Pashinyan and the governing Civil Contract party were looking for a strong mandate for a new geopolitical course for Armenia, including distancing the former Soviet republic from Moscow, seeking to join the European Union and deepening cooperation with the West.

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

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

Pashinyan’s main opponent, Samvel Karapetyan, is a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia and is under house arrest for allegedly advocating for the government’s overthrow. Karapetyan, whose pro-Russian Strong Armenia bloc was the runner-up with 23.28% of the vote, has rejected the charge as politically motivated.

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

While the Central Election Commission says it has counted ballots from all electoral precincts, full official results are only expected on Sunday. This is to give political parties time to lodge complaints about any perceived electoral irregularities.

‘Referendum on the future of the country'

Richard Giragosian, who heads the independent Regional Studies Center think tank in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, described the vote as a “pivotal election” that “stands as a referendum on the future of the country.”

“This election provides a fresh mandate on sustaining the positive momentum of diplomatic engagement, normalization of relations with neighbors, and the continued diversification of Armenia’s security partners,” Giragosian told the AP on Monday.

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

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

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

Pashinyan's party set to rule on its own

According to Armenia’s Central Election Commission, the Hayastan (Armenia) bloc led by former President Robert Kocharyan is also set to enter parliament, receiving 9.93% of the vote.

The Prosperous or Blossoming Armenia party, led by pro-Russia business owner Gagik Tsarukyan, polled at 3.99% according to the latest preliminary results, just short of the 4% threshold. Earlier preliminary results had given Prosperous Armenia the requisite 4% of the vote.

Turnout stood at 58.94%, according to the latest announcement by the election commission.

Preliminary results from the election commission suggested the governing party has won 61 seats in the National Assembly, or 58.1% of all mandates.

“This is enough to form a government without coalition partners, elect a prime minister, adopt the government program and state budget, as well as adopt most of the laws and parliamentary decisions independently,” said Giragosian, the analyst.

At the same time, he added, the result would not give Pashinyan the parliamentary majority needed to secure constitutional amendments without a referendum.

PM vows to continue peace process with neighboring Azerbaijan

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

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

Pashinyan announced on Monday that Armenia intends to write the peace deal with Azerbaijan into law in the near future.

“It is important to confirm that this is a truly transformative project, as Armenia is becoming a crossroads of the world,” Pashinyan said at a meeting of a parliamentary committee on state and legal affairs. His remark was a potential reference to the country's strategic geographical position, bridging Europe's hungry energy markets and Central Asia's gas fields.

EU leaders congratulate Pashinyan on winning

Top EU officials congratulated Pashinyan following the tightly contested race, seen in Europe as a litmus test of Russia’s influence.

“The spirit of the Velvet Revolution you led in 2018 is alive and well,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday in a social media post, referring to the mass protests sparked by Pashinyan's activism that unseated Armenia's former Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan.

“We deeply value our partnership with a democratic Armenia that is drawing ever closer to Europe. Armenia can count on us," von der Leyen added.

European Council President António Costa also congratulated Pashinyan.

“Together, the EU and Armenia are building stronger links between people and creating new opportunities in energy, trade, and digitalization. Our strong partnership is an investment in a more peaceful and prosperous future for the region as a whole," he said in a post on X.

Asked about the outcome of Armenia’s election, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refrained from comments pending the release of full official results.

He told reporters that “we carefully note all the reports concerning the elections, including the reports about numerous violations that took place during the elections.”

——

AP writer Sam McNeil contributed from Brussels.

——

An earlier version of this story wrongly stated that according to an earlier announcement by Armenia's election commission, turnout in the general election on Sunday stood at 97%. The correct figure at that time was 59.97%.

Israeli authorities said three waves of Iranian missiles targeted the country. Explosions could be heard in central Israel as Israeli air defenses sought to intercept the incoming Iranian fire.

The Iranian attack came after Israel launched strikes on central and western Iran early Monday in response to missile fire from Tehran, in the most serious crossfire since an April 8 ceasefire was reached in the Iran war.

Tehran warned of retaliation after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday in defiance of Washington’s request days ago to stand down.

The Israeli strikes came in apparent defiance of U.S. President Donald Trump, who told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he doesn’t think Israel needs to respond further.

Here's the Latest:

Trump claims negotiations are ongoing

Trump later posted again to his Truth Social website, insisting that both Israel and Iran were “looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!”

He claimed negotiations were ongoing, “subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way.”

Israel says it targeted Iranian petrochemical facilities

The Israeli military said it targeted petrochemical facilities in Mahshahr to hit sites used to produce “unique materials that serve as critical components for the development of ballistic missiles.”

Trump says Israel and Iran must stop shooting

In his first comments since Iran and Israel traded fire, Trump wrote online: “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting.’”

Iraq closes airspace for 72 hours

Iraq’s Civil Aviation Authority on Monday said the closure was a “precautionary measure” to preserve the safety and security of civil aviation.

It added that the decision will be subject to continuous review and reassessment and airlines and relevant sides will be notified of any new developments.

29 Lebanese army members have been killed in Israeli strikes since March

Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos released the toll Monday, two days after an Israeli airstrike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon killed three members of the Lebanese army, including a brigadier general and a captain.

Morcos said that since the Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2, three police, one member of the General Security Directorate and 13 state security members have been killed in Israeli attacks. Also killed was a member of the parliament’s security.

A total of 3,613 people have been killed, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The Israeli military has said it operates against Hezbollah and not against the Lebanese army.

▶ Read more

Syria temporary closes Damascus airport as Iran and Israel trade fire

Damascus International Airport will remain closed until 11 p.m. (2200 GMT) Monday.

Syria’s General Authority of Civil Aviation closed the country’s southern airspace, which includes Damascus. The measure is related to the latest exchange of fire between Iran and Israel, it said.

Air defenses in Tehran and other cities open fire

Just before noon, air defense systems around Tehran and multiple Iranian cities opened fire, with some claims of attacks ongoing.

Oil prices rise sharply

Oil prices surged as Israel launched airstrikes early Monday targeting central and western Iran in response to missile fire.

Brent crude, the international standard, jumped $4.40 to $97.49 a barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude surged $3.95 to $94.49 a barrel.

The latest spate of attacks was straining efforts to end the conflict as a tentative deal reached last week to extend a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has not yet been finalized.

▶ Read more

Israel says it targeted Iranian missile launchers

Israel’s military said it targeted truck-based surface-to-air missile launchers in its strikes Monday on Iran.

It said Iran had deployed the systems across the country in a bid to restore its capabilities that were degraded earlier in the war.

Iran says US responsible for any escalation caused by Israel

An Iranian official warned Monday that the United States is “responsible for the consequences of any escalation” in the Middle East caused by Israel.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei made the comment in a briefing with journalists on Monday in Tehran.

“No one believes that the Israeli regime would take any action without coordination with the United States,” Baghaei said. “The United States bears responsibility for the Israeli regime’s aggression, and it will also be responsible for the consequences of any escalation in tensions.”

Israeli rescue services say no injures so far from Iranian missile attack

Israel’s rescue services said there were not any known injuries from the latest round of missiles from Iran.

Rescue services are searching a number of sites for possible fragments from interceptions.

Iran launches third wave of missiles at Israel

The Israeli military urged people to take shelter. Similar alerts sounded in neighboring Jordan.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim missile attack on Israel

The Iran-backed rebels also said that Israel-affiliated vessels would again be a target in the Red Sea.

The statement from Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree was broadcast on the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel.

It’s another new escalation as the nominal ceasefire in the Iran war is being challenged by crossfire between Israel and Iran.

Iran claims attacks, says it targeted military bases

Iran claimed the attacks on Israel, saying their fire targeted two military bases in Israel.

The paramilitary Revolutionary Guard described the attack as being part of Operation Nasr, or “Victory.” The Guard said it launched the missile fire after Israel targeted radar sites in three areas of Iran, without elaborating.

The Israeli military says it hit petrochemical complex in Iran

Israel’s military says it him a petrochemical complex in southwestern Iran. It did not provide details.

The semiofficial Fars and Mehr news agencies said Israeli strikes hit a petrochemical factory in city of Mahshahr in Khuzestan province. It did not elaborate on the damage done.

Israel issues all clear after a second wave of Iranian missiles

Israel issued an all-clear after warning of a second wave of inbound missiles from Iran.

It was the second alert without any interceptions being heard in the country.

The Iranian fire comes after Israel launched strikes on Iran early Monday in the most-serious crossfire since an April 8 ceasefire was reached in the Iran war.

Sirens sound near Israel’s main nuclear research site

Israel said it detected a barrage of missiles from Iran toward central and southern Israel on Monday morning. Loud explosions were heard over central Israel, and missiles also targeted southern Israel, near the city of Dimona and Arad.

The remote desert city of Dimona houses Israel’s main nuclear research center, which opened in 1958. Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, though its leaders neither confirm nor deny this.

Iran targeted Dimona and Arad during the last round of conflict, injuring more than two dozen people.

No impact or casualties in Israel from Yemen missile launch

Israel’s rescue services said there were no reports of casualties or impacts from the launch from Yemen.

Israel cancels school nationwide as conflict escalates

Israel’s military updated its guidelines for civilians on Sunday evening, limiting large gatherings and canceling school across the country.

It is the first time school has been canceled across Israel since the earlier round of fighting with Iran in April, though schools in Israel’s northern border had been closed for much longer due to the threat of Hezbollah fire.

Israel says missile launched from Yemen

Israel said Monday that it detected a missile launched from Yemen targeting the country. Sirens sounded across Israel after the Yemen missile fire warning.

Yemen is home to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The Houthis have fired missiles at Israel during the Israel-Hamas war and later, but haven’t been fully involved in the Iran war.

Saudi Arabia sounds missile alerts

Saudi Arabia sounded missile alert sirens Monday morning in an area home to an air base that hosts U.S. forces. Saudi state media reported the alert around its Al Kharj governorate, home to Prince Sultan Air Base.

It did not elaborate. The alert came after Israel launched strikes targeting Iran.

Trump had urged Israel not to respond

Speaking to The Financial Times, Trump before the Israeli strike on Iran insisted he dictated terms to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on how the war should be prosecuted.

“He won’t have any choice,” Trump told the newspaper in a telephone interview. “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He (Netanyahu) doesn’t call the shots.”

White House has no immediate comment

The White House did not respond to messages Sunday about the strikes and whether they were done in coordination with the U.S.

Iran closes airspace around its main airport following Israeli strikes

Iran closes airspace around Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, country’s main airfield, after Israeli attack.

Israel strikes central and Western Iran

Israel says it strikes central and Western Iran after missile fire; Tehran says explosions heard in several cities

Users of credit cards that accrue airline miles and points toward various travel perks are likely to find their balances won’t take them as far this summer.

As jet fuel prices have jumped during the Iran war, so have the cost of airline tickets and fees for checking bags. Airfares in April were 21% higher than a year earlier, the Labor Department reported last week. Flights already are more expensive during the summer since there’s more demand.

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That means travelers who wanted to use an airline-branded credit card or a travel rewards card from a bank with a specific trip or a first-class seat in mind may have to shell out some cash, choose a different destination or fly at inconvenient times to get the most out of their accounts, travel experts say.

Frequent flyers

In the early years of frequent flyer programs, airlines published tables that showed customers how much a higher class of service or flying a certain distance would cost in miles. Nearly all airlines now continuously adjust their airfares, an algorithim-powered strategy known as dynamic pricing.

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Flights priced in points are based on overall demand, just like regular fares. The cash value of those seats often will roughly equal the same in points. Higher airfares typically translate into needing more miles or points to buy a ticket.

Long before the current disruption to global oil supplies, consumers, a pair of U.S. senators and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg cried foul over the airline practice of increasing the number of points or miles needed to earn a free flight or offering fewer redeemable seats before people could cash in their loyalty stockpiles.

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“There’s no question that dynamic award pricing, higher redemption rates on some domestic routes, and added fees have made it harder to find the outsized deals that travelers enjoyed a decade ago,” said Brian Kelly, the travel and credit card rewards expert better known as The Points Guy. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean points have lost value. It just means consumers need to be more strategic about how they redeem them.”

Earning loyalty

Now, the better news.

There are a lot of ways to accrue airline miles, and most don’t come with an expiration date. Signing up for an airline’s frequent flyer program is the simplest method and usually doesn’t cost anything. Depending on the carrier, members can earn miles when they fly with the airline or its partners and can redeem them for perks like discounted flights, seat upgrades or checked bags. Higher tiers of loyalty programs can also unlock benefits like priority boarding or waived baggage fees.

Major airlines also partner with banks to market co-branded credit cards that carry an annual fee. The cards earn users miles whenever they buy something.

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“When you’re going to spend money anyway, you might as well get something back for it,” said Adam Morvitz, a credit card miles expert and CEO of point.me, a travel loyalty platform. “If you’re already buying groceries, paying for gas or booking a hotel, a travel rewards card turns that everyday spending into points that can fund your next trip.”

This is where being a frequent flyer or having an airline credit card might yield summer savings. To offset their jet fuel costs, some U.S. airlines have raised the checked baggage fees for domestic flights and many short-haul international flights. United Airlines raised the price of the first checked bag from $40 to $50. Delta Air Lines’ first checked bag fee went from $35 to $45.

The airlines still are allowing customers in the upper tiers of their loyalty programs or who hold credit cards like the Delta SkyMiles Card from American Express or United’s card with Chase to check a bag for free.

Extra miles

Financial institutions like American Express, Chase Bank and CitiBank issue their own travel credit cards that supply points with purchases. Travelers that want the option of flying with more airlines tend to favor these. Depending on the card, perks can include airport lounge access, travel insurance, no foreign transaction fees and TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credits.

“For those who spend responsibly, the value is incredible as you’re able to get more in value from the perks, even if there is an annual fee,” he said.

For beginners, Morvitz recommends flexible points cards over airline-specific options because they can be transferred across loyalty programs and provide more redemption options if an airline changes its award pricing. He said consumers should match a card to their actual spending habits — such as choosing cards with bonus categories for groceries or dining — while also considering whether annual fees are justified by the benefits they’ll actually use.

A lot of banks are promoting sizable sign-up bonuses while people make summer plans, such as offering 100,000 miles or even 150,000 miles or points to new customers who qualify and spend a certain amount of money within a specific period — usually the first three months. Kelly said the bonuses make it a good time to get one of these cards, which might make trips more affordable for people needing extra points.

Those sign-up offers also can be among the most valuable features of rewards cards, sometimes worth more than $1,000 in travel, Morvitz said. But consumers should carefully track minimum spending requirements to qualify. He also recommends using category bonuses and shopping portals to maximize rewards and always attaching a frequent flyer number to airline reservations.

Pay as you go

The important thing to remember is that the value of a bank travel card or an airline loyalty card evaporates if you carry a balance. The average credit card interest rate is between 21% and 24%, so even carrying a $1,000 balance can quickly wipe out any savings from a complimentary checked bag.

“Travel rewards cards are one of the best financial tools available to responsible cardholders, but they’re designed for people who treat them like a debit card,” Morvitz said. “Spend what you’d spend anyway and always pay the balance in full each month. The moment you start carrying a balance and paying interest, the math works against you.”

Hotels are another place where travelers may not get as much from their rewards points this summer. Hyatt overhauled its loyalty program this week to take it from three tiers to five. While some lower-cost hotel stays will require the same number of points, the same might not be true for Hyatt’s more upscale properties.

The travel blog One Mile at a Time estimated that some of Hyatt’s most elite properties would cost as much as 67% more with points under the new system.

“If you’re sitting on hotel points, don’t sit and hoard them. ... They quickly seem to be getting less valuable,” said Sally French, who covers credit cards and loyalty programs for Nerd Wallet.

The war, launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 with strikes on Iran, has shaken the global economy, driven energy prices up around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive. Officials have been unable to turn the ceasefire, agreed April 8, into a deal to permanently end the conflict.

During the truce, Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passage for the world’s oil and natural gas and the primary reason global fuel prices skyrocketed. Israel has continued to strike Hezbollah, Iran’s ally in Lebanon, and pushed deeper into that country. And on Monday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, another Iranian ally, fired at Israel and warned they would target Israel-affiliated ships in the Red Sea.

With little apparent progress in the peace talks, Israel and Iran firing at each other again, and the Houthis joining the fight, the risk of the war fully erupting again appeared higher than at any point since the ceasefire.

In his first comments since the exchange of fire, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote online: “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting.’”

Diplomats are racing to save the ceasefire

Two regional officials said concerted diplomatic efforts were underway Monday to salvage the ceasefire between Iran and the United States.

Officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Qatar have urged the Trump administration to pressure Israel to rein in its strikes on Iran and Beirut. They have also urged Iranian officials to stop attacks on Israel, they said. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

One of the officials, who is involved in mediation efforts between Iran and the U.S., said the Pakistan-led mediators were furious about the Israeli strike Sunday on Beirut’s southern suburbs, which came while Pakistan’s interior minister was in Tehran in a fresh bid to push U.S.-Iranian negotiations forward.

Israel and Iran traded strikes

Iran launched waves of attacks on Israel on Monday, and Israel launched strikes on central and western Iran. It was their first exchange of fire since the ceasefire.

Iranian state television reported the sound of explosions being heard in Isfahan, Karaj, Tabriz and Tehran, without immediately elaborating. Iran closed the airspace around Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport after the Israeli attack.

The semiofficial Fars and Mehr news agencies said Israeli strikes hit a petrochemical factory in the city of Mahshahr in Khuzestan province. They did not elaborate on any damage. The Israeli military later confirmed the strike on the petrochemical plant and also said it targeted truck-based missile launchers.

Israel said its strikes were in response to an Iranian missile attack. Tehran had warned on Sunday it would retaliate after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning. When Israel struck back, Iran fired again.

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted two military bases in Israel, describing the attacks as being part of Operation Nasr, or “Victory.” The Guard said it launched the missiles after Israel targeted radar sites in three areas of Iran.

Explosions could be heard in central Israel as air defenses sought to intercept incoming Iranian fire. Sirens also sounded across neighboring Jordan.

Iran blamed the United States for the escalation.

“No one believes that the Israeli regime would take any action without coordination with the United States,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said during a briefing with journalists in Tehran. “The United States bears responsibility for the Israeli regime’s aggression.”

Tensions appear to be growing between Trump and Netanyahu

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the war in a closely coordinated attack, with Israeli officials proudly boasting of unprecedented “shoulder to shoulder” cooperation throughout the conflict, which reached 100 days on Monday.

But since the first strikes, the two men have moved in opposite directions, with tensions sometimes spilling out into the open. Netanyahu appears to have openly defied Trump with his strike Sunday in Beirut and subsequent attacks in Iran, while Trump has voiced his displeasure with Israel, occasionally cursing or belittling Netanyahu by declaring to the Financial Times that "I call all the shots."

The White House did not respond to messages about Monday's Israeli strikes and whether they were done in coordination with the U.S.

The differences between the leaders appear to be rooted in the domestic considerations of each. Netanyahu faces elections this fall and is under heavy public pressure to strike back against ongoing Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel. He also is wary of appearing too subservient to Trump.

The U.S. president, meanwhile, also faces elections — for Congress in November — and is eager to wrap up a war that has jolted the global economy and raised prices for consumers.

The Houthis claimed an attack on Israel

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed an attack on Israel on Monday and said Israel-affiliated vessels would again be a target in the Red Sea, putting the waterway, as well as the Gulf of Aden and the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting them, in danger. The statement from Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree was broadcast on the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel.

The threat might serve to further drive up oil prices since Saudi Arabia is using its East-West Pipeline to export oil through the Red Sea as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis made a similar threat during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and killed at least nine mariners and sank four ships in over 100 attacks, often targeting vessels with tangential or no ties to Israel.

The assaults upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passed each year before the war.

___

This story has been updated to correct the day the Iran war started to Feb. 28.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington; Michelle L. Price in Bridgewater, New Jersey; Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece; and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.

Hope you had a great weekend. Welcome back!

Let’s dive into some news on the morning, shall we. Our biggest story of the morning is coming out of one of Houston’s most popular suburbs, Sugar Land.

Police are searching for the man who is accused of assaulting a nanny with a baseball bat. The incident happened on Sunday, according to the Sugar Land Police. Police said the woman was walking when an unknown man approached her and assaulted her with a bat before fleeing in an SUV. The woman’s husband said she was caring for a child when the attack happened.

Police are searching for the suspect.

To read more, click here.

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YOUR MORNING FORECAST ☀️

TODAY:88° TONIGHT: 77°

KPRC 2 Meteorologist says:

“We’re waking up in the mid-70s with a high in the upper 80s. There was limited rain on Monday. Isolated to spotty showers move in from the coast and move northeast. This is a much-needed break from the widespread daily downpours, and it is all thanks to high pressure. This pattern will heat Houston; with temperatures and humidity combined, there will be several days when it feels like 100 degrees!”

Get your forecast details here.

TOP STORIES

Man charged with murder after father killed while trying to recover son’s stolen truck, authorities say

An arrest has been made in the shooting death of a Houston-area father who investigators say was killed while trying to help recover his son’s stolen truck in north Harris County.

According to authorities, 37-year-old London Hogan made his first court appearance Sunday night and is facing multiple charges, including murder, aggravated assault and aggravated robbery.

Person killed, 3 injured in 2-vehicle crash along Beltway 8 in Pasadena

An investigation is underway after a crash along Beltway 8 leaves one dead and three injured Sunday afternoon, according to Pasadena Police Department.

The two-vehicle crash was reported at 3:11 p.m. on Pasadena Boulevard and Beltway 8 service road.

Trader Joe’s shoppers could get nearly $100 from $7.4 million settlement, deadline to file claim is approaching

Trader Joe’s customers who may have received receipts containing too much payment card information could be eligible for a cash payment from a $7.4 million class-action settlement, but the deadline to file a claim is quickly approaching.

The lawsuit, filed in California, alleged that Trader Joe’s printed the first six and last four digits of customers’ credit or debit card numbers on receipts from a limited number of transactions at certain store locations.

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We’re waking up in the mid-70s with a high in the upper 80s. There was limited rain on Monday. Isolated to spotty showers move in from the coast and move northeast.

This is a much-needed break from the widespread daily downpours, and it is all thanks to high pressure. This pattern will heat Houston; with temperatures and humidity combined, there will be several days when it feels like 100 degrees!

CHECK RADAR HERE: YOU CAN TRACK RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS BEFORE YOU LEAVE YOUR HOUSE

More tropical moisture on the way?

We’re watching tropical moisture building up in the Gulf. Depending on its movement, it could reach southeast Texas next week. That would bring back the risk of downpours and flooding if it lifts in our area.

Your extended forecast:

The forecast is expected to trend drier as we get to the start of next week. Have your plans ready for changing weather, keep the Storm Tracker 2 radar handy, and check back for the latest local updates.

Russia’s defense ministry said its forces shot down 310 Ukrainian drones overnight into Monday, including over the Moscow region, western and southwestern Russia, Russian-occupied Crimea, and the Black and Azov Seas.

Russia targeted Ukraine with 155 drones, of which Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 124, according to Ukraine's Air Force.

Ukraine’s General Staff said Ukrainian forces had struck Russia’s Krasnodar Krai region overnight. The General Staff said the Grushovaya oil transshipment base near Novorossiysk. The complex is one of the largest transshipment hubs in southern Russia for oil and petroleum products.

Russian regional authorities confirmed a Ukrainian drone sparked a fire at the facility, adding that there were no casualties. While they did not comment on the extent of damage, they said 130 rescue workers and 39 pieces of equipment were involved in putting out the blaze.

The Krasny Yar “linear production and dispatching station” in the Volgograd region was also hit, the General Staff said. A fire broke out at the site, according to the statement. Russian Gov. Andrei Bocharov didn’t specify what the facility produces, but said there were no injuries.

Ukraine also carried out strikes overnight in the Semykolodezkaya oil base in the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula on Sunday night, sparking a fire at the facility.

The base is used to store fuel reserves supplying the Russian military, according to the statement posted on Telegram.

Ukrainian forces also struck an oil depot near Feodosia in Crimea, the General Staff said.

Separately, a Ukrainian drone overnight struck a passenger train from Moscow to Simferopol in occupied Crimea, injuring the driver and killing the driver’s assistant, Kremlin-installed regional leader Sergei Aksyonov reported early Monday.

Akysyonov added that no passengers were hurt.

But all passenger train traffic in Crimea was halted following the attack, with passengers evacuated and replacement buses provided, Russian operator Grand Service Express reported on Telegram that same morning.

As Congo is battling an Ebola disease outbreak that has killed nearly 100 people out of the more than 500 confirmed cases, local authorities have raced to slow the disease with strict measures, including by limiting public gatherings and enforcing social distancing.

For Jean Claude Érable and his bride Solange Hahati, celebrating their wedding on Saturday in such conditions meant having some family members and friends absent on one of their happiest days.

“We had planned 300 guests (but) only 50 people were allowed to enter,” Hahati told The Associated Press. “It was really difficult because we wanted to celebrate with our friends.”

The latest Ebola disease outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, is concentrated in Congo’s eastern province of Ituri. There are 515 confirmed infections, including 91 deaths, according to Congolese health authorities. The number of cases is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed weeks late, and response has been challenging also because the virus has no approved vaccine or treatment.

To help slow the spread, local officials have urged people to limit physical contact, wash their hands regularly and report suspected cases quickly.

At the Catholic Church in Bunia, the capital of Ituri, where Érable and Hahati celebrated their love story, the Mass featured a number of couples who were present for their weddings.

The precautions, though not always adhered to, are reshaping social life in a country where weddings are typically vibrant, daylong celebrations bringing together hundreds of relatives, friends and well-wishers.

As the choir chorused and as brides in white gowns walked down the aisle, the handful of relatives and friends present inside the church maintained social distance, cheered and snapped photos. Outside, a crowd sang excitedly.

“We are adhering to the preventive measures and respecting social distancing,” said Érable, the groom. “I must say that there is no problem, no obstacle, because we are doing our best to respect all the measures dictated by the state.”

His bride smiled as he slipped a wedding ring onto her finger. Outside, after the wedding Mass, she gleefully displayed the ring as her husband walked her to the car.

The couple moved part of their reception outdoors, where guests could spread out more easily.

Church leaders say adapting has become essential.

Some families have already postponed their scheduled weddings in light of the new health measures, said the Rev. Aimé Lokanabego, the priest who officiated their wedding Mass.

The church is not holding other religious events that involve higher risks of exposure, such as baptism, he said.

“This is, in a way, how we are dealing with this Ebola epidemic at our level. The situation is critical,” said Lokanabego.

A few buildings collapsed and key infrastructure sustained quake damage in the city of General Santos, and tsunami damage was reported in at least one coastal village. Smaller waves were measured in Indonesia and Palau and as far away as southern Japan.

The quake also triggered a landslide in Sarangani province in the southern Philippines that killed 13 villagers. Rene Punzalan, a disaster-mitigation official for the province, told the DZBB radio network that the landslide hit houses in the mountainous town of Glan. Four other villagers died in Sarangani for still-unclear unclear reasons, he said.

“It’s a major earthquake," Teresito Bacolcol, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said, warning people to seek advise before returning to damaged buildings and houses which could collapse due to aftershocks.

“Our pickup truck suddenly jerked and I thought we had a flat tire,” said Rod Sosmeña, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, told The Associated Press from the hard-hit port city of General Santos, where he was traveling when the quake struck at 7:37 a.m.

“The shaking was very strong and people dashed out of houses into the streets," Sosmeña said.

Another regional disaster-response official, Ednar Dayanghirang, told The AP that he was able to “hardly stand and keep my balance when the ground shook as I was leaving my house” in the southern port city of Davao.

General Santos is a port city of more than 700,000 people that is a regional hub for the tuna export industry and other commerce.

The quake, the strongest to strike the country this year, was centered at sea off Mindanao, the second most populous island in the Philippine archipelago. According to Bacolcol, the quake occurred at a depth of 33 kilometers (20 miles), about 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the cancellation of classes and directed disaster-response agencies to immediately get to work in quake-hit provinces, saying “the national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind.”

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the threat of a tsunami largely passed about five hours after the quake. Philippine officials also lifted a tsunami warning by mid-afternoon. Six shanties on stilts were damaged in a coastal village in Zamboanga del Sur due to the quake and taller waves, officials said.

Assessing damage and casualties

At least 19 people were killed, mostly in collapsed buildings and landslides, while thousands of villagers were displaced, Office of Civil Defense spokesperson Junie Castillo said without providing specific details.

Among the dead were seven people in General Santos, where a few small buildings, including a popular hamburger joint, collapsed or were severely damaged, Sosmeña said.

The other deaths were caused by falling debris, a damaged mosque and a landslide in the southern provinces of Sarangani, South Cotabato and Davao Occidental and on Balut Island, Sosmeña and another reginal disaster-response official, Ednar Dayanghirang, said.

Sosmeña said authorities were checking reports of some students being trapped in a two-story school that collapsed in General Santos. He could not immediately provide details but the national police said at least 12 people were missing in General Santos.

The Bureau of Fire said without elaborating that it was involved in search and rescue efforts in a damaged building and a warehouse in General Santos.

Public schools had reopened nationwide Monday after the summer vacation from April to May. Dayanghirang said more than 100 students attending morning flag-raising ceremonies in his southern region sustained bruises and some fainted in panic.

The international airport in General Santos was temporarily shut, and 17 domestic flights were canceled, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said.

The DZRH radio network in Manila reported that a small commercial building where its provincial station was located partly collapsed and staffers dashed to the ground floor without injuries. It wasn’t clear if other people were trapped in the rubble of the four-story office building. Debris also fell from other buildings, hitting tricycle taxis parked below.

Tsunami waves near 3 feet measured

Waves of 1 meter (3 feet) were generally monitored in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani. A 1.4-meter (4.6-foot) wave was monitored at one time in the coastal area of Kiamba town in Sarangani, Bacolcol said.

The quake was also felt in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island. Sabah is just a boat ride away from southern Philippines. An 83-centimeter (2.7-feet) tsunami was measured by a gauge off Indonesia's Sulawesi island, and the PTWC said 30-centimer (1-foot) waves were measured in Palau.

Waves up to 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) were detected on the remote Japanese island of Chichijima and the central Japanese town of Kushimoto, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported the depth of the original quake at 55 kilometers (34 miles). Variations in measurements by different agencies are common in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake. Aftershocks as strong as 6.5 magnitude were recorded.

The Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean. The archipelago is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year.

___

Associated Press journalists Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Happy one day closer to Friday HA!

I have a few surprises for you today, so make sure you read all the way to the end for a special edition of today’s newsletter!!!

Jumping straight into what you need to know this morning, if you’re an early sleeper like me, you may have missed our Hurricane and Flood special. But no worries. If you missed this, I got you!

As you know, Houston weather can change in the drop of a dime, so we must always be prepared for severe weather during hurricane season. If you need some tips or want to watch the special from last night, you know what to do.

To read more, click here.

➡️ Love our morning newsletter? Share it with your family and friends!

YOUR MORNING FORECAST ☀️

TODAY:84° TONIGHT: 75°

KPRC 2 Meteorologist says:

“Similar to Wednesday, there will be more afternoon thunderstorms. We’ll wake up in the 70s with a high in the mid-80s. We’ll keep a close eye on the radar as we get into the afternoon. ”

Get your forecast details here.

TOP STORIES

3 injured in drive-by shooting outside north Houston convenience store

Two people have been hospitalized, and another was grazed with a bullet after a drive-by shooting at a convenience store on Wednesday night. Police said someone in a red vehicle drove by the store and started shooting. It’s not clear what prompted the shooting or if it was targeted.

TEA launches public dashboard showing over 13,000 educator misconduct cases

The Texas Education Agency has launched a new public dashboard that reveals the agency has received more than 13,000 reports of educator misconduct, giving parents and taxpayers an unprecedented look into investigations involving Texas school employees.

The newly launched Educator Misconduct Dashboard shows that as of May 2026, the agency had received 13,390 misconduct reports, averaging approximately 1,674 reports per month. The online tool allows the public to view misconduct reports submitted to TEA, active investigations, disciplinary actions by the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC), and placements on the state’s Do Not Hire Registry.

3 arrested after mother hears intruders breaking into home while child is inside

Three suspects were arrested Thursday morning after a mother said she heard intruders inside her home where her child slept. Deputies responded, located the suspects and arrested them

ARE YOU A KPRC 2 INSIDER? HERE’S SOME EXCLUSIVES

SUMMER SWEEPSTAKES: Enter to win 3 weeks of free airport parking from The Parking Spot

HoustonMoms+KPRC 2

Friday on KPRC 2+ Morning News: The team behind Houston Moms is joining us to talk about the resources, events, and family-friendly guides that help Houston parents stay connected and informed. Houston Moms is a community-driven platform created by local moms, for local moms, covering everything from parenting tips to things to do around town. Tune in Friday morning to meet the team and learn more about what they offer Houston families.

CLICK2PINS: SHOW US WHAT YA GOT 📷

See a news story in your neighborhood? Capture a great weather moment? Just want to share a photo of your pet? Send your photos and videos to Click2Pins, and you may see them on air and online!

The lawsuit, filed in California, alleged that Trader Joe’s printed the first six and last four digits of customers’ credit or debit card numbers on receipts from a limited number of transactions at certain store locations.

• Listeria found in Walmart, Trader Joe’s meals may be linked to deadly outbreak

Plaintiffs claimed the practice violated the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), which restricts the amount of payment card information that can appear on printed receipts.

Trader Joe’s denied any wrongdoing or liability in the case. However, the company agreed to a $7.4 million settlement to resolve the claims.

Eligible customers who submit approved claims could receive approximately $100, though the exact amount will depend on the total number of valid claims filed.

• Sugar Land welcomes Trader Joe’s sixth Houston-area location

According to settlement information, the deadline to submit a claim is June 9.

Customers who believe they may qualify are encouraged to review the settlement details and file a claim before the deadline expires.

According to authorities, 37-year-old London Hogan made his first court appearance Sunday night and is facing multiple charges, including murder, aggravated assault and aggravated robbery.

Arrest update to Car Jacking Murder:

On Saturday, June 6, 2026, at approximately 2pm, @HCSOTexas deputies responded to the 11800 blk of Tidwell in reference to a carjacking. While detectives were conducting their investigation, the owner of the stolen vehicle located his… pic.twitter.com/HHrhGIW97s

— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) June 8, 2026

• Father killed after tracking son’s stolen truck to north Houston gas station, investigators say

Investigators say the incident began Saturday afternoon when a Chevrolet Silverado was stolen from a gas station on Tidwell Road.

Authorities said the truck’s owner later tracked the stolen vehicle to the area near Interstate 610 and Airline Drive. When the owner located the truck, family members and a friend went to help recover it.

Detectives say 56-year-old Louis Erebia and a family friend were shot during the confrontation.

• READ ALSO:Houston Police investigating deadly hit-and-run involving man in wheelchair in Sunnyside

Erebia died from his injuries. The family friend survived and is expected to recover.

Hogan was later arrested and charged in connection with the shooting.

The Erebia family is expected to speak publicly about the case during a news conference scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at Crime Stoppers of Houston.

• MORE NEWS:1 dead, 1 critically hurt after shooting at crawfish boil in northeast Houston, HPD says

The shooting remains under investigation.

In the first papal address to the Spanish legislature, the American pope said a “moral renewal” was necessary in legislatures and public life to ensure respect for the inherent dignity of all people, including migrants, the unborn and the most vulnerable.

“The moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile,” Leo said.

Speeches by popes to foreign legislatures are rare, since they can imply recognition of a religious leader by lawmakers. Pope Francis addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress in 2015, and Pope Benedict XVI addressed his native German Bundestag in 2011.

The mere fact that Leo was invited to speak at Las Cortes Generales, as the parliament is known, showed a level of acceptance for the Catholic Church in a political setting that might have been unthinkable even a few years ago. The Catholic Church was a pillar of Gen. Francisco Franco’s dictatorship, during which it enjoyed broad control and influence over Spanish society, but that waned after democracy took root in the 1970s.

While many Spaniards still identify as Catholic, religious observance has dropped off sharply amid secularizing trends seen in other once-staunchly Christian countries.

And yet at the end of his speech, lawmakers from across the political spectrum gave Leo a minutes-long standing ovation with chants of “Viva el Papa!” — “Long live the pope!”

Pope calls for peace as Israel and Iran trade strikes

Leo’s speech came as Israel and Iran traded fire in retaliatory strikes that threatened to drag the Middle East back into a full-scale regional war, and the American pope repeated his demand for dialogue to resolve disputes.

“Peace demands diplomatic courage, ethical responsibility and a vision for the future grounded in respect for the identity of every people and in the obligation of states to resolve their disputes through the peaceful means offered by international law,” he said.

He again lamented that European defense budgets were being built up, as countries move to confront the threat posed by Russia following its war in Ukraine and the Trump administration’s threats to reduce its financial and military support for the continent.

“It is therefore a cause for concern that, in various parts of the world — and in Europe as well — rearmament is once again being presented as an almost inevitable response to the fragility of the international situation,” he said.

He repeated his demand for “rigorous ethical oversight” of automated weapons systems created by artificial intelligence “so that decisions regarding life and death are never left to automated systems nor removed from the moral responsibility of the human person.”

A reference to Spanish conquest and the slave trade

Leo cited the 16th century Spanish intellectual tradition, known as the School of Salamanca, that gave rise to concepts of international law and inherent human rights, that arose after Spain’s colonial conquests of the Americas.

He praised the theologians involved in the movement who “understood that reason could not be invoked to legitimize whatever force or self-interest that seemed convenient” and that there were “moral limits of power.”

“It must be acknowledged that society and the church herself did not always live up to these insights found in their own Christian tradition,” Leo said.

It was a reference to the Catholic Church’s own role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonial conquest, and recalled Leo’s recent apology for the role the Holy See itself played in legitimizing slavery and the conquests of the Americas by Spanish and Portuguese sovereigns.

A call for dignity, acceptance and integration for migrants

Speaking of modern-day human traffickers, Leo called for strengthened international and multilateral efforts to prevent the human smuggling of migrants and create conditions where they can choose to stay home.

But for those who do flee conflict, poverty and climate change, he called for welcome and integration. Pope Francis had made the plight of refugees reaching Europe a hallmark of his papacy and Leo has followed suit, insisting especially on the human dignity of migrants in his native United States amid the Trump administration’s migration crackdown.

“This gives rise to a twofold demand for social justice: to offer safe and legal pathways, a respectful welcome and real opportunities for integration; and, at the same time, to promote the right to remain in one’s own land, working to ensure that no one has to leave their home due to a lack of peace, security or decent living conditions, including economic inequalities and the effects of the climate crisis,” he said.

Spain’s Socialist-led government has bucked a general trend in Europe and the United States by defending immigration on economic and humanitarian grounds, launching a legalization push earlier this year for hundreds of thousands of immigrants living and working in the country without authorization. Sánchez has highlighted the benefits of legal migration to the Spanish economy with an aging workforce and low birth rate.

A delicate political moment and an unlikely alliance

Leo’s visit comes at a delicate time for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

Sánchez’s Socialist Party has been hammered by a series of corruption scandals, though none have directly implicated him, with an investigation opened last month into a former Socialist Spanish prime minister for alleged influence peddling and other crimes tied to a government airline bailout. Separate probes have touched some of Sánchez’s closest confidants, as well as his wife and brother.

As they play out, many Spaniards find themselves in a country increasingly frayed by political polarization, and unable to agree on a common path forward. Sánchez’s leftist minority government has been unable to pass legislation, including a budget for the past three years.

Leo, in an apparent reference to Spain’s polarization, warned: “political pluralism should not degenerate into the constant disparagement of one’s adversary.”

Besides migration, Spain’s progressive leader, who is an atheist, and the American pontiff have converged on major issues in global politics. Last month, after visiting Leo in the Vatican, Sánchez praising Leo as a “moral compass.”

Sánchez has been Europe’s most outspoken voice against the the U.S. and Israel’s wars in Iran, Gaza and Lebanon, with Leo decrying the strikes on Iran as “unjust.”

The Spanish leader has repeatedly called for dialogue and diplomatic negotiation to resolve conflicts, which Leo echoed. “Weapons may impose a temporary silence; but they can never build a genuine and lasting peace,” Leo said.

The overlap is noteworthy since the Catholic Church in Spain has traditionally been closer to the conservative Popular Party than the left, which championed social issues such as same-sex marriage, abortion rights, and euthanasia.

___

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

Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson’s unexpected departure only a few months before the November midterm election, which includes one of the most hotly contested U.S. Senate races the state has seen in years, has some local election officials and voting rights advocates worrying the transition will complicate their ability to administer a smooth election.

“It’s the unknown, the uncertainty that is scary,” said Tandi Smith, the Kaufman County elections administrator. “Are we going to continue to receive guidance? Are we going to be ensured that we’ll be prepared for any coming changes? We just don’t know.”

Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, is required by law to appoint a new secretary as soon as possible. His office, in an emailed statement, said the new appointee would be announced “at a later date.”

Nelson, who has been the state’s chief election official for more than three years, last week announced that she’d be stepping down from the role effective July 17. Nelson’s departure will happen just as election officials across the state are preparing in earnest for the November general election. In the summer months, they’ll be recruiting election workers, seeking polling locations, and processing voter registration applications, among other duties.

Some voting rights advocates say a new appointee may want to direct local election officials to change election procedures, which could lead to chaos and confusion for voters. Although the secretary of state’s office has no law enforcement authority and can’t change the law, it can issue election law opinions on how to implement election and voting rules.

“If the new secretary of state has a laundry list of demands that election administrators can’t meet, that’s going to throw our elections into disarray,” said Emily Eby French, policy director at Common Cause Texas. French noted that there were three secretaries of state between 2017 and Nelson’s appointment in 2023, some of whom remained in the role only for about a year before resigning.

“I am very concerned that we are going to go back to that period of instability that we were in before Jane Nelson,” she said.

In the months leading up to the March primary election, county election officials across the state navigated challenges including a rare mid-decade residistricting cycle and issues with the statewide election management and voter registration system, known as TEAM. The majority of counties in the state rely on the system, which was overhauled last summer by the secretary of state’s office, to manage elections and to maintain voter registration lists.

The Texas Association of County Election Officials has twice publicly asked Nelson’s office in the past six months to act and resolve the problems. The secretary of state’s office has said that problems with a new version of the system were expected, especially given that the system handles the data of more than 18 million voter registration records. They’ve also said the situation was aggravated by the unexpected midcycle redistricting and problems with an outside vendor that forced some counties to suddenly add large amounts of data to the state system with little warning.

But despite these tensions, state election officials have consistently remained supportive of local election officials through politically tense periods and have maintained a nonpartisan approach when interpreting the law, said Chris McGinn, the executive director of the Texas Association of County Election Officials.

The agency has also often promoted the idea that county election officials are the election experts in each of their communities.

“There’s a fear that that could change to where the office is dictating how counties should operate with a more political approach,” he said.

Others, including some local election officials, are less concerned about top-down interference and say that a leadership transition in the office now won’t affect election officials’ ability to conduct a smooth election in November. That’s because ultimately, the election is handled by local officials in each of the state’s 254 counties.

Nelson’s sudden departure “shouldn’t have any noticeable impact on the ability of the election officials in Texas to run free and fair elections,” said Joshua Ferrer, an assistant professor of government at American University. Ferrer has done research on the recent heightened turnover of state and local election officials across the country.

“Even when officials leave, the replacements, and the staff that are still there are able to do an equally good job,” Ferrer said.

Smith, the Kaufman County elections administrator, said she’d like to see the incoming secretary of state advocate for more funding and resources for county election departments.

“Funding is something we’ve talked about for years,” Smith said, recalling when a tornado touched down in the North Texas county during the 2024 primary runoff election and her office had to scramble to ensure polling locations stayed open. “We want to be able to provide secure facilities for our voters and to make sure that there are no delays when there are storms of that nature, but funds are limited.”

Disclosure: Texas Secretary of State has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

Natalia Contreras covers election administration and voting access for Votebeat in partnership with the Texas Tribune. Natalia is based in Corpus Christi. Contact her at ncontreras@votebeat.org.

ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas called it “an unprecedented change in the pace of growth.”

Developers and speculators had been buying up land across the state, looking to cash in on a chance to construct massive warehouses filled with computers to power artificial intelligence for companies such as Meta, Amazon and Google. Older, smaller data centers ran the Internet. Artificial intelligence and cloud computing demanded much more. 

The proposals kept coming. ERCOT in the last two years received 519 requests to connect large electricity users, compared to 24 such requests the year before that, according to its records as of May. The estimated electricity that large projects could need added up to a gobsmacking 438,595 megawatts — which would equal roughly a third of all the power generation in America. 

Ninety percent of that was for data centers, most of which aimed to start operating by 2030.

ERCOT maintains that not all of those projects will come to fruition. But no one knows the real number that will ultimately connect to the grid, or how much power they’ll need. ERCOT’s board last week voted to change its policies for how it will review data center requests, partly in an effort to get to a more realistic expectation of how many will be built. 

“The projections are insane,” said Dominic Boyer, a cultural anthropologist at Rice University who studies energy politics. “Not all of that will be built, but just even the fact that that much is being proposed sort of suggests that there is this absolute sea change happening in terms of electricity demand.”

The explosion in data center projects is tied to Texas becoming “one of the national leaders in digital infrastructure,” said Dan Diorio, vice president of state policy for the industry association, the Data Center Coalition. The state’s business-friendly regulatory environment and ability for companies to build needed energy infrastructure relatively easily attracted projects. So did its strong workforce and available land, water and fiber infrastructure, Diorio said. The Dallas-Fort Worth region in particular grew as a major market.

So many of these bigger, next generation data center projects are planned for Texas that the state could surpass Virginia for the title of the world’s largest data center market by 2030, according to a report by real estate and investment management firm JLL. Gov. Greg Abbott has touted Texas as “the epicenter of AI development” and some local officials have celebrated their arrival. 

“Our competitive advantage as a state is also the source of our biggest planning challenge,” said Matt Boms, executive director for the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, which advocates for clean energy policies and represents some technology companies. “So there’s a bit of a paradox there. But it’s a good problem to have. I think a lot of other states would kill to have that kind of problem.”

Not everyone agrees. Community advocates fighting to stop data centers fear the projects will spike Texans’ electric bills and make the grid less reliable. They envision a nightmare in which data centers suck up massive amounts of water, emit constant noise and spew pollution from on-site, gas-fueled power plants and backup generators. 

Industry leaders say data centers create jobs, especially during construction of the behemoth sites. The facilities, which by the state’s count will receive billions of dollars worth of tax breaks, still pay billions of dollars more in state and local taxes. 

There are at least 248 planned data centers coming to Texas, based on a review of facilities compiled by two companies that track the industry, along with Tribune research. ERCOT does not share detailed site information publicly, and the companies’ findings only found power use estimates for less than half of the projects.

Among the new projects, 86 are planned in North Texas, 56 in Central Texas and 45 in West Texas. The vast majority are planned in urban and suburban counties with more than 50,000 people. About half are aimed at unincorporated areas, which have limited means for regulating them compared to cities. 

Some massive projects are already under construction: A sprawling facility in Abilene plans to use grid power plus on-site gas power and batteries to get up to 1,200 megawatts of electricity — enough to power roughly a third of the households in the city of Houston, according to census data. 

Another huge campus outside Amarillo planned by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s company, Fermi America, could need up to 11,000 megawatts of power — enough to power 2.75 million homes, which is more than the number of households in Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio combined. A third project in oil-and-gas-dominated Pecos County could use more than 5,000 megawatts. 

All three will build at least some on-site, gas-fueled power plants, which emit carbon dioxide that contributes to climate change. Two of the project websites say they will cycle water through their systems. The project in Abilene said it will require 8 million gallons of city water to fill initially — which it said is the amount a large office uses in a year.

“Texas has been one of the best and easiest places to move those projects forward,” said Cully Cavness, co-founder of data center developer Crusoe, which is building the Abilene project, at a panel in March. “It’s never easy, but it is relatively smoother here than many other states.”

A potential strain on resources

The sudden propagation of data centers reaching every corner of the state threatens issues that matter to Texans. 

It raises triggering questions about the reliability of the grid, which failed during a 2021 winter storm when ERCOT cut power to millions in the freezing cold. It could transform quality of life, from suburban subdivisions to rural farms, where Texans want to protect their communities from construction traffic, noise pollution and industrial blight. And it renewed fears about water supply, as some parts of the state navigate an impending crisis. 

“A lot of the sentiment that I’m hearing from those that don’t want data centers… is like, ‘You’re telling me, you know, you want to build this big thing in my community that’s going to take all the energy and take the water to build the technology that’s going to take the jobs away from my kids?” said Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. “That’s what I’m hearing a lot of people are feeling, and some of that’s just because this technology is so new. We just don’t know what it’s going to do.”

Some experts warn data centers have the potential to help push the state’s fragile water supply to the brink — especially in Texas’ more arid regions. Population and economic growth are already driving more demand for water, and scientists have found climate change is intensifying droughts. 

Texas made its largest financial commitment to expanding water supply last year, dedicating up to $20 billion for water projects over the next two decades. But that amount falls short of the $174 billion needed over the next 50 years, according to a projection in the draft of the 2027 state water plan. 

Water experts say data centers will put more pressure on Texas’ water supply. One estimate shows data centers could account for between 3% and 9% of Texas’ total water use by 2040 — up from less than 1% today, according to a recent white paper from The University of Texas at Austin. By comparison, manufacturing accounts for about 7% of the state’s water use, according to the current state water plan. 

Data centers demand significant amounts of water to keep their systems cool, though the industry argues its technology is improving with time to require less water. Some are proposing to use closed loop systems — which draw a large amount of water at the start but reuse it over some period of years — but Texas does not require projects to use that technology. Others run instead on cheaper evaporative cooling systems that more consistently replenish their water supply.

How much water a project can use is governed locally by various entities such as utilities, special districts and river authorities.

“Data centers are among the most efficient water users,” Diorio said, citing research that he said found they use less water than semiconductor manufacturing, food and beverage production and annual municipal water system leaks. “Data centers will continue to deploy advanced cooling technologies that are water efficient and continue to invest in water sustainability practices.” 

Higher demand for electricity

The new data center projects are requesting considerably more power than those of yesteryear. 

A Tribune analysis found that of the planned and existing data centers that provided information about their power draw, the average facility will require five times more capacity than the average existing data center in Texas. 

Among the existing data centers in the analysis, the upper limit for power capacity is 1,200 megawatts. But among planned data centers coming online, the max is nine times that. 

Historically, developers went to regional utilities with their connection requests, and the utilities studied whether they had enough infrastructure to supply each project and communicated with ERCOT. But that process became untenable as requests piled up.

Pending approval from regulators, ERCOT now is proposing to study proposals itself in batches so it can better evaluate how much overall power demand they will represent. Vegas, the ERCOT CEO said Tuesday that projects seeking to draw about 100,000 megawatts of power would qualify to be in the first group to be reviewed by ERCOT by April. 

“It’s just this big tsunami wave (of projects) that is impending, and trying to crash down, and historically that was coming directly on the utility,” said Beth Garza, a senior fellow with the R Street Institute who also represents residential customers on an ERCOT committee. “Now with the implementation of the batch process, ERCOT is a little bit of that seawall in front of the utilities.”

Under the new rules, to be considered by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, developers would first have to pay ERCOT $50,000 per megawatt proposed and prove they have leased or purchased the land for their facilities. Vegas described the new process as a potential solution to a national problem of how to balance economic benefits with grid reliability.

“This is an issue that is affecting the whole globe and certainly the country,” Vegas said. “Everybody is trying to figure out how to do this in a reliable, stable way.”

In their review, ERCOT will figure out how many more power lines and related infrastructure need to be built to meet the additional demand. Some of that cost could be added on top of what researchers found are already rising electric bills for Texas power customers — residential consumers currently pay more of those costs than industrial ones. 

It’s not clear how much of the infrastructure bill data centers will pick up, and regulators are evaluating the issue. Some experts have advocated for more of it to fall on companies to ensure affordability and support a variety of additional, local solutions such as investment in energy efficiency so people use less electricity at home.

“We can solve it,” said Margo Weisz, executive director of the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute, a nonprofit that works on making electricity more affordable. “Whether we will solve it is another question.”

Other data center projects could meanwhile sit apart from the grid entirely by building their own power generation, such as gas-fueled power plants. Some projects also plan to install back-up diesel generators in case of power outages. 

ERCOT won’t be assessing whether there’s enough electricity available to serve data centers’ needs. It’s operating on the assumption that the market will meet the demand: the opportunity to make money selling power to these new customers will incentivize other companies to build more power generation, whether it’s gas-fired power plants, solar and wind farms or battery facilities. 

Legislators also passed a provision last year allowing ERCOT to direct large data centers that have backup power to cut back their grid use during emergencies.

Andrew Mahaleris, spokesperson for Abbott, said in a statement that protecting water and power needed by Texans will take priority over attracting investment. 

“Governor Abbott will continue to work with the Legislature to protect Texans and ensure their voices are heard,” Mahaleris said.

Local resistance

In February in San Marcos, just south of Austin, residents packed City Hall to protest a proposed data center that would have consumed more than 25 million gallons of water annually — in their view, threatening the city’s beloved namesake river that flowed through town.

One protester wore a blow-up salamander costume, referencing the endangered Texas blind salamander native to the river. A crowd of hundreds outside sang, chanted and held signs that read “Keep San Marcos wet” and “2 dry 4 AI.” 

Inside, residents told council members over an eight-hour meeting to reject the zoning change needed for the project to move forward. 

“All of us met at the water, and that’s what brought us here,” said Randi Finn, who was running a childcare station at the protest for parents who wanted to testify against the center. “We want these springs to be here for our kids and for our grandkids.”

Similar scenes have played out across Texas, from Round Rock to Waco to Athens. Residents aren’t willing to wait for legislators, who have vowed to look at data center issues before the next regular session begins in January.

The trouble is, when it comes to protecting quality of life, Texas gives cities and counties markedly different powers. Cities such as San Marcos have zoning powers that allow them to deny projects. San Marcos council members voted the proposal down.

But outside of city limits, counties — where a large number of the proposed data centers plan to build — have little power to control where or how projects are built.

County leaders can vote down tax abatement agreements, removing some of the economic incentive, but that wouldn’t block a company from building a data center. 

State lawmakers — many of them Republicans stuck between outcry from communities that don’t want these projects and a president who does — have not shown much interest in giving counties more regulatory power.

Roughly two-thirds of the projects are slated for counties that voted in 2024 for President Donald Trump, according to the Tribune’s analysis, creating headaches for Texas’ Republican majority.

Some county leaders have considered how to block or slow projects. But when Hood County commissioners tried to pass a moratorium on data center projects, Republican State Sen. Paul Bettencourt fired off a threatening letter to the attorney general arguing they had no right to do so. Other counties weighing moratoriums dropped the idea; one that went through with it got sued by the developer and revoked its own moratorium.

“There’s an underlying no-growth philosophy — that’s not a majority of the party but it’s there — that’s driving this,” said Bettencourt, who represents part of the Houston area. “That’s not good public policy long-term.”

In Caldwell County, where at least three data center projects plan to locate, County Judge Hoppy Haden said he’s lost so much sleep over the issue that he now has big bags under his eyes. He’s taken heat from citizens at town halls where he feels made out to look like he’s pro-data center when really he just has little authority to slow or stop problematic projects in his county south of Austin best known for Lockhart barbecue. 

“I would be a liar if I said that didn’t bother me because it does,” Haden said. “I’m just as concerned as everybody else and we’re doing what we can and certainly we’re not just sitting around hoping they go away.

“All the town halls in the world are not going to make these guys go away, unfortunately,” he added. “We have to come up with solutions to the issues that they create. Because they’re going to still come.”

In Hays County, which straddles Interstate 35 south of Austin and includes San Marcos, Judge Ruben Becerra wanted to set up his own county department to review the projects to make sure they can be run sustainably. He knew the county’s existing development services office that usually handles requests for say, an H-E-B distribution center, wasn’t equipped to understand the impacts of a data center.

“Theres no world where I’m going to sit idle, sit on my hands, and watch it happen, without at least fighting for our communities,” Becerra said, adding, “Do I have the statutory authority to do X, Y, Z? I really don’t care. I’d rather push hard and ask for forgiveness than to lay down and say, well I can’t do it, and throw my hands up in the air and say well it’s up to the [Legislature] and I’ll wait for 10 more years to see if something actually happens.”

ABOUT OUR DATA SET 

The Texas Tribune acquired information on data centers from Cleanview and Data Center Map, two companies that compile and sell data on operating and planned data centers. The Tribune joined these datasets based on location and manually identified and removed duplicates that appeared in both sources. This data was filtered to data centers that had latitude and longitude coordinates, which were used alongside Census data to determine the types of areas data centers are being built in. The data was supplemented with other data centers identified with Tribune reporting.

Paul Cobler and Alejandra Martinez contributed reporting.

Disclosure: Google, H-E-B, Rice University and the University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

The 28,000-acre Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge that spans Burnet, Travis and Williamson counties on Monday announced it has added nearly 300 acres, about a year after a 317-acre addition through an initiative by The Conservation Fund in partnership with Friends of Balcones.

The expansion was supported by a mix of public and private funding, including donations from the Woodnext Foundation and the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a national coalition that protects national parks. Both new tracts were purchased from landowners in Burnet County.

A medley of wildlife and greenery call the refuge home. Goldfinches and wrens live within the rolling hills’ thick blanket of oaks, elms and juniper trees. Below are caves and sinkholes where tooth cave spiders and tiny pseudoscorpions crawl around.

But most people visit the refuge to catch a glimpse of a pocket-sized songbird with a striking gold head.

The 4-inch tall golden-cheeked warbler is the only bird species whose population nests exclusively in Texas; they only breed in Central Texas’ ashe juniper and oak woodlands.

“I always like to say that golden-cheek warblers are all Texans,” said Ellen Gass, Texas field representative at The Conservation Fund. “That’s why we work so hard to protect them.”

This warbler draws birders from across the nation who travel to the Hill Country just to hear its unique, buzzy song for themselves.

Nicole Sarkar, executive director at Friends of Balcones, said expanding the golden-cheeked warbler’s habitat is important because they have been on the national endangered list since 1990. Development and flooding has caused their habitat to shrink, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Securing more than 600 more acres will help protect where warblers nest, along with hundreds of other bird species that live in the refuge, Sarkar said.

In addition to expanding the refuge, which is protected and owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Gass said the woodlands greenery is also a natural flood buffer.

”By protecting habitat in this area, we get this added benefit of helping flood mitigation and flood prevention,” Gass said. “Especially in an area that’s seeing really, impactful and quick development.”

The new 600 acres don’t have a public trail, but elsewhere in the refuge, visitors can trek 10 miles of trails and birdwatch from its many observation decks.

The refuge was created in 1992 to protect the golden-cheeked warbler and the black-capped vireo, a small songbird with a dark head and red eyes that likes to hop between low bushes and short trees. After more than 30 years of being on the endangered species list, the black-capped vireo was removed in 2018.

Sarkar said she hopes the same happens for the golden-cheeked warbler, which she spotted for the first time in April.

“​​I’ve heard the song, I’ve listened to it, and then I’ve seen photos of the bird,” she said. “But to be able to hear it and see it at the same time while at the refuge was really exciting.”

China’s Xinhua News Agency reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju welcomed Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan upon their arrival at Pyongyang’s international airport. Xinhua said the two leaders shook hands.

Xi later arrived at Pyongyang’s main square, where a military honor guard and thousands of people, including children carrying balloons and hopping, staged a welcoming ceremony. Buildings surrounding the plaza were draped in the two countries’ flags, giant portraits of Kim and Xi and red-and-yellow banners welcoming the Chinese leader and celebrating the nations’ “friendship and unity.”

Xi and Kim later sat down for a summit at Pyongyang's Kumsusan State Guesthouse, according to China's state broadcaster CCTV. It's Xi's first visit to North Korea in seven years. Xi and Kim last met in Beijing in September, after viewing a military parade alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders.

No specific agenda has been mentioned. Foreign experts predict the meeting will have big ramifications on bilateral ties and beyond, as they both seek to fully restore their traditional alliance in the face of separate confrontations with the U.S.

“A Chinese leader doesn’t just visit North Korea because a visit is due. Xi’s trip will have real implications for China-DPRK relations,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s full name.

Sway over North Korea could help Xi's dealings with US

Xi’s trip comes after his back-to-back summits with U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin in Beijing last month. Xi is expected to meet Trump again on a planned U.S. visit in September.

Xi will try to demonstrate China’s “sway over the Korean Peninsula” and “a leadership role in entire Northeast Asia in the ages of strategic competitions with the U.S.,” said Kwak Gil Sup, the head of One Korea Center, a website specializing in North Korea affairs.

China has long been North Korea's economic lifeline and main diplomatic backer. Experts say China has avoided fully enforcing U.N. sanctions on North Korea and sent clandestine aid to help its impoverished neighbor stay afloat. This year marks 65 years since the two countries signed a mutual defense treaty.

But there have been questions about their ties in recent years, with North Korea prioritizing cooperation with Russia by supplying troops and weapons to support its war against Ukraine. In return, North Korea has received economic and military assistance from Russia.

Restoring an exclusive influence over North Korea would give Xi a leverage in dealings with Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to restart diplomacy with Kim, experts say.

“Implementing U.N. Security Council resolutions and enforcing sanctions do not appear to be priorities for China," Easley said.

In an article published on the North’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper Monday, Xi said China and North Korea must boost strategic cooperation and work together to oppose “hegemonism and coercive politics” and pursue an orderly multipolar world.

Kim needs Xi's support for his push for nuclear state

Xi would likely offer Kim economic aid packages such as shipments of rice and fertilizers, a resumption of Chinese group tourism to North Korea. and joint economic projects, analysts said.

“North Korea can’t solely rely on Russia. It needs to align with China,” Kwak said.

In a Monday editorial, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper called Xi “the most honored state guest,” saying Pyongyang’s streets “are filled with an atmosphere of friendship.”

Xi could also refrain from pressing Kim on the issue of denuclearization of North Korea, and vaguely speak about peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. That would be essential for Kim, who is desperate to win international recognition as a nuclear weapons state as a way to call for lifting of U.N. sanctions on North Korea.

“Chinese officials have taken the position of not speaking publicly about denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula while still maintaining it as a long-term goal. Kim appears to want Xi to accept North Korea as a nuclear neighbor,” Easley said.

After last month’s summit between Trump and Xi, the White House said the two leaders confirmed their shared goal to denuclearize North Korea. But China only said the leaders discussed the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. On Sunday, Kim’s sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, dismissed as “false information” the U.S. readout of the Xi-Trump meeting.

Last week, Kim unveiled a new plant to produce nuclear ingredients and vowed to bolster the country’s nuclear forces “at an exponential rate.” He also observed sea trials of a new naval destroyer and called for speeding up efforts to build a nuclear-armed navy.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung told reporters Monday that North Korea is producing enough nuclear ingredients annually for about 10-20 bombs and is close to perfecting intercontinental ballistic missile technology. Lee said the world must first focus on convincing North Korea to freeze its nuclear materials production and ICBM program as a short-term goal.

On Sunday, Kim’s sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, echoed her brother, calling a U.S. push for the denuclearization of North Korea an “escapist and anachronistic dream.”

Kim Jong Un has rebuffed U.S. and South Korean offers for talks and focused on enlarging and modernizing his nuclear arsenal since his high-stakes diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019. The North Korean leader said in September that he still had "good personal memories” of Trump but urged the U.S. to withdraw its demand for North Korea to denuclearize as a precondition for resuming diplomacy.

Experts say Kim would eventually want arms reductions talks with the U.S. to win concessions in return for partially surrendering his nuclear weapons.

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Associated Press writers Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul and E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing contributed to this report.

South Korea’s Kospi led the global retreat, plunging 8.3% on heavy selling of technology shares and extending losses that on Friday gave the S&P 500 its biggest single day drop in months.

The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.2%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3%.

Oil prices surged as Israel launched airstrikes early Monday, targeting central and western Iran in response to missile fire. Iranian state television reported the sound of explosions being heard in Isfahan, Tabriz and Tehran, without immediately elaborating.

American and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative deal last week to extend their ceasefire, but the agreement has not been finalized and the latest attacks further strain efforts to end the conflict. The U.S. war with Iran has essentially blocked crude oil shipments from moving through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude, the international standard, jumped $4.60 to $97.69 a barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude surged $4.13 to $94.67 a barrel.

In early European share trading, France's CAC 40 fell 0.7% to 8,161.42, while the German DAX dipped 0.8% to 24,552.77. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.4% to 10,331.24.

During Asia's day, the Kospi in Seoul slipped 8.3% to 7,484.41 as Samsung Electronics, the country’s biggest company, dropped 10.2%. SK Hynix declined 7.7%.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 3.9% to finish at 64,024.60. The Japanese government revised the annualized economic growth rate to 1.8% for the first quarter this year, down from an earlier estimate of 2.1%.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan's Taiex lost 3.5% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.3% to 24,642.33. The Shanghai Composite shed 1.7% to 3,959.34.

Markets were closed in Australia for the King’s Birthday, a holiday.

Friday marked the biggest one-day drop for Wall Street since Oct. 10, when the Trump administration threatened to impose a 100% tariff on imported goods from China.

The S&P 500 sank 2.6% after a strong jobs report boosted expectations about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates this year, further darkening sentiment already dimmed by worries over a possible end to the rally in tech shares driven by the boom in investment in artificial intelligence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4%, while the Nasdaq composite slumped 4.2%.

In currency trading early Monday, the U.S. dollar inched down to 160.23 Japanese yen from 160.25 yen. The euro cost $1.1521, up from $1.1515.

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Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

A suspect was taken into custody after the attack, which unfolded around 7 p.m. in one of the nation’s busiest transportation hubs. The sprawling rail complex beneath Madison Square Garden serves Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road, NJ Transit and New York City subway lines and is used by hundreds of thousands of commuters and travelers each day.

Paramedics found one victim with serious injuries, two with moderate injuries and two with minor injuries, according to the city’s fire department. All five were taken to Bellevue Hospital. Another person, whose condition was not immediately known, was transported to a separate hospital.

Authorities did not immediately release details about what led to the stabbing or whether the victims were targeted.

By late Sunday, the immediate chaos had given way to a familiar Penn Station scene. Travelers wheeled luggage past a roped-off area near Tracks 5 and 6 where medical gloves, discarded bandages and traces of blood still marked the floor.

The violence erupted as New York prepared for one of its biggest sports events in decades. Monday night’s matchup between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs will be the first NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999 and is expected to draw massive crowds to the arena.

President Donald Trump has said he plans to attend the nationally televised game, prompting extensive security involving the Secret Service, New York Police Department and other agencies around Madison Square Garden and the surrounding blocks. Authorities did not immediately indicate whether the stabbing would affect security plans for the game.

Amtrak police said they were investigating the stabbing and had taken a suspect into custody. Authorities did not immediately release the suspect’s identity or provide information about potential charges.

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

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

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

Mining conditions conducive to virus spread

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

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

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

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

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

Minimal resources available

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tough conditions for health workers

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

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

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

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

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

UN health agency offers a plan

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

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

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

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

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Ope Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria.

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For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The musical parodies golden-age Broadway classics like “The Music Man” and “Oklahoma!” centered on a modern-day couple finding themselves in a “Brigadoon”-like fantasyland where the wholesome townspeople keep breaking into song. The win is a redemption for creator Cinco Paul, whose TV series was canceled after two seasons. He won Tonys for the score and the book Sunday.

“Sometimes singing, dancing, jokes and a happy ending are all you need," said producer Lorne Michaels, the creator of “Saturday Night Live,” after the win.

The win for “Schmigadoon!” also completes what some unofficially call a “studio EGOT,” giving the producing company credits for winning awards at all four major ceremonies. Apple already has Emmys for comedies “Ted Lasso” and “The Studio,” the Oscar for best picture for “CODA” and a Grammy via Chris Stapleton’s contribution to the “F1” soundtrack.

Who took home the Tony Awards

The prize for the best new play went to Wohl’s “Liberation,” about a consciousness-raising women’s group in 1970s Ohio, which earlier this year also won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Wohl’s play collects stories from second-wave feminists from all walks of life as they tackle misogyny, racism and traditional gender roles. Wohl is only the fourth woman to win a best play Tony, joining Wendy Wasserstein, Yasmina Reza and Frances Goodrich.

“I want to honor women everywhere who have the courage to use their voice," said Wohl, who thanked her mom, daughters and female producers. "And to all the girls out there: May you speak your truth, and may the world be wise enough to listen.”

“Liberation” joins a list of 18 plays that have won the Pulitzer Prize for drama and the Tony Award in the same year.

The Tony for best play revival went to “Death of a Salesman,” Arthur Miller’s masterpiece that looks at the unraveling of the American Dream. It won the 1949 Tony for best new play and best revival crowns in 1984, 1999 and 2012.

It earned a leading six Tonys: “Roseanne” star Laurie Metcalf won her third Tony for playing Willy Loman’s wife opposite Nathan Lane in the revival, which also won for lighting, scenic design and sound design. Joe Mantello won best director for a play.

‘Ragtime,' ‘Giant,’ and other stand-out plays

“Ragtime” — a big, soaring musical that depicts an America being remade by immigration, racial violence, industrial wealth and political unrest — won the best musical revival.

Caissie Levy, who was Broadway’s first Elsa in “Frozen,” won her first Tony for playing the matriarch of a wealthy suburban family in “Ragtime.” She thanks all the babysitters who let her become both a mother and a Broadway performer.

Moments later, Joshua Henry, a four-time nominee, won his first Tony as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in “Ragtime.” “Even in the face of pain and tragedy, he found a way to be heard,” Henry said of his character. "Every artist in this room, every artist at home, fight — fight to be heard

Lithgow won his third Tony for best lead actor in a play for “Giant” playing children’s writer Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt’s production set in 1983, when the author is facing intense backlash for his antisemitic comments. At 80, he is the oldest man ever to win a competitive acting Tony.

“Two Tony bookends with 53 years between them,” he said. “In those years, I have worked with hundreds of just fantastic theater artists. I’ve had dozens and dozens of ecstatic moments on the stage, but I have to tell you right now, this moment has got to be one of the best.”

Shoshana Bean, who won best featured actress in a musical for playing a single mom in “The Lost Boys,” echoed the themes of “Liberation” in her speech.

“This is for the mamas. This is for the single mamas. This is for my single mama. You are the wild heroes. This is for the incredible army of women that surround and uplift me," she said.

“Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” which reimagines the 1980s classic feline musical as a celebration of queer ballroom culture, won for best direction of a musical by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch.

“We honor the Black and brown trans women and gay men who were ballroom’s pioneers, as well as today’s icons, and our cast of astonishing triple-threats, including people from their 20s to their 80s, and every decade in between,” Levingston said.

Lesley Manville, an Oscar nominee for “Phantom Thread,” won best lead actress in a play, making her Broadway debut in a modern retelling of Sophocles’ classic tragedy “Oedipus.”

Pink's performance as the host

Pink, the Tony's host, started the show spinning and then dangling uncomfortably from a harness over the stage, dressed like Peter Pan. Former host Neil Patrick Harris stepped in to suggest the first-time host just be herself.

“You’re Pink, Pink. You can do anything,” he told her.

After lifting Harris off the stage with her legs, Pink relented to his suggestion, added a top hat and belted out “Lady Marmalade” with contributions from dozens of performers including Lea Michele and Megan Thee Stallion — and some 170 performers.

In her opening remarks, Pink, who has not yet gotten a Broadway credit, called herself theater’s second-biggest fan after her teenage daughter, Willow. “I’m not here just to steal peoples’ wigs, although I will be doing that. I’m here to celebrate the hardest-working people in show business,” she said.

“Schmigadoon!” and “Death of a Salesman” each went into the main telecast with a lead of three Tonys after a pre-show on Pluto TV hosted by Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess that announced the more technical awards. Qween Jean became the first openly trans Tony winner ever for making the costumes for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.”

Plenty of medleys and dance sequences

After the big opening number, Pink was generally a genial, exuberant figure, popping up in new outfits for a few self-deprecating bits, but then roaring to life when leading a very convincing “All That Jazz” as “Chicago” celebrated its 30th anniversary, with the pop singer nailing the Bob Fosse-inspired choreography.

The In Memoriam section was led by Leslie Odom Jr. singing a powerful “Without You” from “Rent,” honoring such lost figures as actors Robert Duvall, Robert Redford and Diane Keaton, as well as playwright Tom Stoppard. Rachel Zegler then stunned with a version of “What I Did For Love” from “A Chorus Line,” which last year celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Other performances included the original lead cast members of “The Book of Mormon” — Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells, Rory O’Malley and Nikki M. James — reuniting to celebrate its 15th anniversary.

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

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, has pleaded not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. Prosecutors say Rinderknecht started a fire on Jan. 1, 2025, and it burned undetected deep in root systems before flaring back up on Jan. 7.

The Palisades Fire ultimately killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes as it incinerated hillside neighborhoods in Pacific Palisades and the city of Malibu. Rinderknecht faces at least five years in prison if convicted of charges that also include malicious destruction by means of a fire.

Lead defense attorney Steve Haney has said Rinderknecht is being made as a scapegoat for the Los Angeles Fire Department’s failure to fully extinguish the Jan. 1 blaze. Jury selection is expected to last several days before opening statements begin midweek. The trial is likely to take about two weeks.

News of the trial drew mixed reactions from residents of the Pacific Palisades, who have spent the last year and a half tussling with insurance claims and red tape for building permits as they try to regain normalcy in their lives.

“It drums up all of the emotions over this past year and makes me think about all of the suffering and chaos of all of our neighbors and friends’ lives,” said Meghan Wald, whose home was among the few left standing in her block.

Palisades streets are now crowded with construction vehicles and workers, and charred trees have recovered their luscious green. But vacant lots abound, filled with weeds and wildflowers and the skeletal frames of homes. Of the more than 450 construction projects, only 17 homes have been certified for occupancy.

Wald and her family now live in nearby Brentwood, but she visits weekly to support the handful of businesses that have reopened, including her hair salon, her usual CVS pharmacy and the Palisades Garden Cafe, where her kids used to grab snacks after school.

“It’s great to see the shops that we know and love coming back,” Wald said. “It’s also hard to imagine what it’s going to be like. It will never be the same.”

The fire has been a central theme in incumbent Mayor Karen Bass 's reelection bid as she defends the city's recovery process. Bass was in Ghana as part of a presidential delegation when the flames ignited. One of her challengers, reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, lost his home in the blaze and has made what he calls municipal ineptitude a central campaign message. It's not yet clear if Pratt won enough votes in the primary to face Bass in November's runoff election.

Judge Anne Hwang has ruled that the defense can't introduce evidence or arguments about alleged negligence by the fire department, saying it was irrelevant and could confuse the jury.

Defense attorneys had planned to include testimony from a firefighter that the earlier fire was visibly smoldering when first responders left the scene. That was gathered as part of a civil lawsuit filed by fire victims against the city.

Haney said he also plans to argue that the government lacks solid evidence or witness testimony linking Rinderknecht to the first fire, and that first responders heard fireworks in the vicinity of where the blaze started.

Prosecutors say geolocation data from Rinderknecht's phone shows that he was in the area of the fire as it rapidly grew, and investigators later seized a Bic barbecue lighter from his car that he admitted to having with him on the trail. They will claim he was upset about a failed relationship as well as thwarted plans for New Year's Eve, and that he ranted to his Uber passengers that evening about being angry at the world, according to an April 29 pretrial memo filed by the U.S. attorney’s office.

Lena Loh, who opened a skin care clinic in the Palisades three months before the fire, said Rinderknecht’s prosecution gives her no sense of relief. She has been struggling to reopen and is looking to leave because she can't sustain the business financially anymore.

“I don’t necessarily think putting him on trial is gonna fix anything,” she said. “This is a city issue. The city needed to manage that small speck of fire better.”

Figures released by electoral authorities showed conservative politician Keiko Fujimori with a modest lead over nationalist congressman Roberto Sánchez with 58% of ballots tallied in a contest overshadowed by people’s concerns about surging crime. The outcome, expected to be tight, may not be known for days.

The figures showed Fujimori received 5.96 million votes, or 52.6%, while Sánchez earned 5.36 million votes, or 47.4%.

Unlike the first-round vote, no major incidents delayed the opening or closure of voting centers. In the capital, however, voter turnout throughout Sunday appeared lower than in the previous contest, with practically no lines in many voting centers, despite voting being mandatory.

Fujimori, daughter of a disgraced former president, and Sánchez, an ally of an imprisoned ex-president, were on the runoff’s ballot after beating 33 other candidates in the vote in April, but neither earned even 20% of support. Electoral authorities took more than a month to declare them winners of that contest.

Crime was the top concern for voters

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

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

But the candidates' crime-fighting proposals were not enough to make inroads with voters, many of whom associate each aspiring president with controversial Peruvian politicians.

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

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

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

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

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

Voting is mandatory for Peruvians aged 18 to 70. Failure to do so results in a fine of up to $32.

More than 27 million people are registered. Of those, about 1.2 million were expected to cast ballots from abroad, mainly in the United States and Argentina.

Proposals include prison labor and a police purge

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The runoff's winner will be sworn in to a five-year term on July 28.

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Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A few other movies hit milestones.

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

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

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

Top 10 movies by domestic box office

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

1. “Scary Movie,” $55 million.

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

3. “Backrooms,” $25.9 million.

4. “Obsession,” $25.6 million.

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

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

7. “Michael,” $7.7 million.

8. “The Breadwinner,” $3.4 million.

9. “Pressure,” $3 million.

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

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

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

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

A morning Mass and procession on floral carpets

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Huge crowds greet the American pope

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

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

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

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

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

Sex abuse scandal hangs over visit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A form of popular piety dating back centuries

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

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

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

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

___

Alicia León and Srdjan Nedeljkovic contributed to this report.

___

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

The race for governor between Sand and Republican Zach Lahn stands to be one of the most competitive in the country as Iowans face a state budget deficit, struggling agricultural economy and cancer crisis. Democrats are putting faith in him to blaze a trail in the state after struggling electorally in recent cycles, hoping his message of unity will resonate with their fellow Iowans.

A few hundred people in Des Moines roared, waved campaign signs and snapped photos as Sand took the stage, a state flag hanging behind him.

“You might think we have a big hill to climb. I've seen bigger,” Sand said. “We're building a coalition of — not red versus blue — but of the well-fed versus the fed-up.”

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

The rally was the first one that Tracy Schloss has ever attended. A lifelong Democrat, Schloss said he doesn't like the state's direction after nearly a decade of total Republican control, saying the leaders have “lost sight of the common people.”

“It's time, you gotta step up or the country will still keep going the way it's going," said the 62-year-old retiree from Ankeny, a suburb of Des Moines.

Schloss said he thinks Sand is a “bright spot" who can get voters excited, and he's more optimistic than he's been in recent years that the election will be a success for Democrats.

Iowa is a political battleground this year

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

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

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

Lahn has also rejected Sand's nonpartisan pitch.

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

Sand says it’s time for changes

As he has during campaign events over the past year, Sand asked attendees to sing the first verse of “America the Beautiful.” And when he introduced himself, he talked about his upbringing hunting, fishing and going to church.

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

Sand said it's good to have balance rather than a political system centered around amassing power and punishing political enemies.

“We have found ourselves in this position because we have too many people who want us to only think about red or blue,” Sand said Sunday. “Red and blue are colors.”

Neither Sand nor Lahn use their party's traditional blue or red in campaign materials, opting instead for green. They both say they aren’t beholden to their party establishments and that Iowans want a new direction, though Lahn’s Republican Party has held a statehouse trifecta for nearly a decade.

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

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

“Rob Sand loves to talk about rising above the ‘two-party system’ — right up until it’s time to campaign, cash checks, and share the stage with Democrat Party insiders," Iowa GOP spokeswoman Jade Cichy said in a statement Sunday.

Beshear brings national support as he considers his own future

Beshear, chair of the Democratic Governors Association and a potential presidential candidate in 2028, told a cheering crowd Sunday that he's “all in” for electing Sand.

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

“I am living, breathing proof that Democrats can win anywhere, and we should be fighting everywhere,” Beshear told the crowd Sunday.

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

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

Monday’s Forecast:

We’re waking up in the mid-70s with a high in the upper 80s. There was limited rain on Monday. Isolated to spotty showers move in from the coast and move northeast.

This is a much-needed break from the widespread daily downpours, and it is all thanks to high pressure. This pattern will heat up Houston; with temperatures and humidity combined, there will be several days when it feels like 100 degrees!

CHECK RADAR HERE: YOU CAN TRACK RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS BEFORE YOU LEAVE YOUR HOUSE

More tropical moisture on the way?

We’re watching tropical moisture building up in the Gulf. Depending on its movement, it could reach southeast Texas next week. That would bring back the risk of downpours and flooding if it lifts in our area.

Your extended forecast:

The forecast is expected to trend drier as we get to the start of next week. Have your plans ready for changing weather, keep the Storm Tracker 2 radar handy, and check back for the latest local updates.

Her 2 1/2-foot putt to win caught the left edge, and it toured half the circumference of the hole while the gallery watched in disbelief. When it finally fell amid an outburst of gasps and roars, Korda put her hand over her open mouth before she laughed at the absurdity of her sport.

“It's even sweeter, especially with that ice cream swirl on the last hole,” the world's top-ranked player said.

This trophy was the cool treat Korda wanted more than anything: She won the 81st U.S. Women's Open on Sunday for her second consecutive major victory, holding off Charley Hull and Gaby Lopez by one shot.

The 27-year-old Korda claimed her fourth major overall with a steady 2-under 69 in the final round — but only after her second putt on the 18th came perilously close to a spin-out that would have forced a three-way playoff. When it dropped, Korda had her fourth LPGA Tour victory already from a season in which she also has three second-place finishes in just eight starts.

She finished at 8-under 276 and celebrated with a tear-streaked face after sharing the lead with multiple competitors throughout the windy finale of the first Women's Open ever held at this venerated 100-year-old country club in Pacific Palisades.

This victory was nothing like Korda's major win at The Chevron Championship in April, when she streaked away from the field. Korda was seven shots off the lead after the opening round before fighting her way back to a third-round co-lead, and she never separated from Sunday's competitive pack at Riviera — but she was the only one among the top seven finishers without a bogey on the back nine.

“I didn’t feel my best on the back nine,” Korda said. “I had a lot of emotions swirling in my stomach, (but) it’s a dream come true. I’ve dreamt about this moment since I was a little girl.”

Korda said she'll remember her 9-foot birdie putt on the 17th meant much longer than her frightening final shot because it broke her out of a four-way tie for the lead with Lopez, the hard-charging Hull and three-time major champion In Gee Chun.

“I don’t really throw out fist pumps too often, but I did this weekend,” Korda said. “I threw out a double fist-pump on that (17th) hole, because I knew what it meant.”

The champion made just three birdies and a bogey Sunday, playing steadily and comfortably with her improved competitive mentality. Korda has stressed positivity and steadiness after her inexplicably winless 2025.

And after the hair-raising finish, Korda claimed the $2.5 million winner’s share of this Open’s record $12.5 million purse.

“This week was definitely a grind,” Korda said. “I don’t even feel like I had my B game. I was just grinding out there, and that’s what I guess major championships are all about, right? It doesn’t matter if you have your B or C game. You have to be there mentally.”

Korda arrived at Riviera as the favorite, but the entire Open was a challenge she met splendidly.

After a rough opening-round 73 during which she changed out of a pair of Nike shoes given to her by LeBron James, she took the extraordinary step of altering her grip — per the suggestion of her big sister, Jessica — and coolly put together back-to-back 67s to take a share of the lead into the final round.

The leaderboard only separated late Sunday after seven players began within two strokes of the lead.

Korda fended off excellent final rounds from England's Hull and Mexico's Lopez, who both narrowly missed out on their first major victories. Hull finished second at a major for the fifth time in her career.

Chun finished two shots back at 6-under 278, while third-round co-leader Sei Young Kim carded a 1-over 72 to finish at 279.

Hull played her first two rounds at 3 over, squeezing under the cut by one stroke and beginning Sunday three shots back, but she charged into the lead before the wind picked up off the Pacific. Starting three groups ahead of the leaders and hunting flagsticks all day, Hull finished the final two rounds at 10 under with a 65-67.

“It was quite windy and I hit the ball fantastic, so fair play to Nelly Korda for back-to-back wins,” Hull said. “But I just love playing in the majors. I pretty much only get up for the major. It’s really weird, I just love playing in majors. Like if it’s a normal week-to-week, I struggle sometimes getting the motivation, but when it comes to major week, I just love it.”

Hull’s bogey on the 14th left Lopez, Chun, Kim and Korda all tied for the lead at 7 under. While Kim and Lopez fell back with bogeys, Korda added to a string of nine consecutive pars. But after Hull made a 7-foot birdie putt on the 17th to regain a share of the lead, Korda barely missed a 22-foot birdie putt on the 16th.

Hull ended with a 9 1/2-foot par putt for her 67. A few minutes later, Lopez made her 15-foot putt to join the pack of leaders, but Korda pulled ahead moments later with her gutsy birdie on the 17th.

Korda dropped her approach shot squarely on the 18th green and two-putted to a victory that immediately made her think about how far she has traveled since her first U.S. Open as a precocious teen at Sebonack in 2013.

“Obviously, I’ve had doubts,” Korda said. “Even mid-round I was like, ‘Well, will I ever win it?’ You always have those doubts, but I think you’re just a human being if you have them. ... I don’t know if a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, but I just think I’m just extremely proud of my fight this week, and (fulfilling) the dream of that little girl.”

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

The Democratic primary is still seen as Platner's to win, but he is facing questions about his past that could make it difficult to defeat longtime incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

“We’re going to win on Tuesday and we’re going to win in November and we’re going to take power back for the people in this country,” Platner said to about 400 people clapping and cheering him on in Portland.

The New York Times on Thursday reported an ex-girlfriend's allegations that Platner repeatedly grabbed her by the shoulders during arguments and once twisted her arm behind her back and locked her in a room. Platner has repeatedly called those allegations of violence untrue.

Other Platner ex-girlfriends interviewed by the Times described positive experiences, while some said he was volatile and insulting. That story came days after news reports revealing that Platner had exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women while married.

Despite the allegations, no major Democrats who had previously endorsed Platner have rescinded their support.

And at Sunday's event, attendees avoided asking about Platner's past and instead asked him about the U.S. Supreme Court, what committees he would want to work on once in the Senate, and whether he supports a federal wealth tax.

“What has blown my mind is that everybody knows what’s going on,” Platner said in response to a question about what outsiders watching the Maine Senate race are getting wrong about the state's voters.

Platner said he hoped eventually to join the Senate Appropriations Committee, as well as the committees overseeing agriculture and health care, while mentioning he would like to work with Kentucky's Republican Sen. Rand Paul because of his foreign policy positions.

Platner took a swipe at Sen. John Fetterman, who has criticized the Senate candidate recently, calling him a “creep” and likening him to a “Nazi sympathizer.” Some have questioned whether Platner would be similar to Fetterman, who has a reputation for speaking and voting against his party.

Platner said as a senator it’s important to build relationships and that ”you can’t just go down there and be John Fetterman," while also calling the Pennsylvania Democrat an expletive. He added that Fetterman “said mean things” about him recently.

Platner held a rally with California Rep. Ro Khanna in Bar Harbor on Friday, where he received a standing ovation and declared that Mainers “have my back.”

A combat veteran, Platner has repeatedly said that he struggled with alcohol and post traumatic stress disorder after his military service, but says he is a changed man.

The latest news has deepened some Democrats’ nervousness about Platner, who already faced scrutiny over online posts that were dismissive of sexual assault and a skull tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol. Platner has apologized for the posts and covered up the tattoo, saying he didn't realize its significance when he got it.

Rahm Emanuel, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate who spent the weekend in neighboring New Hampshire, said the “jury is still out” on whether Platner can beat Collins.

“Everybody is holding their breath whether this is the start of something or the end of something,” he said. “If it’s the end, that’s one thing. If it’s the beginning of something and we’re not done, that’s another thing.”

Kurt Fedora, 62, a mental health worker from Buxton, said he attended Sunday's event to hear Platner talk about working-class issues and fighting corruption. He said he’s unmoved by recent revelations about Platner’s history, and considers them a smear campaign by conservative opponents.

“Maybe there will be something to it, but they’re really reaching far to try to pin something on him. And it’s politics as usual,” Fedora said.

Others worried that Platner at times reminded them of President Donald Trump.

Debbi Conley, a 69-year-old retiree from Gorham, said she wanted to learn more about Platner even as she's almost certain he'll win on Tuesday, but she’s skeptical of him at the moment.

“I think people have been frustrated with Susan Collins, so they’re looking for alternatives,” Conley said. “My concerns with Graham Platner are that he’s talking about change, but sometimes it reminds me of the same talk that Trump had like ‘drain the swamp’.”

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Associated Press writer Steven Sloan contributed to this report from Warren, New Hampshire. Kruesi reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

The truce in the Iran war that was reached in April has not spread to Lebanon, where Israel has been battling Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants. Israel says it is defending its northern communities that face Hezbollah drone and rocket fire.

Iran sees Israel’s ground invasion, with thousands of troops, and airstrikes in Lebanon as a ceasefire violation. It insists that any deal with the United States must end the fighting there. Israel disagrees.

Here’s a timeline of key events.

Feb. 28

The United States and Israel attack Iran. War begins.

March 2

Hezbollah enters the war by firing rockets at Israel. Israel retaliates.

April 7

A fragile ceasefire in the Iran war is announced, with talks to continue. Israel is not included in them.

April 8

Israel bombards Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, killing over 300 people in a 10-minute attack.

April 14

Lebanon and Israel hold their first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington.

April 17

A fragile ceasefire is announced between Israel and Lebanon, but Hezbollah plays no part. Fighting soon resumes from both sides.

May 31

Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon makes its deepest incursion in over a quarter-century.

June 1

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatens to strike Beirut if Hezbollah attacks don’t stop. U.S. President Donald Trump says Israel and Hezbollah agree to calm the fighting.

June 2

Israeli drone strikes in Lebanon kill 11 people.

June 3

Israel and Lebanon say they agree to renew the fragile ceasefire and create security zones that exclude Hezbollah.

June 4

Hezbollah’s leader rejects the ceasefire agreement and demands that Israel withdraw from Lebanon.

June 5

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard says “there will be no calm in the region ” if Israel doesn’t withdraw.

June 6

Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon kill three members of the Lebanese military.

June 7

Hezbollah again fires at Israel. Israel strikes Beirut’s southern suburbs. Iran fires at Israel.

June 8

Israel launches airstrikes in the early morning targeting central and western Iran in response to Iranian missile fire. Iranian state television reports the sound of explosions being heard in Isfahan, Tabriz and Tehran, without elaborating.

The son, also named Robert Coles, told The Associated Press that his father died Thursday at a hospice center in Lincoln, Massachusetts.

The elder Coles was famed for documenting the needs of children, particularly those caught in the crucible of social upheaval. The second and third parts of his five-volume "Children of Crisis" won him a Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for general nonfiction.

In a 1965 Washington Post essay, he wrote that, expecting to find many psychiatric problems among the children of poverty, that instead "I was constantly surprised at the endurance shown by children we would all call poor or, in the current fashion, 'culturally disadvantaged.'"

"What enabled such children from such families to survive emotionally and educationally ordeals I feel sure many white middle-class boys and girls would find impossible?"

He would visit the same families repeatedly in order to get to know them well, and brought along crayons to allow the children he studied to draw pictures about their experiences and perceptions.

He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998. He also was one of the first recipients of a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant." In 1999, a panel of judges ranked "Children of Crisis" as No. 44 on its list of the century's 100 best English-language works of nonfiction.

The "Children of Crisis" books came out from 1967 to 1978. His first book focused on the effects of desegregation on children. The second looked at life among migrant workers, sharecroppers and others dwelling in mountain areas.

He subtitled the third volume "The South Goes North" as it focused on both Black and white Southerners who moved into urban areas in the North. The fourth looked at children of Native American origin, as well as Alaska Natives and Hispanic children. A fifth volume examined children of wealth and privilege.

His other books included "Their Eyes Meeting the World," exploring the meanings of children's drawings; "The Moral Life of Children," "The Political Life of Children" and "The Spiritual Life of Children." He also wrote books on psychoanalyst Anna Freud and reformer Dorothy Day.

While many of his books probed conditions in the United States, he also studied children around the world. In all, he wrote more than 50 books and hundreds of articles and essays.

Some of his peers found his work to be more that of a reporter and advocate than that of a psychiatrist or scientist.

"He's a very good journalist who talks to kids sensitively and tells stories well," the late Harvard professor Lawrence Kohlberg, a leading authority on moral development, told AP in 1986. "But no psychiatrist would take what he says seriously."

He had gotten interested in children's reaction to crises in the early 1960s while serving in the South as an Air Force doctor. He was particularly taken by Ruby Bridges, who was only 6 when she became the center of a storm of abuse as the first Black child in a previously all-white school in New Orleans.

"She demonstrated moral stamina; she possessed honor, courage," he said in 1986. He even wrote a children's book about her, "The Story of Ruby Bridges," in 1995. (Ruby's heroism also caught the eye of artist Norman Rockwell, who depicted her brave entrance into the school in his 1964 work "The Problem We All Live With.")

Coles' wife, Jane, helped out during the interviews with children.

"At first the children were frightened to death of us — they'd never had white people in their homes before," Coles told People magazine. "But I began to throw away my questions. I threw away my necktie. I began to sit on the floor."

The 1995 PBS documentary "Listening to Children: A Moral Journey with Robert Coles" showed him at work, interviewing a cross-section of American children and analyzing their drawings, as he had done in his books.

"A child is an opportunity and a moral challenge. How are we going to do justice to this new life with all its possibilities?" he said. "If we fail as parents, we are failing also as citizens."

Coles held a longtime appointment as a research psychiatrist at Harvard's University Health Services. In 1977, he was named professor of psychiatry and medical humanities, and in 1995, he was appointed as a professor of social ethics in the School of Education.

In a popular Harvard class he taught called the Literature of Social Reflection — jokingly called "Guilt 105" — he stressed that "we should look inward and think about the meaning of our life and its purposes," he told People magazine in 1990.

Born in Boston, Coles went on to graduate from Harvard in 1950. He received a medical degree from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1954. A 1972 Time magazine cover profile said he became interested in psychiatry as "the most philosophical of the disciplines" — and besides, he found he was unnerved when children cried when being vaccinated.

He acknowledged that he and his own family lived well, telling The New York Times in 1997, "It makes me uncomfortable, seeing the disparities between the world I document and the world I inhabit."

His wife died in 1993. They had three sons.

Holding a black No. 18 flag out the window, the Joe Gibbs Racing star celebrated his 63rd career victory by smoking the tires of his No. 11 Toyota down the straightaway in honor of Kyle Busch, his late teammate whom he tied for ninth on the all-time win list in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“Truthfully, I had to outlive him to tie him,” said Hamlin who radioed “We love you, KB” on his victory lap. “He was an amazing teammate. He taught me so much at tracks like this. I just can’t say enough.”

It was the second consecutive victory for Hamlin and his second consecutive win at Michigan, where he celebrated last year by taunting fans who booed him.

But there were only raucous cheers from the front-stretch grandstands Sunday as Hamlin jogged up to the flag stand to get the checkered flag while still carrying his Busch tribute flag

Busch drove the No. 18 from 2008-22 for Gibbs, teaming up with Hamlin for a NASCAR-record 523 races. Busch's death on May 21 rocked the NASCAR industry, which was already grieving over the offseason deaths o f Greg Biffle and his family in a plane crash. Hamlin’s father also died in a Dec. 28 house fire.

Noting that Hall of Famer Ned Jarrett also died last week, Hamlin dedicated his third win this season to Busch and his family.

“The offseason, it was rough for me, and it was rough for the NASCAR family,” Hamlin said. “Just an unbelievable feeling to be able to strap in every week, and I don’t take it for granted, this opportunity that I’m in. I just love we’re making the best of it.”

Just like last week’s win at Nashville Superspeedway, when the Joe Gibbs Racing car started on the pole position but was penalized for jumping the start, Hamlin qualified first at Michigan but dropped to the back at the green flag because of a penalty for unapproved adjustments to his No. 11 Toyota.

Hamlin patiently worked his way to the front over 400 miles. He took the lead for good on a three-wide pass during a restart with 38 laps remaining, sweeping into first around Spire Racing teammates Daniel Suarez and Carson Hocevar, a home-state favorite.

Hamlin won by 11.110 seconds, his widest margin of victory in Cup and the largest win at Michigan since June 1991.

“This Joe Gibbs team just keeps giving me amazing race cars,” Hamlin said. “This Toyota was just amazing. And at the last run there, it just hammered down. It had a few good restarts, and then once we got to the lead, I was going to lay it out.”

Erik Jones (another Michigan native) finished second after also starting from the rear for unapproved adjustments. Bubba Wallace was a season-best third, followed by Kyle Larson and Hocevar, who notched his best Michigan finish.

“I don’t think anyone was going to contend with Denny at the end,” Larson said. “He was flying.”

Crash causes red

The race was stopped with 51 laps remaining to repair a damaged SAFER barrier after a hard crash involving Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott.

During a restart on the 148th lap, the drivers were running side by side for second. Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet bobbled and skidded up the track into Bell’s No. 20 Toyota, which shot into the outside wall at the 2-mile oval where speeds top 200 mph.

The impact with Bell’s Camry severely deformed the SAFER barrier, which is comprised of steel and foam to absorb energy in wrecks. A red flag was displayed for 20 minutes to fix the damaged section of the barrier.

Both drivers climbed from their cars and walked to an ambulance for a trip to the track’s infield care center. Team owner Joe Gibbs said after the race that Bell had wrist and ankle injuries that would need to be evaluated this week.

Elliott patted Bell on the shoulder and apologized for the wreck before they entered the ambulance.

“I’m fine; it was totally my fault,” Elliott said. “I feel really bad for Bell, just taking him out. I was trying to run on the bottom and make use of our fresh tires and at least get to second and hopefully stay side by side with him. I got in there and got free and thought I was going to spin and was committing to spin out, and as soon as I started to commit to spinning, it just hooked up and hooked a right. Unfortunately, it sent Christopher into the wall super hard, and then me shortly there behind.

“Just racing really hard. I felt like that was kind of a turning point in the race. We needed to make something happen. I stepped over the line again and paid for it. … I just told him I’m sorry. Obviously, it was not on purpose.”

Rough rookie season

A nightmarish debut season in the Cup Series continued for Connor Zilisch, who crashed twice in the first eight laps and finished last in the 37-car field. The Trackhouse Racing driver has finished outside the top 30 the past three races and is still seeking the first top 10 of his rookie campaign.

“I was really loose, but it’s just unfortunate,” Zilisch said. “Another short race for us. We’ll go try and get them at Pocono next week.”

Up next

NASCAR will make its lone trip this season to Pocono Raceway on June 14. Chase Briscoe won last year to earn his first victory with Joe Gibbs Racing.

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

Iran’s state broadcaster confirmed the launches, and Iran closed its western airspace to brace for a possible response. Tehran had warned of retaliation after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning earlier Sunday in defiance of Washington’s request days ago to stand down. Israel said the Iranian-backed Hezbollah fired at northern Israel earlier in the day.

"Should these acts of aggression be repeated, the responses will be broader in scope and will encompass all American and Zionist targets throughout the region,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said in a statement that referenced attacks in Lebanon and on Iran’s coast and vessels around the Strait of Hormuz.

Sirens sounded in several areas of Israel, sending millions running for shelter. Israel’s military said it intercepted the missiles, and multiple explosions were heard in the north. Less than an hour later, the military said people could leave areas reinforced against missile attacks.

“Iran has made a grave mistake,” Israel military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said. The military's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said it will “strike the enemy with determination as soon as the order is given.”

But Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, said U.S. President Donald Trump told it that he doesn’t think Israel needs to respond further. And Trump told the Financial Times: “I call all the shots. He (Netanyahu) doesn’t call the shots.”

U.S. official: Netanyahu to hold off attack ‘for the time being’

A senior U.S. official said Trump had called Netanyahu to urge him not to retaliate immediately for the Iranian missile attack. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a private phone call, said that Trump believed he had convinced Netanyahu to wait.

Trump “got Bibi to hold off for the time being,” the official said. The official would not offer any other details of the call, and there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu's office.

Iran had warned that an attack on Beirut would renew full-scale war across the Mideast, even as Pakistan and other mediators try to restart talks between Tehran and Washington.

“U.S. forces across the Middle East remain vigilant and ready,” the U.S. Central Command posted on X shortly before the missile launches. The U.S. Embassy in Israel later directed employees and family members to shelter in place.

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

“The army will continue to act in all of Lebanon," the Israel military spokesperson said.

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

Iran says any deal must include an end to fighting in Lebanon.

Trump told a Fox News Channel reporter that he wanted the Iranians to stop firing missiles and return to the negotiating table. He also said that Israel’s strikes earlier Sunday were not coordinated with the U.S. and “I’m not happy about it.”

Israel last week had announced it would strike the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, but urgent talks via Washington halted that on the condition that Hezbollah stop targeting Israeli border towns.

Hezbollah, which claimed responsibility for firing at Israel earlier Sunday, wants the direct talks between Lebanon and Israel to end. Instead, it supports Iran’s stance that an overall ceasefire deal between Tehran and Washington include the situation in Lebanon.

Netanyahu, who seeks reelection later this year, is under heavy domestic pressure to respond to both Iran and the Hezbollah threat, which has paralyzed life for thousands of residents along Israel’s northern border.

But Trump has made clear he does not want to see the war resume.

Trump said earlier Sunday in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he would like to see a “more surgical attack on Hezbollah.” He also said he was “not demanding” that Lebanon be part of an overall ceasefire deal in the Iran war.

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

Iran since the ceasefire took effect has launched missiles and drones at Gulf nations and said it was targeting the U.S. military presence. After its launches against Israel, Iraq’s Civil Aviation Authority announced that the country’s airspace would close for 72 hours and Syria’s aviation authority announced a 12-hour airspace closure.

All flights from Tehran’s main international airport were suspended, the civil aviation authority said, according to the official Mizan news agency.

Diplomacy continues before and after missile launches

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

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

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

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

And after Iran's missile launches at Israel, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with counterparts in France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Egypt and Turkey as well as Pakistan’s army chief, Iran's state TV said.

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

When he walked to the 14th tee at Muirfield Village, he was trailing for the first time since the 17th hole Friday. The four-shot lead he had at the start of the final round was gone. He was 3 over for the day as everyone was charging. The tournament was slipping away.

Poston delivered three birdies over the next five holes, the last one an 8-iron to 7 feet on the 18th hole with tournament host Jack Nicklaus watching a wild affair unfold. That forced a playoff with Ryan Gerard, and Poston won on the second extra hole when Gerard missed a 6-foot par putt.

“I needed to play the last five holes really well,” Poston said. “I knew I was going to be shaking Mr. Nicklaus’s hand walking off 18 no matter what, and I want to be proud of the effort when I did. So just to do it the way that I did ... is a dream come true, and something I’ll certainly carry with me the rest of my career.”

Nicklaus was certainly impressed, and at times could relate.

For all the late fireworks — that included a five-way tie for the lead late in the afternoon — key to the biggest win of Poston's career was the 17th hole.

Poston was in deep rough and chose to lay up short of the creek, hitting wedge to 12 feet. Gerard holed a 40-foot birdie putt to take the lead. Poston had to make par to stay within one shot, and he poured in the par to set up his big finish.

“After Ryan made his putt, that made that putt honestly a little easier,” Poston said. “I knew exactly what I needed to do.”

Nicklaus, who has made a few clutch putts in his career, concurred.

“He had to make it,” Nicklaus said. “I think sometimes when you have to make a putt, you find yourself in that position that you say, ‘Well, I don’t have any choice, I got to make it.’ So yeah, I think by and large those are easier, actually.”

Nothing felt easy on this day, starting with 33 holes on one of the PGA Tour's most demanding courses, with Poston knowing he could be facing 36 holes of U.S. Open qualifying on Monday.

He built the four-shot lead Sunday morning over the final 13 holes of the storm-delayed third round. That was gone in 12 holes, and he trailed after the 13th hole of the fourth round.

Wyndham Clark, Tommy Fleetwood and Sam Burns were charging. Gerard wasn't going anywhere, playing rock-solid until one mistake on the final playoff hole — a three-putt from 55 feet.

"I know there were a lot of people kind of tied for the lead at one point coming down the stretch, and I felt like I stepped up and executed golf shots that I wanted to execute," said Gerard, who closed with a 4-under 68. “Just stings a little bit.”

Poston's birdie on the final hole of regulation gave him a 72. They finished at 12-under 276.

The perks went beyond the $4 million prize.

Poston earned a spot in the next three majors with one great week. He moved to No. 39 in the world ranking, meaning he will be added to the U.S. Open field a week from Monday. He captured the one British Open spot available at the Memorial, and he gets in the Masters next year.

“I told myself in the playoff that this is my U.S. Open qualifier,” Poston said. “I want to play in the majors. I want to play in the big events. This is a huge boost of confidence for me and my game and knowing that I can compete in those and play in those. Just thrilled to get it done.”

Fleetwood drilled a fairway metal to 5 feet for eagle on the par-5 15th to briefly take the lead. Clark birdied the 16th hole to share the lead. Burns was never too far behind. All of them were at 11 under heading to the final few holes.

Clark closed with two pars for a 67. He wound up alone in third, one shot out of the playoff.

Fleetwood hit into the rough with his first three shots on the 17th and had to scramble for bogey. He shot 68. Burns also missed the 17th fairway, and his next shot tumbled back down the rough and settled on the bridge over a small creek. He hit that to 40 feet, and his long par putt peeked into the cup and somehow stayed out. A 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th narrowly missed. He shot 69 and tie for fourth with Fleetwood.

Scottie Scheffler, trying to join Tiger Woods with a third straight victory at the Memorial, was never in the mix for so much of the week. He closed with a 71 and tied for 12th, but felt he did enough right over the weekend that his game was headed in the right direction.

His next stop is the U.S. Open, where a victory would give him the career Grand Slam.

Rory McIlroy is now 0 for 14 at the Memorial. He birdied his first three holes before getting caught in dense rough that slowed his momentum. He shot 68 and tied for 12th.

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

The attack happened around 10:00 a.m. near Creekbend Drive and Fluor Daniel Drive, according to the Sugar Land Police Department.

Investigators say the woman was walking in the area when an unknown man approached her and assaulted her with a baseball bat before fleeing in an SUV.

The victim suffered serious injuries and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Her husband, Dannel Caban, said the attack began when a man driving an SUV appeared to be asking for directions.

“He was coming against traffic,” Caban said.

Caban said his wife became suspicious after noticing the vehicle was traveling the wrong direction and seeing a baseball bat inside.

“The guy right away came out of the car and started swinging the bat,” Caban said. “She tried to start running and he hit her on the back of the head.”

At the time of the attack, Caban said his wife was caring for a two-year-old child and pushing the toddler in a stroller.

He said her immediate concern was protecting the child.

As she tried to call 911, Caban said the attacker smashed her phone and continued the assault.

“He broke her phone in his hand. After that, still swinging and swinging,” Caban said.

According to Caban, his wife raised her arm to protect herself from another blow aimed at her head.

The impact shattered both bones in her forearm.

Caban said doctors later inserted plates and screws into her arm during surgery.

“Five or six months to recover,” Caban said.

Despite her injuries, he said his wife never lost consciousness and continued fighting back until the suspect fled.

A passerby eventually stopped to help and call for assistance.

When Caban arrived, he said he feared the worst.

“I saw her completely full of blood, with the arm literally hanging,” he said. “I thought that was the end of her life.”

The toddler was not physically injured during the attack, according to Caban.

Sugar Land police describe the suspect as a man believed to be in his 30s or 40s.

The victim told investigators he was tall and had a heavier build.

Police say he fled in an older-model SUV, though investigators have not released additional details about the vehicle.

Authorities have not identified a motive and said there is no indication the victim knew her attacker.

According to the Sugar Land Police Department’s public crime dashboard, the city has recorded 14 aggravated assaults so far in 2026, compared with 11 during the same period in 2025.

Anyone with information about the suspect or the vehicle involved is asked to contact the Sugar Land Police Department at 281-275-2020 or Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers at 281-342-TIPS.

The two-vehicle crash was reported at 3:11 p.m. on Pasadena Boulevard and Beltway 8 service road.

Police said there were four passengers involved in the crash. One person was pronounced dead at the scene and the three others were taken to local hospitals.

Due to the collision, the entire northbound side of the Beltway 8 service road at Pasadena Boulevard is currently closed to traffic. Additionally, westbound traffic from Red Bluff Road is also closed.

Motorist are encouraged to avoid the area, expect significant delays, and seek alternate routes.

The roadway is expected to remain closed for an extended period while the Pasadena Police Department’s Crash Team investigates the collision.

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

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

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

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

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

Kurti told supporters in Pristina that the election confirmed the dominance of his party. He promised to “communicate, meet and cooperate with all political parties ... because public interest comes first for us.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Each of the dozen victims — ranging from teenagers to people in their 60s — were in stable condition, the Toledo Police Department said Sunday. No arrests have been made and authorities have not identified any potential suspects.

The gunfire erupted Saturday near the Old West End Festival, a popular annual summer gathering along streets dotted with Victorian homes. Videos posted to social media showed people running at the sound of gunfire and medics tending to the wounded in a park filled with event tents and food trucks.

Toledo Deputy Police Chief Joe Heffernan has said it appeared that at least two people fired weapons and were “probably shooting at each other.”

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

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

In a brief update posted to social media Sunday, Toledo police said investigators were continuing to make progress and were following multiple leads. Authorities have urged festivalgoers to come forward with any photos or videos that might have caught a glimpse of the suspects.

Hundreds of people were at the festival, an annual two-day celebration in Toledo’s historic district featuring live music, food vendors, home tours and shopping. Located in northwest Ohio near the western edge of Lake Erie, Toledo is about 55 miles (90 kilometers) southwest of Detroit.

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

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

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

The victims ranged in age from 14 to 61, with most of them in their early 20s. Fire Chief Allison Armstrong said it was difficult for emergency responders to get the injured to the hospital due to closed roads and traffic leaving the festival, but all were transported within an hour.

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

“Everybody hit the deck,” he said.

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

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

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

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

The Ohio shooting was one of at least two episodes of mass gun violence in the U.S. over the weekend.

In Kansas City, Missouri, nine adults were injured in a shooting early Saturday, police said. Officers dispatched to the area about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of downtown found a large crowd dispersing. Police said none of the victims had life-threatening injuries and that no suspects were in custody.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at 10 Downing Street.

In a statement released by Starmer's office following their evening meeting, the leaders condemned Russia’s “large-scale missile and drone attacks — including the repeated use of the Oreshnik missiles — on Ukrainian cities with a tragic toll on civilians." They also condemned Russia's “irresponsible and dangerous Russian drone incursions” into NATO territory, including last month's in Romania.

Russia has stepped up its aerial campaign against Ukraine recently, most notably with the launch of the Oreshnik missiles.

“The leaders underlined the urgent need to scale up the production of interceptors and co-develop anti-ballistic missile and deep strike capabilities," the leaders said.

No details, financial or otherwise, on how this would be done were provided.

Ukraine’s shortage of air defense systems, in part because of the depletion of U.S. stocks during the Iran war, has left civilians especially vulnerable to ballistic missiles, even as Kyiv’s defenses stop most of Moscow’s drones and its forces have made advances elsewhere on the battlefield.

The worry for Ukrainians is that the Iran war, which has been in abeyance for weeks, may now reignite after Iran launched missiles on Sunday at Israel in the first such bombardment since a fragile ceasefire took effect in early April, complicating mediation efforts for a deal to end the war.

Following their meeting in London, the European leaders called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree “an immediate and complete ceasefire” with the current line of contact as a starting point for any negotiations.

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

The meeting comes in the wake of a Russian drone strike that killed three people waiting at a bus stop in southeastern Ukraine. A separate drone strike damaged a storage center for spent nuclear fuel in the Kyiv region, just 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s General Staff said. The attack sparked a fire that was extinguished within an hour. Radiation remains within safe levels, officials said.

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

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

With the front line barely moving as swarms of drones hinder advances, both sides have sought an edge by launching long-range strikes.

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

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

Todd Duplantis, interim executive director of HCC communications, marketing and public information, shares what’s happening on the HCC Southwest campus and how the college is meeting local workforce needs. Programs emphasize small classes and lab time, bringing students face-to-face with the equipment and software they’ll use on the job. That hands-on approach is intended to shorten the time between training and employment.

Affordability and access remain central to HCC’s mission. Through the Houston Reconnect and Connect 2 Work initiatives, many short-term certificate programs are offered with no tuition cost for qualified learners, making upskilling more accessible across the city. These certificates are intended to be quick, career-focused pathways that can lead to entry-level roles or stack into longer credentials over time.

Local employers and program advisers are also working with HCC to ensure course content aligns with real workplace needs, from automation and precision manufacturing to data-protection practices used in cybersecurity teams. Students can expect to build portfolios and complete projects that demonstrate job-ready competence to hiring managers.

How to get started: visit HCCS.EDU or call 713-718-2000 to explore programs, check eligibility for Houston Reconnect or Connect 2 Work, and sign up for campus tours or information sessions. For specifics on which short-term certificates are tuition-free and enrollment deadlines, contact the college directly.

Whether you’re pivoting careers or upskilling from within your current job, HCC Southwest aims to make the path practical, affordable and connected to Houston’s growing industries.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Security minister posts video reportedly with dead gunman

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

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

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

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

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

Israeli strikes kill 9 in Gaza

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

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

The Israeli military didn't immediately comment on either strike, but has said in the past that it would target militants that pose a threat to its troops. While the heaviest fighting has subsided since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal last October, the ceasefire has seen almost daily Israeli fire.

Israel later closed the crossings with Gaza until further notice due to the deteriorating security situation, according to the defense body that oversees humanitarian aid in Gaza, which issued the statement after Iran launched missiles at Israel.

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

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

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Samy Magdy contributed to this report from Cairo.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Denmark great

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Neither Denmark nor Ukraine have qualified for the World Cup.

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

It was the same court where he twisted his right ankle and crumpled to the ground, wailing in agony before being pushed off on a wheelchair during a semifinal match against Rafael Nadal in 2022.

The same court where he wasted a lead of two sets to one against Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 championship match.

“All the emotions came out, because this court is very, very special to me. It’s special in a very positive way, but also special on the negative way, because I had some of the toughest moments of my life here," Zverev said.

"I was laying on this court with an injury that I didn’t know if I would ever come back from. I lost a Grand Slam final here, so all of those memories for me, they’re not wiped out. They're still with me, but this one will beat all of them.”

After so many missed opportunities, Zverev is no longer one of the best players never to win a major title.

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

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

When Cobolli missed an overhead on the second championship point after more than four hours of the five-set encounter, Zverev joined an elite group of players that captured their first major in their fourth final: Eight-time major champion Andre Agassi, 2001 Wimbledon winner Goran Ivanisevic and 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem.

Then when Zverev finally got his hands on the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy, he turned it upside down, held it between his legs and then hoisted it above his head with both arms as he let out a loud roar.

“This trophy for me is very important because if I would have lost this one, this self-belief would have gone down a lot,” Zverev said. “But now that I’ve won it, I feel like I can do it again.”

No Sinner or Alcaraz

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

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

Zverev also lost a lead of two sets to none in the 2020 U.S. Open final to Thiem and was beaten in straight sets by Sinner in the 2025 Australian Open final.

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

Cobolli's 1st Slam final

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

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

The honors, however, went to Zverev.

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

Zverev took control early on

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

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

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

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

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

Both players were treated by a trainer as the match wore on and Cobolli appeared to run out of energy in the fifth.

“He deserved it more than me at the end of the match,” Cobolli said, adding that he was slowed by cramps.

Zverev said his cramps "were more mental.

“I actually think that the cramp helped me in a way, that I let go, I kind of hit my shots a bit more and just let go,” he added.

Abuse allegations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An uncertain restart

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

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

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

Isack Hadjar was confirmed third for Red Bull after battling engine problems and seeing off an investigation.

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

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

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

Hamilton's turnaround

Hamilton was in jubilant mood after placing second, with Kim Kardashian watching. The seven-time champion paid tribute to Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur for his role in turning around Hamilton and the team’s fortunes.

“Fred has been awesome in supporting me. I think last year was really tough for both of us,” said Hamilton, adding that he was “seeing the fruits” of changes which Vasseur implemented. Hamilton wasn't on the podium in any Grand Prix in all of 2025 in his first year with the team.

Vasseur was back at the track with Ferrari on Sunday after he missed Saturday’s qualifying session. The team said he had been under observation at a medical facility, without giving any further details of his condition.

Confusion continues after the finish

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

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

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

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

Russell had been second in the standings before the race — the position is Hamilton's now. Russell crossed the line 13th, later upgraded to 12th, after a hefty penalty for failing to serve an earlier penalty properly. He said he didn't understand what happened.

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

More disputes were to come Sunday evening as Alpine said it was challenging the spate of penalties issued for pit lane speeding, one of which cost Gasly third. That is under the “right of review” system under which decisions typically take days.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Iran ‘is not an endless war’

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trump without evidence claims fraud in California vote

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘Anti-weaponization’ fund

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

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

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

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

Rain interruptions and an abrupt end

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

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

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

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

The second case was found in a one-month-old calf 5.6 miles away from where the first case was detected on Wednesday, according to a USDA social media post. USDA deployed mobile response teams and increased surveillance in the area in response to the detection, the post said.

Abbott’s expanded order authorizes the use of “all available resources of state government to respond to this disaster,” he said shortly before signing the declaration during a news conference in Austin.

The order further reassigns all resources from across the state as needed and makes available all state personnel, including those from university systems, to speed the shipment of sterile flies into Texas and the construction of a sterile fly facility in South Texas.

The sterile flies are intended to break the reproduction cycle of the parasitic fly.

“Here is the reality of this cycle. This is likely to spread over the course of the summer. During winter months, it may kill off the flies or reduce their number, but we can’t make it through a second summer,” Abbott said. “So I am pushing for the facility in the state of Texas, under construction right now, to be completed by May of next year, as opposed to November of next year.” 

The state is prioritizing resources for Zavala County and nearby Uvalde County. 

USDA established a 20-kilometer “infested zone” that prevents the movement of animals from the area without an inspection. A much wider surveillance zone — including Uvalde, Lima Grande and Crystal City —  surrounds the quarantined area in Zavala County.

Abbott was briefed on the screwworm situation Friday by state and federal officials. At a news conference afterward, he said his order — which expanded a disaster declaration he issued in January — directed all state agencies to be ready to respond. 

Abbott said the federal government is covering the cost of building facilities to raise and distribute sterile flies, adding that state agencies don’t need additional funds to meet his order but money will be provided if necessary.

“We need a high volume of sterile flies as quickly as possible. It’s great news we are getting the volume that we are getting both from Panama, as well as Mexico, but listen, it’s critical that the new facility that is being constructed right now be completed even faster,” Abbott said. 

USDA representatives praised the federal response, saying their projections showed the screwworm was expected to arrive in Texas last year and that their efforts, combined with the state’s, had held it back until now.  

The governor’s expanded disaster proclamation follows a series of emergency declarations by county judges, including those in Kinney, Jim Webb and Uvalde counties. 

State law gives broad authority to the Texas governor and health commissioner in times of crisis, including the ability to waive laws that hinder state agencies’ ability to appropriately respond to screwworm. 

A sample from a 3-week-old calf from La Pryor in Zavala County tested positive for the country’s first case of New World screwworm, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said June 3.

The infested calf was doing well, officials said, and an inspection of its herd found no other cases of screwworm. There have been no other signs of screwworm in the country so far.

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, an Austin Democrat who is running against Abbott for governor, has also called for Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, and House Agriculture and Livestock Committee Chair Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grand City, to immediately call a public interim hearing about the situation.

“I know this is an unorthodox request because I am not a member of the committee, but travelling the state, and in the district I represent, I am hearing real concerns about food security,” she said in a Sunday post on X. “We owe Texans a public vetting of the state’s response to this crisis.” 

Guillen told The Texas Tribune that his office has started the planning for a hearing on the issue in the coming weeks. Burrows’ office didn’t immediately respond to a comment request.

The USDA said in a social media post earlier that it had activated personnel on the ground and was working with local partners. The federal agency also said issues with screwworm shouldn’t immediately cause food supply chain issues, as screwworms do not infect meat, fruits or vegetables.

However, an outbreak of screwworm threatens to do $1.8 billion in damage to Texas’ economy, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture estimate. An outbreak also could increase already record-high beef prices nationwide, given the state’s importance to the cattle industry. 

Screwworm in the flesh of an infested animal will cause significant damage to the wound, as flies repeatedly cycle in and out, lay eggs, and enlarge the wound, leading to illness and death. 

Even if the animal survives, there’s usually extensive damage to the animal’s hide and health. 

Cattle are particularly susceptible to screwworm due to their inability to protect an open wound, and their large frame can allow eggs to develop in multiple locations from a single cut. 

“Texas livestock producers and all Texans must now be vigilant in their efforts to manage and combat the invasive pest,” Farm Bureau President Russell Boening said in a statement after screwworm had been confirmed in Texas.

Some South Texas officials are frustrated by what they say has been a lack of communication from the USDA. 

“It’s a complete lack of information,” said Val Verde County Judge Lewis Owens.

As cases of screwworm continued to pop up in Mexico over the last year, some within 25 miles of the Texas border, Owens said border counties have been kept in the dark over the exact location of the cases. The situation, he said, has left them unable to provide answers to their communities.

“A little bit of communication goes a long way,” Owens said.
”If we know what the hell’s going on, then I can tell my constituents. If we don’t, then the anger goes up.”

Owens also took issue with Rollins blaming the proliferation of screwworm on President Joe Biden’s “open border” policies, which she said enabled the illicit movement of cattle throughout Mexico.

“These flies do not fly to new areas on their own,” Rollins said during a call with media and officials on Thursday. “If they move, it’s because they are moving with the animal.”

Owens pointed out that the USDA, under the Biden administration, closed ports of entry to cattle from Mexico in November 2024. The Trump administration announced their reopening in February 2025 only to shut them down again in May 2025.

Crossings have been shut down, Owens said, adding: “So, let’s not keep blaming individuals or blaming other parties.”

Nowell Borders, an Edinburg rancher with ranches in Mexico, said he was concerned about his animals but was more worried about wildlife that will be much more difficult to catch and check for screwworm.

“Deer is a several billion dollar business in Texas and hunting, and I think it could be a detriment, a huge detriment to wildlife,” Borders said.

Borders owns a 100,000-square-foot facility in South Texas that he has offered as a pop-up production facility for sterile flies.

Scientists say dispersing sterile screwworm flies is the most efficient way to eradicate the pest. The sterile male flies reproduce with female screwworm flies, which can mate only once in their lifetime, producing unviable eggs.

The USDA is building a facility in Edinburg that will produce 300 million sterile flies per week. However, that facility is not expected to begin operating until fall 2027.

“I specifically offered anybody and everybody from Texas A&M, anybody and everybody from any state agency, offering to ensure construction can be conducted 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to make sure the facility in Texas will be up and running even faster than what is currently scheduled,” Abbott said Friday.

Federal officials are also working with Mexican partners to launch a facility in Metapa, Mexico that is expected to open later this month. Currently, the only active sterile fly production facility is in Panama. Sterile flies from that facility have been shipped to dispersal facilities in Mexico and Edinburg to help spread sterile flies to needed areas.

The USDA has dispersed more than 130 million sterile flies in Texas since January.

Borders said a pop-up facility on his property could be up and running in about a month. The federal government has, so far, not taken him up on his offer.

For now, he’d like the USDA and state partners to start dispersing sterile flies as far north as San Antonio as soon as possible.

“I think that’s the most important thing you could get going,” Borders said. “They need a facility to start, like, last week.”

Michael Schmoyer, associate administrator with the USDA, said the agency responded swiftly to the first confirmed case, with officials on site and deploying sterile flies within hours.

Eleven containers, each carrying 80,000 to 100,000 sterile flies, have been deployed, Schmoyer said.

Earlier this year, the USDA began dropping sterile flies over a 50-mile area north of the Texas border and will now drop 4 million flies a week over the infestation area.

Alex Nguyen contributed to this story.

According to Harris County Precinct 4, deputies were called to the 23300 block of Aldine Westfield Road around 3:30 a.m. on reports of gunfire.

When they arrived, deputies found an 18-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound. Officials said he was awake and alert at the scene. He was taken to a hospital where is being treated for his injuries, officials said.

While canvassing the area, deputies said they located a second man nearby with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities described the deceased as between 18 and 22 years old.

• MORE NEWS: 1 dead, 1 critically hurt after shooting at crawfish boil in northeast Houston, HPD says

Investigators said the shooting stemmed from a physical altercation between the two men that escalated, with both involved in gunfire. Deputies believe a third man then approached and began shooting at both, before running away on foot, officials said.

The case remains under investigation. Harris County Sheriff’s Office Homicide is handling the investigation, and anyone with information is asked to contact law enforcement.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The investigation began around 2 p.m. Saturday when deputies responded to the 11800 block of Tidwell Road for an aggravated robbery.

Detectives said the victim was at a gas station when a man approached him and asked questions about his blue Chevrolet Silverado. During the conversation, the suspect pulled a gun and stole the truck.

Authorities said the victim was able to track the vehicle through a GPS application that provided live location data.

Family tracks stolen vehicle

According to investigators, the victim notified family members and friends about the theft. The victim’s father and a family friend later located the stolen truck near Loop 610 and Airline Drive.

Detectives said a collision involving the stolen vehicle followed, leaving the truck disabled. Two suspects then got out and ran toward a nearby Chevron gas station.

• READ ALSO: Houston Police investigating deadly hit-and-run involving man in wheelchair in Sunnyside

Investigators said the victim’s father pursued the suspects. During the confrontation, one of the suspects pulled out a gun and opened fire.

“The male suspect had produced a firearm, discharging the firearm and the victims sustained a gunshot wound,” HCSO Detective Sergio Torres said.

Father dies, second victim injured

The victim’s father and another man were both struck by gunfire and transported to a hospital. Torres said the 50-year-old victim later died from his injuries.

“Both were transported to a nearby hospital, at which point the 50-year-old victim had succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased,” Torres said.

A second victim, believed to be between 24 and 25 years old, was hospitalized in stable condition, according to investigators.

Witness describes chaotic scene

Witnesses described a chaotic scene as the suspects fled.

“I think the people that robbed the truck, they panicked. They were trying to get away. They crashed. They ran that way down North Loop, towards the freeway,” one witness said.

“It was shocking. Nothing like that ever happened like that in front of me,” the witness added.

• MORE NEWS: 1 dead, 1 critically hurt after shooting at crawfish boil in northeast Houston, HPD says

Investigation continues

Investigators said the suspects left in another vehicle after the shooting.

“We do have a description of the suspect vehicle that they had entered and fled,” Torres said.

The sheriff’s office is looking for two suspects, a male and female, that fled in a black pick-up truck.

Authorities have detained several people while investigators determine whether they were involved in the incident or witnessed what happened.

“We do have some people detained. We’re trying to figure out if they’re witnesses or whatnot,” Torres said.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Division is leading the investigation. Detectives are also reviewing surveillance video from the gas station.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS or the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

It was an instant mismatch and an inviting downfield target for Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud on a fade pattern out of the slot. Few NFL wide receivers are as big, fast and tall as Higgins, an imposing figure at 6-foot-4 214 pounds with a huge catch radius.

One year into his NFL career, the former Iowa State All-American and All-Big 12 selection is displaying signs that he could be poised for a breakout second NFL season.

Heading into the Texans’ full-team minicamp this week, Higgins has been a standout among the receivers and has lined up at multiple spots and shown upgraded timing and chemistry with Stroud. Higgins is noticeably more muscular and explosive, too.

“Higgins has done an outstanding job,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “You see a physical difference. You see a stronger, more chiseled-out receiver. We step on the field, he’s playing faster. He’s playing stronger. He’s making all of the tough catches. He’s playing extremely fast.

“He’s taken advantage of his offseason, and he’s really improved in a ton of areas. The first area for him is how can we play fast consistently and he’s doing that right now. He’s going to have a great year. Can’t wait to see it.”

Higgins, a former basketball player growing up in Miami before converting to football on a full-time basis, had a solid rookie season. He caught 41 passes for 525 yards and six touchdowns on 68 targets as he averaged 12.8 yards per reception.

He overcame a slow start as he adjusted to the NFL. As the season went on, Higgins was counted on more to complement Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins. In two playoff games, he combined for nine catches for 98 yards and five first downs on 14 targets.

The improvements Higgins has made are fairly obvious. He has been working overtime this offseason.

“First and foremost, working on my strength, working on my speed, my lateral movements, quickness, route running. This offseason I worked a lot on my intellectual phase, just making sure I’m understanding the concepts we’re running, making sure I’m understanding when the timing needs to be, where I need to be in a certain time. Doing those two things has really helped me a lot.

“Thinking back to last year, just the confidence that I built up has been crazy. Having the same offense, having the same guys around, it just allows me to go out there, play fast. I understand what I’m doing. Really, I can just go out there and make the plays when they come to me. Coming into Year 2, I feel a lot more confident and just ready to go out there and ball.”

Signed to an $11.7 million contract, the first fully guaranteed deal for a second-round draft pick in NFL history, Higgins is a classic late bloomer.

A former two-star recruit at Westminster Christian High School, Higgins went overlooked at nearly every stage of the talent evaluation process until the most important one: the NFL draft.

Before Higgins emerged, though, as the Texans’ top draft pick as the 34th overall selection, he was told no several times by the college football world. Higgins ultimately signed with Eastern Kentucky, where he excelled so much he outgrew the Football Championship Subdivision school and entered the NCAA transfer portal before becoming a third-team All-American and second-team All-Big 12 selection at Iowa State.

One thing the Texans really like about Higgins is his versatility. The plan is to deploy him at multiple spots.

“For me, the sky’s the limit,” Higgins said. “However they want to incorporate me in the offense, putting me at different positions, whether that’s X, Z, F, no matter what, in the slot, outside, whenever I can go out there and make a play.

“No necessarily goals for myself personally, but I think we all know that the goal for the team is to put a bull on the ring. I’m going to contribute however I can.”

For the Cyclones, Higgins developed into one of the most dangerous receivers in college football.

Before Higgins grew into his frame and became an elite receiver, he had to commit to football as his main sport. He was a basketball player primarily since elementary school until transferring to Westminster Christian after his sophomore year at Gulliver Prep’s Upper School and becoming a full-time football player.

Higgins had played basketball since the third grade and was known as a natural shooter who elevated over defenders around the rim.

“Basketball was definitely huge for me,” Higgins said. “Just being able to move in tight spaces, knowing how to set people up, knowing how to use your leverage to win and really just being mobile, being elusive and shifty.”

Before Higgins signed with Eastern Kentucky, he was ranked as the 459th wide receiver in the nation and the 367th best player overall in the state of Florida.

Being underrated, being an afterthought, has provided a lot of motivational fuel for Higgins.

“For me, at the end of the day, it’s always been a look at yourself in the mirror type of thing,” Higgins said. “I’m just trying to be the best version of myself. I’m going to pick certain people’s brain and see what they do well and try to take it. I’m trying to be the best version of myself and show that when you’re out there on the field.”

It became evident that Higgins needed a greater challenge athletically than what he was getting at Eastern Kentucky at a lower level of college football. After catching 58 passes for 757 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore, Higgins decided it was time to enter the portal.

Higgins made an immediate impact for the Cyclones with 53 catches for 983 yards and six touchdowns in his first season in the Big 12 as an honorable-mention all-conference selection. He took it up a notch in his final college football season as he caught 87 passes for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns.

“He’s one of the best I’ve been around, and that’s where you gotta have a little bit of confidence,” said Noah Pauley, Penn State receivers coach who coached Higgins and teammate Jaylin Noel at Iowa State on Matt Campbell’s staff. “I just knew he was going to be a high-end pick and whatever team that got him was going be extremely pleased because of obviously what he brings on the football field, but just how he carries himself off the field and how he prepares himself and how he just he always plays and does everything with a chip on his shoulder.

“Jayden has this mindset where whether he’s playing the slot or playing outside that he’s gonna find a way to get open and go make the play and he consistently did that for us. Wanting to play at the highest level like he just keeps pushing himself and trying to prove others wrong.”

Higgins has the speed to get open with a 4.47 time in the 40-yard dash and a 1.53 10-yard split. He has serious hops with a 39-inch vertical leap and a 10-8 broad jump.

He’s much larger than the defensive backs tasked with covering him.

There are some parallels between Higgins and Collins as bigger receivers who use their size to their advantage to jump over and box out smaller defensive backs.

“It’s definitely a big element of my game,” Higgins said. “It’s what makes me so versatile. My size allows me to be able to be a big receiver on the outside, but what makes it different is I’m versatile. I can run any route in the route tree and I can make plays from anywhere on the field. So, it’s definitely something that I’m continuing to use and uses my strength.

“Nico being a big receiver, I definitely like to watch his film. Really what I see from his game is just how explosive he is. He’s also very physical and fast, really just a great vertical threat. Definitely try to pick his mind and see how I can implement some of those things that he has in my game as well.”

There aren’t a lot of defensive backs who can match Higgins’ rare combination of size, speed and route running. Just ask the Titans.

“I think being a big receiver, being able to go in there and line up inside and go against linebackers or nickels and just make plays in there is definitely a benefit to us,” Higgins said. “I think it will show up in all aspects, route running, just being stronger, being able to break tackles, just being quicker and then just being smarter.

“A lot of times we’re playing against zones and things like that, so knowing where to sit, knowing whether to take a high angle or a low angle, that stuff is really important. I think it will help out a lot.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

___

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trump offers support as Putin urges caution

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Opposition wants closer ties with Russia

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

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

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

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

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

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

EU criticizes Moscow's pressure

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

___

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Officers responded to a shooting call around 1:30 a.m. to the 7700 block of Bretshire Drive. Police said an altercation occurred between a suspect and two adult male victims who were attending the gathering.

According to investigators, the suspect shot both men. One victim was shot in the chest. The second victim was shot in the neck and chest.

Police said a woman drove one of the victims to a local hospital, where he remains in critical condition. The other victim was pronounced dead at the scene, behind a vehicle parked in front of the home.

• MORE NEWS: Carjacking ends with collision and deadly shooting in north Houston

One of the victims is 22 years old, police said. The second victim has not yet been identified.

Investigators said the motive for the argument remains unknown. A suspect was detained.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the HPD Homicide Division at (713) 308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS, where you can report anonymously.

• Lee este artículo en inglés

Los agentes respondieron a una llamada por disparos alrededor de la 1:30 a. m. en la cuadra 7700 de Bretshire Drive. La policía informó que se produjo un altercado entre un sospechoso y dos hombres adultos que asistían a la reunión.

Según los investigadores, el sospechoso disparó contra ambos hombres. Una de las víctimas recibió un disparo en el pecho. La segunda víctima recibió disparos en el cuello y en el pecho.

La policía dijo que una mujer llevó a una de las víctimas a un hospital local, donde permanece en estado crítico. La otra víctima fue declarada muerta en el lugar, detrás de un vehículo estacionado frente a la vivienda.

• MÁS NOTICIAS: Un robo de auto termina con una colisión y un tiroteo mortal en el norte de Houston

Una de las víctimas tiene 22 años, según la policía. La segunda víctima aún no ha sido identificada.

Los investigadores señalaron que el motivo de la discusión sigue siendo desconocido. Un sospechoso fue detenido.

A cualquier persona con información se le pide que se comunique con la División de Homicidios del HPD al (713) 308-3600 o con Crime Stoppers al (713) 222-TIPS, donde puede reportar de forma anónima.

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

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

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

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

New Yorkers love the Knicks more than they love Trump

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver disagrees.

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

A courtside regular in the 1990s

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Houston Zoo said Jonah died Thursday night at age 29. In a tribute posted Friday, the Zoo said Jonah had recently shown signs of illness and was also dealing with age-related kidney disease. His animal care team stayed with him through the end, the Zoo said.

Jonah’s story started in Northern California, where the Zoo said he was found orphaned and severely underweight. After being rescued and rehabilitated, he eventually moved to the Houston Zoo in 2013 and quickly became a standout in the colony. The Zoo said he later fathered two pups, TJ and Max, and in 2023 moved with the group into the Zoo’s newer Galápagos Islands habitat.

Even at his biggest — the Zoo said Jonah could reach around 575 pounds during peak breeding season — staff described him as gentle and patient. The Zoo also shared one of his signature “Jonah” quirks: if he thought he was waiting too long for food, he’d tap his back left flipper as a reminder it was his turn.

And for many Houstonians, Jonah was more than a Zoo favorite — the Zoo said he was featured in airport billboards, popped up in viral TikTok moments and even inspired a children’s book.

The Houston Zoo is encouraging guests to share favorite memories of Jonah so the team that cared for him can see them too.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Topping up instead of filling up

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Changing eating habits

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Needs versus wants

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vegas’ Carter Hart stopped 29 shots.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spain's parliament prepares for first-ever papal speech

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pope to meet with abuse victims and migrants

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What's fueling the redistricting movement?

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

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

Why is Georgia redrawing its districts?

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

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

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

How many seats are at stake?

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

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

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

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

What states have pending court cases?

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

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

What's stopping states from redistricting?

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

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

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

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

Could local governments also redraw districts?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Everybody hit the deck,” he said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The 42-day milestone marks the longest known incubation period between initial exposure to the virus and the development of physical symptoms.

The two travelers were passengers aboard the MV Hondius when some passengers became sick from the Andes strain of the hantavirus. The Texas residents disembarked the ship and returned home before health authorities formally identified hantavirus outbreak.

While isolating at home, the passengers were evaluated in person twice daily by public health personnel. They showed no signs of infection throughout the duration of their quarantine.

The successful conclusion of the monitoring period prompted praise from state leaders regarding the high level of cooperation between the citizens and medical teams.

“I’d like to thank the passengers for their willingness to collaborate with public health throughout the monitoring period,” said Chief State Epidemiologist Varun Shetty, MD. “I would also like to thank the many dedicated public health professionals who worked on this situation and work every day to keep their fellow Texans safe.”

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

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

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

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

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

Iran says it targeted US air base and Navy

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

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

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

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

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

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

Deals remain elusive

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

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

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

Ratcheting up financial pressure

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

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

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

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

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

___

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Everyone is kind of calling me the hometown girl,” DeVaux said. “So that’s kind of fun. I’m going to miss our appetizer (at) Saratoga, as we call it, the ‘Bellatoga.’”

Golden Tempo was the third choice in the race. There were concerns about whether he could pull off another big comeback win in a field that included Renegade. The Todd Pletcher-trained horse finished second to Golden Tempo by a neck in the Derby.

The pace was not nearly as fast as it was at Churchill Downs, yet Golden Tempo still was able to close in time to win the 1 1/4-mile race in 2:03.49. It didn’t matter, as he was the best in the field of nine horses.

“He wasn’t going to get that setup as he did in the Derby,” Ortiz said. “We all knew that, and I was a little worried about it. He needed some kind of setup. But today, there wasn’t one and he showed up today and won.”

Golden Tempo won two-thirds of the Triple Crown after DeVaux and owners decided to bypass the Preakness. He is the second horse in as many years to win the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont after not running in the middle jewel.

“We made our decision, and we won today and we’re going to be happy about that,” DeVaux said.

This was the third and final time for the Belmont at Saratoga in upstate New York, while its traditional home on the border of Queens and Long Island is getting demolished and rebuilt. Run at 1 1/4 miles because of the track at Saratoga, the race is set to return to Belmont Park next year when it will return to its traditional 1 1/2-mile distance.

“It’s so meaningful,” DeVaux said. ”A lot of family here. Saratoga, it’s been wonderful to have such a historic race here. ... It’s so meaningful because the town gets to have this and celebrate it along with us.”

Golden Tempo paid $14 to win, $7.32 to place and $3.88 to show. Commandment paid $7.02 to show and $4.08 to place, while Renegade paid $2.52 to place.

Ortiz followed Renegade, ridden by older brother Irad, just as he did in the Derby. It worked out just the same in the first Saturday in June as the first Saturday in May.

“He was bouncing a bit today, which made me very happy because I wanted him to be a little bit sharper today,” Jose Ortiz said. “You can see him, he’s very relaxed. He does what I ask him to do. That’s the main thing.”

Co-owner Vinnie Viola dedicated the race to his late friend Dominic DiPrisco, who died Wednesday at age 70. Viola prayed to DiPrisco Saturday morning, hoping for an extra push in the Belmont Stakes.

“I know you’re in heaven, and I love you, and this race is for you,” Viola said. “It means more than I can express in words right now.”

Ortiz won the Belmont Stakes for the second time, nine years after his first aboard Tapwrit in 2017.

“We just wanted him to get better and keep winning these kinds of races,” Ortiz said. “We’re very happy with him. It’s all about him.”

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AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno in New York contributed.

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

Deputies with the Precinct 4 Constable’s office responded to the scene in the 18100 block of Misty Jade Lane. According to a preliminary investigation, the child attempted to pass a vehicle that was stopped at an intersection. During the maneuver, he rode directly into the path of an oncoming vehicle, resulting in a head-on crash.

Emergency medical personnel quickly arrived at the location to treat the injured child. Fortunately, his injuries are considered non-life threatening.

The collision remains under active investigation. Precinct 4 is utilizing the incident to issue an urgent safety reminder to parents and young operators, emphasizing the critical importance of following all traffic laws and practicing high caution while riding e-bikes on public roadways.

Kai Havertz put the four-time champions in front with a header from a free kick in the second minute but Antonee Robinson tied the score in the 37th with a left-foot volley from the top of the arc following Christian Pulisic’s corner kick.

Sané scored off a short pass from Havertz, a diagonal shot between the legs of Miles Robinson that appeared to take a slight deflection off the defender and beat goalkeeper Matt Freese to the far post.

The 16th-ranked United States has lost nine straight games to European opponents dating to 2022.

Hosting the World Cup for the first time since 1994, the Americans open against Paraguay on Friday, then play Australia and Turkey. The U.S. hadn’t lost its last match heading into a World Cup since 2002.

No. 10 Germany starts against Curaçao on June 14 in a group that includes Ivory Coast and Ecuador.

The match drew a sellout crowd of 63,636 to Soldier Field, site of the 1994 World Cup opener. Chicago refused to bid to host 2026 World Cup matches, citing what it said was a lack of financial assurances by FIFA.

The U.S. played without top defender Chris Richards, sidelined since tearing a pair of left ankle ligaments on May 17.

Germany was missing 18-year-old midfielder Lennart Karl, ruled out for the World Cup after injuring a thigh in training. Oliver Baumann started in goal as Manuel Neuer rested while recovering from a calf muscle issue.

Freese started in goal for the 15th time in 18 matches.

Die Mannschaft went ahead after Tyler Adams' foul just outside the penalty area. Joshua Kimmich's free kick was headed in by Havertz at the top of the 6-yard box for his 22nd international goal.

Robinson scored his fifth international goal after Jonathan Tah's headed clearance attempt on Pulisic's corner kick went just outside the area. Robinson celebrated with a cartwheel and a backflip.

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

Now he's back in much friendlier territory and took the T-Mobile Arena ice Saturday for Game 3 before a Vegas fan base that has cheered him, the roars growing louder with each postseason game.

That continued during introductions, so loud it was difficult to hear Hart's name. The only player who received a louder ovation was defenseman Brayden McNabb, back after taking a puck in his face Thursday night in Game 2.

Hart has given those fans plenty of reasons to get behind him, his play in goal a major reason why the Golden Knights are in the championship round of the playoffs. The series is 1-1.

“Just really fortunate to be here in Vegas,” Hart said. “It’s a great culture of people.”

The chants in Carolina stemmed from Hart being one of five 2018 Canadian world junior hockey players acquitted of sexual assault last July. The NHL ruled those players were eligible to sign deals beginning Oct. 15 and to play starting Dec. 1. Hart signed a two-year, $4 million contract with Vegas.

But Hart could have been suiting up on the other side. The Hurricanes considered signing him and Michael McLeod — one of the five involved in the scandal — but decided against taking such a step.

Hart entered the Stanley Cup Final playing at such a high level that he put himself in the conversation for the Conn Smythe Trophy, which goes to the NHL playoffs MVP.

He took a 12-4 playoff record into Game 1, a 2.22 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. Against the Hurricanes, however, Hart has a 3.90 GAA and .855 save percentage.

Not all of it his fault. The Golden Knights' defense had several unusual lapses in the first two games, putting Hart in position to make some difficult saves. Even so, the expected goals against Hart and the Golden Knights was 4.47 at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick, and the Hurricanes lit the lamp six times at even strength.

Vegas coach John Tortorella again defended Hart’s play when asked how the goalie was handling the situation.

“Carter’s played very well,” Tortorella said.

Hart looked as if he would run his postseason winning streak to eight games Thursday night, taking a shutout into the final 9:40 of Game 2. But then the Hurricanes scored three times and again in overtime to win 4-3.

Now Hart and the rest of the Golden Knights will try to regroup. They are used to being in this situation, having lost Game 2 in three of the four playoff series this year, the first two at home before eliminating Utah and Anaheim each in six games.

But Vegas hasn't dealt with this kind of loss. The Golden Knights have snatched victories from other teams; this time they had it done to them.

Game 3 will tell where Hart and his teammates stand.

“It's in the past,” center William Karlsson said. “There nothing we can change, so now we just look ahead.”

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

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

• Track today’s weather updates here

CenterPoint’s outage tracker reported nearly nearly 17,000 customers impacted by outages around 2 p.m. Saturday. The number has since dropped significantly, at 1,110 customers without power across 68 outages as of 7:00 p.m. The largest concentration of outages are being reported in the southwest Houston region.

• Track real-time outages here

The KPRC 2 Weather Team is continuing to track these storms. If you’re traveling outside today, be aware of lightning, brief heavy downpours, and flash flood risk alerts. Drivers are urged to use caution, especially if traffic signals go out, and treat dark intersections as a four-way stop.

CenterPoint is also reminding people to never touch or go near downed electrical wires. If you see any, stay 35 feet away and call 713-207-2222 to report it.

Castro's celebration of his 95th birthday with top officials and military leaders at the Ministry of Interior in Havana on late Friday offered Cuba's socialist government an opportunity to close ranks and project defiance as the Trump administration escalates its pressure campaign on the fuel-starved island.

State TV broadcast footage of Castro, clad in his olive-green military uniform, entering a packed theater to a standing ovation, followed by his grandson and bodyguard, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez, and Cuban President Miguel Diáz-Canel.

Diáz-Canel delivered an effusive tribute to the “heroism and dignity" displayed by Castro and his late brother, the central figure of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro. He praised Raúl Castro, who served as defense minister of Cuba for nearly 50 years, for his “courage and loyalty (that) made him a target from a very early age for the intelligence services of our enemies."

In a more direct response to provocations by the Trump administration, Diaz-Canel warned that “there will be a decisive and resolute battle" if the U.S. acts on its threats to invade the island.

“Raúl is Raúl," he said, echoing the slogan that has appeared in billboards across Havana and in a flood of social media posts since the May 20 U.S. indictment of Raúl Castro on murder charges — an apparent attempt to mobilize national unity to counter the government's image of isolation. “Raúl is Cuba, and Cuba is untouchable.”

Friday's late-night celebration, two days after Castro turned 95, marked a rare public appearance for the low-profile but influential Cuban army general. Although he formally retired from politics in April 2021, Castro is believed to wield considerable political power.

The Justice Department’s indictment unsealed last month accuses Castro of ordering the 1996 shootdown of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles. It was the steepest in a series of escalations since the Trump administration all but cut off Cuba’s oil supplies in January, exacerbating the island's long-running problems like blackouts and a public health crisis.

The Trump administration demands that Cuba’s socialist government release political prisoners, implement major economic reforms and change its way of governance to avoid becoming a national security threat. Cuba has said it poses no threat to the U.S.

In a statement on social media, the board of directors said, “With heavy hearts, and out of concern for the safety of our community, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the 2026 Pride Houston 365 Parade due to severe weather and flooding conditions.”

RELATED: Houston Weekend Weather: Tracking rain and thunderstorms Saturday

The statement continued, “The safety of our attendees, participants, volunteers, and staff must come first. The Pride Houston 365 Festival will remain open until 7 PM at Houston City Hall, and we welcome everyone who can safely attend to join us in celebrating our community.”

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Pride Houston says they are working to reschedule the parade.

“We have spoken with the Mayor’s Office and have strong support from the community and state representatives as we explore options to reschedule the parade,” the statement continued.

The group will hold a roundtable discussion with stakeholders to review potential dates between July 19 and October 31.

Many analysts favor Pashinyan's Civil Contract party to retain control of parliament, but with many opposition parties running on pro-Russia platforms, the Caucasus nation's place on the international stage has been thrown into the spotlight.

In the months ahead of the election, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have warned Armenia that joining the EU could come at the expense of massive economic damage by disrupting Armenian trade ties with Moscow and its allies.

“These are the first elections in Armenia’s history where geopolitical orientation has become a decisive issue,” Mikayel Zolyan, an analyst and former member of the Armenian Parliament, told The Associated Press from Yerevan. “Until now, Armenia has remained within Russia’s sphere of influence, and this was taken for granted, but now, for the first time, this is being called into question.”

Armenians disappointed with Moscow over Karabakh

Relations between Moscow and Armenia soured in 2023 after Azerbaijan took control of the Karabakh region. The mountainous area had been controlled for decades by ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia, part of a long conflict between the neighboring countries.

Armenian authorities accused Russian peacekeepers deployed to the region of failing to stop Azerbaijan’s onslaught. Moscow, busy with the conflict in Ukraine, has rejected the accusations, arguing its troops didn’t have a mandate to intervene.

“It turned out that Russia’s image as a guarantor of Armenian security was not based in reality, and it all collapsed after the Karabakh war,” said Alexander Iskandaryan, director of the Caucasus Institute in Yerevan.

Pashinyan has begun cautiously weakening ties with Moscow, joining the International Criminal Court in 2023 and suspending its participation in the Moscow-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization in 2024.

Armenia also officially declared its aspirations to join the EU and hosted the European Political Community summit in Yerevan in early May.

A convincing win in the parliamentary vote would give Pashinyan a mandate to continue the trend and finalize a deal with Azerbaijan.

Western ties could bring benefits

Western nations have sought to show some of the advantages that closer ties could bring.

In August, U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev to sign an agreement declaring an end to their decades-long hostilities and including provisions for the creation of a new transit corridor between Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan. An agreement in February could pave the way for a U.S. company to build a new nuclear reactor in Armenia.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also has said that Europe is ready to invest in Armenia's energy industry and its “booming digital scene.”

Trump has endorsed Pashinyan and called him a “great friend” and a leader who is making his country “strong, wealthy, and very secure!”

Opposition parties back Moscow ties

Much of Armenia’s opposition is still dominated by pro-Russia groups and many are also against normalizing relations with Azerbaijan. Key opposition figures have called for Pashinyan to stand down over the loss of Karabakh.

Nineteen political forces, including two blocs and 17 parties, are taking part in the elections.

Pashinyan’s main rival is the Strong Armenia Party, which wants closer business ties with Russia and accuses Pashinyan of attempting to spark a war with Moscow. The party is led by Armenian-Russian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who is on trial for calling for the overthrow of Armenia’s government. He denies the charges.

Armenian investigators said Saturday they issued six arrest warrants for members of the opposition Strong Armenia party, accusing them of buying votes.

It came just hours after Armenia’s Central Election Committee confirmed that the Strong Armenia Party could run in the elections, after a member of another opposition party, Republic, appealed for them to be barred, citing allegations of corruption.

Other potential contenders include former President Robert Kocharyan, who leads the Hayastan bloc and has accused Pashinyan of “seriously undermining” relations with Russia.

Russia applies economic pressure

Russia, which has a military base in Armenia, has warned that Yerevan’s Western turn could have dire political and economic consequences.

Putin has compared Armenia’s course to that of Ukraine in thinly veiled threats and has suggested Russia's conflict with Ukraine started with its attempts to join the EU.

In recent weeks, Russian has introduced new restrictions on Armenian produce after citing sanitation violations, banning Armenian flowers, certain types of cognac and wine, eggplants, potatoes, dried fruits, fish and more.

Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union, a Russian-led customs union, was placed under formal review during a members’ meeting in Kazakhstan in May, with threats to suspend it completely it by December.

During the Kazakhstan summit, the governments of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan also demanded Armenia hold a referendum on whether it would remain in their group or seek EU membership. Pashinyan has rejected the need for such a vote.

Armenian government statistics show 38% of Armenia’s exports went to countries within the Eurasian Economic Union in 2025, the vast majority heading to Russia. In comparison, just 8% of trade went to the EU.

The Russian measures prompted von der Leyen to announce Thursday that the 27-nation bloc would send 50 million euros ($58 million) to support Armenia. In a statement, she said Russia is “weaponizing” economic relations and its ban on imports was “nothing short of economic coercion.”

Facing an uncertain future

Russia could exert further pressure on Armenia because it controls a significant portion of the country’s energy and infrastructure and supplies cheap gas.

“It’s completely unrealistic to say that Armenia can somehow overcome Russian influence in a short period of time,” analyst Zolyan said.

Armenia’s civil society also is concerned by what they have described as Russian-backed disinformation campaigns ahead of the vote. Moscow denies any interference.

Daniel Ionnisyan, head of the Union of Informed Citizens, an independent election watchdog, told the AP that his organization has documented instances of Russian interference through social media campaigns, cyberattacks, vote buying and bribery of journalists.

That echoes findings of a delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which visited Yerevan in May and said foreign interference included illicit political financing, cyberattacks, economic coercion and direct attempts to manipulate the electoral process.

“These hybrid tactics aim not only to sway public opinion but to secure long-term geopolitical leverage over Armenia,” the delegation said.

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Associated Press writer Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed to this report.

President Emmanuel Macron confirmed her death Saturday, saying he and his wife Brigitte had learned with “great sadness” of the passing of a woman who marked French history, and changed the lives of millions through her charity work.

“A great lady of the heart has departed,” Macron said.

For more than half a century, Chirac was the fixed point in her late husband’s restless climb — through Parliament, two terms as prime minister, 18 years as mayor of Paris and, in 1995, the presidency.

Beyond the ceremonial role of first lady, Chirac became a political presence in her own right, closely watched for her influence around her husband, who died in 2019, and for the dry discipline with which she handled his reputation as a womanizer, a subject she later addressed with unusual frankness.

Swarmed by photographers in Corrèze in 1998 — after rumors that Jacques Chirac had been unreachable the night Princess Diana died because he was with an actress — she stepped from her car and deadpanned: “Calm down. I’m not Claudia Cardinale. Or Lollobrigida.”

She appears in the official photographs with her chin lifted, blond hair lacquered into place, a small handbag on her arm, looking less like a spouse than like an institution.

But the caricature never quite contained her.

The Chanel suits, dark glasses, nasal voice and withering judgments became part of the national image.

Beneath them was a relentless worker and a cold-eyed political operator who, almost alone among the wives of French presidents, built a base of power that was her own.

She was born Bernadette Thérèse Marie Chodron de Courcel on May 18, 1933, in Paris, into money, lineage and Catholic duty.

Her father’s family included soldiers, industrialists and diplomats; an uncle had served as an aide to Charles de Gaulle in wartime London.

But her life would be most marked by her time at the prestigious Sciences Po university in Paris, where she met Jacques Chirac, a handsome and much-courted young man whose appetite for politics would come to define them both.

They married in March 1956. The union lasted 63 years and was, by her own account, a long lesson in endurance.

Jacques Chirac was famous for his warmth, appetite and instinctive connection with crowds. Bernadette’s gifts were different, observers said.

She was controlled, socially formidable, devout, exacting and sometimes devastatingly funny.

The Catholic philosopher Jean Guitton called her the last queen of France, and she did little to discourage the idea.

Her husband’s reputation as a womanizer was an open secret she chose, after much pain, to meet with dry humor.

“At first, it was hard. I was very heartbroken, and then I got used to it,” she said years later in a television documentary. “I told myself that was how things were and that I had to accept it with as much dignity as possible.”

Sent to tend her husband’s rural stronghold in Corrèze while he pursued power in Paris, she did far more than tend it. In 1971, she was elected municipal councilor in Sarran. In 1979, she became a general councilor in Corrèze and held the seat until 2015.

Her influence grew after Jacques Chirac became president in 1995. The role of first lady in France has no constitutional power, but she made the Élysée a place where her approval mattered.

She could be loyal, cutting and unforgiving, and understood that campaigns are made not only of speeches and polls but of debts, slights and resentments.

Yet she also carved out a space for female authority inside a male political culture that had little interest in sharing power — making it quietly clear that she would not be reduced to “the wife of.”

By 2023, her severe glamour and political instincts had become familiar enough for Catherine Deneuve to play her in “Bernadette,” a comic movie about her years at the Élysée.

Her deepest grief stayed mostly private.

The Chiracs’ elder daughter, Laurence, developed severe anorexia after meningitis in adolescence and attempted suicide more than once. She never fully recovered and died in 2016 at 58.

That ordeal pushed Chirac toward the charitable work that reshaped her public image.

In 1994, she took over a medical charity that collected coins to support children in hospitals. To millions of French viewers, the woman once mocked for hauteur became the face of hospitalized children and families living around hospital beds.

She continued running it until 2019, when she handed it to Brigitte Macron, the wife of France's current president, and became honorary president.

By then, she had long since become a political force in her own name.

“My husband no longer does politics, but I do,” she said to journalists, after Jacques Chirac left office in 2007.

She famously nicknamed Dominique de Villepin, the Élysée official she distrusted, “Nero,” yet also reportedly helped engineer her husband’s reconciliation with Nicolas Sarkozy, the former protégé who had betrayed him politically.

Her 2001 memoir, “Conversation,” written with journalist Patrick de Carolis, sold hundreds of thousands of copies and introduced the French to a franker, funnier and more independent woman than many had assumed.

After Jacques Chirac left the Élysée, his health declined and his public voice faded. Hers remained sharper for longer. Asked how he was, according to French media, she answered in her flat, unmistakable voice: “He keeps the dog.”

Age and grief eventually drew her out of public view.

By the time Jacques Chirac died in 2019, she was too fragile to take part in the public farewell where France and foreign leaders honored him.

The Élysée said Saturday that Macron was inviting the public to pay tribute to Bernadette Chirac opposite the presidential palace.

Ament's first love was a “terrible” clay wheel skateboard and his passion blossomed on a family trip to California, where he skateboarded and felt the g-forces on urethane wheels on paved asphalt streets and then poured through the pages of Skateboarder magazine on the 20-hour drive home to Montana.

Ament found pictures of decks and ramps that he used as inspiration for designs that his dad, George, would help him build — like how to craft a kick tail and create the perfect tail radius — and took his skateboard to compete in larger contests around the state.

“I think the idea that he was helping me build something was the most important thing to him,” Ament said. “He gave me a life skill.”

Ament's other major life skill, as bassist for the Pearl Jam band he co-founded, also has served him well and provided him with the means to help fund the creation of world-class skateboard parks in Montana. Many are in small, isolated communities, including at least one on every state Native American reservation by the end of the year. Construction starts in two weeks for one on the last reservation on the list, Northern Cheyenne.

“I think a lot of people don’t understand artists,” Ament said on a Zoom with The Associated Press. “I think skateboarding is probably even more of an art than it is a sport.”

Ament has found the parks can help kids survive and thrive outside of daily isolation, a message spread in the short documentary “Paving the Way.” Ament created original music for the film — which captures skateboarding’s power to foster creativity, challenge stereotypes and build community, spotlighting Indigenous youth on the Flathead Reservation — that premiers Sunday at the Tribeca Festival in New York.

The film tells the story through skater and artist Alishon Kelly, who perseveres with her love of skateboarding even with a broken foot. “Paving the Way” is directed by Keelan Williams and was nominated for the Big Sky Award at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.

“I think what he captures really well is just, when you have that thing inside of you, you just feel the need to be created,” Ament said. “I think it explains it really well, how cathartic it can be, how it helps you understand other aspects of your life.”

At the film’s backbone is a partnership between Jeff’s Montana Pool Service — a nod to the large bowl at the center of a skate park — and the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, as five new skateparks rise across the Flathead Reservation.

“We’re reminding people of our first peoples,” Ament said. “I think most people in this country have no idea that they even exist. I think there’s even been certain people in our government that are trying to kind of rewrite history, erase history. You even hear young people, say, younger people than me, talk about the Native people as if they’re immigrants.”

The 63-year-old Ament delivered the commencement speech at MSU-Northern in Montana last month and touched on the importance for the graduates to be being open to getting out and seeing the world, even if they come from areas that can seem disconnected from their rural hometowns. He met with some of the students after the ceremony and found the experience “gave me hope. I think sometimes I don’t always see the best of the younger generation. They’re almost to a person, so gung-ho about getting out, getting after it.”

There also are plans in the works to get “Paving the Way” out in the world — Ament hoped for distribution beyond Tribeca, where Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder was the focus of a film in the festival last year — now available on YouTube or PBS — but wanted to make sure the film is somehow available to those in Indigenous communities and to show them the hope, resilience and joy that can be found at the skateboarding parks.

“These parks are where we come together and where we look out for each other,” said Terrence Lozeau, a skater featured in the film. “You see little kids watching the older ones and learning.”

As for Ament's day job, Pearl Jam returns in September to headline the Ohana festival in Dana Point, California, in its first performance since drummer Matt Cameron left the band in May after 27 years. The band has kept the identity of his replacement under wraps and will make it official at the Sept. 27 festival.

“I think the big question is, if it’s going to work out that this is our future drummer,” Ament told the AP. “It’ll be the first show, so there’s a little bit of a trial happening. It’s exciting. It’s taken a little bit longer than we thought it would take. We’re not in any massive rush either."

Ament said the band has started writing new songs but would like to play a few dates with the new drummer before Pearl Jam hits the studio again next year.

“I think we need to get out and play like 10, 15 shows with whoever our drummer is and just kind of get that part going before we make a record,” Ament said.

Puerto Rican sensation Bad Bunny is performing two shows of his 10-concert Spanish tour in the capital.

Speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane before his arrival in Madrid on Saturday morning, Leo acknowledged the appeal of Bad Bunny when he referred to anecdotal reports of a newfound spiritual awakening, especially among young people in Spain.

The American pope said he understood that young adults are sensing a lack of meaning in their lives and mused that his visit might help “awaken” something in them.

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

He's wasn't wrong: About 500,000 people, many of them young Spaniards, poured into a Madrid plaza for an evening prayer vigil on Saturday. They shouted “This is the youth of the pope!” as Leo zoomed around in his popemobile, and then jammed to a Spanish rendition of the 1970s American musical “Godspell.”

Leo is opening a weeklong visit to Spain on Saturday. After Madrid, the trip will also take him to Barcelona and the Canary Islands. He’s hoping to bring a message of unity in a country polarized with political and church scandals.

Leo was also asked about news that plans are moving ahead for his beloved Chicago Bears to move to Hammond, Indiana. The board of the team voted this week to move forward with a stadium development project in Hammond.

Asked if he had any words of consolation for Illinois, the Chicago-born pope quipped: “That’s out of my pay (scale).”

In other sporting comments, Leo confirmed that he would root for the United States in the upcoming World Cup, and showed his true team colors when asked about whether supports Real Madrid or the Barcelona soccer team: “That’s easy,” he said. “The pope is for all teams, but Prevost is Real Madrid,” he said, referring to his birth name.

Pope recalls his father's service on D-Day anniversary

Leo fielded a host of questions as he greeted journalists traveling with him. He spoke about Ukraine and Lebanon and his recent proclamation that the Catholic Church’s “just war” doctrine — which establishes the criteria when war can be morally justified — was “outdated.”

With Saturday marking the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, Leo also told a French journalist that he would like one day to visit Normandy, France, as pope.

“My father was there,” he said.

It was a reference to Leo’s father, Louis Prevost, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and participated in the D-Day landings at Normandy as part of Operation Overlord, according to the Pentagon.

Prevost also commanded an infantry landing craft, and after 15 months overseas, attained the rank of lieutenant junior grade, according to a note on the Pentagon website published soon after Leo’s election.

After the war, Prevost became a teacher and school principal in Chicago, got married and he and his wife, Mildred, had three boys. The future pope, Robert Prevost, was the youngest, born on Sept. 14, 1955.

___

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

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun called the strike against its military a “flagrant violation” of the country's sovereignty and international law during an “ongoing escalation that threatens stability and security in the south."

An airstrike on a vehicle on a road linking Nabatiyeh city with Marjayoun town killed a brigadier general, a captain and another soldier, the army said, without releasing their names. Another airstrike on Saksakiyah village killed six people and wounded four, the state-run National News Agency said.

Lebanon's army said the “continued, deliberate, and repeated Israeli aggression” aims to thwart efforts toward a solution "that would restore stability, establish a comprehensive ceasefire and lead to the Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Lebanese territories.”

The Israeli military confirmed hitting a vehicle and said it was “moving suspiciously” toward soldiers near Kfar Tibnit village, after the military received “concrete indications” that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group would direct fire toward Israeli soldiers from the same area.

The military said it operates against Hezbollah and not against the Lebanese army.

Meanwhile, Israel's military announced the deaths of two soldiers in southern Lebanon, without the dates they died.

The latest ceasefire, announced in Washington, came through U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon’s government, which accuses Hezbollah of dragging the country into war and made efforts to disarm it before the latest hostilities. Hezbollah has refused the truce.

Israeli troops have seized around a fifth of Lebanon, pushing farther into the country’s south than at any time since the end of Israel’s 1982-2000 occupation. More than 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon since the war began March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, two days after Israel and the U.S. began attacking Iran.

Israel has since launched a ground invasion of Lebanon and carried out attacks that have displaced more than 1 million people. The fighting has killed at least 31 Israeli soldiers and three civilians.

On Friday, Aoun and Lebanon's prime minister criticized Iran for opposing the latest ceasefire deal, saying Tehran should not use their country as a “bargaining chip” in its talks with Washington. Iran wants a ceasefire deal with the United States to include the situation in Lebanon.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded Saturday on X, saying that after Aoun's comments, “one would think it’s Iran that has occupied a fifth of Lebanon, displaced a quarter of Lebanese and is bombing his country on daily basis.”

“Had Lebanon been a bargaining chip for Iran, we’d have a deal long ago. Save Lebanon from your real foe, Mr. President,” Araghchi added, in reference to Israel.

The Israeli military said that soldiers shot at a vehicle perceived to be accelerating toward them near Hebron. It said an initial inquiry found that the three Palestinians wounded were uninvolved civilians.

Israeli military activity, and settler violence against Palestinians, have surged in the territory since the war in Gaza began in October 2023.

The baby's father, Bethlehem University lecturer Fahd Abu Haikal, told The Associated Press that a bullet struck the windshield before piercing his right hand and striking his son and wife in the back seat Friday evening. Another bullet struck the hood, according to AP journalists who saw the car.

The bullet passed through Sam Fahd Abu Haikal’s face.

“He was the entire world,” Haikal said of the boy, who turned seven months on Friday.

The mother was in critical condition, with shrapnel close to her heart.

The baby's body was wrapped in a Palestinian flag. His father carried him. The men placed the small bundle at their feet and bowed in prayer.

The father demanded justice. “At the end they tell you it was a mistake,” he said. “Nothing is called a mistake.”

The baby’s grandmother, Feryal Abu Heikal, was also in the car. She said that they were driving near a checkpoint and stopped when they saw Israeli military vehicles and soldiers in the distance. She said she initially thought the gunfire was warning shots.

“The scene was horrific to see a 7-month-old baby with a smashed face,” she said. “What kind of army in the world does this?”

Israeli soldiers are rarely punished in such cases

Israeli soldiers accused of harming Palestinians are seldom penalized, and were indicted in fewer than 1% of cases based on 2,427 complaints alleging wrongdoing between 2016 and 2024, according to Israeli rights group Yesh Din.

On Saturday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said that eight people were wounded in settler attacks on the town of Huwara, near Nablus, including from tear gas inhalation and rubber-coated metal bullets.

Israel's military said that riots broke out between Israelis and Palestinians, with rocks and batons, after a reported theft of livestock and soldiers dispersed them. The military said that it was aware of footage showing a soldier using violence against a Palestinian and it was under review. Images appeared to show someone being thrown to the ground and beaten.

Huwara has seen numerous attacks in recent years. In February 2023, scores of Israeli settlers rampaged there, burning dozens of cars and homes, after a Palestinian gunman killed two settlers.

The United Nations said last month that more than 1,000 Palestinians including at least 240 children have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem since the war in Gaza began with the attack by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

More than 700,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 from Jordan and sought by the Palestinians for a future state. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in these areas to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.

Strike kills at least 7 in Gaza

An Israeli strike on Saturday in Gaza City killed at least seven people, including two women, a girl and her father, all from the same family, according to Shifa Hospital. Director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said that a tent near the Rimal school was struck.

Israel's military said that it attacked what it called militants in the area.

Meanwhile, Hamas said that negotiators chaired by Khalil al-Hayyah began a new round of talks in Cairo with mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, in an effort to break a deadlock and move forward in implementing the Gaza ceasefire deal that took effect in October. The previous round of talks was a month ago.

Spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the talks were aimed at fully implementing the ceasefire's first phase and ending Israel’s near-daily attacks in the territory. The fragile ceasefire began in October. While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the truce has seen almost daily Israeli fire.

Nickolay Mladenov, the head of the U.S.-created Board of Peace that oversees the ceasefire, acknowledged last month that the truce has stalled over the key issue of disarming Hamas.

Qassem said the talks will discuss “approaches acceptable to all parties" to implement the second phase, including addressing weapons of Palestinian militant groups and the entry of an international stabilization force.

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Samy Magdy reported from Cairo, and Sam Mednick from Tel Aviv, Israel.

As part of FIFA’s World Cup 26™ Sonic IDs groundbreaking initiative, each host city was challenged to showcase its unique diversity and creativity through sound.

Bombón, a music collective of DJs, vocalists, percussionists and producers, rose to the occasion. Drawing on influences that have shaped Houston for decades—from local communities, legendary musicians and inspiring landmarks—the group captured the city’s spirit in a two-minute remix. Watch the music video on YouTube.

Founded in 2010 by Gracie Chavez and Alex Nava, better known as DJ Navó, with original members including OG Bobby Trill, Mistress of Ceremonies La Comadre Mel, percussionist Ilya Janos, Pupusa Papi (a.k.a DJ Act Badd), Mexican Blackbird, and DJ and lead producer All Day Ray, Bombón added an element that was missing from the local music scene. Today, the group continues to energize crowds with their signature ‘screwmbia’ sound — a vibrant fusion of Latin and Hip-Hop — on the dance floors.

Over the years, the collective has grown to an impressive number. Recent members joined the collective from Chicago and other states. As expressed by Boi Jeanius: “Is anyone counting? But honestly, the number of this is not important. It’s a collective that we stand as one.”

Watch Bombón’s journey from inception to their sound reaching a global audience in the video above.

Catch them live at FIFA Fan Festival™ Houston on June 11 at noon or at Midtown Park on June 14 at 5 p.m. to experience their electrifying performances firsthand.

To connect with Bombón, visit bombontexas.com.

To explore more about the FIFA World Cup 26 Houston™ Sonic ID initiative, check out fwc26houston.com/sonicid.

The Ugandan trader was awaiting clearance from authorities for trucks to pass through the Mpondwe border post on Thursday after they were prevented from entering or leaving Uganda as part of escalating measures to prevent cross-border Ebola contagion.

“Our things are here rotting,” she said.

On May 28, about two weeks after Congo declared an outbreak of Ebola in the eastern Ituri province, Uganda closed its western border in a decision that reflected growing fears of cross-border contagion. Exceptions were made only in emergency cases, including for the outbreak response, humanitarian, cargo or security reasons.

But in recent days, as the spread of Ebola in eastern Congo appeared to outpace the response, authorities in the Ugandan frontier district of Kasese have tightened the measures.

Traders say they are frustrated by the slow movement of cargo trucks. Some at the Mpondwe border post told The Associated Press that while they knew the tough measures are provoked by fear of Ebola contagion, they felt that holding up the trucks was excessive.

Sylvia Asiimwe, a clearing agent, pointed to the queue of trucks stretching over a mile on the Ugandan side. At least seven were carrying fish imported from China and destined for the Congolese cities of Beni and Butembo.

Asiimwe was adamant those Congolese towns are in the province of North Kivu, not the Ebola epicenter of Ituri. “The fish is going to spoil,” she said. “So much money.”

‘Ebola has wasted our work’

The Uganda-Congo border is several hundred miles long and crossed by numerous footpaths beyond formal border posts. Trade is often booming along the route up to Mpondwe, and there is kinship between the Bakonzo people on the Ugandan side and the Banande on the other side.

Mpondwe is Uganda's top border post for informal exports that were valued at an estimated $131 million in 2023, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics.

After the recent border closure, some shops were shuttered and young men, deprived of casual work, sat on stools dolefully.

“The situation is bad,” said Ismail Mumbere, who often works as a vendor of roadside snacks on the Ugandan side. “A lot of people earn from here, in many businesses. But now the government has told us there is Ebola. Ebola has wasted our work.”

The current outbreak in Congo is suspected to have infected over 1,000 people. The number of confirmed cases is much lower because many suspected victims succumb to their symptoms outside hospitals and without firm proof they had Ebola.

Congolese authorities, as of Thursday, have confirmed 452 cases with 82 deaths in total. Seventy-one new cases were confirmed within 24 hours, which the authorities said is a sign of “active community transmission”.

The World Health Organization, while declaring the current outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, discouraged border closures. But the U.N. agency also acknowledged that neighboring countries are at high risk of contagion.

“With movement of cargo, and maybe trucks, is mobility of people, and we want to reduce that,” said Arafat Bwambale, a surveillance officer for Kasese, defending the measures.

Officials were trying to stop Congolese nationals from crossing to Uganda by way of more than two dozen footpaths along the Mpondwe border, he said.

All available vaccines and treatments for Ebola don’t work for patients with the rare Bundibugyo type spreading in Congo, making the outbreak worrisome.

Ugandan authorities are cautious after 19 confirmed cases

Uganda has confirmed 19 Ebola cases, all linked to the outbreak in the neighboring country after some Congolese nationals sought treatment in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, before it was known there was an outbreak.

The disease was believed to have been spreading for days or weeks before the outbreak was declared May 15.

Uganda has had multiple Ebola outbreaks of its own since 2000, when the disease killed more than 200 people.

Ebola, named for a tributary of the Congo River, was first discovered in 1976 in simultaneous outbreaks in Congo and present-day South Sudan. Outbreaks are believed to start with the virus spilling over into humans from an infected animal such as a fruit bat. These cross-species infections often happen when people handle and eat wild meat, according to experts.

Once Ebola has infected one person, the virus then spreads through close contact with sick or deceased patients’ bodily fluids, such as sweat, blood, feces or vomit.

Tracing and isolating contacts is seen as key to stopping the spread of Ebola, in addition to getting medical workers proper protective equipment.

Bwambale, the surveillance officer, said the nearest referral hospital in Kasese has an isolation center and is equipped with a lab that can return results on a sample within six hours. In recent days, samples taken from 41 people in the Kasese area tested negative for Ebola, which manifests as hemorrhagic fever.

Still, authorities appeared to be planning more restrictions.

A meeting of the local Ebola task force was likely to come up with “a more restricted way on how both the cargo or the trucks get into the country in a systematic way,” Bwambale said.

That alarms traders for whom the Mpondwe border post is the primary route of business.

Masika, the plantain dealer, said she would not order more goods from Congo until the current outbreak was over. But she would be in trouble if the cargo already in transit didn’t reach various locations in and around Kampala, where the fruits, deep fried or boiled, are a staple of breakfast menus in restaurants.

Masika said she couldn’t countenance a loss of 50 bags, each worth roughly $44.

“We are begging them to help us and open (the border),” she said. “We will not go back to Congo.”

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For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The dismissal on Friday was granted under Washington's Anti-SLAPP laws, which are designed to prevent meritless lawsuits intended to silence opposing points of view on matters of public interest.

Redd, a drummer and vibraphone player who has toured with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Ray Brown, had presided over holiday “Jazz Jams” at the Kennedy Center since 2006. He called off last year’s performance shortly after Trump’s handpicked board at the Kennedy Center voted to add the president’s name to the facility.

“The Center sued Mr. Redd because he publicly and rightly objected to adding Donald Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center, a living memorial to former President John F. Kennedy," Lisa J. Banks, one of Redd's lawyers, said in a statement. "The lawsuit against Mr. Redd was political retribution, pure and simple, by the Trump Kennedy Center, and the Court correctly saw it as such in dismissing the case with prejudice.”

Redd told The Associated Press in an email Saturday morning that he is “very pleased with the judge's ruling.”

The motion to dismiss, filed in March, argued that Redd wasn't contractually obligated to perform. It included the contract provided by the Kennedy Center, which the artist never signed.

Representatives for the Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit's dismissal.

After bursting onto the scene at 15, Andreeva became a Grand Slam champion at 19 when the Russian ended the run of 114th-ranked Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska with a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the French Open final on Saturday.

“I’ve done a lot of visualizations before. Not just this tournament, but I’ve had dreams, I’ve had a lot of thoughts on how it’s going to happen, if it’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen, where,” Andreeva said, still hardly breathing as she talked quickly in true teenage style. "The feeling in real life is so much better than in your dreams.

“I can call myself a Grand Slam champion,” Andreeva added.

The biggest challenges for Andreeva have not been on the court — she already has one of the best attacking baseline games in the sport — it's been the mental side. And her stubbornness.

“Her attitude is difficult,” said Conchita Martinez, Andreeva's coach and a former Wimbledon champion. “You tell her something, and maybe she’s not open to listening. ... When she works hard and when she listens and she does everything, she has no limits.”

Andreeva acknowledged as much during the trophy ceremony.

“I know I can be a tough cookie sometimes and it’s pretty hard to put up with me,” Andreeva said.

The victory took Andreeva one step further than Martinez, who lost the 2000 French Open final to Mary Pierce.

Pierce presented the winner’s trophy to Andreeva, who became the youngest woman to win the clay-court Grand Slam since Monica Seles was 18 when she claimed her third straight French Open in 1992.

“You’re so young and talented. It’s so annoying,” the 24-year-old Chwalinska told Andreeva.

Andreeva took the unusual step of thanking herself “for believing in myself, always giving my 100%, even when it’s tough, trying every day to be better as a person and as a player, believing that I can do this, fighting so many demons inside of me.

“Only I know how tough it was for me,” Andreeva added. “How nervous I was throughout these two weeks.”

Andreeva also thanked her psychologist, who she said was watching from Florida: “Everything that you’ve told me I’ve been trying to use these two weeks.”

Chwalinska opens up about depression

Chwalinska was attempting to become the first qualifier to capture the Roland Garros title. She was a promising junior alongside four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek before she began struggling with depression in 2019.

“Tennis is such a tough sport. It’s so individual. We start so early. We are basically kids when we start,” Chwalinska said. “People are expecting that we are going to behave like adults already and we are just kids really. So the pressure is huge.”

Andreeva was born in Siberia and moved to Sochi and eventually France to develop her tennis career.

She drew a loud applause from the crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier when she spoke a few words of French during the trophy presentation.

“Thanks for your support today and over these past two marvelous weeks here in Paris,” Andreeva said in French. “It was very important for me.”

Breakthrough at 15

Andreeva has been considered a Grand Slam contender since she burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old at the 2023 Madrid Open, where she became the third-youngest player to win a main draw match at a WTA 1000 tournament and made the quarterfinals.

Lately, Andreeva has had to contend with playing under neutral status and without her country’s flag because of the war with Ukraine.

When she beat Marta Kostyuk in the semifinals, Kostyuk refused to shake her hand, as has been the custom for Ukrainian players facing Russians ever since the war started in 2022.

“Every person doesn’t want to have a war in the world,” Andreeva said. “I never think about those things when I play.”

Mastering the wind

The final was played under a mostly sunny sky, though wind was a factor in the first Grand Slam final for both players.

Chwalinska double-faulted on the opening point of the match, but she was the first player to hold serve in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead.

But then Andreeva won nine stright games to take control as she found a way to hit through the wind and answer Chwalinska’s array of spins and drop shots.

Whereas Chwalinska would retreat to handle high balls in the wind, Andreeva often would move forward and take balls on the rise.

“She definitely handled wind much better than me,” Chwalinska said. “She was not running away from the ball.”

Andreeva produced 25 winners to Chwalinska’s 10 and also had fewer unforced errors: 26 to 29.

There was a strong Polish presence in the crowd.

When Chwalinska was introduced, fans held aloft red-and-white Polish flags and chanted her name: “Ma-ja, Ma-ja.”

Andreeva had little support from the crowd, although there was a shout of “Davai, Mirra!” (“Go, Mirra”) in Russian late in the match.

Alexander Zverev plays Flavio Cobolli in the men’s final on Sunday to conclude the wildest Grand Slam in recent memory.

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AP Sports Writer Samuel Petrequin contributed to this report.

___

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

At his first youth football camp in Houston, the Texans’ All-Pro defensive end definitely felt the passion for the game Saturday morning.

“Most definitely, football is still growing,” Anderson said. “It’s still alive, man. And to see all these little kids out here enjoying themselves, having fun, knowing what ball is about, this is what football is about.

“Football is about community. It’s about unity. And it gives a chance for everybody to come together and do that. Just a blessing to be a part of this awesome camp, man.My first camp in Houston, man, the city showed up big.”

Anderson, partnering with Pro Camps, Planet Fitness and Whataburger, led the campers through drills with enthusiasm. Anderson, a finalist for NFL Defensive Player of the Year last season who signed a $150 million three-year contract extension, was highly impressed.

“The little kids, they’re having so much fun right now,” Anderson said. “They’ve been turnt. They’ve been dancing, going through drills. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the day holds.”

Beyond the game of football, Anderson imparted knowledge about what it takes off the field.

The importance of academics was emphasized strongly.

“Getting a lot of interaction, being a former kid who had NFL dreams. I’m sure some kids going to come up to me like, ‘Hey, Will. What can I do to make it to the NFL and be like you?’ It all starts with your grades.

#Texans All-Pro defensive end Will Anderson Jr., impressed with the campers' enthusiasm today at Houston Methodist Training Center @KPRC2 @ProCamps pic.twitter.com/yI4BP4Xcov

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) June 6, 2026

“You can’t get to NFL unless you get to college. So man, taking care of your grades, staying in school, going to class, not skipping class, but also just taking care of your body, man, and just having fun throughout your process and just making sure every day counts.”

Anderson said he noticed upgraded skills, especially from the younger players, compared to the past.

“They’re a little more advanced. When we were just doing drills, we were just racing each other. Definitely have improved over the last few years.”

Anderson was joined at the camp by his parents and his older sisters.

It was an extremely fun experience for all of them.

“Man, it’s awesome,” Anderson said. “They’re a big part of what happened here today. They got this thing done with Pro Camps. They’ve been working diligently.

“And this is what we’re all about. We’re all about community. We’re all about giving back.And that’s what me and my family, we want to do for the city of Houston is give back, spend some time with the kids and show them all humans are the same.”

#Texans Will Anderson Jr., youth football camp today @KPRC2 @ProCamps @PlanetFitness @Whataburger@AgentNicoleLynn @KlutchSports @JennaM_23
@keltoncrensha https://t.co/svzsVqixSQ pic.twitter.com/fFtiexOknV

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) June 6, 2026

Anderson was asked about the Super Bowl ambitions the Texans have discussed throughout the offseason.

The Texans have won one playoff game each of the past three seasons since drafting Anderson. They have lost all three years in the AFC divisional round, which dropped the team to 0-7 all-time at that stage of the postseason.

With an upgraded roster and the return of the NFL’s top-ranked defense, Anderson is setting high goals.

“Mission is always a Super Bowl,” Anderson said. “But right now, we got to take it one thing at a time, one process at a time. And, right now, it’s just get over that hump of the second round.

“The enthusiasm in the building, the energy in the building has been great. I love the new additions that we’ve gotten. The urgency has been high.

“Just as close a team with all the new additions being here. The goal is the goal. This is a close-knit team. It’s never going to change. It’s just about how much better can we get at achieving that goal.”

#Texans All-Pro Will Anderson Jr., youth football camp today at Houston Methodist Training Center @KPRC2 @ProCamps pic.twitter.com/yEc63L9KDi

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) June 6, 2026

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com

The June 21 runoff comes at a pivotal moment for Colombia, which under Petro emerged as one of the world’s most vocal advocates for protecting the Amazon and transitioning away from oil, gas and coal, the main drivers of climate change.

Petro opposed new oil and gas exploration contracts, vowed not to pursue fracking, a technique used to extract oil and gas from underground rock formations that has environmental consequences, and sought to position Colombia as a global leader on climate issues. Colombia recently hosted a first-of-its-kind international summit focused on a global transition away from fossil fuels.

Analysts say Cepeda would likely represent continuity of Petro’s priorities. He has emphasized Indigenous rights, environmental conservation and reducing Colombia’s dependence on fossil fuels, while signaling support for continuing Petro’s efforts to shift the country toward renewable energy and away from new oil and gas development.

De la Espriella, meanwhile, has campaigned on a platform centered on security and economic growth. He has voiced support for expanding Colombia’s extractive industries, including fracking, and has argued the country should make greater use of its underground resources.

“While both candidates claim that they value the conservation of the Amazon ecosystem, the choice that voters face is between an approach that focuses on maintaining a pristine ecosystem versus one based on productive exploitation,” said Elizabeth Dickinson, deputy director for Latin America at the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit think tank.

“On issues of climate, this is a choice between prioritizing green energy and reinvigorating fossil fuels,” she added.

Representatives for Cepeda and de la Espriella did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Competing visions for development

Petro has repeatedly clashed with Trump over migration, climate policy and security cooperation. Earlier this year, the two sparred publicly on social media after Petro refused to allow U.S. military deportation flights carrying Colombian migrants to land, prompting Trump to threaten tariffs and visa restrictions before the countries reached a deal.

Espriella, on the other hand, was recently endorsed by Trump, who praised the candidate’s positions on law enforcement and security and said the election was important to U.S.-Colombia relations.

Colombia contains a significant portion of the Amazon rainforest, one of the world’s most important tropical forests, which is increasingly under pressure from deforestation, illegal mining, drug trafficking and climate change.

Petro’s administration tried to combat those things by promoting greater Indigenous participation in environmental policy and sought to strengthen cooperation among Amazon nations. On the international stage, he became one of the most vocal advocates for protecting the rainforest and moving away from fossil fuels.

Supporters of expanding oil and gas production argue Colombia remains heavily dependent on oil and gas revenues and foreign investment, and warn that a rapid transition away from fossil fuels could strain public finances and economic growth.

The tension between economic dependence on extractive industries and environmental protection is likely to shape whichever administration takes office.

How candidates differ on crime and resource extraction

Illegal gold mining, drug trafficking and deforestation have expanded across large areas of the rainforest in recent years, often under the control of armed groups. Rising gold prices, persistent demand for cocaine and the expansion of transnational criminal networks have made environmental crimes more profitable than ever.

"The greatest threat to conservation of the Amazon ecosystem is the expansion of organized crime,” Dickinson said. “The challenge for both of these candidates will be to hold back that criminal expansion into these industries.”

She said criminal groups have increasingly invested in illegal mining and deforestation, turning environmental destruction into a lucrative business model.

That reality has fueled competing visions on security.

Cepeda has signaled support for continuing negotiations with armed groups, building on Petro’s “Total Peace” policy, which sought to reduce violence through negotiations with guerrilla groups, drug-trafficking organizations and other armed actors. Supporters say dialogue offers the best chance of reducing violence, while critics argue some criminal organizations have used the process to consolidate territorial control.

Even under Petro, violence against environmental defenders spiked, said Andrew Miller, advocacy director at Amazon Watch, a nonprofit focused on environmental protection and Indigenous rights. Colombia has repeatedly ranked among the world’s deadliest countries for environmental activists despite the administration’s environmental agenda.

De la Espriella has promised a tougher approach centered on military force and restoring state authority.

Gimena Sánchez, Andes director at the Washington Office on Latin America, a nonprofit focused on human rights, said Indigenous communities are particularly concerned about how aggressive security operations could affect territories that have long been caught between armed groups and the state.

“The history of militarization of Indigenous peoples throughout the Amazon, but especially Colombia, has been devastating,” she said.

What Amazon communities that would be impacted are asking for

Alex Rufino, a member of the Ticuna Indigenous people in Colombia’s Amazon region, said environmental protection cannot be separated from social investment.

He argued that discussions about the rainforest often overlook the people who live there and the challenges they face, including poor access to education, healthcare, housing and employment.

“There are more than a million people living and caring for this territory,” said Rufino, from the Amazonian city of Leticia.

He said stronger social policies could help address some of the underlying pressures driving environmental destruction, including coca cultivation for the cocaine trade, recruitment into armed groups and illegal economic activity. Better access to education, healthcare, housing and jobs, he argued, would give residents alternatives to economies that often contribute to deforestation, illegal mining and conflict.

Climate change is increasingly visible across the region, highlighting droughts in recent years that lowered river levels and contributed to the deaths of fish and pink river dolphins. There are also growing concerns over mercury contamination linked to illegal mining. Studies in Colombia’s Amazon have detected mercury in fish consumed by local communities and elevated levels in some residents, raising alarms about long-term health impacts.

So as politicians in Bogota, the capital, debate security strategies, energy policy and economic growth, many Amazon residents say the next government must first listen to the people living in the rainforest itself.

For Rufino, that means recognizing that the Amazon is not simply a source of oil, minerals or timber, but home to communities that have protected it for generations.

“The dialogue should focus on speaking from the Amazon and with the Amazon,” he said. “With the people. With young people. With women. With elders.”

___

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

The protest near Parliament in New Delhi marked the movement’s first step into street politics after weeks of dominating social media feeds and news headlines, attracting widespread support among young Indians.

The immediate trigger for Saturday’s protest was the reported irregularity in a recent exam that quickly became a broader outlet for frustration over India’s education system and limited job opportunities.

“Time to turn this tiny joke into a revolution,” the official CJP account on X posted Friday. Young people in India make up more than a quarter of the population.

Protesters seek minister’s resignation within the week

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the online movement, joined the protest after arriving from the U.S. Police had laid steel barricades at the arrivals section of New Delhi’s international airport.

Dipke said in a social media post shortly after arriving that police granted permission to the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, to hold the protest, adding: “Cockroaches gather at Jantar Mantar.”

CJP organizers have demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Supporters chanted slogans including, “Cockroaches are coming, Dharmendra Pradhan is going!”

Participants were encouraged to bring India’s national flag and a book, which organizers said symbolized the right to education and equal opportunity for all. Organizers urged them to remain peaceful and avoid confrontations with police.

Mansi Sehgal, a 26-year-old protester, said the protests began around exam issues but the deeper problem is that people haven’t had a space to speak up or ask questions.

“CJP is doing that. So, this is literally the first thing that people can connect and ask questions,” she said.

“This is a long fight. We are seeing that’s it’s nearly a month that we are demanding (Pradhan’s) resignation,” Dipke said at the protest venue.

Late Saturday, the CJP in a statement said the party is giving the government seven days: Either Pradhan resigns or Prime Minister Narendra Modi removes him.

“If no action is taken within seven days, this movement will spread across the country,” it added.

‘Cockroaches’ face tough challenge

The event was an early test of whether the movement can channel its online popularity into a broader grassroots support around growing frustration among young Indians over education, jobs and economic prospects.

Another challenge is how the party would navigate the kind of pushback that earlier protest movements have faced under Modi’s government.

Over the past decade, authorities have sought to stamp out protests against his government, including demonstrations against a controversial citizenship legislation and farmers’ protests. Some protest movements have faced legal action against organizers and activist arrests, which critics say reflects a broader effort under Modi to suppress dissent.

But despite challenges, protesters expressed optimism for change.

"This is a youth-first movement,” said Satya Prakash Yadav, a student. “Youth is the future and we will ensure that our future is secure.”

The online party has risen swiftly

The CJP emerged only three weeks ago. Supporters proudly call themselves “cockroaches," a term that India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant used to disparage critics and some unemployed youth during a May hearing.

Dipke, a political communications strategist and Boston University student, used the insult as inspiration for a parody political party. CJP’s Instagram page has now amassed more than 22 million followers.

The cockroach has become a wry badge of endurance and political articulation. Videos and memes lampooning unemployment, corruption and political dysfunction have drawn millions of views online. Parody CJP accounts have adopted the cockroach as a political symbol in satirical commentary.

The movement’s messaging blends self-deprecating humor with political criticism. Supporters jokingly describe themselves as unemployed and perpetually online.

They also say they are shut out of meaningful influence. CJP supporters argue that ordinary Indians, particularly young people, under Modi have fewer opportunities, with limited job opportunities and rising unemployment.

It’s a gimmick for Modi supporters

The group’s rise echoes a trend across South Asia of youth movements born out of social media playing a central role in anti-government protests, including uprisings in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and unrest in Nepal.

Young people in India have expressed growing disillusionment with traditional politics. Many are critical of Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, citing concerns over rising religious polarization, widening inequality and mounting economic pressures.

The movement’s skeptics, particularly supporters of Modi’s party, dismiss it as little more than a social media gimmick. They argue its online popularity may not translate into street mobilization and that its rapid rise is likely fleeting.

___

Associated Press journalists Shonal Ganguly and Piyush Nagpal in New Delhi contributed to this report.

The Navy had selected 31 sailors to promote from the rank of captain to one-star admiral, but Hegseth recently intervened to strike nine people from the list, including three women and two Black men, according to a defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information not permitted to be released publicly.

As a result, the Navy is not promoting a single woman to the one-star admiral rank this year even though women make up about one-quarter of all Navy officers and nearly one-third of the sea service's midgrade ranks, according to military data from 2024.

The Associated Press spoke with eight female Navy officers of varying ranks and time in service after Hegseth's cuts, which were reported earlier by The New York Times, became public. They spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution from their superiors.

The more junior officers said they saw the development as a sign that their careers would become politicized if they rose too far in the ranks, and some said they felt they now had a limit on how far they could be promoted. Some said it made them feel less valued within the military and wondered whether that wasn't part of the intent.

The Pentagon has not offered any rationale on why the women, or any of the other six people, were removed from the promotion list.

The Pentagon says promotions are based on merit

Sean Parnell, the Pentagon's top spokesman, said on social media this week that “military promotions are given to those who have earned them” and that the Pentagon “will never consider the color of a service member’s skin or their gender as a factor in promotions." The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request seeking further comment.

The Navy's process for choosing which officers to promote to the one-star rank has been relatively constant and transparent over the years. The service convenes a group of officers, called a promotion board, that examines the records of eligible officers and chooses the most qualified.

The board that selected the initial slate of 31 officers for promotion was directed by then-Navy Secretary John Phelan, an appointee of President Donald Trump, to “recommend for promotion the best qualified officers within their respective competitive category.”

The order from Phelan, who later abruptly departed his post in April, said the board should consider an officer's performance, competence and character, among other traits, as part of those qualifications.

It also said that given China's prominence in the Trump administration's National Defense Strategy, “special consideration shall be given to officers who have excelled in their knowledge of the political military affairs and U.S. strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific region, and operational contingency planning for Indo-Pacific war plans.”

Hegseth has long argued, without offering evidence, that women in the military benefit from preferential treatment and are not suited for combat roles.

"For too long, we’ve promoted too many uniformed leaders for the wrong reasons based on their race, based on gender quotas, based on historic so-called firsts,” Hegseth told hundreds of military leaders in September.

The approach, he asserted, made the Pentagon “less capable and less lethal.”

Navy leaders and other top officials had approved promotion list

Phelan's order said the Navy cannot discriminate based on criteria such as race and sex, and it specifically noted that “this guidance shall not be interpreted as requiring or permitting preferential treatment of any officer or group of officers on the grounds of race, religion, color, sex.”

The full list of 31 people to be promoted was approved by Phelan, other Navy leaders and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, before it reached Hegseth, who chose to make the changes, the defense official said.

While Hegseth is within his rights to intervene in the list, “it’s just not the norm” and its “a break from tradition” said Katherine Kuzminski, a researcher specializing in military recruiting and retention at the Center for New American Security think tank. She said that promotions historically have been seen “the services’ business.”

Kuzminski noted that “this is a decision that’s not being made by the U.S. Navy — it’s being made by the secretary of defense” and said Hegseth's growing interference in operational aspects of the military services such as promotions is creating “tension" about what “normal” will look like going forward.

Some of the more senior Navy officers who spoke with the AP expressed concerns about the message it sends to the next generation of young sailors.

In addition to pulling the recent promotions of three women to admiral, Hegseth shortly after he took office fired Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the service's top officer and the first woman to hold the job. He never explained his rationale.

Since then, he also has fired two other female three-star admirals without explanation.

Some of the officers who spoke to the AP said that while they were encouraging female sailors to stick with the Navy, they acknowledged that message is coming at a difficult time.

Kuzminski said the rhetoric and actions surrounding women in the military “affects individual service member decision-making and it also affects family unit decision-making,” including whether people make a career of the military.

Kuzminski said that following the monthslong hold on military promotions by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., during the Biden administration, surveys showed that partisan politics spilling into the day-to-day lives of troops affected their decision-making.

One officer said this impact was not confined to women.

In conversations with other sailors in her unit, she said that male sailors were hesitant to deal with what appears to be a growing politicization of simply following the orders of previous administrations.

A shared meal can reveal the history of a place, the traditions of a family, and the stories of generations. This summer, Houstonians are invited to embark on that journey—no passport required.

The Ismaili Center Houston is opening its doors for Spice Routes: Cardamom Challenge, an immersive culinary and cultural celebration showcasing the flavors, traditions, and global influences of the Ismaili community through a thoughtfully curated lineup of chefs, tastings, and experiences.

Set against the striking architecture and tranquil gardens of one of Houston’s newest cultural landmarks, the event offers far more than a typical food festival. Guests can sample inventive sweet and savory dishes inspired by culinary traditions that stretch across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and beyond, while enjoying specialty beverages, a shopping bazaar, and opportunities to explore the Center itself.

For those who believe food is one of the most meaningful ways to understand a culture, Spice Routes promises an afternoon of discovery.

The event will also feature a chef “throwdown” competition, where culinary creativity takes center stage. A panel of judges from Houston’s food scene will award Critics’ Choice honors, while attendees can cast their votes for a People’s Choice winner.

Beyond the flavors and festivities, the event supports a worthy cause, benefiting Urban Harvest and its mission to increase access to healthy food throughout the Houston community.

Guests can enjoy tastings and non-alcoholic cocktails from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., while guided tours throughout the day offer a chance to experience the Ismaili Center’s remarkable architecture, art collection, and gardens. Winners of the chef competition will be announced at 1:30 p.m.

At a time when conversations often focus on what divides us, Spice Routes offers a reminder of what brings people together: curiosity, hospitality, and the universal language of food.

Whether you’re a devoted foodie, an architecture enthusiast, a world traveler at heart, or simply someone who loves discovering new experiences, this event offers a rare opportunity to explore the world through its flavors—right here in Houston.

Spice Routes: Cardamom Challenge

When: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Where: The Ismaili Center Houston, 2323 Allen Parkway

Tickets: $75 adults, $25 children (ages 3–12)

CLICK HERE

Phillips, the son of Charles' sister Princess Anne, wed Harriet Sperling, a nurse working for the National Health Service, in a church ceremony in the southwestern English village of Kemble.

They were joined by more than 100 guests including Prince William, Princess Catherine, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice and other royals.

The bride wore a high-neck lace gown designed by Emilia Wickstead.

Phillips, 48, is the son Anne and her first husband Mark Phillips. He is the late Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest grandson, and William and Prince Harry’s first cousin.

Phillips split from his first wife Autumn Kelly, with whom he has two children. His engagement to Sperling was announced last year.

Well-wishers cheered when the bride and royals arrived, and after the ceremony guests held umbrellas in heavy rain to throw rose petals over the couple as they left the church.

Buyer was sentenced to 22 months in prison in 2023 for trades made while working as a consultant and lobbyist. He was ordered to forfeit more than $350,000, representing the amount of the illegal gains, and pay a $10,000 fine. He was released in 2025.

The Supreme Court in May rejected Buyer's appeal without comment or noted dissent.

In granting “a full, complete, and unconditional pardon,” Trump cited Buyer’s career as a judge advocate general in the Army and in the House that was “distinguished and highly productive.” The pardon was dated Thursday and released by the White House late Friday.

Buyer said the pardon “corrects a politically motivated prosecution” and that it was “horrific to be imprisoned for a crime that I did not commit.” He maintains that he is innocent.

Trump used his Truth Social media platform on May 31 to share a pair of letters requesting a presidential pardon for Buyer, a lawyer and Gulf War veteran who left office in 2011. He was a House prosecutor at Democratic President Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment trial and in 2016 he served on Trump’s transition team focusing on veterans’ issues.

A letter signed by more than 40 former Republicans in Congress said Buyer was “targeted by the deep state” because of his involvement in Clinton’s trial.

“Like you, Mr. President, Steve has been the victim of lawfare conducted by the Biden Administration,” they wrote in the April 2025 letter.

A second letter, from five current House Republicans, said pardoning Buyer would bring justice to his case. The June 2025 letter was signed by Tom Cole of Oklahoma, Ken Calvert of California, Marlin Stutzman of Indiana, Jack Bergman of Michigan and Pete Sessions of Texas.

Buyer, 67, was convicted in connection with insider trading involving the $26.5 billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, announced in April 2018, and illegal trades in the management consulting company Navigant when his client Guidehouse was set to acquire it in a deal publicly disclosed weeks later.

The Constitution gives a president broad power to grant pardons for federal crimes. The pardons do not erase a recipient’s criminal record but can be seen as act of mercy or justice.

The San Antonio Spurs are down 0-2. They say they're unfazed.

Such is the state of things in the NBA Finals, where both teams were taking a travel day on Saturday. Practices resume Sunday and Game 3 of the title series is Monday night at Madison Square Garden, where President Donald Trump will be watching alongside fans who are willing to pay nearly $10,000 for seats so far from the court that 7-foot-4 Spurs center Victor Wembanyama will look tiny.

The Knicks insist they're not celebrating yet. The Spurs insist they're not defeated yet.

“Every single day, we chip away and try to be the best that we can be. ... Even with the series it is now, next game, mindset has to be 0-0 again,” said Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, the late-game hero in both the Game 1 and Game 2 wins that New York got in San Antonio to take an absolute stranglehold on the series. “It’s just how it has to be. You can’t be comfortable. You can’t be satisfied with anything. Just got to continue to push forward.”

That's all they've done for a month and a half now.

They've won 13 consecutive games, the second-longest single-season playoff run in NBA history behind only a 15-game winning streak by Golden State in the 2017 postseason. They have a chance to be the first team in NBA history to make it through the last three rounds of the playoffs — the conference semifinals, conference final and NBA Finals — unbeaten.

“One of the things that we preach is being present,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “In order to be present, you can’t think about the past, you can’t think about the future. For all of us as humans, that’s hard as heck to do. I constantly, boom, flick myself in the head, tell myself, ‘Be present, be present, be present.’ I obviously mention it to the group, too. With those guys being who they are, they’ve really embraced it, and they’re really trying to live it every single moment during this run.”

They don't get rattled, even on this stage. Counting the NBA Cup final, which isn't recognized in standings or official league stats, the Knicks are 4-1 against the Spurs this season. The four wins by New York all have something in common: the Knicks trailed by double digits in each of those games.

— Cup final in Vegas, the Spurs led by 11 (and lost by 11).

— Regular-season game at MSG, the Spurs led by 12 (and lost by 25).

— Game 1 of the finals, the Spurs led by 14 (and lost by 10).

— Game 2 of the finals, the Spurs led by 12 (and lost by one).

“We just need to figure it out,” Wembanyama said. “We need to keep working on it.”

The only Spurs win over New York was the regular-season game at home, where they won by two after trailing by 19 and never leading by more than six.

Go figure.

“It was going to take everything to win the series anyway,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle said. “Putting ourselves in this type of predicament is going to be tough, but I don’t think it’s anything we can’t handle.”

The Knicks have an idea of what's coming on Monday.

The Garden will be shaking to its core, since people who spent the kind of money that they're spending to come see a basketball game likely won't decide to sit quietly in their seats. The energy in the city will be beyond compare, with a 53-year wait for another NBA championship now just two games away and oddsmakers — who have the Knicks at -550 to win the series — basically saying it's inevitable. And the Spurs will come out throwing whatever punches they have left to throw.

“Knowing them, there’s going to be another level,” Brunson said. “We have to be prepared and be ready to match it and play for 48 minutes. No matter what goes on in the game, we have to have each other’s back, what’s going on, who is on a run, what’s not, who is up, who is down, making sure we are playing together for 48 minutes is really important.”

If the Knicks could use a cautionary tale, they need look no further than Mikal Bridges. He was with Phoenix when the Suns took a 2-0 lead in the 2021 finals against Milwaukee. The Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo won that series in six games. It's a different situation now — those two Suns wins were in Phoenix, not on the road — but it is a reminder that two wins aren't enough.

“It’s still 0-0 as far as we’re concerned,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said. “Being up 2-0 means really nothing. This (San Antonio) team is going to come out on Monday with an unbelievable amount of energy and desperation, and we’ve got to be better.”

___

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

The Iranian Football Federation's secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, were among 14 backroom staff and officials without U.S. visas before games in Los Angeles and Seattle, according to Iranian state television.

It was unclear whether the federation’s president, Mehdi Taj, had been issued a visa.

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

The federation accused the U.S. of “vindictive behavior” in refusing visas for “key managerial and administrative members” of the team.

The decision had “effectively denied the Iranian national team the opportunity for a level playing field and a competition free from discrimination,” according to a statement on the federation's website. It added that the federation would pursue the matter through world soccer authority FIFA.

The Iranian Embassy in Ankara, meanwhile, responded to an earlier social media post from U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack, in which he congratulated his embassy staff for processing the Iran team’s visas.

“You cannot whitewash conduct that violates FIFA regulations and breaches the United States’ host obligations merely by praising yourselves,” the Iranian post read. “This represents the worst possible form of politically biased interference in sport.”

One U.S. official earlier told The Associated Press that all players on the Iranian team were approved for visas, while a second official said visas had been issued for players, coaches, trainers and some support staff. A third official suggested that some applicants affiliated with the team had been rejected for requesting visas “under false pretenses.”

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the visas publicly.

The squad has been preparing for the World Cup at a training camp in Antalya. The team said that it has already received visas from the Mexican Embassy in Ankara.

The players, dressed in blue blazers over white T-shirts, left the luxury Mardan Palace hotel in Antalya on Saturday afternoon. They boarded a private jet at the Mediterranean city's airport and were due to fly directly to Mexico.

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

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

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

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

___ Seung Min Kim and Matthew Lee contributed to this report from Washington.

It also comes against the backdrop of the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, mounting political violence in President Donald Trump's orbit and growing fears of artificial intelligence-fueled disruptions, creating a complex threat environment for authorities.

Overseeing the sprawling security apparatus is a legion of federal agencies, state and local police departments and private entities. Their responsibilities range from securing stadiums and fan zones to escorting teams and protecting dignitaries.

Their tools include hunter drones that can shoot nets over objects in restricted airspace, bag-inspecting robot dogs, giant X-ray trucks and thousands of AI-powered cameras trained on public spaces soon to be thronged by fans.

In the U.S., it’s “78 Super Bowls over 39 days,” said Andrew Giuliani, executive director of Trump’s World Cup task force, which is overseeing the multiagency effort.

“There’s never been a summer like this in American history from a security angle,” said Giuliani, son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

“We’re as prepared as we can be.”

An unprecedented security collaboration

The tournament has the same high-level federal security designation as the Super Bowl, just below a presidential inauguration or a national political convention, ensuring federal, state and local coordination. It coincides with other major events linked to the 250th anniversary of America's founding.

So far, Giuliani said, there are no credible threats.

The Department of Homeland Security, focused on Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown and hit by a funding lapse only recently resolved, estimates up 7 million people will visit the U.S. for the World Cup.

The U.S. Secret Service, under scrutiny after security breaches and attempts on Trump’s life, is in charge of protecting world leaders who show up to cheer on their countries. Trump has expressed interest in attending a match.

“I feel very comfortable where we’re at, and we feel like we have a zero-fail mission,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Congress this week, noting that the Secret Service was understaffed by about 860 agents. “But it’s going to be complicated.”

Officials have indicated they are confident they can keep Trump safe because they will be integrating his usual security into the robust World Cup plan on days he may watch a match.

The FBI has spent two years developing its security plan, incorporating lessons from other major events such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and New Year’s Eve ball drop in New York and testing them at smaller ones, including last week’s Israel Day parade in the city.

"We prepare for the worst day,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Amit Kachhia-Patel in New York told The Associated Press. “And that’s how we go into any single event."

To help cover security costs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has distributed $625 million to the 11 U.S. host cities. An additional $250 million is being directed toward tracking and neutralizing suspect drones.

The disbursement of those funds was held up by the department's funding delay, which the Republican administration has argued hindered security planning.

Others involved in the planning effort said the federal government could have played a more hands-on role even before the shutdown.

John Cohen, a former senior DHS official who has been briefing state leaders before the matches, said the government was largely absent from planning meetings last year and did not begin sharing threat intelligence with host regions until recently.

“With an event of this magnitude, one would expect the federal government would’ve played a more active role,” Cohen said. “It felt like a missed opportunity to showcase that collaboration.”

Evolving threats from drones and AI

In January, thousands of officials involved in World Cup security gathered for exercises simulating crowd surges, vehicle attacks and mass shootings.

A month later, the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran.

“The security picture fundamentally changed,” said Stefano Ritondale, chief intelligence officer at Artorias, a defense intelligence company not involved in the security preparations. “There’s a major difference in preparing for a lone wolf radical who rams his car into a public place and a terrorist who is bankrolled by a foreign country we’re at war with.”

Among the greatest concerns are drones.

Since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022, drones have become a prominent weapon in conflicts including Russia’s war in Ukraine and Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“If there is one threat that keeps me up at night, it is from drones,” said New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, whose department is partnering with the FBI on drone mitigation.

Drones are prohibited over stadiums and fan zones, and Kachhia-Patel said the FBI has a “full suite of options” to thwart incursions. They include agents monitoring the sky and a “variety of means” to safely down the devices, he said without elaborating.

Before this year’s World Cup, the growing sophistication of AI videos was a particular concern, with officials warning that state actors can harness the technology to sow misinformation and panic.

On match days, the FBI will activate joint operations centers in each host city, bringing together local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to monitor and investigate threats.

“If there’s a video that shows an explosion going off at a site, and it’s AI generated, we have people on the ground who can validate whether or not that’s true,” said Kachhia-Patel.

A scoring opportunity for private tech

Some AI companies have pitched themselves to police departments in host cities, promising to comb through data and surveillance on game days to prevent threats, including unruly fan behavior.

“We know sports fanaticism around here in terms of the NFL and baseball to some extent, but nothing like international soccer,” said Jake Becchina, a police spokesperson in Kansas City, Missouri, which is hosting six matches.

The department has contracted with Peregrine Technologies, which promises to sift through police data and publicly available information such as team practice locations and the country affiliation of popular bars, to get ahead of possible conflict.

In Dallas, a recent $120 million tech upgrade will give local police body cameras capable of real-time translations, helping law enforcement communicate with international visitors soon to descend on the region.

Several drone detection and mitigation companies are joining efforts to help federal agencies secure the skies.

One of those companies, Fortem, has claimed to have signed a multimillion-dollar contract with DHS before the World Cup for an unusual drone mitigation strategy: quadcopters that can shoot nets at encroaching drones to trap them in midair. A spokesperson for DHS declined to discuss the contract.

Just as the teams will aim to perform their best on the pitch, Giuliani said the security planning was a unique chance to “show off American exceptionalism."

“If we do our job right,” Giuliani added, “nobody will be talking about security at the World Cup.”

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Santana reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.

The crash was reported around 9:12 p.m. in the 4400 block of Reed Road in Houston, according to police. Investigators believe the striking vehicle was a silver Mazda sedan traveling through the area at the time of the collision.

Police said the driver did not remain at the scene or provide information after the crash. A witness reportedly pointed out the suspected vehicle to officers, and investigators are working to locate the Mazda and identify the driver.

• Fort Bend disabled girl survived on cake, mom charged with abandoning her

The victim’s name has not been released because he has not been firmly identified, though police said they have spoken with family members and have a general idea of who he is.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact the HPD Vehicular Crimes Division (713) 247-4072 at, or Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS where you can report anonymously.

The attack came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin refused an offer to meet his Ukrainian counterpart.

St. Petersburg Gov. Alexander Beglov said three people sustained minor injuries in the attack. He advised residents not to go outside and warned of possible disruptions to mobile internet service, while regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko said 141 drones were shot down over the surrounding Leningrad region in what he called an “unprecedented attack.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 376 Ukrainian drones.

“Last night, our drones covered a distance of about 1,000 kilometers to the St. Petersburg region — to the enemy navy’s arsenals and a base in Kronstadt,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X, adding that drones also hit an oil depot in Russia's southern Krasnodar region.

The renewed attack on St. Petersburg is the latest embarrassing blow to Putin’s efforts to cast the conflict as a distant event that doesn’t affect Russian daily life.

A Ukrainian drone strike set ablaze an oil terminal in the city and hit a nearby naval base Wednesday, hours before the opening of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin’s annual showcase for investment.

Speaking at the forum, Putin said Thursday that Russia will strengthen its air defenses to counter recent Ukrainian drone attacks, which have reached deep inside his country and cast a cloud over the event in his hometown of St. Petersburg.

Putin on Friday rejected a proposal by Zelenskyy for a face-to-face meeting on the 4-year-old conflict, saying he sees “no point” in it. Thursday’s letter, the first public message Zelenskyy has written directly to Putin since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, was a sweeping critique of the Russian leader’s 26 years in power, as well as some taunts about his age.

Responding to Putin's dismissal of the proposed meeting, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Saturday that things would “only get worse for Russia.”

"Failures will get more humiliating," he wrote on X, warning that there are “no safe places in Russia that can be exempt” from Ukrainian long-range attacks, and that the intensity of attacks “will continue to grow.”

With the front line barely moving as swarms of drones hinder advances, both sides have sought an edge by launching long-range strikes.

In Ukraine, one person was killed and three wounded overnight into Saturday in the Dnipropetrovsk region, as Russian forces struck three districts nearly 30 times with drones and artillery, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said.

In Zaporizhzhia, seven people sought medical care after a Russian drone strike started a fire at a parking lot, according to regional head Ivan Fedorov.

Russia targeted Ukraine overnight with 272 strike drones, and air defenses shot down 249 of them, the Ukrainian air force said Saturday.

Leo is expected to double down on his messages of unity amid polarization, peace as war rages, welcome for migrants and hope for young Spaniards in the era of artificial intelligence.

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

Leo’s June 6-12 visit, the first to Spain by a pope in 15 years, has three distinct chapters, in Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands, each with its own focus.

But Leo isn’t the only VIP who'll be paralyzing much of Madrid this weekend. Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny is holding two shows of his 10-concert series in the Spanish capital while the pope is in town.

Madrid, June 6-8

The highlight of Leo's visit to Madrid will be his speech June 8 to both chambers of the Spanish parliament. Even though St. John Paul II visited Spain five times and Pope Benedict XVI three, no pope has ever addressed Las Cortes Generales, as the parliament is known.

Such speeches are rare and often become one of the most important of a pontificate. The last time a pope addressed a foreign legislature was in 2015, when Pope Francis delivered a speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress.

Leo will find a legislature that is highly polarized, with the ruling Socialist Party of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez hammered by a series of corruption scandals and far-right groups such as Vox harshly criticizing the Socialists’ migration policy.

Leo will also meet with the Spanish royals and preside over a prayer vigil for young people that will recall the last time a pope visited Spain: 2011, when Madrid hosted World Youth Day with Benedict.

Barcelona, June 9-10

Leo arrives in Barcelona in time to celebrate the June 10 centenary of the death of the great Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí.

Leo will celebrate Mass in Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia, and will inaugurate its central spire, the Tower of Jesus Christ, which has made the basilica the world’s tallest church.

While Catalonia’s beloved native son is on the path to possible sainthood, no announcements on his canonization are expected.

Leo will also visit another place of spiritual importance to Catalans, the Our Lady of Montserrat abbey on the sacred mountain outside the city.

Canary Islands, June 11-12

By traveling to the Canary Islands, Leo is fulfilling a wish of Pope Francis to minister to the many migrants who arrive on the Spanish archipelago after risking their lives to reach Europe from Africa.

Leo will spend two days in the Canary Islands, which are closer to Africa than the Spanish peninsula, visiting two of the seven islands and meeting with migrants and the humanitarian organizations that provide care for them.

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

Migrant arrivals in the Canary Islands peaked in 2024 at nearly 47,000, but have fallen dramatically, with just over 2,000 people landing there in the first four months of 2026.

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

The 15-year-old opening batter is the youngest cricketer to get an India call-up. If he plays against Ireland on June 26 in Belfast he will overtake Sachin Tendulkar, who was 16 when he made his test debut against Pakistan in November 1989.

Sooryavanshi set the Indian Premier League alight this season, finishing as the highest run-getter with 776 in 16 innings. He scored at a remarkable strike-rate of 237.31 and hit 72 sixes.

“He has forced us to pick him with how well he’s played,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar said. “I know his age…how young he is and (it is) early in his career. But...we can see the kind of talent he has and we are hopeful, if he gets the opportunity to play for the country, he will show the same ability.

“Playing for the country will mean tougher challenges, but he has shown tremendous temperament. He has picked himself through his performances – he single-handedly carried Rajasthan Royals in the IPL playoffs. Like everyone else who’s watched him play, we have high hopes of him.”

Sooryavanshi made his first-class debut at 12. At 13, he became the youngest to get an IPL deal when Rajasthan bought him for the 2025 season. He scored 252 runs in seven games at a strike-rate of 206, including a 35-ball century – the second-fastest in IPL history.

He then starred in India’s win at the 2026 Under-19 World Cup, smashing 175 off 80 balls in the final against England – the highest individual score in any ICC global tournament final.

Shreyas Iyer will captain a full-strength India squad in Ireland and England, a precursor to the Asian Games T20s in Japan. He replaces Suryakumar Yadav, who has been dropped.

Iyer led Kolkata Knight Riders to a third IPL title in 2024 before guiding Punjab Kings to the final in 2025. He had previously steered Delhi Capitals to the final in 2020 – the only player to lead three different franchises to a final.

Yadav’s reign comes to an end due to poor form in both IPL and international cricket.

India will play two T20s in Ireland on June 26 and 28, and another five in England next month.

The squad for Japan also includes pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, underlining India’s challenge for gold ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Squads for Ireland and England tours: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammad Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

India squad for Asian Games: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

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

The red-hot Knicks are going home, two wins away from an NBA championship that the capital of the world has been waiting to see for generations.

Jalen Brunson hit a go-ahead free throw with 9.5 seconds left after a turnover by Victor Wembanyama moments earlier, then Wembanyama missed a jumper at the end of New York’s 105-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

“What a ballgame,” Knicks coach Mike Brown marveled.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Brunson and Mikal Bridges each scored 20 for the Knicks. They have won 13 straight, the second-longest streak by any team in NBA playoff history.

“New York City showed up,” Towns said. “The fans showed up. The energy showed up. And we found a way to get it done.”

The Knicks are now just the third team to win the first two games of a finals on the road, joining Michael Jordan and the 1993 Chicago Bulls, and Hakeem Olajuwon and the 1995 Houston Rockets.

Both of those teams won championships, the Bulls needing six games to oust the Phoenix Suns, the Rockets going home after winning those first two games in Orlando and sweeping the Magic. The Knicks, seeking their first championship since 1973, are in position to join them.

Wembanyama, after a very quiet first half, scored 29. De’Aaron Fox had 20 for San Antonio.

“We can't change the past,” Wembanyama said, “We're already thinking about Game 3.”

The series now shifts to New York. Game 3 is at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.

President Donald Trump — a native New Yorker — plans on attending Monday. And ticket prices on the secondary market, for the worst seats at MSG, were approaching $9,000 apiece on Friday night, with Knicks fans evidently willing to pay tippy-top dollar just to be in the building as the team nears what would be its first championship in 53 years.

The Spurs were down 14 midway through the fourth and came all the way back — scoring the next 14 points to tie the game. Wembanyama's three-point play with 57 seconds left gave the Spurs their first lead in nearly two full quarters, putting San Antonio up 104-102.

“We showed tremendous desperation, urgency and competitive response,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “Hopefully we can try to bottle that up ... and try to play to that same level.”

But the Knicks got the last three, Brunson — the hero of Game 1 for the Knicks — getting them all.

Brunson scored on the next possession, just his seventh basket in 24 shots on the night, and the game was tied. Wembanyama missed a long jumper, OG Anunoby got the rebound for New York with 30 seconds left, the Knicks called time and the stage was set.

The Spurs got a stop, but Wembanyama threw the ball away. Brunson got fouled, the Knicks had the lead back and before long Spurs fans were filing out of the arena — possibly for the final time this season.

The Spurs called time with 7.5 seconds remaining. Fox took the inbound pass, then set up Wembanyama for a jumper that would have won it. The shot bounced off the rim, and it was over.

“We had to get a stop. We hadn’t gotten a stop all quarter,” Towns said.

They got their stop. Next stop: New York, where the hottest team in basketball knows an NBA title is just two wins away.

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