepping away from the game. She won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, including six at Wimbledon and two at the U.S. Open — all with her older sister Venus Williams.

She says she is liberating herself of any expectations ahead of her comeback.

“I don’t need to win,” Williams said. “I’ve won more than most people have in their whole lives, so it’s not that important to me, and it’s important that I keep reminding myself of that, because I don’t have anything to prove.

“I don’t have anything to lose, and everything here is just to gain … This whole journey is like, I’m putting no pressure on myself.”

In Mboko, Williams saw something, she said, “that reminded me a lot of myself” in her attitude, resilience and drive. After making the “pretty 11th-hour commitment” to Queen’s, she reached out to the Canadian via text message.

Mboko said: “She’s hitting great. She has such clean ball striking, she could probably take years off, and when she steps on the court she could probably find that rhythm again and find her timing. So I think that’s really a God-given gift that she has.

“I personally think she’s ready to go. I’m hitting with her, she’s hitting pretty big and she’s really fit, so we’ll see.”

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

After three weeks of indie horror dominance at the box office, the slasher spoof “Scary Movie” topped ticket sales with $55 million over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, easily besting the far-from-mighty “Masters of the Universe.”

A new order has lately come to movie theaters, which have seen Gen Z ticket buyers flock to the horror hits “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” both made by YouTubers-turned-filmmakers. Those movies have even outshone The Walt Disney Co.’s “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.”

This weekend, comedy was the underdog champ. Though the genre has been all but left for dead in theaters, the sixth “Scary Movie” notched a franchise-best $105.5 million global launch. The Wayans brother comedy even outdid its primary satirical target, the “Scream” franchise. Earlier this year, “Scream 7” debuted with $97 million worldwide.

Both franchises are distributed by Paramount Pictures, though Miramax produced the new “Scary Movie.” Co-written by Marlon, Shawn, Keenan and Craig Wayans, the sequel marks the Wayans’ return to the franchise after their departure over creative differences following 2001’s “Scary Movie 2.”

“This is an outstanding opening for a comedy sequel this far into the series,” said David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm FranchiseRe. "It’s a huge bounceback after the last episode crashed in 2013 when Anna Faris and Regina Hall were excluded. The weekend figure is triple the average for the genre.”

Reviews weren’t good (26% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience scores (a “B” CinemaScore) were so-so. But that didn’t stop the $30-million “Scary Movie” from dominating its much bigger budget competition.

“Masters of the Universe,” a sword and sorcery action adventure based on the 1980s animated series and Mattel toys, failed to revive the dormant franchise. The Amazon MGM release, the second “Masters of the Universe” film following a 1987 movie of the same title, opened with $29.3 million domestically.

“Masters of the Universe,” starring Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man, added $25 million overseas. But for a film that cost nearly $200 million to produce, a much higher launch was needed to make profitability likely.

It’s Mattel Studios’ first release since 2023’s “Barbie.” But after the extraordinary $1.45 billion success of that film, “Masters of the Universe” will be closer to a flop for the toy company.

A24’s “Backrooms,” last weekend’s top release, slid steeply on its second weekend, dropping 68% with $25.9 million. But “Backrooms,” a $10 million movie based on 20-year-old Kane Parson’s YouTube series remains a record-breaking phenomenon. It's now A24’s highest grossing film ever with $212 million worldwide, moving ahead of “Marty Supreme."

In a near tie for third place, Focus Features’ “Obsession” grossed $25.6 million in its fourth weekend. That marked a paltry 7% drop from the previous weekend for 26-year-old Curry Barker’s horror sensation. Not accounting for inflation, no horror movie has ever had a better fourth weekend.

“Obsession,” about a man who wishes his crush returned his affections, was made for less than $1 million. It’s now grossed $152.1 million domestically and $224.8 million worldwide — a record for Focus.

In its third weekend, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” fell all the way to sixth place with $10 million. It was even bested by Fathom Entertainment’s “The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act,” a combination of the last two episodes of the animated series. It collected $12.7 million.

A few other movies hit milestones.

Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” became the studio’s highest grossing film ever with $898 million globally. That puts it ahead, not accounting for inflation, both the highest grossing entries in the studio’s “Twilight” and “Hunger Games” franchises.

And 2026 got its first billion-dollar movie. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” crossed $1 billion worldwide for Universal.

The weekend overall was up a remarkable 63% from the same weekend last year, according to Comscore. Ticket sales on the year are up more than 13%. Next weekend, Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day” debuts.

Top 10 movies by domestic box office

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. “Scary Movie,” $55 million.

2. “Masters of the Universe,” $29.3 million.

3. “Backrooms,” $25.9 million.

4. “Obsession,” $25.6 million.

5. “The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act,” $12.7 million.

6. “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” $10 million.

7. “Michael,” $7.7 million.

8. “The Breadwinner,” $3.4 million.

9. “Pressure,” $3 million.

10. “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” $2.8 million.

The operation, according to the army’s statement, was conducted in the Mandara mountains which form a part of the militant group’s stronghold. It resulted in the release of several people, including children, who had been abducted across different communities in Borno.

Two infants “succumbed to exhaustion" due to the challenging mountainous terrain and the hardship they endured during their prolonged captivity, an army spokesperson, Haruna Sani, said.

“The remaining rescued abductees were successfully evacuated to safe locations for medical care and humanitarian support, marking a major operational success and a significant setback for the terrorist group,” Sani said.

Nigeria faces a complex security crisis, especially in the north where a more than decade-long insurgency and the activities of armed groups that carry out kidnappings for ransom and illegal mining have heightened the country’s security challenges.

Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State group and known as Islamic State West Africa Province.

Last month, the West African country said its joint operation with the United States had killed 175 ISWAP fighters.

The insurgency in Nigeria’s northeast has killed thousands of people and displaced millions, according to the United Nations. Analysts say not enough is being done by the government to protect its citizens, despite repeated promises by President Bola Tinubu to curb the crisis.

The team's participation in the World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, has been complicated by the Iran war. Problems with processing visas earlier led Iran to move its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, which is on the border with California.

“First of all, we’re very happy that the team has finally arrived, and we’re delighted about that,” Hajsafi said. "Thank God, the team’s condition is very good.

“With everything that happened, visas were eventually issued. Personally, however, I do have a complaint about FIFA. Why did it take so long? As far as I understand, visas were issued only to the players and a few members of the coaching staff.”

Some members of Iran's entourage are still without U.S. visas before games in Los Angeles and Seattle. Those include the Iranian Football Federation’s secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi.

“Unfortunately, several key members of our coaching staff, whose roles are very important within the team, were not granted visas,” Hajsafi said. "That includes the team manager, the executive director and the media director, all of whom play very important roles.

“From here, I would like to ask FIFA to address this issue so that, God willing, the situation can be resolved in the coming days.”

Iran had been training in the Turkish city of Antalya. The team flew directly to Tijuana, Mexico, which is just south of San Diego, on a private jet from the Mediterranean city’s airport.

Hajsafi was the first player to exit the plane with markings for German charter airline USC, which arrived at about 5:05 a.m. He led the team, dressed in blue blazers over white T-shirts, through a brief security check with Mexican officials and dogs before boarding a bus.

The bus stopped briefly at the entrance to the Tijuana airport, where around 20 or so Iran fans waved flags.

Iran plays its first two games in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15, and Belgium six days later, then heads to Seattle to face Egypt on June 26. Iran and the U.S. could meet in the round of 32 on July 3 in Arlington, Texas, if both teams come second in their groups.

In March, U.S. President Donald Trump had discouraged Iran from participating in the tournament, saying he didn’t think it was “appropriate” and raising concerns over players’ “life and safety.” A day later, Iran’s national team pushed back, saying “no one can exclude” it from playing.

Iran finalized its team on Monday, including 17 home-based players whose clubs haven’t played since February because of the war. Star forward Sardar Azmoun was dropped in March, reportedly because of a social media post that angered Iranian authorities during the war.

Iran’s sports minister said in March that it would “not be possible” for the team to participate in the World Cup, but the republic’s soccer federation said in May that it was moving ahead with a team. The federation had insisted that all players and staff be granted visas, including those who had military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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

Polling closed at 8 p.m. local time, with preliminary results expected Monday.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his governing Civil Contract party are looking for a strong mandate for a new geopolitical course for Armenia. The opposition they face includes some parties that are vocally pro-Russia.

Casting his vote on Sunday, Pashinyan said that the country would continue strengthening its independence, statehood, democracy and rule of law.

"The European Union is our main partner in democratic reform implementation, and we will continue that path,” he said.

He also stressed that there were no tensions between Armenia and Moscow, saying "our relations with Russia are institutional and based on mutual respect,” the Armenpress news agency reported.

Russian officials have hit Armenian exports with a barrage of restrictions in recent weeks. President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have made thinly veiled threats comparing Armenia’s path to that already taken by Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia.

Meanwhile, Armenian investigators said that they issued six arrest warrants for members of the opposition Strong Armenia party the day before the election, accusing them of buying votes. The nation's Central Election Committee confirmed Saturday that the party could run after a member of another opposition party, Republic, appealed for Strong Armenia to be barred over corruption allegations.

Commenting on the arrests on Sunday, the head of the Strong Armenia party, Russian Armenian business owner Samvel Karapetyan, said that they “would not change the minds of Armenian voters.”

Karapetyan is under house arrest for allegedly advocating for the government’s overthrow, a charge that the billionaire has rejected as politically motivated. He was escorted to a polling station where he spoke briefly to the media before returning home.

“The Armenian people will make the right choice and Armenia will finally have a legitimate government,” he said.

Trump offers support as Putin urges caution

Armenia’s National Assembly must consist of at least 101 members who are elected for five-year terms. Parties must win at least 4% of the vote to take a seat, while blocs made up of three or more parties must hit 8%.

Two political blocs and 17 parties are taking part in Sunday's election. Most pollsters and experts have predicted Pashinyan, who came to power in 2018 following sweeping street protests, will come out ahead.

“I think Armenians expect, first of all, a peaceful, independent and prosperous Armenia from this election, as we have today,” said Hripsime Grigoryan, a Civil Contract member of the outgoing parliament.

Pashinyan has spoken on several occasions about the need for a balanced foreign policy to ensure that Armenia maintains good relations with the United States, Europe and Russia, as well as regional powers such as Turkey and Iran — both of which border Armenia.

Despite this, Pashinyan has attracted far more enthusiasm in the West than in Moscow. He has been endorsed by several European leaders, and U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, of Armenia, a great friend and Leader, is making his Country strong, wealthy, and very secure,” Trump wrote on social media, urging Armenians to “Make (Armenia) Great Again.”

This has displeased the Kremlin. Speaking to journalists after Russia’s Victory Day parade on May 9, Putin said if the Armenian people saw benefits in joining the European Union, then “we will certainly have nothing to say against it.”

Yet he also reminded reporters, “We are currently living through everything that is happening in respect of Ukraine. And how did it start? It started with Ukraine’s joining or attempting to join the EU.”

Opposition wants closer ties with Russia

Unlike the Civil Contract party, most of Armenia’s opposition supports building stronger relations with Moscow.

The Strong Armenia party seeks to develop business ties with Russia and has accused Pashinyan of attempting to start a war with Moscow.

Other potential contenders include former President Robert Kocharyan, who leads the Hayastan bloc and also has accused Pashinyan of undermining relations with Russia, and the Prosperous Armenia Party, led by pro-Russia business owner Gagik Tsarukyan.

These parties also have strongly criticized Pashinyan for attempting to normalize relations with neighboring Azerbaijan. The Armenian leader and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev initialed a document on moving toward a peace deal at the White House alongside Trump in August.

Armenia and Azerbaijan were locked in a decades-long conflict over the fate of Karabakh, a breakaway region that had been controlled for decades by ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. Azerbaijan took control of the entire Karabakh region during a rapid offensive in 2023.

“I want this government to change, because the condition of our country is getting worse,” Sahakyan Elina, a supporter of the Prosperous Armenia Party, told The Associated Press at a rally Thursday. “I don’t want to live with my enemies in unity.”

EU criticizes Moscow's pressure

Russian officials have imposed new restrictions on Armenian produce in the lead-up to the parliamentary vote, banning the import of Armenian flowers, certain types of cognac and wine, eggplant, potatoes, dried fruits, fish and more.

Russia says the bans are related to violations of agricultural import rules.

The European Commission on Thursday described the move as “nothing short of economic coercion.”

“By extending export restrictions on Armenian products, Moscow is weaponizing economic relations for political pressure. We know this playbook all too well,” the commission said in a statement.

Moscow also controls a significant portion of Armenia’s energy and infrastructure, and supplies it with cheap gas, which is a point that Putin has been quick to drive home in his meetings with Pashinyan.

Putin also has stressed that Armenia can't join the EU and remain within the Eurasian Economic Union, a Russia-led customs bloc.

“Being in a customs union with the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union is impossible,” Putin said. “It’s simply impossible by definition.”

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Associated Press writers Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, and Sam McNeil in Brussels, contributed to this report.

Poston, who was at 12-under 204, had a few hours before starting the final round as he goes after the biggest win of his career.

Ryan Gerard fell back with a series of pars and two bogeys when the third round resumed on a much softer Muirfield Village course. He had to settle for a 72 and was four behind.

Sam Burns got swallowed up by the rough on the par-5 11th for a double bogey, rallied with a pair of birdies and was five shots behind.

Scottie Scheffler tried to get closer to the lead, but the best he could do was a 68 that still left him nine shots behind with 18 holes to play. He was trying to join Tiger Woods as the only players to win the Memorial three years in a row.

Scheffler's hopes took a bad turn Saturday, right before a second storm delay halted play. He had played a six-hole stretch around the turn in 5-under par and had a long eagle putt before he three-putted for par, took bogey on the par-3 12th and put his tee shot in the water for bogey on the 14th.

The next morning, with greens more receptive and little wind, Poston thrived after the turn. He hit wedge to 8 feet to a back pin on the 13th for birdie and the lead. His wedge to the 14th spun to 3 feet. And then he hit wedge to 13 feet for birdie on the 15th.

Just like that, Poston was in control with plenty of perks on the line. A victory would be more than enough to get him out of U.S. Open qualifying Monday, and also get him in the British Open.

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

David Lammy, who is also the justice minister, said he challenged Vance in what he described as a “robust” phone call on Saturday. Lammy and Vance have struck up a friendship, based on their religious beliefs and family backgrounds, even though they come from different sides of the political spectrum.

“We had an agreeable conversation because we have got a relationship, but I wanted to make him clear that I disagree with some of the facts that he was asserting and to present the facts to him," Lammy told Sky News.

The call came a day after Vance said in a post on social platform X that there should be “righteous anger” in response to the murder of Henry Nowak, 18, who died in December after being stabbed by Vickrum Digwa in the English city of Southampton.

Digwa, who is Sikh, falsely claimed to police he was the victim of a racist assault by Nowak, who was white. When police officers arrived, they initially treated the wounded man as a suspect before noticing his injury and trying to resuscitate him.

Vance appeared to blame the murder in part on “the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it.”

Lammy said he wanted to “emphasize a number of things” to Vance, including that the killer was British and is now behind bars.

"This has got nothing to do with mass migration," Lammy said.

Digwa, 23, was convicted of murder for stabbing Nowak with an 8-inch (21 centimeter) Sikh dagger and sentenced this week to life in prison with a minimum 21-year term.

The case has been seized on by anti-immigration activists and politicians in the U.K. On Tuesday, police in Southampton were pelted with chairs, cans, rocks and flares after a demonstration over Nowak’s death attended by far-right figures and others.

In a statement issued Friday in response to Vance's comments, Prime Minister Keir Starmer 's office criticized people “trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct, which investigates allegations of police wrongdoing, is probing the actions of police officers on the scene.

The victim’s father, Mark Nowak, has said the case was not about racism or religion, and that he wanted his son’s death to lead to safer streets and not to be used to create “further division, hatred or tension.”

Lammy also said he told Vance “it’s not helpful to tweet in this way, partly because of what the Nowak family have asked for, and reminded him about their desire not to make this an issue of division and hatred, but to make this an issue of common sense.”

Now, more than a decade after attending his last Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, Trump is making a rare trip back to New York City as president to cheer for them in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. Invited by Knicks owner James Dolan, he will be the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.

The Knicks are seeking their first championship since 1973, when Trump was 26 and a relative newcomer to the family real estate business that vaulted him to wealth and fame. Two years after that triumph, the team’s owners at the time hired him as a consultant as they looked to sell the arena.

Trump has been to more major sporting events than any of his predecessors, including the Super Bowl and Daytona 500, golf's Ryder Cup in the New York City suburbs, where he was cheered, and last year's U.S. Open men’s tennis championship in Queens, where he was booed and blamed for long security lines.

On June 14, when he turns 80 while wrestling with myriad crises including the war with Iran, economic unease and court rulingsblunting his agenda, he will host a UFC fight on White House grounds. Trump also has expressed interest in attending soccer's World Cup, which kicks off this week across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

New Yorkers love the Knicks more than they love Trump

Trump is an avid sports fan, but the affinity he professes for the Knicks is different.

It speaks to the Republican president’s identity as a New Yorker and harkens to a bygone era where a front-row seat at a Knicks game was a chance for him and other boldface names to see and be seen.

In a city whose wealthy gatekeepers largely turned their noses at Trump's brash personality and playboy image in the 1990s and 2000s, the Garden’s Celebrity Row was one club where he felt at home.

“I’ve been a Knick fan for a long time,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last week, a day after New York rallied to win Game 1. “I watched that end of the game and they were dominant — really amazing.”

After another win Friday in San Antonio, the Knicks head home with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. They have won a remarkable 13 straight playoff games and last lost on April 23, uniting the city in a way unseen since the Knicks went to the NBA Finals twice in the 1990s.

Enter Trump. He returns to the Knicks zeitgeist not as the tabloid curiosity who once sat shoulder to shoulder with the late John F. Kennedy Jr. at a game in 1999, but as a president who is disliked by a majority of the city's Democratic voters.

Trump, who gave up his lifelong New York residency for Florida in 2019, is making his first trip to New York City since he spoke at the United Nations in September. In 2024, he went on trial in the city and was convicted of 34 felony counts related to hush money paid on his behalf during his 2016 campaign.

Knicks fans, though, do not seem to be concerned so much with his politics, but that his attendance — and the hoopla accompanying it — could mess up the team’s momentum. The Knicks said people going to the game should arrive at least two hours before tipoff for airport-style security screening.

“Why does Donald Trump always have to ruin a good thing?” U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, an avid Knicks fan and the House Democratic leader, told CNN. “Like, literally, the Knicks haven’t been in the NBA finals for 27 years. The city is trying to celebrate this. We’ve embraced this team, and this guy has to inject himself.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat who struck up a cordial relationship with Trump after the two met in November, was more inviting.

“We’re excited to welcome anyone and everyone who’s rooting for the Knicks in this moment," said Mamdani, who will also be at the game — albeit, not with Trump.

Last week, as Trump began floating the idea of attending a game, New York magazine published an article, “Is Trump Really a Knicks Fan? An Investigation.” The story, filled with pictures of Trump at Knicks games from 1991 to 2014, described him as a “textbook example of a celebrity bandwagon fan."

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver disagrees.

“Before he ever ran for office, he was a big Knicks fan,” Silver told reporters last week. “I’ve been with the league for a long time. I was there at many Knicks games with him in the old days.”

A courtside regular in the 1990s

Trump and the Knicks came into existence the same year, 1946.

His affiliation with the team — at least in the public record — dates to 1975 when he acted as a real estate adviser to the then-owners of the Knicks and Madison Square Garden, who were looking to sell the building known in a bit of Trump-style branding as “The World’s Most Famous Arena."

Trump claimed to reporters at the time that two groups of “Arab oil interests” were interested in paying $50 million to $75 million. But the arena’s leadership passed on the idea, saying it was “not conceivable” to make such a deal during the Middle East oil crisis raging at the time.

Trump was not much of a known entity when the Knicks won their only championships in 1970 and 1973.

By the time they rebounded in the 1990s, Trump was front and center, taking his then-wife Marla Maples to Game 3 of the NBA Finals in 1994 and his current wife, first lady Melania Trump, to Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 1999. In between, he added to his Knicks fan bona fides with a cameo in the Knicks-themed Whoopi Goldberg film “Eddie” in 1996.

Back then, Trump was a more of a mythic figure than a consequential one, known as much for the women he dated and married as the buildings he built.

But just as those Knicks came up short in the NBA Finals against Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets and David Robinson and the Spurs, Trump was running into problems of his own. His business empire was in disarray after his casinos fell into financial trouble and his airline, Trump Shuttle, went out of business.

Like the Knicks, Trump went into rebuilding mode and charted a new course: reality TV with NBC's “The Apprentice” and “Celebrity Apprentice,” and then, politics. On a Knicks TV broadcast in 2010, he hinted at a possible presidential run.

That same year, as the Knicks struggled to recapture the magic of the 1990s, Trump recorded a video trying to persuade LeBron James to join the team.

“The real winners of the world want to be here," Trump told him.

Lokudu and several of his colleagues work all day at the hospital treating an influx of patients. Notifications of suspected cases come even late at night.

“I have not received my allowance (and) what happened to others could happen to me as well,” Lokudu told The Associated Press. “Despite all the infection prevention and control measures we are implementing, we do not know what may happen.”

Health authorities believe the outbreak, which took the eastern region of Congo by surprise after spreading silently for weeks without detection, started in the bustling mining area of Mongbwalu in Ituri province.

Mining conditions conducive to virus spread

Mongbwalu has emerged as the epicenter of the rare Bundibugyo type. The town attracts large numbers of laborers who work in large gold mines with muddy pools of gold deposits, narrow pits and caves. They live in low-income areas including crowded camps and have little access to proper health protocols.

The conditions increase the possibility of transmitting the disease, which spreads through close contact with bodily fluids of the sick and deceased such as sweat, blood, feces and vomit.

There also has been widespread skepticism regarding the disease, making the job of medical treatment more difficult for Lokudu and his colleagues, while some of the health workers and first responders have died from the disease.

“It is one thing to be far away and hear statistics being reported, but what is happening on the ground is enormous,” Lokudu said. “People are sacrificing their rest and comfort for this cause. There should be recognition that they deserve compensation. These workers should receive their salaries regularly.”

The Congolese government didn't respond to a request for comment from the AP.

Minimal resources available

Congolese authorities released new statistics on Sunday, saying there have been 488 confirmed cases, including 86 deaths, as of Friday. On Thursday, the Central African nation recorded 71 new cases in a day, which authorities said is a sign of “active community transmission.”

In neighboring Uganda, there have been 19 confirmed cases and two deaths.

Bundibugyo has no approved vaccines or treatment, so Congolese health workers have been targeting symptoms of the species. The government said at least five people have recovered from Ebola since the outbreak was officially confirmed by Congo's health ministry on May 15.

The disease “had a big head start,” according to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Hospitals in the region couldn't test for the right type of Ebola that had begun spreading several weeks before confirmation.

Health workers are handling the disease with minimal resources, because agencies have been scrambling to bring aid into the region. Masks, gloves, boots and medications were initially all in short supply.

“There has been an erosion of the health system,” said Heather Kerr, country director for the International Rescue Committee in Congo. “There has not been investment in the health system, and this has been going on for years.”

Tough conditions for health workers

“During the first week, we did not even have time to go home and eat. The second week was the same. We only eat once a day, what amounts to breakfast in the evening,” said Alice Bamuhinga, a nurse at the Mongbwalu hospital.

Even with widespread skepticism and disregard for health protocols, many in the town are becoming aware of the outbreak's grave reality.

Asero Jeanne, 52, had five children. Two died from the disease within two weeks. When her daughter became ill, the family thought it was malaria and neighbors advised them to avoid the hospital, saying “anyone who went there would die immediately,” Jeanne said.

The daughter died after three weeks of moving between hospitals and home, followed by a son who died days after. Then Jeanne became sick.

“I saw about 20 people die,” Jeanne said. “I watched them being taken to the morgue, yet God is allowing me to leave here alive. I thank the doctors.”

U.N. health agency offers a plan

Tedros on Friday launched a $518 million plan to combat the outbreak, saying “containing Ebola depends on political commitment, sustained financing, and the trust and engagement of communities.”

Efforts to contain the disease also have been hindered by the conflict between the government and Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, in addition to attacks by Islamist militants.

For health workers on the front line of Congo's Ebola outbreak, the work has become harder as the disease spreads faster than their current treatment capacity.

“Despite the alerts we receive and the teams we have on site, we lack the means to travel into the field,” Lokudu said. “As a result, there are alerts we are unable to investigate.”

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Ope Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria.

Chappelle will come to Detroit on Monday, June 15, at 7:30 p.m.

The Detroit performance is one of several June dates, along with Baltimore, Cleveland, Chicago, and San Diego.

Tickets for all shows went on sale Friday, June 5, at noon through 313Presents.com, LiveNation.com, and Ticketmaster.com.

Chappelle, widely recognized for his stand-up specials and the sketch series “Chappelle’s Show,” blends social commentary with observational humor.

His recent work includes multiple Netflix specials and appearances at the Netflix Is A Joke Fest in Los Angeles.

The Detroit show will be part of a phone-free experience.

Attendees will be required to secure phones, smartwatches, and other devices in Yondr pouches upon entry.

Venue staff will allow limited device access only in designated areas outside the performance space.

Guests found using devices during the show may be removed.

Organizers said the policy is intended to ensure an uninterrupted performance environment.

The tour continues a series of arena appearances for Chappelle, who is performing across major U.S. venues.

Chappelle has received numerous honors throughout his career, including the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and multiple Emmy and Grammy Awards for his comedy specials and television work.

Twenty-four Broadway shows will hope to nab at least one win Sunday across the 26 Tony categories, which can mean the difference between keeping the doors open and pulling down the curtain.

Grammy Award-winner Pink is the host of the show, which will be broadcast live on CBS and streaming for Paramount+ subscribers in the U.S. to both coasts on Sunday from 8-11 p.m. Eastern/5-8 p.m. Pacific.

Three generations of Pink's family

Pink promises a big, honking opening number — written by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Mark Sonnenblick that ends with some 170 people on stage — with lots of costume changes and some wire work, which she is familiar with from her acrobatic concerts. She has tapped Amber Ruffin, a writer and performer for “Late Night with Seth Meyers” for help with jokes.

In the audience will be Pink's mother — who took her to shows growing up in Philadelphia, instilling a love of musicals — and Pink's two children, a passing of the musical theater baton. Pink's 15-year-old daughter, Willow, is an aspiring theater actor and urged her to host the Tonys.

“The biggest reason she wanted me to say ‘yes’ was so that she could have a seat at the show because she loves the show so much,” says Pink. “I was like, ‘I can probably get you a seat anyway.’”

Plenty of performances

There will be performances from the seven best new musical and best musical revival nominees: “The Lost Boys,” “Schmigadoon!,” “Titanique,” “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York),” “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” “Ragtime” and “The Rocky Horror Show.”

Other performances include the original lead cast members of “The Book of Mormon” — Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells, Rory O’Malley and Nikki M. James — this year celebrating its 15th anniversary. Leslie Odom, Jr. will sing “Without You” from “Rent” during the In Memoriam section, in honor of that show’s 30th anniversary.

Another show celebrating a milestone, “Chicago” now at 30, will have a performance slot featuring Pink, as well as Queen Latifah, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Alex Newell, Adrienne Warren, Julianne Hough, Whitney Leavitt and Dylan Mulvaney. Plus, “A Chorus Line,” which last year celebrated its 50th anniversary, will get a special tribute by Rachel Zegler.

The musical and play races

The competition for best new musical is between four very different shows: “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York),” an opposites-attract rom-com; “The Lost Boys,” a stage adaptation of a 1987 teen movie vampire thriller; “Schmigadoon!,” which gently mocks golden-age Broadway shows; and “Titanique,” a camp musical comedy that reimagines the 1997 movie “Titanic.”

The two top best play nominees are “Giant,” exploring accusations of antisemitism against children's author Roald Dahl, and “Liberation,” about a consciousness-raising women’s group in the 1970s that explores inequality, gender roles and racism.

There are intriguing races in both the revival categories: A “Death of a Salesman” led by Nathan Lane is competing for best play revival with a modern-set “Oedipus” led by Marc Strong and a sweet “Every Brilliant Thing” starring Daniel Radcliffe.

The best musical revival pits a new “Cats” reimagined as a “Pose”-like competition show, the sweeping American history show “Ragtime” and a rollicking, frisky “The Rocky Horror Show.”

Bill Rauch, who secured his first Tony nomination for co-directing the reimagined “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” was a nominator for three seasons until this one and is impressed by the range now on Broadway.

“I look at everything as an artist within the season, but also as somebody who has seen the wealth of work on Broadway for three years running,” he said. “I just think there’s so much variety on Broadway and so many artistic risks that people take. I left my three years as a nominator really impressed by the landscape, I have to say. And I feel that this year as well.”

June Squibb became the oldest Tony-nominated actor in history at 96 and could become the oldest Tony winner if she hears her name called, surpassing Lois Smith who was 90 when she won in 2021. And Lane is hoping for his fourth Tony for “Death of a Salesman,” which would make him tied as the most-awarded male performer in Tony history, alongside Boyd Gaines and Frank Langella.

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For more coverage of the 2026 Tony Awards, visit https://apnews.com/hub/tony-awards.

The behavior changes observed so far are subtle, such as altered routines for buying gasoline and fewer visits to clothing and furniture stores. They also are uneven across the population. During recent earnings calls with analysts, executives from American mainstays like Walmart, McDonald's and Dollar General cited overall shopper resilience as well as noticeable cutbacks by lower-income customers.

But the new signs of strain cited by major retailers as generous income tax refunds helped shore up their sales make some economists and analysts think they will see a wider retrenchment when the refunds are gone and consumers face the cumulative impact of more expensive gas and higher prices for food, clothing, insurance and other goods and services.

Trevor Chapman, a communications executive in West Hills, California, said that instead of going to a local independent gas station, he and his wife now plan their fuel stops around Costco stores with filling stations. The couple also is doing more online food shopping to avoid impulse buys, he said.

“Gas is a kind of catalyst,” Chapman said. “It trickles down into the entire budget. We’re trying to keep everything as normal as possible. But it’s starting to feel like it’s adding up more and more.”

Well before the U.S. and Israel launched the war, many consumers already were being more choosy with their discretionary purchases, fatigued by several years of stubborn inflation and tariffs on imported goods imposed last year.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported last week that higher prices, not more purchases, accounted for most of the growth in Americans' spending in April, when a key inflation gauge reached the highest level since October 2023.

Topping up instead of filling up

Members-only warehouse stores like Costco, Walmart's Sam's Club and BJ's Wholesale Club have seen more traffic at their fuel pumps since the war began in late February, according to the companies. Fuel typically costs less at the wholesale clubs.

But many drivers are not filling their tanks up, Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told analysts late last month. For the first time since 2022, Walmart customers and Sam’s Club members are buying an average of less than 10 gallons per trip, he said.

“That’s an indication of stress,” Rainey said.

Costco members also are making changes. They are visiting store gas stations more frequently to “top up in between what would have normally been a gap between getting the tank to empty because of the concern about what might the gas price be tomorrow,” Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip said in late May.

Meanwhile, the gas price surge has hurt convenience stores, where 80% of all fuel is sold in the U.S., according to Jeff Lenard, a vice president at the National Association of Convenience Stores.

A sales analysis by the trade group found that the number of pump transactions at the properties of 130 convenience store companies fell by nearly 10% across March and April compared to the same two months last year. The number of sales inside the companies' stores dropped by 10.4%, according to the analysis.

“When you lose gallons to the big box, you also lose in-store sales," Lenard said.

Changing eating habits

Higher gas prices did not stop many Americans from dining out in the first two months of the war with Iran. Tax refunds helped, the National Restaurant Association said. Customer traffic at U.S. restaurants in April was unchanged from the same month last year, although a 2.6% increase in restaurant spending resulted largely from higher menu prices, according to market research firm Circana.

But cracks are starting to form as budget-conscious U.S. residents shoulder the combined weight of paying more for gas and other consumer goods on top of increasing costs in other areas from inflation past and present.

The price of gas won't help bring customers with household incomes of $45,000 or less back to U.S. fast-food restaurants, McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said last month. People in that income group began scaling back their fast-food purchases after the period of inflation that accompanied the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the trend picked up speed last year.

U.S.-based restaurant consulting firm Revenue Management Solutions analyzed 14.6 billion restaurant transactions from the last ‌four years ⁠and found that as gasoline gets more expensive, restaurant visits gradually decline, according to Chief Research Officer Sebastián Fernandez. The analysis indicated the impact doubles when gas hits the $4 mark, which it did as a nationwide average on March 31.

Consumers also are making concessions when they shop for groceries, according to Stew Leonard, president of an eight-store supermarket chain his father founded, Stew Leonard's. He's noticed customers buying meat in bulk to freeze and being less tempted to buy the products showcased during live food demonstrations or offered for sampling.

“It's telling me that people are sticking more to their shopping list,” Leonard said.

Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos also cited $4 a gallon gas as a tipping point that had more consumers with household incomes above $100,000 frequenting the discount chain. Vasos told analysts Tuesday that many of Dollar General's core shoppers, who have mid-to-low incomes and live in rural areas, were paring back their food spending.

Sophie Tolsdorf, 29, of La Grange, Kentucky, said she is one of the consumers stocking up on meat when the price is reasonable. She also switched to buying whole fruit instead pre-cut fruit in containers and cut back on the rawhide bones for her dog that cost $40 a pack.

“He might have noticed,” Tolsdorf said. "He's definitely a little bit bored during the workday now.”

Needs versus wants

Before the war, retailers had spent multiple earnings seasons highlighting consumer caution and selectivity as factors that could weigh on sales of nonessential products. Shoppers appear to have curbed their discretionary spending even more as the cost of buying gas went up, said Marshal Cohen, chief retail advisor at Circana.

Between April 25 and May 23, U.S. retailers sold 6% fewer non-grocery products than they did during the comparable four-week period of 2025, Cohen said. Housewares, clothing, footwear and sports equipment had the biggest declines, anywhere from 5% to 7%. Circana reported that toys and beauty items remained bright spots, registering at least an 8% increase in the number of units sold.

Location intelligence company Placer.ai, which tracks people's movements based on cellphone usage, saw visits to the gas stations of BJ’s, Costco and Sam’s Club stores start to accelerate in early March, aligning with a sharp rise in fuel prices, according to R.J. Hottovy, the company's head of analytical research.

By early May, Placer.ai's data showed four consecutive weeks of reduced foot traffic at clothing, electronics and home furnishing stores, and more trips to grocery stores and dollar stores.

“Consumers are prioritizing value-oriented retailers like warehouse clubs, superstores, and off-price chains," Hottovy said.

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AP Food Writer Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit contributed to the report.

Rainfall totals are projected to be between a quarter-inch and three-quarters of an inch across the region. However, some forecast models and guidance indicate isolated areas could receive 1 to 1.5 inches of rain or more where heavier downpours develop. Because thunderstorm placement will be highly variable, rainfall amounts may differ significantly over short distances, but flash flooding remains a concern.

After Tuesday’s rain chances, attention quickly turns to building heat and humidity during the second half of the week. Temperatures are expected to surge into the 90s on Wednesday and Thursday, while increasing humidity levels will push heat index values close to or above 100 degrees at times. The combination of hot temperatures and muggy conditions will create the first notable heat risk of the season for many communities across Southeast Michigan. Even overnight lows will only fall to around 70 making it difficult to give the air conditioning a break. Additional chances for showers and thunderstorms will accompany the heat later this week.

Police believe alcohol played a role in the crash.

It happened at about 5:30 p.m. Nov. 27, 2025, on Van Dyke Avenue in Bruce Township.

According to authorities, Austin Thorpe was heading southbound with his 2-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter when he reportedly crossed over the center lanes. One northbound vehicle was able to swerve out of the way, but the car behind it was struck head-on.

Prosecutors said Thorpe had improperly secured his young children in the vehicle prior to the crash.

Thorpe, the children and the teenage driver of the northbound car were rushed to Henry Ford Macomb Hospital, where the 5-year-old girl died.

More than six months after the crash, Thorpe was arraigned Wednesday, June 3.

Thorpe faces charges of OWI causing death, two counts of OWI causing serious injury, two counts of third-degree child abuse, moving violation causing death, two counts of moving violation causing serious impairment of a body function, and commission of a felony with a motor vehicle.

He was also charged as a habitual offender. His bond was set at $500,000, and if released, Thorpe is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle.

A probable cause conference is scheduled for June 16.

Kentoria Moss was sentenced after pleading guilty to second-degree child abuse in the death of her son, Adren Thimes Jr., who was killed at a home in Detroit in November 2024.

She received a sentence of 18 months to 10 years in prison as part of a plea agreement.

Prosecutors said Moss and the boy’s stepfather, Jamarr Hill, were both charged following the child’s death.

Hill previously pleaded guilty to second-degree homicide and was sentenced to 18 to 40 years in prison.

In court, family members delivered emotional statements, including the boy’s grandmother, Adrianna Thimes, who questioned the sentence and the circumstances surrounding the child’s death.

“How can I cope with this little boy, this one, what happened? What did he do?” Adrianna said. “I can never get him back, but 18 months to 10 years is not enough for her. She knew very well.”

Another family member told the court the child needed his mother’s protection on the night he died.

“All Adren needed on the night of his death was his mother,” said an attorney. “He needed his mother to be there for him, and on that night she wasn’t there for him.”

Moss also addressed the court, apologizing for her role in her son’s death and acknowledging she failed to intervene.

“That night haunts me,” said Moss. “Not a day goes by that I don’t wish that I had protected him and just left. I should have spoken up. I should have asked for help.”

The judge said Moss will live with the consequences of her actions long after her prison term.

“We don’t know when you’re getting out,” the judge said. “You have your minimum, but there’s a maximum of 10 years. But long after your release, you will have to live with this and with your conscience.”

The case remains one of several involving child abuse deaths in Detroit that have drawn renewed attention to reporting and intervention failures in domestic violence situations.

A four-goal, third-period rally by the Hurricanes nearly made NHL history and in process sent shockwaves through T-Mobile Arena.

And this game ended in a way perhaps befitting all the craziness, a shot from Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore off the skate of Brandon Bussi — the backup goalie put in the game in the third period after not playing for two months — that went into the net at 5:38 of double overtime to give the Golden Knights a 5-4 victory over Carolina.

“I have experienced a lot of games in playoffs,” Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said. “I haven't experienced one like this.”

Almost overlooked was the four-point night by Vegas' Mitch Marner, who also produced the fastest hat trick in Cup Final history.

The Golden Knights took a 2-1 series lead. The teams take two days off before meeting in Game 4 on Tuesday night in Las Vegas. Teams with a 2-1 series lead went on to win the Cup 46 of 57 times, or 80.7%.

Carolina had been 6-0 in overtime this postseason. The Hurricanes were trying to become the first team to win after trailing by at least four goals in the third period, but now clubs in that situation are 0-109.

“We just left our foot off the gas,” Theodore said on the ABC broadcast. “I think we have to be sharper in the third, but I liked the resiliency out of our group. I liked the way we started that second overtime, and I felt like we were more on our toes.”

This was the 10th time the first three games of a Cup Final were decided by a point. The last time was in 2016 between Pittsburgh and San Jose.

The Golden Knights seemed to have it in hand after scoring four times in the second, including a natural hat trick by Marner.

But Jordan Martinook, Taylor Hall and Jordan Staal scored goals for the Hurricanes. Their goals, occurring 39 seconds apart, are the fastest three in a Cup Final game.

Andrei Svechnikov jammed in a puck on a six-on-four power play with 1:42 left to force overtime.

“I love that we feel like we can come back from anything, but you can’t put yourself in a hole like we did,” Martinook said. “The second period, for them to come out like that and take total control of the game, it’s something that can’t happen, especially this time.”

Marner’s scoring outburst came over a 6:10 stretch of the second period, and he had four points in the period. He had the secondary assist on Tomas Hertl’s goal midway through the period.

The last time a player had four points in a period of the Cup final was in 1919 when Frank Foyston of the Seattle Metropolitans pulled off that feat.

Marner nearly added to the total in the third period, but failed to capitalize on a breakaway and a penalty shot. Those missed chances came back to bite the Golden Knights.

The Hurricanes made the comeback after changing goalies to open the third, going with Bussi, who made 18 saves. Frederik Andersen had given up those four goals on 16 shots.

Carolina also rallied without forward and former Golden Knight William Carrier, who had an upper-body injury in the second period.

Vegas’ Carter Hart stopped 29 shots.

Vegas twice thought it took the lead early in the second period, but the Hurricanes successfully challenged both goals to keep the game scoreless.

The Golden Knights received a major boost when defenseman Brayden McNabb took the ice. He took a puck in the face in the first period Thursday night at Carolina and didn’t return to the game. McNabb, who had on a cage to protect his face, is Vegas’ best defensive defenseman. He was on the first defensive pair with Theodore.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The 24-year-old right-hander's record-setting pitch was low and outside to Kyle Karros in the third inning.

“It’s one of those things: It is what it is,” Misiorowski said. “I’m going to keep going, trying to get strikeouts, and if that’s what it takes to get strikeouts, then so be it.”

Misiorowski (7-2) has thrown the 12 fastest pitches by a starter. His previous high was 103.4 mph against St. Louis on May 25.

He threw 52 pitches 100 mph or faster Saturday night, including a record 45 of at least 101 mph. He allowed just an unearned run while striking out eight in seven innings, lowering his ERA to 1.50 in a 7-1 victory over the Rockies at Coors Field.

"Miz has got great extension and great velocity, so that doesn’t surprise me," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said about the 103.7 mph fastball. “But we've got to get off that — the harder the better, and all that. He’s got to throw the ball in the zone and throw his other pitches in the zone. As I say often, good hitters can time up anything.”

Misiorowski threw a record 57 pitches 100 mph or faster in the May 25 game, including 40 of 101 mph or more.

The fastest pitch overall since tracking began was clocked at 105.8 mph by Cincinnati reliever Aroldis Chapman in September 2010 at San Diego, according to Statcast.

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

The American pontiff traveled to Spain dozens of times as a priest, but this is the first visit here by a pope in 15 years. And Spaniards turned out in droves to welcome Leo, with an estimated 500,000 people — many of them young — cheering “This is the youth of the pope” at a raucous evening prayer vigil in Plaza de Lima in Madrid, where Leo was treated to a rock star's welcome.

Leo's visit signals a return of papal attention to Europe’s Christian roots after Pope Francis largely stayed away from the traditional centers of Christianity in favor of smaller Catholic communities farther away.

Leo is seemingly keen to bring his message of peace, unity and human dignity to a continent sorely polarized over migration, the Russia-Ukraine war and anxiety over artificial intelligence.

The pope, known as León XIV in Spanish, opened his weeklong trip in Madrid, greeted at the airport by the country’s Catholic monarchs, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. He told reporters, while traveling, that he was particularly heartened by reports of a spiritual awakening among young people in the once staunchly Catholic but now secularized country.

During his welcome address, Leo appealed to Spaniards, especially political leaders, to put polemics aside and invest in educating young people to appreciate diversity and complexity rather than shunning them.

“Today, the temptation to gain popularity by fanning the flames of polarization seems to have grown rather than diminished, and human dignity continues to be violated,” Leo said.

He appealed to Spain’s place at the heart of Christian Europe to serve as a model for the rest of the continent, while also recalling the country's 800-year Moorish past, when cities like Toledo and Córdoba became, he said, “centers of dialogue between languages, religions and knowledge.”

“For the love of truth, I invite everyone to set aside the divisive and polarizing narratives of your societal reality and history,” he said. Doing so will help Europe “overcome sterile simplifications through the fruitful appreciation of complexity.”

Spaniards find themselves increasingly divided over issues including immigration, feminism and political corruption, while historically Spain was riven by territorial and independence movements.

Spain's parliament prepares for first-ever papal speech

The highlight of Leo’s visit to Madrid will be his speech on Monday to a joint parliamentary session of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate — the first by a pope. Such speeches are rare and often become one of the most important of a pontificate.

But Leo will find a highly polarized legislature, with the government Socialist party hammered by a series of corruption scandals. Conservative parties, including the Popular Party and Vox, have called for Sánchez to step down before a general election due by next year, and have roundly criticized his government’s migration policies.

Spain’s Socialist-led government has bucked a general trend in Europe and the United States by announcing it will grant legal status to potentially hundreds of thousands of immigrants living and working in the country without authorization. Sánchez has highlighted the benefits of legal migration to the Spanish economy with an aging workforce and low birth rate.

Despite some expected protests of Leo’s visit, his speech to parliament in particular is something of a milestone for Spain’s Catholic Church. Shaped by the anticlerical violence of the country’s 1936-1939 civil war, the church has dealt more recently with a credibility crisis over revelations of decades of clergy abuse and cover-up.

And yet there are signs of renewed interest in all forms of spirituality, Christian and otherwise, especially among young Spaniards, said sociologist Narciso Michavila Núñez, president of the GAD3 consulting firm that polls young people about their faith, among other things.

In recent surveys, he said, pollsters are registering newfound interest in faith among Gen Z Spaniards. Michavila and others cite the popularity of Spanish pop star Rosalía’s new hit album “Lux,” which is overtly spiritual.

“The truth from a common view is not that God is in fashion. What is new in this moment, in this visit of the pope, is that God in the Spanish society is not a taboo anymore,” he said.

Leo pointed to the signs of a spiritual awakening in comments to reporters en route to Madrid. But he also acknowledged that he's facing stiff competition from Bad Bunny, who is holding two concerts this weekend.

“If they are confronted with the question ‘Do you want to go see Bad Bunny or do you want to go to see the pope?’ I think many will see Bad Bunny,” Leo said. “But I think there will also be a few here to see the pope. And that says something, you know.”

Pope to meet with abuse victims and migrants

In a sign that the clergy sexual abuse crisis continues to overshadow papal trips, Leo confirmed he would meet with survivors during his visit. The Spanish Catholic hierarchy is belatedly reckoning with decades of abuse and cover-up.

“Abuses are still an open wound,” he told reporters.

Spain's king also cited the church’s sexual abuse crisis in the country in his welcome speech, but he insisted such cases “neither are nor can be representative of the immense ecclesial community.”

“Your clarity and firmness, which I also wish to acknowledge, are essential in the process of healing and repairing the harm inflicted: they are essential for the victims, for the faithful, for the church, and for society,” Felipe told Leo, in an apparent reference to a recently launched church-state reparations system for some victims of clerical abuse.

Leo’s trip is the first papal visit to Spain since Pope Benedict XVI came in 2011 for World Youth Day.

After Madrid, the other highlights of the trip include Leo’s visit midweek to Barcelona, where he will celebrate Mass in the Sagrada Familia basilica on the centenary of the death of its famed architect, Antoni Gaudí.

Leo will also fulfill a wish of Francis by ending his visit with a two-day stop in the Canary Islands, the Spanish archipelago closer to Africa than the Iberian Peninsula and a key destination for migrants leaving West Africa.

Leo will meet with migrants and the humanitarian organizations providing care for them. He is expected to toss a wreath of flowers into the sea, in memory of migrants killed during the treacherous Atlantic crossing. He’ll do so from the port in Las Palmas that in 2020 earned the nickname the “Dock of Shame” because thousands of migrants were forced to sleep in the open for weeks on end during a spike in arrivals.

Francis had made reaching out to migrants and refugees a hallmark of his papacy, and Leo has followed suit by demanding dignified treatment of migrants, especially in his native U.S.

“For those of us who are immigrants and find ourselves in this situation of having family far away, someone like the pope — who is an important figure for the entire world — coming here is truly something that makes me say ‘wow,’” said Constantina Nchama, an immigrant from Equatorial Guinea.

“It’s something that happens once in a lifetime,” she said. “I’m very, very excited about that, truly.”

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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.

The statement came a day before Chinese President Xi Jinping visits North Korea for talks with Kim Jong Un, in his first visit to the country in seven years.

“The U.S. assertion to backbite the status of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state has no legally binding force and no one will be bound by the U.S. unilateral rhetoric,” said Kim's sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s official name.

She dismissed as “false information” a U.S. announcement that President Donald Trump and Xi confirmed their shared goal to denuclearize North Korea in their summit in Beijing last month.

“Some officials in the United States have failed to wake from their escapist and anachronistic dream,” Kim Yo Jong said.

North Korea has been focusing on enlarging its nuclear arsenal since Kim Jong Un's high-stakes diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019. Experts say the North Korean leader wants an international recognition as a nuclear state so that he could demand lifting of international economic sanctions on North Korea.

During a visit to a new nuclear materials production plant last week, Kim Jong Un said North Korea would bolster the country’s nuclear forces “at an exponential rate.” On Sunday, North Korea's state media reported Kim Jong Un visited a weapons factory the previous day and called for increasing the country's missile production capacity 2.5 times under a five-year plan period.

In her statement, Kim Yo Jong accused the U.S. and South Korea of pushing for “ceaseless arms build-ups," saying her brother's push for “steadily beefing up the nuclear war deterrent for self-defense” is “an irreversible final conclusion to be carried out unconditionally.”

Analysts say Xi's visit to North Korea is largely meant to reassert China's influence over North Korea, whose foreign policy priority has shifted to Russia in recent years. They say Xi will likely refrain from directly raising the denuclearization issue and offer economic assistance programs during his meeting with Kim Jong Un.

North Korea has sent troops and conventional weapons to Russia to back its war efforts against Ukraine. South Korean and U.S. officials say North Korea has received economic and other assistance from Russia in return.

Georgia's Republican-led Legislature will convene June 17 for a special session focused on redistricting for the 2028 elections. The agenda includes new voting districts not only for Congress, but also for the state House and Senate — and potentially even the state's utility regulatory commission.

It will mark the first time since a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling weakened minority voting protections that a state legislature will attempt to redraw its own districts. Mississippi Republicans and New York Democrats also could undertake legislative redistricting before their 2027 and 2028 elections, respectively.

Ir remains to be seen, though, how many legislatures will follow, and whether the outburst of mid-decade redistricting will extend down to county commissions, city councils and school boards that make myriad decisions affecting people's lives. The impact could be widespread.

“The stakes here are not political, they are deeply human,” said Joe Kennedy III, founder of Groundwork Project, a nonprofit that supports local civil rights and democracy organizations.

What's fueling the redistricting movement?

Voting district boundaries typically are redrawn once a decade after each U.S. census to account for population changes. But last summer, President Donald Trump urged Texas Republicans to redraw congressional districts to try to win additional seats in the midterm elections. Other states followed with their own partisan gerrymandering.

Then a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in late April jumpstarted even more redistricting. The court struck down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana as an illegal racial gerrymander, providing grounds for Republicans in other states to reshape districts with large minority populations that have elected Democrats.

Why is Georgia redrawing its districts?

A federal judge ruled in 2023 that some of Georgia’s congressional, state Senate and state House districts were drawn in a racially discriminatory manner. The Legislature quickly approved revised maps with new majority-Black districts, though they resulted in little change to Republican majorities in the 2024 elections.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has called lawmakers into special session to again redraw districts in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Louisiana case. That could allow Republicans to undo the court-ordered changes they made in 2023 and potentially redraw other Democratic-held minority districts to the GOP's advantage.

Republicans have yet to unveil details of their plans. But Democratic state Rep. Tanya Miller, who is running for attorney general, denounced the upcoming redistricting as a means of “rigging maps to maintain power.”

How many seats are at stake?

Several months before the Supreme Court ruling, a report by Fair Fight Action and Black Voters Matter forecast that Republicans in 10 Southern states could eliminate 191 Democratic-held legislative seats — including 140 districts with Black or Hispanic majorities — if the Supreme Court gutted federal Voting Rights Act protections for minorities.

“If anything, our report was an understatement,” Cliff Albright, co-founder and executive director of Black Voters Matter, recently told The Associated Press. “What’s at stake is the future of this democracy.”

Other analysts don't expect that many seats to be redistricted. But they do expect the Supreme Court's decision to ripple through states.

“We’re going to potentially see a lot of frenzied efforts at every level, including at the local level, to try out undoing district maps and configurations that have performed quite well in providing improved representation for communities of color,” said Kareem Crayton, vice president of the Washington office of the Brennan Center for Justice.

What states have pending court cases?

The precedent from the recent Supreme Court decision already is being applied in several states. In light of the ruling, a federal appeals court is allowing Alabama to use a state Senate map approved by Republican lawmakers in this year's election instead of one imposed by a federal judge who found the state had diluted the voting power of Black residents. The change affects two state Senate districts in the Montgomery area.

The Supreme Court has sent legislative redistricting cases filed on behalf of Black voters in Mississippi and Native Americans in North Dakota back to lower courts for further consideration in light of its Louisiana decision. The Washington attorney general has asked the Supreme Court to do the same for legislative redistricting cases involving Hispanic voters in that state.

What's stopping states from redistricting?

About half the states have provisions in their constitutions prohibiting mid-decade redistricting of state legislative seats, said Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles who runs the “All About Redistricting” website.

But even in states where it's allowed, lawmakers may have fewer reasons to redraw their own districts than those for Congress, Levitt said. Politicians who promoted congressional redistricting for the 2026 midterms often justified it as a way to counter gerrymandering in other states and win as many seats as possible for their party. They had extra motivation because a swing of only a few seats nationally in the November elections could affect control of the closely divided U.S. House.

By contrast, most state legislative chambers already are dominated by one party.

”There’s a lot less incentive, if you already control the state legislature by 10 or 12 seats, to eke out an incremental one or two at the expense of really ticking off your own party membership, or at the expense of maybe risking losing seats in a broader way,” Levitt said.

Could local governments also redraw districts?

The Supreme Court decision making it more difficult to prove Voting Rights Act violations already has affected some local governments.

Plaintiffs have voluntarily dismissed a challenge to commission districts in Meriwether County, Georgia. A federal court has accepted new legal briefs in a challenge to Board of Supervisors districts in DeSoto County, Mississippi. And Indiana's attorney general has asked a federal appeals court to take note of the Louisiana case when deciding a challenge to how judges are selected in Lake County.

Over roughly the past four decades, data from the University of Michigan shows that cities, counties and school boards have been involved in more than three-fifths of the 466 lawsuits alleging violations of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which forbids providing minorities less opportunity than other voters to elect the representatives of their choice.

But that doesn't necessarily mean local governments will rush to redistrict as a result of a weakened Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court decision cleared the way for officials to justify redistricting based on partisan ambitions. But many local offices are officially nonpartisan.

The race for governor between Sand and Republican Zach Lahn stands to be one of the most competitive in the country as Iowans face a state budget deficit, struggling agricultural economy and cancer crisis.

Even as Sand downplays party politics, Democrats are putting faith in him to blaze a trail in the state after struggling electorally in recent cycles.

“We are all in on flipping Iowa,” said Beshear, chair of the Democratic Governors Association and a potential presidential candidate in 2028. “It’s certainly time for a change, and I think the people of Iowa know that Rob Sand will always put them first and lead in a way that lifts families up and doesn’t leave them out.”

Sand, who was unopposed on the primary ballot, learned who his opponent would be after Tuesday’s primary settled an unpredictable five-way Republican contest.

Little known before his bid for governor, Lahn made a splash as a business owner criticizing farm consolidation and tax breaks for corporate giants, a regenerative farmer who subscribes to Robert F. Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement and a former political operative who galvanized Iowa’s conservative grassroots.

Iowa has open races for both governor and U.S. senator for the first time since 1968, plus three battleground congressional races. National attention on the state has soared in recent months, drawing President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance to Iowa.

Democrats will have an uphill climb with a 200,000-person deficit in statewide voter registration, and they are outnumbered in every House district. Sand, along with Senate candidate Josh Turek, say they can win over independents and Republicans who are frustrated with party politics and a Republican trifecta in Washington and Des Moines that they blame for the state's challenges.

Turek will face U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who already has portrayed Turek as a liberal puppet for party leader Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Lahn has also rejected Sand's nonpartisan pitch.

“Rob Sand is not a moderate,” Lahn said in his victory speech Tuesday. “He’s a liberal career politician pretending to be someone he’s not.”

Sand says divided government is a good thing

Sand is vocal about his dislike of partisanship, his distrust of both political parties and his desire for divided government in Iowa. He says he thinks most Iowans feel the same.

Even if Sand is elected governor in November, he will likely have to work with Republican majorities in the state House and Senate, which recently passed bills to restrict the executive’s power that outgoing Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law.

“I’m not here to tell you that the answer to 10 years of one-party control is to give the other party 10 years of one-party control. I don’t think that’s right,” Sand said Tuesday after casting his primary ballot. “But I do think that it’s time to say enough to the people who have had 10 years of one-party control. It’s time for balanced government in Iowa.”

Neither Sand or Lahn use their party's traditional blue or red in campaign materials, opting instead for green. They both say they aren’t beholden to their party establishments and that Iowans want a new direction, though Lahn’s Republican Party has held a statehouse trifecta for nearly a decade.

Sand’s campaign has given about $750,000 to the Iowa Democratic Party already this cycle, funding that Republicans call hypocritical for a candidate who claims he is not a party man. The Sand campaign says that sum reflects his investment in a state party-run coordinated campaign that will help him get elected as governor, even as it also supports candidates up and down the ballot.

Beshear brings national support as he considers his own future

As Democrats continue to debate what went wrong in 2024 and the direction of the party, Beshear has offered up his own example as the leader of a red state for lessons on how the party can go forward.

Beshear said he is trying to be a “voice of reason in the chaos” of Trump’s administration and that he is comfortable being listed among the names of Democrats considering a presidential bid in 2028, even as he said he is focused on the critical midterms.

In addition to rallying with Sand, Beshear will also be at a “Beers with Beshear” fundraiser for congressional candidate Sarah Trone Garriott, who wants to unseat Republican Rep. Zach Nunn in the competitive House district that includes Des Moines. Beshear said he will see Turek too.

The Democratic Governors Association, which Beshear chairs, gave the Iowa Democratic Party about $140,000 so far this cycle, according to filing reports.

The incident occurred on Saturday (June 6) in Ohio.

Update: Police: Victims in Toledo festival shooting range in age from 14 to 61

Deputy Chief Joseph Heffernan said officers responded to reports of gunfire at about 5:37 p.m. near the popular community festival, which is held annually in Toledo.

Heffernan said police were already in the area when the shooting occurred and responded immediately.

Preliminary information indicates that at least two shooters were involved and may have been firing at one another.

Investigators believe the exchange of gunfire resulted in 12 people being struck by bullets.

“Officers were quick to respond. They were right there when the shots were coming out,” Heffernan said.

Two victims were reported in critical condition, while the conditions of the remaining victims were not immediately available.

Heffernan said police secured the scene and began processing evidence shortly after the shooting.

Officials said they have collected evidence and are actively pursuing leads.

The investigation remains in its early stages, and no suspects have been taken into custody as of Saturday evening.

“We’re still very early in the investigative process,” Heffernan said.

The Old West End Festival is an annual event that draws large crowds to one of Toledo’s historic neighborhoods.

Police said the scene was being dismantled as investigators completed their initial processing, but the investigation remains active.

Officials said extensive security measures had been in place for the popular event, including additional police officers, off-duty security personnel, and mobile surveillance cameras connected to the department’s real-time crime center.

Deputy Chief Joe Heffernan said officers responded immediately when gunfire erupted near the festival.

“We had extra officers on duty today for the festival, plus there was a large contingency of off-duty officers that were working for the festival itself,” Heffernan said.

Police said they believe a substantial amount of evidence has been collected, including video footage from surveillance systems and other sources.

“There is a lot of evidence. It’s just a matter of going through a lot of that evidence,” Heffernan said.

Heffernan added that the violence unfolded quickly but was brought under control just as rapidly because officers were already stationed nearby.

“I think it is ridiculous that you can’t have this event without people just being safe and we were out last night and we were home today just hanging out - but why, that’s the question, why?” neighbor Shawn Kellerbauer said.

The shooting that occurred on Saturday (June 6) disrupted one of Toledo’s most well-known community events, a decades-old festival held in the city’s historic Old West End neighborhood.

“It’s just a shame when a few people, for whatever reasons, are going through their heads, decide to disrupt something that has been a beloved community event for many, many years,” Heffernan said.

Authorities said investigators will work to determine not only who was responsible but also what motivated the shooting.

As summer begins, Toledo officials said they’re preparing for additional public events, and Heffernan said police will increase community outreach efforts, particularly among young people.

“This is a perfect example of how when bullets start flying, they can go anywhere, they can strike anybody,” Heffernan said.

Toledo Public Safety Director George Kral, speaking on behalf of Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, echoed officials’ requests for public assistance.

“There were several hundred people there tonight, and everybody has one of these,” Kral said while referencing cellphones. “I know in my heart that footage is out there.”

Kral urged residents to review videos and photographs taken during the festival and share any potentially useful information with police.

“This is one of the most iconic festivals in Toledo, and it’s a shame that something like this had to ruin it,” Kral said.

For those concerned about retaliation or personal safety, Kral emphasized that anonymous reporting options are available through Crime Stoppers and other channels.

“It’s a great neighborhood. We are still going to do what the neighborhood does. It’s a great diverse community, coffee shops going to remain open, church is still going to have church. Our safety folks, we pray for them too as well because they are concerned. Right now, what do we do?” Kellerbauer said.

“If someone is worried about their personal safety, we can take care of that,” Kral said.

Officials said a decision on whether the festival would continue on Sunday had not yet been made and would be determined after discussions with organizers and city leaders.

Meanwhile, Toledo Fire Chief Allison Armstrong praised first responders for their handling of a chaotic and complex emergency scene.

Armstrong said fire and EMS crews entered the area after police secured it, immediately began triaging and treating victims, and then transported them to hospitals.

She said the response was complicated by festival-related road closures, heavy pedestrian traffic, and vehicles crowding nearby streets.

“It was a large scene,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong said Toledo police officers assisted medics by applying tourniquets to some victims before EMS personnel arrived.

According to Armstrong, four to five victims were initially considered critical, and all patients were removed from the scene within about an hour despite the logistical challenges.

“To get 12, 13, 14 patients off scene in conditions like that in an hour is impressive,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong noted that officials were still working to determine the exact number of people affected because some individuals may have left the area in private vehicles before emergency crews could evaluate them.

City Councilman John Hobbs III thanked police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and detectives for their response and called on residents to unite behind the investigation.

“What happened today is not a reflection of what our city is and what we stand for,” Hobbs III said.

Hobbs urged anyone who witnessed the shooting or captured video to assist investigators and stressed the importance of preventing similar incidents during upcoming summer events.

“We have to set a tone that this will not be tolerated anymore in our city,” said Hobbs III.

Authorities said the investigation remains active as detectives continue to review evidence and pursue leads.

Toledo police Lt. Dan Gerken said detectives are in the early stages of a complex investigation and are relying on evidence gathered at the scene and information from the public.

“It’s real early in the investigation,” said Gerken. “We’re talking to multiple people, including victims and witnesses. We’re viewing camera footage.”

Update: Toledo officials urge public to share videos of incident after 12 wounded in festival shooting

Gerken declined to provide descriptions of possible suspects, saying investigators were still reviewing evidence and determining exactly what occurred.

--> Toledo shooting leaves 12 injured, 2 critical at Old West End Festival in Ohio

“As far as who we’re looking for, what we’ve collected and all that so far, that’s for another time,” Gerken said.

Police are urging anyone with information, photos, or videos related to the shooting to contact investigators.

“The main thing is, if you have information, you send it to the police department so we can follow up on it,” Gerken said.

Asked whether any of the wounded individuals could be among the shooters, Gerken said he did not believe that was the case based on the information available to him.

The victims ranged widely in age.

Gerken said the oldest victim he personally spoke with was 61 years old, and the youngest was 14.

“I would say most everybody, if you want an average, I’d say early 20s,” Gerken said.

Police said they are also working to determine precisely how the gunfire unfolded and where the shooters were positioned in relation to the crowd.

Gerken said detectives had only recently obtained video evidence and were still reviewing it.

“We are at the mercy of the evidence and the video that we’re collecting,” Gerken said.

Gerken described the shooting as one of the most significant acts of violence he has witnessed during his career with the department.

“Twelve people being shot, that’s the most I’ve been to a scene,” Gerken said. “I’ve been to a lot of scenes, but this is way over the top.”

Despite the scale of the incident, Gerken expressed confidence in the progress investigators have made during the first few hours of the case.

“I’m feeling good where we’re at as far as what we’ve collected so far,” Gerken said.

However, he emphasized that community cooperation will be critical to identifying and apprehending those responsible.

“Talk to your kids,” Gerken said. “There’s kids out there that probably know more than all of us standing here.”

The investigation remains active.

The results from this positive vibe shift have been spectacular all season, and it's working again at the U.S. Women's Open. After Korda started poorly this week at Riviera, she shook it off and responded with two straight stellar rounds that have put the World No. 1 in prime position to win the title she covets most of all.

Korda shot her second straight 4-under 67 on Saturday to claim a share of the lead in the 81st Open, ending with three consecutive birdies and finishing even with Sei Young Kim at 6-under 207.

“It’s always amazing to be in this position,” Korda said. “That’s what we work so hard for, to be in this spot. So whatever happens tomorrow happens, but I’m going to give it my all and see what the outcome is.”

Korda, already a three-time major winner after dominating The Chevron Championship in April, has played her way into prime position to contend for her second straight major title and first U.S. Open championship.

It won't be simple: Seven players were within two shots of the top of a leaderboard crowded with major winners. First-round leader Jennifer Kupcho and 2015 U.S. Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun were a shot back at 5 under after 69s, while second-round co-leader Ruoning Yin, Mexico’s Gaby Lopez and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka were 4 under.

But Korda's surge in Southern California is her latest superlative in a year already featuring three wins, three second-place finishes and a spot atop the world rankings in her first seven starts.

“I’m not going to get too frustrated,” Korda said. “I think last year I really, really wanted it, and the more you want it, sometimes the more you stiffen up and you get a little bit more nervous. So I play my best golf when I’m happy, free Nelly and I’m kind of joking around out there. That’s kind of the attitude that I’m going to have (Sunday).”

Korda was seven shots off the lead and struggling with her driver after that opening-round 73. Her big sister, six-time LPGA Tour winner Jessica Korda, encouraged her to strengthen her grip, and Nelly promptly got into contention by posting Friday’s lowest score and then surging steadily up the leaderboard on moving day.

Korda chipped in from the fringe for birdie on the third hole Saturday, and she nailed an 18-foot birdie putt on the sixth. She finished with her birdie spree, reaching the par-5 17th green in two before smashing her 154-yard approach shot to 4 feet on the 18th.

Korda had never posted consecutive rounds in the 60s in a U.S. Women’s Open, not even last year when she tied for second at Erin Hills.

She believes that experience and her ongoing work on her mental game have put her in a prime position to execute Sunday. Her attitude shift was a necessary self-improvement decision encouraged by her parents, her time with a sports psychologist and even her fiance, who sometimes implores her to be a bit more positive.

“So there has been a bunch of work that I’ve done with other people, but I would say the person that makes the biggest change is myself,” Korda said.

Several players traded the lead on a sunny afternoon in front of the week’s biggest crowd at this 100-year-old country club in Pacific Palisades.

Kim was one shot off the lead after each of the first two rounds, and the South Korean star carded a steady 68 after a birdie on 17 to stay right on pace with Korda.

“I tried to keep my patience and just waited for a chance,” said Kim, a 13-time winner on the LPGA Tour. “When the chances came to me, I just made it. ... When I finished, that was the first time I saw the scoreboard with a lot of good golfers, especially Nelly and then Gaby, who I played with. It always feels great to play with great players. I’m competitive, so it’s really like I’m lucky to play with them.”

Both second-round leaders are also still firmly in contention.

Southern California native Alison Lee was one shot off the lead on the back nine before making three late bogeys and finishing at 3 under. Lee, who gave birth to son Levi 15 months ago, would be only the fourth mother to win the U.S. Open and the first since Juli Inkster in 2002.

Yin made three bogeys on the front nine before getting back to 4 under with two late birdies. Her 71 made her the first golfer in U.S. Open history with seven consecutive rounds of even par or better.

England's Charley Hull carded Saturday's low round at 65, making seven birdies and moving just three shots back of the lead. Asterisk Talley, a 17-year-old amateur from California’s Central Valley, shot a 66.

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

No suspects were in custody hours afterward, Toledo Deputy Police Chief Joe Heffernan said, and officials urged people who were at the festival to come forward with any photos or videos on their phones for possible leads.

The shooting happened near the Old West End Festival, an annual gathering of live music and home tours.

Heffernan said it appeared that at least two people fired weapons and they were “probably shooting at each other.”

Two of the victims were in critical condition, Heffernan added. The ages of the victims ranged from 14 to 61, with most of them in their early 20s.

“I am deeply concerned about the situation in Toledo tonight,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement. “Summer festivals should be safe spaces for families to spend time together without fear of violence.”

Multiple videos posted to social media showed people running amid the sound of gunshots and emergency officials tending to others who appeared wounded.

Fire Chief Allison Armstrong said it was difficult to get to the hospital due to closed roads and traffic from people leaving the festival, but emergency responders were able to transport all patients from the scene within an hour.

Kevin Berry was sitting in the neighborhood arboretum listening to live music with friends when he heard a handful of gunshots ring out.

“Everybody hit the deck,” he said.

When Berry looked back up, he saw a gun being tossed to the ground less than 50 feet (15 meters) away from him. Officers who were already on site for the festival responded immediately.

Berry, who has medical training and served in the Navy, walked around looking for anyone who might need help and saw at least five people with gunshot wounds.

“The folks who were hit were spread out around the arboretum area,” he said.

The Old West End Festival is a two-day celebration in Toledo’s historic district that includes live music, food vendors, home tours and shopping. Berry described it as the “kick-off to Toledo’s summer festival season.”

George Kral, safety director for the city, said officials were discussing with organizers whether it would continue through the weekend.

“This is one of the most iconic festivals in Toledo,” he said, “and it’s a shame that something like this had to ruin it.”

Iran said that it targeted American military assets in both countries, after the U.S. attacked surveillance facilities on Qeshm Island and near Sirik that Iran said were used to protect borders and “ensure the security of navigation in international waters." Tehran called the attack a ceasefire violation.

Later Saturday, U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces had shot down two Iranian attack drones over the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest exchanges came as the Trump administration presses Iran to make a deal to end the war, which has strained the global economy and threatened a hunger crisis in some of the world's most vulnerable countries.

Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, arrived in Iran on Saturday as part of mediation efforts.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is seeking to ratchet up economic pressure on Iran. The U.S. Treasury Department is considering allowing Gulf allies to tap into frozen Iranian assets to pay for damages they sustained in the war, according to a person familiar with Secretary Scott Bessent's thinking who spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity to share internal deliberations.

Iran says it targeted US air base and Navy

The U.S. military said earlier that it had shot down several Iranian missiles and drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf Arab allies, and struck some of the Islamic Republic’s coastal surveillance radar sites in response.

“The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” U.S. Central Command said.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted the Ali Al Salem air base, which hosts U.S. forces in Kuwait, and the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

The U.S. military said there were no reports of harm to U.S. personnel.

Earlier in the week, Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger terminal at Kuwait’s main airport, killing one person and wounding dozens.

The U.S. military kept up its blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s grip on the strait, a crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments. Energy prices have spiked, posing political problems for U.S. President Donald Trump's Republican Party before the midterm congressional election.

Deals remain elusive

Trump increasingly appears to be boxed in. U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement a week ago to extend the ceasefire by 60 days and start a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program. Trump, however, has called for unspecified changes, and Iranian officials have shown no public sign of agreeing to the deal.

The fighting in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have seized large swaths of the south while saying it targets the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, also challenges efforts to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has demanded that any lasting truce extends to Lebanon.

The Trump administration has touted the latest ceasefire agreed to earlier in the week by the Lebanese government and Israel after U.S.-brokered talks in Washington. However, Hezbollah has rejected the agreement.

Ratcheting up financial pressure

Miad Maleki, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former Iranian sanctions expert at the Treasury Department, said it's significant that the U.S. is signaling it could allow Gulf countries to access some of the $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets stored abroad.

Iran had been seeking some of the funds as part of a deal, and rather than offering Tehran that concession, the U.S. is pressuring them to move quickly.

“So the U.S. government is saying: ’Hey, not just that we’re not going to give you these funds. As a matter of fact, we’re going to take these funds from you, and we’re going to help Gulf states to take it,” Maleki said.

Allowing Gulf states to use the frozen assets would also bolster U.S. ties there, he said. It would send a clear signal that America is sticking with its partners as they've sustained attacks and repercussions from the war.

However, Maleki said some Gulf states may be reluctant to use the funds out of concern that they could face retaliation from Iran for doing so.

___

Michelle L. Price reported from Bridgewater, New Jersey. Munir Ahmed contributed to this report from Islamabad.

Ridden by jockey Jose Ortiz from 12 lengths off the lead, Golden Tempo surged from the back of the pack to win the 158th rendition of the race. The victory came five weeks after his last-to-first charge to win the Kentucky Derby.

“Golden Tempo is amazing. Jose is amazing,” said DeVaux. “I think he needed to do this to kind of show that he was meant to win the Derby and that he is a horse that belongs in that conversation of being one of the top 3-year-olds.”

Golden Tempo held off Commandment to win by a length and a quarter at odds of 6-1. Commandment was second and favorite Renegade placed third.

“I followed them closely in the second turn,” Ortiz said. “They started to pick it up, so I did as well. I was just waiting for the right time to go all in. When I asked him to go, my horse responded.”

DeVaux, after becoming the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner, is the second in four years to do so at the Belmont. Jena Antonucci won it with Arcangelo in 2023. DeVaux is the first woman to win multiple Triple Crown races.

“It’s overwhelming,” DeVaux said. “All the credit goes to Golden Tempo, who won the race, and Jose did a wonderful job of making it happen. But I’m just so fortunate to be in this position. It’s history-making, and I’ve kind of shied away from it, but I’m really grateful that I am that person.”

DeVaux was born in Saratoga Springs and began her training career there, but she doesn’t call herself a Saratoga native. She spends most of her time in Kentucky now and said she grew up in southern Florida. But after all the support she’s received from the town, she has started to embrace it.

“Everyone is kind of calling me the hometown girl,” DeVaux said. “So that’s kind of fun. I’m going to miss our appetizer (at) Saratoga, as we call it, the ‘Bellatoga.’”

Golden Tempo was the third choice in the race. There were concerns about whether he could pull off another big comeback win in a field that included Renegade. The Todd Pletcher-trained horse finished second to Golden Tempo by a neck in the Derby.

The pace was not nearly as fast as it was at Churchill Downs, yet Golden Tempo still was able to close in time to win the 1 1/4-mile race in 2:03.49. It didn’t matter, as he was the best in the field of nine horses.

“He wasn’t going to get that setup as he did in the Derby,” Ortiz said. “We all knew that, and I was a little worried about it. He needed some kind of setup. But today, there wasn’t one and he showed up today and won.”

Golden Tempo won two-thirds of the Triple Crown after DeVaux and owners decided to bypass the Preakness. He is the second horse in as many years to win the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont after not running in the middle jewel.

“We made our decision, and we won today and we’re going to be happy about that,” DeVaux said.

This was the third and final time for the Belmont at Saratoga in upstate New York, while its traditional home on the border of Queens and Long Island is getting demolished and rebuilt. Run at 1 1/4 miles because of the track at Saratoga, the race is set to return to Belmont Park next year when it will return to its traditional 1 1/2-mile distance.

“It’s so meaningful,” DeVaux said. ”A lot of family here. Saratoga, it’s been wonderful to have such a historic race here. ... It’s so meaningful because the town gets to have this and celebrate it along with us.”

Golden Tempo paid $14 to win, $7.32 to place and $3.88 to show. Commandment paid $7.02 to show and $4.08 to place, while Renegade paid $2.52 to place.

Ortiz followed Renegade, ridden by older brother Irad, just as he did in the Derby. It worked out just the same in the first Saturday in June as the first Saturday in May.

“He was bouncing a bit today, which made me very happy because I wanted him to be a little bit sharper today,” Jose Ortiz said. “You can see him, he’s very relaxed. He does what I ask him to do. That’s the main thing.”

Co-owner Vinnie Viola dedicated the race to his late friend Dominic DiPrisco, who died Wednesday at age 70. Viola prayed to DiPrisco Saturday morning, hoping for an extra push in the Belmont Stakes.

“I know you’re in heaven, and I love you, and this race is for you,” Viola said. “It means more than I can express in words right now.”

Ortiz won the Belmont Stakes for the second time, nine years after his first aboard Tapwrit in 2017.

“We just wanted him to get better and keep winning these kinds of races,” Ortiz said. “We’re very happy with him. It’s all about him.”

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AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno in New York contributed.

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AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

Kai Havertz put the four-time champions in front with a header from a free kick in the second minute but Antonee Robinson tied the score in the 37th with a left-foot volley from the top of the arc following Christian Pulisic’s corner kick.

Sané scored off a short pass from Havertz, a diagonal shot between the legs of Miles Robinson that appeared to take a slight deflection off the defender and beat goalkeeper Matt Freese to the far post.

The 16th-ranked United States has lost nine straight games to European opponents dating to 2022.

Hosting the World Cup for the first time since 1994, the Americans open against Paraguay on Friday, then play Australia and Turkey. The U.S. hadn’t lost its last match heading into a World Cup since 2002.

No. 10 Germany starts against Curaçao on June 14 in a group that includes Ivory Coast and Ecuador.

The match drew a sellout crowd of 63,636 to Soldier Field, site of the 1994 World Cup opener. Chicago refused to bid to host 2026 World Cup matches, citing what it said was a lack of financial assurances by FIFA.

The U.S. played without top defender Chris Richards, sidelined since tearing a pair of left ankle ligaments on May 17.

Germany was missing 18-year-old midfielder Lennart Karl, ruled out for the World Cup after injuring a thigh in training. Oliver Baumann started in goal as Manuel Neuer rested while recovering from a calf muscle issue.

Freese started in goal for the 15th time in 18 matches.

Die Mannschaft went ahead after Tyler Adams' foul just outside the penalty area. Joshua Kimmich's free kick was headed in by Havertz at the top of the 6-yard box for his 22nd international goal.

Robinson scored his fifth international goal after Jonathan Tah's headed clearance attempt on Pulisic's corner kick went just outside the area. Robinson celebrated with a cartwheel and a backflip.

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

Now he's back in much friendlier territory and took the T-Mobile Arena ice Saturday for Game 3 before a Vegas fan base that has cheered him, the roars growing louder with each postseason game.

That continued during introductions, so loud it was difficult to hear Hart's name. The only player who received a louder ovation was defenseman Brayden McNabb, back after taking a puck in his face Thursday night in Game 2.

Hart has given those fans plenty of reasons to get behind him, his play in goal a major reason why the Golden Knights are in the championship round of the playoffs. The series is 1-1.

“Just really fortunate to be here in Vegas,” Hart said. “It’s a great culture of people.”

The chants in Carolina stemmed from Hart being one of five 2018 Canadian world junior hockey players acquitted of sexual assault last July. The NHL ruled those players were eligible to sign deals beginning Oct. 15 and to play starting Dec. 1. Hart signed a two-year, $4 million contract with Vegas.

But Hart could have been suiting up on the other side. The Hurricanes considered signing him and Michael McLeod — one of the five involved in the scandal — but decided against taking such a step.

Hart entered the Stanley Cup Final playing at such a high level that he put himself in the conversation for the Conn Smythe Trophy, which goes to the NHL playoffs MVP.

He took a 12-4 playoff record into Game 1, a 2.22 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. Against the Hurricanes, however, Hart has a 3.90 GAA and .855 save percentage.

Not all of it his fault. The Golden Knights' defense had several unusual lapses in the first two games, putting Hart in position to make some difficult saves. Even so, the expected goals against Hart and the Golden Knights was 4.47 at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick, and the Hurricanes lit the lamp six times at even strength.

Vegas coach John Tortorella again defended Hart’s play when asked how the goalie was handling the situation.

“Carter’s played very well,” Tortorella said.

Hart looked as if he would run his postseason winning streak to eight games Thursday night, taking a shutout into the final 9:40 of Game 2. But then the Hurricanes scored three times and again in overtime to win 4-3.

Now Hart and the rest of the Golden Knights will try to regroup. They are used to being in this situation, having lost Game 2 in three of the four playoff series this year, the first two at home before eliminating Utah and Anaheim each in six games.

But Vegas hasn't dealt with this kind of loss. The Golden Knights have snatched victories from other teams; this time they had it done to them.

Game 3 will tell where Hart and his teammates stand.

“It's in the past,” center William Karlsson said. “There nothing we can change, so now we just look ahead.”

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Hamlin was the last driver of the session at Michigan International Speedway, and his No. 11 Toyota’s 195.117-mph lap knocked Carson Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet (195.022 mph) from the top spot on the 2-mile oval. The speed stunned Hamlin, who credited his team with some quick fixes that stabilized the wounded vehicle.

“It was a handful,” the Joe Gibbs Racing star said after passing Hall of Famer Bobby Isaac for 10th in career poles in NASCAR’s premier series. “It was all I wanted, certainly. But hats off to this whole team. Yeah, that was surprising. It was the limit for sure.”

Hamlin continued a streak of Toyotas winning every pole at Michigan since the debut of the Next Gen car in 2022, but the news wasn’t all good. Hamlin expects his car will need further repairs that would be unapproved by NASCAR, sending him to the rear of the 37-car field for the start.

“That’s going to be a challenge in itself, certainly at this racetrack,” he said. “So we’re going to have to have good restarts and have the race play out just right.”

Last week, Hamlin started first at Nashville Superspeedway but was sent to the back on the opening lap for jumping the start. He rallied to lead a race-high 57 laps for his 62nd career win, leading a top-three Gibbs sweep with teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe.

Hamlin said he’ll need to catch some breaks Sunday over 400 miles at Michigan.

“The race is long, and you can certainly do it,” he said. “It’s not unachievable. And sometimes when you’re in the back, it gives you an opportunity if there’s an early caution to try a different strategy. I know if you look at last week, that all seemed easy, but things really fell our way, and they’re going to have to again (Sunday).”

If Hamlin does start from the back, it’ll be a break for Hocevar after Saturday’s disappointment. The Portage, Michigan, native threw up his hands in disbelief after Hamlin bumped him from the pole at his home track.

“I would have loved to have that one,” Hocevar said. “I feel like it’s a really good race car, one of the best I’ve had here, so I hope it really translates to (Sunday). Starting up front is going to be super important.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Castro's celebration of his 95th birthday with top officials and military leaders at the Ministry of Interior in Havana on late Friday offered Cuba's socialist government an opportunity to close ranks and project defiance as the Trump administration escalates its pressure campaign on the fuel-starved island.

State TV broadcast footage of Castro, clad in his olive-green military uniform, entering a packed theater to a standing ovation, followed by his grandson and bodyguard, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez, and Cuban President Miguel Diáz-Canel.

Diáz-Canel delivered an effusive tribute to the “heroism and dignity" displayed by Castro and his late brother, the central figure of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro. He praised Raúl Castro, who served as defense minister of Cuba for nearly 50 years, for his “courage and loyalty (that) made him a target from a very early age for the intelligence services of our enemies."

In a more direct response to provocations by the Trump administration, Diaz-Canel warned that “there will be a decisive and resolute battle" if the U.S. acts on its threats to invade the island.

“Raúl is Raúl," he said, echoing the slogan that has appeared in billboards across Havana and in a flood of social media posts since the May 20 U.S. indictment of Raúl Castro on murder charges — an apparent attempt to mobilize national unity to counter the government's image of isolation. “Raúl is Cuba, and Cuba is untouchable.”

Friday's late-night celebration, two days after Castro turned 95, marked a rare public appearance for the low-profile but influential Cuban army general. Although he formally retired from politics in April 2021, Castro is believed to wield considerable political power.

The Justice Department’s indictment unsealed last month accuses Castro of ordering the 1996 shootdown of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles. It was the steepest in a series of escalations since the Trump administration all but cut off Cuba’s oil supplies in January, exacerbating the island's long-running problems like blackouts and a public health crisis.

The Trump administration demands that Cuba’s socialist government release political prisoners, implement major economic reforms and change its way of governance to avoid becoming a national security threat. Cuba has said it poses no threat to the U.S.

It might have come at a good time for Scottie Scheffler, who was making quite a charge until two bogeys in three holes, the last one from an iron off the tee into a creek.

And it probably won't help the players like Poston who face a long Sunday to make up for the lost time and then have 36 holes of U.S. Open qualifying Monday.

Poston and Gerard were tied at 9-under par through five holes, one shot ahead of Sam Burns, who was through six holes.

Even with four hours of daylight available, the PGA Tour felt there was enough thunderstorm activity on the way to call it a day. The third round was to resume at 7 a.m., followed by a final round off both tees in threesomes for the first time all week.

Only 21 players finished the round, with Harris English (69) posting the best score at 3-under 213.

Scheffler, trying to join Tiger Woods as the only players to win three in a row at the Memorial, started 10 shots behind and bogeyed the first hole. And then in a matter of minutes, or so it seems with Scheffler, he was in fourth place after a birdie-birdie-eagle stretch approaching the turn, and then an 8-foot birdie to start the back nine.

But then he had a three-putt par from some 65 feet, back to front, on the par-5 11th. He found a back bunker on the par-3 12th, a spot where it's nigh impossible to keep it on the green (he didn't) leading to another bogey.

And then on the 14th, his iron drifted left and led to a splash and a penalty stroke, adding to a bogey that dropped the world's No. 1 player to 2 under for the round, still eight shots behind.

Rory McIlroy also was eight behind through 16 holes.

And this was no longer the same Muirfield Village, fast and firm and frightening all week, suddenly softened by bursts of rain and even some hail.

No one felt it quite like Justin Thomas, who made a superb par save from behind the 18th green on Friday to make the cut on the number. That got him to the weekend, and he played as a single. Thomas figured that would at least give him the best weather, the best conditions to put up a good number and salvage the week.

But he only played 12 holes in dry conditions before the first delay of 1 hour, 40 minutes. Enough rain fell to make the course a touch easier. And now 32 players still on the course return to a course much softer and easier.

Thomas could only chuckle at his bad luck after his round of 72.

“That’s kind of the joy of being first off because you normally get no wind and an easier course,” he said. “But I missed the window. You know, you've got to play better.”

Poston, meanwhile, can take a little stress off with one more long day of good play. A victory or even a runner-up finish would be worth enough world ranking points to move him high enough in the world ranking to be safe for the top 60 next week and get into the U.S. Open.

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

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny skies. High: 85.

SUNDAY NIGHT: Mainly clear skies. Low: 59.

MONDAY: Mostly sunny skies. High: 86.

MONDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy skies. Low: 65.

TUESDAY: Partly cloudy skies. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Hot and humid. High: 90.

Once the storms move out of the region, we will clear things out pretty quickly into the overnight. Expect skies to become mainly clear. Overnight lows will drop into the upper 50s and lower 60s by Sunday morning.

High pressure will build back into the region for the end of the weekend and the start of next week. Expect mostly sunny skies for both Sunday and Monday, but the warm temperatures will continue into the start of next week as well. High temperatures will warm back into the mid-80s for both Sunday and Monday.

Thunderstorm chances will return to the forecast, looking ahead into the middle of next week. We will bring those storm chances back thanks to more heat and more humidity, and with what looks to be our first summer heat wave moving into the region for the second half of next week.

With all the moisture around, thunderstorms that do develop could have heavy rainfall on Tuesday, and that could continue into Wednesday and Thursday as well. High temperatures will also warm into the low to mid 90s starting Tuesday, through the end of next week on Friday. Once you factor in the humidity, we could see heat index values up to 100° on Wednesday, potentially into the lower 100s on Thursday, then back down into the 90s and possibly the lower 100s for Friday.

As of right now, we will keep the chance of showers and thunderstorms in the forecast into the start of next weekend on Saturday. High temperatures are expected to remain in the 90s, looking ahead into the start of next weekend.

With our first heat wave in the forecast, it’s a good time to review our heat safety tips:

• Drink plenty of fluids. Encourage others to drink plenty of fluids, too.
• Replace salt and minerals with snacks or a sports drink.
• Stay in an air-conditioned place as much as possible.
• If your home does not have air conditioning, go to your predesignated cool location.
• Wear lightweight, loose clothing and take cool showers or baths.
• Limit your outdoor activity. If you must work outdoors, schedule tasks earlier or later in the day.

Stay with WDIV Local 4 News & 4 Warn Weather, we’ll keep you ahead of any storms on Saturday, and also heading into the heat wave next week.

Many analysts favor Pashinyan's Civil Contract party to retain control of parliament, but with many opposition parties running on pro-Russia platforms, the Caucasus nation's place on the international stage has been thrown into the spotlight.

In the months ahead of the election, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have warned Armenia that joining the EU could come at the expense of massive economic damage by disrupting Armenian trade ties with Moscow and its allies.

“These are the first elections in Armenia’s history where geopolitical orientation has become a decisive issue,” Mikayel Zolyan, an analyst and former member of the Armenian Parliament, told The Associated Press from Yerevan. “Until now, Armenia has remained within Russia’s sphere of influence, and this was taken for granted, but now, for the first time, this is being called into question.”

Armenians disappointed with Moscow over Karabakh

Relations between Moscow and Armenia soured in 2023 after Azerbaijan took control of the Karabakh region. The mountainous area had been controlled for decades by ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia, part of a long conflict between the neighboring countries.

Armenian authorities accused Russian peacekeepers deployed to the region of failing to stop Azerbaijan’s onslaught. Moscow, busy with the conflict in Ukraine, has rejected the accusations, arguing its troops didn’t have a mandate to intervene.

“It turned out that Russia’s image as a guarantor of Armenian security was not based in reality, and it all collapsed after the Karabakh war,” said Alexander Iskandaryan, director of the Caucasus Institute in Yerevan.

Pashinyan has begun cautiously weakening ties with Moscow, joining the International Criminal Court in 2023 and suspending its participation in the Moscow-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization in 2024.

Armenia also officially declared its aspirations to join the EU and hosted the European Political Community summit in Yerevan in early May.

A convincing win in the parliamentary vote would give Pashinyan a mandate to continue the trend and finalize a deal with Azerbaijan.

Western ties could bring benefits

Western nations have sought to show some of the advantages that closer ties could bring.

In August, U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev to sign an agreement declaring an end to their decades-long hostilities and including provisions for the creation of a new transit corridor between Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan. An agreement in February could pave the way for a U.S. company to build a new nuclear reactor in Armenia.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also has said that Europe is ready to invest in Armenia's energy industry and its “booming digital scene.”

Trump has endorsed Pashinyan and called him a “great friend” and a leader who is making his country “strong, wealthy, and very secure!”

Opposition parties back Moscow ties

Much of Armenia’s opposition is still dominated by pro-Russia groups and many are also against normalizing relations with Azerbaijan. Key opposition figures have called for Pashinyan to stand down over the loss of Karabakh.

Nineteen political forces, including two blocs and 17 parties, are taking part in the elections.

Pashinyan’s main rival is the Strong Armenia Party, which wants closer business ties with Russia and accuses Pashinyan of attempting to spark a war with Moscow. The party is led by Armenian-Russian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who is on trial for calling for the overthrow of Armenia’s government. He denies the charges.

Armenian investigators said Saturday they issued six arrest warrants for members of the opposition Strong Armenia party, accusing them of buying votes.

It came just hours after Armenia’s Central Election Committee confirmed that the Strong Armenia Party could run in the elections, after a member of another opposition party, Republic, appealed for them to be barred, citing allegations of corruption.

Other potential contenders include former President Robert Kocharyan, who leads the Hayastan bloc and has accused Pashinyan of “seriously undermining” relations with Russia.

Russia applies economic pressure

Russia, which has a military base in Armenia, has warned that Yerevan’s Western turn could have dire political and economic consequences.

Putin has compared Armenia’s course to that of Ukraine in thinly veiled threats and has suggested Russia's conflict with Ukraine started with its attempts to join the EU.

In recent weeks, Russian has introduced new restrictions on Armenian produce after citing sanitation violations, banning Armenian flowers, certain types of cognac and wine, eggplants, potatoes, dried fruits, fish and more.

Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union, a Russian-led customs union, was placed under formal review during a members’ meeting in Kazakhstan in May, with threats to suspend it completely it by December.

During the Kazakhstan summit, the governments of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan also demanded Armenia hold a referendum on whether it would remain in their group or seek EU membership. Pashinyan has rejected the need for such a vote.

Armenian government statistics show 38% of Armenia’s exports went to countries within the Eurasian Economic Union in 2025, the vast majority heading to Russia. In comparison, just 8% of trade went to the EU.

The Russian measures prompted von der Leyen to announce Thursday that the 27-nation bloc would send 50 million euros ($58 million) to support Armenia. In a statement, she said Russia is “weaponizing” economic relations and its ban on imports was “nothing short of economic coercion.”

Facing an uncertain future

Russia could exert further pressure on Armenia because it controls a significant portion of the country’s energy and infrastructure and supplies cheap gas.

“It’s completely unrealistic to say that Armenia can somehow overcome Russian influence in a short period of time,” analyst Zolyan said.

Armenia’s civil society also is concerned by what they have described as Russian-backed disinformation campaigns ahead of the vote. Moscow denies any interference.

Daniel Ionnisyan, head of the Union of Informed Citizens, an independent election watchdog, told the AP that his organization has documented instances of Russian interference through social media campaigns, cyberattacks, vote buying and bribery of journalists.

That echoes findings of a delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which visited Yerevan in May and said foreign interference included illicit political financing, cyberattacks, economic coercion and direct attempts to manipulate the electoral process.

“These hybrid tactics aim not only to sway public opinion but to secure long-term geopolitical leverage over Armenia,” the delegation said.

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Associated Press writer Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed to this report.

President Emmanuel Macron confirmed her death Saturday, saying he and his wife Brigitte had learned with “great sadness” of the passing of a woman who marked French history, and changed the lives of millions through her charity work.

“A great lady of the heart has departed,” Macron said.

For more than half a century, Chirac was the fixed point in her late husband’s restless climb — through Parliament, two terms as prime minister, 18 years as mayor of Paris and, in 1995, the presidency.

Beyond the ceremonial role of first lady, Chirac became a political presence in her own right, closely watched for her influence around her husband, who died in 2019, and for the dry discipline with which she handled his reputation as a womanizer, a subject she later addressed with unusual frankness.

Swarmed by photographers in Corrèze in 1998 — after rumors that Jacques Chirac had been unreachable the night Princess Diana died because he was with an actress — she stepped from her car and deadpanned: “Calm down. I’m not Claudia Cardinale. Or Lollobrigida.”

She appears in the official photographs with her chin lifted, blond hair lacquered into place, a small handbag on her arm, looking less like a spouse than like an institution.

But the caricature never quite contained her.

The Chanel suits, dark glasses, nasal voice and withering judgments became part of the national image.

Beneath them was a relentless worker and a cold-eyed political operator who, almost alone among the wives of French presidents, built a base of power that was her own.

She was born Bernadette Thérèse Marie Chodron de Courcel on May 18, 1933, in Paris, into money, lineage and Catholic duty.

Her father’s family included soldiers, industrialists and diplomats; an uncle had served as an aide to Charles de Gaulle in wartime London.

But her life would be most marked by her time at the prestigious Sciences Po university in Paris, where she met Jacques Chirac, a handsome and much-courted young man whose appetite for politics would come to define them both.

They married in March 1956. The union lasted 63 years and was, by her own account, a long lesson in endurance.

Jacques Chirac was famous for his warmth, appetite and instinctive connection with crowds. Bernadette’s gifts were different, observers said.

She was controlled, socially formidable, devout, exacting and sometimes devastatingly funny.

The Catholic philosopher Jean Guitton called her the last queen of France, and she did little to discourage the idea.

Her husband’s reputation as a womanizer was an open secret she chose, after much pain, to meet with dry humor.

“At first, it was hard. I was very heartbroken, and then I got used to it,” she said years later in a television documentary. “I told myself that was how things were and that I had to accept it with as much dignity as possible.”

Sent to tend her husband’s rural stronghold in Corrèze while he pursued power in Paris, she did far more than tend it. In 1971, she was elected municipal councilor in Sarran. In 1979, she became a general councilor in Corrèze and held the seat until 2015.

Her influence grew after Jacques Chirac became president in 1995. The role of first lady in France has no constitutional power, but she made the Élysée a place where her approval mattered.

She could be loyal, cutting and unforgiving, and understood that campaigns are made not only of speeches and polls but of debts, slights and resentments.

Yet she also carved out a space for female authority inside a male political culture that had little interest in sharing power — making it quietly clear that she would not be reduced to “the wife of.”

By 2023, her severe glamour and political instincts had become familiar enough for Catherine Deneuve to play her in “Bernadette,” a comic movie about her years at the Élysée.

Her deepest grief stayed mostly private.

The Chiracs’ elder daughter, Laurence, developed severe anorexia after meningitis in adolescence and attempted suicide more than once. She never fully recovered and died in 2016 at 58.

That ordeal pushed Chirac toward the charitable work that reshaped her public image.

In 1994, she took over a medical charity that collected coins to support children in hospitals. To millions of French viewers, the woman once mocked for hauteur became the face of hospitalized children and families living around hospital beds.

She continued running it until 2019, when she handed it to Brigitte Macron, the wife of France's current president, and became honorary president.

By then, she had long since become a political force in her own name.

“My husband no longer does politics, but I do,” she said to journalists, after Jacques Chirac left office in 2007.

She famously nicknamed Dominique de Villepin, the Élysée official she distrusted, “Nero,” yet also reportedly helped engineer her husband’s reconciliation with Nicolas Sarkozy, the former protégé who had betrayed him politically.

Her 2001 memoir, “Conversation,” written with journalist Patrick de Carolis, sold hundreds of thousands of copies and introduced the French to a franker, funnier and more independent woman than many had assumed.

After Jacques Chirac left the Élysée, his health declined and his public voice faded. Hers remained sharper for longer. Asked how he was, according to French media, she answered in her flat, unmistakable voice: “He keeps the dog.”

Age and grief eventually drew her out of public view.

By the time Jacques Chirac died in 2019, she was too fragile to take part in the public farewell where France and foreign leaders honored him.

The Élysée said Saturday that Macron was inviting the public to pay tribute to Bernadette Chirac opposite the presidential palace.

Ament's first love was a “terrible” clay wheel skateboard and his passion blossomed on a family trip to California, where he skateboarded and felt the g-forces on urethane wheels on paved asphalt streets and then poured through the pages of Skateboarder magazine on the 20-hour drive home to Montana.

Ament found pictures of decks and ramps that he used as inspiration for designs that his dad, George, would help him build — like how to craft a kick tail and create the perfect tail radius — and took his skateboard to compete in larger contests around the state.

“I think the idea that he was helping me build something was the most important thing to him,” Ament said. “He gave me a life skill.”

Ament's other major life skill, as bassist for the Pearl Jam band he co-founded, also has served him well and provided him with the means to help fund the creation of world-class skateboard parks in Montana. Many are in small, isolated communities, including at least one on every state Native American reservation by the end of the year. Construction starts in two weeks for one on the last reservation on the list, Northern Cheyenne.

“I think a lot of people don’t understand artists,” Ament said on a Zoom with The Associated Press. “I think skateboarding is probably even more of an art than it is a sport.”

Ament has found the parks can help kids survive and thrive outside of daily isolation, a message spread in the short documentary “Paving the Way.” Ament created original music for the film — which captures skateboarding’s power to foster creativity, challenge stereotypes and build community, spotlighting Indigenous youth on the Flathead Reservation — that premiers Sunday at the Tribeca Festival in New York.

The film tells the story through skater and artist Alishon Kelly, who perseveres with her love of skateboarding even with a broken foot. “Paving the Way” is directed by Keelan Williams and was nominated for the Big Sky Award at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.

“I think what he captures really well is just, when you have that thing inside of you, you just feel the need to be created,” Ament said. “I think it explains it really well, how cathartic it can be, how it helps you understand other aspects of your life.”

At the film’s backbone is a partnership between Jeff’s Montana Pool Service — a nod to the large bowl at the center of a skate park — and the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, as five new skateparks rise across the Flathead Reservation.

“We’re reminding people of our first peoples,” Ament said. “I think most people in this country have no idea that they even exist. I think there’s even been certain people in our government that are trying to kind of rewrite history, erase history. You even hear young people, say, younger people than me, talk about the Native people as if they’re immigrants.”

The 63-year-old Ament delivered the commencement speech at MSU-Northern in Montana last month and touched on the importance for the graduates to be being open to getting out and seeing the world, even if they come from areas that can seem disconnected from their rural hometowns. He met with some of the students after the ceremony and found the experience “gave me hope. I think sometimes I don’t always see the best of the younger generation. They’re almost to a person, so gung-ho about getting out, getting after it.”

There also are plans in the works to get “Paving the Way” out in the world — Ament hoped for distribution beyond Tribeca, where Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder was the focus of a film in the festival last year — now available on YouTube or PBS — but wanted to make sure the film is somehow available to those in Indigenous communities and to show them the hope, resilience and joy that can be found at the skateboarding parks.

“These parks are where we come together and where we look out for each other,” said Terrence Lozeau, a skater featured in the film. “You see little kids watching the older ones and learning.”

As for Ament's day job, Pearl Jam returns in September to headline the Ohana festival in Dana Point, California, in its first performance since drummer Matt Cameron left the band in May after 27 years. The band has kept the identity of his replacement under wraps and will make it official at the Sept. 27 festival.

“I think the big question is, if it’s going to work out that this is our future drummer,” Ament told the AP. “It’ll be the first show, so there’s a little bit of a trial happening. It’s exciting. It’s taken a little bit longer than we thought it would take. We’re not in any massive rush either."

Ament said the band has started writing new songs but would like to play a few dates with the new drummer before Pearl Jam hits the studio again next year.

“I think we need to get out and play like 10, 15 shows with whoever our drummer is and just kind of get that part going before we make a record,” Ament said.

Puerto Rican sensation Bad Bunny is performing two shows of his 10-concert Spanish tour in the capital.

Speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane before his arrival in Madrid on Saturday morning, Leo acknowledged the appeal of Bad Bunny when he referred to anecdotal reports of a newfound spiritual awakening, especially among young people in Spain.

The American pope said he understood that young adults are sensing a lack of meaning in their lives and mused that his visit might help “awaken” something in them.

“If they are confronted with the question ‘Do you want to go see Bad Bunny or do you want to go to see the pope?’ I think many will see Bad Bunny,” Leo said. “But I think there will also be a few here to see the pope. And that says something, you know.”

He's wasn't wrong: About 500,000 people, many of them young Spaniards, poured into a Madrid plaza for an evening prayer vigil on Saturday. They shouted “This is the youth of the pope!” as Leo zoomed around in his popemobile, and then jammed to a Spanish rendition of the 1970s American musical “Godspell.”

Leo is opening a weeklong visit to Spain on Saturday. After Madrid, the trip will also take him to Barcelona and the Canary Islands. He’s hoping to bring a message of unity in a country polarized with political and church scandals.

Leo was also asked about news that plans are moving ahead for his beloved Chicago Bears to move to Hammond, Indiana. The board of the team voted this week to move forward with a stadium development project in Hammond.

Asked if he had any words of consolation for Illinois, the Chicago-born pope quipped: “That’s out of my pay (scale).”

In other sporting comments, Leo confirmed that he would root for the United States in the upcoming World Cup, and showed his true team colors when asked about whether supports Real Madrid or the Barcelona soccer team: “That’s easy,” he said. “The pope is for all teams, but Prevost is Real Madrid,” he said, referring to his birth name.

Pope recalls his father's service on D-Day anniversary

Leo fielded a host of questions as he greeted journalists traveling with him. He spoke about Ukraine and Lebanon and his recent proclamation that the Catholic Church’s “just war” doctrine — which establishes the criteria when war can be morally justified — was “outdated.”

With Saturday marking the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, Leo also told a French journalist that he would like one day to visit Normandy, France, as pope.

“My father was there,” he said.

It was a reference to Leo’s father, Louis Prevost, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and participated in the D-Day landings at Normandy as part of Operation Overlord, according to the Pentagon.

Prevost also commanded an infantry landing craft, and after 15 months overseas, attained the rank of lieutenant junior grade, according to a note on the Pentagon website published soon after Leo’s election.

After the war, Prevost became a teacher and school principal in Chicago, got married and he and his wife, Mildred, had three boys. The future pope, Robert Prevost, was the youngest, born on Sept. 14, 1955.

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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.

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun called the strike against its military a “flagrant violation” of the country's sovereignty and international law during an “ongoing escalation that threatens stability and security in the south."

An airstrike on a vehicle on a road linking Nabatiyeh city with Marjayoun town killed a brigadier general, a captain and another soldier, the army said, without releasing their names. Another airstrike on Saksakiyah village killed six people and wounded four, the state-run National News Agency said.

Lebanon's army said the “continued, deliberate, and repeated Israeli aggression” aims to thwart efforts toward a solution "that would restore stability, establish a comprehensive ceasefire and lead to the Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Lebanese territories.”

The Israeli military confirmed hitting a vehicle and said it was “moving suspiciously” toward soldiers near Kfar Tibnit village, after the military received “concrete indications” that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group would direct fire toward Israeli soldiers from the same area.

The military said it operates against Hezbollah and not against the Lebanese army.

Meanwhile, Israel's military announced the deaths of two soldiers in southern Lebanon, without the dates they died.

The latest ceasefire, announced in Washington, came through U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon’s government, which accuses Hezbollah of dragging the country into war and made efforts to disarm it before the latest hostilities. Hezbollah has refused the truce.

Israeli troops have seized around a fifth of Lebanon, pushing farther into the country’s south than at any time since the end of Israel’s 1982-2000 occupation. More than 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon since the war began March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, two days after Israel and the U.S. began attacking Iran.

Israel has since launched a ground invasion of Lebanon and carried out attacks that have displaced more than 1 million people. The fighting has killed at least 31 Israeli soldiers and three civilians.

On Friday, Aoun and Lebanon's prime minister criticized Iran for opposing the latest ceasefire deal, saying Tehran should not use their country as a “bargaining chip” in its talks with Washington. Iran wants a ceasefire deal with the United States to include the situation in Lebanon.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded Saturday on X, saying that after Aoun's comments, “one would think it’s Iran that has occupied a fifth of Lebanon, displaced a quarter of Lebanese and is bombing his country on daily basis.”

“Had Lebanon been a bargaining chip for Iran, we’d have a deal long ago. Save Lebanon from your real foe, Mr. President,” Araghchi added, in reference to Israel.

The Israeli military said that soldiers shot at a vehicle perceived to be accelerating toward them near Hebron. It said an initial inquiry found that the three Palestinians wounded were uninvolved civilians.

Israeli military activity, and settler violence against Palestinians, have surged in the territory since the war in Gaza began in October 2023.

The baby's father, Bethlehem University lecturer Fahd Abu Haikal, told The Associated Press that a bullet struck the windshield before piercing his right hand and striking his son and wife in the back seat Friday evening. Another bullet struck the hood, according to AP journalists who saw the car.

The bullet passed through Sam Fahd Abu Haikal’s face.

“He was the entire world,” Haikal said of the boy, who turned seven months on Friday.

The mother was in critical condition, with shrapnel close to her heart.

The baby's body was wrapped in a Palestinian flag. His father carried him. The men placed the small bundle at their feet and bowed in prayer.

The father demanded justice. “At the end they tell you it was a mistake,” he said. “Nothing is called a mistake.”

The baby’s grandmother, Feryal Abu Heikal, was also in the car. She said that they were driving near a checkpoint and stopped when they saw Israeli military vehicles and soldiers in the distance. She said she initially thought the gunfire was warning shots.

“The scene was horrific to see a 7-month-old baby with a smashed face,” she said. “What kind of army in the world does this?”

Israeli soldiers are rarely punished in such cases

Israeli soldiers accused of harming Palestinians are seldom penalized, and were indicted in fewer than 1% of cases based on 2,427 complaints alleging wrongdoing between 2016 and 2024, according to Israeli rights group Yesh Din.

On Saturday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said that eight people were wounded in settler attacks on the town of Huwara, near Nablus, including from tear gas inhalation and rubber-coated metal bullets.

Israel's military said that riots broke out between Israelis and Palestinians, with rocks and batons, after a reported theft of livestock and soldiers dispersed them. The military said that it was aware of footage showing a soldier using violence against a Palestinian and it was under review. Images appeared to show someone being thrown to the ground and beaten.

Huwara has seen numerous attacks in recent years. In February 2023, scores of Israeli settlers rampaged there, burning dozens of cars and homes, after a Palestinian gunman killed two settlers.

The United Nations said last month that more than 1,000 Palestinians including at least 240 children have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem since the war in Gaza began with the attack by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

More than 700,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 from Jordan and sought by the Palestinians for a future state. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in these areas to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.

Strike kills at least 7 in Gaza

An Israeli strike on Saturday in Gaza City killed at least seven people, including two women, a girl and her father, all from the same family, according to Shifa Hospital. Director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said that a tent near the Rimal school was struck.

Israel's military said that it attacked what it called militants in the area.

Meanwhile, Hamas said that negotiators chaired by Khalil al-Hayyah began a new round of talks in Cairo with mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, in an effort to break a deadlock and move forward in implementing the Gaza ceasefire deal that took effect in October. The previous round of talks was a month ago.

Spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the talks were aimed at fully implementing the ceasefire's first phase and ending Israel’s near-daily attacks in the territory. The fragile ceasefire began in October. While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the truce has seen almost daily Israeli fire.

Nickolay Mladenov, the head of the U.S.-created Board of Peace that oversees the ceasefire, acknowledged last month that the truce has stalled over the key issue of disarming Hamas.

Qassem said the talks will discuss “approaches acceptable to all parties" to implement the second phase, including addressing weapons of Palestinian militant groups and the entry of an international stabilization force.

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Samy Magdy reported from Cairo, and Sam Mednick from Tel Aviv, Israel.

The Ugandan trader was awaiting clearance from authorities for trucks to pass through the Mpondwe border post on Thursday after they were prevented from entering or leaving Uganda as part of escalating measures to prevent cross-border Ebola contagion.

“Our things are here rotting,” she said.

On May 28, about two weeks after Congo declared an outbreak of Ebola in the eastern Ituri province, Uganda closed its western border in a decision that reflected growing fears of cross-border contagion. Exceptions were made only in emergency cases, including for the outbreak response, humanitarian, cargo or security reasons.

But in recent days, as the spread of Ebola in eastern Congo appeared to outpace the response, authorities in the Ugandan frontier district of Kasese have tightened the measures.

Traders say they are frustrated by the slow movement of cargo trucks. Some at the Mpondwe border post told The Associated Press that while they knew the tough measures are provoked by fear of Ebola contagion, they felt that holding up the trucks was excessive.

Sylvia Asiimwe, a clearing agent, pointed to the queue of trucks stretching over a mile on the Ugandan side. At least seven were carrying fish imported from China and destined for the Congolese cities of Beni and Butembo.

Asiimwe was adamant those Congolese towns are in the province of North Kivu, not the Ebola epicenter of Ituri. “The fish is going to spoil,” she said. “So much money.”

‘Ebola has wasted our work’

The Uganda-Congo border is several hundred miles long and crossed by numerous footpaths beyond formal border posts. Trade is often booming along the route up to Mpondwe, and there is kinship between the Bakonzo people on the Ugandan side and the Banande on the other side.

Mpondwe is Uganda's top border post for informal exports that were valued at an estimated $131 million in 2023, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics.

After the recent border closure, some shops were shuttered and young men, deprived of casual work, sat on stools dolefully.

“The situation is bad,” said Ismail Mumbere, who often works as a vendor of roadside snacks on the Ugandan side. “A lot of people earn from here, in many businesses. But now the government has told us there is Ebola. Ebola has wasted our work.”

The current outbreak in Congo is suspected to have infected over 1,000 people. The number of confirmed cases is much lower because many suspected victims succumb to their symptoms outside hospitals and without firm proof they had Ebola.

Congolese authorities, as of Thursday, have confirmed 452 cases with 82 deaths in total. Seventy-one new cases were confirmed within 24 hours, which the authorities said is a sign of “active community transmission”.

The World Health Organization, while declaring the current outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, discouraged border closures. But the U.N. agency also acknowledged that neighboring countries are at high risk of contagion.

“With movement of cargo, and maybe trucks, is mobility of people, and we want to reduce that,” said Arafat Bwambale, a surveillance officer for Kasese, defending the measures.

Officials were trying to stop Congolese nationals from crossing to Uganda by way of more than two dozen footpaths along the Mpondwe border, he said.

All available vaccines and treatments for Ebola don’t work for patients with the rare Bundibugyo type spreading in Congo, making the outbreak worrisome.

Ugandan authorities are cautious after 19 confirmed cases

Uganda has confirmed 19 Ebola cases, all linked to the outbreak in the neighboring country after some Congolese nationals sought treatment in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, before it was known there was an outbreak.

The disease was believed to have been spreading for days or weeks before the outbreak was declared May 15.

Uganda has had multiple Ebola outbreaks of its own since 2000, when the disease killed more than 200 people.

Ebola, named for a tributary of the Congo River, was first discovered in 1976 in simultaneous outbreaks in Congo and present-day South Sudan. Outbreaks are believed to start with the virus spilling over into humans from an infected animal such as a fruit bat. These cross-species infections often happen when people handle and eat wild meat, according to experts.

Once Ebola has infected one person, the virus then spreads through close contact with sick or deceased patients’ bodily fluids, such as sweat, blood, feces or vomit.

Tracing and isolating contacts is seen as key to stopping the spread of Ebola, in addition to getting medical workers proper protective equipment.

Bwambale, the surveillance officer, said the nearest referral hospital in Kasese has an isolation center and is equipped with a lab that can return results on a sample within six hours. In recent days, samples taken from 41 people in the Kasese area tested negative for Ebola, which manifests as hemorrhagic fever.

Still, authorities appeared to be planning more restrictions.

A meeting of the local Ebola task force was likely to come up with “a more restricted way on how both the cargo or the trucks get into the country in a systematic way,” Bwambale said.

That alarms traders for whom the Mpondwe border post is the primary route of business.

Masika, the plantain dealer, said she would not order more goods from Congo until the current outbreak was over. But she would be in trouble if the cargo already in transit didn’t reach various locations in and around Kampala, where the fruits, deep fried or boiled, are a staple of breakfast menus in restaurants.

Masika said she couldn’t countenance a loss of 50 bags, each worth roughly $44.

“We are begging them to help us and open (the border),” she said. “We will not go back to Congo.”

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For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The dismissal on Friday was granted under Washington's Anti-SLAPP laws, which are designed to prevent meritless lawsuits intended to silence opposing points of view on matters of public interest.

Redd, a drummer and vibraphone player who has toured with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Ray Brown, had presided over holiday “Jazz Jams” at the Kennedy Center since 2006. He called off last year’s performance shortly after Trump’s handpicked board at the Kennedy Center voted to add the president’s name to the facility.

“The Center sued Mr. Redd because he publicly and rightly objected to adding Donald Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center, a living memorial to former President John F. Kennedy," Lisa J. Banks, one of Redd's lawyers, said in a statement. "The lawsuit against Mr. Redd was political retribution, pure and simple, by the Trump Kennedy Center, and the Court correctly saw it as such in dismissing the case with prejudice.”

Redd told The Associated Press in an email Saturday morning that he is “very pleased with the judge's ruling.”

The motion to dismiss, filed in March, argued that Redd wasn't contractually obligated to perform. It included the contract provided by the Kennedy Center, which the artist never signed.

Representatives for the Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit's dismissal.

After bursting onto the scene at 15, Andreeva became a Grand Slam champion at 19 when the Russian ended the run of 114th-ranked Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska with a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the French Open final on Saturday.

“I’ve done a lot of visualizations before. Not just this tournament, but I’ve had dreams, I’ve had a lot of thoughts on how it’s going to happen, if it’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen, where,” Andreeva said, still hardly breathing as she talked quickly in true teenage style. "The feeling in real life is so much better than in your dreams.

“I can call myself a Grand Slam champion,” Andreeva added.

The biggest challenges for Andreeva have not been on the court — she already has one of the best attacking baseline games in the sport — it's been the mental side. And her stubbornness.

“Her attitude is difficult,” said Conchita Martinez, Andreeva's coach and a former Wimbledon champion. “You tell her something, and maybe she’s not open to listening. ... When she works hard and when she listens and she does everything, she has no limits.”

Andreeva acknowledged as much during the trophy ceremony.

“I know I can be a tough cookie sometimes and it’s pretty hard to put up with me,” Andreeva said.

The victory took Andreeva one step further than Martinez, who lost the 2000 French Open final to Mary Pierce.

Pierce presented the winner’s trophy to Andreeva, who became the youngest woman to win the clay-court Grand Slam since Monica Seles was 18 when she claimed her third straight French Open in 1992.

“You’re so young and talented. It’s so annoying,” the 24-year-old Chwalinska told Andreeva.

Andreeva took the unusual step of thanking herself “for believing in myself, always giving my 100%, even when it’s tough, trying every day to be better as a person and as a player, believing that I can do this, fighting so many demons inside of me.

“Only I know how tough it was for me,” Andreeva added. “How nervous I was throughout these two weeks.”

Andreeva also thanked her psychologist, who she said was watching from Florida: “Everything that you’ve told me I’ve been trying to use these two weeks.”

Chwalinska opens up about depression

Chwalinska was attempting to become the first qualifier to capture the Roland Garros title. She was a promising junior alongside four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek before she began struggling with depression in 2019.

“Tennis is such a tough sport. It’s so individual. We start so early. We are basically kids when we start,” Chwalinska said. “People are expecting that we are going to behave like adults already and we are just kids really. So the pressure is huge.”

Andreeva was born in Siberia and moved to Sochi and eventually France to develop her tennis career.

She drew a loud applause from the crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier when she spoke a few words of French during the trophy presentation.

“Thanks for your support today and over these past two marvelous weeks here in Paris,” Andreeva said in French. “It was very important for me.”

Breakthrough at 15

Andreeva has been considered a Grand Slam contender since she burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old at the 2023 Madrid Open, where she became the third-youngest player to win a main draw match at a WTA 1000 tournament and made the quarterfinals.

Lately, Andreeva has had to contend with playing under neutral status and without her country’s flag because of the war with Ukraine.

When she beat Marta Kostyuk in the semifinals, Kostyuk refused to shake her hand, as has been the custom for Ukrainian players facing Russians ever since the war started in 2022.

“Every person doesn’t want to have a war in the world,” Andreeva said. “I never think about those things when I play.”

Mastering the wind

The final was played under a mostly sunny sky, though wind was a factor in the first Grand Slam final for both players.

Chwalinska double-faulted on the opening point of the match, but she was the first player to hold serve in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead.

But then Andreeva won nine stright games to take control as she found a way to hit through the wind and answer Chwalinska’s array of spins and drop shots.

Whereas Chwalinska would retreat to handle high balls in the wind, Andreeva often would move forward and take balls on the rise.

“She definitely handled wind much better than me,” Chwalinska said. “She was not running away from the ball.”

Andreeva produced 25 winners to Chwalinska’s 10 and also had fewer unforced errors: 26 to 29.

There was a strong Polish presence in the crowd.

When Chwalinska was introduced, fans held aloft red-and-white Polish flags and chanted her name: “Ma-ja, Ma-ja.”

Andreeva had little support from the crowd, although there was a shout of “Davai, Mirra!” (“Go, Mirra”) in Russian late in the match.

Alexander Zverev plays Flavio Cobolli in the men’s final on Sunday to conclude the wildest Grand Slam in recent memory.

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AP Sports Writer Samuel Petrequin contributed to this report.

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

The June 21 runoff comes at a pivotal moment for Colombia, which under Petro emerged as one of the world’s most vocal advocates for protecting the Amazon and transitioning away from oil, gas and coal, the main drivers of climate change.

Petro opposed new oil and gas exploration contracts, vowed not to pursue fracking, a technique used to extract oil and gas from underground rock formations that has environmental consequences, and sought to position Colombia as a global leader on climate issues. Colombia recently hosted a first-of-its-kind international summit focused on a global transition away from fossil fuels.

Analysts say Cepeda would likely represent continuity of Petro’s priorities. He has emphasized Indigenous rights, environmental conservation and reducing Colombia’s dependence on fossil fuels, while signaling support for continuing Petro’s efforts to shift the country toward renewable energy and away from new oil and gas development.

De la Espriella, meanwhile, has campaigned on a platform centered on security and economic growth. He has voiced support for expanding Colombia’s extractive industries, including fracking, and has argued the country should make greater use of its underground resources.

“While both candidates claim that they value the conservation of the Amazon ecosystem, the choice that voters face is between an approach that focuses on maintaining a pristine ecosystem versus one based on productive exploitation,” said Elizabeth Dickinson, deputy director for Latin America at the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit think tank.

“On issues of climate, this is a choice between prioritizing green energy and reinvigorating fossil fuels,” she added.

Representatives for Cepeda and de la Espriella did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Competing visions for development

Petro has repeatedly clashed with Trump over migration, climate policy and security cooperation. Earlier this year, the two sparred publicly on social media after Petro refused to allow U.S. military deportation flights carrying Colombian migrants to land, prompting Trump to threaten tariffs and visa restrictions before the countries reached a deal.

Espriella, on the other hand, was recently endorsed by Trump, who praised the candidate’s positions on law enforcement and security and said the election was important to U.S.-Colombia relations.

Colombia contains a significant portion of the Amazon rainforest, one of the world’s most important tropical forests, which is increasingly under pressure from deforestation, illegal mining, drug trafficking and climate change.

Petro’s administration tried to combat those things by promoting greater Indigenous participation in environmental policy and sought to strengthen cooperation among Amazon nations. On the international stage, he became one of the most vocal advocates for protecting the rainforest and moving away from fossil fuels.

Supporters of expanding oil and gas production argue Colombia remains heavily dependent on oil and gas revenues and foreign investment, and warn that a rapid transition away from fossil fuels could strain public finances and economic growth.

The tension between economic dependence on extractive industries and environmental protection is likely to shape whichever administration takes office.

How candidates differ on crime and resource extraction

Illegal gold mining, drug trafficking and deforestation have expanded across large areas of the rainforest in recent years, often under the control of armed groups. Rising gold prices, persistent demand for cocaine and the expansion of transnational criminal networks have made environmental crimes more profitable than ever.

"The greatest threat to conservation of the Amazon ecosystem is the expansion of organized crime,” Dickinson said. “The challenge for both of these candidates will be to hold back that criminal expansion into these industries.”

She said criminal groups have increasingly invested in illegal mining and deforestation, turning environmental destruction into a lucrative business model.

That reality has fueled competing visions on security.

Cepeda has signaled support for continuing negotiations with armed groups, building on Petro’s “Total Peace” policy, which sought to reduce violence through negotiations with guerrilla groups, drug-trafficking organizations and other armed actors. Supporters say dialogue offers the best chance of reducing violence, while critics argue some criminal organizations have used the process to consolidate territorial control.

Even under Petro, violence against environmental defenders spiked, said Andrew Miller, advocacy director at Amazon Watch, a nonprofit focused on environmental protection and Indigenous rights. Colombia has repeatedly ranked among the world’s deadliest countries for environmental activists despite the administration’s environmental agenda.

De la Espriella has promised a tougher approach centered on military force and restoring state authority.

Gimena Sánchez, Andes director at the Washington Office on Latin America, a nonprofit focused on human rights, said Indigenous communities are particularly concerned about how aggressive security operations could affect territories that have long been caught between armed groups and the state.

“The history of militarization of Indigenous peoples throughout the Amazon, but especially Colombia, has been devastating,” she said.

What Amazon communities that would be impacted are asking for

Alex Rufino, a member of the Ticuna Indigenous people in Colombia’s Amazon region, said environmental protection cannot be separated from social investment.

He argued that discussions about the rainforest often overlook the people who live there and the challenges they face, including poor access to education, healthcare, housing and employment.

“There are more than a million people living and caring for this territory,” said Rufino, from the Amazonian city of Leticia.

He said stronger social policies could help address some of the underlying pressures driving environmental destruction, including coca cultivation for the cocaine trade, recruitment into armed groups and illegal economic activity. Better access to education, healthcare, housing and jobs, he argued, would give residents alternatives to economies that often contribute to deforestation, illegal mining and conflict.

Climate change is increasingly visible across the region, highlighting droughts in recent years that lowered river levels and contributed to the deaths of fish and pink river dolphins. There are also growing concerns over mercury contamination linked to illegal mining. Studies in Colombia’s Amazon have detected mercury in fish consumed by local communities and elevated levels in some residents, raising alarms about long-term health impacts.

So as politicians in Bogota, the capital, debate security strategies, energy policy and economic growth, many Amazon residents say the next government must first listen to the people living in the rainforest itself.

For Rufino, that means recognizing that the Amazon is not simply a source of oil, minerals or timber, but home to communities that have protected it for generations.

“The dialogue should focus on speaking from the Amazon and with the Amazon,” he said. “With the people. With young people. With women. With elders.”

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

The protest near Parliament in New Delhi marked the movement’s first step into street politics after weeks of dominating social media feeds and news headlines, attracting widespread support among young Indians.

The immediate trigger for Saturday’s protest was the reported irregularity in a recent exam that quickly became a broader outlet for frustration over India’s education system and limited job opportunities.

“Time to turn this tiny joke into a revolution,” the official CJP account on X posted Friday. Young people in India make up more than a quarter of the population.

Protesters seek minister’s resignation within the week

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the online movement, joined the protest after arriving from the U.S. Police had laid steel barricades at the arrivals section of New Delhi’s international airport.

Dipke said in a social media post shortly after arriving that police granted permission to the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, to hold the protest, adding: “Cockroaches gather at Jantar Mantar.”

CJP organizers have demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Supporters chanted slogans including, “Cockroaches are coming, Dharmendra Pradhan is going!”

Participants were encouraged to bring India’s national flag and a book, which organizers said symbolized the right to education and equal opportunity for all. Organizers urged them to remain peaceful and avoid confrontations with police.

Mansi Sehgal, a 26-year-old protester, said the protests began around exam issues but the deeper problem is that people haven’t had a space to speak up or ask questions.

“CJP is doing that. So, this is literally the first thing that people can connect and ask questions,” she said.

“This is a long fight. We are seeing that’s it’s nearly a month that we are demanding (Pradhan’s) resignation,” Dipke said at the protest venue.

Late Saturday, the CJP in a statement said the party is giving the government seven days: Either Pradhan resigns or Prime Minister Narendra Modi removes him.

“If no action is taken within seven days, this movement will spread across the country,” it added.

‘Cockroaches’ face tough challenge

The event was an early test of whether the movement can channel its online popularity into a broader grassroots support around growing frustration among young Indians over education, jobs and economic prospects.

Another challenge is how the party would navigate the kind of pushback that earlier protest movements have faced under Modi’s government.

Over the past decade, authorities have sought to stamp out protests against his government, including demonstrations against a controversial citizenship legislation and farmers’ protests. Some protest movements have faced legal action against organizers and activist arrests, which critics say reflects a broader effort under Modi to suppress dissent.

But despite challenges, protesters expressed optimism for change.

"This is a youth-first movement,” said Satya Prakash Yadav, a student. “Youth is the future and we will ensure that our future is secure.”

The online party has risen swiftly

The CJP emerged only three weeks ago. Supporters proudly call themselves “cockroaches," a term that India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant used to disparage critics and some unemployed youth during a May hearing.

Dipke, a political communications strategist and Boston University student, used the insult as inspiration for a parody political party. CJP’s Instagram page has now amassed more than 22 million followers.

The cockroach has become a wry badge of endurance and political articulation. Videos and memes lampooning unemployment, corruption and political dysfunction have drawn millions of views online. Parody CJP accounts have adopted the cockroach as a political symbol in satirical commentary.

The movement’s messaging blends self-deprecating humor with political criticism. Supporters jokingly describe themselves as unemployed and perpetually online.

They also say they are shut out of meaningful influence. CJP supporters argue that ordinary Indians, particularly young people, under Modi have fewer opportunities, with limited job opportunities and rising unemployment.

It’s a gimmick for Modi supporters

The group’s rise echoes a trend across South Asia of youth movements born out of social media playing a central role in anti-government protests, including uprisings in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and unrest in Nepal.

Young people in India have expressed growing disillusionment with traditional politics. Many are critical of Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, citing concerns over rising religious polarization, widening inequality and mounting economic pressures.

The movement’s skeptics, particularly supporters of Modi’s party, dismiss it as little more than a social media gimmick. They argue its online popularity may not translate into street mobilization and that its rapid rise is likely fleeting.

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Associated Press journalists Shonal Ganguly and Piyush Nagpal in New Delhi contributed to this report.

The Navy had selected 31 sailors to promote from the rank of captain to one-star admiral, but Hegseth recently intervened to strike nine people from the list, including three women and two Black men, according to a defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information not permitted to be released publicly.

As a result, the Navy is not promoting a single woman to the one-star admiral rank this year even though women make up about one-quarter of all Navy officers and nearly one-third of the sea service's midgrade ranks, according to military data from 2024.

The Associated Press spoke with eight female Navy officers of varying ranks and time in service after Hegseth's cuts, which were reported earlier by The New York Times, became public. They spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution from their superiors.

The more junior officers said they saw the development as a sign that their careers would become politicized if they rose too far in the ranks, and some said they felt they now had a limit on how far they could be promoted. Some said it made them feel less valued within the military and wondered whether that wasn't part of the intent.

The Pentagon has not offered any rationale on why the women, or any of the other six people, were removed from the promotion list.

The Pentagon says promotions are based on merit

Sean Parnell, the Pentagon's top spokesman, said on social media this week that “military promotions are given to those who have earned them” and that the Pentagon “will never consider the color of a service member’s skin or their gender as a factor in promotions." The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request seeking further comment.

The Navy's process for choosing which officers to promote to the one-star rank has been relatively constant and transparent over the years. The service convenes a group of officers, called a promotion board, that examines the records of eligible officers and chooses the most qualified.

The board that selected the initial slate of 31 officers for promotion was directed by then-Navy Secretary John Phelan, an appointee of President Donald Trump, to “recommend for promotion the best qualified officers within their respective competitive category.”

The order from Phelan, who later abruptly departed his post in April, said the board should consider an officer's performance, competence and character, among other traits, as part of those qualifications.

It also said that given China's prominence in the Trump administration's National Defense Strategy, “special consideration shall be given to officers who have excelled in their knowledge of the political military affairs and U.S. strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific region, and operational contingency planning for Indo-Pacific war plans.”

Hegseth has long argued, without offering evidence, that women in the military benefit from preferential treatment and are not suited for combat roles.

"For too long, we’ve promoted too many uniformed leaders for the wrong reasons based on their race, based on gender quotas, based on historic so-called firsts,” Hegseth told hundreds of military leaders in September.

The approach, he asserted, made the Pentagon “less capable and less lethal.”

Navy leaders and other top officials had approved promotion list

Phelan's order said the Navy cannot discriminate based on criteria such as race and sex, and it specifically noted that “this guidance shall not be interpreted as requiring or permitting preferential treatment of any officer or group of officers on the grounds of race, religion, color, sex.”

The full list of 31 people to be promoted was approved by Phelan, other Navy leaders and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, before it reached Hegseth, who chose to make the changes, the defense official said.

While Hegseth is within his rights to intervene in the list, “it’s just not the norm” and its “a break from tradition” said Katherine Kuzminski, a researcher specializing in military recruiting and retention at the Center for New American Security think tank. She said that promotions historically have been seen “the services’ business.”

Kuzminski noted that “this is a decision that’s not being made by the U.S. Navy — it’s being made by the secretary of defense” and said Hegseth's growing interference in operational aspects of the military services such as promotions is creating “tension" about what “normal” will look like going forward.

Some of the more senior Navy officers who spoke with the AP expressed concerns about the message it sends to the next generation of young sailors.

In addition to pulling the recent promotions of three women to admiral, Hegseth shortly after he took office fired Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the service's top officer and the first woman to hold the job. He never explained his rationale.

Since then, he also has fired two other female three-star admirals without explanation.

Some of the officers who spoke to the AP said that while they were encouraging female sailors to stick with the Navy, they acknowledged that message is coming at a difficult time.

Kuzminski said the rhetoric and actions surrounding women in the military “affects individual service member decision-making and it also affects family unit decision-making,” including whether people make a career of the military.

Kuzminski said that following the monthslong hold on military promotions by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., during the Biden administration, surveys showed that partisan politics spilling into the day-to-day lives of troops affected their decision-making.

One officer said this impact was not confined to women.

In conversations with other sailors in her unit, she said that male sailors were hesitant to deal with what appears to be a growing politicization of simply following the orders of previous administrations.

Instead, the longtime owner of Richard Childress Racing held a news conference Saturday at the track to publicly address the unexpected death of Kyle Busch for the first time since the two-time Cup Series champion died on May 21 after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis.

For Childress, whose NASCAR team weathered the loss of seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt in a fatal crash at the 2001 Daytona 500, the ache was all too familiar.

“You lose two of the greatest drivers that’s ever driven a car in NASCAR and to have to go through it again,” Childress said. “I just feel so bad for the family and the employees and everybody. But yeah, I mean, I haven’t slept very good lately.”

Childress said he spoke to Busch the night before he was hospitalized after becoming unresponsive while testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord, North Carolina.

Busch, who was in a contract year, died the next day. His death certificate cited hemorrhagic shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation. The 41-year-old was in the midst of a 105-Cup race win drought.

But he had finished a season-best eighth at Watkins Glen after a crew chief change, and Childress said there were positive discussions about Busch returning to the No. 8 Chevrolet next year.

“He said, ‘You give me cars like you gave me the last three weeks, I will make The Chase this year,’” Childress said. “We were that confident.”

With RCR switching to the No. 33, Austin Hill has driven Busch’s car the past two races. Childress said Hill will remain in the ride the rest of the season.

“We don’t want to put a burden back on everybody trying to go from one driver to the other,” Childress said.

The team is safeguarding the No. 8 for the possible Cup career of 11-year-old Brexton Busch, even if Kyle’s son races for another team.

Kyle and Brexton Busch had been on hunting trips recently with Childress, who watched the father and son race at a dirt track in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area.

“Talking to Kyle at different times, knowing his plans and what he had in the future for Brexton and his family,” Childress said. “The many things that we all could have done together, that was probably the toughest part of this whole thing.”

Childress, 80, founded his team in 1969 and has been leaning on grandsons Austin and Ty Dillon to guide the organization along with RCR president Mike Verlander and team executive Mike Dillon, Childress’ son-in-law.

“It’s never easy,” Childress said. “They just gave me a little bit of time to get my head right.”

He believes Busch should go immediately into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which elected its 2027 class last month.

“Kyle will go down in history as one of the greatest race drivers that’s ever been,” Childress said. “His legacy is that he was a man that a lot of people thought he was tough to deal with, and that he wouldn’t last long. He is a man that loves his sport. He loved it so much he wanted to see his family carry on in it. To see the enjoyment in Kyle’s eyes watching his son race was just unbelievable.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

The Church of the Messiah in Detroit hosted the march, now in its 19th year.

His aunt, Doretha Craig, adding “I usually come up for all the marches but this is the first year that we have our own float with our loved ones on there, so it will be a great event and also show they’re not forgotten,” said Doretha Craig, whose son was shot and killed.

His little nephew, adding “I love my uncle, he played catch with me and I miss him too much.”

Many here have lost loved ones to senseless shootings.

Denise Taylor said “I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what my family is going through.”

Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison says while his officers are working to keep us safe, it takes every one of us, to end gun violence.

“Without the community support I can tell we can’t solve and we can’t prevent,” said Chief Bettison. “And so when everyone is working as one Detroit it makes a tremendous difference,” he said pointing to the crowd.

Families say rallies like this, are an important way to honor their loved ones - while demanding change.

“If everybody would think about if it was their family the world would be a better place. We all just need to get along,” Taylor said.

Phillips, the son of Charles' sister Princess Anne, wed Harriet Sperling, a nurse working for the National Health Service, in a church ceremony in the southwestern English village of Kemble.

They were joined by more than 100 guests including Prince William, Princess Catherine, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice and other royals.

The bride wore a high-neck lace gown designed by Emilia Wickstead.

Phillips, 48, is the son Anne and her first husband Mark Phillips. He is the late Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest grandson, and William and Prince Harry’s first cousin.

Phillips split from his first wife Autumn Kelly, with whom he has two children. His engagement to Sperling was announced last year.

Well-wishers cheered when the bride and royals arrived, and after the ceremony guests held umbrellas in heavy rain to throw rose petals over the couple as they left the church.

Buyer was sentenced to 22 months in prison in 2023 for trades made while working as a consultant and lobbyist. He was ordered to forfeit more than $350,000, representing the amount of the illegal gains, and pay a $10,000 fine. He was released in 2025.

The Supreme Court in May rejected Buyer's appeal without comment or noted dissent.

In granting “a full, complete, and unconditional pardon,” Trump cited Buyer’s career as a judge advocate general in the Army and in the House that was “distinguished and highly productive.” The pardon was dated Thursday and released by the White House late Friday.

Buyer said the pardon “corrects a politically motivated prosecution” and that it was “horrific to be imprisoned for a crime that I did not commit.” He maintains that he is innocent.

Trump used his Truth Social media platform on May 31 to share a pair of letters requesting a presidential pardon for Buyer, a lawyer and Gulf War veteran who left office in 2011. He was a House prosecutor at Democratic President Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment trial and in 2016 he served on Trump’s transition team focusing on veterans’ issues.

A letter signed by more than 40 former Republicans in Congress said Buyer was “targeted by the deep state” because of his involvement in Clinton’s trial.

“Like you, Mr. President, Steve has been the victim of lawfare conducted by the Biden Administration,” they wrote in the April 2025 letter.

A second letter, from five current House Republicans, said pardoning Buyer would bring justice to his case. The June 2025 letter was signed by Tom Cole of Oklahoma, Ken Calvert of California, Marlin Stutzman of Indiana, Jack Bergman of Michigan and Pete Sessions of Texas.

Buyer, 67, was convicted in connection with insider trading involving the $26.5 billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, announced in April 2018, and illegal trades in the management consulting company Navigant when his client Guidehouse was set to acquire it in a deal publicly disclosed weeks later.

The Constitution gives a president broad power to grant pardons for federal crimes. The pardons do not erase a recipient’s criminal record but can be seen as act of mercy or justice.

The San Antonio Spurs are down 0-2. They say they're unfazed.

Such is the state of things in the NBA Finals, where both teams were taking a travel day on Saturday. Practices resume Sunday and Game 3 of the title series is Monday night at Madison Square Garden, where President Donald Trump will be watching alongside fans who are willing to pay nearly $10,000 for seats so far from the court that 7-foot-4 Spurs center Victor Wembanyama will look tiny.

The Knicks insist they're not celebrating yet. The Spurs insist they're not defeated yet.

“Every single day, we chip away and try to be the best that we can be. ... Even with the series it is now, next game, mindset has to be 0-0 again,” said Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, the late-game hero in both the Game 1 and Game 2 wins that New York got in San Antonio to take an absolute stranglehold on the series. “It’s just how it has to be. You can’t be comfortable. You can’t be satisfied with anything. Just got to continue to push forward.”

That's all they've done for a month and a half now.

They've won 13 consecutive games, the second-longest single-season playoff run in NBA history behind only a 15-game winning streak by Golden State in the 2017 postseason. They have a chance to be the first team in NBA history to make it through the last three rounds of the playoffs — the conference semifinals, conference final and NBA Finals — unbeaten.

“One of the things that we preach is being present,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “In order to be present, you can’t think about the past, you can’t think about the future. For all of us as humans, that’s hard as heck to do. I constantly, boom, flick myself in the head, tell myself, ‘Be present, be present, be present.’ I obviously mention it to the group, too. With those guys being who they are, they’ve really embraced it, and they’re really trying to live it every single moment during this run.”

They don't get rattled, even on this stage. Counting the NBA Cup final, which isn't recognized in standings or official league stats, the Knicks are 4-1 against the Spurs this season. The four wins by New York all have something in common: the Knicks trailed by double digits in each of those games.

— Cup final in Vegas, the Spurs led by 11 (and lost by 11).

— Regular-season game at MSG, the Spurs led by 12 (and lost by 25).

— Game 1 of the finals, the Spurs led by 14 (and lost by 10).

— Game 2 of the finals, the Spurs led by 12 (and lost by one).

“We just need to figure it out,” Wembanyama said. “We need to keep working on it.”

The only Spurs win over New York was the regular-season game at home, where they won by two after trailing by 19 and never leading by more than six.

Go figure.

“It was going to take everything to win the series anyway,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle said. “Putting ourselves in this type of predicament is going to be tough, but I don’t think it’s anything we can’t handle.”

The Knicks have an idea of what's coming on Monday.

The Garden will be shaking to its core, since people who spent the kind of money that they're spending to come see a basketball game likely won't decide to sit quietly in their seats. The energy in the city will be beyond compare, with a 53-year wait for another NBA championship now just two games away and oddsmakers — who have the Knicks at -550 to win the series — basically saying it's inevitable. And the Spurs will come out throwing whatever punches they have left to throw.

“Knowing them, there’s going to be another level,” Brunson said. “We have to be prepared and be ready to match it and play for 48 minutes. No matter what goes on in the game, we have to have each other’s back, what’s going on, who is on a run, what’s not, who is up, who is down, making sure we are playing together for 48 minutes is really important.”

If the Knicks could use a cautionary tale, they need look no further than Mikal Bridges. He was with Phoenix when the Suns took a 2-0 lead in the 2021 finals against Milwaukee. The Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo won that series in six games. It's a different situation now — those two Suns wins were in Phoenix, not on the road — but it is a reminder that two wins aren't enough.

“It’s still 0-0 as far as we’re concerned,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said. “Being up 2-0 means really nothing. This (San Antonio) team is going to come out on Monday with an unbelievable amount of energy and desperation, and we’ve got to be better.”

___

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

Signs of trouble were everywhere.

The mood in New York was abysmal.

Mike Brown's future as coach was a hot topic.

“Stuff's going to happen,” Brown, the Knicks coach in his first year, said that night in Atlanta. “Plenty of teams have been down 1-2. I even think Oklahoma City was down 1-2 last year and they ended up winning it. I'm not saying we're going to win it or anything like that, but the reality of it is it's seven games and you take one game at a time.”

The Knicks have played 13 games since. The results: win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win and win. One game at a time, one win at a time, and quite possibly, one championship at a time. The Knicks are back in New York with a 2-0 lead over San Antonio in the NBA Finals, still riding the strength of a 13-game winning streak.

A streak like that has happened once before in NBA postseason history, when counting just single-season winning runs. Golden State won 15 in a row on its way to the 2017 title.

The common thread between those Warriors and these Knicks? That would be Brown. He was an assistant on that Golden State staff and went 12-0 as acting head coach during the playoffs while Steve Kerr was sidelined by back issues.

“You've got to have good players,” Brown said. “I’m not that smart. You've got to have good players that carry you.”

Brown's playoff record, officially, is a stellar 64-42 as a head coach.

Throw those 12 games with the Warriors on his record — which, by NBA rule and precedent, doesn't happen because Kerr was still head coach, just not present on the sideline for those games — and Brown's playoff winning percentage would rise to .644. That would be third best in NBA history among coaches with at least 100 playoff games, behind only Phil Jackson and Kerr.

Either way, Brown now has to be considered the coaching king of the playoff winning streak.

A look inside this run by New York:

Dominant margins

— The Knicks have outscored Atlanta, Philadelphia, Cleveland and San Antonio in these 13 games by 273 points, the biggest 13-game margin in NBA playoff history. Before this stretch, the biggest 13-game playoff point-differential margin was 225, by those Warriors — the team that Brown led on an interim basis — in 2017.

— All but two of the Knicks' wins in this streak were by double figures. The exceptions: Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Philadelphia (a six-point win) and Game 2 of the NBA Finals against San Antonio (a one-point win). Six additional wins have come with a final margin between 10 and 16 points, and the other five were total blowouts — the Knicks winning those by 29, 30, 37, 39 and 51 points.

— The Knicks have led by 40 or more in four different games during the streak, including a 61-point lead at Atlanta in the clinching game of that East first-round series.

Rarely in trouble

— The Knicks have faced double-digit deficits in just four of the games, with two of those the first two of these NBA Finals against the Spurs. They trailed by 14 in Game 1 and by as many as 12 in Game 2.

— They also trailed Philadelphia by 12 in Game 3 of the East semifinals and Cleveland by 22 in Game 1 of the East final.

Road warriors

— New York is 8-0 on the road during this winning streak, the final margin in those games — even with a one-point game from Friday in there — averaging a staggering 21.5 points.

— The only team in Knicks history with a longer road winning streak, either in the regular season or playoffs, was the 1969-70 team that once won 12 in a row away from home. That team went on to win New York's first NBA title.

___

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

Hegseth, speaking at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer in northwestern France during commemorations for the 82nd anniversary of the June 6, 1944, landings, said that today, “different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies.”

“Beaches in Spain and Italy and Greece and Bulgaria. Boats and men arrive,” he said.

“When will European capitals do something about that invasion? Or is it too late?” he added. “I pray not, and I believe not.”

Hegseth did not use the word immigration, but his remarks echoed broader Trump administration criticism of Europe over migration, borders and what U.S. officials have described as censorship of nationalist and far-right voices.

On Saturday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office condemned U.S. Vice President JD Vance for blaming immigration for the killing of Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old British student stabbed to death in Southampton, even though both Nowak and his killer were British.

In December, the Trump administration’s national security strategy warned that Europe faced the “prospect of civilizational erasure” and could become “unrecognizable” within 20 years.

The Iranian Football Federation's secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, were among 14 backroom staff and officials without U.S. visas before games in Los Angeles and Seattle, according to Iranian state television.

It was unclear whether the federation’s president, Mehdi Taj, had been issued a visa.

The team’s participation in the World Cup has been complicated by the Iran war. Problems with processing visas had earlier led Iran to move its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, which is on the border with California.

The federation accused the U.S. of “vindictive behavior” in refusing visas for “key managerial and administrative members” of the team.

The decision had “effectively denied the Iranian national team the opportunity for a level playing field and a competition free from discrimination,” according to a statement on the federation's website. It added that the federation would pursue the matter through world soccer authority FIFA.

The Iranian Embassy in Ankara, meanwhile, responded to an earlier social media post from U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack, in which he congratulated his embassy staff for processing the Iran team’s visas.

“You cannot whitewash conduct that violates FIFA regulations and breaches the United States’ host obligations merely by praising yourselves,” the Iranian post read. “This represents the worst possible form of politically biased interference in sport.”

One U.S. official earlier told The Associated Press that all players on the Iranian team were approved for visas, while a second official said visas had been issued for players, coaches, trainers and some support staff. A third official suggested that some applicants affiliated with the team had been rejected for requesting visas “under false pretenses.”

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the visas publicly.

The squad has been preparing for the World Cup at a training camp in Antalya. The team said that it has already received visas from the Mexican Embassy in Ankara.

The players, dressed in blue blazers over white T-shirts, left the luxury Mardan Palace hotel in Antalya on Saturday afternoon. They boarded a private jet at the Mediterranean city's airport and were due to fly directly to Mexico.

Iran plays its first two games in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15, and Belgium six days later, then heads to Seattle to face Egypt on June 26. Iran and the U.S. could meet in the round of 32 on July 3 in Arlington, Texas, if both teams come second in their groups.

In March, U.S. President Donald Trump had discouraged Iran from participating in the tournament, saying he didn’t think it was “appropriate” and raising concerns over players’ “life and safety.” A day later, Iran’s national team pushed back, saying “no one can exclude” it from playing.

Iran finalized its team on Monday, including 17 home-based players whose clubs haven't played since February because of the war. Star forward Sardar Azmoun was dropped in March, reportedly because of a social media post that angered Iranian authorities during the war.

Iran’s sports minister said in March that it would “not be possible” for the team to participate in the World Cup, but the republic’s soccer federation said in May that it was moving ahead with a team. The federation had insisted that all players and staff be granted visas, including those who had military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

___ Seung Min Kim and Matthew Lee contributed to this report from Washington.

It also comes against the backdrop of the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, mounting political violence in President Donald Trump's orbit and growing fears of artificial intelligence-fueled disruptions, creating a complex threat environment for authorities.

Overseeing the sprawling security apparatus is a legion of federal agencies, state and local police departments and private entities. Their responsibilities range from securing stadiums and fan zones to escorting teams and protecting dignitaries.

Their tools include hunter drones that can shoot nets over objects in restricted airspace, bag-inspecting robot dogs, giant X-ray trucks and thousands of AI-powered cameras trained on public spaces soon to be thronged by fans.

In the U.S., it’s “78 Super Bowls over 39 days,” said Andrew Giuliani, executive director of Trump’s World Cup task force, which is overseeing the multiagency effort.

“There’s never been a summer like this in American history from a security angle,” said Giuliani, son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

“We’re as prepared as we can be.”

An unprecedented security collaboration

The tournament has the same high-level federal security designation as the Super Bowl, just below a presidential inauguration or a national political convention, ensuring federal, state and local coordination. It coincides with other major events linked to the 250th anniversary of America's founding.

So far, Giuliani said, there are no credible threats.

The Department of Homeland Security, focused on Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown and hit by a funding lapse only recently resolved, estimates up 7 million people will visit the U.S. for the World Cup.

The U.S. Secret Service, under scrutiny after security breaches and attempts on Trump’s life, is in charge of protecting world leaders who show up to cheer on their countries. Trump has expressed interest in attending a match.

“I feel very comfortable where we’re at, and we feel like we have a zero-fail mission,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Congress this week, noting that the Secret Service was understaffed by about 860 agents. “But it’s going to be complicated.”

Officials have indicated they are confident they can keep Trump safe because they will be integrating his usual security into the robust World Cup plan on days he may watch a match.

The FBI has spent two years developing its security plan, incorporating lessons from other major events such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and New Year’s Eve ball drop in New York and testing them at smaller ones, including last week’s Israel Day parade in the city.

"We prepare for the worst day,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Amit Kachhia-Patel in New York told The Associated Press. “And that’s how we go into any single event."

To help cover security costs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has distributed $625 million to the 11 U.S. host cities. An additional $250 million is being directed toward tracking and neutralizing suspect drones.

The disbursement of those funds was held up by the department's funding delay, which the Republican administration has argued hindered security planning.

Others involved in the planning effort said the federal government could have played a more hands-on role even before the shutdown.

John Cohen, a former senior DHS official who has been briefing state leaders before the matches, said the government was largely absent from planning meetings last year and did not begin sharing threat intelligence with host regions until recently.

“With an event of this magnitude, one would expect the federal government would’ve played a more active role,” Cohen said. “It felt like a missed opportunity to showcase that collaboration.”

Evolving threats from drones and AI

In January, thousands of officials involved in World Cup security gathered for exercises simulating crowd surges, vehicle attacks and mass shootings.

A month later, the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran.

“The security picture fundamentally changed,” said Stefano Ritondale, chief intelligence officer at Artorias, a defense intelligence company not involved in the security preparations. “There’s a major difference in preparing for a lone wolf radical who rams his car into a public place and a terrorist who is bankrolled by a foreign country we’re at war with.”

Among the greatest concerns are drones.

Since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022, drones have become a prominent weapon in conflicts including Russia’s war in Ukraine and Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“If there is one threat that keeps me up at night, it is from drones,” said New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, whose department is partnering with the FBI on drone mitigation.

Drones are prohibited over stadiums and fan zones, and Kachhia-Patel said the FBI has a “full suite of options” to thwart incursions. They include agents monitoring the sky and a “variety of means” to safely down the devices, he said without elaborating.

Before this year’s World Cup, the growing sophistication of AI videos was a particular concern, with officials warning that state actors can harness the technology to sow misinformation and panic.

On match days, the FBI will activate joint operations centers in each host city, bringing together local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to monitor and investigate threats.

“If there’s a video that shows an explosion going off at a site, and it’s AI generated, we have people on the ground who can validate whether or not that’s true,” said Kachhia-Patel.

A scoring opportunity for private tech

Some AI companies have pitched themselves to police departments in host cities, promising to comb through data and surveillance on game days to prevent threats, including unruly fan behavior.

“We know sports fanaticism around here in terms of the NFL and baseball to some extent, but nothing like international soccer,” said Jake Becchina, a police spokesperson in Kansas City, Missouri, which is hosting six matches.

The department has contracted with Peregrine Technologies, which promises to sift through police data and publicly available information such as team practice locations and the country affiliation of popular bars, to get ahead of possible conflict.

In Dallas, a recent $120 million tech upgrade will give local police body cameras capable of real-time translations, helping law enforcement communicate with international visitors soon to descend on the region.

Several drone detection and mitigation companies are joining efforts to help federal agencies secure the skies.

One of those companies, Fortem, has claimed to have signed a multimillion-dollar contract with DHS before the World Cup for an unusual drone mitigation strategy: quadcopters that can shoot nets at encroaching drones to trap them in midair. A spokesperson for DHS declined to discuss the contract.

Just as the teams will aim to perform their best on the pitch, Giuliani said the security planning was a unique chance to “show off American exceptionalism."

“If we do our job right,” Giuliani added, “nobody will be talking about security at the World Cup.”

____

Santana reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.

Staged at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater, the musical is in its third run on Broadway — and earned 11 Tony nominations, including for best revival. It's resonating the most with audiences this time, they said. “Three is the charm,” Ahrens said.

“When we originally did it on Broadway, which was 1998, I think a lot of people, if not most people, were thinking about this piece as a period piece,” Flaherty said. “I think now, people are responding to it as a contemporary story.”

Adapted from the 1975 novel by E.L. Doctorow, the show's book is by the late playwright Terrence McNally. It depicts a wide swath of the American experience in New York at the turn of the 20th century, from Black Americans in Harlem to Jewish immigrants on the Lower East Side to the white upper-class residents of the suburbs of Westchester County.

The story that unfolds is fiction, but features historical figures like activist Emma Goldman, educator and leader Booker T. Washington, banker J.P. Morgan, auto founder Henry Ford and illusionist Harry Houdini. The show's breadth — encompassing immense tragedy as well as great optimism — and the depth of the actors' performances has been bringing Broadway audiences to their feet, often mid-act.

It also has people returning. “They’re like, ‘I’m coming back with my parents,’ ‘I'm coming back with my grandchildren,’ ‘I’m coming back with my grandparents,’ and it’s not even like they have to see it. They want to experience it with them,” said Brandon Uranowitz, who had his own return to the show, decades after he acted as a child in the pre-Broadway production.

Now, he's nominated for best lead actor in a musical for playing the role of Tateh, a Jewish immigrant from Latvia. “I think it’s sort of speaking to this generational reckoning that we’re having with America and our national identity.”

‘Ragtime’ at the Tony Awards

The original production lost the best new musical Tony Award to “The Lion King,” but Ahrens and Flaherty took home the prize for best original score, McNally best book and William David Brohn best orchestrations in a competitive year. It also won Audra McDonald, the Tonys' most decorated performer, her first award. A 2009 revival received six nominations, but lost best revival to “La Cage aux Folles.”

This could be the year it finally wins a best show award: “Ragtime” is a front-runner for best musical revival, against strong competition from “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and “The Rocky Horror Show.” Among its other nods are nominations for all three leads, and for featured performers Nichelle Lewis and Ben Levi Ross.

Portraying a range of American experiences

Joshua Henry, nominated alongside his costar for best lead actor, plays Coalhouse Walker Jr., a celebrated Black pianist at the center of his community in Harlem. Caissie Levy, nominated for her role of Mother, is the matriarch of a wealthy white family in a suburb outside New York City.

A cast of supporting characters, and a large ensemble, flesh out the lead trio's lives, relationships and eventual connections: Lewis plays Sarah, Coalhouse’s beloved; Ross is Mother’s Younger Brother and Colin Donnell her husband, Father; Shaina Taub is Goldman, the real-life activist.

Emotions in the first act peak during “Wheels of a Dream,” Lewis' iconic duet with Henry, which draws standing ovations, mid-song, nearly every night.

“She is a person who represents women — especially women of color — who don’t have a voice, women of color who are fighting to have a voice, women of color who find strength in other ways because we weren’t allowed to have it,” Lewis said of Sarah. But above all, she said, the character represents the power of trust, love and hope as a buoying force.

That hope is also what propels Uranowitz's Tateh. “Despite everything he goes through, despite the rejection, despite the oppression, despite the othering, despite antisemitism,” it’s what persists.

In the song “Journey On,” his character arrives in New York with his young daughter just as Mother's husband, Father, leaves on an expedition to the North Pole.

“You depart on a ship from a country like this,” Tateh sings, watching Father leave. “Why on Earth would you want to be leaving?” The two men are perched on separate, moving staircases on a sparsely furnished stage, but sing from the same height, emphasizing the valley between their experiences.

Like many of the characters, Father and Tateh (also “father,” in Yiddish) are nameless. The intention, Uranowitz said, is for aspects of Tateh's journey — from immigrant artist to successful moviemaker — to reflect the experience of Jewish Americans, and to resonate with people from other backgrounds as well. “If you pan out, which ‘Ragtime’ does so beautifully, it also holds just a capital ‘I’ immigration experience. And I think that’s really important for people to see right now.”

Holding a mirror to the current moment

The musical feels so relevant to 2026 that audience members have asked director Lear deBessonet, also Tony-nominated, if the creative team rewrote the script for this production. Lyrics by Ahrens and dialogue by McNally about the discrimination and brutality that Black Americans and immigrants face can seem straight out of the current moment. There are also references to keeping the country “great,” and commentary on celebrity culture and the power of industry leaders.

But the text hasn't changed. “We, in the audience, are hearing it differently,” deBessonet said. “There’s something that actually, I think is very unifying about coming together with a community of our time to look at this other time, and to look at the promise and the wound of America right next to each other.”

A 2027 tour, with deBessonet and the Broadway run’s creative team at the helm, will bring the show to a wider audience around the country.

“It does not feel like we’re looking back. It feels like we're looking in a mirror at ourselves,” Flaherty said.

There is one small change, however. When “Wheels of a Dream” is reprised in the final number, the ensemble sings “Our son will ride on the wheels of a,” and then takes a long pause before a final, resonant, “dream.” The goal is not to prescribe a particular emotional response, but to allow viewers — and the actors themselves — space for their own interpretations.

“In that moment, every single actor, every artist on that stage is invited to fill that moment with whatever feels honest to them that night,” deBessonet said. “Sometimes you can really feel that there is exuberant hope in the air. And sometimes there is grief or rage or confusion,” she added.

Ahrens said it's been a “revelation” to see how audiences have responded to the production, before and after the 2024 presidential election — and throughout this Broadway run, which concludes on Aug. 2. “It's such a visceral thing,” she said. “I don't think we've ever experienced anything like it.”

The cover was off and Portage Lake sparkled in the sun. But before the brothers could leave a narrow wooden dock, they had a decision to make: how much gasoline to put in the pontoon’s 52-gallon engine.

Recreational boaters, like motorists, are feeling a pinch from the Iran war. U.S. gas prices have come down in recent weeks, but a gallon of regular gas still cost an average of 34% more Friday than it did a year earlier, according to motor club AAA. The price of diesel fuel, which is also used by some boaters, is up 53% from last year.

Ethanol-free gas, which many boaters, classic car owners and lawn mower users prefer, is anywhere from 20 cents to $1 per gallon more than regular fuel, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores, which also represents fuel retailers.

One gas station near Portage Lake, which is 60 miles west of Detroit, is selling ethanol-free fuel for $7 per gallon. Amine said he didn't plan to fill the boat's tank ahead of Memorial Day weekend.

“The cost is going to be a lot more than it was last year,” Amine said. “I think it’s probably a little bit smarter to do what you need and fill it as much as you need, because who knows when this conflict’s going to end."

The National Marine Manufacturers Association estimates that 100 million Americans go boating each year, contributing to an industry worth $230 billion annually. The trade group, which represents companies that make boats, marine engines, boating equipment and accessories, said its conversations with boaters indicate that most still plan to head out on the water this year, but in some cases, gas prices are curtailing their plans.

“There were a number of people within that who said, ‘I am going to have to change my behavior’,” said Ellen Bradley, the association’s chief brand officer. “I may not go as far. I may not as fast. I may spend more time anchored and swimming. I may spend more time at the dock.”

Neil and Kathleen Donohoe sold their home in Colorado and now live aboard a 50-foot, diesel-powered boat dubbed the Granuaile, which is the Gaelic name of Grace O'Malley, a 16th century sea captain known as Ireland's pirate queen. They’ve spent the last seven years cruising up and down the East Coast and to the Bahamas.

Maintenance on the boat – not fuel – is typically their greatest expense, Neil Donohoe said. But lately, the cost to fill up the boat — which can hold 1,500 gallons — is eye-popping. They talk to other boaters and use various marine apps to find the cheapest gas.

“It’s not driving us not to cruise, but it’s making a difference,” he said.

This summer, the couple plan to stick around the Chesapeake Bay area instead of heading further north. They’ve already been to Maine and to Canada, they reasoned, and they don't feel the urge to go again while gas prices are so high.

“It seems a little gross to spend that kind of money when so many people are struggling,” Kathleen Donohoe said.

Gas prices are also impacting boating-related businesses. The Seattle Sailing Club, which offers lessons, chartered cruises and rentals, said its fuel bill has gone up 10.7% since the beginning of the war.

Lindsey Brown, the club's office manager, said its fleet of 30 boats usually rely on wind power, but they all have gas or diesel backup engines. In April, the marina where the boats are docked charged $6.50 per gallon for diesel, she said. By late May, that had risen to $7.99 per gallon.

“We are just heading into our busy season, so we may see a more dramatic effect on our business if the price of fuel doesn’t change or continues to increase,” Brown said. Brown, who lives on a sailboat at the marina, said the service she uses to pump out wastewater just added a fuel surcharge to her bill.

It's also the busy season for Melissa Kunnert, who owns NautiMi On the River, an ice cream and gift shop near Portage Lake. She rents out a tiki-themed pontoon boat for parties and hosts three-hour evening cruises for $50 a person starting after Memorial Day.

Kunnert decided not to raise her prices this summer even though it costs more to fill up the pontoon. She wonders if the higher gas prices affecting all forms of travel might benefit her business by keeping more potential customers closer to home.

“I’m interested to see if we’ll have the same amount as previous years (or) if we will have more because people don’t want to use their gas, they want ours," Kunnert said.

In Traverse City, Michigan, a few hours north of Portage Lake, Robert Hinds decided to add a $50 fuel surcharge to the fishing trips he offers as the owner and operator of Central Coast Angling. He tows his 22-foot boat from port to port on Lake Michigan depending on where the fishing is best, so he has to fill up his truck in addition to his boat.

Hinds said he's had multiple cancellations as customers do their own math on gas prices. One regular customer from Nebraska didn't make the trip this spring.

“It’s really tough. People do want to get out and I still believe people will,” he said. “But everybody comes from different walks of life.”

Hinds recently ruled out his own fishing trip to Wisconsin after figuring out it would cost him $400 in diesel fuel for the truck that tows his boat.

“I can just stay home and fish here,” he said.

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AP Video Journalist Mike Householder contributed to this report.

The attack came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin refused an offer to meet his Ukrainian counterpart.

St. Petersburg Gov. Alexander Beglov said three people sustained minor injuries in the attack. He advised residents not to go outside and warned of possible disruptions to mobile internet service, while regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko said 141 drones were shot down over the surrounding Leningrad region in what he called an “unprecedented attack.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 376 Ukrainian drones.

“Last night, our drones covered a distance of about 1,000 kilometers to the St. Petersburg region — to the enemy navy’s arsenals and a base in Kronstadt,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X, adding that drones also hit an oil depot in Russia's southern Krasnodar region.

The renewed attack on St. Petersburg is the latest embarrassing blow to Putin’s efforts to cast the conflict as a distant event that doesn’t affect Russian daily life.

A Ukrainian drone strike set ablaze an oil terminal in the city and hit a nearby naval base Wednesday, hours before the opening of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin’s annual showcase for investment.

Speaking at the forum, Putin said Thursday that Russia will strengthen its air defenses to counter recent Ukrainian drone attacks, which have reached deep inside his country and cast a cloud over the event in his hometown of St. Petersburg.

Putin on Friday rejected a proposal by Zelenskyy for a face-to-face meeting on the 4-year-old conflict, saying he sees “no point” in it. Thursday’s letter, the first public message Zelenskyy has written directly to Putin since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, was a sweeping critique of the Russian leader’s 26 years in power, as well as some taunts about his age.

Responding to Putin's dismissal of the proposed meeting, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Saturday that things would “only get worse for Russia.”

"Failures will get more humiliating," he wrote on X, warning that there are “no safe places in Russia that can be exempt” from Ukrainian long-range attacks, and that the intensity of attacks “will continue to grow.”

With the front line barely moving as swarms of drones hinder advances, both sides have sought an edge by launching long-range strikes.

In Ukraine, one person was killed and three wounded overnight into Saturday in the Dnipropetrovsk region, as Russian forces struck three districts nearly 30 times with drones and artillery, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said.

In Zaporizhzhia, seven people sought medical care after a Russian drone strike started a fire at a parking lot, according to regional head Ivan Fedorov.

Russia targeted Ukraine overnight with 272 strike drones, and air defenses shot down 249 of them, the Ukrainian air force said Saturday.

Leo is expected to double down on his messages of unity amid polarization, peace as war rages, welcome for migrants and hope for young Spaniards in the era of artificial intelligence.

In a sign that the clergy sexual abuse crisis continues to overshadow papal trips, the Vatican confirmed late Friday that Leo would meet with survivors during his visit. The Spanish Catholic hierarchy is belatedly reckoning with decades of abuse and cover-up in the once-staunchly Catholic country.

Leo’s June 6-12 visit, the first to Spain by a pope in 15 years, has three distinct chapters, in Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands, each with its own focus.

But Leo isn’t the only VIP who'll be paralyzing much of Madrid this weekend. Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny is holding two shows of his 10-concert series in the Spanish capital while the pope is in town.

Madrid, June 6-8

The highlight of Leo's visit to Madrid will be his speech June 8 to both chambers of the Spanish parliament. Even though St. John Paul II visited Spain five times and Pope Benedict XVI three, no pope has ever addressed Las Cortes Generales, as the parliament is known.

Such speeches are rare and often become one of the most important of a pontificate. The last time a pope addressed a foreign legislature was in 2015, when Pope Francis delivered a speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress.

Leo will find a legislature that is highly polarized, with the ruling Socialist Party of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez hammered by a series of corruption scandals and far-right groups such as Vox harshly criticizing the Socialists’ migration policy.

Leo will also meet with the Spanish royals and preside over a prayer vigil for young people that will recall the last time a pope visited Spain: 2011, when Madrid hosted World Youth Day with Benedict.

Barcelona, June 9-10

Leo arrives in Barcelona in time to celebrate the June 10 centenary of the death of the great Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí.

Leo will celebrate Mass in Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia, and will inaugurate its central spire, the Tower of Jesus Christ, which has made the basilica the world’s tallest church.

While Catalonia’s beloved native son is on the path to possible sainthood, no announcements on his canonization are expected.

Leo will also visit another place of spiritual importance to Catalans, the Our Lady of Montserrat abbey on the sacred mountain outside the city.

Canary Islands, June 11-12

By traveling to the Canary Islands, Leo is fulfilling a wish of Pope Francis to minister to the many migrants who arrive on the Spanish archipelago after risking their lives to reach Europe from Africa.

Leo will spend two days in the Canary Islands, which are closer to Africa than the Spanish peninsula, visiting two of the seven islands and meeting with migrants and the humanitarian organizations that provide care for them.

Spain’s Socialist-led government has bucked a general trend in Europe and the U.S. by announcing it will grant legal status to potentially hundreds of thousands of immigrants living and working in the country without authorization. Sánchez has highlighted the benefits of legal migration to the country’s economy with an aging workforce and low birth rate.

Migrant arrivals in the Canary Islands peaked in 2024 at nearly 47,000, but have fallen dramatically, with just over 2,000 people landing there in the first four months of 2026.

___

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.

The 15-year-old opening batter is the youngest cricketer to get an India call-up. If he plays against Ireland on June 26 in Belfast he will overtake Sachin Tendulkar, who was 16 when he made his test debut against Pakistan in November 1989.

Sooryavanshi set the Indian Premier League alight this season, finishing as the highest run-getter with 776 in 16 innings. He scored at a remarkable strike-rate of 237.31 and hit 72 sixes.

“He has forced us to pick him with how well he’s played,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar said. “I know his age…how young he is and (it is) early in his career. But...we can see the kind of talent he has and we are hopeful, if he gets the opportunity to play for the country, he will show the same ability.

“Playing for the country will mean tougher challenges, but he has shown tremendous temperament. He has picked himself through his performances – he single-handedly carried Rajasthan Royals in the IPL playoffs. Like everyone else who’s watched him play, we have high hopes of him.”

Sooryavanshi made his first-class debut at 12. At 13, he became the youngest to get an IPL deal when Rajasthan bought him for the 2025 season. He scored 252 runs in seven games at a strike-rate of 206, including a 35-ball century – the second-fastest in IPL history.

He then starred in India’s win at the 2026 Under-19 World Cup, smashing 175 off 80 balls in the final against England – the highest individual score in any ICC global tournament final.

Shreyas Iyer will captain a full-strength India squad in Ireland and England, a precursor to the Asian Games T20s in Japan. He replaces Suryakumar Yadav, who has been dropped.

Iyer led Kolkata Knight Riders to a third IPL title in 2024 before guiding Punjab Kings to the final in 2025. He had previously steered Delhi Capitals to the final in 2020 – the only player to lead three different franchises to a final.

Yadav’s reign comes to an end due to poor form in both IPL and international cricket.

India will play two T20s in Ireland on June 26 and 28, and another five in England next month.

The squad for Japan also includes pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, underlining India’s challenge for gold ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Squads for Ireland and England tours: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammad Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

India squad for Asian Games: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

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

As the Misterwives started to play, the drums and saxophones blared from the trembling speakers. Shires soaked in the music — but on the way home, a different sound played in her ears.

“The half hour after the show my ears were like, ‘Are we okay?’” said Shires, a social media coordinator from Houston. “There was some ringing going on.”

Concerts offer that rare, visceral opportunity to hear your favorite song sung live — really really loud — and scream the lyrics alongside diehard fans. Quieting the music with a pair of earplugs might seem to undermine the whole point.

But experts say earplugs turn the volume down, not off. And more young people — Shires included — are embracing them, taking a simple step to protect their ears for many more concerts to come. To overcome concerns some might have about coming across as a killjoy, there are fashion-forward options with attached earrings and bling that blend the plugs more seamlessly with concert attire.

“People think that we are young and invincible, and that’s true to a certain extent,” said Asia Pon, an audiologist at Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California, who goes to concerts — and wears earplugs at them. “But repeated exposure over time can certainly accumulate and lead to permanent damage in the long run.”

Earplugs protect against long-term hearing damage

It takes a combination of loud noise and time to damage hearing, experts say. Starting at around 85 decibels — similar to city traffic — hearing can be damaged with prolonged, hourslong listening. The noise at concerts — from both the giant speakers and screaming fans — is often far above that level. The louder the noise, the less time it takes to hurt your ears.

The inner ear is filled with tiny, fragile hair cells that convert sound waves into electrical signals that are sent to the brain.

Pon said to think of the those cells like a field of grass. If trampled once, the blades bend over but eventually stand back up. “But if you keep walking across that same area again and again, eventually that grass doesn’t bounce back,” she said.

Permanently damaged hair cells can lead to longer-term problems like tinnitus and hearing loss.

Ringing happens when hair cells get temporarily stressed from loud noise. But, listen up: No ringing doesn't necessarily mean there's no damage.

Even a simple pair of earplugs can get the job done — if they fit

Many concert venues and festivals offer free earplugs at their guest services desk and there are several over-the-counter options at retail and drugstores.

When picking a pair of earplugs, look for a noise reduction rating, typically labeled NRR on packaging, between 15 and 30 decibels. That strikes a good balance between enjoying the music and protecting the ears.

If the plugs don't fit, they won't do their job — so make sure to find a snug pair. To insert foam earplugs, Pon said to straighten the ear canal by pulling the ear up and back. Roll the plug up and pinch it tight before inserting it as deep as it'll go. Then, hold the plug in place with your finger until you feel the plug expand.

After the plugs are in, look in the mirror and make sure there aren't large chunks sticking out. Play music or watch TV at home to see how it sounds.

If it's tough to find snug earplugs at the store, concertgoers can also see an audiologist and get fitted for a custom pair. While more expensive, these typically include filters that are adjustable based on the venue and are reusable. Foam plugs shouldn't be worn more than once.

Earplugs don't make concerts sound worse

When Shires wore her first pair of earplugs to see the alternative pop band Valley, she wasn't sure what to expect. It took a little adjusting to, but soon everything smoothed out and she could hear the music clearly with some of the crowd noise filtered.

“After the first few songs, it's like they weren't even there. I was just enjoying the show,” she said. Now, she keeps them in a case attached to her keys and has worn them to see many of her favorite artists including Hayley Williams and Taylor Swift. Many of her concert-going friends wear earplugs too, and she gets asked about them by the friends who don't wear them.

If your ears feel clogged or muffled or ringing persists in the days or weeks following a concert, consider seeing an audiologist to get a hearing test. Also see a doctor if you experience more severe symptoms like dizziness, pain or ear drainage.

A slight change to a concert's sound now can preserve hearing for the future. Audiologist Meaghan Reed with Massachusetts Eye and Ear often sees patients who tell her that music doesn’t sound as clear or natural as it used to.

“It might have a temporary impact of your enjoyment of the music right now, but it’s offset by saving your ability to hear music in the future,” Reed said.

—-

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

SATURDAY NIGHT: Mainly clear skies. Low: 62

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny skies. High: 85.

SUNDAY NIGHT: Mainly clear skies. Low: 59.

MONDAY: Mostly sunny skies. High: 86.

MONDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy skies. Low: 64.

After a dry end of the week with lots of sunshine and warm temperatures, we’ve seen a few showers and thunderstorms rolling in overnight last night and early Saturday morning, and we will keep the chance of some thunderstorms under the forecast to start the weekend.

These thunderstorm chances are all thanks to a cold front that will roll through the region this afternoon and early this evening. Some of those storms could be strong to possibly severe. The Storm Prediction Center has placed areas along and south of I-69 under a marginal risk (1 out of 5) on our severe weather scale, with portions of Lenawee and Monroe counties under a slight risk (2 out of 5) on our severe weather scale. Damaging wind gusts above 60 MPH, large hail, and heavy rainfall will be the primary threats with storms Saturday afternoon and early Saturday evening. High temperatures are warming into the middle 80s by Saturday afternoon.

Once the storms move out of the region, we will clear things out pretty quickly into the overnight. Expect skies to become mainly clear. Overnight lows will drop into the upper 50s and lower 60s by Sunday morning.

High pressure will build back into the region for the end of the weekend and the start of next week. Expect mostly sunny skies for both Sunday and Monday, but the warm temperatures will continue into the start of next week as well. High temperatures will warm back into the mid-80s for both Sunday and Monday.

Thunderstorm chances will return to the forecast, looking ahead into the middle of next week. We will bring those storm chances back thanks to more heat and more humidity, and with what looks to be our first summer heat wave moving into the region for the second half of next week.

With all the moisture around, thunderstorms that do develop could have heavy rainfall on Tuesday, and that could continue into Wednesday and Thursday as well. High temperatures will also warm into the low to mid 90s starting Wednesday, through the end of next week on Friday. Once you factor in the humidity, we could see heat index values up to 100° on Wednesday, potentially into the lower 100s on Thursday, then back down into the 90s and possibly the lower 100s for Friday.

Heat Safety Tips:

With our first heat wave in the forecast, it’s a good time to review our heat safety tips:

• Drink plenty of fluids. Encourage others to drink plenty of fluids, too.
• Replace salt and minerals with snacks or a sports drink.
• Stay in an air-conditioned place as much as possible.
• If your home does not have air conditioning, go to your predesignated cool location.
• Wear lightweight, loose clothing and take cool showers or baths.
• Limit your outdoor activity. If you must work outdoors, schedule tasks earlier or later in the day.

Stay with WDIV Local 4 News & 4 Warn Weather, we’ll keep you ahead of any storms on Saturday, and also heading into the heat wave next week.

The fired employees included four intelligence analysts and a supervisory analyst. The FBI declined to comment.

“This action is manifestly unjust, completely unsupported by the facts, and subverts standard FBI policy and procedure,” their lawyer, David Laufman, said in a statement. “These individuals deserved far better for the exceptional and faithful public service they rendered to protect our country.”

The January 2023 intelligence product produced by analysts in the FBI's Richmond, Virginia, field office emerged as a political flashpoint after it was issued, with Republicans in Congress repeatedly citing it as part of their broader contention that the FBI during the Biden administration was targeting conservatives.

Then-director Chris Wray repeatedly denied that charge and the FBI has said the document was quickly retracted and an internal review was launched. Merrick Garland, the attorney general under President Joe Biden, has said he was “appalled” by the memo.

Earlier Justice Department investigations into the memo challenged the analytical tradecraft but did not find intentional misconduct by the analysts involved.

The firings are part of a broader personnel purge under Patel, a Trump loyalist who over the last year, has pushed out dozens of employees who either contributed to investigations of the president or who were perceived as not in alignment with the administration’s agenda. The Justice Department has engaged in similarly sweeping firings of prosecutors since Trump took office last year.

In February, for instance, the FBI fired a group of counterintelligence agents who participated in the investigation into President Donald Trump over his retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

The Richmond memo, which emerged from a domestic terrorism investigation, sought to examine a potential link between what it called “Radical Traditionalist Catholic” ideology and racially and ethnically motivated extremists. It warned of the potential for violence and also highlighted what the authors described as “new avenues for tripwire and source development.” FBI leadership quickly condemned those findings once the document became public.

An internal FBI review described in a 2023 letter to Congress and based on interviews with 26 people “found that all individuals involved in the creation, review and approval of the product failed to adhere to analytic tradecraft standards and failed to recognize that the product, as drafted, equated the subjects' interest in their self-described form of religion with racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist (RMVE) ideology without sufficient evidence or articulable support.”

The failure to adhere to standards, including on proper domestic terrorism terminology, “created the appearance that the FBI conducts investigative activity based on religious affiliation,” the letter said. “One of the FBI's most fundamental principles is that investigative activity may not be based solely on the exercise of rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.”

A Justice Department inspector general report in 2024 summarized the earlier FBI review by saying that though there were departures from proper analytic tradecraft, “no evidence of a malicious intent or an improper purpose” were found.

MS NOW earlier reported the firings.

___

Tucker reported from Los Angeles.

Speaking after an OTA practice, Petzing said his early focus has been on building a strong foundation while learning how best to utilize a roster loaded with offensive talent.

“It’s been great,” Petzing said. “There’s a lot of talent out there. A lot of guys are playing at a really high level. So, it’s been a lot of fun.”

Continuity meets change

While Petzing is introducing new concepts, he said continuity remains important for a veteran group that has enjoyed recent success.

“I don’t want to come in here and rip it all up and make them learn an entirely new language,” Petzing said. “But there’s going to be tweaks. There’s going to be changes.”

Improvement, Petzing said, is the primary objective throughout the offseason program, particularly before game-planning begins.

“I think the goal is always going to be to get better at everything we do,” Petzing said. “That’s me as a coach, that’s individuals as players, that’s us as units.”

Goff, Ratledge connection a priority

One area of emphasis has been strengthening the relationship between quarterback Jared Goff and center Cade Mays.

Petzing said communication in meetings and on the practice field is helping the pair develop chemistry as they work through different defensive looks and adjustments.

Goff’s experience has helped ease the transition.

Entering his 11th NFL season, the veteran quarterback brings leadership that extends beyond his own position.

“You have some vets in the room that have played a lot of football that I can lean on,” Petzing said. “They’ve done some great things. Let other guys learn from their experience.”

Petzing also stressed the importance of understanding how individual players process information.

“It’s an individual thing,” Petzing said. “You try to get that guy to communicate with you on how he learns best and what he needs from us to be successful.”

‘It’s a now league’

Despite heightened expectations following last season’s disappointment, Petzing said urgency is a constant in the NFL.

“It’s a now league,” Petzing said. “We’ve got to show up. We’ve got to get better.”

Running back Jahmyr Gibbs remains a central figure in the offense, though Petzing said his role will continue to evolve based on matchups and the strengths of the overall unit.

“He does so many things at a high level that I don’t think there’s necessarily a ceiling or a cap on what that could look like,” Petzing said.

Play-action, youth development in focus

Petzing indicated play-action passing will remain a key part of the Lions’ offensive identity, and a natural fit for Goff.

“That indecision on whether it’s run or pass, I think, is so critical to being effective in any offense in the NFL,” Petzing said. “It fits the skill set of our quarterback.”

Much of the offseason work, particularly for younger players, has focused on mental development and communication rather than physical play, due to practice restrictions.

“How quickly can you think?” Petzing said. “How well do you communicate to those around you?”

Quarterback Luke Altmyer has drawn praise from Petzing as one of the younger players standing out during the program.

“He never seems overwhelmed by what we’re asking him to do,” Petzing said. “He’s willing to learn and to work at it.”

Sewell among elite, Petzing says

Petzing also praised the leadership and competitiveness of veteran playmakers, including wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and offensive tackle Penei Sewell.

Asked about Sewell’s versatility along the offensive line, Petzing offered a straightforward assessment.

“He looks like, if not the best, one of the best tackles in football,” Petzing said.

As the Lions continue installing their offense, Petzing said his collaboration with Goff began almost immediately.

“Probably my first day on the job, we were exchanging ideas on what it can look like,” Petzing said. “He’s asking questions, I’m asking questions. Those are the things you love about the job and love about the game.”

Of the branches closing, 55 are former Comerica Bank locations, and 20 are existing Fifth Third branches. The closures are scheduled for September.

The bank said most of the affected locations have another Fifth Third branch within one mile.

After the closures, Fifth Third said it will operate 227 branches across Michigan, including 116 in the five-county Metro Detroit area.

In a statement, Fifth Third said it is “building a stronger, more efficient branch network that supports customers today and positions the Bank for long-term sustainable growth in Michigan and across our expanded footprint.

The bank said it will continue serving Michigan through 227 financial centers across 39 counties and nearly 140 communities.

It added that while it is consolidating overlapping branches, most of the affected locations have another Fifth Third financial center within one mile.

After the customer conversion later this year, Fifth Third said Michigan customers will have access to approximately 42% more branches, while former Comerica customers will have access to about 60% more branches than before.

In southeast Michigan, Fifth Third’s post-conversion network is expected to be the largest in the five-county region of Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties, with 116 financial centers.

In Detroit, the bank said it will operate 19 locations, making it the largest banking network in the city following the conversion.

Investigators said they found a machine gun conversion device (MCD) and ammunition during a search of the Ann Arbor home of Armon Carleton Daniel, 19, leading to allegations that he illegally possessed a “machine gun” under federal law.

According to investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in Detroit, they received records from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) tied to a website identified for unlawful trafficking of National Firearms Act weapons -- “specifically MCDs.”

An MCD is an aftermarket device designed to convert a semi-automatic firearm to fully automatic fire. Under federal definitions, a conversion device or “auto sear” is considered a “machinegun,” and it “allows a firearm to fire more than one projectile with a single pull of the trigger.”

Investigators reviewing records from HSI identified at least one December 2025 order believed to have been made by Daniel and shipped to a home on Chelsea Circle in Ann Arbor.

Shootings allegedly tied to Daniel

Federal investigators also described shootings in Detroit in December of 2025 on Roselawn near Belton. Detroit police were dispatched for a reported gunshot wound and later contacted a 911 caller, who initially “suffered a graze wound to her right thigh,” the feds said. The caller allegedly told officers she and a man were inside when they heard gunshots, and that she was hit as she tried to leave her bedroom.

The caller also told officers her home had been shot at about two weeks earlier, but she did not know who was responsible. When asked if she knew anyone who would intentionally harm her, the feds said her son and others were incarcerated in connection with a homicide in Ann Arbor. She also allegedly told police that friends of the homicide victim had posted threatening messages on Instagram under the username “@Armizey.”

Instagram brags?

The post, she said, stated: “We hit Roselawn again they kept on playing like we ain’t stepping,” and included an image of what the feds described as a “7.62 caliber Mini Draco-style firearm” in the background.

Investigators said they later served Meta and its platforms with a search warrant for records related to the Instagram account. Meta records showed the verified email associated with “@Armizey” and a phone number -- both allegedly linked to Daniel. Record checks also listed Daniel’s Ann Arbor address.

The ATF said they saw “numerous references and photos” attributing the account to Daniel, including images of firearms, firearms “equipped with machinegun conversion devices,” bags containing “dozens of loose MCDs,” and suspected narcotics.

One image posted to the account’s private story on Dec. 19, 2025, carried the same caption the caller referenced on Roselawn and the firearm shown “appeared consistent with a Mini Draco-style firearm capable of firing 7.62x39mm ammunition.”

Ballistic evidence from the December Roselawn shootings was entered into ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), which compares fired cartridge casings with other recovered casings, the feds said. NIBIN leads linked casings and later firearm recoveries to at least five shootings in Southeast Michigan, including a non-fatal drive-by shooting in Ann Arbor in December 2025 and a non-fatal shooting in Ypsilanti in October 2024, the ATF said.

Daniel’s home searched

On May 29, 2026, the ATF, HSI, Ann Arbor police and Michigan State Police searched Daniel’s Ann Arbor home after getting a warrant the day before. During the search, they said they encountered Daniel, his mother, and her 16-year-old son.

Investigators said they found a stolen Anderson Manufacturing Model AM-15 5.56 caliber AR-style pistol. The firearm was found in a bedroom on a bed, “partially separated” so the upper and lower receiver and internal parts were exposed, the feds said.

“Next to the firearm was a Machinegun Conversion Device (MCD), and a yellow magazine -- with a distinctive blue oval decal -- loaded with 30 live rounds of .556 ammunition,” an ATF Special Agent said, adding that the magazine appeared identical to one seen in a photo from the Instagram account.

An alleged ‘fascination’ with ammo

When interviewed, the feds said Daniel waived his rights and agreed to answer questions.

During the interview, Daniel allegedly said he lived at the Ann Arbor home for about a year and admitted possessing ammunition, saying he had a “fascination” with it and collected it. Daniel also admitted “@Armizey” was his Instagram account but denied ever possessing firearms.

But when Daniel was confronted with evidence that his account had pictures of him with firearms, Daniel allegedly said he no longer wanted to answer questions.

Daniel was temporarily detained. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 22, 2026, at 1 p.m. in federal court in Detroit.

It began as a routine overnight break for three Henry Ford Warren Hospital employees, but it turned into a frightening ordeal.

Sources say a man approached them outside the hospital and pointed a gun at them, threatening them and ordering them not to move.

It all unfolded around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 3, 2026, outside the hospital near 12 Mile and Hoover roads.

Dispatch audio, courtesy of Broadcastify, captured the situation as police and first responders were alerted.

“Subject with a gun -- it’s gonna be at Henry Ford Warren.”

Moments later:

“Subject just pulled a gun on ER staff,” one dispatcher said.

According to sources, the three employees had stepped outside during their overnight shift break when a man suddenly ran up to them, pulled out a gun and ordered them not to move.

Sources tell Local 4 that the alleged attacker’s ex-girlfriend works at the same hospital and that he had been attempting to get her to come outside to see him. Sources also said the accused gunman was speaking on the phone with her and began threatening the employees.

The workers were able to run from the man, we’ve learned. Sources told Local 4 the suspect also fled, ultimately leaving in a vehicle and ending up in Detroit. The frightened employees called 911.

Henry Ford Health confirmed to Local 4 that the hospital was briefly placed on lockdown while security personnel and Warren police officers responded to the incident outside the building.

Some employees, however, expressed frustration with the response. Workers who feared backlash told Local 4 they were upset with both Henry Ford Health security and Warren police, questioning how the incident happened in the first place and how the suspect was able to escape.

According to sources, the man had already fled the scene by the time police arrived.

Warren police told Local 4 they arrested the 31-year-old man later Wednesday. He is on federal probation for robbery and use of a firearm during a violent crime.

Warren police said officers worked continuously to track him down.

“The results speak for themselves,” a spokesperson with Warren police said Wednesday afternoon. “We acted on it immediately. We made an arrest and we did recover a gun. A lot of assets were deployed by the Warren Police Department.”

Police also said they have remained in constant contact with Henry Ford Health’s head of security and have maintained additional patrols at the hospital since the incident, hoping the arrest provides some reassurance to employees and visitors.

Henry Ford Health also released the following statement:

Henry Ford Warren Hospital was briefly placed on lockdown this morning as our security and local law enforcement responded to an incident outside the building. We refer all questions about the incident to Warren Police, who are investigating.

Our spaces are places of healing, and the safety and wellbeing of our patients, visitors, and team members remains our highest priority. We do not tolerate violence of any kind, and we work hard every day to ensure our campuses are safe, supportive spaces for everyone who works, visits, or comes to us for care.

Henry Ford Health

Meanwhile, the accused gunman remains in custody awaiting charges. Warren police said investigators are still determining whether the case will proceed in state court or as federal charges.

While St. Martin might not be a name everyone is familiar with, the medical knowledge humanity gained from him shaped the world and you most certainly know the name of the other party in this story: Dr. William Beaumont.

There aren’t many Michiganders whose name and legacy are as easily identifiable through one name. It’s basically Ford, Beaumont, Eminem and Madonna.

U.S. Army surgeon William Beaumont is also known as the father of gastric physiology due to his work with St. Martin.

After serving in the War of 1812, Beaumont was assigned to Mackinac Island in 1819, where our story starts.

Accident on the island

On June 6, 1822, St. Martin was accidentally shot with a shotgun from close range. The wound was about the size of a baseball and never permanently healed. St. Martin was left with a hole that went directly into his stomach.

Beaumont was the only doctor on the island when it happened. At the time, Beaumont didn’t think he could save St. Martin’s life, but he was wrong (and St. Martin managed to live another 58 years afterward). Over the course of several months, St. Martin gets better, but no matter what Beaumont tries, the opening into the stomach doesn’t close.

Science through a stomach window

Over time, Beaumont began to use St. Martin’s tummy tunnel to study digestion. At the time, the science behind the human digestive system was not properly known. Beaumont would tie pieces of food to a string and lower it into St. Martin’s stomach and would observe how it would be digested, kind of like a gross body-horror fondue pot. He would also siphon St. Martin’s stomach acid into glassware to observe how it would digest pieces of food.

Through 238 documented experiments, we learned that digestion was primarily a chemical process and not a mechanical one. Science had a lot of theories on how humans broke down food and most believed the human body couldn’t contain acid without causing injury.

Beaumont published what he learned as “Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice, and the Physiology of Digestion” in 1833.

I read some of Beaumont’s findings, but I couldn’t get too far because I didn’t have the stomach for it (I am so sorry). The digestive delve rubbed me the wrong way.

St. Martin returned to Quebec with his family and while Beaumont tried to get him to move closer, St. Martin was done being a science project. They had a complicated relationship.

Beaumont died in 1853. The first Metro Detroit hospital bearing his name opened on Jan. 24, 1955, in Royal Oak. The still-active medical facility is the largest hospital in the Beaumont Health System and continues to make medical breakthroughs almost 200 years after Beaumont’s original experiments.

A legacy protected, then honored

St. Martin died in Quebec in 1880. His family delayed his burial until his body began to decompose and then buried him in an unmarked grave deeper than normal to prevent his body from being dug up for further medical experiments. In 1962, the Canadian government convinced St. Martin’s granddaughter to reveal his burial site, where they gave him a proper ceremony and headstone that read, in part, “Through his affliction, he served all of humanity.”

It happened near the intersection of Warwick Street and Whitlock Avenue, where a driver crashed into a fence, landed on top of two vehicles, and was impaled in the chest by a pole from the fence.

In a video shared with Local 4 by someone who lives in the area, you can see the vehicle driving down the road, running a stop sign, and then another vehicle with flashing lights driving behind it.

“It just sounded like metal crunching,” said a woman who say the chase happening but wanted to remain anonymous. “I didn’t hear any screeching tires or anything.

The witness said she saw the chase unfold from a nearby park where she was with her three children. The noise she heard, she later realized, was a car crashing.

The Detroit Fire Department said the driver was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

In a statement Friday afternoon, ICE confirmed its officers were involved in the pursuit. The agency said officers initially tried to stop the driver, but he hit three government vehicles and pinned an officer’s leg in a car door before speeding away.

ICE said the driver then lost control of the vehicle and crashed.

The witness said she is relieved no one else was hurt, but questions whether this action could have been prevented.

“I do feel like there’s a little bit of question of how responsible it is for the driver to have been pursued,” the woman said.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on pursuit policies or whether any protocols were followed or violated.

ICE said the incident remains under investigation and that officials will release more information as it becomes available. The full statement is below.

“Yesterday, ICE officers attempted a lawful vehicle stop on the west side of Detroit during a targeted enforcement operation.

As officers attempted the stop, the suspect immediately dangerously tried to evade arrest and struck three government vehicles, pinning an ICE officer’s leg in the car door.

The suspect continued on before losing control of his vehicle and crashing through a fence and a garage before the vehicle came to a stop on top of two other vehicles.

An ICE officer and the suspect were transported to area hospitals for treatment. This incident remains an active and ongoing investigation, and we will update the public as more information becomes available.  

This dangerous attempt to evade arrest comes after sanctuary politicians held webinars and provided resources and tips for how to openly defy ICE."

ICE Spokesperson

The 24-year-old right-hander didn't allow a hit through 4 1/3 innings and had a career-high 10 strikeouts over six innings in a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.

Sasaki notched his first career scoreless start after 18 previous starts. He threw 98 pitches, 72 for strikes, generating his second-best strike percentage of 73.5% in a start. He reached 100.4 mph.

“He went through some tough times and some doubts,” manager Dave Roberts said, “but he’s gotten to the other side.”

Roberts sent Sasaki back out for the seventh inning to see how the youngster would respond in a scoreless game. Sasaki retired the side, striking out two.

“He was on the attack, he didn't run,” Roberts said. “That shows a lot of growth.”

Sasaki was expected to be the next big thing coming out of Nippon Professional Baseball. But he failed to crack the Dodgers' starting rotation as a rookie. His sad face and teary eyes in his U.S. debut was shown on Japanese television, triggering some unflattering reaction on social media and around baseball.

“We all felt sorry for him,” Roberts recalled.

Sasaki's poor body language on the mound tipped opposing hitters to a lack of confidence, too.

He then missed 4 1/2 months with shoulder issues before returning as the team's closer during its postseason run to a second straight World Series.

But he arrived to spring training and walked 15 batters, again raising concerns about his ability to perform as a starter and shaking his confidence.

Over the last month, however, Sasaki has built consistency thanks to a harder splitter that touches 90 mph and complements his fastball and slider as well as improving his command.

“There is an adjustment with the ball that he had to make with his grip,” Roberts said. “You can see his demeanor on the mound. There’s just no more doubt and uncertainty."

Sasaki lowered his ERA to 4.03 and he has a 1.48 ERA over his last four starts.

“I'm just doing small things all the time, and I just keep building on it,” he said through a translator.

The Dodgers beat the Angels on Freeman's sixth career walkoff home run after both teams had three hits apiece.

“Roki has really turned the corner here and it’s fun to watch,” Freeman said, “especially after last year grinding, coming back as a bullpen guy. He just looks great out there.”

Freeman and catcher Will Smith are among a clubhouse full of teammates rooting for Sasaki to succeed on a team in which his fellow Japanese — two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — set high standards.

“You can see the care factor, the drive he’s got,” Smith said. “It’s good to see the benefits right now.”

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

Becerra leaned on his more than 35 years in public office, including as state attorney general and U.S. health secretary, to argue that he was the most qualified candidate in a crowded field.

“The people of the great state of California, in the greatest nation on earth, have spoken — loudly and proudly,” Becerra said in a statement. “We are never backing down. November, here we come.”

It was not yet clear who Becerra would face in the general election. His top rivals came down to Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator backed by President Donald Trump, and Democrat Tom Steyer, a billionaire climate activist who poured $215 million of his own money into his campaign.

Born and raised in Sacramento by Mexican immigrant parents, Becerra has a wife and three daughters. He has said his family’s immigrant background mirrored his “underdog” gubernatorial campaign, in which he initially failed to garner substantial support before surging in the final months.

After one of the top Democratic contenders, Rep. Eric Swalwell, was accused of sexual assault and dropped out of the race, Becerra benefited from an opening to coalesce Democratic support. He quickly racked up key endorsements from labor groups and Latino legislative leaders.

Becerra has vowed to maintain the state’s mantle as a chief antagonist to President Donald Trump. As attorney general, he filed more than 120 legal actions against the first Trump administration on everything from immigration to climate policy.

The president has also been in a spat with the state over its drawn-out vote count. Trump made baseless claims about mass fraud Thursday, and on Friday, federal prosecutors said they opened investigations into allegations of election fraud. Hilton called for California to limit mail ballots to those who request them, rather than sending them to all registered voters.

During the campaign, Becerra’s rivals scrutinized his leadership as health secretary during the COVID-19 pandemic and the unaccompanied migrant children crisis in 2021, when Becerra’s Department of Health and Human Services was responsible for shelters where they were housed. Some of them were criticized as having inadequate living conditions, and there were also concerns about authorities failing to thoroughly vet sponsors with whom some children were placed.

If elected, Becerra said, he would declare states of emergency to address high energy costs and housing shortages and to freeze home insurance rates.

Though California is one of the nation’s most diverse states, Becerra would be the first Latino to hold the office since the late 1800s.

Newsom was barred by term limits from seeking a third stint in office.

Freeman sent a 3-2 pitch from former Dodger reliever Kirby Yates (0-2) over the wall in deep center and was greeted by his teammates at home plate. Fans chanted “Freddie! Freddie!”

The Dodgers were on the losing end of a walkoff homer in Arizona on Thursday night. Freeman finished with two hits and a walk Friday.

Blake Treinen (3-1) got the win in relief with a scoreless ninth.

The Dodgers outscored the Angels 31-3 in winning the teams’ first three meetings this season. Friday’s series opener at Dodger Stadium was taut, with each team notching three hits.

Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki struck out a career-high 10 over seven scoreless innings. He didn't allow a hit until the fifth when Nick Madrigal doubled with one out. The Japanese right-hander lowered his ERA to 4.03.

Angels starter Reid Detmers matched Sasaki through three hitless innings of his own before Freeman singled in the fourth. The left-hander gave up two hits over six innings, struck out six and walked two.

Angels slugger Mike Trout was hitless in four at-bats, and struck out three times. His former teammate, Shohei Ohtani, didn't fare any better. The two-way superstar was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.

Up next

Angels RHP Jack Kochanowitz (2-4, 5.23 ERA) was set to start Saturday against Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (5-4, 2.86).

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

Seager belted a two-run homer homer in the sixth inning that put the Rangers ahead in a 3-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night. The five-time All-Star shortstop and two-time World Series MVP missed the previous 19 games because of lower back inflammation.

That homer also snapped a career-worst 0-for-29 slump in his 12 big league seasons, since his previous hit May 6.

“It was just nice to get out there with the guys again,” Seager said. “You obviously want to help.”

He went deep off Cleveland rookie Parker Messick right after a double by Wyatt Langford, who was also activated from the IL before the game. Seager’s eighth homer of the season made it 3-2.

“It's definitely good to have them back,” said Rangers manager Skip Schumaker, who saw good signs early in the game. “Their timing looked right the first at-bat, both of them. ... Good news on both ends.”

Langford, the left fielder, had missed 39 games since going on the injured list April 22 because of a right forearm strain. They batted 1-2 in the lineup and their consecutive extra-base hits came in their third at-bats.

Seager, still hitting .181 in his 43 games, went into the series opener in an 0-for-27 slide that included 11 strikeouts. He had been hitless in his previous seven games, also a career worst, since an RBI single on May 6 at Yankee Stadium after he hit a home run earlier in that game.

“I’m excited to see, really for the first time in some time, our group together. Still missing (second baseman) Josh Smith, but beyond that, we have not had our group together in a long time,” Chris Young, the team’s president of baseball operations, said before the game.

“Look at the past week, 10 days, and there have been a lot of positives with the way we’ve played,” Young said. “And now getting Corey and Wyatt back in this lineup, I think will be very big for us. I’m excited to see what that does for everybody.”

The Rangers (31-32) have won six of their last seven games.

“Honestly, in a weird way, it’s an easier way to come back for me and Wyatt when the team’s going (good),” Seager said. “You've just got to hop on the train and keep going. So it’s definitely nice to be playing good and just to be able to be back out there.”

Utility man Cody Freeman and outfielder Alejandro Osuna were optioned to Triple-A Round Rock to make room on the roster. Utility player Sam Haggerty was designated for assignment after he was activated from the bereavement/family medial emergency list.

Langford and Seager played in two rehab games together this week at Double-A Frisco. That was after Langford played two games with Round Rock.

Seager hadn't been in a big league game since May 13. At that point, the 32-year-old shortstop had started 42 of the Rangers' first 43 games. He said then that physically he felt “completely fine” after playing all of their 24 games in a 27-day span.

The Rangers had a day off after that and planned for Seager to get an extra break by sitting out the series opener at Houston. But he didn't play at all in that series after waking up one morning with back spasms.

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

“Very blurry,” Wembanyama said.

The San Antonio Spurs' situation, though, is very clear. They're in trouble. Big trouble. And Wembanyama pointed the finger of blame squarely at himself.

The Spurs had an epic comeback and an epic disaster in the same fourth quarter, falling to the New York Knicks 105-104 — after a finish that Wembanyama likely won't be able to forget anytime soon. The Spurs were down by 14 midway through the final quarter, went on a 14-0 run to tie the game, then briefly took the lead when Wembanyama had a three-point play with just under a minute left.

The score was tied with about 14 seconds remaining and it was best vs. best, the Knicks' Jalen Brunson against the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year in Wembanyama.

Brunson wanted to take a jumper from about 16 feet. The 7-foot-4 Wembanyama got an arm up, causing the Knicks' guard to put a little too much on the shot just to get it over the Frenchman's sky-high hand. It hit the back of the rim. Wembanyama got the rebound. The arena was buzzing. He saw Spurs teammate Stephon Castle and sent a pass his way. Problem was, Castle wasn't looking and it bounced off him. Brunson wound up with the ball and Wembanyama fouled him.

“I need to have more poise,” Wembanyama said. “More control over the game.”

Said Castle: “I was looking at him when he first got the rebound. I just started to take off to try to give him some space to dribble up the court. I didn’t see him throw it to me.”

It was a bad play. It wasn't fatal. Brunson missed one of the two free throws and the Knicks led by one. The Spurs called time. The last play was a pick-and-roll, De'Aaron Fox finding Wembanyama for a jumper from basically the same spot on the Spurs' end of the floor as Brunson tried at the other end moments earlier.

“He's made that shot a thousand times,” Castle said. “He has a game-winner with that shot this year. Yeah, I’ll take that shot every day.”

But it missed.

Game over. The Knicks stormed the floor in celebration. Wembanyama headed to the opposite tunnel, wondering how it went so wrong.

“I threw that one away. I messed up,” Wembanyama said. “We didn’t play great as a team. We needed to win that game. This game was ours. But at this point, it’s done. Am I going to regret it? Yes, of course. Am I going to use that to fuel me and to fuel us next game? Absolutely.”

They'll need all the fuel they can get right now. The Spurs trail 2-0 and will fly Saturday to New York for Game 3 on Monday and Game 4 on Wednesday. They need to win one of those to keep the season alive, and they'll have to win twice at Madison Square Garden before this series ends if they're going to win the title.

History says that won't happen.

The Spurs jumped out to a quick lead and even resorted to the Hack-a-Mitch strategy — intentionally fouling the Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson, who was the worst free throw shooter in the NBA (among those with at least 100 tries) in the regular season and has been even worse in the playoffs — in the first quarter, looking to disrupt New York’s offensive rhythm.

And even that didn’t really work. Robinson had missed nine of his last 10 free throws entering Friday; he went 3 for 6 from the line in the Hack-a-Mitch portion of the first half, which probably felt like bonus points for New York.

Those three points came in handy at the end of the night. And Robinson was the one who got a hand near Wembanyama on the Spurs' star's final shot, a neat twist in the eyes of Knicks coach Mike Brown.

“It started with Mitch and it ended with the other four guys boxing out,” Brown said. “So just a heck of a job by Mitch guarding the most iconic player in the world."

Wembanyama is the leading scorer in these finals, but he hasn’t been dominant. He’s averaging 27.5 points, though shooting only 41%. From 3-point range, he’s 4 for 15, or 27%. And he does have seven blocks, but the Knicks haven’t been afraid to go right at him, either. He had a very slow first half Friday night, taking only four shots in the opening two quarters.

That won't be enough Monday. The Spurs' best player needs to be the best player on the floor if San Antonio is going to get back into this series.

There's nothing blurry about that.

“We don’t feel like we played well or up to our standard at least in the last two games,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “New York has played very well and they’re a part of that. But we’re going to go into Game 3 (and) if we play our brand of basketball up to our standard, we’ll be just fine.”

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

World No. 1 Nelly Korda jumped into the hunt for her first Women’s Open title by shooting the day’s lowest round at 67, leaving her just two shots back after struggling Thursday.

Opening-round leader Jennifer Kupcho, Sei Young Kim and Mexico's Gaby Lopez were in a group of six at 3-under 139, while Korda and three others were at 140.

The venerable course at this 100-year-old country club is hosting its first U.S. Women’s Open, and it remained unforgiving for the world’s best. Only two players managed a bogey-free round Friday — including China's Yin, who semi-jokingly called Riviera “passive aggressive" despite being the only player in the field to shoot two sub-70 rounds so far.

“I love it,” Yin said. “I always say that the more difficult (the course), the better.”

Yin carded her second straight 69 in the same city where she earned her first LPGA Tour victory in 2023, a couple of months before she won the Women’s PGA Championship. She tied for fourth at last year's U.S. Open at Erin Hills.

Lee played under par for the second straight day at Riviera, highlighted by back-to-back birdies just before the turn. The new mother’s first two rounds are an extension of a strong start to the season that includes a third-place finish at the Mizuho Americas Open four weeks ago.

“To win in basically my backyard, where I grew up, would be super cool,” Lee said. I don’t want to get ahead of myself ... but if you’d told me I would be in this spot at the beginning of the week, I probably would have started crying.”

The 31-year-old Lee grew up in suburban Valencia and had a stellar junior career before playing at UCLA and embarking on her pro career. She is a two-time Solheim Cup participant, but she has yet to win on the LPGA Tour while managing just two top-10 finishes at 44 majors.

“I'm not going to lie, it’s been very tough,” Lee said. “I’ve gone through a few stages, a few slumps, if you want to call it, in my career, even since I was like 15 years old. ... no matter what I did, no matter how much I practiced, it just wasn’t going my way.”

Lee then took most of last year off for the birth of her son, Levi. While she says her sleep rhythms are regularly interrupted by her 13-month-old these days, her parents and extended family in Valencia have relieved some of the burden during the Open.

Levi was in attendance for Friday's round, but Lee's partner only brought him out to watch the 18th hole because the youngster has a tendency to get excited: He yelled “Ball!” during his mom's backswing at The Chevron Championship earlier this year.

With family around her, Lee is finally having the moment she had long anticipated.

“I feel like I’ve definitely underachieved what I could have done out here on tour,” Lee said. “It’s definitely been really frustrating. I’m at a point now where I’ve truly accepted it, but like I said, that’s part of why I want to come back and play. I feel like I was so close so many times.”

Kim was one shot behind Kupcho after the opening round, and she was thrust into the lead early in the second despite shooting 1 over on the front nine. She bogeyed the 18th to drop her share of the lead in one of the day's final groups.

Kupcho scuffled to a second-round 73 after carding the only 66 of the tournament so far on Thursday.

Among the players who missed the 36-hole cut were world No. 3 Hyo Joo Kim, three-time major champion Lydia Ko, five-time major champion Yani Tseng and Michelle Wie West, who largely left golf in 2023.

The 36-year-old Wie West returned to competition last month at the Mizuho Americas Open, but she isn't currently planning to play beyond this U.S. Open.

She shot 7 over at Riviera — the former club of her late father-in-law, Lakers icon Jerry West — after using the final year of her exemption from winning the 2014 U.S. Open. Her husband, Jonnie West, was her caddie.

“Obviously, I would be lying to say I wasn’t disappointed,” Wie West said. “I would have loved to have made the cut today, but I had a blast, honestly, playing here at Riv. Such a special week to have played it, and to have family, friends, a lot of familiar faces coming out. It was a lot of fun. I hit some good shots, hit some good putts and kind of felt that feeling again, which is awesome.”

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

The red-hot Knicks are going home, two wins away from an NBA championship that the capital of the world has been waiting to see for generations.

Jalen Brunson hit a go-ahead free throw with 9.5 seconds left after a turnover by Victor Wembanyama moments earlier, then Wembanyama missed a jumper at the end of New York’s 105-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

“What a ballgame,” Knicks coach Mike Brown marveled.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Brunson and Mikal Bridges each scored 20 for the Knicks. They have won 13 straight, the second-longest streak by any team in NBA playoff history.

“New York City showed up,” Towns said. “The fans showed up. The energy showed up. And we found a way to get it done.”

The Knicks are now just the third team to win the first two games of a finals on the road, joining Michael Jordan and the 1993 Chicago Bulls, and Hakeem Olajuwon and the 1995 Houston Rockets.

Both of those teams won championships, the Bulls needing six games to oust the Phoenix Suns, the Rockets going home after winning those first two games in Orlando and sweeping the Magic. The Knicks, seeking their first championship since 1973, are in position to join them.

Wembanyama, after a very quiet first half, scored 29. De’Aaron Fox had 20 for San Antonio.

“We can't change the past,” Wembanyama said, “We're already thinking about Game 3.”

The series now shifts to New York. Game 3 is at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.

President Donald Trump — a native New Yorker — plans on attending Monday. And ticket prices on the secondary market, for the worst seats at MSG, were approaching $9,000 apiece on Friday night, with Knicks fans evidently willing to pay tippy-top dollar just to be in the building as the team nears what would be its first championship in 53 years.

The Spurs were down 14 midway through the fourth and came all the way back — scoring the next 14 points to tie the game. Wembanyama's three-point play with 57 seconds left gave the Spurs their first lead in nearly two full quarters, putting San Antonio up 104-102.

“We showed tremendous desperation, urgency and competitive response,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “Hopefully we can try to bottle that up ... and try to play to that same level.”

But the Knicks got the last three, Brunson — the hero of Game 1 for the Knicks — getting them all.

Brunson scored on the next possession, just his seventh basket in 24 shots on the night, and the game was tied. Wembanyama missed a long jumper, OG Anunoby got the rebound for New York with 30 seconds left, the Knicks called time and the stage was set.

The Spurs got a stop, but Wembanyama threw the ball away. Brunson got fouled, the Knicks had the lead back and before long Spurs fans were filing out of the arena — possibly for the final time this season.

The Spurs called time with 7.5 seconds remaining. Fox took the inbound pass, then set up Wembanyama for a jumper that would have won it. The shot bounced off the rim, and it was over.

“We had to get a stop. We hadn’t gotten a stop all quarter,” Towns said.

They got their stop. Next stop: New York, where the hottest team in basketball knows an NBA title is just two wins away.

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

A person with knowledge of the NCAA's decision told The Associated Press on Friday night that the NCAA for the second time denied Texas Tech's petition to restore the quarterback's eligibility. He was ruled ineligible after he acknowledged gambling on sports, including on his own team while at Indiana.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity to the AP because there was no announcement about the appeal decision from either the NCAA or the quarterback's current school.

That came while the NCAA and Sorsby were still waiting for a ruling from a Texas judge after the quarterback filed a lawsuit May 18 seeking a temporary injunction against the NCAA in hopes of playing this season for the Red Raiders after transferring from Cincinnati.

A two-hour hearing was held Monday in the 99th District Court in Lubbock County, where Texas Tech is located. As of Friday, there still was no decision from Judge Ken Curry.

Texas Tech had said May 26 that it was appealing after the NCAA denied the school’s initial petition to have Sorsby's eligibility reinstated.

University president Lawrence Schovanec at that time wrote in a letter to the Texas Tech community that the school felt “the NCAA’s ruling should be reversed or modified.”

The school had ruled Sorsby ineligible May 18, the same day he filed his lawsuit. Tech had to do that to be able to pursue a request for his reinstatement that it submitted to the NCAA the following day. That was denied May 22.

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

Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani greeted her leading off the bottom of the first inning as he customarily does with the umpire in each of his at-bats.

Pawol, 49, umpired during spring training for the third straight year but she did not get one of the permanent staff openings. Instead, she is part of MLB's call-up list.

She worked her first game of the automated balls and strikes challenge system on April 17 when the Giants visited the Nationals.

She became the first female major league umpire on Aug. 9, 2025, and worked a total of five big league games last season. In 2024, she became the first woman to umpire big league spring training games since Ria Cortesio in 2007. Pawol has been a minor league ump since 2016 and has worked at Triple-A since 2023.

Pawol was flirting with potential history early in Friday's game.

Angels starter Reid Detmers tossed three hitless innings before allowing a single to Freddie Freeman in the fourth.

Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki pitched no-hit ball through the first four innings before giving up a double to Nick Madrigal in the fifth.

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This story has been corrected to show Jen Pawol previously umpired this season.

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

But at least three prominent members of his administration will be, representing the Democratic Party in a trio of governor's races that may test the resilience of the Biden brand two years after he left the White House under a cloud of disapproval.

Two Biden Cabinet members — former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland of New Mexico and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra of California — advanced to the general election ballot for governor in their states this week. They joined Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former senior adviser, who secured the Democratic nomination in Georgia's governor's race last month.

Their rise comes as a bitter feud erupts among Biden's allies, including some who worked in the White House, about the Biden family's reemergence in the public spotlight just five months before the high-stakes midterm elections. Hunter Biden is mixing it up with admirers and critics on social media, while Jill Biden is rehashing the tortured saga of the last presidential race in a new memoir. Biden himself has his own book coming out later this year.

As candidates shift toward the general election phase of the midterms, it's unclear whether the Biden connections will help or hurt the Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls come November.

“I will put my experience to work for the people of our state,” Haaland told cheering supporters this week as she accepted her party's nomination.

She did not, however, mention Biden’s name as she ticked through her experience as a single mother, her time in Congress and her leadership of the Interior Department.

Biden who?

One former Biden White House aide, Rodericka Applewhaite, suggested that some Democrats on the ballot this fall were intentionally avoiding asking the former president to help with their campaigns.

Applewhaite is among the Democratic operatives publicly criticizing the Biden's public reemergence in recent days — especially Jill Biden's book tour.

“The Bidens are burning a lot of good will that they built up over a very long time in what seems to be days," she said, offering the former president and his family a pointed suggestion. "Step aside and let us have the battles that we need to have today.”

On the ground in California, Georgia and New Mexico, Biden alumni are navigating their Biden connection in different ways.

Haaland and Becerra are eager to focus on President Donald Trump in their campaign materials, but neither referenced Biden in their primary night speeches to supporters. Nor does either cite Biden’s name in the biographies listed on their official campaign websites.

Biden did not issue a public endorsement in the New Mexico or California contests ahead of Tuesday’s contests either. Democrats have focused on hammering Republicans over Trump's time in office.

“It’s laughable that Republicans have become so desperate to avoid talking about Donald Trump that they are now trying to go after our candidates for advocating for their states and getting results when they served in the executive branch," said Kevin Donohue, a spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association. Democrats, he said, “are focused on affordability” while “Republicans are all in on Trump’s cost-raising agenda.”

That hasn't stopped Republicans from highlighting both candidates' old boss.

In fact, Republicans are actively planning to highlight Democrats' ties to the Biden administration as a weakness in the weeks ahead, according to Kollin Crompton of the Republican Governors Association.

“Deb Haaland turned her back on New Mexico to push Biden’s failed policies and the Green New Scam. New Mexico deserves a leader, not a career politician who forgot where she came from,” Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, who chairs the campaign organization, said in a statement.

Georgia is another story.

Lance Bottoms points to her work with Biden on her campaign website. She asked for, and received, Biden's formal endorsement just ahead of Georgia's primary, which she shared widely on her campaign's social media platforms. She also said she'd invite the former president to campaign with her this fall. “As I am moving around this state, people are missing Joe Biden more and more each day," she told CNN.

Bottoms was the first of two candidates Biden endorsed since leaving office, and he called her with congratulations after her primary victory on May 19.

But even Bottoms has not highlighted her time in the administration on the campaign trail. Her stump speech regularly mentions her time serving as Atlanta's mayor and career as a prosecutor but quickly pivots to issues like affordability and the Trump administration's agenda.

“I spoke with him this morning, so he called to congratulate me,” Bottoms said of Biden after her primary win. But then she immediately pivoted. “At the end of the day, we all want the same things. We want to live in great neighborhoods, we want great schools, we want access to health care.”

Biden's bad numbers

Americans had a dimmer view of Biden's presidency when he left office than they did at the end of Trump’s first term or Barack Obama’s second, according to The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Around one-quarter of U.S. adults at the time said Biden was a “good” or “great” president, with less than 1 in 10 saying he was “great."

It was a stark illustration of how tarnished Biden’s legacy has become, with many members of his own party seeing his Democratic presidency as merely mediocre.

Americans were similarly likely to describe both Biden and Trump as “poor” or “terrible” — about half said this characterized each president’s time in office — but about 3 in 10 said Biden was “average,” while less than 2 in 10 said this about Trump.

The Biden family has faced fresh scrutiny in recent weeks, sometimes even from former aides.

The former president's son, Hunter Biden, drew criticism for recently appearing on the podcast of far-right conspiracy theorist Candace Owens. He has garnered attention by posting online about his experience with addiction and criticisms of the media.

Former first lady Jill Biden has shocked some Democrats for comments she made as part of a book tour for her memoir, “View from the East Wing," which was released Tuesday. The former first lady said in an interview with CBS News that she was “frightened” by her husband's performance during the infamous debate against Trump. The fallout eventually prompted Biden to drop out.

In the memoir, she writes that Biden’s senior aides “insisted he needed to run” for reelection. Her memoir includes a retelling of her husband’s decision to end his candidacy and the family’s reaction to the former president’s cancer diagnosis last year.

Throughout her book tour, she has faced tough questions about the former president's health and cognitive abilities while in office, as well as her role in pushing him to seek reelection despite widespread public concerns.

The former first lady described it as “heartbreaking” that the Democratic Party abandoned her husband during an interview on ABC’s “The View.”

“That’s why Joe had to decide to get out, because he had lost the support of the Democratic Party,” she said.

Such comments have sparked a fight among allies, especially after former Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates questioned to the New York Post "why that painful conversation for the party needed to be publicly re-opened now."

Jill Biden shot back, “I want to say to Andrew, call me up and say it to my face.”

The meeting between the two had come just after the Vermont senator announced a plan for the public to take a 50% ownership stake in artificial intelligence companies such as OpenAI, using their stock to create a public wealth fund that would spread the fortune generated by AI behemoths.

Altman told Sanders that he, too, wants the public to have equity in AI companies. Though the CEO said he couldn’t support Sanders’ threshold of 50%, he nonetheless wanted to work with him to advocate for the general idea, according to people with knowledge of the conversation.

The nearly hourlong meeting in Sanders’ Senate office this week, held at Altman's request, highlighted the inherent tension between AI powerhouses and policymakers as Americans are increasingly asked to accept the costs of the AI boom even as they remain unconvinced of its direct benefits. Yet it's also creating odd political bedfellows fueled by populism as politicians from Sanders to President Donald Trump embrace giving the public a stake in AI's growth.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Friday, Trump described a potential partnership “where the American people can benefit from the success of AI" and said executives from leading AI companies will visit the White House, “probably next week,” to discuss the idea.

“There’s something very interesting about it, where it almost becomes a partnership with the American public,” Trump, a Republican, said Friday.

When reporters noted to Trump that Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, had proposed public ownership in AI companies, he pointed to similarities in their coalitions. The economic views of Trump voters and voters who supported Sanders for president, Trump said, “aren’t that far apart.”

Trump has embraced government investment in private companies in his second term, scrambling his party’s politics. His administration last year secured a 10% stake in the struggling Silicon Valley company Intel, and it considered a government takeover of Spirit Airlines earlier this year, although the airline couldn’t reach a deal and ultimately closed.

Public backlash is becoming harder to ignore

The positioning of leading figures such as Trump and Sanders comes as concerns about AI are emerging far beyond Washington.

In Michigan, Democrats recently clashed over Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s appearance with Altman at the site of a major data center. Candidates such as New York Democratic House hopeful Alex Bores have also made AI regulation a campaign issue by tapping into voters’ angst about the technology.

“This is a real change to society,” Altman told reporters this week. “I think it’s possible both that people can use AI a lot and like using it and also have anxiety about what it’s going to do for the future.”

Data center projects across the country have drawn opposition from residents concerned about electricity demand, water consumption and environmental impacts. Some states once eager to attract the facilities, including Ohio and Virginia, have moved to reconsider tax incentives.

“We need to pass legislation right now that says there’s not going to be any further data center development until they agree to pay for their own electricity, build their own grids and pay for their own water supply,” Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, a leading Republican skeptic of Big Tech, told The Associated Press.

Before arriving in Washington, Altman stopped in Michigan on Monday to appear alongside Whitmer, a Democrat, at the building site of a 1.65 million-square-foot data center. Whitmer’s team claimed the project will create more than 2,500 union construction jobs.

But it also drew criticism from local activists and some Democrats, including Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who called the project “disgusting.” She said she was “so disappointed” in Whitmer.

“It’s a very controversial topic right now and it’s coming from the ground up,” Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, said about the grassroots pushback. “People feel very strongly about it."

Whitmer, however, told reporters after the event that “one thing’s very clear, everyone has a cellphone in our pocket.”

“We are all, more and more, consuming technology and data and these data centers are going to get built. So, my thought is if we can hold them to a high standard and do it in Michigan, that’s the best way to do it,” she said.

The tensions extend beyond data centers. On college campuses, commencement speakers have been interrupted by boos when discussing artificial intelligence. About 70% of college students see AI as a threat to their job prospects, according to a 2025 poll by the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Altman acknowledged those concerns. He said that while “the impact on jobs has been less than many people in our field expected," he understands “that college students have a lot of anxiety about the future."

Washington searches for an AI bargain

The idea that AI’s expansion is inevitable is increasingly shared by leaders across the political spectrum, even as they disagree sharply about how to manage it.

That reality was at the center of Altman’s conversations in Washington. In addition to Sanders, Altman met with Trump administration officials such as Michael Kratsios, the White House's chief science and technology adviser, and congressional leaders from both parties.

Sanders' team emphasized that the two did not reach an agreement on the main points that the senator made to Altman, including the 50% figure so the public has decision-making power. Sanders also expressed opposition to the growing election spending by the AI industry.

“Unfortunately, Sam Altman did not commit to any of those,” said Sanders' spokesperson Jeremy Slevin.

Altman, in emerging from the conversation, described it as “great,” adding that the two “obviously don’t agree on everything.”

Policy makers are also looking at how AI should be governed

Congress this week released a bipartisan framework that would establish the first broad federal approach to AI regulation while temporarily preempting many state laws.

Anthropic, one of OpenAI’s top competitors, has proposed mechanisms for coordinating pauses on advanced AI development if systems become too powerful.

The Trump administration has also begun constructing its own oversight structure, signing an executive order to establish a process for reviewing national security risks posed by advanced AI systems before their public release.

Sanders said he found the administration's move notable after years of warnings that regulation could slow American innovation.

“Even these guys are beginning to catch on that there are legitimate concerns that have to be dealt with," Sanders said.

The weekend begins with rounds of showers and thunderstorms Friday night and Saturday, including the possibility of a few strong storms, before sunshine and more comfortable conditions return Sunday.

Then attention turns to next week, when temperatures could soar into the lower 90s, making it feel more like mid-July than early June.

After a stretch of mostly dry weather, warmer and more humid air has returned to Southeast Michigan, helping fuel showers and thunderstorms moving through the region Friday evening and overnight.

The strongest storms on Friday night are expected between evening and midnight.

While widespread severe weather is not anticipated, a few storms could produce wind gusts of 40-60 mph, brief downpours, and frequent lightning.

Showers may linger into the early morning hours on Saturday.

Saturday

Saturday brings another opportunity for thunderstorms, and some could become strong to severe during the afternoon.

The greatest concern appears to be from around noon through 6 p.m. as a cold front moves across Lower Michigan.

Most of Southeast Michigan remains under a Level 1 out of 5 risk for severe weather, while part of Monroe County sits in a Level 2 risk area extending north from Ohio.

The primary threats on Saturday will be damaging wind gusts and hail. Some storms could produce wind gusts up to 60 mph and hail around 1 inch in diameter.

Heavy rainfall and dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning will also accompany any stronger storms.

Anyone heading to Hart Plaza for Motor City Pride should have a way to receive weather alerts and be prepared to move indoors if storms approach.

What’s the difference between a watch and a warning?

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are favorable for severe thunderstorms to develop.

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning means a severe thunderstorm is occurring or expected shortly, and immediate action should be taken.

When a warning is issued, move indoors, stay away from windows, and wait for the storm to pass.

The good news is that storms should move through quickly, and conditions are expected to improve by Saturday evening.

Sunday

Sunday looks like the best day of the weekend.

Sunshine is expected to return with lower humidity and temperatures climbing into the middle 80s across Detroit and much of Metro Detroit.

Communities across the Thumb, including Lapeer County, should be a few degrees cooler.

It will be a much more comfortable day for outdoor festivals, riverfront activities, dining, and recreation.

Workweek

The quiet weather does not last long.

Temperatures are expected to climb steadily next week as a large dome of warm air builds across the eastern half of the country. Highs should reach the mid- and upper 80s on Tuesday before climbing to around 90 degrees on Wednesday and the lower 90s on Thursday.

Humidity levels will also increase, making it feel even warmer. Some communities could experience heat index values approaching 100 degrees mid-and late week.

Thunderstorm chances are expected to return Tuesday and Wednesday as the heat and humidity build.

Some of those storms could become strong.

For now, Metro Detroit residents should keep an eye on the sky through Saturday afternoon, especially if attending Pride festivities or spending other time outdoors.

By Sunday, the weather should cooperate nicely before the heat turns up next week.

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