THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is rallying toward records Tuesday after an easing of oil prices let Wall Street turn its focus back to the big profits that companies keep producing.

The S&P 500 rose 1% and was on track to top its all-time high set at the end of last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 379 points, or 0.8%, with less than an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was heading toward its own record after climbing 1.2%.

Stocks got a boost after oil prices gave back much of their big jumps from Monday. The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 4% to $109.87 after briefly topping $115 on Monday, though it’s still well above its roughly $70 price from before the war with Iran.

U.S. military leaders said Tuesday that a ceasefire with Iran remains in effect, even though Iran was blamed for attacks against the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. ally, the day before. The U.S. military is meanwhile trying to force open a path in the Strait of Hormuz, which would allow oil tankers to resume shipments from the Persian Gulf and hopefully bring down the price of crude.

Even with the war ongoing, the U.S. stock market has remained remarkably resilient on its record-setting run. That’s in large part due to the strong profits that U.S. companies have reported for the start of 2026 despite the rise in oil prices since the end of February.

“This has been a ‘why ask why’ market,'” according to Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “You just have to go with it.”

Even though many risks are still weighing on the market, “investors are looking at earnings” and how much companies are spending on AI data centers and other investments, he said.

DuPont’s stock rallied 8.3% after the chemical giant led another cavalcade of companies reporting better-than-expected profits for the latest quarter.

DuPont said its water technologies business felt some impact from the war due to logistics disruptions in the Middle East. But it nevertheless raised its forecasts for financial results over the full year.

Other winners included American Electric Power Co., which rose 3.2%, and Cummins, which added 2.4%, after they likewise made more money during the first three months of the year than analysts expected.

Pinterest jumped 7.2% after the online bulletin board topped Wall Street’s first-quarter sales and profit targets as its number of active monthly users jumped 11% to 631 million.

AB InBev likewise topped analysts’ profit forecasts, and it credited growth for its Corona, Stella Artois and Michelob Ultra brands outside of their home markets. “Cheers to beer,” CEO Michel Doukeris said, as the company’s stock that trades in the United States climbed 9.3%.

They helped offset a drop for Palantir Technologies, which fell 7.2% even though it reported stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its stock has struggled this year on worries about increased competition, like many software companies have. Its stock is also coming off a huge run where it more than doubled in each of the last three years.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe. The CAC 40 rose 1.1% in Paris, but the FTSE 100 fell 1.4% in London. Many Asian markets were closed for holidays, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2% after the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate to 4.35%, saying conflict in the Middle East had sharply increased fuel and commodity prices that were already adding to inflation.

In the U.S. bond market, Treasury yields eased following oil's drops and reports on the U.S. economy that came in mixed.

One report said growth for U.S. services businesses unexpectedly decelerated last month, with some companies saying the war is slowing spending. A separate report said U.S. employers were advertising slightly more job openings at the end of March than economists expected, an encouraging signal for the job market.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.42% from 4.45% late Monday.

That’s still well above its 3.97% level from just before the war began. The rise has made mortgages and other kinds of loans for U.S. households and businesses more expensive.

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AP Writers Chan Ho-him, Matt Ott and Rod McGuirk contributed.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the forces prefer a peaceful effort to “guide” the more than 22,500 mariners stuck on more than 1,550 vessels out of the Persian Gulf, but are ready if needs change. “This is a temporary mission for us,” Hegseth said. “We expect the world to step up.”

It is unclear what will follow. The U.S. Central Command said Iran earlier launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at civilian ships under the U.S. military’s protection, and that U.S. helicopters sank six small boats involved in the attacks. It denied Iranian reports that American vessels had been struck. Caine and Hegseth said the ceasefire is not over. Shortly thereafter, the United Arab Emirates said it was defending against more Iranian strikes.

Trump Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Rome and Vatican City this week in a bid to ease rising tensions between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV, Trump has lashed out at the pope again, misrepresenting the pontiff’s laments about the Iran war and accusing him of “endangering a lot of Catholics.”

Here is the latest:

Rubio opens briefing with statement on Iran, then mixes it up

Not being as familiar with who is in the White House press corps, Rubio said to one reporter, “I wish I knew your name” and asked if they could put on name tags to help him out. He pointed at reporters instead of calling on them by name.

Rubio at another point said the White House press office had given him a seating chart to help him but joked that some outlets has been marked with a red X. The comment prompted laughter from the packed room of journalists.

He answered questions with his typical rapid-fire delivery and alternated between laughter and more sober comments.

As he answered a question about Iran, Rubio prefaced his response with, “I can’t tell you what to write.” That amounted to a change from Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who regularly tell the press corps what they should write about.

Rubio says many countries want to help open US open Hormuz but some lack the capabilities to do so

Asked what the global appetite is for the U.S. effort to reopen the strait, Rubio says the issue has not been a lack of interest but that not many are able to provide the assets and resources needed.

“The capabilities is the issue. A lot of countries would love to do something about it. But they don’t have a navy, right? Or they can’t get there in time ...” he said.

He said the onus is on the U.S.

“The primary responsibility for this Project Freedom is on the United States, because we’re the only country that can project power in that part of the world,” he said. “This is a favor to the world because it’s their ships that are stranded.”

Rubio downplays rift between Trump and Pope Leo ahead of visit to Vatican

Rubo is downplaying the rift between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV over Iran ahead of a key visit the top U.S. diplomat will make to Vatican City this week.

Rubio told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that Trump’s recent criticism of the first American pontiff was rooted in his opposition to Iran potentially obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could be used against millions of Catholics and other Christians around the world.

Trump “doesn’t understand why anybody leave aside the Pope, the president and I, for that matter, think most people cannot understand why anyone would think that it’s a good idea for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon,” Rubio said.

Rubio says Iran claims of not wanting a nuke are not backed up by actions

Rubio says Iranian claims of not wanting to develop nuclear weapons are belied by their actions.

Rubio said Tuesday that Iran must make a choice between war and peace but that peace will require a convincing demonstration that the Iranian government won’t attempt to pursue atomic arms.

Rubio told reporters at the White House that Iran’s development of advanced centrifuge technology, its enrichment of uranium and construction of underground bunkers made clear the government was not serious about its no-nukes pledge.

‘We’re not attacking them’: Rubio echoes US message that Strait of Hormuz operation is defensive only

Rubio on Tuesday reiterated that U.S. efforts to reopen the strait is not an offensive operation despite clashes with Iran in the last several days.

“There’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first, OK? We’re not attacking them. We’re not,” Rubio told reporters. “If they pose a threat to our forces, we’ll shoot down drones, we’ll shoot down missiles. But it’s defensive in nature.”

So far, only two merchant ships are known to have passed through the new U.S.-guarded route, with hundreds more bottled up in the Persian Gulf. Shippers are still wary, and it’s unclear whether U.S. military action can reassure them without reigniting the conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.

US coming to aid of civilian sailors ‘left for dead,’ Rubio says

Rubio said about 23,000 civilian sailors are stranded in the Persian Gulf and “left for dead” as Iran chokes the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking at a White House press briefing on Tuesday, he said the U.S. military effort to guide ships through the strait aims to help those sailors.

“They’re sitting ducks, they’re isolated, they’re starving, they’re vulnerable,” Rubio said. “At least 10 sailors have already died as a result.”

He the sailors come from 87 countries and are innocent bystanders.

“It’s criminal for sure, but it’s desperate and destructive to block the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

Pope Leo calls out Trump’s misrepresentation of his views on Iran and nuclear weapons

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Leo said the Catholic Church “for years has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there.”

Trump again accused Leo in an interview Tuesday of being “OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.” Leo has said no such thing and Catholic Church teaching says the mere possession of nuclear weapons is “immoral.”

Leo doubled down on his insistence that his call for peace and dialogue in the U.S-Israeli war in Iran is Biblically inspired.

“I’ve spoken from the first moment of being elected, and we’re near the anniversary: I said ‘Peace be with you,’” Leo said as he left his country house in Castel Gandolfo.

“The mission of the church is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace. If someone wants to criticize me for announcing the Gospel, let him do it with the truth,” Leo said. “And so I hope simply to be listened to about the value of the Word of God.”

Italy defends Pope Leo XIV against Trump criticism

Italy is again defending Pope Leo XIV and his call for peace and dialogue in the Iran war against President Donald Trump’s latest criticism.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a social media post Thursday that

President Donald Trump’s attacks “are neither acceptable nor helpful to the cause of peace.”

“I reaffirm my support for every action and word of Pope Leo; his words are a testament to dialogue, the value of human life, and freedom. This is a vision shared by our government, which is committed through diplomacy to ensuring stability and peace in all areas where conflicts exist,” Tajani wrote.

Trump on Tuesday renewed his criticism of Leo’s peace message over the Iran war and warned Leo was “endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people.”

Trump’s criticism, in an interview with conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt, came even as his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, prepares to visit Italy and the Vatican ostensibly to ease tensions with Washington.

Rubio is due to meet with Leo on Thursday and is due to see Tajani and Premier Giorgia Meloni on Friday.

Trump offers an optimistic take on China’s position on Iran

The president in an exchange with reporters said that China hasn’t “challenged” him as he continues to press Iran even as Beijing has repeatedly criticized the U.S. and Israel military action against Iran.

“You know, in all fairness, he gets, like, 60% of his oil from (the Strait of) Hormuz,” Trump said of President Xi Jinping.

China, in fact, imported about half of its crude oil and almost one-third of its liquefied natural gas from the Middle East, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.

Trump offered a more measured take than Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who a day earlier said the administration wants to see Beijing “step up” and pressure Iran to open the strait. Bessent in an interview with Fox News said Iran would be high on Trump’s agenda when he travels to Beijing next week for a summit with Xi.

Pakistan military urges restraint as US-Iran tensions rise

Pakistan’s top military leadership on Tuesday urged restraint to help ease rising tensions between the United States and Iran.

The call came during a Corps Commanders Conference chaired by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Munir since last month has been in contact between the U.S. and Iranian officials as part of Pakistan’s efforts to end the conflict.

In a statement, the military said participants reviewed the evolving security environment amid Pakistan’s outreach to Washington and Tehran, adding that lasting peace depends on collective restraint, responsibility and respect for sovereignty.

French president says Trump’s tariff threats are wasting time

Europe and the United States have more important things to do, Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday, after Trump announced higher duties on European vehicles.

Trump said on Friday that he would increase the tariffs charged on cars and trucks from the European Union this week to 25%, a move that could further harm the global economy as it reels from war in the Middle East. EU and U.S. trade officials were due to meet in Paris on Tuesday to discuss the issue.

“Especially in the geopolitical period we are experiencing, allies like the United States of America and the European Union have much better things to do than to stir up threats of destabilization,” Macron told reporters in Armenia, adding that he hopes “reason will prevail soon.”

JD Vance woos Republican voters, including farmers who want the war to end

Vice President JD Vance heads to Iowa on Tuesday, his first visit since taking office to the state where Republicans in less than two years will cast the initial votes to pick their party’s next presidential nominee.

Seen as one of the GOP’s strongest potential candidates for president in 2028, Vance stopped first in Cincinnati to vote in the primary, saying he picked Vivek Ramaswamy for governor. He’s also holding a fundraiser in Oklahoma City as finance chair of the Republican National Committee.

Higher prices for gas and fertilizer and Trump’s tariffs have been hitting voters hard, and Vance’s political prospects are complicated by the war in Iran. Vance has seemed a reluctant defender of the 9-week-old war, for which Trump has struggled to find an off-ramp.

Iowa’s farmers have steadfastly supported the president, but they’ve been looking for assurances that the troubles won’t last.

Rubio to brief at White House with press secretary on maternity leave

The secretary of state is putting on yet another Trump administration hat — White House spokesperson.

Rubio is scheduled to fill in Tuesday for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who is on leave awaiting the birth of her second child. His briefing is scheduled for 3 p.m. EDT.

The nation’s top diplomat already doubles as Trump’s national security adviser and for a while was the acting archivist of the United States and the acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

His last formal briefing for reporters was at the State Department briefing room in December.

Scuttlebutt around the White House has been that Rubio will be among a handful of high-level administration officials leading the press briefings while Leavitt is away.

Proposed UN resolution demands Iran halt attacks on ships in Strait of Hormuz and stop `illegal tolls’

The proposed Security Council resolution, co-sponsored by the United States and Gulf nations, threatens Iran with sanctions or other measures if it doesn’t restore freedom of navigation and immediately disclose where sea mines have been placed in and around the vital waterway.

The draft, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, also demands that Iran “immediately participate in and enable the United Nations efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor in the strait” to enable vital aid, fertilizer and other goods to transit.

The proposed resolution was drafted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which can be enforced militarily. It threatens “effective measures that are commensurate with the gravity of the situation, including sanctions” if Iran doesn’t comply.

A previous resolution aimed at opening the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20% of the world’s crude oil had transited, was vetoed by Russia and China.

Oracle is one of 8 firms providing AI capabilities to the US military

Software behemoth Oracle really is among the tech firms providing artificial intelligence capabilities to the U.S. military over classified computer networks.

The Defense Department has been ramping up its use of AI to fight wars and to more efficiently perform other operations. The Pentagon announced Friday that it’s contracting with seven companies to use their infrastructure. Oracle was not initially on the list. The others are Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Nvidia, OpenAI, Reflection and SpaceX.

Oracle, now based in Texas, said the military’s use of its AI over classified systems will “enhance situational awareness and strengthen warfighter decision-making in complex operations.”

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to an email seeking clarity on why Oracle was left off Friday’s news release announcing the contracts. The news release was later updated to include Oracle.

Former military officers say reopening the strait remains a daunting task

Former military officers who have served on the Strait of Hormuz have said opening it would be dangerous and highly challenging, even with military escorts, which the U.S. isn’t providing now.

There’s little room to maneuver in the narrow waterway, and Iran can reach all of the strait and its approaches with anti-ship cruise missiles. It also can target vessels with longer-range missiles, drones, fast attack craft and naval mines.

Experts say reducing the threat would involve targeting offensive installations on the ground inside Iran and having constant surveillance and patrols.

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Insurance broker says it’s too early to know how US military effort will affect shipping through the strait

Marcus Baker, global head of marine, cargo and logistics for insurance broker and risk adviser Marsh Risk, said it would take a few days to see how the insurance market reacts.

“We just have to see what happens, whether the Iranians keep the peace, whether the Americans keep the peace, and exactly what that’s going mean for shipping,” he said.

“There’s rhetoric from both sides on this, and we’ve just got to be mindful of that,” he added. But he said “anything that starts to increase certainty around safety has got to be a good thing.”

One of the world’s largest container shipping companies says Hormuz transits not yet possible

“At this point in time our risk assessment remains unchanged,” the Hamburg, Germany-based shipping company Hapag-Lloyd AG said in a statement. “Transits through the Strait of Hormuz are for the moment not possible for our ships.”

With another boat strike, death toll in Latin American waters reaches 188

The Trump administration’s campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters has persisted since early September.

Despite the Iran war, the strikes have ramped up again in recent weeks to stop what the administration calls “narcoterrorism” in the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs.

In the latest attack Monday, U.S. Southern Command repeated previous statements by saying it had targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. It posted a video on X showing a boat moving along the water before a massive explosion engulfs the vessel in flames.

UAE is under Iranian attack again, defense ministry says

The United Arab Emirates is “actively engaging” with missile and drone attack from Iran, the country’s defense ministry said on X Tuesday evening.

It said sounds heard in parts of the Gulf federation are related to the interception of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.

US job openings were unchanged at 6.9 million in March but hiring improved

U.S. job openings were essentially unchanged at 6.9 million, another sign the American labor remained sluggish even before the full impact of the Iran war hit the economy.

The job market has been up and down so far this year after a dismal 2025. And the Iran war has clouded the outlook for the economy and hiring.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that layoffs rose in March. But hiring improved, and more people quit their jobs — a sign of confidence in the economy.

Trump’s drugmaker deals may save economy $529B over 10 years, White House says

White House economists estimate the deals with pharmaceutical companies to drop some U.S. prescription drug prices to what they charge in other countries could save $529 billion over the next 10 years.

The analysis obtained by The Associated Press includes the first economy-wide projections behind a policy at the core of Trump’s pitch to voters going into November’s elections for control of the House and Senate. Democratic lawmakers have doubted Trump’s claims, and these new numbers are likely to trigger additional questions about the data.

Cost-of-living issues are at the forefront of voters’ concerns and higher energy prices tied to the Iran war have deepened the public’s anxiety. Few of the details of the deals struck by the Trump administration and 17 leading pharmaceutical companies have been made public, making it hard to independently verify the projected savings.

Death toll in Lebanon reaches 2,702 since Israel-Hezbollah war began

The Health Ministry in Beirut said Tuesday that 8,311 people were wounded during the same period.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war started on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel following the U.S. and Israel’s attacks on Iran.

A ceasefire has been in place since April 17 but both Israel and Hezbollah have been carrying out daily attacks since then.

Analyst: the situation around the Strait of Hormuz remains highly uncertain

That’s because Iran still clearly intends to attack ships that try to transit without going through the Iran-approved route near the Iranian coastline, said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

“This initiative alone isn’t something that looks like it’s going to open the Strait of Hormuz,” he said. Shipping and insurance companies “still have to wait and see how this plays out.”

Taking the northern route involves going through vetting by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and payment, in at least some cases. The U.S.-guided “Project Freedom” route goes through territorial waters of Oman to the south.

Reopening the strait “can really only be done through either an agreement between the United States or Iran,” or if the U.S. significantly diminishes Iran’s ability to attack using drones, missiles and small boats, he said.

French president says Iranian president asked to talk

“I will be speaking with the Iranian president shortly at his request,” Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday.

″France has maintained a consistent position from the start. We call for the cessation of all hostilities, the return to diplomatic negotiations, and respect for all countries in the region,” Macron said. “Tthe only possible option is the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz ... and the absence of any tolls or coercive measures.”

“Any unilateral escalation against tankers, container ships, or third countries is a mistake that fuels war and leads to escalation,” Macron said.

Hegseth says Iranians still had ‘will’ to develop nukes

After the bombing of nuclear sites last summer, Hegseth says U.S. forces participated in new strikes this year alongside Israel because the Iranians’ “will was still there to seek a nuclear bomb.”

The secretary was asked about intelligence reports showing that, despite the initial bombing in Operation Midnight Hammer, the timeline for Iranian nuclear weapon development remained at 9 to 12 months.

“The obliteration of those facilities set back their program,” Hegseth said. “Hopefully Iran chooses a deal that they give up those ambitions, give up those capabilities.”

Hegseth also says ceasefire is not over

The defense secretary confirmed that the ceasefire remains in effect despite some Iran strikes and the ongoing U.S. blockade.

“No, the ceasefire is not over,” Hegseth said, reaffirming Caine’s earlier statements.

Daniel Alejandro Moreno-Gama, wearing an orange jail uniform, did not speak as his attorney entered the pleas during his arraignment in state court. The 20-year-old also faces federal charges.

Moreno-Gama, of Spring, Texas, hurled the flammable bomb at Altman’s home last month, setting an exterior gate alight before fleeing on foot, authorities allege. Less than an hour later, he went to OpenAI’s headquarters about 3 miles (5 kilometers) away and threatened to burn down the building, they say.

Diamond Ward, the public defender representing Moreno-Gama, said after the hearing that her client was experiencing a mental health crisis and had been excessively charged.

“Daniel is a kind, hard-working person who has been publicly advocating for peaceful measures to address the danger of AI on humanity,” she said.

She attributed Moreno-Gama's actions to “a mental health crisis and not any desire to harm" and suggested prosecutors were trying to curry favor with Altman and were ignoring evidence of her client's mental health issues.

During the hearing, Ward requested a mental health evaluation for Moreno-Gama. The judge granted the request and scheduled another hearing for later this month to discuss the results.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said last month that Moreno-Gama carried out a “targeted attack on Mr. Altman” and that prosecutors had evidence to substantiate the charges.

Moreno-Gama’s parents said in a statement shortly after the attack that he has never harmed anyone and recently began having mental health issues.

Authorities said Moreno-Gama, who works part-time at a pizzeria and is attending community college, expressed hatred of artificial intelligence in his writings, describing it as a danger to humanity and warning of “impending extinction,” according to court filings.

Officials haven't said whether Altman was home at the time of the attack.

The state charges, which also include attempted arson and attempted criminal threats, carry penalties ranging from 19 years to life in prison.

Federal prosecutors charged Moreno-Gama with possession of an unregistered firearm, and damage and destruction of property by means of explosives. Those charges carry respective maximum prison sentences of 10 years and 20 years.

Moreno-Gama made an initial appearance in federal court on Friday.

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This story was updated to correct the spelling of Moreno-Gama’s last name.

It was not a random act of violence and the attacker knew the victims, Carrollton Police Chief Roberto Arredondo said.

"It was a known business relationship. We are still working through trying to identify his causes,” Arredondo said.

After a short chase on foot, the 69-year-old suspect, Seung Han Ho, was arrested about 4 miles (6 kilometers) away at a grocery store, police said. It was not immediately known if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

Police were at a nearby apartment complex where Ho was listed as having recently lived. Neighbors said they didn’t recognize the name.

Shortly after the shooting, officers with their guns drawn walked past doors at K Towne Plaza in an area of Carrollton known as Koreatown. Agents from the FBI and another federal agency were among law enforcement at the scene.

Carrollton, population 130,000, is 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Dallas. More than 4,000 residents are of Korean descent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In the last 20 years, it has grown into a thriving Koreatown for the metro Dallas area, thanks to Korean investors. It’s anchored by big-box businesses like H Mart as well as dozens of restaurants serving everything from Korean fried chicken to shaved ice desserts.

The city is also home to multiple Korean churches from Baptist to Presbyterian.

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AP reporters Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this story.

Saka was on hand to tap in a rebound in the 45th minute to send the hosts into the break with the advantage after Leandro Trossard’s shot was saved by Jan Oblak. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw.

Arsenal had enjoyed about two thirds of the possession until then without managing to test Oblak in a cagey and physical encounter.

Arsenal wanted a penalty when Antoine Griezmann bundled Trossard over in the area in the 35th, but referee Daniel Siebert waved play on.

The winner will take on either defending champion Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich. PSG won the first leg of their semifinal 5-4, and the second leg is in Munich on Wednesday.

Arsenal is hoping to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years, with Atletico looking to end a 10-year wait. Both teams are looking for a first European Cup title.

Atletico has reached the final twice under Simeone, in 2014 and 2016, losing both times to crosstown rival Real Madrid.

Arsenal lost its only final — in 2006 to Barcelona.

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

That’s why, this month, our Go 4 It event is a tool drive to collect certain tools for spring cleaning and general summer lawn/garden care.

The Bailey Park tool library collects tools that can be rented out or given to people who need them.

So we’re heading to the Bailey Park tool library -- 2617 Joseph Campau in Detroit (just off Gratiot) -- to collect new and gently used tools. Please don’t bring used tools and equipment that no longer work.

Stop by between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, 2026, if you would like to help out and donate some tools.

READ: Detroit expands tool library program to empower neighborhood cleanups

If you can’t make it on May 20 but you still want to contribute, click here to donate online.

List of needed equipment

Here’s a list of the needed equipment:

General tools:

• Riding lawn mowers
• Tillers
• Table saws
• Post hole digger (fencing, urban gardens)
• Folding work tables / sawhorses
• Portable lighting kits (for dim basements)
• Battery charging kits (multi-brand if possible)
• Moving tools (dollies, furniture sliders)

Must-have (high-use):

• Electric lawn mowers (compact, foldable)
• String trimmers
• Leaf blowers
• Snow shovels
• Ice scrapers + salt spreaders
• Rakes (leaf + hard rake)
• Shovels (round-point + flat)
• Folding table (for clean-up events
• Folding chairs

Very valuable in Detroit:

• Chainsaw
• Pole saw
• Hedge trimmers
• Pressure washer

Shared transport tools:

• Wheelbarrows
• Garden carts
• Trash/debris bins (heavy-duty)

Home repair -- essential hand tools:

• Hammers
• Screwdriver sets
• Pliers (all types)
• Adjustable wrenches
• Tape measures
• Utility knives
• Pry bars
• Levels

Power tools (core inventory):

• Cordless drill/driver kits
• Impact drivers
• Circular saws
• Reciprocating saws
• Orbital sanders
• Jigsaws
• Angle grinders
• Heat guns
• Shop vacs

Renovation and rehab tools (heavy use):

• Drywall tools (taping knives, sanding poles)
• Stud finders
• Laser level
• Tile cutter (manual + small electric)
• Flooring tools (pull bars, tapping blocks)
• Caulking guns
• Paint kits (rollers, poles, trays)

Electrical and plumbing:

• Voltage testers
• Extension cords (contractor-grade)
• Pipe wrenches
• Basin wrench
• Drain snakes
• Plungers (multiple types)
• Tubing cutters (copper/PVC)

Access equipment:

• Step ladders
• Extension ladders
• Ladder stabilizers

Cleaning:

• Shop vacs (wet/dry)
• Carpet cleaners
• Pressure washers
• Push brooms

Winter seasonal priority items:

• Snow blowers (compact, electric or gas)
• Ice chippers
• Roof snow rakes

Safety gear:

• Safety glasses
• Gloves (cut-resistant + winter)
• Hearing protection
• New Dust masks/respirators

How to borrow tools

Anyone in the community who needs to borrow a tool can do so from these five places:

• Bailey Park Tool Library -- 2617 Joseph Campau, Detroit
• Motor City Grounds Crew -- East Warren Tool Library
• The Detroit ToolBank -- 575 E Milwaukee St., Detroit, MI
• Premier Group Associates
• Carhartt Tool Rental

Go 4 It event details

• Who: WDIV is partnering with Henry Ford Health, the Gilbert Family Foundation, and the Bailey Park tool library.
• What: “Go 4 It: Tools to Spare” tool drive.
• Where: Bailey Park tool library -- 2617 Joseph Campau in Detroit.
• When: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
• Why: To collect new and gently used tools

The draft Security Council resolution, co-sponsored by the United States and Gulf nations and obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, also demands that Iran “immediately participate in and enable” United Nations efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor in the strait to enable the delivery of vital aid, fertilizer and other goods.

It is the latest diplomatic effort by the U.S. and its Gulf allies after a watered-down resolution aimed at opening the strait was vetoed by China and Russia hours before Washington and Tehran announced a temporary ceasefire in early April.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday accused Iran of continuing “to hold the world’s economy hostage” by trying to close the strait, threatening to attack ships, laying sea mines, and attempting to charge tolls “for the world’s most important waterway.”

“The United States looks forward to this resolution being voted on in the coming days and to receiving support from Security Council members and a broad base of co-sponsors,” he said in a statement.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz told reporters Monday he believes the new, narrow proposal will gain the necessary support it needs to pass the 15-member council, without triggering opposition or a veto from Iran’s allies.

The U.S. and Gulf nations proposed the new draft as the Trump administration tries to restore freedom of navigation in the strait, which carried about 20% of the world’s crude oil before the U.S. and Israel began the war on Feb. 28. A shaky ceasefire remains in effect.

The proposed resolution, which was drafted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter and thus could be enforced militarily, threatens “effective measures that are commensurate with the gravity of the situation, including sanctions” if Iran doesn’t comply. The earlier resolution removed a Chapter 7 reference but was still vetoed.

The new draft resolution reaffirms the right of all countries to defend their vessels from attacks and provocations, and orders all other countries not to assist Iran in closing the strait or levying tolls.

The draft also “welcomes ongoing efforts to deconflict and coordinate safe and secure transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz, expresses support for ongoing efforts to seek a durable peace in the region, and encourages member states in the region to strengthen dialogue and consultations in this regard.”

___

Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.

Protesters marched up to Tennessee's Capitol on Tuesday as a special legislative session began that could carve up a majority-Black district in Memphis. In Alabama, meanwhile, Republican lawmakers pressed ahead with a plan that could upend the state's congressional primaries. And South Carolina officials considered whether to join the redistricting movement.

Louisiana lawmakers also are making plans for new U.S. House districts after the Supreme Court last week struck down the state's current map. The high court’s ruling said Louisiana relied too heavily on race when creating a second Black-majority House district as it attempted to comply with the Voting Rights Act. The ruling significantly altered a decades-old understanding of the law, giving Republicans in various states grounds to try to eliminate majority-Black districts that have elected Democrats.

It could lessen congressional representation for Black Americans and other minorities, reversing decades of gains in minority voting rights.

President Donald Trump has been encouraging more states to join in redistricting as Republicans seek to hold on to their narrow House majority in this year’s elections.

Eight states already have adopted new U.S. districts ahead of the midterms. From that, Republicans think they could gain as many as 13 seats in five states, while Democrats think they could gain up to 10 seats from new districts in three other states. But some of the new districts could be competitive in November, meaning the parties may not get all they sought.

The newly proposed redistricting in Southern states could add to the Republicans’ tally.

Tennessee plan targets Memphis district

Republican Gov. Bill Lee called Tennessee lawmakers into a special session to consider a plan urged by Trump that could break up the state’s lone Democratic-held U.S. House district, centered on the majority-Black city of Memphis.

As the Senate began work, shouts of “shame, shame, shame” could be heard inside the chamber from protesters gathered in the hallways.

At a rally earlier Tuesday, state Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis, who is running for Congress, denounced the Republican plan as a “racist redistricting.”

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, who is white, said the Memphis-based district he represents predates the Voting Rights Act.

“Memphis has been a majority black district historically, because that is where the population is,” he said. “It’s a district that is compact, and it has community purpose.”

Martin Luther King III sent a letter to Tennessee legislative leaders expressing “grave concern” about the plan to divide Memphis’ congressional representation.

“This decision undermines the work that my father, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., carried out to help secure passage of the Voting Rights Act,” he wrote, noting that his father was assassinated in Memphis.

The candidate qualifying period in Tennessee ended in March, and the primary election is scheduled for Aug. 6.

Alabama looks at setting a new primary

Alabama legislative committees swiftly advanced legislation Tuesday that would allow a special congressional primary, if the Supreme Court clears the way for the state to change its U.S. House districts.

In light of the court's ruling on Louisiana's districts, Alabama officials have asked the high court to set aside a judicial order to use a U.S. House map that includes two districts with a substantial number of Black voters and instead let the state revert to a map passed in 2023 by Republican lawmakers. That map could help the GOP win at least one of those two seats currently held by Democrats.

Alabama's primaries are scheduled for May 19. If the Supreme Court grants the state's request after or too close to the primary, the legislation under consideration would ignore the results of that primary and direct the governor to schedule a new primary under the revised districts.

“This is an opportunity for the voters to vote in the districts drawn by legislators in 2023,” said Republican state Rep. Chris Pringle, the bill's sponsor.

During a House committee hearing, several Black residents urged lawmakers not to change the current congressional districts.

“Representation matters — not just politically but in access, in power and in who gets to be heard,” said Eliza Jane Franklin, of rural Barbour County.

Democrats denounced legislation as a Republican power grab that harkens back to the state’s shameful history of denying Black residents equal rights and representation.

Republicans are “working to secure an electoral victory by taking Alabama back to the Jim Crow era, and we won’t go back,” Democratic U.S. Rep Terri Sewell told a crowd gathered outside the Alabama Statehouse.

Advocates urge Louisiana voters to cast ballots

After last week’s Supreme Court decision, Louisiana moved to delay its May 16 congressional primary to allow time for lawmakers to approve new U.S. House districts.

Louisiana state Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, a Republican who chairs a Senate committee tasked with redistricting, told The Associated Press that his committee plans to hold a public hearing Friday. Kleinpeter said lawmakers are still weighing their options, including bills that would eliminate one or both of the state’s two majority-Black Congressional districts.

Democrats and civil rights groups have filed several lawsuits challenging the suspension of Louisiana's congressional primary. They are encouraging people in Louisiana — where early voting already is underway — to go ahead and cast votes in the congressional primaries in case courts later allow them to be counted.

___

Chandler reported from Montgomery, Alabama, and Lieb from Jefferson City, Missouri. Associated Press writers Jack Brook in New Orleans, Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, and Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.

In Ohio Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown is running to reclaim his old job. Vivek Ramaswamy, a tech entrepreneur and former presidential candidate, faces auto-racing engineer and internet personality Casey Putsch for the Republican nomination for governor.

In Indiana President Donald Trump’s push to gerrymander districts across the country hit a snag last year in Indiana when half of the state’s Republican senators sided with Democrats to defeat the plan. Now the president has endorsed primary challengers against seven of those state senators,

Here is the latest:

Trump goes after Indiana Republicans who voted against redistricting

In a social media post while voters were headed to the polls, Trump said Republican state senators who voted against redistricting “couldn’t care less about our Country, or about keeping the Majority in Congress.”

Trump described the senators who crossed him as RINOs, which means “Republican in name only.” And he hailed “Great Patriots” that he’s endorsed to oust them.

Big spending in Indiana state Senate primary

Groups allied to defeat Indiana state Sen. Spencer Deery will have spent $2 million in ads attacking him by the time polls close. That’s more than any other district where incumbents are trying to fend off Trump-backed challengers.

Deery is completing his first term and was the first Republican senator to publicly oppose redistricting.

Paula Copenhaver is challenging him. She’s a close ally of Republican Lieutenant Gov. Micah Beckwith and is Fountain County GOP chair in rural, western Indiana. Deery beat Copenhaver in a four-way Republican primary for the seat four years ago.

The super PAC run by Indiana U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, Hoosier Leadership PAC, will have spent more than $1.1 million on ads attacking Deery through Election Day, according to the ad-tracking service AdImpact. Gov. Mike Braun’s American Leadership PAC will have spent more than $900,000 doing the same, according to the group.

Deery is on track to have spent more than $745,000 on this year’s primary, far more than last time.

YouTube provocateur Casey Putsch hopes he’s a spoiler in Ohio governor contest

An engineer and vehicle designer who calls himself “The Car Guy,” Putsch is making a long-shot bid for Ohio governor against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.

After the last-minute disqualification of another candidate’s ticket, the 44-year-old from northwest Ohio ended up as Ramaswamy’s only primary opponent.

Putsch has attracted fans and critics with his provocative YouTube videos, which often — subtly or overtly — take aim at Ramaswamy’s Indian heritage or Hindu faith.

On the campaign trail, he’s also been critical of President Donald Trump, energy guzzling data centers and national Republicans’ support for Israel and handling of the Epstein files.

How Indiana Gov. Mike Braun is helping Trump go after Republicans

Trump is throwing his name behind Republican challengers to GOP senators who opposed redistricting. But Braun is carrying out much of the work.

After Trump’s pledge last year to rally against GOP senators who blocked the effort and are seeking reelection, Braun picked the candidates.

Frustrated by Rodrick Bray, the Senate GOP leader who opposed redistricting, Braun recruited the seven Republicans challengers on the pledge that they oppose Bray for leader.

In his break with party orthodoxy, Braun has also committed $3 million to advertising from his American Leadership PAC attacking those incumbents on the wishes of the president, according statistics collected by the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.

That includes almost $900,000 alone in ads attacking Republican state Sen. Spencer Deery of West Lafayette, the first Republican senator to oppose redistricting and a protege of former GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels, who is an opponent of the redistricting measure.

What happened after Indiana said no to redistricting

The Republican-controlled Indiana Senate in December rejected the measure that would have shaded all nine of the states congressional districts as favorable to the party, and halted progress on the party’s effort nationally.

The move defied months of urging by the White House led by Vice President JD Vance, who traveled twice to Indianapolis and hosted many in the caucus in Washington, where Trump phoned in to address the group.

While Indiana was considering the measure, voters in Democratic-leaning California approved Proposition 50, which allowed the state Legislature to bypass the independent commission to redraw districts for the next three biennial elections.

Republicans think they could win up to nine more seats under revised districts in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio. But Democrats think they could win as many as 10 additional seats under new districts in California, Utah and Virginia, though legal challenges remain in both Missouri and Virginia.

Trump’s involvement turned off some voters in Indiana

Emily Bohall Board, 37, an occupational therapist in Columbus, Indiana, said she had never voted in a Republican primary before Tuesday. But the issue of redistricting compelled her to cast a ballot for Sen. Greg Walker.

“Greg Walker is the only option not supported by Donald Trump, and I have been very upset about everything Trump has done,” Board said.

Madison Long, 28, an attorney, who also voted for Walker, criticized Michelle Davis, Walker’s opponent, for her ties to Trump.

“She doesn’t have any promises of her own or any agenda of her own. Her goal is to just follow Trump,” Long said. “I find that extremely concerning given the nature of the nationwide politics.”

What's at stake in the Michigan special election

The race will determine whether Democrats maintain a majority in the state Senate for the final months of the year.

Democrats currently control the state Senate 19-18. If Democrat Chedrick Greene wins, Democrats keep their majority.

If Republican Jason Tunney wins, the Senate would be tied, making it tougher for Democrats to advance Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s agenda. While Democratic Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II would serve as the tie-breaking vote, Republicans could effectively block any measure from passing by not having all members vote.

There’s another reason people are watching the race: The swing district in a battleground state could give clues to what will happen in November’s midterms..

Vice President JD Vance casts ballot

Vance backed Vivek Ramaswamy for governor and Jon Husted for Senate. Husted was appointed to fill Vance’s seat after he became vice president.

“Well, I think Jon’s going to do a great job. He’s a good guy, and he’s been good for Ohio,” Vance said.

Vance was with his son Vivek, who filled out a paper ballot for children.

“He voted for the Easter bunny over the tooth fairy,” the vice president said.

Sherrod Brown attempts a comeback

The Democrat is fighting to get back to the U.S. Senate.

The former three-term U.S. senator, long one of Ohio’s most electable Democrats, briefly left politics after losing a reelection bid to Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024.

Brown, 73, faces first-time Democratic candidate Ron Kincaid in his quest to unseat Husted this fall. Husted was appointed to the chamber in January 2025 to fill a seat formerly held by Vice President JD Vance.

Before entering the Senate in 2007 after a surprise victory over now Gov. Mike DeWine, then the incumbent, Brown was a seven-term U.S. representative and a two-term secretary of state. Prior to that, he was the youngest person elected to the Ohio House, where he served eight years.

Brown is married to Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Connie Schultz and has two grown children. The couple lives in suburban Columbus.

Temperatures are about 15 to 20 degrees cooler than Monday, when we had highs in the mid-70s.

Overnight rain will eventually move out, and cold air will settle in with lows dipping into the 40s.

A slight improvement with sky conditions, with the possibility of the sun breaking through the clouds from time to time.

But we keep in a chance of a sprinkle or two as well.

Highs remain below average through the end of the week in the upper 50s to right around 60 degrees.

Our average high is now 67 degrees.

Saturday looks to be a bit warmer with highs returning to at least the upper 60s.

Find the latest forecast from the 4Warn Weather team here

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

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The case centers on a Dec. 2 encounter at Diggs’ home in Dedham, where Jamila Adams, a former live-in personal chef who is known as Mila, testified he slapped and choked her during an argument. Diggs has pleaded not guilty to a felony strangulation charge and a misdemeanor assault and battery charge, and his attorneys say the alleged assault never happened.

The case has also turned on questions about Adams’ credibility and whether the dispute was about money or an alleged assault. Defense attorneys pointed to financial demands she made and testimony from friends and employees who said she did not appear injured in the days after the encounter, while prosecutors argued the case rests on her account of what happened inside the home.

Defense attorney Andrew Kettlewell told jurors during closing arguments that prosecutors had not presented “a single shred of credible evidence” that an assault occurred.

“There was no assault, no strangulation, no incident at all on that day or any other day,” he said.

Assistant District Attorney Drew Virtue urged jurors to weigh Adams’ testimony carefully and not to disregard it because she was not “a perfect witness.”

“She was argumentative, avoidant, difficult. But does that mean you should throw away everything she said? No,” he said, adding that jurors should give her testimony “the attention, the scrutiny, the weight it deserves.”

Adams declined to answer questions Tuesday about financial demands made on her behalf during cross-examination, as defense attorneys pressed her over claims she was owed money and inconsistencies in what she said she was paid.

Money vs. motive

Earlier in the trial, Adams became emotional on the stand while describing an alleged encounter with Diggs on in which she said he entered her room following an argument over text.

Adams, who said she lived in the NFL star’s home and prepared all of his meals, testified that Diggs “smacked me with an open hand” before wrapping his arm around her neck and choking her, leaving her struggling to breathe. She described what she called a “complicated” relationship, saying it had previously been sexual but was not at the time of the alleged assault.

Adams said she met Diggs in 2022 on Instagram and that the two became friends — at times “friends with benefits,” as one of his attorneys described it — before she was later hired to live in his home and prepare his meals during the football season.

Defense attorneys pressed Adams about money she said she was owed after working as a live-in chef. She testified she was paid about $2,000 a week and believed she had not been fully compensated after being sent home. They pointed to a $19,000 demand and said the amount increased over time, with her attorney later seeking $5.5 million.

When asked about the $5.5 million claim, Adams said, “I can’t speak on that,” and at other points told jurors, “I don’t understand the question” and “I don’t know how to answer the question.”

At one point, Adams said Diggs had offered her $100,000 to recant her statement to the police, but that remark was struck from the record after the judge called the attorneys to a sidebar.

At times during her second day on the stand, Adams was instructed by the judge to answer questions directly and not include additional details beyond what was asked. Portions of her responses were struck from the record as nonresponsive, with jurors told to disregard them.

“This is not an opportunity for you to interject your own narrative and evade answering questions,” Judge Jeanmarie Carroll told her at one point, warning that continued nonresponsive answers could result in her testimony being stricken.

Witnesses describe accuser’s appearance after alleged attack

Kenneth Ellis, the Dedham police officer who took Adams’ initial report, testified that she arrived at the station visibly upset, telling jurors she “sat down on the bench and she was crying.” He said Adams initially asked to speak with a female officer before later agreeing to give a statement and identifying Diggs as the person involved.

Under cross-examination, Ellis said he did not observe visible injuries, collect photographs or speak with other witnesses, and that his investigation relied largely on Adams’ account and text messages she provided.

Defense attorneys also sought to challenge Adams’ account through testimony from people in Diggs’ orbit and evidence they said reflected her demeanor in the days after the alleged incident.

His chief of staff, massage therapist, a nurse who provided IV treatments and his hairstylist all testified that they saw her around the time of the attack and that she said nothing about being assaulted.

His hairstylist, Xia Charles, testified that she spent time with Adams in New York in the days after the alleged incident and did not notice any injuries. She said Adams appeared normal and that she did not see marks on her neck or elsewhere.

Defense attorneys also showed jurors cellphone videos of Adams socializing, including clips of her in a car listening to music and dancing, which they suggested showed her demeanor in the days following the incident.

Jeanelle Sales, Diggs’ chief of staff, who also goes by “Sunni,” testified she saw Adams at the home on the day she alleged she was assaulted and did not see visible marks, redness or swelling on her neck or face. She said Adams appeared to be in normal spirits.

“She was walking around looking for a piece of paper and a pen to write a card — I guess, write a note to him for his birthday gift,” Sales said.

Prosecutors pushed back on that testimony, suggesting the witnesses’ livelihoods were tied to Diggs and that they had a financial interest in the outcome of the case.

In an interview with conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt, Trump said the first American-born pontiff is helping Iran and also making the world less safe with his comments about the importance of not treating immigrants with disrespect.

“The pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said in the interview on Monday. “And I don’t think that’s very good. I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people.”

The pope, however, has not said Iran should obtain nuclear weapons. He’s called for more peace talks, and criticized war with Iran generally and Trump’s specific threats of mass civilian strikes. The pope also has emphasized that he’s reflecting biblical and church teachings, not speaking as a political rival to Trump.

Leo responded to Trump's latest criticism by calling out the U.S. president's misrepresentation of his views. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, the pope said the Catholic Church “for years has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there.”

He also doubled down on his insistence that his call for peace and dialogue in the U.S-Israeli war in Iran is biblically inspired.

“The mission of the church is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace. If someone wants to criticize me for announcing the Gospel, let him do it with the truth,” Leo said.

Trump’s latest comments may make Rubio’s task more difficult when he sees the pontiff on Thursday. Rubio has often been called on to tone down or explain Trump’s harsh rhetoric as it relates to Europe, NATO and the Middle East, but the president’s dispute with the pope has domestic political implications in the U.S. with midterm congressional elections approaching.

The State Department said on Monday that Rubio, a practicing Catholic who after this trip will have visited Italy or the Vatican at least three times in the past year, would travel to Rome and Vatican City on Thursday and Friday.

Trump lashed out at Leo on social media last month, saying the pope was soft on crime and terrorism for comments about the administration’s immigration policies and deportations as well as the Iran war. Leo then said God doesn’t listen to the prayers of those who wage war.

Later, Trump posted a social media image likening himself to Jesus Christ, which he then deleted after backlash. He has refused to apologize to Leo and has sought to explain away the social media post by saying he thought the image was of him as a doctor.

The tension has spilled over into Italian politics, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a long-time Trump ally, taking exception to Trump’s comments about the pope.

Trump in return criticized her as his ire against NATO allies expands over what he sees as a lack of support for the Iran war — most recently with the Pentagon planning to pull thousands of troops out of Germany in the coming months.

In response to Trump's latest comments criticizing the pope, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a social media post that they were “neither acceptable nor helpful to the cause of peace.”

“I reaffirm my support for every action and word of Pope Leo; his words are a testament to dialogue, the value of human life, and freedom. This is a vision shared by our government, which is committed through diplomacy to ensuring stability and peace in all areas where conflicts exist,” Tajani wrote.

Rubio is expected to meet with Meloni and Tajani on Friday.

___ Nicole Winfield in Rome and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

The award is tied to the Presidential Fitness Test, which was a public-school fixture for decades but was phased out under President Barack Obama in favor of a program that minimized competition and focused on long-term health. Trump signed an order last summer to reestablish the fitness test, which was created in the 1950s.

“We’re bringing it back,” Trump said at an Oval Office ceremony alongside children and professional athletes. “My administration is working very hard to defend America’s cherished athletic traditions and pass our values of excellence and competitiveness to the next generation.”

The earlier exam tested students on a battery of exercises, including a 1-mile run and sit-ups. Those scoring above the 85th percentile for their gender in each component of the test received the Presidential Physical Fitness Award, though details of the revived test have yet to be released.

Trump unveiled the award at his desk while flanked by Cabinet members including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Housing Secretary Scott Turner. They were joined by children who said they played sports including football, volleyball, hockey and golf.

The test is being made mandatory for students at 161 schools located on U.S. military installations, Hegseth said in the Oval Office. He encouraged other schools across the country to follow.

“We need young, strong, healthy Americans, whether you serve in the military or any other aspect of your life,” Hegseth said. “The idea that competition is bad is the beginning of decline of a nation.”

Trump, an avid golfer and sports enthusiast, emphasized the importance of balancing both physical and mental fitness, saying that it's “all about the mind” at top levels of competition. He praised the athletes at the White House event while joking about his own fitness regimen.

“I work out so much, like about one minute a day, max — if I’m lucky,” Trump said.

Trump said he would be signing the first copy of the new award on Tuesday. After the Oval Office event, the kids were invited to the South Lawn to play sports to a soundtrack of songs like “YMCA” and “Eye of the Tiger." Trump joined outside as the kids putted at a green, kicked soccer balls and threw a baseball with pitcher Noah Syndergaard.

The president connected the initiative to Kennedy's “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. Speaking alongside Trump, Kennedy said it was “very unfortunate” that Obama discontinued the test and cited increased obesity among American children.

“We need to teach people how to win and how to lose and how to process victory and defeat,” Kennedy said.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, where Skinner began his career and helped the franchise stun the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series, said Tuesday they were informed of Skinner's death from his wife, Joan. He died in San Diego. A cause was not provided.

“Bob was an important part of one of the most beloved teams in our storied history and helped deliver a moment that will forever be woven into the fabric of our city,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “Bob was a talented player, a proud Pirate and a respected member of the baseball community.”

Skinner, a 6-foot-4 left-handed-hitting outfielder who threw right-handed and was known as “Sleepy” for his laid-back demeanor, spent 12 seasons in the majors with Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and St. Louis.

A career .277 hitter, Skinner was named to the National League All-Star team in 1958 and twice in 1960, during the brief period when Major League Baseball held two All-Star games a season. Skinner spent eight-plus seasons with Pittsburgh from 1954-63 before being traded to Cincinnati and then the Cardinals, where he was part of the 1964 team that won the World Series.

Skinner retired at the end of the 1966 season before going into coaching and managing. He went 93–123 during a short managerial run with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1968-69 and a one-game interim stint with his hometown San Diego Padres in 1977.

A respected coach who worked with six different organizations in various capacities, Skinner returned to Pittsburgh in 1979 as the club's hitting coach, winning a third ring as part of the “We Are Family" Pirates that beat Baltimore in the 1979 World Series.

Skinner's best season may have been 1960, when he drove in a career-high 86 runs while hitting in the middle of a Pirates lineup that reached the World Series. He started in Game 1 against the New York Yankees but injured his thumb while sliding into a base, forcing him to sit out until Game 7. He went 0 for 2 with a walk in Game 7, scoring on Rocky Nelson's second-inning homer and later laying down a sacrifice bunt that advanced two runners during an eighth-inning rally that put Pittsburgh in front.

Skinner was born on Oct. 3, 1931, in La Jolla, California. A standout at San Diego Junior College, he signed a contract with Pittsburgh in the early 1950s and eventually made his debut in 1954 after spending two years in the military during the Korean War.

Skinner is survived by Joan, sons Mark, Craig, Drew and Joel, along with eight grandchildren.

___

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

The liquidation marks a dramatic turn for Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2025 hoping to escape financial ruin. The airline's parent company was attempting to restructure the business for the second time since November 2024 when it abruptly stopped operating flights over the weekend.

Since the going-out-of-business announcement early Saturday, lawyers filed a series of court motions laying out a rapid wind-down plan centered on selling off every possible Spirit asset, from airplanes and engines to spare parts — and limiting additional payroll, leasing and other costs.

The shutdown itself was tightly choreographed. The company, Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc., said it made its announcement in the middle of the night to ensure the jetliners making their final runs for the airline were safely on the ground and their crews accounted for.

Three days later, the sense of urgency carried into U.S. Bankruptcy Court, where the company's lawyers were asking a judge to move quicky. They asked for expedited approval of the proposed wind-down plan, arguing that speed would benefit Spirit's creditors and customers.

“Any delay will cause chaos, confusion and cost the estate significant time and money,” one motion stated, noting the airline was “not generating any revenue.”

Spirit attorney Marshall Huebner said during a Tuesday court hearing that rising jet fuel costs since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran “engulfed Spirit entirely.”

The airline's fuel expenses grew by oughly $100 million “in March and April alone,” and rapidly drained Spirit’s liquidity and derailed its restructuring efforts," Huebner said.

He apologized directly to Spirit’s employees and customers, especially passengers who he said may now be completely “priced out” of certain routes without the ultra low-cost carrier.

Huebner described a swift effort by other airlines and other segments of the aviation industry to assist Spirit's employees and customers once the airline's end looked inevitable.

“The entire industry sprang into action to get our people home,” Huebner said. Spirit employed about 17,000 people and carried about 50,000 passengers on its final day of operations. The final flight, which traveled from Detroit to Dallas, landed after midnight Saturday.

With its planes grounded, Spirit said it planned to keep a skeleton crew of about 150 employees initially, eventually shrinking to roughly 40. The group, largely made up of veteran staff and executives, including some “senior management employees,” will be responsible for securing aircraft, coordinating logistics and overseeing the liquidation process.

The company also was seeking Judge Sean Lane's approval to provide retention incentives to keep those workers in place through the liquidation.

In the last two weeks, Spirit was in discussions with the Trump administration about a hoped-for rescue deal that fell through, eliminating what the company described as its last viable path forward. Of the potential bailout, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday, “We oftentimes don’t have half a billion dollars laying around.”

Duffy said other U.S. airlines, including United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest, were offering $200 one-way fares for a limited time to travelers holding Spirit confirmation numbers and proof of purchase.

Airlines also stepped in to assist stranded Spirit crew members, he said, with some offering a preferential hiring process for former Spirit employees looking for work.

“Everyone who attended the Met Gala this year really leaned into fashion is art, using your body as a canvas, and that really came across in some of the best-dressed looks of the night,” said Kevin Huynh, fashion director of InStyle.

Fashionable A-listers gave into the theme and had fun with it. First-time Met Gala attendees included actors Chase Infiniti and Hudson Williams, as well as Olympian Alysa Liu, all of whom commanded the carpet in dramatic ensembles. Infiniti, for example, donned an enchanting Thom Browne sequined gown using trompe l’oeil to depict the female form.

Meanwhile, Met Gala mega stars and repeat attendees rose to the occasion: Vogue red-carpet correspondent Emma Chamberlain playfully dressed in a dramatic long-sleeved gown that appeared dipped in a rainbow of color from indigo to the brightest yellow-gold. And after 10 years of skipping the Gala, Beyoncé arrived to reclaim her throne, wearing a glittering crown and radiant Olivier Rousteing silver gown designed in the shape of a skeleton.

Artistic masters or novices

Maybe it was the theme or something in the air, but Met Gala guests ran with the dress code, embracing color, sculpture and a plethora of artistic references from Gustav Klimt and John Singer Sargent to the Winged Goddess of Samothrace.

Madonna even delivered performance art on the carpet, arriving with seven women carrying her cape, which was attached to her pirate-ship headpiece in reference to a painting by Leonora Carrington.

“The Met Gala has finally settled the question of ‘Is fashion art?’” said Nancy Hall-Duncan, an art historian and author of “Art X Fashion: Fashion Inspired by Art. “It is, according to the Met Gala, Anna Wintour and Andrew Bolton.”

For Lynette Nylander, executive digital director of Harper’s Bazaar, there were wins from Infiniti to Cardi B, though some guests steered more toward costume than couture. Heidi Klum, for example, arrived in full costume as a statue.

“It was the kind of loudest Met Gala that we’ve seen in a while, probably since the ‘Camp’ theme,” Nylander said. “It felt very ostentatious."

Pops of color in a sea of black

Despite all the artistic opportunities to draw from, some celebrities chose sophisticated all-black looks instead of color. Zoë Kravitz and Connor Storrie both wore black custom Yves Saint Laurent.

Yet the examples in solid black only amplified the more colorful ensembles, like Chamberlain's hand-painted Mugler dress with cascading fringe sleeves and a spiral deep rainbow train.

“It looked like an artist’s palette and it’s just stunning, colorful and interesting,” Hall-Duncan said. “This isn’t addressing a specific painting. It’s addressing the whole concept of color in artistic work.”

Trompe l’oeil

Artistic illusions of the body stood out throughout the night, with celebrities playing with the dress code and the “Costume Art” exhibit inside the Metropolitan Museum, which examines the dressed body and thematic body types.

Naomi Osaka wowed in a white Robert Wun overcoat featuring tiny slits that allowed a glimpse of her sparkling red dress underneath. In a dazzling red carpet moment, Osaka removed the overcoat to reveal a two-toned red gown with the human anatomy beaded into the dress. Nylander said designer Wun was one of several independent designers who dominated the carpet, dressing stars including the tennis pro and singer Lisa.

Actor Jeremy Pope was on theme for the menswear look of the night. Pope sported a Vivienne Westwood corseted jacket filled in with pearls in the shape of a chest.

And fashion darling Colman Domingo is never one to disappoint with his menswear attire.

“He was wearing a Valentino look that was color blocked in these beautiful tulle squares that were really reminiscent of Pablo Picasso’s harlequin paintings,” Huynh said. "I thought that was such a clever way to tap into the artistic side of things, whereas Hudson Williams, hot off all the ‘Heated Rivalry’ madness, wore a matador-inspired look that really harkened back to Cristóbal Balenciaga's Spanish roots.”

Athleticism on display

Several Olympians hit gold twice for taking risks with their looks. Bubbles filled the carpet as Olympian free style skier Eileen Gu walked up the steps in her mini Iris van Herpen dress covered with bubbles. Lindsey Vonn made a surprise appearance following multiple surgeries after a fracture took her out of the Winter Olympics.

Other athletes on the carpet included NFL players Joe Burrow and Justin Jefferson.

NFL Fashion Editor Kyle Smith, who dressed Burrow in a custom navy Bode look, said the Met Gala allows athletes to shine off the field.

“It’s this opportunity to express yourself and when you put on your uniform and your helmet, you’re part of a team and you’re working toward this really big shared goal,” he said. “But when you’re dressing for the tunnel or any red carpet event, it’s an opportunity to express themselves and show their identity.”

Fashion as protest?

The night's fashion put a spotlight on some underlying politics: Billionaire Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos sponsored the gala and exhibit and served as honorary chairs, prompting some protests and a few absences.

Their involvement added another layer of interest in some of the fashion choices of the night. Actor Sarah Paulson arrived in a Matières Fécales gray tulle gown from their collection titled “The One Percent," which she accessorized with a $1 bill mask covering her eyes.

The campaign is called “American Value. For American Values.” It’s “designed to give back to the people who keep America moving.”

Ford is extending employee pricing to U.S. customers at participating dealers on “most new 2025 and 2026 Ford and Lincoln vehicles.”

“The initiative helps make some of America’s most trusted vehicles more accessible, including Ford trucks and vans that help power small businesses, SUVs that support families, and performance vehicles that fuel work and adventure nationwide,” the release says.

The campaign will run through July 6, 2026. Ford’s release says buyers can save between several hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on the vehicle.

Ford also said 250 dealers will activate with local nonprofits through “Ford BUilding Together” to deliver essential resources -- hosting blood drives, collecting food, supporting communities, and more.

“Ford has always believed that American values are more than words -- they’re actions,” said Andrew Frick, president of Ford Blue and Model e. “As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, ‘American Value. For American Values’ is our way of giving back to the people who show up every day: American workers, small business owners, and families who place their trust in Ford.”

Three passengers have died and at least four people are sick in what health officials say is an outbreak of hantavirus, which usually spreads by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings. The World Health Organization said passengers are isolating in their cabins.

The company that operates the vessel — currently anchored in the Atlantic off Cape Verde — said it plans to move to Spain’s Canary Islands once three people have been medically evacuated and put on specially equipped planes to the Netherlands. Earlier Tuesday, Spanish officials said that they were monitoring the situation and hadn't made a decision.

The MV Hondius, a Dutch ship on a weekslong polar cruise, departed April 1 from Argentina for Antarctica and several isolated islands in the South Atlantic.

“Our days have been close to normal, just waiting for authorities to find a solution,” passenger Qasem Elhato, 31 — who sent AP the video footage — said via WhatsApp. “But morale on the ship is high and we’re keeping ourselves busy with reading, watching movies, having hot drinks and that kind of things.”

Helene Goessaert, another passenger, told Belgian broadcaster VRT that everyone onboard is “in the same boat, literally.”

“You don’t embark on a trip with the idea that one of your fellow passengers won’t make it,” she said.

“We receive information at regular intervals. It is accurate. For the rest, it is a waiting game,” she added. “Today we received fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. That was very important to us.”

Evacuation plans are still unclear

Authorities in Cape Verde have said they sent teams of doctors, surgeons, nurses and laboratory specialists to the Hondius. They were seen in Elhato's video footage — wearing white overalls, boots and face masks as they disembarked to a smaller vessel.

Officials in Cape Verde’s capital of Praia, a city of less than 200,000 people, said they have stepped up safety protocols, particularly near the port, as a precautionary measure against the rodent-borne illness — which doesn't usually spread person to person, though health authorities say it might be possible.

Elhato said passengers were wearing masks and social distancing — practices that became hallmarks of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ship operator Oceanwide Expeditions said it had implemented its highest level of response plan, with isolation measures, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring.

Oceanwide Expeditions said Tuesday evening that two specialized aircraft were flying to Cape Verde to evacuate two people who need urgent medical care and one other person who was traveling with a German man who died on board Saturday. They were to be taken to the Netherlands, though exactly when that would happen was not immediately clear.

Once the medical evacuation happens, the ship plans to sail to the Canary Islands, either Gran Canaria or Tenerife, a voyage of some three days, the company said in its statement, adding that “discussions are ongoing with relevant authorities.”

Spanish health officials had said in an earlier statement that they were monitoring and that "the most appropriate port of call will be decided. Until then, the Ministry of Health will not adopt any decision, as we have informed the World Health Organization.”

WHO notes 7 cases in all in its latest update

WHO said Tuesday that it's looking at seven cases in all — three people who have died, one critically ill passenger who was previously taken off the ship, and three onboard reporting mild symptoms.

Two of the cases — a woman who died and the evacuated man — tested positive for hantavirus.

A Dutch man was the first death, on April 11. His body was taken off the vessel nearly two weeks later, on the British territory of St. Helena, some 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) off the African coast, according to South Africa’s Department of Health.

His wife traveled by plane from St. Helena to South Africa; she collapsed at a Johannesburg airport and died at a hospital on April 26, according to WHO and the South African Department of Health.

The ship sailed on to Ascension Island, an isolated Atlantic outpost about 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) to the north, where a sick British man was taken off the ship and evacuated first to Ascension Island and then to South Africa by plane. He is in intensive care in a South African hospital, according to WHO.

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness, said the organization is investigating possible human-to-human transmission on the ship, and that officials suspect the first infected person likely contracted the virus before boarding. She said officials have been told there are no rats on board.

Officials in Argentina — where hantavirus led to 28 deaths nationwide last year, according to the health ministry — said they confirmed no passengers had symptoms when the Hondius departed. Symptoms can appear up to eight weeks after exposure, officials have said.

In South Africa, authorities said they have started contact tracing — another practice used extensively in the coronavirus pandemic. But officials have emphasized that the chance of a major public health threat is low.

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Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria; Risemberg from Dakar, Senegal. AP journalists Suman Naishadham in Madrid; Mogomotsi Magome in Johannesburg, South Africa; Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands; and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed.

The artwork itself faced an unknown future in 1942, when it was acquired in Paris for Adolf Hitler, one of countless works swept up in the Nazi plunder of European Jews.

On Tuesday, it went on permanent display in a new room at the city's Musée d’Orsay as part of France’s long-delayed reckoning with Nazi-era looting. The gallery is the first in the museum's history given over to the orphaned masterpieces of the Nazi era.

It is also the first such display in France where the paintings are hung so visitors can read the backs. The stamps, labels and inventory marks map how each piece of art moved from private homes into Nazi hands.

The painting by Belgian artist Alfred Stevens was originally earmarked for the Führer’s planned museum in Linz, Austria. But by 1943, it was reassigned to Hitler’s mountain home in the Bavaria region of Germany. The museum was never built following Germany's defeat.

Allied recovery teams — the Monuments Men made famous by the 2014 George Clooney film — finally found the painting after the war.

No heir came forward, and no one knows who owned it before 1942.

A collection of unclaimed art

The 1891 Stevens painting is not unique. It is one of 2,200 such artistic orphans in France — known as MNR, short for Musées Nationaux Récupération, or National Museums Recovery. These artworks were retrieved from Germany and Austria after 1945 and entrusted to French national museums in the early 1950s.

They were never claimed. The state does not own them but holds them in trust for heirs who may yet appear. The Musée d’Orsay holds 225 such pieces.

Marie Duboisse, a retired schoolteacher from Lyon, paused Tuesday in front of the Stevens painting.

“I have seen those three letters — M, N, R — at the Louvre. I never knew what they meant. I thought it was a donor,” she said.

Last month, the museum launched its first research unit dedicated to tracing the orphans’ rightful heirs, file by file. The effort involves six Franco-German researchers led by Ines Rotermund-Reynard, the Orsay’s head of provenance research.

The new gallery displays 13 such works.

France’s long-delayed reckoning

France is reckoning, in plain sight, with one of the longest silences in its postwar memory: the looted, sold and lost art of the Nazi era — and the French hands that helped move it.

Starting in the late 1960s, documentaries and historians began naming what France had done under the Vichy government that cooperated with the Nazis, including helping to send 80,000 Jews from France to their deaths and presiding over a Paris art market that grew rich on the property of the dead.

In July 1995, President Jacques Chirac stood at the site of the Vél d’Hiv roundup — the 1942 mass arrest in Paris of Jews who were then deported to Nazi camps — and said, for the first time, that the French state itself bore responsibility. In 1997, France launched a national inquiry into the plundering of artwork from Jews.

About 100,000 cultural objects were declared looted from France during the war. Some 60,000 were recovered. About 45,000 went home.

Roughly 15,000 had no identified owner. The 2,200 MNR artworks were chosen from that remainder.

For four decades, they were largely a dormant file. Between 1954 and 1993, France returned only four.

Chirac’s mea culpa, and the country’s slow reckoning with its own role, changed that.

The Orsay has returned 15 since 1994.

The market that fed the plunder

The most recent pieces of art to be returned — by Alfred Sisley and Auguste Renoir, given to the heirs of Grégoire Schusterman — went home in 2024.

Inside the new gallery, the histories hang on the wall.

There is a piece by Edgar Degas, a copy he made of a Berlin ballroom scene around 1879. The Jewish collector Fernand Ochsé bought it in 1919. Ochsé was deported to Auschwitz and killed.

There is another Renoir, a portrait of the writer Alphonse Daudet’s wife, sold to a Cologne museum in November 1941. No record names the seller.

There is also a painting by Paul Cézanne that was dismissed as a fake by a Louvre curator in the 1950s. Recent study suggests it may be real.

Daniel Lévy, a software engineer visiting from Strasbourg, stood at the Cézanne, looking at its back.

“You walk past these labels your whole life and you do not read them. Now I will read them," he said. "My grandmother lost some of her family in the camps. Some of these paintings were probably hanging in homes like hers.”

Paris was Western Europe's richest art hub in the early 20th century.

The Hôtel Drouot, the city’s main auction house, reopened in autumn 1940 and ran briskly through the Nazi occupation.

French dealers were among the conduits. German museums sent buyers, and Hitler’s agents took the best.

“The most important art market in Europe was concentrated in Paris,” Rotermund-Reynard said. “The moment the Nazis arrived in occupied territory, they had enormous buying power. They threw themselves at the market.”

Germans were eager buyers

Almost every museum in Nazi Germany, Rotermund-Reynard said, sent buyers to Paris to expand its collections. Those buyers drew on a market thick with looted and forced-sale property.

“Hitler himself wanted to build the world’s largest museum, in Linz, the city in Austria where he grew up,” she said.

Hermann Göring, Hitler’s deputy, traveled 21 times to Paris during the occupation to help himself to works taken from Jewish collectors.

“There was an enormous thirst,” Rotermund-Reynard said, “both for the possessions of Jewish collectors, and for acquisitions to expand the German museums.”

For Rotermund-Reynard, the works cannot be separated from the genocide.

“All of this is part of the history of the Shoah,” she said, using the Hebrew word for the Holocaust. “When you try to understand this drive to take from Jewish families, it is part of the terrifying Nazi ideology to erase Jewish life.”

Antisemitic acts in France — home to Europe’s largest Jewish community — hit 1,320 in 2025, according to the French Interior Ministry. Those near-record levels followed a sharp surge after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

The gallery was not built to fight antisemitism, said François Blanchetière, the Orsay’s chief sculpture curator and co-curator of the gallery. But the consequences of the Holocaust must be repaired, he said.

“There is no statute of limitations on these crimes," he said.

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A previous version of this story had the wrong first name for Degas.

“The Lost Boys,” an adaptation of a 1987 teen movie vampire thriller, and “Schmigadoon!,” an adaptation of an Apple TV series that gently mocks Broadway musicals, were followed by a revival of “Ragtime,” a big, soaring musical celebrating early 20th-century America, with 11 nominations, and “Death of a Salesman,” Arthur Miller’s masterpiece that looks at the unraveling of the American Dream, starring Nathan Lane, which nabbed nine nods.

Twenty-four shows got at least one nomination across the 26 Tony categories, a revival of “Chess,” the Cold War-set love triangle between two chess grand masters and the woman who loved both, and “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” which reimagines Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic feline musical into a celebration of queer ballroom culture.

“I'm over the Jellicle moon about this!” said Bill Rauch, who secured his first Tony nomination for co-directing the reimagined “Cats.” “I’ve spent my whole career trying to connect the dots between classics and the place and time we’re living in, and so to have ‘Cats’ have this life on Broadway right now just really feels like an affirmation of everything I’ve been trying to do for decades.”

Best new musical and play nominees

The best new musical crown will be between “The Lost Boys,” “Schmigadoon!,” “Titanique,” a camp musical comedy that reimagines the 1997 megahit movie “Titanic,” and “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York),” an opposites-attract rom-com set during a New York City weekend.

Ali Louis Bourzgui, nominated for best featured role in a musical playing a seductive vampire in “The Lost Boys,” took a bite on why his show was so well received: “I think that people, including myself, love a villain that they can care for,” he said. “Some of my favorite performances are technically villains on paper, but the person who’s playing them actively makes them a full 3D person that you can root for. I think that’s the most interesting kind of character.”

The best new play nominees are the John Lithgow-led “Giant,” which explores accusations of antisemitism against children’s author Roald Dahl; “Liberation,” about a consciousness-raising women’s group in 1970s Ohio that won the Pulitzer Prize for drama on Monday; “The Balusters,” a wry comedy about a small-town neighborhood association that descends into chaos over whether to install a stop sign; and “Little Bear Ridge Road,” about a struggling writer who returns to his rural hometown to settle his dead father’s estate.

Playwright Mark Rosenblatt conceived of “Giant” in 2018 and started writing it in 2020, and it seems remarkably relevant in 2026, following the fallout from the war in Gaza and the spotlight on antisemitism in America.

“The ideas in the play, the concerns in the plays, the pain in the play, is perennial,” he said. “But I could never have imagined that it would, when it finally was produced, would be playing against the backdrop of what’s happening now.”

“The Fear of 13,” the true story of a man who spent more than two decades on death row, didn't get any acting nods, despite starring Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson in their Broadway debuts. Former “Glee” star Lea Michele will still be seeking her first Tony nomination after having missed out for her work on “Chess.”

Squibb is now the oldest Tony-nominated actor in history, besting the record set by Lois Smith, who was 89 when she was nominated in 2020 for “The Inheritance.” Squibb's Broadway resume reaches back to a stint in the original production of “Gypsy” in 1960 with Ethel Merman, and she recalls rehearsing a musical by dancing on a concrete floor. It is her first Tony nomination.

In Jordan Harrison’s play “Marjorie Prime,” a widow played by Squibb is brought an artificial companion who looks precisely like her dead husband. Premiering in 2014, the work in 2026 capitalizes on the recent frenzy over technological advancements like ChatGPT. Squibb said she saw the original, but only now fully comprehends the implications of things like AI.

As for her age, she said she doesn't really think about it: “I can’t ignore my body is different than it was when I was young. And when I read a script now, I have to think can I physically do what they’re asking me to do. And that’s about it,” she said. “As long as it’s not dancing on concrete floors.”

Burstein becomes the most-nominated male actor in Tony history with nine nods after his work in “Marjorie Prime,” beating the record set by Jason Robards. Kelli O’Hara got her ninth career nomination for a revival of the comedy “Fallen Angels,” tying her with Rosemary Harris for third on the all-time acting nominations list.

Who lost out?

A trio of actors from the hit TV series “The Bear” struck out in their Broadway debuts this season — Ayo Edebiri in a revival of “Proof” and Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach who both appeared in “Dog Day Afternoon,” an adaptation of Sidney Lumet’s 1975 bank robbing drama.

Others who missed out this year include Bobby Cannavale, who starred in a revival of “Art” with Neil Patrick Harris and James Corden that was snubbed by the nominators. “Bill & Ted” stars Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters reuniting for a revival of “Waiting for Godot,” were also left off, although Brandon J. Dirden was nominated for a featured role. Laurie Metcalf was in a position to earn two but will have to settle with a featured role nod for “Death of a Salesman.”

Nominations include a return

The best play revival category is stacked with well-received work: “Every Brilliant Thing”; “Death of a Salesman”; “Oedipus,” a modern retelling of Sophocles’ classic tragedy set on election night in a modern campaign office; “Becky Shaw,” Gina Gionfriddo’s dark comedy about a newlywed couple who decide to play matchmaker; and “Fallen Angels,” Noël Coward’s alcohol-fueled competition between two upper-crust ladies over the attention of a former lover.

Daniel Radcliffe secured a nomination for “Every Brilliant Thing,” a one-person show that explores the antidotes to depression.

Rose Byrne, the “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” star who plays one of those upper-crust ladies in “Fallen Angels,” secured a nomination for best actress in a play, becoming the 22nd actor in history to be Oscar- and Tony-nominated in the same year. In addition to Byrne and O’Hara, Lesley Manville secured a nod for “Oedipus,” Susannah Flood for “Liberation” and Carrie Coon for her work in her husband Tracy Letts' play “Bug.”

O’Hara — winner for the 2015 “The King and I” revival — said there will be no chill descending between her and her co-star: “I’m moving with great bravery because of someone who’s brave right next to me. And if she takes home that prize, it would mean we both win.”

Lithgow, who has two Tonys already, will get his third if he beats leading actor in a play nominees Lane, Radcliffe, Mark Strong in “Oedipus” and Will Harrison from “Punch,” which looks at restorative justice following the death of a man from a physical punch.

Best actor in a musical nominees include Joshua Henry and Brandon Uranowitz, both from “Ragtime,” Sam Tutty in “Two Strangers,” Nicholas Christopher in “Chess” and Luke Evans from “The Rocky Horror Show.”

On the women’s side, the nominees are: Caissie Levy from “Ragtime,” Marla Mindelle for “Titanique,” Christiani Pitts from “Two Strangers,” Sara Chase from “Schmigadoon!” and Stephanie Hsu in “The Rocky Horror Show.”

The nominations also seemed to be an official welcome back to producer Scott Rudin, who scored nods for “Death of a Salesman” and “Little Bear Ridge Road.” In 2021, Rudin said he was stepping back after allegations of bullying.

The Tony Awards will be handed out June 7 at Radio City Music Hall during a telecast hosted by Pink. The awards will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

Last year’s show — hosted by “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo — drew 4.85 million viewers to CBS, its largest broadcast audience in six years, according to Nielsen.

They also released a new single, titled “In The Stars.”

To celebrate, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood will attend an album announcement event in Brooklyn Tuesday afternoon.

The Stones' last album was 2023's “Hackney Diamonds.” It was their first album of original material in 18 years — since 2005’s “A Bigger Bang.” It was also their first full-length release since the death of drummer Charlie Watts in 2021. He appeared posthumously on two of that album's 12 tracks.

According to press materials for “Foreign Tongues,” it will also include a special appearance from Watts from one of his final recording sessions before his death, as well as contributions from Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney, the Cure’s Robert Smith and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith.

“I love doing these recording sessions in London at Metropolis. It was a very intense few weeks recording ‘Foreign Tongues,’” Mick Jagger said in a statement. “We had 14 great tracks and we went as fast as we could. I like the room there as it’s not too big so you can feel the passion in the room from everyone.”

The Stones also worked closely with Oscar-winning pop producer Andrew Watt (known for his work with Post Malone and Justin Bieber, and the Stones' “Hackney Diamonds,” to name a few).

A taste of 'Foreign Tongues'

Speculation surrounding a new Stones album has been going around for weeks. First, posters appeared around London with the band name “The Cockroaches,” a pseudonym the Stones' have used in the past, along with a QR code. The code led to ‘thecockroaches.com’ and a sign-up page. Once a user had signed up, they received a confirmation message from Universal Music — the Stones' label. Representatives did not provide The Associated Press with comment or confirmation at the time.

Eventually it led to a white label, vinyl-only release of the track “Rough and Twisted” using The Cockroaches name — the first true tease of “Foreign Tongues” decipherable only by their most dedicated fans.

Then, in the week leading up to their announcement, billboards with the band's iconic mouth and tongue logo began appearing in major cities around the world with the words “Foreign Tongues” in various languages: “Fremmede Sprog,” “Vreemde Tongen,” “Dayuhang Dila,” “외국어,” and “Langues Étrangères” among them. Around the same time, the Rolling Stones' official website was updated to feature video clips stylized to look like surveillance footage of them in the studio.

On Sunday, the band shared a slide puzzle graphic fans believed to be the album artwork, depicting a cartoonish collage of the members' faces. (They were correct; it was the official album cover.) There was also a short video clip, just 10-seconds long, that appeared to tease a new song.

The Stones' ‘Tonight Show’ takeover

“The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” will host the surviving members of the Stones across three nights this month, NBC announced Tuesday.

Jagger will appear on Wednesday's show and Fallon will host Richards on Thursday. Wood will appear on May 13.

No additional details on whether the band will perform together on the show were immediately released.

MLB announced a three-game ban for Devenski early Tuesday, then said the suspension was reduced to two games later in the day after negotiations with the players' association. Devenski will begin serving the suspension Tuesday night when the Pirates open a road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Devenski’s fine was not disclosed.

Devenski intentionally threw at Stewart in the top of the seventh inning of Pittsburgh’s 17-7 win at PNC Park on Saturday. He was ejected following the incident.

Pirates manager Don Kelly was also suspended for one game and received an undisclosed fine, MLB senior vice president for on-field operations Michael Hill announced. Kelly was also set to serve his suspension on Tuesday night.

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

Still, the fragile truce reached nearly a month ago appeared to be holding as U.S. forces pressed ahead with efforts to reopen the strait, a vital waterway for global energy. On Monday, the U.S. said it had opened a lane and sunk six small Iranian boats that had threatened commercial ships.

So far, only two merchant ships are known to have passed through the new U.S.-guarded route, with hundreds more bottled up in the Persian Gulf. Shippers are still wary, and it's unclear whether U.S. military action can reassure them without reigniting the conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.

Iran’s effective closure of the strait, through which major oil and gas supplies passed before the war, along with fertilizer and other petroleum products, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and rattled the global economy. Breaking Iran's grip would deny its main source of leverage as U.S. President Donald Trump demands a major rollback of its disputed nuclear program.

Iran says new US effort violates ceasefire

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the U.S. military’s top officer, told a news conference Tuesday that Iran’s renewed attacks hadn’t reached the threshold of what Caine called “major combat operations.” He said Tuesday marked a “quieter” day in the strait.

“No, the ceasefire is not over,” Hegseth said, affirming Caine’s assessment. They spoke before the latest attacks on the UAE.

Iran has said the new effort does violate the ceasefire. Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, signaled that Iran has yet to fully respond to the U.S. attempt to reopen the waterway.

“We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; while we have not even begun yet,” he said in a post on X. His statement did not mention negotiations with the U.S. that are now in the form of passing messages via Pakistan.

Disputing Washington’s claim of sinking six boats, an Iranian military commander said two small civilian cargo boats were hit on Monday, killing five civilians, Iran’s state TV reported.

Caine, the top U.S. general who serves as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more than 100 U.S. military aircraft are patrolling skies around the strait. The U.S. has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports since April 13, depriving Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.

The Trump administration has cited the April 8 ceasefire in asserting that the president does not have to give a formal update to Congress on the war under the War Powers Resolution. That law typically requires presidents to seek formal approval from Congress for war activities 60 days after beginning military action.

Shippers remain wary

So far, just two civilian vessels, both U.S.-flagged merchant ships, are known to have passed through the strait as part of the lane the U.S. says it has created. Shipping company Maersk said one of them, a vehicle carrier that it operates, exited the strait safely with U.S. military assistance on Monday.

Former military officers who have served on the strait have said opening it would be dangerous and highly challenging, even with military escorts, which the U.S. isn’t providing now.

There’s little room to maneuver in the narrow waterway — just 21 miles (34 kilometers) wide — and Iran can reach all of the strait and its approaches with cruise missiles. It also can target vessels with longer-range missiles, drones, fast attack craft and mines.

“At this point in time our risk assessment remains unchanged,” Hapag-Lloyd AG, one of the world’s largest container shipping companies, said in a statement. “Transits through the Strait of Hormuz are for the moment not possible for our ships.”

Iran has attacked ships that try to transit without going through its own route in the northern part of the strait along its coastline. That involves being vetted by Iran's Revolutionary Guard and payment in some cases.

The U.S.-approved route goes through territorial waters of Oman to the south.

“For shipping companies and for insurance companies, they still have to wait and see how this plays out,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

“This initiative alone isn’t something that looks like it’s going to open the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

The UAE bore the brunt of Iran’s retaliation

The United Arab Emirates said Monday its air defenses had engaged 15 missiles and four drones fired by Iran. Authorities in the eastern emirate of Fujairah said one drone sparked a fire at a key oil facility, wounding three Indian nationals. The British military reported two cargo vessels ablaze off the UAE, also on Monday.

On Tuesday, the UAE's Defense Ministry said it was responding to another Iranian drone and missile attack. There were no reports of any damage or casualties in the hours after the announcement.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the targeting of UAE civilians and infrastructure “unacceptable.” Pakistan and Saudi Arabia also condemned the strikes.

Tehran did not confirm or deny the attacks. But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that the U.S. and the UAE “should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire.”

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Finley reported from Washington and Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, Lebanon; Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi; Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany; and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed.

Mark Watts was arrested after his home was raided by Oakland County investigators on May 4.

--> Lathrup Village community leader taken into custody after Oakland County task force raid

Watts owns Quality Auto Sales in Detroit, with an office located just minutes from his home. He is also the founder of a youth mentoring program called “Boys 2 Men” and serves as president of the Lathrup Village Chamber of Commerce.

On May 5, Watts was arraigned in court and was charged with three counts of receiving or concealing a stolen motor vehicle and one count of forged license documents or plates.

The investigation began on April 29 after police conducted a traffic stop on Watts and learned he was allegedly driving a retagged stolen car.

On May 4, officers conducted a business inspection at Quality Auto Sales, where they allegedly found two retagged stolen cars.

Police then searched Watts’ home and found a car on his property that had a reportedly stolen license plate.

Watts entered a not guilty plea, and he was given a $25,000 personal bond.

He is scheduled to appear in court on May 18 for a probable cause conference.

You can watch the full arraignment here:

Previous coverage

A late snowstorm is set to sweep over the Rocky Mountains and High Plains, bringing rain that's expected to turn to snow in the Denver area by Tuesday night, with up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) possible. Higher elevations might see as much as a foot (30 centimeters), the National Weather Service says.

It could be Denver's biggest snowfall of the season.

“We just had our driest winter on record,” Kenley Bonner, a meteorologist in the weather service’s Denver office, said. “We were kind of joking earlier in the season that winter’s not going to come until spring, and it did exactly that.”

Big snow and a fast drop in temperature

The snow is expected to continue into Wednesday, followed by plunging temperatures and a widespread freeze overnight, the weather service said.

All that heavy, wet snow could snap tree branches and knock out power, Bonner said. Utilities are preparing, with Xcel Energy putting 165 employees on standby across the state.

Wait, snow in May?

The forecast is unusual, but not unheard of.

Denver typically sees its last snowfall around April 28, although May storms do happen. The “Mile High City” recorded half an inch of snow (1.2 centimeters) on May 21, 2022, while nearby Boulder got 4.5 inches (11.4 centimeters).

Historically, Denver has seen at least five May storms with snowfall over 10 inches (25 centimeters). The biggest, in 1893, dropped 15.5 inches (39.3 centimeters). The city's most recent double-digit snow was May 25-26, 1950, with 10.7 inches (27 centimeters).

A light dusting on June 2, 1951, was the latest time in the year it snowed.

The storm is welcome during a drought, but not a fix

April was warmer than usual and short on precipitation, with Denver missing an inch of rain (2.5 centimeters) and 2.8 inches of snow (7 centimeters) last month compared to normal.

But one storm won't solve the West's water problems.

A report from the National Drought Mitigation Center said recent precipitation helped boost topsoil moisture and reduced irrigation demands, but hasn't changed a “mostly bleak” water outlook heading into the summer.

Storms elsewhere, too

The unsettled weather isn’t limited to the Rockies.

Thunderstorms are expected from northeast Texas into western Tennessee, with Arkansas facing the greatest risk of large hail, damaging winds and possible tornadoes, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Isolated strong storms could also reach parts of the Northeast.

George P. Barnes Jr. started Heritage Optical in 1975 with a name chosen deliberately. Not Barnes Optical. Not something clinical or corporate. Heritage. The word, he has said, represents everything - his legacy, his children’s legacy, and his hope that the business will one day pass to his grandchildren as well.

That vision has proven durable. What began as a single storefront on the streets of Detroit has expanded into Heritage Vision Plans, a national network now serving more than 32,000 eye care providers across the United States - all while remaining firmly in family hands.

Lenny Barnes, Vice President of Business Development, was 11 years old when his father opened the first location. He didn’t fully grasp what was happening at the time, but decades later, he calls working alongside family a blessing. Today, he is helping steer the company’s next phase of growth.

For Lenny, that means rethinking one of the most fraught conversations in any family business: succession. Rather than treating it as an exit strategy, the Barnes family views it as a continuation - honoring what George P. Barnes Jr. set in motion 50 years ago with the intention of making it last.

Tracey Barnes, COO, shares that sense of duty. The longer she has been part of the business, the more she has come to appreciate the scale of what her father built - and the more committed she is to carrying it forward alongside her siblings. Growing the business and expanding its reach, she says, is not just a professional goal. It’s a family obligation.

Anchoring that long-term growth has been a banking relationship as old as the company itself. Heritage Optical has banked with Chase - originally NBD Bank before its merger into JPMorgan Chase - since 1975. For Tracey, that continuity means something. Any business that has survived decades has weathered different seasons and different storms, and Chase, she says, has been there through all of them.

As National Small Business Week draws attention to independent enterprises across the country, Heritage Optical stands as a 50-year proof of concept: that a business built on community, family, and a clear sense of purpose can outlast any single generation.

For the Barnes family, the next chapter isn’t an exit. It’s an expansion.

For more information on Chase for Business, visit chase.com/nationaltreasures.

And the big surprise was Dustin Johnson, who was extended one of the special invitations to the PGA Championship next week despite his eligibility running out last year.

“Very excited,” Johnson said from LIV Golf Virginia, “I want to play in all the majors. I feel like my game is still good enough to compete with everyone and still can win. The PGA was nice enough to give me an invitation. So yeah, I'm very, very happy and thankful for that.”

The PGA of America held back two spots in case the winners of two PGA Tour events, the Truist Championship and the Myrtle Beach Classic, are not already eligible.

Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion at the second major of the year, which returns to Aronimink for the first time since Gary Player won in 1972.

Johnson is among 30 players who competed at Aronimink when it hosted the BMW Championship in 2018, when Keegan Bradley defeated Justin Rose in a playoff that didn't finish until Monday because of so much rain.

The PGA Championship committee is the least transparent in filling the field for its major, with 33 players receiving special invitations.

Most of them came from the top 100 in the world ranking. The PGA Championship strives to have the top 100 and often will go a few places outside the top 100 to make sure no one sneaks in in the final week before the major.

It gave invitations to Andy Sullivan of England (102), Angel Ayora of Spain (103), Keith Mitchell (104), Chandler Blanchet (106) and Billy Horschel (107).

It also has a category of its PGA points list — based on official PGA Tour money earned in the last 12 months — to fill the field beyond the top 70.

Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Canada is the leading player not eligible at No. 80. He becomes the first alternate, with a reasonable chance of getting in because only four players at the Truist Championship — Yellamaraju is one of them — are not yet in the PGA.

The alternates all came from the PGA points list.

Woods not playing was expected. He was arrested Feb. 27 on suspicion of DUI and received permission from a Florida judge to seek treatment outside the country. Woods has not played in a major since the 2024 British Open.

Mickelson has not said publicly what he's dealing with at home. His only LIV Golf event was in South Africa in March. He did not play in the Masters.

The PGA of America also awarded a spot to Ian Holt, a two-time winner this year on the Korn Ferry Tour who leads the points list, and Kota Kaneko of Japan from the Federation Ranking of tours around the world. The PGA Championship takes players from the leading three tours. Kaneko on the Japan Golf Tour was fourth.

Johnson, a former No. 1 player in the world with two majors, has been eligible for every major since the 2009 Masters. He did not play in three of them because of injury or because of taking time away from the game (2014 PGA Championship).

His 10-year exemption from winning the U.S. Open expires after this year. He is not eligible for the British Open, which historically does not offer special exemptions.

Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald of Team Europe received an invitation, which has become a PGA Championship tradition. U.S. captain Jim Furyk is not playing. Vijay Singh, a two-time PGA champion, and 2025 Senior PGA champion Angel Cabrera chose not to play.

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

Tensions were evident as Ukrainian artists stood by a truck that had brought a statue of an origami deer from the war-ravaged eastern front to the Biennale's storied Giardini, or gardens. Just meters (yards) away, a handful of participants in the Russian Pavilion danced to house music played by an Argentine DJ.

At the same time, a group of Palestinians marched through the Giardini wearing the names of artists who have been killed in Gaza. More protests were expected as the preview week continued.

The developments have put pressure on the Biennale’s structure — with 100 national pavilions showing alongside a curated exhibition featuring 110 artists and artist groups — and raised old questions: Is the representation of nations outmoded in a globalized system where artists often operate internationally, and does it give states an undue platform for propaganda?

Divisions shake the Biennale

Marie Helene Pereira, one of the five curators of the main exhibition “In Minor Keys,” said she believes the turmoil surrounding the Biennale shows that "the existence of the nation state within the space of the exhibition’’ is now contested.

“We can see how much that can bring tension, especially in the midst of the political chaos we find our selves,” Pereira said.

Pereira, one of five curators who have taken up the mantle of Koyo Kouoh who died a year ago as she was preparing the exhibition, said that it was “important to be able to rethink structure, rethink institutions, in a way that allows for them to cater more to artists and artmaking.”

That didn’t mean that art should be devoid of politics, she added.

Ahead of its resignation, the jury had said it would not award prizes to countries whose leaders were under investigation by the International Court of Justice, which singled out Russia and Israel.

Some participants welcomed the resignation. Israeli artist Belu-Simion Fainaru said he thought it was “a fair one.”

“I should be treated as an equal artist, and I should not be discriminated because of my race, that I am a Jew, and not because of my nationality or passport. I have to be seen as I am. I am an artist that wants to show my art, and I have the right to be evaluated,” he said standing in front of his installation rooted in the Kabbalah.

The Biennale, he said, should be “a place where you can feel safe to create and do whatever you believe in.”

Giardini on the front lines

Ukrainian artist Zhanna Kadryova created “The Origami Deer” to take the place of a nuclear-capable Soviet fighter jet that had long stood in a park in Pokrovsk, in the Donbas region of Ukraine.

Curators of the Ukrainian Pavilion — its third since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion — evacuated the statue from the park in 2024, with the front line just 5 kilometers (3 miles) away.

Co-curator Ksenia Malykh fiercely opposed the Biennale’s decision to allow Russia to open its pavilion, calling it “a false attempt to stay neutral.”

“You can’t stay neutral in these times. You can’t be neutral when people are dying every day because of Russians,’’ Malykh said.

“Nobody is talking about their art,” she added. “They are only talking about the statement that they are here, and I am absolutely sure this was their goal.”

The Russian Pavilion will only be open to visitors during previews that run through Friday and will not be open to the public after the Biennale opens for its 6 ½-month run on Saturday. The pavilion has organized a series of performers for this week, and had an open bar upstairs near a flowering tree.

Curators were not available for interviews.

Russia’s opening cost the Venice Biennale 2 million euros ($2.3 million) in EU funding over three years. The Biennale has defended the decision, saying that any country with relations with Italy was free to open a pavilion, a position that has put it at odds with the government in Rome.

Still, the official catalog had a place-saving entry where the Russian text should have been, noting that Russia’s participation was “under review” at the time of publication.

No jury, no Golden Lions

Without a jury of peers, there will be no Golden Lion for best national pavilion or best participant in the main curated exhibition — a highly prestigious prize has led some to liken the Biennale to the Olympics of art.

Instead, visitors to both the Giardini and Arsenale sites will choose two winners, for best national participant and best main show participant, to be awarded Nov. 22, the closing day of the Biennale.

The Ukrainian artist Malykh said that lack of professionally awarded prizes damaged the Biennale.

“It’s an important moment. If the prize is given by the public... It’s not a professional institution after that,” Malykh said.

An interim report by a Virginia engineering firm says the toxic metals, along with PCBs, pesticides, petroleum byproducts and other chemicals were detected at levels above laboratory reporting limits in soil at the East Potomac Golf Links, a historic golf course that President Donald Trump plans to renovate.

The park service began dumping debris from the East Wing onto the golf course in October, and more than 30,000 cubic yards (810,000 cubic feet) of excavated soil had been transported to the site as of last month, the report by Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. said. The report was requested by the park service.

The nonprofit DC Preservation League has sued the Trump administration, arguing that the dumping was unlawful and possibly hazardous. The group also is challenging the Republican administration’s takeover of the golf course, about 2 miles (3 kilometers) southeast of the White House, and others in the city.

The suit is one of several legal battles challenging Trump’s extraordinary efforts to put his mark on public spaces in the nation’s capital, including renaming and shuttering the Kennedy Center and building a 250-foot-tall (76-meter-tall) triumphal arch near the Lincoln Memorial.

At the end of last year, a separate group of preservationists filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the administration from demolishing the East Wing so it could build a ballroom, a project slated to cost $400 million.

A spokesperson for the Interior Department, which oversees the park service, said in an email Tuesday that the soil removed from the White House “was tested multiple times by multiple parties, and this project passed all standards set by law.”

While the agency does not comment on litigation, "this thorough process was followed to ensure the transfer was safe for the public,'' the email said.

The Preservation League's executive director, Rebecca Miller, said Tuesday that experts were still analyzing the engineering report. The group also is concerned about whether the Trump administration is complying with federal laws including the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, she said.

Debris from the East Wing demolition is so prevalent that it causes golfers to detour around piles of it, Miller said. “If you Google you’ll see lots of photos of golfers walking past it,” she said in an interview.

The Trump administration's plans to renovate the 105-year-old course to make it a professional-level course would permanently alter its historic character and layout, Miller said.

A federal judge told the government on Monday not to cut down more than 10 trees without first providing notice amid the legal dispute.

U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes said during a remote hearing that she wasn’t going to issue a temporary restraining order just yet, but she indicated she would take a harsh view of any major alterations made without prior notice.

Democracy Forward, a national legal organization that is co-representing the Preservation League, said in a press release that "further scrutiny will be required related to potential toxins that were dumped at East Potomac Park by the administration as part of the destruction of the East Wing of the White House.”

Test results released by the government “suggest the Defendants dumped a cocktail of contaminants — and despite indications of the refuse’s contents, they continued dumping it,” the group said.

Kevin Griess, the superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks for the park service, said during Monday's court hearing there was no immediate plan to begin tree removal but added that a safety assessment was underway.

Trump, an avid golfer, also plans on renovating a military golf course just outside Washington that has been used by past presidents going back decades.

In its statement, the Interior Department said it is “committed to continuing the relationships we have built with the local golf communities to ensure these courses are safe, beautiful, open, affordable, enjoyable, accessible, and world-class for people living in and visiting the greatest capital city in the world.”

On Tuesday afternoon, powerful Russian glide bombs smashed into the eastern city of Kramatorsk, the southern city of Zaporizhzhia and the northern city of Chernihiv, killing at least 17 civilians and wounding 45 others, officials said.

Attacks the previous night killed five people and wounded 39, according to authorities.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rebuked Moscow for what he said was its “utter cynicism” in launching the attacks after Russia announced a unilateral ceasefire over two days later this week while it marks the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

“Russia could cease fire at any moment, and this would stop the war and our responses,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. “Peace is needed, and real steps are needed to achieve it. Ukraine will act in kind.”

The Russian Defense Ministry declared a unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine for Friday and Saturday, but said that it would strike back at the country, if it tries to disrupt the festivities on Victory Day, which Russia marks annually on May 9.

Zelenskyy replied that Ukraine would observe a ceasefire beginning at the end of Tuesday and would respond in kind to Russia’s actions from that moment on. He didn’t put an end date on the move.

Moscow's proposal to stop fighting follows a familiar pattern of Russia declaring short unilateral ceasefires during the war timed to various holidays, most recently Orthodox Easter. Those suspensions of combat don't produce any tangible results amid deep mistrust between Moscow and Kyiv more than four years after Russia launched an all-out invasion of its neighbor. U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the war have come to nothing.

Ukrainian leader expands Gulf cooperation

Zelenskyy was in Bahrain on Tuesday where he met with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, proposing a bilateral drone defense partnership amid the Iran war.

The Ukrainian leader said that he offered to share Ukraine’s air defense expertise with Bahrain, drawing a parallel between Iranian attacks on Gulf states and Russia’s daily aerial strikes on Ukrainian territory, which often use Shahed drones initially developed by Iran.

Zelenskyy said last month that Ukrainian officials are helping Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan with drone expertise and air defense.

Ukraine's power grid targeted again

Russian forces fired 11 Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 164 strike drones at Ukraine overnight from Monday to Tuesday, including a jet-powered Shahed drone variant, the Ukrainian Air Force said.

Air defense units stopped 149 drones and one missile, but others got through, it said. Two ballistic missiles failed to reach their targets, the air force said without elaborating.

Russia has repeatedly hammered Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. It hit natural gas production facilities in Ukraine’s central Poltava and northeastern Kharkiv regions, state energy company Naftogaz Group said.

Since the start of the year, Naftogaz facilities have come under attack 107 times, the company said.

Zelenskyy said that the Poltava attack was “especially vile,” because Russia launched a second missile at the same target when emergency rescuers were working at the scene.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said that Russia’s main targets were energy facilities, oil and gas infrastructure, railways and industrial sites, although the attacks also damaged homes, businesses and the transportation network.

Russia’s ceasefire proposals “remain only statements,” Svyrydenko said.

Russian territory hit by Ukrainian cruise missiles

Ukraine also kept up the pace of its long-range attacks on Russian rear areas, apparently aiming at more oil facilities in an effort to further disrupt Moscow's war economy.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its forces destroyed 289 Ukrainian drones overnight in 18 Russian regions. Drones were also intercepted over the occupied Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and over the Azov Sea, it said.

During the night, Ukraine launched its F-5 Flamingo cruise missiles at targets, including military-industrial complex facilities in Cheboksary, located more than 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) away, Zelenskyy said.

The plant supplied navigation components for the Russian navy, the missile industry, aviation and armored vehicles, he said.

The regional health ministry said that a Ukrainian drone attack wounded three people in the city of Cheboksary.

Ukrainian drones also attacked the Kirishi oil refinery in the Leningrad region close to St. Petersburg, sparking a blaze in the town’s industrial zone, regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko said.

Drozdenko said on social media that 29 Ukrainian drones had been shot down during the attack. No casualties were reported.

Ground robot operations

Ukraine doubled its midrange strikes on Russia in April compared with March and quadrupled them compared with February, according to a monthly battlefield report from Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov published Tuesday.

The midrange attacks were focused on enemy warehouses, command posts, air defense systems and supply lines up to about 100 miles (160 kilometers) behind the front line.

Also, Ukrainian ground robots completed 10,281 resupply and evacuation missions in April, an average of almost 343 per day, according to Fedorov.

It wasn't possible to independently confirm the claims.

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

The agency made the reversal official in November 2025, with the FDA commissioner holding a press conference to announce that the long-standing cancer warning was based on flawed science.

“That warning about estrogen products causing breast cancer. That’s not true, and that was never true.”

That was Dr. Gustav Lo, Chief Medical Officer at the Cosmetic Skin & Laser Center and RegenCen. He called the turnaround a watershed moment - one long overdue.

“This is a big deal in our field. This is a huge deal in our field. I wish more people knew about it,” Lo said.

The FDA’s position was clear: women had paid the price for bad data. “We feel that women have been denied the opportunity to do something that’s really, really good for their health, which is hormone replacement,” Lo said.

Demand Surges, Shelves Empty

The reversal set off a scramble. Estrogen patches - long the standard delivery method - are now in short supply across the country. Unlike a pill, the patch is a manufactured medical device with fixed production lines that can’t ramp up overnight.

“When demand started going up because of new interest, renewed interest in hormone replacement, now there’s a shortage,” Lo said.

He’s not mourning the shortage. Lo argues the patch was never the best option to begin with. “The patch is not a great device, is not a great drug delivery device,” he said, noting that the devices release most of their medication in the first 24 hours, leaving patients undertreated for the remainder of their wear cycle.

“Those patches, they release most of their medication within the first 24 hours, and then you have another 2.5 days where your levels are really below where they should be.”

The consequences are significant: Lo estimates that “about 75% of women don’t really get to therapeutic levels, so they’re not getting those health benefits like they could.” That means reduced protection against osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease - benefits many women don’t know they’re missing.

What Women Should Do Now

Lo points to two alternatives gaining traction: topical creams and gels, which allow precise, adjustable dosing, and pellets, which are inserted subcutaneously and maintain steady hormone levels for three to four months.

RegenCen’s program, called Regen HRT, takes a levels-first approach - testing patients and targeting therapeutic thresholds rather than simply waiting to see if symptoms improve.

“We have menopause-certified providers in all our clinics,” Lo said. More information is available at RegenCen.com.

Meloni shared the photo in question on Facebook. She included with it an apparent post from someone named Roberto who apparently had himself shared it on social media with the commentary that Meloni should be “ashamed” of herself.

Meloni warned against sharing such images on social media without verifying them.

“Deepfakes are a dangerous tool because they can deceive, manipulate and target anyone. I can defend myself. Many others cannot,” she warned in her Facebook post.

It wasn't immediately clear if Meloni would report the incident to law enforcement, as she was urged to do by people commenting on her post. She acknowledged though that the photo manipulation “actually made me look a lot better.”

“But the fact remains that, in order to attack and fabricate lies, people will now use absolutely anything,” she wrote.

It’s not the first time that the likeness of Meloni, Italy’s first female premier, has made waves. In February, a minor church-state scandal erupted after a cherub bearing a striking appearance to Meloni appeared in a Roman church.

Then, Meloni made light of the manipulation.

“No, I definitely don’t look like an angel,” Meloni wrote on social media with a laughing/crying emoji alongside a photo of the work.

Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton took questions Tuesday at LIV Golf Virginia after LIV CEO Scott O'Neil spoke to reporters about his efforts to court investors for a league that is losing its chief financial backer, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, at the end of the season.

Both players declined to speculate on their future and noted that they remain under contract with LIV for years to come.

“As of right now I have several years on my contract left, and I’m pretty sure they did a pretty good job when they drafted that, so I don’t see many ways out,” Rahm said.

Asked whether Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund had committed to honoring contracts beyond 2026, O'Neil said, “I don’t even know how to think about answering.”

The Saudis have spent $5 billion on LIV Golf over five years without achieving profitability, including $1 billion on player contracts. Players compete for $30 million purses at each event on the LIV schedule, an amount that could be reduced next year without Saudi funding.

The PGA Tour does not allow players to compete on both circuits. However, LIV players have been welcomed back to the European tour after paying fines for playing in conflicting events.

Rahm refused to pay the fines and the resulting standoff put at risk his participation in next year's Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland.

“There is no longer a standoff. We were able to reach an agreement. There were some concessions on both sides, and I offered some, they extended an olive branch,” Rahm said. “So that will not be a stress anymore.”

Rahm said he plans to play European tour events this fall, including the Spanish Open, unless family considerations get in the way. He and wife Kelley are expecting their fourth child.

The two-time major champion has played only six European tour events since joining LIV in late 2023. LIV has no events on its schedule between the U.S. Open and the British Open, and Rahm's settlement would allow him to play the Scottish Open, which is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour, the week before the year's final major.

Speaking in Spanish at the end of his availability, Rahm said he knew there was risk in coming to LIV and compared his situation to a soccer team knowing its coach was leaving at the end of the season.

“You know you have to play, but there is ambiguity because maybe you are not going to follow the same system,” Rahm said before making a reference to PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, known as “His Excellency,” who has stepped down as LIV's chairman.

“It was a surprise for everyone. We didn't expect it, after the support that His Excellency has given us.”

O'Neil makes a pitch for LIV's value

O'Neil took questions from a LIV media official for 28 minutes inside the tennis building at Trump National Golf Club outside Washington before answering reporters' questions for 17 minutes.

Behind him was a screen with the names of six sponsors, four of which are owned or backed by the PIF: Maaden, Riyadh Air, Roshn Group and Aramco.

O'Neil mentioned sponsorships, ticket sales, television contracts and the league's global footprint as reasons for optimism that it could secure funding. The league plans to take its 13 franchises to market, and O'Neil said those teams would be offered to potential buyers with players in place.

“The way the process will typically work — I may be getting ahead of myself — is that we're going to create a business plan, we're going to lock arms with the players, we will go to market and raise money on a top level, and then we will get investors in teams in that order,” O'Neil said. “The players on the team should be locked in.”

Rahm acknowledged that players might have to accept less money to keep the league going.

“I do believe that for the business plan to change, whatever they're coming up with, there will need to be some concessions on (players') part, yeah,” he said.

___

This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Tyrrell Hatton's first name.

___

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

Dean DelleChiaie, 35, of Nashua, was expected to make an initial court appearance Tuesday on a charge of interstate communication of a threat against the president. According to federal prosecutors, he sent a message April 21 using his personal email account in which he identified himself and said he was going to “neutralize/kill” the president.

That came nearly three months after police and U.S. Secret Service officers questioned DelleChiaie about searches made on his computer at the FAA, where he was employed as a contractor involved in mechanical engineering.

According to court documents, DelleChiaie used his work computer in January to search for information about how to get a gun into a federal facility, the percentage of the population that wants the president dead, the location of the vice president’s home and the names of his children. He later asked the FAA’s information technology department to delete his search history, but the department instead reported the request to authorities, and DelleChiaie was suspended.

When interviewed at his home Feb. 3, DelleChiaie admitted to making the searches and was remorseful, Secret Service Special Agent Nathaneal Gamble wrote. He also told investigators he owned three guns, was depressed and that while he was upset with the Trump administration, he had no interest in assassinations.

DelleChiaie, whose attorney did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment, was arrested Monday, just over a week after a gunman tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner with guns and knives. Cole Tomas Allen has been charged in that incident, in which a Secret Service officer who was wearing body armor was shot but not seriously injured.

The class action lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, accuses the tech giant of copyright infringement and opens up a new front in the ongoing battle between the book community and developers of AI.

The plaintiffs allege that Zuckerberg and Meta “followed their well-known motto ‘move fast and break things’" by illegally drawing upon a massive trove of books and journal articles for Llama.

“Defendants reproduced and distributed millions of copyrighted works without permission, without providing any compensation to authors or publishers, and with full knowledge that their conduct violated copyright law,” the complaint reads in part. “Zuckerberg himself personally authorized and actively encouraged the infringement."

Authors published by the five companies suing — Elsevier, Cengage, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan and McGraw Hill — include Turow, James Patterson, Donna Tartt, former President Joe Biden and at least two of the Pulitzer Prize winners announced Monday, Yiyun Li and Amanda Vaill.

In a statement Monday, Meta vowed to “fight this lawsuit aggressively.”

“AI is powering transformative innovations, productivity and creativity for individuals and companies, and courts have rightly found that training AI on copyrighted material can qualify as fair use," the statement reads in part.

Over the past few years, numerous authors have pursued legal action involving AI. In 2025, Anthropic agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a class action suit initiated by thriller novelist Andrea Bartz and nonfiction writers Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson. A final approval hearing is scheduled for next week.

Twenty-one Republican senators voted against redistricting in December, including eight running for reelection this year. Trump has endorsed primary challengers against seven, and the president's allies have spent millions of dollars on races that rarely get much attention from Washington.

It's become a costly and unprecedented intraparty battle that has exacerbated tensions among Republicans ahead of the November midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith said the primary is about how far the party will go to get an edge over Democrats — a contest between “the Republicans who tend to want to avoid the fight and the Republicans who feel like we need to fight."

“So the only question is, ‘Will you fight or will you get trampled by the other side?’” said Beckwith, who is supporting the Trump-backed challengers.

Indiana rejected Trump on redistricting

Trump began leaning on Republican-led states last year to redraw their congressional maps to make it easier for his party to hold its thin majority in the U.S. House. Although redistricting is normally done once a decade, after a new census, Trump wanted to abandon tradition to gain a political edge.

Texas was the first to follow through, and the White House pressured Indiana to go along too. Vice President JD Vance met with state politicians in Washington and Indianapolis, and Trump weighed in by conference call.

However, Indiana senators rebuffed the effort, one of the president's first significant political defeats of his second term.

The redistricting fight divided Republicans in Indiana, a state Trump won three times by no less than 16 points. Republican Gov. Mike Braun, U.S. Sen. Jim Banks and organizations such as Turning Point Action have worked alongside Trump to unseat the incumbents.

Jim Bopp, a prominent Indiana attorney who leads a political action committee aligned with Braun, predicted that Trump’s support will carry the day for the challengers.

“Republican voters overwhelmingly support Trump, and when they find out Trump has endorsed a particular Senate candidate, they swing their support behind them,” he said.

Indiana opposition came from constituents, former governor

Opposition to the effort came from anti-Trump Republicans and those wary of the president reaching so deeply into state decision-making. Former Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, who had stepped away from politics after leaving the governorship in 2015, reemerged to help raise money for targeted incumbents.

The senators who broke with Trump said they were listening to constituents who were overwhelmingly against his redistricting plan. Some said they didn’t like Trump's aggressive tone in pushing the plan.

“We hate to be told what to do,” said Mike Murphy, a former Republican state representative. “We’re very independent-thinking people. So when Donald Trump and his goons come in and try to tell us that we need to redistrict to help his political future, that’s the worst thing you can do.”

He said Trump and those spending big money to take out the incumbents don’t understand Indiana politics.

“There’s just so many misjudgments on people’s part because they tend to fly at the 50,000-foot level, and they don’t go to the barbecues and the church fish fries and the things that make Indiana politics,” Murphy said.

Bopp, who supports the Trump-backed challengers, said the primary is a chance for Indiana Republicans to express how important it is to redraw the congressional lines there.

“It’s not a matter of Trump’s power,” Bopp said. “It’s about Republican primary voters who support his agenda and don’t want a Democratic House that will be hugely destructive to the Trump presidency and the country.”

Wild coach John Hynes announced the goaltender swap several hours before puck drop. Gustavsson hasn't played since allowing five goals at St. Louis on April 13. He went 28-15-6 with a 2.69 goals-against average during the regular season.

Wallstedt surrendered 14 goals in six games during a first-round series win over Dallas. He struggled in Game 1 against the high-scoring Avalanche in allowing eight goals on 42 shots. Wallstedt and Gustavsson split time throughout the season.

“We have confidence in both of our goalies. They’re both excellent,” Hynes said. “They both played really good hockey. We believe either one of them can win us a game. It’s a good opportunity to get Gus in the net. He’s hungry to get in.”

Gustavsson has played in 11 postseason games for the Wild, posting a 4-6 mark with a 2.54 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. The 27-year-old Gustavsson stayed sharp waiting for his turn, Hynes said, and has been "very supportive" of the decision to go with Wallstedt.

“But the thing I liked about it, too, was that he didn’t just concede it, either,” Hynes said. "He wants to play. He wants to get in the net. He was working for it. He’s making sure that he was prepared to do it.

"It could be a little bit of a negative response, but his was, ‘I understand the decision.’ As it went on, he wanted to get into the net. But his attitude toward the team and toward Wally was top shelf.”

The Wild remain without forward Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin because of lower-body injuries. Hynes said there could be more tweaks to the lineup, but those will be game-time decisions based on health.

___

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

International Youth Service, the agency that matched us up 40 years ago, has long since folded, but other pen pal programs have survived — or even began during — the internet age. And even though New Zealand's postal system has reduced home delivery days, Denmark has stopped delivering letters altogether and Canada is moving in that direction, some see signs of a letter-writing resurgence.

“The hunger is there,” said Rachel Syme, a writer for The New Yorker magazine who created a pen pal program during the COVID-19 pandemic and later published a book encouraging others to take up handwritten correspondence.

More than 15,000 people signed up for Syme’s Penpalooza project in 2020, and she still gets hundreds of takers when she coordinates a new round of matchmaking every few months. She also gets requests for pen pals at book signings for “Syme’s Letter Writer – A Guide to Modern Correspondence,” and the stationery stores she frequents in New York City are always crowded with customers.

“People are very interested in physical, analog things right now,” she said. “I think it really has an appeal especially to a younger generation who grew up with a phone glued to their hand, to do something that’s more tactile, slower, more intentional, more mindful, but also just disconnected from the internet in every way.”

“Yours (hopefully)”

I was still 10 years away from connecting to the internet when I opened my first aerogramme from New Zealand, a sheet of pale blue paper that served as both writing surface and envelope adorned with a 45-cent stamp. That missive ended with a formal “Yours (hopefully) Molly Nunns,” but within a year, she was signing off with “Lots and lots of love” or “Your friend forever.”

In letter after letter, Molly drew little hearts on the tails of y’s in both of our first names, asked for updates on my middle school crushes and shared stories about her classmates and family. I could clearly picture her life, though it was hard in snowy New Hampshire to imagine celebrating Christmas during the summer.

“I am thinking of you heaps and I wonder what you are doing because you’re a SUPER pen friend and I hope that we never stop writing to each other and that one day we will get to meet each other,” she wrote in early 1986.

Julie Delbridge, 65, fostered similar friendships after joining International Pen Friends as a teenager in 1979. Writing to pen pals in more than a dozen countries from her home in Australia was such a positive experience that she began working for the organization as an adult and took over as its president in 2001. While she loved sharing photos, postcards and treats with her pen friends, it also was a therapeutic experience at a time when her parents were going through a bitter divorce.

“It was a pastime that I totally immersed myself into in a positive way and gained a lot of enjoyment from,” she said. “There was an abundance of non-judgmental friendship, fun and different perspectives.”

Over its 59-year history, IPF has provided pen pals to more than 2 million people ages 8 to 80+, she said. Membership peaked in the late 1990s but surged again during the pandemic, and this year, there’s been an increase in people ages 21-26 joining.

Pen pals in the classroom

In 2021, the U.S. Postal Service sent cards and envelopes to 25,000 elementary school classrooms for a pen pal project, but older students also are putting pen to paper.

In Texas, a group of medical students created an anonymous pen pal program to promote peer support and personal reflection. At Villanova University, professor Kamran Javadizadeh requires students to send letters to each other as part of a literature class called “Letters, Texts, Twitter” that examines different forms of epistolary communication in literature.

“I make them put pieces of paper in envelopes and take them to the post office and send them to each other even though they could just as easily hand it to the person in class,” he said. “Something is lost when you have instantaneous communication. So I’m interested in the relationship between synchronous kinds of intimacy and asynchronous forms of intimacy.”

Gordon Alley-Young, dean of communications at New York’s Kingsborough Community College, believes letters are like vinyl records — they’re coming back into fashion as young people explore a tangible medium from the past. He has both studied the history of letter writing and used it to teach students empathy.

In an interpersonal communication class, he noticed that students analyzing case studies about relationship problems offered matter-of-fact, almost insensitive diagnoses. But when he re-wrote the case studies in the form of letters from friends and had students respond in kind, they began sharing their own feelings and offering more open-ended advice.

“We really want students to connect to what they’re looking at,” he said. “And letter writing encourages that.”

Pen pals in the digital age

An app called Slowly seeks to combine modern technology with the old-fashioned anticipation inherent to the pen pal relationship. Users send messages digitally, but delivery is delayed from an hour to several days to mimic snail mail.

“This delay naturally encourages longer, more thoughtful messages because you wouldn’t just say ‘hi’ if you know you have to wait days for a reply,” said cofounder JoJo Chan.

Since 2017, the app has gained 10 million users in more than 160 countries, most in their 20s and 30s. One user said he was curious about pen pals after hearing about them from his grandparents, Chan said.

“Slowly offers a convenient way and a modern way for them to try that experience,” she said.

Syme, however, is all about the tangible aspects of letter writing. Her book includes advice on paper and pens plus all kinds of goodies that can be tucked into envelopes.

“There is joy to be had once you fully embrace the medium’s outdated extravagance,” she writes.

But letter writing, she said in an interview, is like a swimming pool, both shiny and deep. The frippery and embellishments don’t matter in comparison to what you actually put on the page.

“That’s where I think it can get very real, very quickly,” she said.

A special connection

Molly and I had been writing for 15 years by the time we met in person, spending a day together in New York when she toured the U.S. in May 2000. We crossed paths in London a few years later, and in 2018, she and her family visited New Hampshire.

“Who would have thought when we started writing in 1985 that one day you’d be sitting here? It’s quite amazing,” she said during my recent visit. “We’ll always have a special connection, I’m sure.”

In addition to the sunglasses, I also gave Molly a bound book of 200 pages of her letters that I scanned and printed. At age 13, I never could have imagined that someday I’d have searchable PDFs of our teenage scribblings that could be summarized in 10 seconds by artificial intelligence. But what amazes me more is the depth of the connection I felt during our tearful airport goodbye.

We will for sure meet again. Until then, lots and lots of love, Holly.

“In a very classist country, Oprah's club was one of the very first things that said books are for everyone. It was a powerful thing,” the 49-year-old author told The Associated Press during a recent interview at a hotel lounge in downtown Manhattan.

Stuart has since ascended high into a culture he once thought wanted no part of him. Best known for “Shuggie Bain,” he's a bestseller, winner of the Booker Prize and Dayton Literary Peace Prize and he has seen his novels translated into dozens of languages. A few months ago, he found himself in unexpected conversation with the celebrity who had helped inspire him to read: Stuart was the recipient of what people refer to as “the call,” when Winfrey notifies an author that she has chosen their work for her club.

On Tuesday, Winfrey announced the selection of Stuart's “John of John.” Published this week, it's his third novel, and returns to the country and themes of “Shuggie Bain” and its successor, “Young Mungo.” The setting is an isolated community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, where art school student John-Calum “Cal” MacLeod returns from Edinburgh to live with his troubled father and beloved, but ailing grandmother. He re-encounters the conflicts that helped convince him he needed to leave: Catholics vs. Protestants, parents vs. children, traditional gender roles vs. the forbidden and sometimes dangerous love between men.

“I felt transported,” Winfrey said in a statement Tuesday. “I could feel every aspect of this remote community where tradition and judgment quietly shaped everyone’s life. Douglas Stuart brilliantly weaved a layered, compelling and yet so intimate a story of identity, what it means to belong, and the courage to claim your own truth.”

Stuart's book club interview can be seen on The Oprah Podcast and other podcast outlets.

A sense of perspective

A longtime New Yorker, Stuart knows he's upholding a tradition of artists who leave their place of birth, but revisit it in their minds long after. Like Cal, he is an art school graduate who needed more space than his hometown could offer. But Stuart has otherwise proved more fortunate. While Cal struggles to support himself, Stuart had a long and successful career in design before finding even greater success as a novelist. He draws upon firsthand memories in “John of John” but also upon the perspective gained from setting abroad.

“I love the Salman Rushdie quote that you cannot see a painting until you’re outside the frame,” he said. “Leaving filled me with a huge homesickness, but it also gave me the ability to see things from a distance. I was able to understand that I wasn't the only person with pain in my life. All the people around me were also carrying pain.

Stuart, born in 1976, was raised by a single mother who died from alcoholism and poverty when he was 16, a tragedy revisited in “Shuggie Bain.” Discouraged by teachers to pursue a literary career, he attended the Scottish College of Textiles (now Heriot-Watt University) and received a master’s degree from the Royal College of Art in London. He moved to New York in his mid-20s and within a few years had risen to senior director of design at Banana Republic. He was a great success to those who knew him, but not to himself. By age 30, he was quietly carving out a new path.

A fateful party

Like so many of his peers, he became a writer because he had to. His week was mostly filled by his job at Banana Republic, but the story which became “Shuggie Bain” so compelled him that for a decade, he devoted much of his free time to it, recalling the “joy” of having even moments to think and reflect. He had no real publishing connections, but he did have the luck of a well-placed neighbor — Tina Pohlman, an industry veteran who has worked as an editor, agent and consultant. She and Stuart lived in the same building in Greenwich Village and met during a holiday party. Both remember Stuart telling her that he had written a book and was hoping she would look at it, the kind of request Pohlman rarely wanted to hear.

“I was immediately filled with dread,” Pohlman says. “Anytime that anyone at a party tells you they have a novel, it's tricky. You have to be polite. I told him I would look at it, but that it will take a long time. I guess I was trying to make it as difficult for him as possible.”

But Pohlman decided to give the manuscript a quick look, loved it from the opening page and helped Stuart find an agent. After dozens of publishers turned him down, some, apparently believing that the public wasn't ready for the occasional passage of local dialect, Grove Atlantic vice president-deputy publisher Peter Blackstock signed it up. “Maybe because I’m from England, or maybe it’s also because I'm gay, it resonated with me,” Blackstock told the AP.

“Shuggie Bain” was released on the eve of the pandemic in 2020 and steadily gained attention even as bookstores worldwide were shut down. By the fall, his novel was a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the Booker, an unusual achievement for a debut novel. It has since sold more than a million copies worldwide and helped convince Stuart that he could no longer regard himself as an outsider,

Stuart's imagination often resides in Scotland, but he calls himself an American and feels very much a part of his adopted country, living in the Greenwich Village with his husband, Michael Cary. While long past the illusion that the U.S. has been spared the class system of the United Kingdom, he still finds a spirit of optimism and possibility.

“I love the feeling that success is not being something to be ashamed of,” he says. “I love that I got to start over here. Nobody knew who I was. Nobody knew where I came from. I got to completely reinvent myself.”

A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world’s largest expanses of protected forest, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with ground research.

The Terra do Meio Ecological Station recorded its first cases of illegal mining in September 2024. By the end of 2025, mining-related deforestation there had spread to 30 hectares (74 acres). At the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining accumulated 832 hectares (2,056 acres) of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025. A new mining front that opened in 2024 expanded to 36 hectares (89 acres) by October 2025, accounting for nearly half the mining-related deforestation recorded in the unit during that year.

Satellite monitoring also detected a clandestine airstrip used by illegal miners at the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve last year. Illegal mining in the reserve grew from 2 hectares (5 acres) to at least 26.8 hectares (66 acres) in 2025.

Most deforestation from mining is illegal, group says

In 2023, Amazon Conservation teamed up with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center to develop the Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining across the Amazon since 2018. About 496,000 hectares (1,225,640 acres) of rainforest have been cleared for mining since then, including approximately 223,000 hectares (551,045 acres) in the Brazilian Amazon. Amazon Conservation estimates that 80% of mining-related deforestation in Brazil carries a high risk of taking place illegally.

Mining remains a relatively small driver of deforestation in Brazil, where forest loss is largely linked to agribusiness expansion. In 2025, for example, some 579,600 hectares (1,432 acres) of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to official data. About 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) were related to mining, according to the Mining Watch.

“What makes mining particularly problematic is that it targets protected areas and Indigenous territories,” said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation’s Monitoring of the Andes Amazon program.

Protecting Indigenous territories is widely seen as an effective way to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate. Researchers warn that continued forest loss could accelerate global warming.

Enforcement is often a ‘cat-and-mouse’ game

In 2023, Brazilian authorities launched a major crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory in Roraima state, along the border with Venezuela, after a surge led to a humanitarian and health crisis. Annual growth in newly mined areas there fell sharply after that year, according to Amazon Conservation data. Although mining has not been fully eliminated, nearly all deforestation inside the Yanomami territory — about 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) — had taken place by 2023.

Still, localized enforcement has not curbed illegal mining across the Amazon. When authorities destroy dredges and equipment in one region, miners often relocate or resume operations once officials leave. Federal prosecutor André Luiz Porreca, who investigates illegal mining in the western Brazilian Amazon, described enforcement as a “cat-and-mouse game.”

“Last year, I took part in an operation that destroyed more than 500 dredges on an Indigenous land,” Porreca said. “The following week, Indigenous people showed me photos proving the miners had already returned.”

Porreca said illegal gold mining is financed by Brazil’s largest criminal organizations, including the Red Command and the First Capital Command, or PCC, which operate in about a third of the cities in the Brazilian Amazon. “They have the money to bankroll these operations. Some dredges cost as much as 15 million reais."

While enforcement eased pressure in Yanomami territory, illegal mining has intensified elsewhere, particularly across Indigenous lands in the Xingu River basin. The most critical situation is on the Kayapo Indigenous land, where roughly 7,940 hectares (19,620 acres) of rainforest have been cleared by illegal mining, the largest such area in the Brazilian Amazon.

Gold has driven mercury contamination

Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have provided a strong incentive for illegal mining.

“It’s basic market logic. With more buyers, there are more people exploiting gold,” Porreca said. He said Brazil’s mineral export control system remains weak, allowing laundering schemes that give illicit gold the appearance of legality.

Environmental damage extends beyond deforestation. Illegal mining operations dump mercury into rivers, contaminating waterways and accumulating in fish consumed by riverine and Indigenous communities.

In April, Porreca submitted a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights describing widespread mercury contamination in the Amazon. The report cited a study by Fiocruz, a state-run research institution, which found that 21.3% of fish sold in public markets across the Amazon exceeded mercury limits set by the World Health Organization. Children ages 2 to 4 were consuming mercury at levels up to 31 times higher than the recommended maximum.

Mining an increasing concern among environmentalists and Indigenous

Under Brazilian law, mining is prohibited on Indigenous lands. The Ministry of Indigenous peoples said in a statement that combating illegal mining on Indigenous lands is a priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration. The ministry said mining invasions are sustained by criminal networks and confronting them requires dismantling those economic and logistics chains.

The Ministry of Environment said mercury contamination from illegal gold mining remains a persistent problem in the Amazon, adding that it is expanding scientific monitoring while supporting enforcement efforts.

Brazil’s Federal Police did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

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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.

Many people woke up to an overflow of photos of what’s known as fashion’s biggest night.

To hear what Jordan had to say about the event, as well his thoughts on the movie, The Devil Wears Prada 2, click the video above.

Best in Games in Warren will host a celebration on Sunday, June 21^st that will allow our winning duos to enjoy games like laser tag, pixel floors and glider riders.

You’ll enjoy quality time and share some of the moments LIVE with Local 4 viewers.

All you need to do is enter the contest on ClickOnDetroit.com (see details below) and three (3) father/child duos will be selected for this special event.

Additionally, winners will receive vouchers for their own Best in Games experience.

If you’re looking for a unique gift idea, this could be perfect for you and your dad.

Here’s what to do

1. Make sure you’re a WDIV Insider. If you’re not already a member, join here.
2. In the form below, write a quick paragraph or two about why your dad is the Best Dad in The World. Submissions will begin May 10 at 9 a.m. and remain open until May 27 at 12 p.m.
3. Ten (10) semi-finalists will be selected by May 29 at 5 p.m. and asked to submit a video entry explaining why their dad is the Best Dad in the World. Deadline for video submission is Friday, June 5, at 12 p.m..
4. From these video submissions, three (3) winning duos will be selected.
5. The winners will be announced on Local 4 News Morning and ClickOnDetroit.com on June 7.
6. By June 15, 2026, winners must accept the prize and agree to appear on TV the morning of Father’s Day.
7. You must be available to meet at Best in Games in Warren (28300 Dequindre Road) at 5:30 a.m. Sunday, June 21, 2026, to participate in the broadcast.  

We’re pretty sure it will be a Father’s Day you won’t ever forget!

Click here to read the full contest rules and regulations.

Enter contest here

Input your email address below to start your submission -- it’ll only take a few moments!

Charles, who had 4,262 rebounds in her career, also finished as the league's No. 2 all-time scorer behind Diana Taurasi. The 15-year veteran scored 8,396 points in the regular season.

“Today, I officially announce my retirement from basketball. Fifteen years at the professional level and a lifetime of love for this game," Charles wrote in her post. "I’ve experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows, and I’m thankful for all of it. Through it all, I learned how to show up. When doubt got loud and narratives were written about me, I kept showing up. That’s the New Yorker in me, where resilience is built, not talked about.”

Charles was the No. 1 pick by the Connecticut Sun in 2010 after helping the UConn Huskies win consecutive NCAA championships in 2009 and 2010. She was the AP Player of the Year in 2010.

She played with the Sun until 2013 before a blockbuster trade sent her home to New York.

“She is undeniably one of the most impactful players to ever wear a Liberty uniform and one of the most accomplished athletes our league has ever seen,” Liberty CEO Keia Clarke said. “Her excellence on the court, her leadership in the locker room and her unwavering commitment to pouring so much into the New York community, the city that raised her will endure for generations.”

Charles starred in her hometown through the 2019 season. She sat out the WNBA bubble season the next year before playing in Washington, Phoenix, Seattle and Atlanta. Charles came back to Connecticut last season and started 42 games while averaging 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds.

“Tina Charles has been one of the most prolific scorers and rebounder our league has ever seen and her impact in the community has been just as powerful as her impact on the floor,” Atlanta Dream GM Dan Padover said. “Tina had a historic career and was a cornerstone player during an important time of our league's growth.”

The 37-year-old center helped the U.S. win three Olympic gold medals as well as three World Cup championships. She earned WNBA MVP honors in 2012 and was the league's top scorer in two seasons. The one thing Charles never had a chance to do was play in a WNBA Finals.

“This game gave me everything, and I’ll miss it deeply,” Charles said. “But my mom always taught me, don’t stop at what you’ve done, keep going toward what you still see. And I still see so much. There are still dreams in my heart waiting to be lived, and I can’t wait to share that journey with you all.”

Besides her impact on the court, Charles has left a lasting one off of it, helping to save countless lives for more than a decade with her charity — Hopey's Heart Foundation. She's donated 500 AEDs (automated external defibrillators) through the organization that started in 2013 and is named in honor of her aunt.

It's dedicated to curbing deaths in the United States from sudden cardiac arrest. The organization works to ensure schools and public places have lifesaving equipment such as defibrillators on hand.

Charles said that before she started the foundation she didn’t realize how common and deadly sudden cardiac arrest could be until she read about Wes Leonard, a high school basketball player who suffered a heart attack and died after basketball practice in 2011.

And when her aunt died a few years later from organ failure, Charles committed herself to helping to solve the problem.

In 2017, when Charles was playing for the New York Liberty, she was surprised by the team by a man who was saved by one of the AEDs that the star had donated.

“Beyond her extraordinary accomplishments, Tina has represented the very best of the WNBA throughout her career," WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. "Through her leadership and dedication to giving back — including her work with her Hopey’s Heart Foundation — she has made a meaningful impact far beyond the game, earning the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award twice.

"Her legacy will be defined not only by her excellence on the court, but by the standard she set as a leader, a teammate, and a champion for the communities she touched.”

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

The no-confidence vote was a blow to Bolojan, who came to power with the aim of ending one of Romania’s worst political crises in its post-communist history.

The Social Democratic Party, or PSD, and the nationalist opposition Alliance for the Unity of Romanians party, or AUR, jointly submitted the motion to Parliament on April 28. PSD withdrew from the coalition last month. On Tuesday, 281 lawmakers voted in favor and four voted against.

Lawmakers from Bolojan’s National Liberal Party, or PNL, and coalition partners, Save Romania Union party and the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party, abstained.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan called for calm on Tuesday, saying that while it is “not a happy moment … it is a democratic decision by Parliament,” and that negotiations and informal consultations to form a new government are underway.

“We will have a new government within a reasonable time,” Dan said. “I exclude the scenario of early elections. And I emphasize: at the end of these procedures, we will have a pro-Western government — we will calmly get through this.”

Unrest grips the EU member country

Romania has faced a long period of instability after the annulment of a presidential election in December 2024. The country has also grappled with one of the highest budget deficits in the European Union, rampant inflation, and a technical recession. In June, when the coalition was voted in, it pledged to reduce the budget deficit, marking it a top priority.

The PSD had often found itself at loggerheads with Bolojan over austerity measures, including tax hikes, public-sector wage and pension freezes, and cuts to state spending and public administration jobs.

Last week, the party accused Bolojan of “failing to implement any genuine reform” in his 10 months leading the government, and said Romania needs a leader who is “capable of collaboration.” Bolojan said that he took tough but necessary fiscal measures that effectively “regained the trust of the markets in the Romanian government.”

Bolojan also called the no-confidence motion “cynical and artificial” and said before the vote that it “seems to be written by people who were not in government every day and did not participate in all the decisions.”

“It is cynical, because it does not take into account the context in which we find ourselves,” he said. “I assumed the position of prime minister, being aware that it comes with enormous pressure and that I would not receive applause from the citizens. But I chose to do what was urgent and necessary for our country.”

PSD calls for an interim president

The PSD party's president, Sorin Grindeanu, said Bolojan should appoint an interim prime minister until one is voted into office by lawmakers. He also said he expected Romanian President Nicusor Dan to consult PSD.

“I would like us to quickly find a solution … together with the other parties and move forward,” Grindeanu said. “All options are open.”

The secretary-general of Bolojan's party, Dan Motreanu, posted on social media, saying PSD and AUR “have a duty to take over the government, to come up with a prime minister candidate and a clear program,” accusing the two parties of “playing political theater.”

“You cannot overthrow a government and then run away from accountability,” Motreanu wrote, adding that “any signal of political chaos” negatively affects the country's economy and people.

The PSD would be needed to form a pro-European parliamentary majority. The party has previously ruled out forming a government with AUR, whose leader, George Simion, said Tuesday that voters had “supported and wanted water, food, energy,” but had “received taxes, war and poverty.”

Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, said the crisis will likely lead to a stalemate, since “no one has a majority, or a coalition, and it will take the president ... weeks to find such a majority and name a new prime minister, prolonging the indecision.”

“At this moment, there are two tentative options for a new Cabinet, both difficult to achieve; either a reshuffled coalition, without Bolojan, in the same formation ... or a minority Cabinet, rather led by PSD and satellites from populist parties, like AUR, or other small groups,” he said. “A PSD-AUR official Cabinet is not a possibility today because the president will not endorse it.”

The prime ministerial position was set to be rotated in 2027 from Bolojan to a PSD premier as part of a power-sharing agreement. A general election is scheduled for 2028.

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McGrath reported from Leamington Spa, England.

Everton said Merseyside Police arrested a 71-year-old man on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offense after supporters and Hill Dickinson Stadium staff reported the incident at the game Monday.

“Racism and discrimination in all forms are completely unacceptable,” Everton said in a statement.

Man City said it welcomed “the swift action taken by Everton and the police to identify the individual responsible.”

Semenyo was targeted in a similar incident at a previous Premier League game in the city of Liverpool, while playing for Bournemouth in the season opener.

The Ghana international, who is Black, alleged he was racially abused by a Liverpool fan while preparing to take a throw-in during Bournemouth’s 4-2 loss at Anfield in August.

That game was paused for the man to be ejected from the stadium. He is due in court later this year.

Man City also condemned online racist abuse targeted at its defender Marc Guéhi after the 3-3 draw Monday evening.

“We will continue to offer our full support to both Antoine and Marc and never accept discrimination of any kind in our game,” the club said.

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

Macron was joined by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on drums and celebrated jazz musician Vahagn Hayrapetyan on piano on Monday night in Yerevan. In addition to “La Bohème,” which was recorded by Armenian-French musician Charles Aznavour in 1965, Macron also sang “Les Feuilles Mortes" by Yves Montand.

The event at Armenia’s presidential residence on Monday night was held in Macron's honor. The French leader was in town for a state visit that coincided with a gathering of the European Political Community and a historic European Union summit.

Pashinyan, who took office in 2018, more regularly flexes his musical prowess as part of his musical group Varchaband. It held its debut concert in Yerevan at the end of January.

The Armenian leader is also well known for posting videos of himself listening to music on Instagram, with his musical taste seemingly spanning from Taylor Swift to Travis Scott and A$AP Rocky.

Today’s afternoon highs will remain in the mid to upper 50s.

On the backside of a cold front, winds will shift to the northwest and west at 10-20 mph, keeping cool air in place for the afternoon and evening.

We’ll be mostly cloudy to overcast the rest of the day.

Showers are possible, particularly the further south you are.

Showers will continue into tonight as temperatures fall to the 40s.

There is a slight chance for sprinkles or a light rain shower Wednesday but most will stay dry.

Wednesday’s high temperatures will once again be in the mid to upper 50s for most neighborhoods. Those in the thumb and closer to the shoreline will be cooler.

Thursday morning will be chilly with temperatures near 40°. For the afternoon, we’ll only make it to the mid 50s with some sunshine.

Friday’s highs will be around 60° with rain chances returning.

We finally return to near-average highs in the mid 60s this weekend.

The chance for rain stays in the forecast Saturday and Sunday.

The GOP bill released late Monday would designate the money for the U.S. Secret Service for “security adjustments and upgrades” related to the ballroom project, which Trump and Republicans have been pushing since Cole Tomas Allen allegedly stormed the April 25 media dinner at the Washington Hilton with guns and knives. The legislation says the money would support enhancements to the ballroom project, “including above-ground and below-ground security features,” but also specifies that the money may not be used for non-security elements.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle praised Republicans for including the money for the “long overdue” project, saying it would “provide the United States Secret Service with the resources they need to fully and completely harden the White House complex, in addition to the many other critical missions for the USSS.”

The money is part of a larger bill to pay for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, as Democrats have been blocking funds for both agencies since mid-February. Congress passed bipartisan legislation to fund the rest of the Homeland Security Department on April 30 after a record-long shutdown, but Republicans are using a partisan budget maneuver to push through the ICE and Border Patrol dollars on their own. The House has not released its bill yet, but the Senate is expected to start voting on its version of the legislation next week.

It is unclear exactly how the $1 billion would be used, and the amount far exceeds the proposed $400 million for construction of the ballroom. The White House has said in court documents that the East Wing project would be “heavily fortified,” including bomb shelters, military installations and a medical facility underneath the ballroom. Trump has said it should include bulletproof glass and be able to repel drone attacks.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued to block construction of the project, but a federal appeals court said last month that it can continue in the meantime.

The White House has said that private money would pay for the construction but public money would be used for security measures. Some Republicans have suggested that public money pay for all of it, arguing the security breach at the dinner shows the president needs a secure place to host events.

“It would be insane” to hold the dinner at a hotel again, said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who introduced a bill to pay for the ballroom’s construction with Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala.

Democrats have said they will oppose any efforts to pay for the ballroom.

“While Americans are struggling to make ends meet as a result of President Trump’s failed policies, Republicans are focused on providing tens of billions of dollars for the President’s vanity ballroom project and cruel mass deportation campaign,” said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the U.S. Secret Service.

___

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

Beyoncé left the cowboy hat at home and dazzled in a custom Olivier Rousteing sculptural skeleton dress with a cream and dust blue feathered train fitted with a diamond crown for “Queen Bey.” The Grammy winner and her husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy stopped to pose together on the Metropolitan Museum of Art steps.

Osaka stunned in a edgy Robert Wun white sculptural fitted dress featuring exaggerated shoulders and adorned with red feathers and a matching headpiece. To complete her show-stopping look, Osaka wore two-toned red gloves. A similar look by Wun sits inside the Met's Costume Institute exhibit, “Costume Art.”

On the carpet, Osaka opened her dress and removed her headpiece for a grand reveal underneath. She wowed in a sleek red beaded gown embellished with the human anatomy.

Chamberlain arrived in a breathtaking Mugler by Miguel Castro Freitas hand-painted dress. The star was dipped in a rainbow of colors from her décolletage down to the spiral train of her body-hugging dress with fringe falling down the cuffs of the long-sleeve gown.

With all the fanfare around “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” Met Gala co-Chair Anna Wintour opted for a cool mint ensemble — not the trendy cerulean blue from the first film. Wintour’s look featured a feathered cape and a beaded dress by Matthieu Blazy for Chanel that she classically paired with her signature bob and oversized sunglasses.

Other co-Chairs of the evening Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams chose more subdued glamorous looks. Williams wore a sparkling black off-the-shoulder gown with a dazzling Swarovski neckpiece in homage to a painting of herself done by Robert Pruitt for the National Portrait Gallery. Event sponsor Lauren Sánchez Bezos arrived in a form-fitting Schiaparelli gown, which she told Vogue was influenced by John Singer Sargent’s 1884 painting “Madame X.”

Artistic references

When guests were not wearing art, they were making references to it. Head of Editorial Content for US Vogue Chloe Malle wore an apricot orange Colleen Allen dress inspired by Sir Frederic Leighton’s “Flaming June” painting. Actor and author Lena Dunham collaborated with Valentino designer Alessandro Michele for her red feathered dress to depict his interpretation of “Judith Slaying Holofernes.” As a child, Dunham told Vogue, she would visit the Met museum on Sundays and admire the paintings in the Renaissance section.

“One of my favorite painters from that era is Artemisia Gentileschi, who was one of the only women painting professionally in that moment,” she told Vogue. “So I sent some of the images to Alessandro, and because he’s a genius, instead of dressing me like her, he said, ‘You are actually the blood spatter as … Judith cuts the neck off a man.’”

Stars also celebrated the dress code with their accessories. Actor and fashion muse Gwendoline Christie playfully covered her face on the carpet with a mask of her own face while pop star Katy Perry opened and closed her fencing-like mask on the carpet to smile at the cameras.

Venus Williams was not the only guest to break the fourth wall with an artistic reference to herself. It was a trend of the night, with gala host committee members Amy Sherald in a Thom Browne look inspired by her own work of art and singer Sabrina Carpenter wearing a Dior dress designed with film strips from the 1954 movie “Sabrina.”

Fashion as canvas

Some guests brought out their artistic side as they transformed their dresses into works of art. TikTok followers watched along as Jessica Kayll, who designs colorful silk robes, finished painting her dress in the days leading up to the gala. Kayll painted her own take on the famous Monet water lily scene right on top of her dress for the gala.

While her “The Devil Wears Prada 2” castmates kept it classic in black, Anne Hathaway made a statement in her custom Michael Kors Grecian-inspired strapless dress, which was hand-painted with a dove of peace.

“She is the goddess of peace,” Kors told Vogue.

Performance art

Madonna makes any carpet her stage. A group of women circled around her in colorful dresses as they held onto sheer fabric wrapped around her pirate ship headpiece on the carpet.

Janelle Monáe also knows how to stand out. The performer delivered a message with her sculptural art piece that featured cords overtaken by moss wrapped around her form with moving animatronic butterflies.

“Remember what made you human,” Monáe told The Associated Press. “Nature is talking to us.”

Dressed body

Rather than wear art, models showed off their toned bodies as part of the “Costume Art” exhibit's theme celebrating artistic representations of the body. Supermodels Gigi Hadid and Irina Shayk both wore revealing looks on the carpet.

Bad Bunny went full costume, carrying a cane and dressing up as an older version of himself with gray hair and special effects makeup to add years to his face. The artist joked with Vogue that it took 53 years to finish the look. Supermodel Heidi Klum, known for taking her Halloween costume to new heights, brought that same dedication to the Met Gala as she arrived as a draped statue.

Instead of opting for a body-hugging gown, Kim Kardashian wore a bright orange metallic body plate from the '60s designed by Allen Jones.

The physical form was modeled throughout the night with body parts draped over gowns or overlaid on garments in printed form in a trompe l’oeil. Theater producer and performer Jordan Roth had a 3D figure looming behind him as part of his velvet Wun getup while other celebrities had carefully placed sculpted hands attached to their gowns.

For her first Met Gala, Chase Infiniti donned a colorful sequined Thom Browne gown with the female form embellished with sequins on the front and back of her dress.

In typical fashion, singer and fashion powerhouse Rihanna shut down the carpet as the final guest to arrive, much earlier than in years past. Dressed in a metallic jewel-encrusted cocoonlike dress, Rihanna emerged onto the carpet with her partner A$AP Rocky.

“I feel like a pearl out of an oyster,” Rihanna said to reporters on the carpet.

___

AP reporter John Carucci contributed to this report live from the carpet.

___

This story has been updated to correct that Infiniti wore Thom Browne, not Alexander McQueen.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract hasn’t been finalized.

Fowler, 31, played for the Dallas Cowboys last year and had three sacks in 17 games, starting in 11 of those.

Fowler should help Seattle replace edge rusher Boye Mafe, who signed a three-year, $60 million deal with the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency. Mafe had 20 sacks in four seasons for Seattle.

Fowler was the No. 3 pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2015 NFL draft. He has racked up 58.5 sacks across 10 seasons. In addition to the Jaguars and two stints with the Cowboys, Fowler has played for the Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Commanders.

In 2024 with Washington, Fowler recorded 10.5 sacks, his second-most in a single season. He had 11.5 with the Rams in 2019.

Seahawks president of football operations John Schneider said shortly after the team decided not to select an edge rusher in this year’s draft that they would consider adding a player in free agency. Fowler fits the bill of what Seattle was looking for at edge rusher, and joins an inexperienced group that includes linebackers Jared Ivey, Jamie Sheriff, Connor O’Toole and Jalan Gaines.

___

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

Gates and a lock on the front of the former temple in the Whitechapel area of east London had minor damage, but no one was injured, Metropolitan Police said.

The incident is the latest since four ambulances owned by a Jewish charity were torched in March. Since then, a synagogue was firebombed and other Jewish sites have been targeted in attempted arson. Last week, two Jewish men were stabbed in what police have called an act of terror.

“It is part of a pattern of rising antisemitism that has left our Jewish communities feeling frightened, angry and asking whether this country, their home, is safe for them,” Starmer told community leaders. “These disgusting attacks are being made against British Jews. But, make no mistake, this crisis — it is a crisis for all of us.”

The number of antisemitic incidents reported across the U.K. has soared since the attack by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza, according to the Community Security Trust charity. The group recorded 3,700 incidents in 2025, up from 1,662 in 2022.

Hate-crime prosecutions will be fast-tracked to deal with the spike in antisemitic incidents, Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said.

The attacks have occurred since the Feb. 28 start of the Iran war and police are looking into whether they are the work of Iranian proxies.

A pro-Iran group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia — or Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right — has claimed responsibility for several of the attacks. It has also acknowledged being behind incidents in recent months at places of worship, business and financial institutions across Europe, all of which appear to be linked to Jewish or Israeli interests.

“One of the lines of inquiry is whether a foreign state has been behind some of these incidents,” Starmer said. “Our message to Iran, or to any other country that might seek to foment violence, hatred or division in society, is that it will not be tolerated.”

Starmer promised to take action to tackle antisemitism, including requiring universities to publish the scale of the problem and take steps to stop it. Arts funding will be withdrawn from anyone promoting antisemitism.

Britain raised its terror threat level from substantial to severe — the second-highest on a five-point scale — after the stabbings. The rating means intelligence agencies consider an attack highly likely in the next six months.

The change was not solely due to the knife attacks but also “from Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist threat from individuals and small groups based in the U.K,” the government said.

The Sales Manager must be able to dig in and develop advertising campaigns that offer 360-degree solutions and get deep into agencies and local businesses where the decisions about media plans are being made. The Sales Manager must have exceptional new business and digital skills and be able to produce strategies that are capable of growing advertising dollars. The selected candidate will lead a team of Account Executives to ensure that new business development, account retention and new product launch goals are achieved.

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The June 5 event put on by Heritage Auctions will benefit the Matthew Perry Foundation, which works to destigmatize addiction and aid in recovery from substance abuse.

“Matthew believed addiction should be met with compassion and science, not stigma and silence,” the foundation’s CEO Lisa Kasteler Calio said in a statement. “This auction fuels the Foundation’s work to expand access to evidence-based care and confront stigma. It is one more way we ensure that no one has to fight this disease alone.”

Items from Matthew Perry's collection that will be sold

— A collection of 26 of Perry’s “Friends” scripts from key episodes, including “The One With Ross’s Tan,” “The One Where Joey Speaks French” and the two-part series finale.

— Scripts from the pilot and part one of the series finale signed by Perry and co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer, donated by Warner Bros., which produced the series.

— A 1995 Screen Actors Guild Award, which Perry won for best performance by an ensemble in a comedy series.

— Perry's personal replica of the yellow peephole frame from Monica and Rachel's apartment on “Friends.”

— Perry's “Friends” photo album, titled “The One With the Last Supper.”

— Works of art by Banksy and Mel Bochner that Perry owned.

About the Matthew Perry charity auction

The auction site opened Tuesday. Items will be on display from May 18 to May 29 in Beverly Hills before the June 5 auction that will be held at Heritage Auctions’ Dallas showroom and online.

Net proceeds will go to initiatives supported by the foundation. They include the Matthew Perry Fellowship in Addiction Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, grants to organizations that work directly with recovering addicts, and Healing Appalachia, a recovery-focused sober music festival.

Perry played Chandler Bing for a decade from 1994 to 2004 on NBC’s culture-changing sitcom “Friends.” It made him one of the biggest television stars of his generation.

Perry was found dead in the hot tub of his Hollywood home at age 54 on Oct. 28, 2023. The medical examiner determined that the acute effects of the anesthetic ketamine were the primary cause.

Five people have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the investigation of his death, including two doctors and an admitted drug dealer. His personal assistant and a friend who acted as a middleman are still to be sentenced later this month.

Those additional contributions can add up to a tidy sum in retirement, but after age 60, they have fewer years to compound, and the tax deferral isn’t as valuable. If your retirement numbers are in relatively good shape, however, consider these four spending strategies with a positive psychological payoff.

Strategy 1: Get ahead of big-ticket transactions

As retirement approaches, it’s helpful to forecast big-ticket outlays over the next two to five years, like home repairs or improvements or cars you’ll need to replace. If you’re still working, you can fund them out of cash flows rather than putting additional funds into your retirement accounts.

Pushing those big-ticket outlays into your working years has a psychological benefit. That’s because pulling money from your investment accounts can be fraught, especially in the early years of retirement, when you’re still getting your sea legs. That challenge can be especially acute for people who plan to delay Social Security; they’ll be drawing all of their cash flow needs from their portfolios in those years. Spending from working income is apt to be psychologically more palatable.

As you think through what you might want to spend on, lean into your vision of retirement. Will you pursue your passion for cooking? If so, splurging on new counters might be money well spent. If more road trips are in your future, lining up a safe, reliable set of wheels should be a priority.

Strategy 2: Pay down debt

The calculus on prepaying a mortgage usually boils down to which decision provides the better “return”: debt paydown (and the relief from the interest service that accompanies the debt) or investing in something that offers a similarly safe return.

It often depends on the prevailing interest rate environment. Today, many mortgage holders could reasonably earn more on their safe investments than they’re paying to service their debt. Consider liquidity and spending needs too. If  paying off your mortgage  would require you to crack into your retirement account and trigger a big tax bill, or leave you cash-strapped and less flexible in retirement, you’d want to think twice.

However, mortgage paydown is the ultimate “sleep at night” allocation, especially as retirement approaches, because it helps you skinny down your fixed expenses and adopt a flexible approach to your discretionary spending, which in turn can  boost your lifetime retirement spending. I’ve yet to meet a single person who paid off a mortgage and regretted it.

Strategy 3: Build up liquid reserves in a taxable account

You can put as much into your taxable account as you wish, and you can also pull as much out, without strictures. Being able to spend from taxable accounts with minimal tax implications provides the leeway to pursue other worthwhile strategies in the early years of retirement, such as converting traditional IRA assets to Roth, for example.

But don’t overdo your allocations to safer assets in your taxable account. Cash has a low return relative to other assets regardless of where you hold it. You might not even outearn the inflation rate! I like the idea of retirees holding no more than two years’ worth of liquid reserves—CDs, money market mutual funds, and so on—across both taxable and tax-sheltered accounts.

Strategy 4: Splurge

If you’re in your 60s, it’s a good bet you know loved ones who were struck down in the prime of their lives, before they really had a chance to enjoy their retirements to the fullest. So why not lean into the big, fun experiences that you’ve been “saving” for retirement while you’re still working and healthy?

As Jamie Hopkins notes in my book  How to Retire, the greater good in this case is that you’re continuing to work and earn an income, thereby forestalling portfolio withdrawals. If taking a few amazing trips a year or buying a vacation home now makes continuing to work more palatable and also helps you feel more comfortable with the splurges, then those allocations are well worth considering, even if they mean you have to pull back on your savings.

_______

This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more retirement content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/retirement.

Christine Benz is director of personal finance and retirement planning for Morningstar and co-host of The Long View podcast.

Related Links

Take This Simple Step as You Approach Retirement

https://www.morningstar.com/retirement/take-this-simple-step-runup-retirement

Bonds, Cash Remain Top Sources of Ballast for Equity Investors

https://www.morningstar.com/bonds/bonds-cash-remain-top-sources-ballast-equity-investors

Risk, Not Volatility, Is the Real Enemy for Investors

https://www.morningstar.com/markets/risk-not-volatility-is-real-enemy

Sabalenka and fellow No. 1 Jannik Sinner were among leading players — most of them ranked in the top 10 — who issued a statement on Monday expressing “deep disappointment” over the French Open prize money.

“Without us there wouldn’t be a tournament and there wouldn’t be that entertainment. I feel like definitely we deserve to be paid more percentage,” Sabalenka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, said on Tuesday at the Italian Open.

“I think at some point we will boycott it. I feel like that’s going to be the only way to fight for our rights,” Sabalenka added on her 28th birthday.

The players are also seeking better representation, health options and pensions from the four Grand Slam tournaments: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open.

French Open organizers announced last month they were increasing overall prize money by about 10% for an overall pot of 61.7 million euros ($72.1 million), with the total amount up 5.3 million euros from last year. But the players’ statement said “the underlying figures tell a very different story,” claiming they will receive a smaller share of tournament revenues.

The players claim their share of Roland Garros revenue has declined from 15.5% in 2024 to 14.9% projected in 2026.

Gauff, the defending French Open champion, cited a landmark new WNBA collective bargaining agreement reached in March as an example of the benefit of working together.

“From the things I’ve seen with other sports, usually to make massive progress and things like this, it takes a union,” Gauff said. “We have to become unionized in some way. ... We definitely can move more as a collective."

Regarding a boycott, Gauff said, “If everyone were to move as one and collaborate, yeah, I can 100% see that.” But she added she hasn't heard of any discussions about a walkout.

“I definitely think there’s a consensus around that this needs to be addressed for all players of all levels, especially the lower-ranked players, too,” Gauff added. "I want to leave the sport better than I found it. If I can say I played my part when I retire, that’s something I can be proud of.”

Rybakina, a two-time Grand Slam champion who won the Australian Open this year, would follow the other players.

“If the majority say we are boycotting, we are not playing, then of course I’m up for it,” Rybakina said. “It’s not only on the Grand Slams and it’s not only about raising the prize money. A lot of people are not aware that there is taxes which are big. You even make more prize money, but you giving it all to the taxes.”

Paolini, the Italian who reached the final of the French Open and Wimbledon in 2024, also believed in a boycott option.

“If we’re all in agreement and I think we are — the men and the women are united right now — it’s something we could do,” Paolini said.

Paolini added that the WTA and ATP Tours — which organize all of the other tournaments — have done more than the Grand Slams to provide players with benefits, such as maternity leave, and retirement plans.

“There’s a lot of things that the Slams are not doing,” Paolini said, “that the WTA and I think the ATP are doing.”

Iga Swiatek, a four-time French Open champion, said “the most important thing is to have proper communication and discussions with the governing bodies so we have some space to talk and maybe negotiate.

“Hopefully before Roland Garros there’s going to be opportunity to have these type of meetings and we’ll see how they go,” Swiatek added. “But boycotting the tournament, it’s a bit extreme kind of situation.”

The players' statement said Roland Garros generated 395 million euros in revenue in 2025, a 14% year-on-year increase, yet prize money rose by just 5.4%, reducing players’ share of revenue to 14.3%.

“With estimated revenues of over 400 million euros for this year’s tournament, prize money as a percentage of revenue will likely still be less than 15%, far short of the 22% that players have requested to bring the Grand Slams into line with the ATP and WTA Combined 1000 events,” the players said.

French Open organizers did not respond to a request for comment after the players issued their statement.

The Australian Open this year increased the players’ compensation by 16%, and the U.S. Open prize money last year went up by 20%.

The French Open starts on May 24 and the singles champions will each receive 2.8 million euros and the runners-up 1.4 million euros. Semifinalists earn 750,000 euros and first round losers get 87,000 euros.

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

Vance, who is seen as one of the GOP’s strongest potential candidates for president in 2028, is making the trip to campaign on behalf of Republican Rep. Zach Nunn, who faces a competitive race to keep his Des Moines-area seat in the November midterms.

Vance, a former U.S. senator who represented Ohio and became vice president before the end of his term, departed Washington accompanied by one of his young sons. He stopped first in Cincinnati to vote in Ohio's primary elections and told reporters he was voting for Vivek Ramaswamy in the governor's race. Asked about U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, who's running in a special election to serve out the remainder of Vance’s term, Vance said he thinks Husted's “going to do a great job” and has been “good for Ohio.”

His 6-year-old son, meanwhile, filled out a ballot for children, which the vice president showed to the poll workers when he cast his own ballot. “He voted for the Easter bunny over the tooth fairy,” he said of his son, who's also named Vivek.

Before arriving in Iowa, Vance also was set to appear in Oklahoma City to hold a fundraiser in his role as finance chair of the Republican National Committee.

But the visit to Iowa offers Vance an opportunity to test his reception before Iowa’s voters, whose leadoff caucuses give them an outsized role in determining the next presidential nominee. Campaigning for a local congressman in his role as the sitting vice president gives him an opening chance to make an impression on Iowa Republicans, seasoned evaluators of those who seek the nation’s highest office before the campaign begins in earnest.

Vance’s appearance comes days after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is also considered a possible 2028 candidate, spoke to a group of evangelical Christians who are influential in Iowa’s GOP contest.

Des Moines-based Jimmy Centers, a Republican political consultant, said the 2028 contest is “light-years away” but said the Republicans who hear Vance speak on Tuesday will be evaluating how he might measure up in an election for the White House.

“I certainly think, as of right now, Vice President Vance would probably be a straw-poll winner of Iowa Republicans for 2028. But I don’t think anyone is saying, ‘We won’t consider anybody else,’” Centers said.

Vance's visit comes as higher prices for gas and fertilizer hit Iowans

Vance, who has not said whether he will run for the presidency in 2028, is scheduled to appear with Nunn at a manufacturing facility in Des Moines. His office did not comment on the trip's impact on Vance's political future.

The vice president’s visit follows a trip President Donald Trump made in January to tout the administration’s tax cuts, part of a string of stops they’re making this year on economic issues before midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

But Vance’s visit comes when his own political prospects — and the message he’s expected to deliver on the economy — have been complicated by the war in Iran.

The vice president, who has long been skeptical of foreign military interventions, has seemed a reluctant defender of the 9-week-old war, for which Trump has struggled to find an off-ramp. Iowans, like much of the rest of the country, are grappling with higher gas prices because of the conflict. But the state’s farmers are also feeling the pinch of high fertilizer costs from the war and have been hurt by tariffs Trump has imposed.

While Iowa’s farmers have steadfastly supported the president, they have been looking to the White House for assurances that the current troubles won’t last.

Vance’s visit to Iowa was originally scheduled for last week, but the timing shifted because the House moved to pass a sweeping farm bill that Nunn was due to vote on.

The vice president also had been slated to appear last week at an Iowa State University event with Turning Point USA, but the organization said it was not able to reschedule the event with the university until the fall.

It's ‘awfully, awfully early’ in the road to 2028

Kim Schmett, a longtime Iowa GOP activist, said the presidential cycle starts “deceptively slow.”

Republican figures testing the waters often drop by the Westside Conservative Club, which Schmett hosts, but he said it's still too far out from the caucuses, which are typically held in January of the presidential election year.

He said Trump’s Make America Great Again political movement “is very alive and going here” in Iowa, which would benefit Vance — as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also thought to be a potential candidate.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of MAGA support,” he said. “And Vice President Vance and Marco Rubio seem to be the recipients of where that is going at the moment.”

But Schmett cautioned, “it’s awfully, awfully early in the process.”

On the Democratic side, at least half a dozen presidential prospects have been making visits to the states with the earliest presidential primary contests, including recent visits to Iowa by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Michigan U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin.

Meanwhile, potential Republican presidential candidates “are treading very lightly,” said GOP strategist Alex Conant, who worked on Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign.

“I think Republicans are going to be very reluctant to get in Trump’s way until Trump gives the green light for the campaign to start,” Conant said.

That means much of the groundwork to meet with donors or activists or recruit political staffers might happen slowly and subtly – for now.

After the midterms? Conant said: “It’ll be irresistible.”

___

Price reported from Washington.

Contests on the ballots also will set the stage for Ohio's third competitive U.S. Senate race in the last four years, as well as a handful of U.S. House races that are expected to be closely fought in the fall.

Every statewide executive office is open this year due to term limits, but the governor's race has captured the bulk of the attention so far.

Ramaswamy, a 2024 GOP primary presidential candidate, swept onto the state's political scene early last year as a mad shuffle was taking place. Then-Sen. JD Vance was ascending to the vice presidency and front-running gubernatorial candidate Jon Husted was being appointed to replace him in Washington.

That opened a window of opportunity at the top of Republicans' statewide ticket.

Primary sets up marquee fall matchups for governor, Senate

Though he is a newcomer in state politics, Ramaswamy's national profile, tech industry connections and proximity to Trump landed him the Ohio Republican Party's endorsement. With it, he cleared a prospective field that included the sitting state attorney general, state treasurer and lieutenant governor.

But Democrats also saw opportunity with the open governors seat, even as the state, a former bellwether, has tipped convincingly toward Republicans during the Trump era. The president’s lagging approval ratings on the economy and dissatisfaction over the war in Iran are contributing to a competitive contest.

Acton, a physician and public health expert, emerged as their choice. She became a household name across Ohio in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as she stood alongside Republican Gov. Mike DeWine during daily coronavirus broadcasts. Her comforting presence during the crisis made her a beloved figure with many Ohioans.

But the administration's aggressive actions — including shuttering businesses, closing schools and canceling an election — also earned Acton plenty of enemies and made her the occasional target of people upset about pandemic policies, with some armed protesters showing up outside her home.

Ramaswamy's campaign has sought to capitalize on the lingering anger over pandemic restrictions with attacks on Acton's role early in the crisis. Ramaswamy was advising the lieutenant governor at the time — Husted — on virus-related economic issues and he founded a company that profited off its role developing vaccines.

Acton is unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Ramaswamy faces a long-shot challenge from Casey Putsch. The engineer and car designer is a YouTube provocateur who has trolled Ramaswamy incessantly over his Indian heritage and Hindu faith and painted him as an out-of-touch billionaire “tech bro.”

Husted is unopposed in the GOP primary for Senate, a special election to fill the remainder of the six-year Senate term Vance won in 2022. Husted's likely opponent will be Democrat Sherrod Brown, a former three-term senator who lost a reelection bid against Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024, a contest where spending hit $500 million. Brown faces a minor primary challenge from first-time candidate Ron Kincaid.

Early voting began April 7 under some new election laws, including citizenship checks and elimination of the four-day grace period for receiving mailed ballots. There have been no reports so far of any widespread problems for voters related to the changes.

Republicans see some Democratic-held House seats as vulnerable

In the wake of a new round of redistricting that slightly favored Republicans, the state also has numerous partisan congressional primaries.

The most heated GOP primary is in the Toledo area’s 9th District for the chance to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in Congress.

The five-way contest includes former state Rep. Derek Merrin, whom Kaptur defeated by less than a percentage point in 2024, as well as an Air National Guard veteran, a healthcare industry worker, a sitting state representative and the former deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Madison Sheahan.

In Democratic U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman's Cincinnati-area district, which his party considers a “must-hold,” the three-way Republican primary includes Eric Conroy, a CIA and Air Force veteran who has been endorsed by Trump, Vance and Moreno.

Landsman also faces a primary challenge from Damon Lynch IV, the grandson of a prominent civil rights leader. Lynch has criticized Landsman for his initial vote against a war powers resolution on the war in Iran, which Landsman later followed up with a favorable vote.

In the Akron area's 13th District, five Republicans including business owner Neil Patel, a 2022 U.S. Senate candidate, are vying for the opportunity to face Democratic U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes.

Democrats think new House maps give them a shot to regain seats

As a Trump-backed national effort to remake congressional maps in Republicans' favor was underway, Ohio Democrats took a could-have-been-worse approach and passed the map they were given unanimously.

Now party candidates are crowding congressional primaries across the state for the chance to take on sitting Republican representatives, who hold 10 of Ohio's 15 seats.

The newly redrawn 7th District in the Cleveland area has attracted eight Democrats hoping to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Max Miller, a former senior Trump adviser, in November. Among them is former Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2014.

In northeast Ohio's 14th District, former state Supreme Court Justice William O'Neill is among three Democrats seeking to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce. Joyce also has two primary challengers.

Meanwhile six Democrats are on the ballot in the Dayton-area 10th District of Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Turner. There are seven in GOP U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli's 6th District along the Ohio River and five in the 5th District of Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Latta.

The men were described as people contracted to clean up after baseball games. They didn't work directly for the MLB team.

“This could have happened anywhere, but what happened tonight was a dispute between two people. Unfortunately, it happened at a treasured St. Louis staple,” said Mitch McCoy, spokesperson for St. Louis police.

The Cardinals said it was an “isolated altercation.”

Police were summoned around 3 a.m. Monday. The victim was a 27-year-old man. The suspect, a 65-year-old man, was interviewed by investigators.

The Cardinals earlier played the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. The fatality had no impact on the Monday game against Milwaukee.

Lawyers for the county filed a motion on Monday night to quash a grand jury subpoena that asks for the names and personal contact information of county employees and volunteer poll workers. This latest action comes after the FBI in January went to a Fulton County elections warehouse and seized ballots and other documents from the 2020 election, which Georgia’s certified totals showed Trump lost in the state to Biden by 11,779 votes out of nearly 5 million cast. Trump, a Republican, still insists the election was stolen from him even though judges and his own attorney general concluded otherwise.

Monday's court filing says the subpoena is meant to “target, harass and punish the President's perceived political opponents.” The request is “grossly overbroad and untethered to any reasonable need,” the county's lawyers argue. It “cannot yield any evidence that could result in a criminal prosecution," they wrote, arguing that the statute of limitations on any federal crime related to the 2020 election has already expired.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday.

County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts, in an emailed statement, called the subpoena “yet another act of outrageous federal overreach designed to intimidate and chill participation in elections.”

“Let me be crystal clear. Fulton County will not be intimidated,” said Pitts, a Democrat who’s running for reelection.

Since the 2020 election, Trump “has obsessively propagated the debunked conspiracy theory that Fulton County ‘stole’ the 2020 election from him,” the county’s lawyers wrote. “And he has made it clear that he seeks retribution against those who refuse to indulge his baseless claims.”

Trump has already targeted individual poll workers like Ruby Freeman, who was attacked by him and his supporters after the election. Freeman, who's Black, has said she was forced to flee her home after false claims of election fraud against her led to racist threats and strangers showing up at her home.

The grand jury subpoena, dated April 17, was served on the county's director of elections on April 20, the county's court filing says. It seeks the “name, position/function, residential and email addresses, and personal telephone number(s)” for thousands of election workers “ranging from county employees who assisted on election day, to bus drivers who operated a mobile voting location, to volunteers and temporary poll workers,” the filing says.

The subpoena “is a chilling escalation in the campaign to terrorize Fulton County election workers," the county's lawyers wrote, adding that threats arising from the current political environment have caused election workers to “fear for their physical safety.” That and other stresses “including the likelihood of being scapegoated by public officials” are causing election workers to leave their jobs “in unprecedented numbers,” they wrote.

The county's lawyers note that the subpoena directs the county to provide the records not to the grand jury but to an out-of-state Justice Department lawyer or to the FBI agent who wrote the affidavit used for the seizure of the county's 2020 ballots in January.

The January seizure of the ballots and other records from Fulton County was one in a string of moves by Trump's administration to obtain past election records from critical swing states. The FBI in March used a subpoena to get records related to an audit of the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County in Arizona. And the Justice Department in April demanded that Michigan’s Wayne County turn over its ballots from the 2024 election, which Trump won against Biden's vice president, Kamala Harris.

The Justice Department is also fighting numerous states in court for access to voter data that includes sensitive personal information. Election officials, including some Republicans, have said handing over the information would violate state and federal privacy laws.

Employers posted 6.87 million jobs in March, compared to 6.92 million in February, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

The job market has been up and down so far this year after a dismal 2025. And the Iran war, which began Feb. 28, has clouded the outlook for the economy and hiring.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that layoffs rose in March. But hiring improved: Employers added 5.55 million gross jobs, most since February 2024. More Americans also quit their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects.

Job openings have come down more or less steadily since peaking at a record 12.3 million in March 2022 as the U.S. economy bounded back from COVID-19 lockdowns. High interest rates, a response to an outburst of inflation in 2021-2022; uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s policies; and, potentially, the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence have discouraged robust hiring.

Last year, employers added fewer than 10,000 jobs a month, weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002. So far in 2026, job creation has bounced around — strong in January (160,000 new jobs) and March (178,000) but weak in February when employers slashed 133,000 jobs.

The Labor Department issues its job report for April on Friday. According to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet, it is expected to show that companies, nonprofits and government agencies added a steady 57,000 net jobs last month and that the unemployment rate remained at a low 4.3%.

Partly because of Trump's immigration crackdown, fewer people are competing for work. That means the economy doesn't need as many new jobs to keep the unemployment rate from rising. A year ago, economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis estimated that the "break-even'' rate of monthly hiring was 153,000. In an update published in March, St. Louis Fed economist Alexander Bick calculated that it could be as low as 15,000 jobs a month.

Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a commentary that Tuesday's JOLTS report showed a “steady labor market.'' But he cautioned that ”this picture of the labor market will change as the economy adjusts to $100+ a barrel oil, higher inflation, possibly tighter monetary conditions and global recession starting in Asia,'' which is dependent on disrupted supplies of oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf.

Authorities were continuing to search for suspects Monday in the shooting that critically injured at least three of those hurt. No arrests have been made.

It wasn’t clear how many of the injured had been shot, police said Monday in a statement. It provided few answers about what had happened.

The shooting broke out Sunday night at a public park near a campground at Arcadia Lake, a popular swimming and boating spot in Edmond, just north of Oklahoma City, said Edmond police spokesperson Emily Ward.

Jeremiah Braxton estimated 250 people showed up at the party. He said the trouble began when a group of girls started arguing over boyfriends. “It just started a whole bunch of chaos,” he said.

“Everybody got scared, dudes was panicking, women was panicking, people seeing their friends fight,” Braxton said.

The 18-year-old said he heard shots ring out in different directions for several minutes as he ran toward the lake. Those hit included two of his friends, he added.

At least 18 people were treated at hospitals in the Oklahoma City area. One healthcare system said the victims it treated ranged in age from 16 to 30. It said three people were in critical condition and four were listed as serious.

Police in Edmond said Monday that the party had been promoted across social media, drawing a large crowd of mostly young adults from across the Oklahoma City area.

Edmond Mayor Mark Nash said the shooting took place at a public park where spaces can be reserved for large gatherings. “To our knowledge, there was no reservation through the parks department,” he said.

Nash declined to answer questions about the shooting, saying police were handling the investigation.

“We’re already taking steps to review and strengthen park operations, permitting processes and security measures,” the mayor said.

Some of those injured were transported for medical attention while others sought treatment on their own, authorities said.

Integris Health said it treated 13 people at its hospitals in Edmond and Oklahoma City. Seven remained in Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, including three in critical condition.

OU Health said it received five people at its trauma center but didn't elaborate.

While police did not provide more details about the party, a flyer circulated on social media after the shooting suggested that an event called Sunday Funday was scheduled at a pavilion near the lake until midnight.

It advertised food, drinks, music and “good vibes, good people.”

Arcadia Lake is dotted with picnic pavilions, campgrounds, a fishing pier, and swimming beaches. Built in the 1980s for outdoor recreation and flood control, the lake also provides water to the city of Edmond, a suburb of about 100,000 residents.

Forty years ago, Edmond was the site of one of the deadliest workplace shootings in U.S. history. On Aug. 20, 1986, postal worker Patrick Sherrill shot 20 co-workers, killing 14 of them. He then killed himself.

Over the weekend, another shooting at a party in the Texas Panhandle left two teens dead and 10 other people wounded. Police in Amarillo said two persons opened fire at an apartment complex early Saturday.

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This story was first published on May. 4. It was updated on May 5 to correct the last name of Jeremiah Braxton, who was erroneously referred to as Jeremiah Smith

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Associated Press reporters Jamie Stengle in Dallas, Corey Williams in Detroit, Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.

The man was reported missing on April 25.

On May 5, Detroit police said he was located.

His information was removed from this article.

READ: More Missing in Michigan coverage

Democrat Chedrick Greene and Republican Jason Tunney are vying for the 35th state Senate district seat left vacant in January 2025. Also running is Libertarian candidate Ali Sledz. The district is located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Detroit and includes Saginaw, Bay City and Midland.

Whitmer, a Democrat, is term-limited, setting up a competitive race in November to succeed her. With Democrats currently controlling the state Senate 19-18, Tuesday's outcome will be key for the state's legislative agenda in the months before she leaves office in January.

Beyond the immediate stakes, political insiders are watching the race for clues about November’s midterms in this battleground state. The district includes part of Saginaw County, the only Michigan county to back the winning presidential candidate in each of the past five national elections.

“It’s really this microcosm of the Midwest, frankly,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet of the seat she left upon entering Congress. “Given how much it resembles so many other places across the country, we have to look at it and say, this is an indicator of how things are going to go in November.”

Greene is a fire captain and Marine veteran who campaigned on lowering costs while emphasizing his union backing. Tunney, a former prosecutor, has run as a conservative Republican, highlighting his local roots in Saginaw.

Republicans also have made the timing of the special election a central issue, arguing Whitmer, a Democrat, waited too long to call it — leaving the district without representation in the state Senate for nearly 500 days.

A victory by Greene would keep Democrats in the majority. If Tunney wins, the Senate would be tied, making it tougher for Democrats to advance their agenda. While Democratic Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II would serve as the tiebreaking vote, Republicans could effectively block any measure from passing by not having all members vote. The Michigan House is controlled by Republicans.

The term at play in Tuesday’s special election is only through the end of the year, meaning the seat will again be up for reelection in November. Nonetheless, the race is being watched as a test of voter sentiment ahead of the midterm elections, when Democrats are looking to regain power in Congress.

Some strategists caution against overinterpreting the results, noting heavy Democratic spending and high-profile visits by such figures as former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee said in February that the special election would “set the tone for midterms" while announcing a $250,000 investment to help Michigan Democrats retain their Senate majority in May and November.

“This is a tough race to win in any environment, but they’ve stacked the deck with the spending. And you layer the overall political environment on top of it, it’s going to be tough,” said Jason Roe, a Republican strategist in the state.

Although Republican Donald Trump carried all three counties in the 2024 presidential race, the portions of the counties that fall within District 35 are more competitive. McDonald Rivet won the seat in 2022 with 53% of the vote. Democrat Kamala Harris barely edged Trump in the district in 2024, 49.7% to 48.9%, on the strength of her 17-percentage-point lead in the Saginaw portion of the district.

Once a hub of the auto industry, the region includes a large share of union-affiliated voters and a sizable Black population, surrounded by more conservative rural areas.

Cory Smidt, interim director at Michigan State University’s Institute of Public Policy and Social Research, said the district “looks like the state as a whole.” Though he cautioned against viewing the outcome as a clear signal for the midterms, he said turnout and voting patterns among different groups could offer valuable insights.

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Associated Press reporter Robert Yoon contributed from Washington.

The analysis obtained by The Associated Press includes the first economy-wide projections behind a policy at the core of Trump’s pitch to voters going into November’s midterm elections for control of the House and Senate. Democratic lawmakers have been doubtful about the savings claimed by Trump and these new numbers are likely to trigger additional questions about the data.

Cost-of-living issues are at the forefront of voters’ concerns and higher energy prices tied to the Iran war have deepened the public’s anxiety. Trump has tried in part to address affordability concerns by focusing on his efforts to cut deals with companies so that the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. would no longer be dramatically higher than in other affluent nations.

“Now you have the lowest drug prices anywhere in the world,” Trump said at a Friday rally before a crowd of seniors in Florida. “And that alone should win us the midterms.”

The analysis was done by administration officials for the White House Council of Economic Advisers. They also estimated that federal and state governments could save a combined $64.3 billion on Medicaid during the next decade because of what Trump calls his “most favored nation” policy on drug prices.

Few of the details of the deals struck by the Trump administration and 17 leading pharmaceutical companies have been made public, making it hard to independently verify the projected savings. The White House analysis sought to estimate the prospective savings as more medications come onto the market and fall under Trump’s framework — with one model in the report tallying the possible savings at $733 billion over a decade.

Trump and his Department of Health and Human Services have touted his drug-pricing deals as transformative and urged Congress to codify their principles into law. Democratic lawmakers have challenged the administration’s claims of savings. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and 17 Senate Democrats in April proposed a measure requiring the administration to disclose the terms of the agreements signed by pharmaceutical companies.

“If these deals are so great, why is the Trump administration afraid of showing them to the public?” Wyden said when announcing the measure. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his team would share details that didn’t include proprietary information or trade secrets.

The White House said it has not shared the text of the agreements because they include highly sensitive data that could move financial markets.

The potential savings estimated by the Trump administration would be substantial as Americans spent $467 billion on prescription drugs in 2024, according to the most recent government data available. The analysis is premised on the idea that foreign countries would also pay more for their prescription drugs, which would diversify drugmakers’ sources of revenue and preserve their ability to innovate with new treatments.

Outside economists have caveated that any savings might not flow directly to patients, many of whom already pay discounted prices for their drugs through their insurance coverage.

The Congressional Budget Office in October 2024 estimated that a plan similar to what Trump ended up adopting could reduce prescription drug prices by more than 5%, though the decrease “would probably diminish over time as manufacturers adjusted to the new policy by altering prices or distribution of drugs in other countries.”

The scope of the savings claimed by the Trump administration are likely to intensify the scrutiny by Democrats, who counter that any price reductions would be offset by higher costs for prescription drugs not covered by the “most favored nation” framework. One of their main critiques is that pharmaceutical companies have increased their profit margins while working with the administration.

In April, staff working for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., released an analysis that looked at 15 of the companies that have agreed to this drug-pricing plan and found that their combined profits jumped 66% over the past year to $177 billion. The report noted that the tax cuts Trump signed into law last year “exempted or delayed many of the most expensive drugs” from price negotiations with Medicare.

The Trump administration has countered that they consider Sanders’ critique to be flawed, saying that it’s based on the list prices for pharmaceutical drugs instead of the actual price that patients pay.

Meanwhile, the New York Knicks are on a historic heater.

The NBA playoffs continue Tuesday with a pair of Game 1s in the second round, with the Lakers-Thunder and Cavaliers-Pistons getting their series started.

The Thunder and Pistons are the top seeds in their respective conferences, though they had very different experiences in the first round. Oklahoma City crushed the Phoenix Suns in a four-game sweep while the Pistons were pushed to seven games before getting past the Orlando Magic.

The Knicks get a day to rest after becoming the first team in NBA history to win three straight playoff games by at least 25 points. New York routed the Philadelphia 76ers 137-98 in Monday's Game 1.

Tuesday's schedule

— Game 1, Cleveland at Detroit, 7 p.m. EDT (Peacock/NBCSN)

Odds: Detroit by 3.5.

Both teams are coming off seven-game grinds in Round 1, and will have to refocus quickly. At least it won't be a long trip for the Cavaliers; by air, their flight to Detroit is only 96 miles.

— Game 1, LA Lakers at Oklahoma City, 8:30 p.m. EDT (NBC/Peacock)

Odds: Oklahoma City by 15.5.

A team with LeBron James, as a 15.5-point underdog, in a playoff game? The only thing that has come close to that in the last 15 years is when James and Cleveland were 12.5-point underdogs to Golden State in an NBA Finals game in 2018.

Wednesday's schedule

— Game 2, Philadelphia at New York, 7 p.m. EDT (ESPN)

Odds: New York by 6.5.

Jalen Brunson scored 35 points in the opener as the Knicks rolled in Game 1. The 76ers — who had a gritty effort to overcome the Celtics in the first round — will need to bounce back with a similar performance.

— Game 2, Minnesota at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m. EDT (ESPN)

Odds: San Antonio by 9.5.

Anthony Edwards made an unexpected return from a knee injury for the Timberwolves and helped the team to a Game 1 win. The Spurs will need a little more offense in Game 2 to supplement Victor Wembanyama's monstrous defensive presence.

Monday recap

— Knicks 137, 76ers 98 for a 1-0 New York series lead. Philadelphia tries to respond after a beatdown.

— Timberwolves 104, Spurs 102 for a 1-0 Minnesota series lead. Anthony Edwards to the Spurs: “I'm back!”

Awards watch

A breakdown of this season's NBA awards:

— Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year: DeAndre Jordan, New Orleans.

— Hustle Award: Moussa Diabaté, Charlotte.

— Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio.

— Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City.

— Sixth Man of the Year: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio.

— Sportsmanship Award: Derrick White, Boston.

— Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta.

— Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg, Dallas.

— Executive of the Year: Brad Stevens, Boston.

Among the announcements still to come:

— Most Valuable Player: Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama or Denver's Nikola Jokic.

— Coach of the Year: Detroit's J.B. Bickerstaff, San Antonio's Mitch Johnson or Boston's Joe Mazzulla.

Betting odds

Defending champion Oklahoma City (-140) is favored to win the NBA title, according to oddsmakers.

The Thunder were followed by San Antonio (+350), New York (+900), Detroit (+1700), Cleveland (+2000) and the Los Angeles Lakers (+2500). Philadelphia (+3500) is next, followed by Minnesota (+10000).

Some neighborly rivalries are underway

Expect plenty of fans of visiting teams in the stands around the NBA during Round 2, especially in the Eastern Conference.

By car, it's only 100 miles between the arenas in Philadelphia and New York and only 168 miles between the arenas in Detroit and Cleveland. That means it'll be relatively easy for fans who want to hit the road to do some cheering.

The West series aren't exactly drive-able. It's 1,248 miles between arenas in San Antonio and Minneapolis, and 1,330 miles between the ones in Los Angeles and Oklahoma City — but Lakers fans are everywhere, so it surely won't be all Thunder fans in OKC.

Key dates

— May 10: NBA draft lottery.

— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.

— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.

— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.

— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).

— June 23: Round 1, NBA draft

— June 24: Round 2, NBA draft

Quote of the day

“Same as last series. They don’t get any extra points for going up big tonight,” 76ers veteran Paul George said after their lopsided loss to the Knicks. “We’ll be ready for Game 2.”

Stats of the day

— Wembanyama had 11 points and 15 rebounds and set an NBA postseason record with 12 blocks in San Antonio's Game 1 loss. He’s the third player to get a triple-double in the playoffs including blocks since the league began tracking blocks in 1973-74.

— The Knicks shot 63% from the field in their Game 1 win, including a blistering 51% (19 of 37) from 3-point range.

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

The Real Madrid and France forward is sidelined by a left hamstring issue which is casting doubt about his availability for Sunday's clasico in Barcelona, the biggest match in Spanish soccer.

During his time off, Mbappé reportedly traveled to Italy with actress Ester Expósito last weekend, prompting criticism in Spanish media that he may not be taking his rehabilitation seriously. Madrid fans also questioned why the league's best striker was on holiday ahead of the clasico.

Mbappé denied any wrongdoing through a statement from his representatives sent to The Associated Press.

“Part of the criticism is based on an overinterpretation of elements related to a recovery period strictly supervised by the club, without reflecting the reality of Kylian’s commitment and the work he puts in every day for the team,” the statement read.

Unhappy Real Madrid supporters believe Mbappé is saving himself for the World Cup that begins in five weeks.

He also drew criticism earlier this season when he couldn't play because of a knee ailment.

Madrid has little to play for in the final stretch of the season. It has been eliminated in the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, and is virtually out of contention in La Liga as it trails Barcelona by 11 points with four rounds remaining. Barcelona could clinch on Sunday.

Madrid has yet to say whether Mbappé will be fit and available for the clasico. Spanish media say Mbappé went to Madrid’s training center on a day off to continue his recovery.

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AP Sports Writer Tales Azzoni in Madrid contributed.

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

A 21-year-old Warren man was charged with receiving and concealing stolen property valued at $200 to $1,000, a one-year misdemeanor.

Disel, a black-and-white Alaskan Klee Kai, ran away from home on Waltham Road on April 25.

Disel’s owners turned to social media to share photos of the dog in hopes of a safe return. The family then received messages demanding money for the dog’s return.

On April 29, a 21-year-old Warren man told the family he had bought Disel from an unknown person and demanded cash for his return.

After further investigation, Warren police tracked down the phone number associated with the social media account and learned where the Warren man lived.

When officers arrived at the Warren man’s home, a dog could be heard barking at the front door and was soon identified as Disel.

The Warren man acknowledged Disel belonged to another family, but he allegedly refused to surrender the dog. Police said he became uncooperative.

The Warren man was eventually arrested. Disel was surrendered and reunited with his family.

On May 2, the 21-year-old Warren man was arraigned in court and was given a $1,000 cash bond.

“It is truly disheartening that someone would attempt to exploit a family’s distress for financial gain, but I am proud of our investigators for seeing through the deception and ensuring Disel was returned home safely,” said Police Commissioner Eric Hawkins. “The swift actions of our Detective Bureau demonstrate our commitment to the safety and well-being of all our residents, including our four-legged ones. We want to remind our citizens that while social media is a powerful tool for finding lost pets, it also attracts those looking to take advantage of others. Please remain vigilant and report any suspicious demands to law enforcement immediately.”

“I heard screaming and asking for help,” Faulkner said.

Faulkner said he didn’t hesitate.

“I look at all the citizens like family. I look at it like it was my own mom and I just wanted to help her,” Faulkner said.

Fire officials say Faulkner made split-second decisions to reach Latashia Collins, who was trapped inside. He broke a rear window, climbed into the vehicle, unlocked the door, and, along with his crew, pulled Collins to safety.

For Collins’ daughter, Tanisha Morgan, the video is hard to watch.

“Hearing my momma scream like that was very traumatizing,” Morgan said.

Collins remains hospitalized at the Detroit Medical Center Trauma and Burns Center and faces a long recovery. Her family says she suffered third-degree burns across her face and body, along with multiple fractures. They say she also had fingers removed and is now relearning how to stand.

This week, Collins was able to meet Faulkner for the first time in her hospital room at the DMC Trauma and Burns Center and thank him for saving her life.

“You saved me. Pulled me out of that burned car, it’s the best thing ever,” Collins said.

On Friday, Collins’ family joined Detroit firefighters and the DMC Burn Center and Trauma Unit teams at Engine 40 on Dexter, where department leaders recognized Faulkner for his quick actions and heroism.

“When you actually get to see a bad situation like that, and you get to see people recover, it gives you strength and hope,” Faulkner said. “Like, hey, this job is worth doing.”

Morgan said the recognition is well deserved.

“I feel like firefighters don’t get the recognition that they deserve,” Morgan said. “They are really the heroes. They really do sacrifice a lot to save other people.”

Collins’ family says she remains determined and inspired as she continues to heal.

She is expected to transition to a rehabilitation center soon, and her family says she has promised to visit the crew at Engine 40 once she’s feeling stronger.

Hedman, in a statement released by the Lightning, did not provide specifics about what he has been dealing with. He didn't play in Tampa Bay's final 22 games of the season, including the seven playoff matchups in a first-round loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

Hedman, 35, had been around the team in recent weeks, even taking part in some skates. But the defenseman's last game was in mid-March.

“Over the past couple of months, I made the decision to step away and focus on my mental health,” Hedman said. "It was not an easy decision, but it was the right one.

“I’ve always believed that being a leader means doing what’s best for the team. In this case, it also meant doing what was necessary to take care of myself, so I can be the best player, teammate, husband and father I expect to be.”

Hedman missed significant time earlier in the season with an elbow injury that required surgery in December. He returned before the Olympics and played for Sweden until tweaking something in pregame warmups before the quarterfinal against the U.S., which kept him from participating.

He told reporters at Tampa Bay's exit-interview day that he leaned on best friend and former Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, as well as Ottawa goaltender Linus Ullmark, who also spent time away from the Senators to address his mental health.

Hedman — the No. 2 pick in the 2009 draft — has been with the Lightning for all 17 of his NHL seasons, helping the franchise win back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2020 and 2021. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in the 2020 pandemic “bubble.”

He played in only 33 games this season, by far the fewest of his career, because of the injury and this subsequent absence.

Hedman thanked his teammates, the Lightning organization, his family and his therapist for their support and said he’s “in a much better place today.”

“This is something that exists in our game more than people see,” Hedman said. “If this moment helps make it easier for others to take care of themselves when they need to, that matters.”

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The 15-year-old left home on April 11 without permission and failed to return home.

On May 5, Detroit police said she has been located.

Her information was removed from this article.

READ: More Missing in Michigan coverage

The teen was reported missing on Sunday, May 3. Police said he left home without permission.

On May 5, police said he was located.

His information was removed from this article.

More: Missing in Michigan

The girl was last seen Tuesday, April 28, near the intersection of Monica and Elmhurst streets.

On May 5, Detroit police said she was located.

Her information was removed from this article.

More: Missing in Michigan

Let’s go through some numbers to get a clearer picture of the mental health crisis in Michigan.

One in five adults in Michigan lives with a mental health condition.

And even though it’s something many people deal with, some still struggle in silence.

1 in 20 adults had serious thoughts of suicide each year -- that’s more than 400,000 people.

8.5% of adults struggle with substance abuse in Michigan. That’s slightly higher than the national average.

Still, two out of three people go untreated and don’t get help when they’re battling addiction.

In Detroit, Motown Tattoo Company is hosting a special event bringing together local partners, resources, and even a candlelight ceremony to honor personal journeys.

Christy Ringle, Wayne Robinson, and Marcus Edwards joined Local 4 Live to explain how this event is helping people feel less alone.

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

The U.S. military says it sank six Iranian boats targeting civilian ships as it moves to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and two American-flagged ships have already made it through safely.

Officials said ships are to travel through Oman’s waters, where an “enhanced security area” is in place.

The waterway is critical to the global oil supply.

When shipping is threatened in the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices often spike on global markets, which drives up the cost of gas at the pump, delays price drops, and keeps fill-ups more expensive until supply chains stabilize and market uncertainty eases.

Liz Pancotti, Managing Director of Policy and Advocacy at Groundwork Collaborative, joined Local 4 Live to break down what could happen next.

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

CNS Healthcare is launching its “Kindness in Bloom” campaign -- handing out thousands of flower bouquets across Metro Detroit.

Each one comes with a reminder that mental health matters, and that kindness can make a real difference.

Nancy Gandelot Spearman joined Local 4 Live to talk about how you can get involved.

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

Industrial-leaning synth-pop strains might seem incongruous with such a vista, but it was the alternative rock band's homage to Route 66 that seduced David J. Schwartz. With camera in hand he has made 42 trips over two decades along the celebrated highway, qualifying himself for the job of creating postage stamps commemorating the Mother Road's centennial.

The U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday is releasing eight stamps marking significant parts of the road in each of the states it traverses, passing by vintage diners, gas stations and motels — many since preserved or restored — along with breathtaking vistas and wide horizons of the open road.

Route 66 is paved with history, from its early days as an escape from the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, through serving as a vital supply route during World War II, to its mid-century role as an antidote for wanderlust. A symbol of freedom and mobility, it has evolved into a time capsule of Americana, steeped in nostalgia and neon.

‘Road trips, big cars, neon signs’

As teenagers in 1988, Schwartz and his best friend had planned a road trip after girlfriends introduced them to Depeche Mode, where they discovered a cover of Bobby Troup's 1946 pop standard, “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66.” Schwartz's mother nixed his participation, delaying his first taste of the open road until 2004.

To Schwartz, the road — stretching 2,448 miles (3,940 kilometers) — represents a significant piece of a newly mobile 20th century America, from its debut in 1926 to its decommissioning in 1985: “Road trips, big cars, neon signs.” Though retired from the federal highway system, vast stretches of the route are still in use and a favorite of road warriors and tourists to this day.

“So much to explore. You start here in Illinois on 66 and you’re cruising through prairie land,” Schwartz said during a recent interview in Springfield. “By the time you get out west, you're in the desert or you’re in mountains through hairpin turns. It’s just an incredible journey and you just get such a beautiful slice of America going through it.”

Tired of retail management, Schwartz went back to school to study photography and had the idea of Route 66 stamps as early as a decade ago. He was tapped for the project in 2023. He recalls thinking, “Here is my moment to bring Route 66 to the masses.”

Greg Breeding, a USPS art director for stamp design, was working on a graphic showing a map of the road when he discovered Schwartz’s photos. They were beautifully photographed, not commercial and slick.

“They’re as if you were there,” he said, “which makes them especially useful for stamps.”

The USPS plate contains 16 stamps, two of each one representing Route 66 host states. A ninth photo serves as selvage, or the image surrounding the block. It's the scene of that empty Arizona highway, shot in 2023 near Seligman, Arizona, when Schwartz and his high school friend finally took that trip 35 years in the making.

‘Feel the land as you’re traveling'

But a road is a road, isn't it? Why can't a traveler get the same view standing on one of the interstate highways that ultimately bypassed Route 66?

“You'd probably get run over,” Schwartz said dryly.

“Interstates are designed to move traffic quickly. They cut through the sides of mountains, they do not follow the contour of the land ...,” he added. “On Route 66, you’re actually part of the landscape as you move through it. You feel the land as you’re traveling.”

Breeding and Schwartz steered clear of the fabled highway’s most popular spots, not only because those are tougher to get permission to use, but also because they wanted to give people a “fresh look,” Breeding said. The stamps are devoid of people, he said, in part to create a sense of allure rather tourist trap vibes.

To that end, the blocks capture both the continuing commerce and the roadside relics that hint at their former vibrancy. Take for example the Conoco Tower Station and U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas, a neon-adorned Art Deco beauty whose luminous lights come alive at dusk.

In Yucca, Arizona, Schwartz photographed the dilapidated “Motel” sign in the relentless noonday sun, revealing desert desolation but also “the enduring pulse of the open road.”

Among his favorites is the Illinois entry, a friend's 1929 Model A Ford rumbling down the only remaining section of Route 66 composed of hand-laid brick in Auburn, just south of Springfield. The goal? Create an image that would make viewers feel as if they were there for the birth of Route 66.

“We wanted to show it to be colorful. We wanted to show the quirkiness. We wanted to show the age,” Breeding said. “It’s like a sort of show, the idea that Route 66 is a living history of the United States, from the past to the present.”

Schwartz said he's amazed that the stamps boasting his work will “travel all over the United States and end up in people's mailboxes.”

He added: “I hope they really inspire people to get out there and travel the road and support the Mom and Pop businesses and keep Route 66 alive for another 100 years.”

Kimes, whose hiring was announced Tuesday, becomes the first celebrity host for the bee since LeVar Burton in 2022. That was the year Scripps took over the broadcast from ESPN, its longtime TV home, and began airing it on ION and Bounce, both of which are owned by the Cincinnati-based media company.

Scripps has also brought in a new production team for the broadcast, led by Michael Davies — currently the executive producer of “Jeopardy!” — as it seeks to reverse a decline in ratings.

This year's bee runs from May 26-28 at a new venue, Constitution Hall in downtown Washington, with 247 spellers competing for a trophy and more than $50,000 in cash and prizes.

“My goal in this is to give it the big-game feel,” Kimes told The Associated Press in an interview ahead of the announcement. “Any event that requires skill and knowledge and preparation can have that feel if it's presented with enough care and pride on television.”

Davies, whose credits also include “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” “Reading Rainbow” and “Good Morning Football,” shares Kimes' appreciation for the bee, and he told AP his goal is to “make it bigger and make it more famous.”

“We really need to focus the entire broadcast and everything we're doing around the stakes of the competition and the incredible winning moment, the winning word that happens at the end of the final,” he said.

A Yale-educated journalist, the 40-year-old Kimes is known for using extensive research and study of game video to explain the strengths and weaknesses of NFL players and coaches. She said her preparation for the bee has been similar.

“It honestly does feel a little bit like watching game tape because I really think these kids are elite competitors, not just in terms of being the best of the best, but you can see all of the work that they so clearly put in,” Kimes said. “The way they get to the right answer is fascinating to me and the more you watch, the more you see the way their brains work. I see a lot of similarities to what I do with football, and I'm so pumped to be a part of this.”

Although she never competed on the national stage, Kimes has a history in spelling, winning bees at the school level in the second, third and fifth grades.

Spellers qualify for the National Spelling Bee by winning regional bees around the country and are eligible to compete through the eighth grade. Even the most gifted kids, many of whom study and train year-round under the tutelage of paid coaches, often get only one or two chances to win the most prestigious spelling competition in the English language before they age out.

Over the last few years, Scripps has relied mostly on former spellers as on-air hosts and commentators. Longtime analyst Paul Loeffler, a sports broadcaster, former speller and the brother of bee executive director Corrie Loeffler, will return in that role.

While Scripps touted bigger potential audiences from its move to ION, which is available in more households than ESPN, ratings have been stagnant and dipped slightly over the past two years, according to Nielsen data. The combined audience for the primetime finals on ION and Bounce was 609,000 in 2022, 641,000 in 2023, 461,000 in 2024 and 488,000 last year.

The bee drew over 1 million viewers on ESPN in 2012. The finals of the last three pre-pandemic bees on ESPN had viewership of 606,000 (2017), 550,000 (2018) and 559,000 (2019).

___

Ben Nuckols has covered the Scripps National Spelling Bee since 2012. Follow him at https://x.com/APBenNuckols

Video shows man pouring gasoline, setting fire inside Huntington Place

Authorities are searching for a man who poured gasoline and lit a fire inside Huntington Place.

Detroit fire investigators said a man was caught on camera going inside Huntington Place on April 28 just before 9 a.m., dousing the carpet with gasoline, walking toward the exit and setting a fire before leaving.

Watch video here.

Lathrup Village community leader taken into custody after Oakland County task force raid

A prominent Lathrup Village community leader was taken into custody on Monday after Oakland County investigators raided his home.

Sources confirmed to Local 4 that the search warrant was carried out by the Oakland County Auto Theft Task Force.

Read more here.

2.7 magnitude earthquake shakes Monroe County, felt across Metro Detroit

A small earthquake shook parts of Monroe County.

According to the United States Geological Survey, a 2.7 magnitude quake struck near Carleton on Monday (May 4) at about 5:32 p.m., at a depth of roughly 5.2 kilometers.

Read more here.

Motorcyclist thrown from bike, killed in Sterling Heights multi-vehicle traffic crash

A motorcyclist was thrown from their bike and killed in Sterling Heights following a multi-vehicle traffic crash.

The incident occurred on Monday (May 4) on 18 Mile Road east of Mound Road.

Read more here.

Weather: Cooler across Metro Detroit with rain chances lingering -- what to expect

Waking up to a damp and dreary Tuesday morning. Grab your umbrella and a light jacket before you head out. Much cooler temperatures build in for the rest of the work week with highs mainly in the upper 50s.

Rain chances stick around today and tonight, especially across Metro Detroit and south. We spend most of the day cloudy and cooler, but have the umbrella nearby as light rain could redevelop although it will not be a widespread washout.

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The comments by Zambia’s foreign affairs minister, Mulambo Haimbe, on Monday brought into the open simmering tensions over President Donald Trump’s “America First” strategy, which is reshaping aid to Africa into transactional agreements.

Some African leaders and health experts have criticized the new U.S. stance and its demands for sensitive health data in exchange for badly needed support for health systems strained by the Trump administration's dismantling of foreign aid. Some say they would not receive access to health innovations like vaccines in return.

The U.S. is also seeking to challenge China, a dominant player in Zambia and much of Africa, whose minerals are critical to the green energy transition, including inputs for solar panels, electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems.

Zambia says talks stalled over data-sharing demands

In a statement, Haimbe described the accusations of Zambian graft and negotiation inertia by outgoing U.S. ambassador Michael Gonzales as “mischievous” and “deeply regrettable, undiplomatic and inconsistent with the spirit of mutual respect.”

Haimbe also accused the U.S. of tying access to critical minerals to the conclusion of the health deal, which Gonzales earlier dismissed as “alarmist allegations” that he called “disgusting” and “absolutely and patently false.”

Negotiations have continued for months to conclude the deal, one of dozens the Trump administration is pursuing in some of the world's most aid-dependent countries.

Gonzales in late April said Zambian leaders had “abdicated their responsibilities, letting the United States pay for healthcare while officials diverted government funds to their own pockets.” He said Zambian authorities had “ignored” U.S. overtures to conclude a new deal.

But Haimbe said negotiations had stalled over “unacceptable” data-sharing demands “in violation of our citizens’ right to privacy” and “the insistence on preferential treatment of U.S companies over Zambia’s critical minerals.”

Zambia "takes the view, first and foremost, that Zambians must have a say on how her critical minerals are used, and second that no one strategic partner is to be treated preferentially to others,” he said.

The U.S. Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US says its approach aims to reduce donor dependency

The U.S. approach replaces decades of engagement anchored in the now-dismantled United States Agency for International Development and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR.

In their place, U.S. officials are negotiating country-by-country agreements that recast aid as a transaction, tying funding to conditions including commercial provisions, domestic financing commitments, disease surveillance, pathogen sharing and even religion.

Since late last year, the U.S has signed agreements with about 30 countries, many in Africa. Washington says the approach is meant to reduce donor dependency, promote local ownership and safeguard American interests, including against an aggressive China that dominates trade in Africa but contributes less aid.

There has been pushback.

Ghana last week said it had rejected a proposed deal over provisions granting broad access to sensitive health data without safeguards. Zimbabwe walked away from a $367 million package over similar concerns. In Kenya, a $2.5 billion agreement signed in December has been put on hold after a court challenge arguing it violates data protection laws.

In Lesotho, draft U.S. proposals sought 25 years of access to health data and biological samples before local officials secured a shorter five-year deal.

Health experts say data would largely flow one way

Critics say the data-sharing demands tilt toward U.S. interests and warn the information-sharing would largely go in just one direction: toward Washington.

The new agreements aim to ensure the flow of disease surveillance data and biological samples, but through bilateral channels, after the U.S withdrew from the World Health Organization in January, said Asia Russell, executive director of advocacy group Health GAP.

Countries currently report disease outbreaks primarily through the WHO, which coordinates responses and is negotiating new frameworks on pathogen-sharing and equitable access to vaccines.

The U.S, now outside those talks, is pursuing direct access instead.

“They (the U.S.) want to understand what’s actually happening,” said Jen Kates, a senior vice president at the Washington-based non-profit KFF. “But they are trying to do it in a very different way.”

Health advocates say this risks creating a parallel global health system. In Zimbabwe, a government spokesperson in February said the government terminated negotiations because the U.S. was not offering a “corresponding guarantee of access to any medical innovations — such as vaccines, diagnostics, or treatments — that might result from that shared data.”

“That raises serious concerns about who benefits,” said Atilla Kisla of the Southern Africa Litigation Center.

Advocates point to the harsh experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, when African countries contributed data and samples but were largely last in line for vaccines.

Experts warn against health as a ‘bargaining chip’

The agreements with the U.S. are drawing criticism for closed-door negotiations and limited public scrutiny.

“Secrecy is at the center of this. That puts accountability for results at risk,” said Health GAP's Russell. “It’s impossible to evaluate these deals properly without seeing the full terms. Part of what made PEPFAR successful was transparency. Now that’s been taken away.”

The deals also come with tighter financial conditions. Many include reduced funding compared to previous levels of U.S. assistance, while requiring countries to increase domestic health spending, with aid at risk if targets are not met.

“These are going to be very heavy lifts,” said KFF’s Kates. “Countries are already under strain.”

Critics say some agreements also advance U.S. commercial and political interests, blurring the line between aid and transactional diplomacy.

“When health becomes a bargaining chip, everyone becomes less safe,” Russell warned.

___

Keketso Phakela in Maseru, Lesotho, contributed to this report.

___

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.

Detroit fire investigators said a man was caught on camera going inside Huntington Place on April 28 just before 9 a.m., dousing the carpet with gasoline, walking toward the exit and setting a fire before leaving.

You can watch the video at the beginning of this article.

The fire was immediately extinguished and caused minimal damage. No one was hurt.

Investigators said a reward will be offered if information leads to an arrest.

Anyone who recognizes this person or has any information on the incident is asked to call the Detroit Police Department’s Fire Investigation Division at (313) 596-2940. To remain anonymous, call the arson tip line at (313) 628-2900 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP. You can also submit a tip by emailing arsontips@detroitmi.gov.

“I think it’d be a nice little tip of the cap to John and what he meant — so much to this franchise and this fan base. I think it would be pretty cool,” Judge said after the Yankees routed Baltimore 12-1 on Monday night to complete a four-game sweep on the day of their famous broadcaster's death.

Following the final out, Sterling's familiar call that punctuated Yankees wins was played over the ballpark’s public-address system.

After a pregame tribute to Sterling, who died at age 87, Judge put New York ahead in the first inning with his major league-leading 14th homer and added a two-run single in the eighth for a four-RBI night.

Sterling called games on radio broadcasts from 1989 to 2024. As Judge circled the bases after his two-run drive off Shane Baz, he thought of the home run call Sterling coined for him: “A Judgian blast! All rise! Here comes the Judge!”

“Definitely seeing that tribute hit home because he loved the Yankees,” Judge said. “He loved this team. He loved this franchise. He loved the fans. He loved everybody he talked to on a nightly basis. So to do that there in the first, just kind of was chuckling around the bases thinking what he was probably saying.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed before the game he's been paying tribute to Sterling in the dugout for a couple of years by yelling “Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theee Yankees win!” before starting handshakes.

This time, fans also bellowed along as the PA system sounded Sterling's baritone at raised decibels.

“It drowned me out a little bit, happily,” Boone said.

Like Judge, he hopes Sterling's voice at the end becomes routine.

”Yeah, I'd love it," the manager said. “Right on into Frank.”

Judge leads the majors with six first-inning homers this year and has 91 in his career, trailing only Babe Ruth’s 126 and Mickey Mantle’s 103 among Yankees. The home run was Judge’s 53rd in 124 games against the Orioles.

“It’s a pretty good advantage to have that guy coming up in the first inning for you,” Boone said.

Judge, who was tied for the major league home run lead by Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox later Monday, is batting .272 with 27 RBIs.

Coming off his first batting title last season, when his average was .427 through April, Judge slumped early this year and was hitting .212 with three homers and seven RBIs after his first 14 games. Since then, the three-time AL MVP is batting .329 with 11 homers and 20 RBIs in 21 games.

“Even if I’m hitting .400 in April, I’m tinkering with something new every single day. It could be something subtle with hands or feet, the sights, approach," Judge said. “When you stink, you’re trying to get better. When you’re doing well, you're also trying to get better.”

Like all Yankees, Judge had a cap with Sterling's “JS” initials stitched onto the back. At the behest of the Yankees front office, a Bronx vendor quickly sewed the tribute.

“I thought it was a nice little touch for John,” Judge said.

___

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

Wu Yize beat Shaun Murphy 18-17 in a dramatic world championship final on Monday to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Zhao Xintong, who became Asia’s first ever world champion 12 months ago.

Britain has long been snooker’s traditional stronghold but China — where there are around 300,000 recognized snooker clubs — is the growing force in the game, providing 11 of the 32 players in the main draw of the worlds over the last two weeks and five in the top 16 of the world ranking.

Snooker failed in bids to get onto the Olympic program for the first time for the Games in 2021 and 2024, and could launch another attempt ahead of the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.

Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, said the IOC “definitely has got eyes on our sport” and the recent successes of Chinese players at the Crucible Theatre can only help.

“It's vitally important,” Ferguson told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “China is a very important country to the IOC — it has been a host of the Games on many occasions and they are heavily invested in sports, in IOC terms.

“So the fact that China is a key market for snooker is a really important part about any Olympic bid.”

The growth of snooker in other markets — notably in eastern Europe, with Poland having its first player competing in the world championship in Antoni Kowalski this year — is highlighted by the fact there are almost 100 countries with some kind of national infrastructure for the sport, Ferguson noted.

“When we started this idea of going to the Olympics, we only had a handful of countries playing,” he said.

“But we are ready (to be in the Olympics). And that’s an exciting proposition.”

Ferguson said the WPBSA was working on making its final applications to get snooker into the Paralympics, too. Snooker was on that program from 1960-88.

The IOC will likely finalize its program of sports to be added to the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics by next spring, around the time of the next world snooker championship. Strong support from Brisbane officials should be crucial to any sport’s ambitions to get Olympic status.

Australian snooker player Neil Robertson was the world champion in 2010 and is the current world No. 2.

Wu's rapid rise after relocating to Britain

At age 22, Wu became the second youngest player to win snooker's biggest prize and did so in a flamboyant style that has marked him out for many, including the great Ronnie O'Sullivan, as a likely world champion.

Six years ago, Wu relocated to Britain from his hometown of Lanzhou to pursue his dream of becoming a professional. He came across with his father — his mother stayed in China — and they shared a small, windowless flat that was in such “poor condition,” Wu said, that it might have given him acne because of the poor air quality.

“If you really love snooker," he said, "it is the path you have to go through and fight through.”

His victory at the Crucible Theatre was something of a surprise, as Wu had never won a match at the worlds before this year.

Like Zhao, Wu — the new world No. 4 — wants his journey to be an inspiration for all Chinese players back home.

“I hope younger players can stay true to their passion, be a bit braver, and go after their dreams," he said.

___

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

“Some things that you have to buy, some things that would be fun to buy, and other necessities like apparel, things like that,” said Chris Raymond of Consumer Reports.

The goal, Raymond said, is to give consumers a clearer picture of just how dramatically prices can shift. He pointed to a popular Shark vacuum as one example.

“One week it was $119, and at its peak, it was close to $200,” Raymond said. “So it would swing by $40 or $50 a week. We’re seeing it with baby products, a lot of clothing, and footwear. Certainly, in my lifetime, it’s unprecedented, just the sheer number of products that increase in price and then how frequently that happens.”

Raymond said when and how consumers buy can make a significant difference. He encouraged shoppers to research prices before purchasing.

“The more you do your research, the more you kind of find, ‘OK, I’m paying a reasonable price for it,’ or ‘That’s outrageous, and I’ve got to find another way to get that item,’” he said.

For electronics, Consumer Reports suggests considering older models, noting that TVs, phones, and laptops that are a year or two old can cost hundreds of dollars less. Refurbished products are another option Raymond strongly endorses.

“They take it. They clean it up. They replace parts. And you get it with a new one-year warranty,” he said. “There’s no better deal in my mind than getting a refurbished item.”

Shoppers buying new should also be cautious of flashy discount promotions, Raymond warned.

“I have seen instances where the price goes up a few weeks before the sale begins, so they can make it look like they’re slashing 30% when maybe they’re only giving you 5% or 10% off,” he said.

Raymond’s bottom line for consumers: do your homework, watch for price patterns, and act quickly when the timing is right.

“When it hits the low, pounce on it,” he said.

Rain chances stick around today and tonight, especially across Metro Detroit and south. We spend most of the day cloudy and cooler, but have the umbrella nearby as light rain could redevelop although it will not be a widespread washout.

Partly sunny the next two days with slight rain chances, but mainly dry. Better rain chances return Friday through the weekend as temperatures get back into the 60s. The Climate Prediction Center keeps temperatures below average through mid-May.

Both teams are coming off short rest following Game 7 victories on May 3.

The two Central Division rivals have a long history, having met 245 times in the regular season, with Detroit leading the all-time series 135-110.

In the playoffs, however, Cleveland holds the edge, leading 15-6 in 21 postseason meetings.

The most defining chapter of that rivalry came between 2007 and 2016, when LeBron James and the Cavaliers won 11 of 12 playoff games against Detroit.

That run began in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, when James delivered one of the most memorable performances in postseason history, scoring 25 consecutive points to lift Cleveland to a Game 5 victory at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Cleveland went on to be swept by the Tim Duncan-led San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 NBA Finals.

The Cavaliers then swept Detroit in the first round of the 2009 playoffs and again in the 2016 first round.

Before James’ dominance, Detroit had the upper hand, winning the Eastern Conference semifinals series 4-3 in 2006.

This season, the Pistons finished first in the Central Division with a 60-22 record, while the Cavaliers came in second at 52-30.

Cleveland split the regular-season series with Detroit 2-2, winning their final matchup 113-109 in March, a result that bolstered their confidence heading into the postseason.

Following the regular season series finale, several Cavaliers players expressed confidence about a potential playoff meeting with Detroit.

It was reported that one player, speaking anonymously to a Cavaliers team reporter, dismissed the new-look Bad Boys, saying they “aren’t in our class.”

Another suggested the Central Division champions would not be Cleveland’s toughest postseason opponent.

Detroit, unbothered by the comments, locked up the Eastern Conference’s top seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Pistons’ newly extended head coach J.B. Bickerstaff (who also coached Cleveland from 2020-2024) spoke about the situation back in March and called on the anonymous player to put their name to the quote if they meant what they said.

--> Detroit Pistons lock in head coach J.B. Bickerstaff ahead of Eastern Conference semifinals vs. Cavs

At a regular meeting Monday night, the commission discussed the actions after shots were fired at the home following a party, sparking a debate on how to regulate rental properties while still being fair to property owners. Police detained several people after the incident, including one person found with a handgun, authorities said. No injuries were reported.

Last week, commissioners passed a moratorium pausing new short-term rentals of 30 days or less for the next six months.

Officials said the city’s updated approach is aimed at improving accountability and enforcement for rentals listed on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo.

Under the new measures:

• All short-term rental licenses will terminate April 15th each year.
• Property owners will be required to submit a new annual application outlining updated expectations, including naming a responsible party for code violations or emergencies.
• City staff will hold monthly meetings with police and code enforcement focused on rental enforcement.
• Complaints will be investigated by the building department and code enforcement.
• The city will amend its landlord code of conduct.

City Attorney Mary Kucharek said the rental license of the owner of the home on East Lincoln Street has been revoked, although the owner will have an opportunity to appeal.

Kucharek said while the city cannot retroactively revoke licenses that have already been approved without cause, the city can choose not to renew licenses when they expire on April 15^, if the city were to enact a ban on short-term rentals in residential areas down the line.

Mayor Clinton Baller said going forward, if police are called to a short-term rental or any rental, the department will also notify the city’s building department and code enforcement.“Police and code enforcement will do all they can, but residents, you’re the ones that live right next door to these rental properties and we’re going to rely on you, to some extent, to be our eyes and ears,” Baller said.

🍇 Grapevine

🌅 Good morning! On this day in 1978, area residents lined up outside a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont, for the grand opening of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade.

Here are a few things to know about for Tuesday, May 5, 2026:

⛅ 4Warn Weather: Waking up to a damp and dreary Tuesday morning. Grab your umbrella and a light jacket before you head out. Check the 10-day forecast.

⛈️ Storm Aftermath: In St. Clair Shores, a tree fell onto a home last night following the storms, destroying part of the roof and the front of the house. Read more.

🚓 Community Leader Arrested: A prominent Lathrup Village community leader was taken into custody after Oakland County investigators raided his home. Read more.

🚨 Earthquake: A small earthquake shook parts of Monroe County yesterday. Read more.

💻 Hacked, Robbed, Banned: A Canton small-business owner says he was hacked twice, had $950 stolen from his account and was then permanently banned from Facebook — accused of one of the most horrific crimes imaginable. Meta, he says, has done nothing to fix it. Read more.

🏊 Morning Dive

Good morning ☀️

Nestled inside the Durfee Innovation Society building on Detroit’s west side, Kandie’s Mini Mart may be easy to miss -- but customers say the community-focused store is making a big impact. Demond Fernandez reporting:

“We are a hidden gem,” said Jacquisha Blackwell, the young entrepreneur behind the mini mart.

Blackwell expanded her sandwich shop and catering business to include a small-format grocery operation offering fresh produce and other essentials after noticing food access challenges in the neighborhood.

“I don’t want to say any names, but you have grocery stores that’s come and just have expired things and, you know, overpricing,” Blackwell said. “And we came here to not overprice. We came here to literally have affordable things for the community.”

The hybrid site is designed to give nearby residents -- especially seniors and families -- more convenient options for fresh foods, including produce, baked goods and grab-and-go items.

Blackwell also encourages customers to help shape what the store carries.

“Just to talk about how we input our community into the store, we have this sign, where we allow them to put different things that they want to see,” she said.

Kandie’s Mini Mart was able to expand with the help of a $25,000 grant from Detroit’s Green Grocer Program, managed by the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) in partnership with the City of Detroit. The funding helped the business purchase refrigerators and shelving.

“I always tell people, nobody knows the gaps, nobody knows the opportunities in Detroit like Detroiters,” said Sean Gray, Senior Vice President of small business services at the DEGC.

Gray said the Green Grocer Program began more than a decade ago with the goal of attracting larger grocery stores but has evolved to support small-format operations like Kandie’s that provide fresh food in neighborhoods across the city.

“Green Grocer is going to touch every single district of this city with small format grocery stores that are offering fresh high-quality food and owned by people that are passionate about supporting their neighborhood,” Gray said.

Regular customer Ila Herron said Kandie’s Mini Mart has become a go-to spot for people of all ages.

“It’s awesome, because you can come in here and get all of this stuff,” Herron said. “It’s teenagers. It’s babies after school that come in here. High school kids. Grown folks. They made a big difference.”

Organizers say there are currently 18 Green Grocer Program sites across Detroit, with more expected to open in the coming months.

To learn more about Green Grocer and other small business programs, click here.

🗞️ Other headlines to know today

• US attempt to open Strait of Hormuz tests fragile Iran war ceasefire
• Wildfires force 80% contained, evacuations lifted in northern Michigan county
• US military strike on alleged drug boat kills 2 in the Caribbean
• Trump’s retribution? What to watch in Tuesday’s elections in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan
• ‘Nobody was here’: Spirit Airlines’ shutdown leaves travelers stranded at Detroit Metro Airport
• Macomb Township man convicted of murder in 2024 drunk driving crash
• Restaurants celebrate authentic Mexican culture and history this Cinco de Mayo
• Here’s why Detroit Training Center students can’t take CDL skills tests
• USPS unveils Route 66 centennial stamps, born from a photographer’s 42 trips
• ‘11 months later’: West Bloomfield senior out over $1k after booking hotel on AI-driven website
• Associated Press global investigation into government surveillance efforts wins Pulitzer Prize
• A United jet narrowly avoided catastrophe when it struck a truck near Newark airport during landing
• A real WKRP radio comes to Cincinnati, decades after the sitcom about a fictional station
• Find more Local News headlines here
• Find more Entertainment headlines here
• Find more Health headlines here
• Check out the latest ClickOnDeals here
• Introducing the ClickOnDetroit Help Desk: How it works and how to use it

🌎 Meanwhile

News from around the world via the Associated Press:

A second sloth taken to a central Florida zoo for rehabilitation has died out of a group given up by a yet-to-open tourist attraction facing scrutiny for the deaths of more than 30 other sloths imported from Guyana and Peru.

Habanero, an adult male, was euthanized Saturday to prevent further suffering at the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens. He had been taken there for rehabilitation along with a dozen other sloths given up by Sloth World, a tourist attraction planned for Orlando’s tourism district that never opened, zoo officials said.

Another sloth, Bandit, died last week after being transferred to the zoo. (Read more)

----

Berlin’s Pergamon Museum, traditionally one of the German capital’s top tourist attractions, will reopen next year after the first part of a painstaking restoration effort that has kept its centerpiece out of the public eye for more than a decade.

The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which oversees many of Berlin’s museums, announced Monday that the museum will reopen on June 4, 2027.

The museum’s centerpiece is the 2nd-century B.C. Pergamon Altar. Decorated with a marble frieze, it was built between 197 and 156 B.C. in what is now Bergama, Turkey. (Read more)

----

A new study suggests that a tiny, icy world beyond Pluto harbors a thin, delicate atmosphere that may have been created by volcanic eruptions or a comet strike.

Just 300 miles (500 kilometers) or so across, this mini Pluto is thought to be the solar system’s smallest object yet with a clearly detected global atmosphere bound by gravity, said lead researcher Ko Arimatsu of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

“This is an amazing development, but it sorely needs independent verification. The implications are profound if verified,” said Southwest Research Institute’s Alan Stern, the lead scientist behind NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto and beyond. He was not involved in the study. (Read more)

---> Find more headlines from around the world right here <---

📝 Word Up

Today’s Word Up is: Languor /ˈlaNG(ɡ)ər/ (noun) -- defined as “Listless indolence or inertia.”

Example: “He knew he should mow the lawn, but the languor of the humid day got the best of him and kept him on the hammock.”

🧹 Housekeeping

Hey, if you like this newsletter, let us know. We’d love your feedback. We also offer several other newsletters, including Live in the D, All 4 Pets and more. Hopefully, we have one that caters to your interests -- unless you’re only interested in baseball caps. We don’t have one for that, sorry.

✍🏽 Written and curated by: Samantha Sayles (Have something to say? Feel free to send an email here.)

This might have been the most movement by All-Stars during an offseason in WNBA history. Not that it comes as a huge surprise. More than 80% of the players in the league were free agents after last season, knowing a huge pay day awaited with the new collective bargaining agreement that was signed in March.

With the money about the same, moving closer to home was one factor in players' decisions.

Ogwumike returns to Los Angeles

The 2016 MVP has long considered Los Angeles home after getting drafted No. 1 by the Sparks in 2012. She helped the franchise win a championship in 2016. The 10-time All-Star left the Sparks for Seattle in 2024 and spent two seasons with the Storm before returning to L.A.

The Sparks are trying to get back to the top of the league.

“It was always see you later, now I’ll see you soon…” Ogwumike wrote on social media when announcing her decision to return to Los Angeles.

Ogwumike joins a strong core in Los Angeles, including Kelsey Plum, Ariel Atkins, Dearica Hamby and Cameron Brink.

Diggins gets fresh start close to home in Chicago

Diggins grew up in South Bend, Indiana — a 90-minute drive from Chicago. The six-time All-WNBA player and seven-time All-Star is still looking for her first championship in the league and may be hard-pressed to get it in the Windy City. The 35-year-old guard spent the last two seasons in Seattle.

She'll provide veteran leadership for the Sky and eventually pair in the backcourt with Courtney Vandersloot, who is recovering from an ACL injury.

Griner moves to Connecticut with eye on Houston

The No. 1 pick in the 2013 draft will be playing for her third team in three seasons. Griner spent the first 12 years of her career in Phoenix, which selected her with the top pick. She moved on to Atlanta last season and now is in Connecticut. The Sun will be moving to Griner's hometown of Houston next season.

Griner, a 10-time All-Star, was excited for the chance to be a veteran leader for the Sun before eventually getting to play back home in Houston next year.

“Coming here for the one year with hopes of next year being in Houston and having that opportunity to potentially play in front of my family, play at home, it means a lot to me, means a whole lot to me,” Griner told The Associated Press.

Sabally lands in New York, gets ‘closer to my own home’

Sabally was born in New York, so joining the Liberty was a homecoming for her. Her family moved to Germany when she was young. Being on the East Coast makes it easier for the German star to get to Europe than it was while playing in Phoenix. It also puts her in a time zone that is more friendly for talking to her family in Germany.

“Phoenix was very far away from home for me as an international player. Like, nine-hour time difference. I could only talk to my little brothers before practice,” Sabally said. “So I think it was a personal decision just to get closer to my own home.”

The three-time All-Star played with Sabrina Ionescu in college at Oregon. Their senior season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, but now the duo will try to win a WNBA championship together with the Liberty.

Fresh start for Reese with the Dream

Atlanta acquired Reese from the Sky on April 6 for draft picks. One of the WNBA’s most recognizable stars, Reese led the league in rebounds in each of her two seasons with the Sky. The Dream hope she's the missing piece that can get them back to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2013.

“I am not satisfied with what I am as a player and I felt like being around these kinds of players would help me be better," said Reese, who added she is happy to be with an organization “that really cared” about its players.

“I can help them in different ways to ... win, and that’s all I ever wanted,” Reese said. “I don’t care about anything else. ... I want to win.”

___

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

The blast occurred at a fireworks plant in the city of Changsha in Hunan province on Monday afternoon, China’s official news agency Xinhua said.

State media China Daily said that the plant was operated by the Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Co. in the Changsha-administered, county-level city of Liuyang, a prominent fireworks powerhouse in the country.

Changsha mayor Chen Bozhang said at a media briefing that a search and rescue operation at the scene largely has been completed, but verification of the casualties and identification of the victims was still underway.

Chen said that the local government expressed condolences for the victims and apologized to society, including the families and injured people.

“We feel extremely pained and deeply remorseful,” he said.

Ding Weiming, the Changsha Emergency Management Bureau's party secretary, said that the site had a large amount of products or semifinished products catching fire, causing continuous, sporadic blasts.

Large quantities of gunpowder stored in the warehouse area also threatened the safety of rescue teams, while the collapse of walls, columns and the roof in the factory area created ruins, with people trapped and routes blocked, he said.

All fireworks and firecracker manufacturers in Liuyang have been ordered to halt production, local media reported said.

Aerial footage from state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday showed white smoke billowing in certain areas of the site, with facilities collapsed or damaged.

Hundreds of rescuers were deployed to the scene and residents in danger zones were evacuated by authorities, citing high risks from two black powder warehouses near the explosion site, the Xinhua report said.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the blast and police have detained the person in charge of the company, Xinhua said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged “all-out efforts” to search for people who are still unaccounted for and to save the injured. He called on authorities to investigate the cause swiftly and pursue serious accountability, the report said. Xi also ordered effective risk screening and hazard control in key industries and the strengthening of public safety management.

To prevent other accidents during the operation, rescuers adopted measures such as spraying and humidification to eliminate potential hazards.

They also deployed several robots to help with the search and rescue operation.

Liuyang has a long history of fireworks production. The Guinness World Records organization said that the first accurately documented firework, the Chinese firecracker, was attributed to Li Tian, a monk who lived near Liuyang during China’s Tang dynasty dating to around 618 to 907 C.E.

Li discovered that putting gunpowder in enclosed hollow bamboo stems created loud explosions and bound crackers together to create the traditional new year firecrackers to drive out evil spirits, Guinness said.

In February, China reported two deadly explosions at fireworks shops around the Lunar New Year period.

___

Leung reported from Hong Kong. Olivia Zhang contributed to this report.

The EU-Armenia summit in Yerevan follows the eighth gathering of the European Political Community, or EPC, which brought dozens of European leaders to the Armenian capital on Monday to address European defense issues and the Iran war.

Meanwhile, Tuesday's bilateral meeting saw Armenia and the EU sign a connectivity partnership to strengthen economic ties and deepen security cooperation.

The two events underscore how Armenia is seeking to turn westward and shed Russia's influence. Armenia’s relations with Moscow, its longtime sponsor and ally, have grown increasingly strained since 2023, when neighboring Azerbaijan fully reclaimed the Karabakh region and ended the decadeslong rule by ethnic Armenian separatists.

Armenian authorities accused Russian peacekeepers who were deployed to the region of failing to stop Azerbaijan’s onslaught. Moscow, busy with the war in Ukraine, rejected the accusations, arguing that its troops didn’t have a mandate to intervene.

The war was “a belated demonstration that Russia is dangerously unreliable as a partner,” Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center in Yerevan, told The Associated Press.

Pursuing ties with Europe

Since then, the government of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has pursued closer ties with the West, a move welcomed by the 27-nation EU.

The opening ceremony of the EU-Armenia summit on Tuesday saw European Council President António Costa walk the red carpet side by side with Pashinyan and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, while a military band played in front of Armenian and EU flags.

In her opening statement, von der Leyen said that Europe was ready to aid Armenia in becoming a regional hub for global trade routes, including the building of physical infrastructure.

“We’re ready to invest in the local energy production and the energy links across the Black Sea, and we are ready to connect your booming digital scene to Europe’s digital market and turn Armenia’s position at the heart of this region into a motor of growth,” she said.

The new EU-Armenia connectivity partnership will focus on strengthening transportation, energy and digital links. Meanwhile, EU investments in Armenia are expected to reach 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) under its global gateway infrastructure program, both sides said in a joint statement.

“Today’s EU-Armenia summit sends a clear signal of the EU’s firm commitment to deepen our relations with Armenia, and to strengthen cooperation across many new areas,” Costa said. “Bringing Armenia and its people closer to the European Union.”

Symbolic moves

The EU, rather than the United States, has stepped into the vacuum left by Russia, Giragosian said.

“EU engagement is much more prudent and much more productive than the U.S. becoming involved, simply because European engagement is less provocative to Russia over the longer term,” he said.

In 2025, Armenia's parliament passed a law formally declaring the country’s intention to seek EU membership.

However, Giragosian described Tuesday’s summit as “a focus on deepening the preexisting relationship” rather than a step toward candidacy, referencing the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement that has governed EU-Armenia ties since fully taking effect in 2021.

“The symbolic significance is much greater as a message to Russia,” he said.

Armenia has also taken other symbolic steps. It joined the International Criminal Court in 2023, a move that Moscow condemned as an “unfriendly step.” The court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.

Armenia also froze its participation in the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization in 2024.

However, Armenia remains a member of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, or EEU, a single market allowing the free movement of goods, capital and labor. The organization also includes Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan — and Putin has made the trade-offs plain.

Speaking at talks with Pashinyan in Moscow earlier this year, Putin warned that Armenia couldn't simultaneously belong to both the EEU and the EU, noting that Yerevan currently receives Russian natural gas at prices far below European market rates. Pashinyan acknowledged the incompatibility, but said that Armenia could, for now, combine EEU membership with deepening EU cooperation.

Pashinyan, who has been in office since 2018 and faces a parliamentary election in June, stands to benefit politically from the international profile of the European meetings. Giragosian said that Pashinyan's government is likely to be reelected largely by default, with the opposition unable to offer a credible alternative program.

But Giragosian warned against framing Armenia’s foreign policy as purely a pivot from Russia to the West.

“Armenia is also pivoting beyond the black and white zero-sum game paradigm,” he said, pointing to significant diplomatic investment in Asia, including with Japan, South Korea and China. “This is not about replacing Russia with the West. This is much more innovative, much more sophisticated.”

Heightened tensions

The summit also comes at a moment of diplomatic strains between Azerbaijan and the EU. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the EU ambassador last week to protest a European Parliament resolution demanding the release of Armenian prisoners of war and criticizing the treatment of Armenians in Karabakh. Lawmakers in Azerbaijan subsequently voted to suspend all cooperation with the European Parliament.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who addressed the EPC conference via video link, accused the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly for the Council of Europe, or PACE, of “double standards” for placing sanctions on Azerbaijan's delegation.

There were also protests outside the EPC summit venue, which was surrounded by tight security. Demonstrators held photos of Armenian prisoners being held in Azerbaijan.

Opposition leader Aram Sargsyan, head of the Democratic Party of Armenia, told the Armenian Press Agency that the European officials were voicing support for Pashinyan before the election and have “forgotten about the Armenians in prison in Azerbaijan.”

___

Elise Morton reported from London. Avet Demourian in Yerevan, and Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.

Festivities begin Tuesday (May 5) with a free pregame fan fest at Little Caesars Arena Plaza starting at 4 p.m.

The outdoor event will feature family-friendly activities, including face painting, airbrush tattoos, fan sign stations, photo opportunities, and a half-court basketball setup.

Arena doors will open two hours before tipoff at 5 p.m. for Game 1 and for all remaining postseason home games.

The first 10,000 fans will receive thundersticks, and all attendees will find a playoff T-shirt at their seats.

The Pistons are encouraging fans to arrive early and be in place before tipoff for special in-game entertainment elements.

Detroit native saxophonist Daryl Beebe is scheduled to perform the national anthem, while Michigan native Terry Fox, also known as “P.L.,” will provide halftime entertainment.

The Pistons, in partnership with Delaware North, also unveiled new postseason-inspired concessions and merchandise across the arena. Exclusive Round 2 merchandise, including playoff T-shirts and matchup-specific gear, will debut at Game 1 and be available at the arena’s Team Store and online.

Among the new food offerings is the Arena Cantina Pizza Box Nacho, featuring tortilla chips with a choice of proteins and toppings, served in a specialty box designed for fan interaction and photos.

The Pistons Shoe Cup, a popular souvenir item, will be available throughout the arena and can be filled with candy or beverages at select locations.

Detroit-based vendor Egg Roll Diva will return to the 1701 Pub with specialty egg rolls, while several limited-time playoff menu items introduced in the first round will remain available, including loaded fries, specialty sundaes, and shareable snack options.

Additional Detroit-inspired food concepts will also be featured, highlighting local flavors and collaborations with area chefs.

Limited tickets remain available for the Pistons’ second-round home games, including Tuesday’s Game 1 and Game 2 on Thursday, both scheduled for 7 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased online, by phone, or at the arena box office during regular business hours.

The Pistons’ playoff run is presented by Henry Ford Health and Ticketmaster.

The meeting will be held at the MSU Detroit Center at 3408 Woodward Avenue in Detroit on May 5 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. This will be the third pubic meeting on the project.

In the meeting, the community will hear key takeaways from the public meeting in February, results from the community survey and themes that continue to shape the I-75 Cap project.

Community members who attend the meeting can also participate in an interactive workshop on information on the amenities and programming of the public spaces on the caps.

What is a highway cap?

A highway cap is a structure built over a highway to reconnect communities that were harmed by a city’s infrastructure.

According to the Downtown Detroit Partnership, a highway cap can provide a range of benefits, including enhanced mobility, environmental benefits and added public spaces.

More information about the I-75 Cap project can be found here.

The incident occurred on Monday (May 4) on 18 Mile Road east of Mound Road.

Police said a 35-year-old man from Sterling Heights was riding a yellow Suzuki motorcycle eastbound on 18 Mile Road when a black Dodge Durango exited a private drive on the south side of the road and collided with the motorcycle.

Officials said the impact threw the motorcyclist from the bike.

Police said the motorcycle was then pushed into the westbound lanes, where it was struck by a silver Dodge Nitro traveling in the opposite direction.

The motorcyclist was taken to a Metro Detroit hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

Police said the crash remains under investigation as officers work to determine the circumstances and fault.

Officials said alcohol did not appear to be a factor at this time.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information is asked to contact the Sterling Heights Police Department.

The U.S. military said two American-flagged merchant ships had successfully transited the strait on Monday as part of a new initiative.

The UAE Defense Ministry said its air defenses had engaged 15 missiles and four drones fired by Iran. Authorities in the eastern emirate of Fujairah said one drone sparked a fire at a key oil facility, wounding three Indian nationals. The British military reported two cargo vessels ablaze off the UAE.

Tehran did not outright confirm or deny the attacks but early on Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that both the U.S. and the UAE “should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire.”

In similarly vague terms, Iranian state television earlier quoted an anonymous military official as saying Tehran had had “no plan” to target the UAE or one of its oil fields.

"The incident resulted from U.S. military adventurism to create an illegal passage,” the official said about the oil facility attack, apparently referring to U.S. President Donald Trump 's latest efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global energy.

Breaking Iran’s chokehold on the strait would ease global economic concerns and deny Iran a major source of leverage. But such efforts also risk reigniting the full-scale fighting that erupted when the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran on Feb. 28, prompting it to close the strait.

Shipping companies, and their insurers, are unlikely to take such a risk, given that Iran has fired on ships in the waterway and vowed to keep doing so. Iran has said the new U.S. effort is a violation of the fragile ceasefire that has held for more than three weeks.

US says it has reopened a lane through the strait

Iran’s effective closure of the strait, which runs between Iran and Oman, has caused a spike in worldwide fuel prices and rattled the global economy. The U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center had advised ships Monday to cross the strait in Oman’s waters, saying it had set up an “enhanced security area.”

Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, told reporters that American forces have successfully opened a passage through the strait that is free of Iranian mines. He said Iran launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at civilian ships under the U.S. military’s protection.

U.S. military helicopters sank six of the small boats, Cooper said, adding that “each and every” threat had been defeated.

“The U.S. commanders who are on the scene have all the authority necessary to defend their unit and to defend commercial shipping -- as we saw and demonstrated earlier today,” Cooper said.

Trump had warned Sunday that Iranian efforts to halt passage through the strait “will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully.”

He described “Project Freedom” in humanitarian terms, designed to aid stranded seafarers on hundreds of ships that have been stuck in the Persian Gulf since the war began.

Missile alerts in the UAE for the first time since ceasefire

The UAE condemned what it called “renewed treacherous Iranian aggression” and called for an immediate halt to the attacks.

Four missile alerts were issued Monday urging UAE residents to find shelter — the first such alerts since the ceasefire began nearly a month ago. Commercial planes bound for the UAE — home to the global travel hubs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi — turned around midair.

The extent of the attack on Fujairah was unclear, but it is the terminus of a pipeline the UAE has used to avoid shipping some of its oil through the strait. The emirate on the Gulf of Oman is home to extensive oil storage facilities and is the UAE’s main sea access outside the strait.

“These attacks represent a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable violation,” the UAE’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on X.

In Oman, authorities said a residential building near the strait “was targeted,” resulting in two foreign workers wounded, four vehicles damaged and nearby windows shattered. The report carried by state-run media did not provide further details.

Iran seeks to maintain its grip on the strait

Iran’s military command has warned that ships passing through the strait must coordinate with them.

“We warn that any foreign military force — especially the aggressive U.S. military — that intends to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted,” Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi told state broadcaster IRIB.

South Korea said Tuesday that a fire on a South Korean-operated vessel in the Strait of Hormuz has been fully extinguished and that none of the 24 crewmembers were hurt.

Officials earlier said an explosion and fire broke out Monday evening on the Panama-flagged ship operated by South Korean shipping company HMM and that the cause was not immediately known. The vessel had been anchored near the United Arab Emirates in the Strait of Hormuz, and the fire affected its left-side engine.

Trump said in a social media post that Iran had “taken some shots” at vessels including a South Korean cargo ship, without elaborating. South Korean officials have not yet commented on Trump’s call for Seoul to “join the mission” in the strait.

The UAE has accused Iran of targeting a tanker linked to its main oil company with two drones as it navigated the strait. It did not say when the attack occurred. No injuries were reported.

The disruption of the waterway has squeezed countries in Europe and Asia that depend on Persian Gulf oil and gas, raising prices far beyond the region.

The U.S. has warned shipping companies they could face sanctions for paying Iran for transit of the strait.

The U.S. has meanwhile enforced a naval blockade on Iranian ports since April 13, telling at least 49 commercial ships to turn back, according to Central Command.

The blockade has deprived Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy. U.S. officials have expressed hope that the blockade will force Iran to make concessions in talks on its disputed nuclear program and other longstanding issues.

Little progress seen in negotiations

Iran’s latest proposal for ending the war calls for the U.S. lifting sanctions, ending the blockade, withdrawing forces from the region and ceasing all hostilities, including Israel’s operations in Lebanon, according to the semiofficial Nour News and Tasnim agencies, which have close ties to Iran’s security apparatus.

Iranian officials said they were reviewing the U.S. response, though Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters Monday that changing demands made diplomacy difficult. He did not give details.

Iran has claimed its proposal does not include issues related to its nuclear program and enriched uranium — long a driving force in tensions with the U.S. and Israel.

Iran wants other issues resolved within 30 days and aims to end the war rather than extend the ceasefire. Trump expressed doubt over the weekend that the proposal would lead to a deal.

___

Finley reported from Washington and Metz from Ramallah, West Bank. Associated Press journalists Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Fatma Khaled in Cairo; Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pennsylvania; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv; Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul; Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.

The Timberwolves guard made an unexpected return 10 days after hyperextending his left knee, leading Minnesota to a 104-102 victory Monday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

After hitting his first 3-pointer with 1:27 remaining in the first quarter, Edwards turned to the Spurs bench and screamed: “I’m back! I’m back!”

They were already fully aware.

The four-time All-Star had 18 points, including 11 in the final quarter as the Timberwolves held on to hand the Spurs just the second loss in their past 17 series openers at home.

“That’s kind of who he is,” San Antonio guard Dylan Harper said. “Superstar in this league. He’s going to come back and have games like that even though he hasn’t played for a little bit.”

Edwards, who averaged 36.7 points, 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds in three games against the Spurs this season, has stated previously that he enjoys competing against San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama.

They had another duel in Game 1.

Wembanyama had 11 points, 15 rebounds and set an NBA postseason record with 12 blocked shots.

“I don’t think me coming back was because of nothing they got going on,” Edwards said. “It was more so I want to be out there with my brothers. Yeah, just that simple.”

Edwards was expected to miss at least the first two games of the series in San Antonio, but the 6-foot-4 guard expedited his rehabilitation to play in the opener. He was cleared to play 90 minutes before the scheduled tipoff Monday night when Minnesota coach Chris Finch simply said: “He's in.”

“He loves to play the game,” Finch said. “We dodged a bullet when it happened. He’s done an incredible job. Our medical staff has done an unbelievable job of getting him to this point. And he was super motivated by the fact that we were able to get that first series. I think that was kind of a little bit of an inspiration for him, too, just gave him something to work towards.”

Edwards suffered a bone bruise, in addition to hyperextending his left knee, on April 25 during Game 4 of Minnesota’s opening-round series against Denver.

“I think I got the best physical therapist in the world with David Hines," Edwards said of the Timberwolves' vice president of medical operations and performance. "So, just trusting him and working through all the pain that I felt throughout the first two days, three days, and just getting in the pool, running on it. Band work. Just a lot of resistance. So, yeah, he got me right.”

Edwards did not start, but played 25 minutes off the bench, including 9:52 in the final quarter.

“Everybody in the arena is against us,” Edwards said. “Yeah, I think that’s the best thing about it. You start on the road, everybody got on pink, blue, and whatever color shirts there is, chanting ‘Go Spurs Go,’ and doing all that. I’m with Minnesota. I got Minnesota back at all times.

“I’m out there with my brothers and we’re going to war.”

It was uncertain if Edwards will start Game 2 on Wednesday or if his minutes restriction will be lifted, but he is ready regardless.

“I felt great,” Edwards said. “I don’t think I’m limited at all. And just whatever coach needs from me.”

Edwards averaged 28.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 61 games during the regular season. He averaged 36.7 points, 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds in three games against San Antonio this season.

“We figured he would want to play,” Spurs forward Julian Champagnie said. “So, we went over him as if he was playing. There was no difference in the strategy. There was no difference in what we were trying to do. This is what he wants to do. This is what we’re going to do to counter it. May the best man win. That’s just what it was. We’ll just go back to the drawing board.”

The Timberwolves were 2-1 against the Spurs during the regular season.

___

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

“It’s … BIG,” the Olympic skater finally said with a grin.

But what Liu, dressed in a blood-red custom Louis Vuitton gown with a full skirt and huge ruffles, couldn’t quite get was how big SHE had become. Even at a party full of very, very famous people, everyone wanted to greet her.

Some Met Gala guests have been famous for many years. Others have achieved fame with dizzying speed. For Liu, all it took was a gold-medal performance that charmed the whole world.

“Everybody recognizes me!” she said, with genuine surprise, of the crowd packed into the airy Charles Engelhard Court at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “It’s crazy. Imagine that overnight, suddenly everyone knows who you are!”

And then America’s skating sweetheart was off, soon to be spotted laughing with Connor Storrie of “Heated Rivalry,” another star of the night who also arrived from an ice rink.

Some more scenes from inside the Met Gala:

Under a full moon, the strains of harp music

After guests made their way up the carpeted steps to the museum, they entered into the Great Hall, which had been transformed into “a Northern Italian garden,” in the museum’s words. There was a huge moon hanging and swaying from the ceiling, and below it a floral centerpiece surrounded by cypress branches.

A half dozen harpists serenaded the guests, who waited to shake the hands of the gala co-chairs — Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, Vogue’s Anna Wintour, and honorary chair Lauren Sánchez Bezos — but not, for now, the late-arriving Beyoncé.

The receiving line was a long wait, reported Sarah Paulson.

“I waited 45 minutes,” the actor said, explaining why she hadn’t made it yet to the Conde M. Nast Galleries to see the fashion exhibit, “Costume Art,” which examines the dressed body through centuries of art history. Her feet hurt. “You could cut my legs off at the ankle,” she said.

Lobster crostini and tomato-mozzarella pillows

As the Engelhard court gradually filled, guests milled about snacking on lobster crostini or tomato and mozzarella “pillows.”

Zoë Kravitz, who headed the host committee, greeted Storrie — did we mention he was a top attraction? — and complimented him on his work. Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid sat quietly chatting on the sidelines, hand in hand.

Near them, Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster did the same. Jackman stood up when skier Lindsey Vonn came by, giving her a hug. Vonn, who suffered a traumatic leg injury at the Winter Olympics, used only a cane and sparkled in a Thom Browne gown.

Billionaires, he’s seen ‘em before

Ever since Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos had been announced as honorary chairs, there had been anti-billionaire backlash in liberal New York City. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would not come. A group called Everyone Hates Elon — a reference to Musk — had plastered posters at bus stops, like one on the East Side saying “Dress code: Willful ignorance,” and on subways.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, though, had a different take. He'd attended a few Met Galas, and said billionaires were nothing new.

“There have always been billionaires here,” Sharpton said. “I may not agree with everything Bezos does, but do I abandon Beyoncé and Venus Williams?” He also praised Wintour for paying attention to diversity. “I opted to come.”

He said the gala “brings a cultured meeting space” for people who haven't yet met.

A date night for Jon Batiste

At previous galas, Jon Batiste has performed, sometimes leading a musical band with his melodica to get crowds to head to dinner. This time around, he had no gala responsibilities — and he was happy.

After all, he said, “it’s date night” with his wife, Suleika Jaouad. “A night in the museum,” he quipped. The couple were dinner guests of Wintour herself.

Batiste wore a look by Eli Russell Linnetz that he said echoed the work of late Black portraitist Barkley L. Hendricks — a long white coat and white ensemble underneath. Hendricks often juxtaposed Black skin with white clothes, Batiste noted. Jaouad wore a sumptuous Christian Siriano gown.

Progress in the fight for diversity

Sinéad Burke, the Irish disability activist, said that when she was first approached to be on the host committee, “I said no.”

Unless, she says she told organizers, they made the gala fully accessible.

They did, Burke says, arranging for a step-free entrance for guests who need it, south of the main entrance.

Burke ended up working closely with the museum for 18 months before the gala. She made sure there was room for disabled press to cover the gala carpet. She and her organization, Tilting the Lens, also helped train guides who will assist the public when they view “Costume Art,” which has a large section on the disabled body.

And Burke herself, who was born with dwarfism, agreed to pose for a custom mannequin; two outfits are displayed on mannequins created in her image.

“I’m proud of the small moments,” she said.

But a step backward, elsewhere

Model Lauren Wasser, also on the host committee, attended in a custom Prabal Gurung ensemble all in gold, including her trademark gold prosthetic legs.

She said she was glad the museum was shining a light on diversity in body types. But she cautioned that in the outside world, things are looking bleaker. (Research has found that designers are starting to turn away from using plus-size models, for example.)

“I want to see it in real life, too,” Wasser said of such diversity. “We had a moment. But we’ve taken a step back.”

Wearing silver, feeling golden

The songwriter who won an Oscar for “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” was wearing, well, silver. But she said she was feeling golden.

In fact, EJAE, part of the team that won best original song for the impossibly catchy tune, said she was trying to channel a specific lyric with her gown, a Swarovski number dripping with crystals.

“I’m done hidin’, now I’m shinin’ like I’m born to be,” the song goes.

“I wanted to literally be shining,” EJAE said. Mission accomplished.

Sarah Paulson has the Met’s secrets — remember?

This wasn’t the first rodeo for Paulson. In fact in was her sixth Met Gala, she said.

But Paulson has more after-hours experience at the Met. She shot the movie “Ocean’s 8” there, a film about a heist during … the Met Gala.

“I spent a lot of time here — I know the secrets,” Paulson said. “They should watch out!”

Asked if six Met Galas got a little tiresome, Paulson said they did not.

“You can’t really believe the people here and the oxygen you’re sharing,” the actor said. “People from all the great talents of the world.”

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are Heidi Klum fans

Dinner was under way. Beyoncé had arrived, with Jay-Z and Blue Ivy.

But the assembled media on the carpet and various staffers in the museum lobby weren’t breaking for the night. There was one more big arrival to come. Yes, Rihanna.

When she and partner A$AP Rocky arrived in the Great Hall, they stopped for photos quickly and then headed toward the Temple of Dendur for dinner. But then they ran into Heidi Klum, who knows her way around a costume, virtually unrecognizable as a marble statue.

The couple spent 10 minutes or so laughing with Klum and complimenting her.

“This is the coolest outfit tonight, ain’t gonna lie,” A$AP Rocky noted.

“Oh my god, I can’t stand you!” Rihanna said admiringly.

“How much did they pay you to just stand here for the rest of the night?” the singer asked the statue. They all laughed.

She is among a number of Mexican American business owners who've become more vocal about also honoring Mexican history and the significance of the holiday, as a way to combat anti-immigrant sentiments amid heightened immigration enforcement efforts that have targeted Latino communities.

Mendoza, owner of Cuernavaca’s Grill in Los Angeles, said she prefers a celebration that reflects “everything that as a community we’re enduring today.” So, Mendoza will host Cinco de Mayo festivities at her restaurant that, along with traditional mariachi and Mexican cuisine, will include a nod to Mexican perseverance over the French in the Battle of Puebla over 160 years ago.

“Just looking at how much they did with very little resources,” she said. “It just showed resilience. So, on Cinco de Mayo we always make it a testament of our resilience.”

Restaurants owners aren't the first Latino community leaders to reclaim Cinco de Mayo in the U.S. — moving away from a flattening of Mexican culture toward highlighting history and community. This year, the celebrations are noticeably embracing traditional Mexican culture and focused on preservation, said Sehila Mota Casper, director of Latinos in Heritage Conservation.

“These are just incredible moments of educating and knowledge sharing,” Mota Casper said. “The more we educate, the more knowledge we share, the better a community and people we become.”

Restaurants emphasize authenticity over tequila shots

Hispanic-owned firms accounted for 8.4% of 5.9 million U.S. employers in 2024, according to the Census Bureau's annual survey of businesses. They also were approximately 18% of all restaurant businesses in the United States last month, according to the National Restaurant Association, which uses census data.

U.S. revelers hoping to crowd restaurants and toss back shots of tequila may find more wholesome and intentionally planned offerings, said Raul Luis, who owns the Birrieria Chalio Mexican Restaurant, with locations in Los Angeles and Fort Worth, Texas. On Cinco de Mayo, he wants his customers to eat and drink the types of “guisados” — traditional Mexican braises or stews served as taco filling — that one would eat when invited into a Mexican family's home.

Well-made, traditional cooking will keep customers coming back, even if they aren’t Hispanic, Luis said.

“It’s the ultimate opportunity for restaurants to take advantage of that moment and bring them in and entice them to authentic Mexican food,” Luis said.

What Cinco de Mayo celebrates

Cinco de Mayo marks the anniversary of the 1862 victory by Mexican troops over invading French forces at the Battle of Puebla. The triumph over much larger French troops who were better-equipped was an enormous emotional boost for Mexican soldiers led by Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza.

In Mexico, historical reenactments are held annually in the central city of Puebla to commemorate the victory. Participants dress as Mexican and French troops and as Zacapoaxtlas — the Indigenous and farmer contingent that helped Mexican troops win.

In the U.S., May 5 is seen as a day to celebrate Mexican American culture, stretching back to the 1800s in California. Festivities typically include parades, street food, block parties, mariachi competitions and baile.

Folklórico, or folkloric ballet, features whirling dancers in bright, ruffled dresses and their hair tied with shiny ribbons.

The day often is mistaken for Mexican Independence Day, which is on Sept. 16.

Latino activists and scholars say that disconnect in the U.S. is bolstered by the hazy history of Cinco de Mayo and marketing that plays on stereotypes that include fake, droopy mustaches and gigantic, colorful sombreros.

A testament to Mexican resilience

Since returning to the White House in 2025, President Donald Trump has continued to label Mexican immigrants as criminals and gang members, and Latino communities have been a target of his hard-line immigration tactics. Memes shared from official White House social media accounts perpetuate negative stereotypes about Latinos, while a federally led English-only initiative and ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs all seem to target communities of color.

All together, it's generated a great deal of fear in Latino communities.

Mendoza, the Los Angeles restaurant owner, said it’s also been a hard time for the restaurant industry because of rising costs. But in spite of it all, Cuernavaca’s Grill will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

As part of the restaurant's Cinco de Mayo festivities, she'll invite customers to contribute to a food and toy drive meant to support those who are struggling in the current climate.

“This is a testament of our resilience,” Mendoza said. “It’s a testament of our hard work. It is pride to our community and everything that we’ve accomplished.”

The Trump administration’s campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters has persisted since early September and killed at least 188 people in total. Other strikes have taken place in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Despite the Iran war, the series of strikes have ramped up again in recent weeks, showing that the administration’s aggressive measures to stop what it calls “narcoterrorism” in the Western Hemisphere are not letting up. The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs.

The attacks began as the U.S. built up its largest military presence in the region in generations and came months ahead of the raid in January that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He was brought to New York to face drug trafficking charges and has pleaded not guilty.

In the latest attack Monday, U.S. Southern Command repeated previous statements by saying it had targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. It posted a video on X showing a boat moving along the water before a massive explosion engulfs the vessel in flames.

President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and fatal overdoses claiming American lives. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.”

Critics, meanwhile, have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes.

Game 2 in the best-of-seven Western Conference series is Wednesday night in Las Vegas.

Barbashev took advantage after officials did not call icing, which didn't sit well with Ducks coach Joel Quenneville. It was Barbashev's pass from behind the red line to teammate Jack Eichel, who was battling Anaheim's Jackson LaCombe for the puck, that linesman Bevan Mills waved off for icing.

Officials declined to comment to a pool reporter.

“Clearly, I disagreed with the call,” said Quenneville, who said he did not receive an explanation from the officials. “Their guy stopped skating, which really made me annoyed.”

Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said he couldn't see the play from his spot behind the bench. Barbashev kept skating once no call was made as Ducks players appeared to slow up.

“I tried to put the puck deep and I thought I saw Jack on the far side going deep and I thought for a second he (beat LaCombe) and that's why they waved it off,” Barbashev said. “Jack put pressure on him, they turned it over and Pav made a great play.”

Vegas' Brett Howden extended his goal streak to a career-best four games, his fifth during that span. Mitch Marner, who assisted on Howden's goal early in the second period, added a 162-foot empty-net goal with 6 seconds left, and Carter Hart stopped 33 shots for the Golden Knights.

Mikael Granlund scored for Anaheim, and Lukas Dostal made 19 saves.

The Golden Knights prevailed despite being outshot 34-22.

“They were the better team tonight,” Tortorella said. “I thought as the game went on, we started finding our game, but we couldn't find it completely. ... It's a find-a-way league. We found a way to win, and I'm certainly not going to apologize for the win.”

Vegas’ penalty kill continued to shine, extending its stretch to 14 straight without giving up a goal by keeping the Ducks off the scoreboard on four chances. Anaheim converted 8 of 16 power plays in the first round against Edmonton. The Golden Knights are 19 of 20 on penalty kills.

Golden Knights center William Karlsson, out since sustaining a lower-body injury Nov. 8 against the Ducks, returned to the lineup. The crowd roared when Karlsson was shown on the video board after taking the ice less than three minutes into the game.

The Ducks dominated the early action, outshooting Vegas 11-6 in the first period and then controlling the puck to open the second. But the Golden Knights scored first with their first shot on goal in the second when Marner made a pinpoint pass from the right circle to Howden, who scored easily from the left side of the net.

It didn’t appear the lead would last long when Ducks top-line center Leo Carlsson made a dazzling spin move to set up LaCombe with an an open net. LaCombe, however, inexplicably passed up the shot for a pass, and the Golden Knights avoided what appeared would be a sure Ducks goal.

Just as time was starting to run out on the Ducks in the third, they didn’t waste their next opportunity. LaCombe made up for his previous gaffe by walking in on Hart before delivering a pass to Granlund, who was open in the right circle and scored at 13:57.

The tie didn’t last long, with Dorofeyev passing to Barbashev to put the Golden Knights ahead 2-1 just 65 seconds later.

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

Edwards was expected to miss at least the first two games of the series after suffering a bone bruise and hyperextending his left knee on April 25 during Game 4 of Minnesota’s opening-round series against Denver. But he had 11 points in the fourth quarter as Minnesota held on to hand San Antonio only its second loss in its last 17 series openers at home.

“Nobody expected him to play,” Timberwolves veteran Mike Conley said. “It was just his level of commitment to the game. Not just to the game, but to his teammates. It showed a lot.”

Wembanyama had 11 points and 15 rebounds and set an NBA postseason record with 12 blocks. He's the third player to get a triple-double in the playoffs including blocks since the league began tracking blocks in 1973-74.

San Antonio cut the deficit to 104-102 on a steal by Devin Vassell and layup by Dylan Harper with 31 seconds remaining. Following a miss by Minnesota's Julius Randle, Julian Champagnie couldn't connect on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“We have to be better,” Wembanyama said. “It shows up on the stat sheet. We need to figure out before 48 hours what we can do better and I’ve got no doubt that we will. I trust us.”

Randle finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Harper scored 18 points and Champagnie and Stephon Castle had 17 each for the Spurs.

Edwards worked diligently to return for Minnesota with guards Donte DiVincenzo (torn right Achilles tendon) and Ayo Dosunmu (right calf soreness) out with injuries.

“I know for a fact, just me being out there, it calms everybody down," Edwards said. “Not saying there’s any pressure on any of my teammates, but it takes pressure off of everybody just knowing that I’m out there, I’m available to play, yeah. And just doing what I do best, just trying to put the ball in the hoop.”

After draining a stepback 3-pointer early in the game, Edwards looked toward the Spurs bench and screamed: “I’m back! I’m back!”

He definitely was.

Edwards did not start, entering the game with 6:53 remaining in the first quarter and the Timberwolves trailing 11-8. He finished 8 for 13 in 25 minutes.

Game 2 is Wednesday in San Antonio.

Wembanyama had seven blocks in the first half. The NBA Defensive Player of the Year opened the game by blocking a pair of driving layups from Terrence Shannon Jr. on consecutive possessions. Two minutes later, he blocked Gobert’s driving layup just under the rim.

Wembanyama finished 5 for 17 from the field.

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